Revelation 20:9

And they marched across the broad expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — John the seer, describing the final assault at the close of the thousand years. Gog and Magog, deceived by the released devil, march to besiege the saints and the beloved city.

The words — ἀνέβησαν (anebēsan), "they marched up," aorist of ἀναβαίνω, carries the sense of a military advance from lower to higher ground, the same verb family used of Gog's advance in Ezekiel 38:9.

The thread — The Gog and Magog framework is drawn from Ezekiel 38–39, where the LORD sends fire on Magog (Ezek 39:6) and the army advances like a cloud (Ezek 38:16).

Why it lands — The verse removes any ambiguity about the outcome: the assault is not a close call but a consumption, and the reader is left with the fact that no coalition, however vast, changes the verdict.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 38:16 You will advance against My people Israel like a cloud covering the land. It will happen in the latter days, O Gog, that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I show Myself holy in you before their eyes.
Ezekiel 39:6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 38:9 You and all your troops, and many peoples with you will go up, advancing like a thunderstorm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
Ezekiel 38:22 I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrents of rain, hailstones, fire, and sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.
2 Thessalonians 1:8 in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
Psalms 97:3 Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side.
Psalms 106:18 Then fire blazed through their company; flames consumed the wicked.
Psalms 125:1 A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.
Exodus 9:23 So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the LORD rained down hail upon the land of Egypt.
Leviticus 10:2 So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the LORD.