Satan Bound

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." (Revelation 20:1-3 - King James Version)

To us it may seem strange that a spirit being such as Satan can be bound. However, our view of the spirit world has been greatly influenced by movies and television. The Bible clearly teaches that spirit beings can be confined and prevented from going certain places.

The souls of those who have died without Christ are now confined to hell; they cannot escape. Jesus told us that the souls of those who are believers cannot enter hell; it is off limits to them. Daniel was told by an angel about how other wicked spirit beings, demons, had kept him from coming to Daniel.

So, at the beginning of the thousand year reign of Christ, Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit. This is the fourth passage in Revelation that refers to this pit. In previous lessons, I said that the bottomless pit is the center of the earth. This may be where hell is located.

John uses in the passage all four names that he uses for the devil in Revelation: the dragon, the old serpent, the Devil (which means accuser) and Satan (which means adversary). For a thousand years, man's accuser and adversary will be prevented from working upon this world. Then he will be allowed freedom again, a future blog will deal with that.