The Removal of Satan

When we think of Christ’s kingdom, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the peace or joy we will experience as its citizens. But for that bliss to be possible, Christ must deal first with His enemies. Revelation 20:1–3 records:

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

The first matter for the King’s attention as He sets up His kingdom is the confinement of the chief rebel. The removal of “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), “the prince of the power of the air . . . the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2), will dramatically change the world. By this time, God will have destroyed all human mutineers. Those who survived the Tribulation judgments will have been executed at Armageddon (Revelation 19:11–21) or the goat judgment (Matthew 25:41–46). The ringleaders of the worldwide revolt, the beast (Antichrist) and the false prophet, will have been thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20). The final step in preparation for the kingdom will be the removal of Satan and his demon hosts, so that Christ reigns without the opposition of supernatural enemies.

The Chronology of the Kingdom

As it frequently does in Revelation (e.g., 6:1; 7:2; 8:2; 9:1; 10:1; 13:1; 14:1; 15:1; 16:13; 17:3; 19:11; 21:1), the phrase “then I saw” (Revelation 20:1) indicates chronological progression. The location of this passage in the chronological flow of Revelation is consistent with a premillennial view of the kingdom. After the Tribulation (chapters 6–19) Christ will return (19:11–21) and set up His kingdom (20:1–10), which will be followed by the new heavens and the new earth (21:1). Thus, the millennial kingdom comes after Christ’s second coming but before the establishing of the new heavens and the new earth. Amillennialist Anthony Hoekema has to acknowledge that, taken at face value, the chronology of Revelation supports premillennialism. He writes:

Let us assume, for example, that the book of Revelation is to be interpreted in an exclusively futuristic sense. . . . Let us further assume that what is presented in Revelation 20 must necessarily follow, in chronological order, what was described in chapter 19. We are then virtually compelled to believe that the thousand-year reign depicted in 20:4 must come after the return of Christ described in 19:11.^[1](“Amillennialism,” The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views, ed. Robert G. Clouse [Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1977], 156

The passage clearly teaches that Christ’s return precedes the millennial kingdom—a scenario incompatible with both postmillennialism and amillennialism, but exactly what premillennialism teaches. To get around the difficulty which Revelation’s chronology poses for their views, postmillennialists and amillennialists must deny that chapter 20 follows chapter 19 chronologically. But such a denial ignores the chronological significance of the phrase “then I saw,” as noted above. It also ignores the continuity of the context: Having dealt with Antichrist and the false prophet in chapter 19, Christ deals with their evil master, Satan, in chapter 20. Why reject such an obvious chronology? It is apparently done for no other reason than to eliminate premillennialism, not because there is any justification in Scripture.

The Binding of Satan

The identity of the angel whom John saw coming down from heaven to bind Satan (Revelation 20:1) is not disclosed, but he may be Michael the archangel (Revelation 12:7; cf. Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9). Whoever the angel is, he possesses great power. He is sent to earth with a specific agenda: to seize Satan for the thousand-year duration of the kingdom, bind him, cast him into the abyss and seal it—and then release him at the end of the thousand years.

The term “abyss” appears seven times in Revelation (e.g., 9:1, 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8), always in reference to the temporary place of incarceration for certain demons. The abyss is not their final place of punishment; the lake of fire is (Matthew 25:41). Nevertheless, it is a place of torment to which the demons fear to be sent (Luke 8:31). The prisoners in the abyss are among the most vile and evil of all demons and include the “spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah” (1 Peter 3:19–20). Those demons, who attempted to corrupt the human race by cohabiting with human women (Genesis 6:1–4), will never be released (Jude 6). They will be transferred directly from their temporary incarceration in the abyss to their permanent place of punishment, the lake of fire (cf. Isaiah 24:21–22). Other demons sentenced to the abyss will be released at the fifth trumpet judgment to torment sinners (Revelation 9:1–12).

The key given to the angel by God (Revelation 20:1) signifies his delegated authority (cf. Revelation 9:1); he has the power to open the abyss, and then to shut it after casting Satan inside. The metaphor of binding demons with a chain also appears in Jude 6. This chain is formidable, given Satan’s greatness and power as the highest created being (cf. Ezekiel 28:14). The angel “laid hold of” Satan (Revelation 20:2), who is unmistakably identified by the same four titles given him in 12:9. First, he is called “the dragon,” a title that emphasizes his bestial nature, ferociousness, and oppressive cruelty (cf. Revelation 12:3, 4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17; 13:1, 2, 4; 16:13). The title “serpent of old” hearkens back to the Garden of Eden and Satan’s temptation of Eve (Genesis 3:1–6). Diabolos, translated as “devil,” means “slanderer” or “malicious gossip” (cf. 1 Timothy 3:11; 2 Timothy 3:3; Titus 2:3)—an appropriate title for “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). Satan is a malignant liar; in fact, he is “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Satanas, translated “Satan,” and its Hebrew root satan are used fifty-three times in Scripture. Both words mean “adversary,” since Satan opposes God, Christ, and all believers.

The Duration of the Incarceration

The period for which Satan will be bound is defined as “a thousand years” (Revelation 20:2), the first of six precise and important references to the duration of the millennium (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). Satan’s binding poses a serious difficulty for both postmillennialists and amillennialists. Amillennialists argue that Satan is already bound, since, as explained in a previous post, they believe we are in the millennium now (though they do not view it as one thousand literal years in length). Many postmillennialists also believe that Satan is presently bound, because otherwise it is difficult to see how the church could usher in the millennium.

Yet the biblical description of Satan’s activity in this present age makes it impossible to believe he has already been bound. Satan presently continues to plant lying hypocrites in the church (Acts 5:3), scheme against believers (2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 6:11), disguise himself as an angel of light to deceive people (2 Corinthians 11:14), attack believers (2 Corinthians 12:7; Ephesians 4:27), hinder those in the ministry (1 Thessalonians 2:18), and lead believers astray (1 Timothy 5:15); and he must be resisted (James 4:7).

Amillennialists and postmillennialists generally argue that Satan was bound at the Crucifixion, and that his binding simply means that he can no longer deceive the nations and keep them from learning God’s truth (e.g., Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979], 228). But Satan did not keep the Gentile nations from the knowledge of the truth before his alleged binding at the cross. The Egyptians heard about the true God from Joseph, and from the Israelites during the four hundred years they lived in Egypt. The Assyrians of Nineveh not only heard the truth from Jonah but also repented (Matthew 12:41). The Queen of Sheba heard about the true God from Solomon (1 Kings 10:1–9); the Babylonians from Daniel and his Jewish friends; and the Persians from Esther, Mordecai, and Nehemiah. Further, in what sense is Satan restrained from deceiving the nations in the present age, since he blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4), “is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2), and holds unbelievers captive (2 Timothy 2:26) in his kingdom (Colossians 1:13)?

The testimony of Scripture is that Satan is anything but bound in this present age—but he will be during the coming earthly kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only then that he will be incarcerated in the abyss, which will be shut and sealed so that his lying influence will be removed from the nations. His activity in the world will not merely be restricted or restrained but totally curtailed; he will not be permitted to affect the world in any way in that period.

The binding of Satan will end all kinds of earthly evil, but it is merely a precursor to Christ’s reign. The millennial kingdom is marked not merely the absence of Satan, but by the physical presence of Christ. That’s the true blessing of the millennium, and that’s what we’ll cover next time.