And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
13. death and hell ] See Rev 6:8. Sheol, the Hebrew equivalent of Hades, seems not quite determined in meaning between the receptacle of the bodies of the dead and of their souls, but is sometimes translateable as “the grave.” Here it seems implied that those who died in the sea are not in Hades, as those who were buried are: but all, whether buried or unburied, are raised and judged.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it – All that had been buried in the depths of ocean. This number in the aggregate will be great. If we include all who were swept off by the flood, and all who have perished by shipwreck, and all who have been killed in naval battles and buried in the sea, and all who have been swept away by inundations of the ocean, and all who have peacefully died at sea, as sailors, or in the pursuits of commerce or benevolence, the number in the aggregate will be immense – a number so vast that it was proper to notice them particularly in the account of the general resurrection and the last judgment.
And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them – That is, all the dead came, from all regions where they were scattered – on the land and in the ocean – in this world and in the invisible world. Death and hell are here personified, and are represented as having dominion over the dead, and as now delivering up, or surrendering those who were held tinder them. On the meaning of the words used here, see the notes on Rev 1:18; Rev 6:8. Compare the Mat 10:23 note; Job 10:21-22 notes; Isa 14:9 note. This whole representation is entirely inconsistent with the supposition that a large part of the dead had been already raised up at the beginning of the millennial period, and had been permitted, in their glorified bodies, to reign with Christ.
And they were judged, … – All these were judged – the righteous and the wicked; those buried at sea, and those buried on the land; the small and the great; the dead, in whatever world they may have been.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 13. The sea gave up the dead] Those who had been drowned in it, and those millions slain in naval contests, who had no other grave.
And death] All who died by any kind of disease. Death is here personified, and represented as a keeper of defunct human beings; probably no more than earth or the grave is meant, as properly belonging to the empire of death.
And hell] , Hades, the place of separate spirits. The sea and death have the bodies of all human beings; hades has their spirits. That they may be judged, and punished or rewarded according to their works, their bodies and souls must be reunited; hades, therefore, gives up the spirits; and the sea and the earth give up the bodies.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
By hell is meant all places where the dead are; whosoever shall be at that day in the state of the dead; the bodies of men, whether buried in the earth or sea; and the souls of men, whether they be in the place of torments or happiness, shall all be re-united to their bodies, that they may both in soul and body receive their final doom of eternal happiness, or eternal misery, accordingly as they have lived in the world; and those who shall be alive at that day, who shall be changed, ( as the apostle speaks, 1Co 15:51), are to be counted dead in the sense of this text, their change being instead of death to them. It is not said they shall be judged for their works, (though that as to the wicked is true), but
according to their works; which is true as to the elect, who though their names be written in the book of life, yet must work righteousness; and they shall have judgment of absolution, not according to the perfection, but the sincerity, of their works, done in obedience to the will of God.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. death and hellGreek,“Hades.” The essential identity of the dying andrisen body is hereby shown; for the sea and grave giveup their dead. The body that sinned or served God shall, inrighteous retribution, be the body also that shall suffer or berewarded. The “sea” may have a symbolical [CLUVERfrom AUGUSTINE], besidesthe literal meaning, as, in Rev 8:8;Rev 12:12; Rev 13:1;Rev 18:17; Rev 18:19;so “death” and “hell” are personifications(compare Re 21:1). But theliteral sense need hardly be departed from: all the different regionswherein the bodies and souls of men had been, gave them up.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it,…. Which is not to be interpreted metaphorically of the world, and the men of it, who are like the troubled sea; but literally of the sea, and of all such who have been drowned in the waters of it, as were Pharaoh and his host; or have died upon the mighty waters, and have been cast into them, and devoured by the fishes; and particular regard may be had to the men of the old world, drowned by the flood; these shall be raised from thence; the sea shall deliver them up: now this, and what is expressed in the next clause, will not be done after the judgment is set, the books are opened, and the sentence passed, but before all this, and in order to it, as the last clause of this verse shows:
and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them; “death”, which is here represented as a person, and elsewhere as a king, reigning and having power over men, signifies death in general, and every kind of death of which men have died, whether natural or violent, over whom it will now have no longer dominion, but will be obliged to deliver up all its subjects; and “hell” signifies the grave, which will now be opened, and deliver up all its prisoners, all that have been buried in the earth; see Job 26:5 the Ethiopic version adds, “and the earth delivered up them that were dead in it”: but this seems unnecessary after the former:
and they were judged every man according to their works; some to greater, some to lesser punishment, as their sinful works deserved.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Gave up (). Just “gave” (first aorist active indicative of ), but for the sea to give is to give up (effective aorist). Sea as well as land delivers its dead (all kinds of dead, good and bad). Swete notes that accidental deaths will not prevent any from appearing. Milligan is sure that the sea here means “the sea of the troubled and sinful world.”
Death and Hades ( ). “An inseparable pair” (Swete) as in Rev 1:18; Rev 6:8; Rev 20:14. So in Mt 16:18 “the gates of Hades” means the power of death. Etymologically Hades is the unseen world where all who die are as opposed to this visible world, but in actual use Hades is sometimes treated as the abode of the unrighteous (Lu 16:23). Charles thinks that this is true here, though there is nothing to show it apart from the personification of death and Hades and the casting of both into the lake of fire in verse 14. Here again “each man” () receives judgment according to his deeds (Matt 16:27; 1Cor 3:13; 2Cor 5:10; Rom 2:6; Rom 14:12; 1Pet 1:17; Rev 2:23).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The sea. As commonly understood, the sea means the literal sea, and the passage signifies that the dead contained in it shall rise. So Alford. Other interpreters, however, say that it cannot mean the literal sea. Thus Milligan argues that the symbols of the Apocalypse must always be interpreted in the same way. “Symbols,” he says, “are a form of speech, and therefore subject to the rules that regulate the interpretation of all speech… The power of that convention which links a certain sense to a certain sound in ordinary terms, is not less binding in the presence than in the absence of metaphor of any kind whatever. Thus when we read in the Apocalypse of ‘the sea ‘ as an emblem of the troubled and sinful nations of the earth, we are bound, unless forbidden by the context, to carry that interpretation through, and to understand the sea of the troubled and sinful world.”
Hell [ ] . Rev., Hades. See on Mt 16:18.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And the sea gave up the dead,” (kai edoken he thalassa tous nekrous) “And the sea gave up (gave over), for judgment, the dead ones,” dead bodies that were fitted to the habitation of each wicked soul, “to each his own,” 1Co 15:38.
2) “Which were in it,” (tous en aute) “Those in it,” or whose bodies it had once held for ages, Rev 8:8-9; Exo 14:27-28; Psa 106:11.
3) “And death and hell delivered up the dead,” (kai ho thanatos kai ho hades edokan tous nekrous) “And spiritual death ones, even the hades, gave over the dead bodies or corpses; from their habitat, or holding place, in temporary hades (hell), Rev 1:18; Rev 6:8; Rev 21:4.
4) “Which were in them,” (tous en autois) “Which were (existed) once held in them; Hell surrenders all souls in holding there in spiritual death, to be reunited with their own bodies, 1Co 15:26; 1Co 15:36-38.
5) “And they were judged,” (kai ekrithesan) “And they were all) judged; the grave is no permanent asylum for the wicked – – beyond that is the judgment, Heb 9:27-28; Joh 5:28-29.
6) “Every man according to their works,” (hekastos kata ta erga auton) “Each one (individual), and all, according to or based upon their works; their degree of punishment in the lake of fire and brimstone is fixed at the Great White Throne judgment, based on the manner and number of their wicked works – – they were already eternally condemned because of unbelief, Joh 3:18; Mat 10:15.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
2. The final penal award the lake of fire, Rev 20:13-15.
13. The sea gave up Even while the heaven and earth are fleeing in flames before the throne, the sea surrenders the myriads who have perished in its waves. Death and hell ( hades) From three sources do the dead, body and soul, come forth. From the sea and from death (by land) come their bodies; from hell or hades, (the intermediate state of disembodied spirits,) come their souls. How unhappy here the term hell is for hades is illustrated by the fact that it was the abode of the blessed as well as of the unholy souls. It included Paradise as well as Tartarus.
Judged Solemn and emphatic repetition of closing clause of last verse.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to his works.’
The picture is all inclusive. None have died in such a way that they cannot be reached. All are raised for judgment. To be lost at sea was considered by Israel to be a tragedy. Many considered that it prevented their resurrection, something denied here. The passage is significant in that it demonstrates that Hades is not seen as a place for all the spirits of the dead, but as a place for those buried on land, who have been laid in the earth. It is the shadowy world of the grave. Others are in the shadowy world of the depths of the sea. There is no real life there. We must look elsewhere for how men live in the after-life before the resurrection. For those who are not the true people of God that outlook is looked on as bleak. The judgment is based on how they have responded to God, how they have responded to the words of Jesus and the prophets, both old and new, how they have responded to the word of God and His law, for ‘works’ include all three (Matthew 5; Mat 16:27; Luk 16:31; Joh 6:28-29). No one will have any complaint. Justice will be done.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Ver. 13. And the sea ] Those that perish in the waters, and those whose ashes were scattered upon the waters, as John Huss’s; whom after they had burnt, they beat his heart with their staves, and cast his ashes into the river. But there is a substance of the saints’ bodies preserved, by a secret influence from Christ their Head; and their dust is precious.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
See Pirke Aboth, iv. 32: “Let not thine imagination assure thee that the grave is an asylum” (for, like birth and life and death, judgment is appointed before the King of the kings of kings). “And the earth shall restore those that are asleep in her, and so shall the dust those that dwell therein in silence, and the secret chambers shall deliver up those souls (of the righteous, iv. 35) that were committed unto them,” 4 Esd. 7:32 reproducing, as here, Enoch Lev 1 , “and in those days will the earth also give back those who are treasured up within it, and Sheol also will give back that which it has received, and hell will give back that which it owes”. Also En. lxi. 5 where the restoration includes “those who have been destroyed by the desert, or devoured by the fish of the sea and by the beasts”. Evidently drowned people are supposed not to be in Hades; they wander about or drift in the ocean (Achill. Tat. ver 313), . According to the prophet’s conception ( cf. Rev 13:8 ; Rev 13:14 .f.) the fate of pagans must have been a foregone conclusion, when the Imperial cultus was made the test of character; in which case “the scene before the white throne is rather a final statement of judgment than a statement of final judgment” (Gilbert). But the broader allusioni to works here shows that the prophet is thinking of the general ethical judgment, which embraced issues wider than the particular historical test of the Emperor-worship. . . ., cf. Plutarch’s ( de Iside , 29) derivation of Amenthes, the Egyptian name for Hades, as “that which receives and gives”. As in Slav. En. lxv. 6 and the later Iranian Bundehesh ( S. B. E. ver 123 f.), the resurrection of the body is not mentioned, though it is probably implied ( cf. En. Lev 1 , lxii. 14 and Mat 27:52 f.).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
hell = the grave. See Rev 1:18; Rev 6:8 and App-131.
every man = each one.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
hell
(See Scofield “Luk 16:23”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
the sea: Joh 5:28, Joh 5:29
and death: Rev 20:14, Rev 6:8, Hos 13:14, 1Co 15:50-58
hell: or, the grave, 1Co 15:55, *marg.
and they: Rev 20:12
Reciprocal: Gen 3:9 – General Deu 32:34 – General Job 14:14 – shall he live Psa 9:8 – General Psa 16:10 – my Isa 5:14 – hell Isa 26:19 – the earth Isa 59:18 – According Eze 7:3 – will judge Eze 7:9 – the Lord Eze 37:12 – I will open Luk 16:23 – in hell Act 2:27 – leave Act 24:15 – that 2Co 5:10 – receive Phi 2:10 – under
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 20:13. The preceding verse makes a general statement of the persons to be summoned before the judgment. “Small and great” would virtually include all human beings that ever lived. The present verse gives particulars, doubtless to impress us with the completeness of the resurrection of all persons regardless of where their bodies and spirits had been, even including the sea with its millions of ravenous creatures to feed upon the bodies of the dead. Death refers to the dead bodies and hell (from HADES), is the place where the spirits had been. Both will be reunited and brought before the judgment.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 13.
3. The sea gave up the dead which were in it. “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works”–Rev 20:13.
The symbolism continued, the reference was not to the literal sea nor to physical death. Although the principles may be applied generally, the language belongs visionally to this apocalypse, and has direct reference to the judgment of the persecuting rulers and their subjects. The use of the word sea applied to the heathen society, consistent with the employment of the symbol elsewhere in the apocalypse; as mentioned in the classification of symbols in the first chapter. There was no reference to the bodily resurrection of the dead at the general judgment. This surrender by the sea of its dead was as figurative as the first resurrection of verse six. The realm of death and hell (hades) in like figure were also said to deliver up the dead which were in them.
The words death and hades were used as a synecdoche–a figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole; the genus for the species, the name of the substance for the thing. So death and hades were used here for the subjects of the diabolical and infernal powers.
In the same symbolism that the first resurrection of verse six was described as a resurrection to a state of victory–the resurrection of a cause; the “rest of the dead” were envisioned in a resurrection of retribution–of judgment on the evil rulers and their wicked subjects who had persecuted the cause of the Lamb of God.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 20:13. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged each one according to their works. By the sea it is impossible to understand the ocean. The word meets us many times in the Apocalypse; but, when it is used absolutely as here, without anything to suggest a contrast to the land, it is evidently figuratively used, as the emblem of the troubled and evil world (see Rev 13:1, Rev 21:1). On this ground, and because associated with death and Hades, it must be regarded not as the ocean, in which many of the saints have perished, but as one of the sources whence the wicked come to judgment. Of the sense again in which death and Hades are to be understood we have the best illustration in chap. Rev 6:8, where the former rides upon the pale horse and is followed by the latter. In that passage both death and Hades are the enemies of men; both are one of the judgments that come upon the world, so that they are not neutral powers, but powers exercising sway over the wicked, and having only the wicked under their control. This is absolutely established by the fact stated in the next verse, that both are cast into the lake of fire,not simply brought to an end, but punished with the same punishment which had already been meted out to the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The sea, whether the literal sea or a figure standing for the mass of humanity, death or the grave where the earthly remains were lain, and Hades, the waiting place of disembodied souls, will all yield their charges. All will be judged based upon the deeds they have done. (Eccelesiates 12:13-14; Heb 4:13 )
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Rev 20:13-15. And That none might be exempt from being brought to judgment, the resurrection extended even to the waters; the sea The lakes and rivers; gave up the dead which were in them, and, , death and hades Or, the state of separate souls, delivered up the dead which were in them Death gave up all the bodies of men, and hades their souls, to be united to their bodies. And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire That is, were abolished for ever. For neither the righteous nor the wicked were to die any more; their souls and bodies were to be no more separated. Consequently neither death nor hades could any more have a being. Such is the awful end of the whole human race: they are plunged into that flaming and eternal ruin signified by the lake of fire, or are received into those abodes of glory, which are described in the next two chapters under the figures of a new heaven and a new earth.
Here then we have before us a most affecting view of those important events in which we are all most intimately, yea, infinitely concerned; even the illustrious day of the passing away of the heaven and earth, and the final judgment of all mankind, whether small or great. Therefore let all the living, both small and great, seriously weigh these things; let them often look forward to the awful period when the glorious throne shall be set, the important volumes opened, and our whole lives, all our tempers, words, and works, which are now perfectly known to God, shall be exhibited to the view of men, angels, and devils. Let us, therefore, judge ourselves impartially, that we be not condemned of the Lord; and, conscious how unable we shall be to stand in that judgment if he were to lay justice to the line, let us humbly and penitently apply to the throne of mercy, to the grace of the gospel covenant, through the blood of the Redeemer. So shall we find mercy of the Lord in that day, and reign with him, not a thousand years only, but for everlasting ages. In the mean time, let those who have no reverence for his majesty, nor esteem for his gospel, and who have never taken this awful alarm, have never fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before them, tremble at these awakening views. Let them all, of every condition, both small and great, say in their hearts, Who shall dwell with devouring flames, with everlasting burnings? Shall we have our portion in this lake of fire, into which every one who is not found written in the book of life shall be cast? and shall we be those wretched victims of the divine justice, who shall be tormented for ever and ever? Nay, rather let us turn to God in sincerity and truth that our souls may live, and an entrance be administered unto us into his everlasting kingdom!
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 13
And hell; the grave.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
20:13 {25} And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
(25) This is a reply or an answer to an objection: for some man will say, “But they are dead, whom the sea, death and the grave has consumed, how shall they appear before the judge?” John answers, by resurrection from death, where all things (however repugnant) shall minister and serve at the commandment of God, as in Dan 12:1-2 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
This verse describes the resurrection and judgment of the unrighteous more fully. In logical sequence this verse fits in the middle of the preceding one. This resurrection results in death (cf. Rev 20:6) whereas the previous one (Rev 20:4) resulted in life.
God will resurrect the bodies of all unbelievers and unite them with their spirits, even those bodies decomposed in the sea and in every other way. The special mention of death by drowning and burial at sea may be due to the fact that the ancients regarded these fates as especially abhorrent. [Note: Swete, p. 273.] "Death and Hades" probably refer to the state of death and the place of death. [Note: Thomas, Revelation 8-22, p. 433.] "Hades" is the temporary abode of unbelievers’ spirits until the great white throne judgment. Hades is the unseen place where all non-Christians (believers from other dispensations and unbelievers) who die reside until their resurrection (cf. 2Co 5:8). It includes Paradise (Luk 23:43) and Gehenna (Luk 12:5), also called Abraham’s bosom and the place of torment and anguish (Luk 16:22-28). It is a place of conscious torment for unbelievers (Luk 16:23). "Hades" is the New Testament word for this place, and "Sheol" is the Old Testament word.
Another reference to judgment on the basis of deeds again stresses personal responsibility (cf. Rev 20:12; Rev 2:23; Mat 16:27; Rom 2:6; Rom 14:12; 1Pe 1:17). God will judge all people on the basis of their works (Rev 20:12; cf. Psa 62:12; Mat 25:41-46; Heb 4:12-13). This is also true of Christians at the judgment seat of Christ (Rom 14:10; 1Co 3:13; 2Co 5:10).
"The White Throne Judgment will be nothing like our modern court cases. At the White Throne, there will be a Judge but no jury, a prosecution but no defense, a sentence but no appeal. No one will be able to defend himself or accuse God of unrighteousness. What an awesome scene it will be!" [Note: Wiersbe, 2:621.]