Understanding the Second Coming: Satan in Chains

Revelation 20 takes in three major events that are all yet to transpire. It

opens in the context of Armageddon, “the battle of the great day of God

Almighty” (Revelation 16:14, 16; 17:12-14; 19:11-21). The first few

verses deal with what is to happen, specifically to Satan, as the thousand-year

period or the millennium begins (see Revelation 20:1-3). The next few verses

touch on what will transpire during the millennium, focusing on the redeemed

in heaven with Christ (see Revelation 20:4-6). And then the last portion of this

chapter describes the events to transpire at the conclusion of the millennium

and actually open to our view a closing scene to the battle of Armageddon (see

Revelation 20:7-15).

The Bottomless Pit

We begin the chapter with the complete discomfiture of Satan and his vast

army (see Revelation 19:19-21). Christ has come forth with the armies of heaven

to deliver His people (see Revelation 19:11-16). All the wicked have been slain

and their dead bodies lie unburied for the fowl of the air (see Revelation 19:21).

The righteous are caught up in the air (translated) to reign with Christ for a thousand

years (see 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). The earth exists in a state of desolation

and waste (see Jeremiah 4:26-27). With all the righteous taken to heaven and all

the wicked slain, Satan is the only one left upon the earth. It is in this context that

we are shown an angel which comes 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).

Jesus Comes to The Earth

1 THESSALONIANS 4:16

2 THESSALONIANS 2:8; 2 PETER 3:10-13

The living and raised saints are caught up to Christ in the air.

1 THESSALONIANS 4:17

The dead in Christ are resurrected.

1 THESSALONIANS 4:16

All the wicked inhabitants of the earth are slain.

2 THESSALONIANS 2:8; 2 PETER 3:10-13

FIRST RESURRECTION

The redeemed of all ages live and reign with Christ for 1,000 years.

REVELATION 20:6

The wicked of all ages are dead.

REVELATION 19:21; 2 THESSALONIANS 2:8; JEREMIAH 25:33

The Earth lies desolate and uninhabited.

JEREMIAH 4:23-25

Satan’s work of deception and destruction is at an end; he is confined to earth.

Revelation 20:3

THE SECOND RESURRECTION

The Holy City New Jerusalem comes to earth.

REVELATION 20:9; 21:2

The wicked of all ages are resurrected; Satan marshals his forces against the city of God.

REVELATION 20:5-7

Satan and the wicked are destroyed by a consuming fire from God.

REVELATION 20:9

The earth is cleansed by fire and created new.

REVELATION 21:1-4; 2 PETER 3:10-13

What is this bottomless pit in which Satan is bound? The word bottomless

means “abyss.” It is similar to the description of this world just before creation

when “the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of

the deep” [or the “abyss”] (Genesis 1:2). This condition of the earth in Revelation

20 was prophesied by Jeremiah. “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form,

and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo,

they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man,

and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a

wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord,

and by His fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate;

yet will I not make a full end” (Jeremiah 4:23-27).

The context of the first few verses in Revelation 20 is the latter part of Revelation

19. There we find a description of the enemies of God being slain and thrown

into the “lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20). Isaiah captured

this same event when he spoke of the armies of the earth fighting against God

(see Isaiah 34:1-10). Picturing the earth during this time the prophet saw that “the

streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and

the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day;

the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie

waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever” (Isaiah 34:9-10). The prophet

called this the “indignation of the Lord. . .upon all nations” (Isaiah 34:2).

This understanding is quite different from some views. “The idea has become

popular that the millennium will be a golden age for planet Earth. According to these

Bible prophecies, however, the thousand years will be ‘the world’s millennial night’.”

Yet it is biblical and definitely does justice to the context of the chapter which will become even clearer as we continue.

Bound By a Chain

This background will help us to understand how it is that Satan is bound with

the “great chain” in the hand of the angel (see Revelation 20:1). We may be assured

that this is not a literal chain (see Jude 6). Satan is a spiritual being. Neither he nor

his evil angels can be bound by a literal chain (see Mark 5:1-4). Rather, Satan is

bound by a chain of circumstances. The earth is as a bottomless pit, without form

and void. It is desolate and broken down. All the inhabitants have been slain. The

righteous are in heaven with Christ for a thousand years. Satan is stuck here in this

dark and desolate pit with no one to deceive (see Revelation 20:3). He cannot go

to heaven to accuse God as he once did because he was

“cast down” at the cross (see Job 1:6-7; John 12:31-32;

Revelation 12:10). In his treatment of the Son of God,

Satan revealed himself as a murderer and a liar before

the onlooking universe (see John 8:44). At Calvary all

the sympathies of heaven were broken. In this sense

he is now restricted or “cast unto the earth” where all

his energy has been devoted to deceiving mankind (see

Revelation 12:12-13). Of all God’s vast creation, planet

earth is the one place where darkness reigns, where there

is still found sympathy for the devil (see John 3:19).

Yet now, at the second coming of Christ, Satan is

cast into the bottomless pit. As we just learned, the bottomless

pit is the earth, but in a state of desolation with

no living person present. The bottomless pit is a place

where Satan can “deceive the nations nor more, till the

thousand years should be fulfilled” (Revelation 20:3).

It is a desolate earth, a virtual “prison” for the enemy of

souls. The righteous are in heaven. The wicked are dead.

For a being whose only aim is to deceive, he is chained

up or imprisoned by these circumstances. Imprisoned,

that is, until “the thousand years are expired” and he is “loosed out of his prison”

and goes to “deceive the nations” one last time (see Revelation 20:7-8). During the

thousand years this earth is Satan’s Alcatraz—an isolated prison from the rest of the

universe where he has no one to tempt or harm.

In Heaven During the Millennium

The second section of this chapter opens up an important event that will take

place during the thousand years. John saw “thrones, and they sat upon them, and

judgment was given unto them” (Revelation 20:4). The word for judgment here is

krima in the Greek. As in Revelation 17:1 this word means “a decision.” It infers

the process of going to law or the function of the law. Those who sit on these

thrones are not executing judgment, rather they are making a decision of judgment

in relation to evidence.

Who are “they that sat” upon the thrones? In the context of this verse John also

mentions the “souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for

the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither

had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands” (Revelation 20:4).

It is obvious from the mark-of-the- beast context that these would include God’s

end-time people. Yet they also include other generations. Remember the “beast”

mentioned here, that they do not worship, is the one with seven heads and ten horns.

According to our last study in Revelation 17, this beast represents the manifestation

of Satan’s false worship throughout the history of the nations—from Babylon

past to the end of time. Those who have not worshiped this beast would include,

therefore, the faithful of all ages. Paul reminds all believers that they “shall judge

the world” and “angels” (1 Corinthians 6:2-3).

This judgment is not to decide who are to be saved and lost, for that has already

been decided. The importance of this judgment has to do with God Himself. Once

the redeemed arrive in heaven there will be inquiries concerning their loved ones.

Among the innumerable throng of the redeemed it may take some time to find those

whom they have longed to see in the kingdom of God. Eventually, though, we will

find that all who have been saved are there. Then questions concerning the missing

will arise. Before the final outpouring of God’s eternally destroying fire, those who

are saved must understand the reasons for the destruction of those who are lost. Perhaps

we will go all the way back to the beginning of the rebellion in heaven to see

the part that each angel played. Then down through the ages, the life of every person

will be considered. As evidenced by our study in Revelation 17, God’s people

will investigate the lives of the wicked and have a part in the process of God’s law

which will make a decision about their guilt. All this will take place in heaven during

the thousand years (see Revelation 20:4).

The Books of Heaven

The Bible is clear that God keeps a record of every aspect of life that has taken

place on planet earth. “While the world has been making history, heaven has been

keeping the records” (Stephen N. Haskell, Story of the Seer of Patmos, p. 330).

Christ tells us plainly that in “the day of judgment” we shall have to give an account

of every “idle word” that we have ever spoken (Matthew 12:36-37). Even

David understood that God had kept a record of our lives. Our tears and wanderings

are all recorded in a “book” (Psalm 56:8). And Malachi points to a “book of

remembrance” that was written before God (see Malachi 3:16).

“Besides the Book of Remembrance there is the Book of Life. This is referred

to many times in the Scriptures. On its pages appear the names of all who have

ever professed the name of Christ; all who have reached heavenward for help. The

Saviour gently rebuked His disciples when they gloried over the success which

attended their first missionary trip, and said, ‘Rather rejoice because your names

are written in heaven.’ Those who remain true to God have their names retained

in the Lamb’s Book of Life; and the good deeds from the Book of Remembrance

are written opposite these names. Those who grow weary, and turn away from the

Lord, have their names blotted out of the Book of Life; and at the same time, the

record in the Book of Remembrance shows only the sins they have committed.

When a name is enrolled in the Book of Life, the name of Christ is taken, and by

faith the works of Christ are imputed to the believer. When man forsakes Christ,

there is no record of good deeds, for without Him we can do nothing; and the page

is soon filled with a record of pride, selfishness, and all the works of the flesh. ‘For

he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.’

“On the other hand, when a soul repents, it matters not what the past record of

sin may have been, his name is entered on the pages of the Book of Life: those sins

are covered by the blood of Christ, and are finally blotted out” (Stephen N. Haskell,

Story of the Seer of Patmos, pp. 332-333).

The Millennium Ends

As the thousand-year period ends, John is shown that “Satan shall be loosed out

of his prison” (Revelation 20:7). This infers that there has been a resurrection of the

wicked. “The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished”

(Revelation 20:5). Remember, Satan has been imprisoned by a chain of circumstances.

He has been restricted by the fact that there has been nobody for him to deceive for

one thousand years. Now that the “nations which are in the four corners of the earth”

have been “delivered up” to life again, Satan is released from his chains and goes “out

to deceive” (Revelation 20:8, 13, NKJV). Through his falsehoods Satan marshals this

vast host “to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea” (Revelation 20:8).

Then ensues the consummation of the great battle of Armageddon. In this

mighty company there must be scores of the most experienced men of war. Masterminds

and hardened killers confederate together around the New Jerusalem walls.

They surround the “beloved city” of God (see Revelation 20:9). Then, in view of

the vast host of redeemed and the lost, there is seen a “great white throne” (Revelation

20:11). As all the wicked resurrected stand before God, books are opened (see

Revelation 20:12). Now the record of their lives comes into view before all (see

Ecclesiastics 12:14; Matthew 12:36-37). Their rejection of the “goodness of God,”

the evil they heaped upon God’s people, all this falls upon their heads like “coals of

fire” (Romans 12:20; 2:4). They have treasured up unto themselves “wrath against

the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render

to every man according to his deeds” (Romans 2:5-6).

“The dead were judged,” that is, “krino,” “punished,” according to “those things

which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12). All

the earth has delivered up her dead, whether they came from the “sea” or the

“grave” (see Revelation 20:13). The grave refers to the condition or the state

of people when they die. Contrary to popular belief, the Bible teaches that “the

dead know not any thing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5). When they go to the grave they do

not have eyes, ears, or any physical functions. In death, the “dust” from which

our bodies were formed, returns “to the earth as it was: and the spirit” returns to

God “who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). It was the dust and the spirit which God

combined to make a “living soul” (Genesis 2:7). The spirit is the “breath of life”

(Genesis 2:7). When the breath or spirit of life is separated from the body, the

soul ceases to exist. That is why the Bible nowhere speaks of an immortal soul. It

teaches that God alone has “immortality” (1 Timothy 6:16; 1:17).

Consider this in the example of the humanity of Jesus. When He died on

Friday He committed His spirit into God’s hands (see Luke 23:46). Three days

later, on resurrection morning (Sunday), He had not yet gone to heaven and

seen the Father (see John 20:17). Though Jesus was God, in His human form

He submitted to the laws of our humanity and waited in the grave until Sunday

morning when His Father sent an angel for Him (see Galatians 4:4; Matthew

28:2-6). Just so, the bodies of the dead in Christ wait in the grave for angels to be

sent for them at Christ’s second coming (see Matthew 24:31). Then the spirit or

breath of life from God will again be united with the dust of the earth and God’s

people will be raised to life as living souls. The Bible is clear that it is not until

then that they are given immortality (see 1 Corinthians 15:51-54). The wicked are

never given immortality and will eventually perish (see John 3:16; Obadiah 16).

In John 11, Jesus addressed the state of the dead with His disciples. There

Christ likened death to a sleep, as the Bible does over 60 different times (see John

11:11). Yet Christ’s disciples thought that Christ meant the act of resting in sleep,

and so Jesus clarified that He was speaking of death (see John 11:12-14). The idea

of death being a sleep allows all the information on this subject to make sense. If

the soul ceases to exist at death, with the body resting in the grave while the breath

or spirit returns to God, then the resurrection of the righteous at the second coming

of Christ makes sense. The apostle Paul speaks of our mortal bodies putting on

“immortality” at “the last trump” (1 Corinthians 15:52-53). He says we “shall not

all sleep,” or die, but that we “shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling

of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised

incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). If death is like

an unconscious sleep, then the idea of being “absent from the body,” and “present

with the Lord” makes sense (see 2 Corinthians 5:8). When the Christian dies, the

next thing he knows, the very next conscious moment of his life, is being caught up

to be with the Lord.

God’s prohibition concerning speaking to dead spirits also makes sense (see

Deuteronomy 18:10-12). Especially when we find that there is not one instance

in the 66 books of the Bible that would give positive credibility to the present-day

phenomenon of out-of-body experiences or communication with the dead. If what

the Bible says is true, then speaking to the dead is an illusion created by Satan

and his servants. As with King Saul, the spirits of devils conjured up by witches

can take the form of men, even righteous men, and predict future events (see 1

Samuel 28:7-19; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Revelation 16:13-14). The Bible says

that we should not seek after these familiar spirits but should seek unto God to

find out about the dead (see Isaiah 8:19).

The commonly quoted story of the rich man and Lazarus also makes sense.

It is a parable, the fifth in a line of parables warning the Jewish leaders of their

self-righteous ways (see Luke 15:1-3; 16:15). If taken literally, this story would

pose some serious problems, such as trying to fit millions of saved people into

“Abraham’s bosom,” or the spirits of dead people in heaven and hell with body

parts—eyes, fingers, and tongues—when we know that our bodies and parts

remain in the grave when we die (see Luke 16:19-31). God’s Word says that the

righteous do not go directly to heaven to view the sorrow and pain of their loved

ones on this earth. “For David is not ascended into the heavens” (Acts 2:34), and

neither have the majority of God’s people. Paul states clearly that the saved “sleep

in Jesus” and “that God will take back [to heaven] with Jesus those who have died

believing in Him” (1 Thessalonians 4:14, Good News Bible). To make sure we

don’t make the same mistake as the disciples did when Jesus spoke of Lazarus’s

death, Paul restates in a following verse, “the dead in Christ shall rise first” (1

Thessalonians 4:16). Thus, the Bible only mentions Enoch, Moses and Elijah and

some at Christ’s resurrection as going bodily to heaven before the final resurrection

of the saints (see Genesis 5:24; 2 Kings 2:11; Jude 9; Ephesians 4:8).

It also makes sense in relation to the wicked. God does not send them to a

place called “hell” when they die to burn and suffer there until the judgment, only

to pluck them out of hell, judge them lost and then put them back there. The wicked

are now in an unconscious sleep. They will be raised out of that sleep to face the

record of their works. This resurrection is called the “resurrection of damnation”

(see John 5:28-29). As they face the life record of their sin and guilt, they

experience the “second death” (Revelation 20:6, 14; 21:8). This is the death that

Jesus tasted for us all that we might have the free gift of eternal life (see Hebrews

2:9; Romans 6:23). The wicked will then face the selfishness of their sin in the very

presence of the purity of God (see Revelation 14:10). As they review the works

of their lives in relation to the goodness of God, they are overwhelmed with guilt

and anguish. The burning pain can only be relieved as they are finally consumed

to ashes in the “lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14; Malachi 4:1, 3). Then they will be

totally destroyed by “fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation

21:8). They will be “devoured” by the fire “in the presence of the holy angels, and

in the presence of the Lamb” (see Revelation 20:9; 14:10).

Speaking of the second coming of Christ, the thousand years of earth’s desolation,

and the final execution of judgment against the wicked, Isaiah prophesied,

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the

high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they

shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up

in prison, and after many days shall they be visited” (Isaiah 24:21-22). The word

visited here means “found wanting” (see marginal reading). This is the final decree

against all those who have refused the precious gift of forgiveness made possible

by the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.

Conclusion

The main subject of Revelation 20 is the millennium or “a thousand years”

(Revelation 20:2). During this time Satan will be shut up upon this earth as it lies

desolate and “broken down” (Jeremiah 4:26). He will have all this time to review

the influence of his sin and consider the result of the course he has pursued.

The redeemed will also have opportunity to review the effect of sin upon this

earth. Every question they have in regard to sin’s six-thousand-year reign and how

God has dealt with it will be answered. Why the flood? What about Uzzah? Why

isn’t my friend or family member here? This will be our opportunity to investigate

the heavenly records and understand everything that troubles or perplexes us.

Beyond this, Revelation 20 reveals the judgment or punishment, “krino,” of

evil (see Revelation 20:12-13). Every act of wickedness, every hurtful and unholy

deed has been faithfully recorded in heaven (see Revelation 20:12). The good news

is that we have a Savior. None need face the record of their sins without Christ

who is an advocate and propitiation “for the sins of the whole world” (see 1 John

2:1-2). We don’t have to reap the result of our selfishness, yet many will. If we fail

to avail ourselves of Jesus, if we reject His great sacrifice in our behalf, we treasure

up wrath which will be as coals of fire upon our heads in that day of wrath and

judgment. May the grace of God implant a steadfast purpose and earnest desire to

accept as our own the merits of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Understanding the Second Coming: Satan in Chains