Millennialism, End Times, and the Reign of Christ (Part 08) - Revelation 20:2-3

For a master copy of the outline, click here: Millennialism D. Rev 20:2 i. Jesus Christ laid hold on the Devil and bound him for 1000 years. ii. In that Satan is the "prince of the power of the air" (Eph 2:2), the "prince of this world" (Joh 12:31), and the "god of this world" (2Co 4:4), the only angel that could lay hold on him and bind him would be the Lord Jesus Christ. iii. As was pointed out before, the book of Revelation is signified (Rev 1:1). a. Therefore, the 1000 years is not necessarily to be taken literally. b. The number 1000 is used figuratively elsewhere in scripture to refer to a large and complete number of something (Psa 50:10; Psa 105:8; 1Ch 16:15-17). iv. Either the 1000 years in which the devil is bound (Rev 20:2), or the 1000 years in which Christ reigns as king (Rev 20:4,6), or both, are NOT literal 1000 year periods. a. This must be the case in both the amillennial and the premillennial belief systems. (i) In the amillennial belief system, the 1000 year reign of Christ is the period between His resurrection and the Second Coming; and the 1000 years in which Satan is bound is the period between Christ's resurrection and "a little season" (Rev 20:3) before the Second Coming. Therefore the "thousand years" cannot both be the same period of time, and therefore cannot both be literal. (ii) In the premillennial belief system, the 1000 year reign of Christ is from the time Christ returns after the tribulation and puts down the kingdom of the antichrist and binds Satan, until the end of the world (he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet including death - 1Co 15:25-26 c/w Rev 20:14); and the 1000 years in which Satan is bound is the period from the beginning of Christ's reign until "a little season" (Rev 20:3) before the end of Christ's reign on earth when Satan will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:10) along with death and hell (Rev 20:14). Therefore the "thousand years" of Satan's binding and the "thousand years" of Christ's reign cannot both be the same period of time, and therefore cannot both be literal. (iii) Therefore in both systems, the "thousand years" in which Satan is bound is shorter than the "thousand years" in which Christ's reigns as king, which proves irrefutably that one or both of the "thousand years" are not literal. b. The "thousand years" during which Satan is bound is the period between the first and second comings of Christ, less "a little season" (Rev 20:3). v. The binding of Satan. a. When Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead He spoiled principalities and powers (Col 2:14-15). (i) Spoil v. - I. 1. a. trans. To strip or despoil (a dead or helpless person); esp. to strip (a defeated or slain enemy) of arms and armour. (ii) Satan is the prince of the wicked principalities and powers (Mat 12:24). (iii) Beelzebub - The Devil; a devil; (iv) Therefore, Jesus spoiled Satan by His death and resurrection. (v) Jesus destroyed Satan and his works through His death (Heb 2:14; 1Jo 3:8). b. In order for Jesus to spoil Satan, He must first have bound him (Mat 12:29). c. Though Satan is bound, he is not completely immobilized. (i) A person can be bound and yet still have a measure of liberty, such as in the following cases: (ii) Paul in Roman custody (Act 24:23-27) (iii) Joseph in prison in Egypt (Gen 39:22 c/w Gen 40:3-4) (iv) Marriage (1Co 7:27) d. This is the case with Satan; his binding is specific: "that he should deceive the nations no more" (Rev 20:3). (i) Prior to the coming of Christ, Satan had all the nations of the earth deceived with the exception of Israel. (ii) The nations are synonymous with the Gentiles in scripture (Rom 15:10 c/w Deu 32:43). (iii) Prior to the coming of Christ, God only dealt with one nation, Israel (Psa 147:19-20). (iv) All the other nations were left to walk in darkness (Eph 2:12; Eph 4:17-18). (v) At that time the Gentiles were worshiping devils (1Co 10:20). e. With Satan bound so that he could deceive the nations no more, the gospel then went to the Gentiles (Mat 28:19). (i) Prior to the coming of Christ, God turned a blind eye to Gentile idolatry, but now commands all men everywhere to repent (Act 14:16; Act 17:29-30). (ii) With Satan bound, the Gentiles can be converted from the grip of his power unto God (Act 26:18). E. Rev 20:3 i. Jesus cast Satan into the bottomless pit, shut him up, and set a seal on him when He bound him (Rev 20:3). a. The bottomless pit is hell which is described as being like a great furnace (Rev 9:2). b. The bottomless pit is a prison for the Devil (Rev 20:7). c. The bottomless pit is likely in the center of the earth (in the center of the earth, bodies would be suspended since the gravitational pull would be equal in all directions, hence it would be as if there was no bottom). d. Satan is the angel and king of the bottomless pit (Rev 9:11). e. Apollyon - The destroyer, a name given to the Devil f. He will be manifest in the beast which shall ascend out of the bottomless pit to make war with God's two witnesses and the saints (Rev 11:7; Rev 17:8). g. Like the beast, the Devil was (was in control of the world), and is not (he was destroyed and spoiled by Jesus and his doom is sealed - Heb 2:14; Col 2:14-15), and yet is (he still has power to tempt the saints - 1Pe 5:8-9 - and will be loosed to once more make war with God - Rev 20:7-9). ii. The effect of the binding was that Satan could "deceive the nations no more", as he had in the 4000 years prior to the gospel going to all nations (see notes on Rev 20:2). a. Though Satan cannot deceive the nations while he is bound, he can still tempt and try to destroy the saints individually (1Pe 5:8-9). b. Just as Paul could still receive friends while he was bound (Act 24:23,27) and he was still very effectual (in a positive way) in the lives of the saints while in prison (2Ti 2:9); the Devil likewise still has access to his friends, through whom he is still effectual (in a negative way) in the lives of saints while he is bound in prison. c. The Devil is not omnipresent like God, and therefore he can't tempt millions of children of God simultaneously by himself; but he has plenty of subordinate devils who can do his bidding. d. Just as Jesus was said to have baptized when it was actually His disciples who did so (Joh 3:22 c/w Joh 4:2), and Solomon was said to have offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep when it was obviously a multitude of priests who did it (1Ki 8:63), so Satan can be said to be tempting the saints when it is his minions who are actually carrying it out. iii. When the figurative 1000 years (see notes on Rev 20:2) are fulfilled, Satan is loosed for "a little season" to deceive the nations once more (Rev 20:3 c/w Rev 20:7-8). a. Season n. - II. gen. A time, period, occasion. 12. a. A particular time or period during which something happens, or which is defined by some characteristic feature or circumstance. b. for a season: for an indefinite period, for some time, for a while. b. The length of time for this "little season" is unknown, but in that it's a little season, it will be small in proportion to the length of the "thousand years." For a master copy of the outline, click here: Millennialism