END OF TIME PROPHECIES 223

                                          Revelation  20v1-3

The flow of thought can be summed up like this:

1. Aspects of judgment in the Millennium        chapter 20v1-15.
2. A snapshot of the eternal state                       chapter 21v1-8.
3. Aspects of blessing in the Millennium          chapter 21v9- chapter 22v5.

In the subsection chapter 20v1-10, we can further divide it as follows:

• The restraint of Satan                                    verses 1-3
• The reign of Christ                                        verses 4-6
• The revolt of the living millenarians             verses 7-10
• The retribution of the unregenerate dead       verses 11-15          

Each of these sections contain massive information which needs to be unravelled for our learning. They all deal with those aspects of the millennium involving Divine suppression of evil. At that time evil will be put down, and righteousness will reign.

The restraint of Satan:

Clearly the first person to be judged is Satan, the root cause of all the trouble. Some have categorized this as the greatest arrest of all time! How do you apprehend the arch demon spirit? The answer is an angel sent from God, ready, prepared for the task, and commissioned for this important mission. Note the progressive downward path of Satan, and what a fall it was; His aim was to rise higher (Isaiah14v13-15), in fact he fell to the lowest, the fate of all who exalt themselves before God. He fell from heaven to space( Isaiah 14v12); he fell from space to the earth( Revelation 12v7-8); he fell from earth to the abyss( Revelation 20v2-3); then he goes from the abyss to the lake of fire his eternal imprisonment (Revelation 20v10); and all this from the highest pinnacle of any created being

(Ezekiel 28v14-15).

The angel is equipped with the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand; now these are of course symbolic so that we can visualise it, but the action is literal, the binding of Satan and his free demonic forces. We should note the clarity of the detail of this incarceration of Satan.

• Firstly a reminder of who he is.  The dragon (referred to throughout the book 13 times, and has been involved in world corruption from the very start.)   Then he is confirmed as "that old serpent", yes the same as was in Eden at the start( here we see the coherency of the bible linking Revelation 20 with Genesis 3). He is also the devil.....the false accuser, the liar, the perverter of all truth, the father of lies; then he is also Satan.....the adversary, the enemy of God and of all mankind.
• The angel laid hold on him ( krateo......used strength, seized).
• The angel bound him a thousand years; relieved him of liberty, totally restrained him from any action; since most of Satan's work was cerebral propaganda this was some binding.
• The angel cast him into the abyss; (ballo.......to hurl or throw.)
• The angel shut him up (klieo autos............ carries the idea of solitary confinement).
• The angel set a seal on him;   (sphragizo epeino...... the Divine seal placed above him).
• And the purpose of all this?   "That he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years be fulfilled."   The idea being promoted by some expositors that Satan is bound today is preposterous, and flies in the face of common sense. This can only be future, since anyone looking at the world today knows that Satan is very much involved in the deception of the nations.
• Afterward he must be loosed a little season; God has a purpose in this, as we shall see later.

Meanwhile let us put our trust in the Lord who can at will restrain and constrain the most powerful of beings!

Amazon bookshelf   George Neilly