Mercytruth
Yes, the Book of Revelations is not chronological. But one has to do backward sommersaults with Rev. 19 and Rev. 20 not to see that Satan is bound for a thousand years so as not to deceive the nations. The antichrist and false prophet were cast into the lake of fire because of the great deception that God allowed Satan to bring to this earth through the anti-christ and false prophet. This is why Satan was bound for a thousand years.
Throughout the book of Revelation there are different events that sort of spring up obscurely. But recognizing that they are same events and then putting them together helps us understand the whole picture. The battle of Armageddon is mentioned in 3 places in the book of Revelation (16:13-21; 19:11-20; 20:7-10), and each passage provides details that the others don’t, but all 3 give a clear picture when put together, similar to the way the details of the 4 Gospels when they are combined.
Here is a sketch I made of the details of all three passages about Armageddon, in the order that they are to happen.
Satan goes and prepares the hearts of nations to oppose the Church, and the Antichrist and False Prophet develop an army and then gets them ready to attack the Church.
20:7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be loosed from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, that is, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.
16:13 And I saw, issuing from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet, three foul spirits like frogs; 14 for they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
19:19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who sits upon the horse and against his army.
**All the forces of evil get into position to surround God’s people throughout the world.
16:16** And they assembled them at the place which is called in Hebrew Armageddon.
20:9 And they marched up over the broad earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city;
**Then Christ comes with His armies of angels to defeat the army of the Devil once and for all.
19:11** Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. 13 He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. 15 From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords. 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”
16:17 The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
**Then the battle begins and Christ begins to destroy the army with massive hail.
16:20** And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found; 21 and great hailstones, heavy as a hundred-weight, dropped on men from heaven, till men cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful was that plague.
**Then the forces of Heaven capture the Antichrist and the False Prophet and cast them into the Lake of Fire.
19:20** And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur.
**Then the forces of Heaven kills all those who united with the Antichrist and leaves them for dead.
19:21** And the rest were slain by the sword of him who sits upon the horse, the sword that issues from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
**Then Christ brings fire down to consume all that is left and He then has Satan thrown into the Lake of Fire with the Antichrist and the False Prophet.
20:9** fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
