The Millennium

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

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.

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The Abyss

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

Before Satan is cast into the lake of fire to be tormented forever, Revelation 20:1-3 details a thousand-year imprisonment:

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the abyss, closed it, and put a seal on it so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were completed. After that, he must be released for a short time. 

The Greek word abyssos, rendered “abyss,” “pit,” or “bottomless pit” in many English translations, occurs nine times in the New Testament. In most occurrences, it refers to a place of temporary confinement for certain evil spirits. For example, in Jesus’ encounter with “Legion,” the demons who possess this Gerasene man beg Jesus not to banish them to the abyss – no doubt a place evil spirits fear (Luke 8:31). 

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Why Is Hell Eternal?

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

We should clarify that only God is truly eternal. That is, only the uncreated Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share the unique attribute of being without beginning or end. So, when we look at passages like Matthew 25:41, in what sense are we to understand the final destinies of the sheep, goats, Satan, and evil spirits as eternal? 

The Greek word rendered “eternal” in this passage is aionios, which generally means “without beginning or end, that which always has been and always will be.” In some contexts, aionios may be rendered “without beginning” or “without end, never to cease, everlasting.” R. T. France, in his commentary on Matthew, says the word “may convey either the sense of ‘going on forever’ or that of ‘belonging to the age to come.’”

Since these places of blessing and punishment are “prepared,” they must have come into existence; that is, God must have created them. Surely, the earthly kingdom in which the sheep enjoy everlasting life, and into which God brings his heavenly throne, is created (and ultimately renovated; cf. 2 Pet. 3:10-13). So, the concept of “eternal life” means not only “without end;” it also signifies a quality of life as we enjoy unbroken fellowship with the one who truly is eternal. 

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Our Once and Future Glory

This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com. 

The Bible speaks of at least four phases of glory for Christians: glory now, glory in death, glory in resurrection, and glory in the restoration of the cosmos. We explore the first two in this column, and the final two in future columns.

Glory now

It’s our Christian duty to glorify God. As we honor the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for their divine attributes and redemptive work, we replicate God’s glory in our thoughts, words, and deeds. 

This requires more than mere reflection. Consider how the moon, which generates no light, reflects the brilliance of the sun. In a similar way, all of God’s creation declares his glory, including his eternal power and divine nature (Ps. 19:1; Rom. 1:20). 

But followers of Jesus have something more: the Shekinah glory residing in our human spirits; thus, we radiate God’s eternal light from within. This should lead us to shine in such a way that others see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16).

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The Eternal Fire

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

In Matthew 24-25, Jesus is on the Mount of Olives with his disciples, responding to their questions about the future destruction of the temple and the end of the age. He closes out the so-called Olivet Discourse with the parable of the sheep and goats, revealing the preparation of a final place of judgment for Satan, evil spirits, and unbelievers.

A key verse reads: “Then he [the Son of Man] will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!’” (Matt. 25:41).

The central theme of this parable is that Christ separates believers from unbelievers at his return. Jesus also makes it clear that all angelic and human rebels are banished from his presence. This passage deals with human works, not as a condition of salvation, but as evidence of one’s regard for the Son of Man.

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