The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

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If the abyss is a real but temporary place in which Satan is bound, we might also ask whether the thousand-year period of his imprisonment should be understood literally or figuratively. The thousand years, or millennium, of Revelation 20 is a much-debated period of time. There are at least four major views:

Historic premillennialists believe the church will endure a period of tribulation before Christ returns to resurrect his church and reign on earth for a thousand years. This view is called “historic” because some early church fathers, such as Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, embraced it. For our purposes, it’s important to note that Satan is seen as bound at the beginning of the millennium and released for a short time at the end of it, before being cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7-10). So, Satan’s binding is future.

Dispensationalists also argue for a thousand-year reign of Christ on earth. Before this occurs, however, Christ resurrects and snatches away his church in an event known as the rapture. This sets off seven years of tribulation on earth, with Satan working through his primary human agents, the antichrist and false prophet, to foment great persecution of Jews and Gentiles who come to faith in Christ. At the end of the tribulation, Christ returns and binds Satan for a thousand years, releasing him briefly at the end before casting him into the lake of fire. As in historic premillennialism, Satan’s binding is future.

Amillennialists understand the thousand years in figurative terms. They see the millennium as the present day, with Christ reigning from heaven. He returns one future day to resurrect and judge all people. Meanwhile, Satan is bound – and has been bound since Christ’s first coming – in that he may deceive individuals but not nations. Satan’s binding is present, and it ends with the future return of Christ, who casts Satan into hell.

Postmillennialists believe the “thousand years” constitute a lengthy period of enormous blessing that precedes the second coming of Christ. Satan has been bound since the Incarnation, and he remains so, except for a brief period just prior to Christ’s return. Like amillennialists, postmillennialists hold that Satan remains active as a tempter to individuals, but he may not deceive the nations. Satan’s binding, therefore, is present.

While these four views differ in how they understand what the Book of Revelation teaches about the millennium and the binding of Satan, they all agree in a future, personal, glorious return of Jesus. They also agree that Christ binds, or will bind, Satan to limit his global influence. And, they agree Satan ultimately is cast into the lake of fire prepared for him and evil spirits (Matt. 25:41). 

Whether Satan is presently bound, or is bound at some future date, Revelation 20:7 records that he is “released from his prison.” Immediately, the unreformed tyrant returns to his life of crime, deceiving the nations so that a large number of followers – “like the sand of the sea” – rally behind him to surround “the encampment of the saints” (vv. 8-9). It is an ill-advised and short-lived rebellion, as the apostle John records:

Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them. The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (vv. 9-10).

The phrase “forever and ever” (Gr. eis tous aionas ton aionon) may be translated “into the ages of the ages.” We might compare it with Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:46 concerning the sheep and goats: “And they [goats] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” As we noted earlier, the English word “eternal” translates the Greek aionias, the same word used convey the idea of “forever and ever” in Revelation 20:10.

Some may argue that hell is a temporary place of punishment – leading ultimately to redemption or annihilation, and thus opening the door to a second chance beyond the grave. There’s another side to that coin. If the “eternal punishment” Jesus describes in the parable of the sheep and goats ends in annihilation, then “eternal life” just might not be eternal, either. But the writings of John, as well as other texts, argue against such a view. Further, the writer of Hebrews makes it abundantly clear that judgment, not a do-over, awaits all people after death (Heb. 9:27). 

The conditional view of eternal life leads to even greater concerns. Think about it: if Adam and Eve fell into sin despite living in the perfect environment of Eden, couldn’t glorified humans fall into sin and find themselves disqualified from the new heavens and earth? If so, the whole doctrine of eternal punishment vs. eternal life comes unraveled. So, it seems best to take the words of Jesus and John at face value regarding “eternal punishment” and the torment that lasts “forever and ever.”

In his commentary on Revelation, Kendall Easley makes a key point as we struggle with the chronology of Satan’s rise and fall as depicted in the Book of Revelation: “However we interpret the binding of Satan in Revelation 20, we must never lose the essential New Testament teaching that his primary defeat was in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and his ultimate defeat is already certain.”

The evil one’s temporary imprisonment in the abyss in some ways mirrors the intermediate confinement of wicked people in hades. When unbelievers die physically, their spirits depart to hades, where they are held until their future resurrection and arraignment before the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). Upon their conviction in final judgment, Christ banishes them to the lake of fire. 

Similarly, Satan experiences an intermediate state when imprisoned in the abyss. After a thousand years, he is released for a short time, proving his impenitent nature through immediate rebellion. Swiftly and decisively, he is cast into hell to be tormented night and day forever and ever. So, Satan and the wicked follow a similar pattern: rebellion, imprisonment, arraignment, conviction, sentencing. 

As Christ is the second Adam, freeing his followers from the bonds of death and hades, Satan is the prototype of wicked humans, experiencing temporary confinement in the underworld before being cast eternally, and irrevocably, into the lake of fire.

Next: The Lake of Fire and Sulfur (Rev. 20:10)