What Revelation 20:10 Really Means: The End of Jewish Authority to Kill Christians

Does Revelation 20:10 Predict the End of Jewish Persecution of Christians?

Yes.
Revelation 20:10’s vision of Satan, the accuser, being cast into the lake of fire marks the end of the old covenant system’s power to judge, condemn, and execute followers of Jesus. After AD 70, the ruling Jews lost their God-given authority to put Christians to death. That power was buried in the rubble of Jerusalem.

Stephen: The First Martyr Under the Old Authority

Acts 7:57–58 shows Stephen as the first Christian martyr. The Sanhedrin stoned him for supposed blasphemy, using the Law of Moses (Leviticus 24:16) as their license to kill. They believed they were serving God, just as Jesus warned in John 16:2: “Whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.”
Plenty of others, including many unnamed saints, died at the hands of Jewish authorities or mobs before AD 70. James, son of Zebedee, was killed by Herod Agrippa to please the Jewish leaders. But that was not a Sanhedrin execution under the Law of Moses.

The Law of Moses: Why the Jews Had the Power

Before AD 70, the Jews could legally execute for “blasphemy” because God’s law gave them that right. The temple stood, the Sanhedrin judged, and the old covenant system was still in force. That is why Jewish persecution of Christians was so fierce. They thought they were righteous.

AD 70 Changed Everything: The Courtroom Closed

When Jerusalem fell, the temple and priesthood were wiped out. God removed the Jews’ legal, covenantal authority to kill for faith. The old accuser, the devil, lost his last courtroom.
No more trials. No more executions for heresy under Moses. That entire system, where believers were condemned in God’s name, was demolished in the ruins of Jerusalem.
After AD 70, there is no historical record of Jews killing Christians for their faith except during the brief Bar Kokhba revolt (AD 132–135). During that time, zealots—not the Sanhedrin or priesthood—targeted Jewish Christians who refused to join their rebellion.

Did the Millennium Mean No Persecution?

If Satan was “bound” so the gospel could spread, why were believers still persecuted? Why was Stephen stoned? Why did Paul hunt Christians?

The binding of Satan didn’t mean suffering or persecution ended. It meant the accuser couldn’t stop the gospel from reaching the nations. Satan still worked through the old system, and many believers suffered or died. But he couldn’t shut down the mission or silence the truth. The Jewish system’s days were numbered, and after AD 70, its power to kill in God’s name was gone for good. Satan was bound from destroying the mission, even though he kept attacking the messengers until the end.

Truth Be Told

Christians still face persecution and death around the world today. But never again by a Jewish court with God’s law as their authority.
The millennium was about gospel victory, not earthly comfort. Even with blood, pain, and opposition, the world got turned upside down and nothing could stop it.

No One Can Kill for God Again

After AD 70, the devil found new hosts. Rome picked up the sword, but it was never done in God’s name or by His covenant people. Centuries later, Muhammad and his followers murdered in the name of Allah, a false god with zero true authority from the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus. Nazis like Adolf Hitler, cult leaders, and terrorists all claimed righteousness. But all are counterfeits, frauds, and tools of the enemy, not God’s agents.

Prophecy Fulfilled: The Devil’s Courtroom Is Closed

After AD 70, there was never another case like Stephen’s. No more power. No more authority. No more blood shed in God’s name by His covenant people. The accuser’s reign ended in the rubble of Jerusalem.
Every murder since has been a counterfeit. Loud, violent, but powerless before the real Judge. The devil lost his last courtroom forever.
That is prophecy fulfilled. That is history. Whether the world likes it or not.

Still not convinced? Dive into my first blog for the receipts from the earliest Christians: Revelation was about their generation, not ours.