And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The book of Revelation is a highly symbolic vision given to the apostle John, describing the end of history as God brings all things to their conclusion. By chapter 20, the narrative has reached its climax: after a long story of cosmic conflict, the devil — the ancient deceiver, also called Satan — faces his final judgment. The 'beast' and 'false prophet' are figures from earlier in Revelation representing corrupt political and religious powers aligned against God. The 'lake of burning sulfur' is Revelation's image for permanent, total separation from God. This verse is not comfortable reading. But it is meant as a declaration — perhaps the most important one in the entire book: evil does not get the last word.
God, there are days when darkness feels like it's winning — in the world and honestly, in me. Thank you that the end of the story is already written. Help me live today from the assurance of your final victory rather than the panic of the present moment. Amen.
We live in a world where evil rarely faces consequences in any timeframe we can observe. The powerful abuse the vulnerable and retire comfortably. Injustice wins in courtrooms. Lies spread faster than truth and get better ratings. And somewhere in that exhausting reality, it's tempting to wonder whether anything is truly held accountable — whether the arc of history bends anywhere in particular. Revelation 20:10 doesn't ease into this question. It names the deceiver directly and reports his end without sentiment or ceremony. This verse is not an invitation to feel satisfied about anyone's punishment. It's an invitation to exhale. The one who has deceived, destroyed, and distorted — who has whispered that you are worthless, that God is absent, that nothing will ever change — is not ultimately in charge. If you've been living under the weight of evil that seems relentless, a world that feels rigged toward darkness, a personal story shadowed by real and unresolved harm — this verse offers something rare: the assurance that the story ends. The deceiver doesn't get the final chapter. That's not triumphalism. That's the deepest kind of hope.
Revelation is filled with symbolic imagery. How do you interpret 'the lake of burning sulfur' — as a literal place, a metaphor for complete separation from God, or something else? And does your interpretation shape how you read this verse?
When evil seems to go unchecked in your own life or in the world, how do you hold onto hope? Does a passage like this help, or does it raise more questions for you than it answers?
Some people find the idea of eternal punishment deeply troubling — even incompatible with a God described as love. How do you wrestle honestly with the tension between divine justice and divine mercy?
If you truly believed that evil's defeat is already secured, how might that change the way you respond to injustice you see around you — in your community, your family, or the wider world?
Is there an area of your life where you've been living more afraid of what evil can do than trusting what God has already secured? What's one step you could take this week toward living from that confidence?
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
John 11:25
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1 Peter 5:8
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Matthew 25:41
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
John 8:44
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Revelation 19:20
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Genesis 3:15
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly , triumphing over them in it.
Colossians 2:15
And the devil who had deceived them was hurled into the lake of fire and burning brimstone (sulfur), where the beast (Antichrist) and false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever.
AMP
and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
ESV
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
NASB
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
NIV
The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
NKJV
Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
NLT
The Devil who deceived them will be hurled into Lake Fire and Brimstone, joining the Beast and False Prophet, the three in torment around the clock for ages without end.
MSG