Bound For One Thousand Years

Greetings everyone. Praise the Lord Jesus for the book of Revelation. Without it we would have been in the dark about many topics, especially this one. So what does Satan being bound for a thousand years mean? We must understand that the book of Revelation is written symbolically (Revelation 1:1), hence the name of the book “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”. It is written that way because this book reveals Jesus Christ to us. In order for us to obtain clarification on this topic, we must look for the answer within the bible itself (Isaiah 8:20). So lets begin by looking at Revelation chapter 20:

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.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. Revelation 20:1-3, 5-9

In Revelation 20:1, it states that an Angel came down from heaven having the key to the bottomless pit, bottomless pit meaning abyss or a vast area of emptiness like a wilderness. It further goes on to say that He had a great chain in His hand. The great chain would refer to the power of immobilizing Satan or keeping him from moving as freely as he once did. In verse 2 it states that He laid hold of the Devil and bound Him for one thousand years. Now this Angel has to be very powerful to lay hold of the Devil because even Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God (Luke 1:19), needed to be rescued when he was going to Daniel and he (Gabriel) needed help form the Saviour (Daniel 10:13). Only the most powerful Angel can bound Satan, this Angel is non other than Jesus Christ.

Verse 3 paraphrased states, “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:”, verse 1 till verse 3 are parallel to an event that happened on the Day of Atonement, “…and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.” Leviticus 16:21-22. The fit man that banished the goat into the wilderness was symbolic to the Angel that will bound Satan to earth when it becomes an uninhabited wilderness (Jeremiah 4:23-26). Lets look at Isaiah to back this up. This the Spirit of God prophesying through Isaiah about Satan’s outcome, “All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.”, this means that they buried after they have been killed; “But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.” Isaiah 14:18-20.

When Jesus comes the second time, He will come gloriously and a fire will devour before Him (Psalm 50:3). The wicked will be destroyed by the brightness of His coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8) and by the sharp sword out of His mouth (Revelation 19: 15) but the righteous dead shall rise and be transformed with the righteous living (1 Corinthians 15:52-53) and will meet the Lord in the air ( 1 Thessalonians 4:17); this is the beginning of the thousand years and the first resurrection. Satan and his angels will be here in this earth alone for one thousand years while Christ and the redeemed will judge the wicked for 1000 years, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” 1 Corinthians 4:5, “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? ” 1 Corinthians 6:2. This is the infamous Judgment Day. Judgment Day is one heavenly day (Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8) that Christ and the righteous will judge the wicked. The righteous is being judged at this moment. When Christ returns, the judgment would have already been set for the righteous and all of them will obtain a crown of righteousness and other treasures for their works by faith.

When the thousand years have expired, the scripture states that “…Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.” Revelation 20:7-8. How could this be if everyone else is dead? This is because the wicked will be risen by Christ when He returns after the thousand years have expired (Zechariah 14:4) to receive their judgment. Satan will use their anger they have towards Christ, especially those who thought they would have made it to heaven but didn’t (Matthew 7:21-23) (Revelation 22:14-15), and persuade  them into thinking that they can over come the city of God. But “…fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” Revelation 20:9. This is the lake of fire that will consume the wicked until they are gone.

I pray that the Spirit of the Lord may anoint our eyes so that we can see the Truth and teach it to others. May Jesus’ Spirit bless you all, guide us and protect us. Amen.