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| Earl Gillespie |
Revelation 20: 1-3
Satan Bound
In chapter 19 we saw the great
white horse and his rider. In chapter 20 we will see the white Throne of
judgment and justice. The great white charger sets forth victorious power in
conquest and the final victory of the King of kings. The Great White Throne
denotes holiness, purity, justice and the final judgment of the wicked. The
great white charger going forth to conquer precedes the great White Throne, and
the victory of the rider prepares the way for judgment at the great white
Throne. This is an uncomplicated view of the scripture, following the flow of understanding the signs of Revelation.
In chapter 20 we will see four
outstanding things:
1. The binding of Satan. He will
be put in prison for one thousand years. We might say he will be placed In
God’s penitentiary (verses 1-3).
2. The reign of Christ and the
saints for one thousand glorious years (verses 4-6).
3. We see Satan loosed for a
little season to test those who will be born during the Millennium. He makes his last great drive to conquer the
world and overthrow God. He comes to utter defeat and meets his eternal doom
(verses 7-10).
4. In the last part of chapter 20
we see the judgment of the wicked dead. There are no righteous dead here - only
the wicked dead. The righteous have already been judged for their stewardship, and
have received their rewards at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
SATAN BOUND AND
PLACED IN PRISON FOR ONE THOUSAND YEARS
Revelation 20:1-3
1. And I saw an angel come down
from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2. And he laid hold on the
dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3. And cast him into the
bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should
deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and
after that he must be loosed a little season.
There is no need to speculate on the
identity of the angel in our first verse, it is the angel of the Lord. In
Revelation 1:18 we read that Jesus has the keys of hell and death, and He would
not trust those keys to anyone else. He personally binds Satan and
puts him into the bottomless pit, thus denoting by sealing the pit that the
government of Almighty God is behind the prison term of Satan, and will see to
it that he does not escape. The question that some will entertain is why not get rid of the Devil once and for all. Well read on, we will attempt to answer that question later. A point to remember is that after the Devil was cast out upon the earth he was given free reign to temp the saints.
There could be no Millennium, no
time of peace, as long as Satan is loose. We know that he is at present the god
of this age. the prince of the power of the air, walking about as a roaring
lion, and also disguised as a minister of righteousness, preaching in the pulpit and presenting himself as an angel of light.
This is the day of Satan. Evil men and seducers are waxing worse and worse. The church of the Laodiceans has entered into its final stage of apostasy and Jesus is appealing to the individual. Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh ( the temptation of the devil) will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame (the temptation of the devil) , and am set down with my Father in his throne. As
it was in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot, so shall it be before Jesus
returns to this earth to reign. There can be no peace on earth and good will
toward men until Satan is in the pit, securely locked away to deceive the nations
no more.
In verse 2 the angel “laid hold
on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a
thousand years.” In this verse Satan is called by four different names: The Dragon,
the Serpent, the Devil, and Satan. These names are given here in the same order
in which they are mentioned in Revelation 12:9.
- “Dragon” symbolizes cruelty.
- “Serpent” signifies guile and
cunning treachery.
- “Devil” is the deceiver, the
tempter of men.
- “Satan” means the opponent, the
enemy of Christ and His people.
Certainly we can learn much from these
names, Satan is a person, and not just an influence or principle of evil. John 6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
- Satan is the prince of the
power of the air (Ephesians 2:2);
- He is the god of this age (II
Corinthians 4:4)
- He is the ruler of the powers
of darkness (Ephesians 6:11,12).
The binding of Satan reveals to
us the fact that Almighty God can stop the devil at any given time, but he will not stop him until the appointed time. He can
stop him without armies. When the time comes, God will send one angel to seize,
handcuff and bind Satan and place him in chains in prison. This will take place after the Devil have complete his disgusting task.
The term “a thousand years” is
found six times in Revelation 20: Verses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Three of these times pertain to Satan, two
are connected with the reign of the saints with Jesus during the Millennium,
and the last one pertains to the time between the resurrection of the righteous
and the resurrection of the wicked.
There is no such thing in the
Word of God as a general resurrection. The dead in Christ will be raised first
(I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15). All six of the references above
have to do with the same thousand years, but in different relationship. This is not symbolic, but is
literally one thousand years according to Bible years of twelve months. (A
prophetic year is 360 days, not 365 days.)
In the last part of verse 3 we
read, “After that he (Satan) must be loosed a little season.” “After that”
refers to more than the thousand years Satan will spend in prison. It means
also after the destruction of Babylon; after the marriage of the Lamb; after
the battle of Armageddon here on earth; after the destruction of the Beast, the
false prophet and all who follow them; after the binding of Satan, sealing him
for one thousand years. After all these things, he must
be turned loose for a little season. Now feel free to ask, “Why? After Satan is
placed in prison, why would God release him?” Remember, Israel will be in her
own land for one thousand years in natural bodies. She will build houses and
inhabit them; she will plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof. She will
multiply by the millions.
It is the will of God that every soul is tested before it can enter the Kingdom of God. God does not deliver us from the test, he provides us with the needed resources to pass the test. Consider the test of Job. Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou (tested) considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Now consider the temptation of Jesus, Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of (by the) the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. The Devil is the tempter, and his job is to test us, and he is prepared to use every trick in the book to insure that we fail the test. 1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Our faith must be tested before we can enter into the Kingdom because when God restore the earth he do not want his children coming before him acting like the Devil.
It is the will of God that every soul is tested before it can enter the Kingdom of God. God does not deliver us from the test, he provides us with the needed resources to pass the test. Consider the test of Job. Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou (tested) considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Now consider the temptation of Jesus, Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of (by the) the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. The Devil is the tempter, and his job is to test us, and he is prepared to use every trick in the book to insure that we fail the test. 1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Our faith must be tested before we can enter into the Kingdom because when God restore the earth he do not want his children coming before him acting like the Devil.
Read and study all the verses in
Isaiah chapters 65 and 66. At the end of the Millennium there will be millions
on earth who have never been tempted. If God did not permit them to be tested as
were Adam and Eve, and you and I, then God would be a respecter of persons -
and we know He is not (Romans 2:11). The Devil will be allowed to complete his job, the same as Judas.
Therefore, all who are born during
the Millennium must be tempted. Satan will be loosed for a little season, but
the Word of God does not tell us how long the “little season” will be. To these
people, Satan will offer the same things he offered Adam and Eve in the Garden,
the same things he offered Jesus in Matthew 4 and Luke 4. In his last desperate
attempt to overthrow God’s throne and exalt himself above the stars of God
(Isaiah 14) Satan will offer power and glory with himself to all who will
follow him. Many (the number as the sands of the sea) will rally around Satan
in his last great attempt to take the Holy City, to crush the saints and Israel
in the earth that has been freed from the curse for one thousand years.
THE REIGN OF CHRIST DURING THE MILLENNIUM
Revelation 20:4-6:
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