Tagged: Satan bound 1000 years

Satan and the Abyss

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. 

Before Satan is cast into the lake of fire to be tormented forever, he’s imprisoned for a thousand years, as Revelation 20:1-3 records:

“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 cases, it refers to a place of temporary confinement for certain evil spirits. For example, in Jesus’ encounter with Legion, the demons who possess the Gerasene man beg Jesus not to banish them to the abyss – no doubt a place evil spirits fear (Luke 8:31). 

Continue reading →

For 1,000 years – Revelation 20:2-3

Previously: He seized the dragon – Revelation 20:2-3 

The scripture

Rev. 20:2 – He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years. 3 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 1,000 years were completed. After that, he must be released for a short time. (HCSB)

For 1,000 years

Revelation 20 is the only place in scripture that refers to 1,000 years during which Satan is bound. Few time periods in the Bible have been written about with so much conviction – and debated with so much contention. Before surveying the various views of the “millennium,” let’s look at every reference to 1,000 years in this chapter:

  • Verse 2 – The angel seizes the Devil and binds him in the abyss for 1,000 years.
  • Verse 3 – Satan is not able to deceive the nations until the 1,000 years are completed.
  • Verse 4 – People that have been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of God’s word, and who have not worshiped the beast or his image, and who have not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands, come to life and reign with the Messiah for 1,000 years.
  • Verse 5 – The rest of the dead do not come to life until the 1,000 years are completed.
  • Verse 6 – Those who share in the first resurrection will reign with Jesus for 1,000 years.
  • Verse 7 – After the 1,000 years are completed, Satan is released from the abyss and goes out to deceive the nations.

Are we to take the 1,000 years literally or figuratively? Is this period of time past, present, or future? And are there other passages of scripture that shed light on the meaning of the millennium? With respect to these questions, there are three general schools of thought. But before we briefly survey them, let’s begin with some general observations about these verses.
Continue reading →