7. How Is Revelation 20:1‑10
to Be
Understood?
What the Binding of Satan Means
In Revelation 20:1‑3 we are told that an angel,
that
is, a God‑sent messenger, came down from Heaven, having the key of the
abyss and a great chain to bind Satan. Who this God-sent messenger was
we learn
from Revelation 1:18 where the Son of God says that He has the keys of
hell
and of death, i.e., the power over Satan and eternal death. And the
chain by
which Satan is bound cannot be a chain of iron or brass because Satan
is a
spirit and a spirit cannot be bound by such a chain. This, therefore,
is
figurative language and means that Satan has been deprived of his
power. Other
passages of the Bible tell us in plain words what here is indicated in
a figure
of speech, to wit, that Jesus the Son of God was sent to this earth by
the
Father to "destroy the works of the
devil" (1 John 3:8) - to crush the serpent's head (Gen. 3:15) -
that
He, the Stronger One, overcame the strong one, Satan, and bound him
(Matt.
This was fully accomplished when by the vicarious
death of
Christ for our sins the power of the devil was taken from him (Heb.
It must not be overlooked that this binding of Satan, his being cast into the bottomless pit, etc., is not to be understood absolutely, as if Satan were banished from this earth so that he could no longer approach men for the sake of tempting them. We are warned: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world" (1 Pet. 5:8-9). According to this plain statement of Peter we and all our brethren, as long as we are yet in the world, are exposed to the trials and temptations of Satan and all the evil spirits (cf. Eph. 2:2; 6:12ff). And as we learn from 1 Thessalonians 5:1‑3, this warning and exhortation to constant vigilance is meant for all Christians of all times, unto the day when the Lord will come to judge the world; for this "Day of the Lord" is none other than the great Judgment Day, the day of our "gathering together unto Him" "ever to be with the Lord" (2 Thess. 2:1; 1 Thess. 4:17). Satan therefore will not be bound in a future time, but has been bound already. The judgment over Satan and his angels will be fully executed on the Last Day (Rev. 20:10). Unto that day he is bound, relatively speaking.
The Loosing of Satan
A short time before the end comes Satan "must be loosed a little season," and he will 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. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city” (Rev. 20:3, 8-9). This will happen "when the thousand years are expired" (v. 7), that is, when that time during which Satan had not the power to stop the spreading of the Gospel will come to its end. Then he shall "be loosed for a little season," namely, insomuch as he then will not be hindered by God from exciting to hostile activity the enemies of "the camp of the saints, the beloved city," that is, the enemies of the "church of the firstborn" (Heb. 12:22-23; cf. Psa. 46:4‑6). This assault against the camp of the saints is made by all the enemies of Christ. "Gog and Magog" are evidently, as in Ezekiel 38 and 39, symbolical names or terms for all powers "in the four quarters of the earth" that are enemies of the true church of the living God.
How is this assault made? Not only by bloody
persecutions by
means of fire and sword, but also by false prophets. By false prophets
more
harm is done to the church than by bloody persecutions, as Satan is
well aware
of. The assault of false teachers is made upon the heart of Christ's
Gospel,
namely, upon the fundamental Christian doctrine, the doctrine of the
Vicarious
satisfaction for our sins by the suffering and the death of the Son of
God
(Rom.
Oh, let us be vigilant and keep our eyes open in order that we may not neglect to see the signs of the time in which we are living! (Matthew 16:2-3).
The Length of the "Little
Season"
How long this "little
season" will last during which Satan will be loosed no man is able
to tell
(Acts 1:7; Mark 13:32‑37); for with God "one day is as a
thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day" (2 Pet. 3:8). But since in Revelation 20:2-3 the "thousand
years,” denoting a long
period, and the "little
season," denoting a short time, are placed in contrast to each
other,
so much seems to be clear that the "little
season" will not last long, at least by far not as long as the
first
period, the "thousand years."
According to the distinct declaration of our Lord that no man knows
the day or the hour when the end will come
(Mark 13:32‑37; Acts 1:7), we can only regard the "thousand
years" as a symbolical number denoting a long
time. As we have already studied, this time began with the binding of
Satan
when Christ overcame him (Matt.
It might be objected that in this same book of
Revelation
(chapter 5:8‑10), we are told how the four and twenty elders in Heaven
praise the Lord, saying: "Thou hast
made us unto our God kings and priests; and
we shall reign on the earth." But this text itself is clear
enough to preclude a reigning on this present earth; for it
strictly
distinguishes between the present state of the elders: "Thou
hast made us unto
God kings and priests," and their future state: "we shall reign on the
earth." This future "reigning
on the earth" will not be done on this present earth, but
on
the "new earth" (Rev.
22:3-5) which God will make after the destruction of
this present
world (Rev. 21:1).
This is in complete harmony with the promise of
the Lord: "Ye which have followed Me, in the
regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory,
ye also
shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
"But the rest of the
dead lived not again
until the thousand years were finished" (Rev. 20:5). This is the
fate
of those who died in unbelief, who had no part in the spiritual
resurrection;
they are NOT "living with Christ,
our Life, but are in death, "death feedeth on them" (Psa.
49:14); they are kept in prison (1 Pet.
The above interpretation of Revelation 20 is based
on, and
is in full accord with, each and every word of Scripture pertaining to
this
matter, and therefore we are certain of its being correct. Whereas the
misinterpretation of the millenarians not only disagrees with but
directly
contradicts, all plain Bible‑passages on this subject, as shown above.
Let us keep in mind that the Holy Spirit explains Himself in His Word,
and that
one passage (Revelation 20), and especially figurative expressions,
must be
interpreted in harmony with all others; for God does not contradict
Himself.
All false explanations not only make the Bible unclear, but also
pervert it (2
Pet.
Go To Mill 8: Effect
Millennialism has on the
Christian Hope
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Millennialism