Revelation 20:1-10

Vision 8 The History of Satan and the People of God (Revelation 20:1).

This passage is of special significance. Indeed it determines greatly what view we take of the whole overall doctrine of the Second Coming.

Those who read it just as a continuation of chapter 19 glean from it the doctrine of the Millennium, which they see as a time of peace and plenty on earth as described in the Old Testament prophets. But the prophets had no conception of a life in another heavenly world and thus had to describe the eternal future in that way. Those who take this view apply all these prophecies literally without considering the fact that many of them transcend time (they speak of ‘everlasting); that the deeper inner meaning is drawn out constantly in the New Testament (e.g. Galatians 4:21; Hebrews 11:10); and that there is an application of those prophecies in Revelation.

Yet there is no detailed description of such an age in this narrative, nor any mention of it anywhere else in the New Testament. Neither Jesus or Paul ever refer to the idea of a millennium. In this chapter the concentration is rather on the binding of Satan and the triumph of the people of God.

In fact a careful examination of the narrative here points to the fact that this is a new vision, and that it is a brief summary of the history of Satan and the people of God from the time of the triumph of the Man-child when He takes His place on the Father's throne as judge and ruler of all (Revelation 12:3), until the final establishment of God's everlasting kingdom. It is a new vision summarising salvation history as already revealed in earlier visions.

Consider the parallels with previous descriptions.

1) Satan is depicted as bound. Here we can compare Mark 3:27; Luke 11:22 along with all verses which refer to the defeat of Satan which was accomplished by Christ's presence on earth, and through His cross and resurrection (e.g. Colossians 2:15; see below for further detail). Consider also the reference to the present ‘restraint' of Satan in 2 Thessalonians 2:5.

2) The purpose of this restraint here is so that he may not be able to deceive the nations. The New Testament constantly refers to the fact that he is the deceiver of men. He is indeed the arch deceiver. Throughout the Old Testament period, with rare exceptions, the nations had been kept in darkness, deceived by Satan. But now those who walk in darkness will see a great light through the coming of the man child (Matthew 4:14). On those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death light will spring up (see also Isaiah 9:2). For them at least the deceiver will be able to deceive no more. He is ‘chained'.

3) He will be released for a little while at the end of the age - compare Revelation 17:8; Revelation 17:12; Revelation 9:2. See also Revelation 12:12. The same period is surely being referred to. We cannot expect two releases.

He will take up his position on the sand of the sea in order to enlist the nations in his activities (Revelation 13:1 a; compare Revelation 20:8)

4) He will finally be brought into judgment. Compare Revelation 19:11. Along with the Beast and the False Prophet (Revelation 19:20) he is cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10).

5) Meanwhile the people of God will triumph.

Thus this is the heavenly counterpart of all that is happening on earth. It is not all in the future. Indeed, apart from Satan's short time, it is for us mainly in the past. It has been and is happening.

This also ties in with another remarkable fact. In Revelation 12 we read of ‘the great Dragon who was cast down, the old Serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world', who was ‘cast down to earth, and his angels were cast down with him' (Revelation 12:9). The chapter then delineates his activity as he seeks to destroy the man child, Jesus Christ, and then the ‘woman' who bore Him (Israel), finally turning his attention to ‘the rest of her seed'. But the interesting fact to note is that he is then only once more mentioned and that in an incident that refers to the final days of the age (Revelation 16:13). While his influence is undoubtedly felt, there is no mention of him (other than in Revelation 16:13), from Revelation 13:1 to Revelation 19:21. But now suddenly the idea is taken up again using exactly the same terminology as in chapter 12, for the writer again refers to ‘the Dragon, the old Serpent, who is the Devil and Satan' (Revelation 20:2; compare Revelation 12:9), thus connecting back to chapter 12. It is as though chapter 20 is taking over where chapter 12 finished off. Thus chapter 20 continues the story of Satan from chapter 12, with what comes between being, as it were, a parenthesis (as will be seen we could move directly from chapter 12 to chapter 20). We ask at the end of chapter 12, what happened to Satan? Why is he not mentioned in what follows? We are given the answer in chapter 20. He was enchained in the Abyss, from which he was released in Revelation 9:1. The ‘1000 years' thus occurs between his binding in the days of Jesus and the early church, and his release in Revelation 9:1. This is then followed by the short time that he is allowed in order to do his worst.

Let us consider this in more detail.