Featured The 1,000 years of Revelation 20. #4 When does this Binding of Satan Take Place?

Satan being bound is future, has not happened, as hamas has recently proved.

 

John 12:31-33, ". . . Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. . . ."

1 John 3:8, ". . . He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. . . ."

Romans 6:14, ". . . For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. . . ."

Ephesians 2;5, ". . . Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved; ) . . ."

 

Actually, the two words are not "virtually" the same.

The word in John 12:31 is ekballo (ἐκβάλλω), meaning "to throw out." The parsing is: verb, future passive indicative, 3rd plural. But then there is an adverb, exo (ἔξω), meaning "out." So the "casting out" of John 12:31 is very definite. The word is the one used for casting out demons.

In Revelation 20:3, the word is the same, but is an aorist active indicative, 3rd. singular (ἔβαλεν). Then, there is the preposition eis (εἰς), meaning "into," not "out." So the action in Revelation is the opposite of the action in John: "throw in" as opposed to "throw out."

There is no way exegetically to interpret John 12:31 as being the same as Rev. 20:3.

 

Will Satan have a literal chain around him,even though he is a spirit being?

Hamas is acting like rebellious humanity. They don't need Satan for that. They have their own sin nature. It is the Holy Spirit that holds back evil. Are you going to tell us that the Holy Spirit is no longer patrolling the earth and protecting the saints?

Read Job 1 and Job 2, then get back to us about how Satan can do anything he wants without being bound.

(Revelation 20:1-10)
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.

When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore. And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them. Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

 

εδησεν is not in the KJV a chain. What ever it is to tie down a spirit

 

So, he is bound. Unable to freely do whatsoever he wills. Correct?

(Revelation 20:1-10)
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. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

 

It seem so, per ". . . that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled . . . ."

 

Does anyone believe satan has not been deceiving the nations since the Garden of Eden?

The time will come, for 1000 years, that he will have zero influence on anyone. Today, he is the god of this age. Open your eyes!

 

Satan has been bound from deceiving all the nations. If he had not been bound, the Church would not be growing all around the world. The Church would be under great and severe persecution everywhere. Do you live in the US? Are you living in hiding from Satan who is living in an unbound state of free reign on the earth?

No, you're not. The Spirit of God is holding him back.
(2 Thessalonians 2:5-9)
Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.

 

Are you living under a rock? The devil is all over the place, deceiving nations. He has deceived a great part of that which calls itself the church. Apostasy is rampant. When he is bound, there will be worldwide, peace, plenty, and prosperity. The knowledge of the Lord shall fill all the earth, as the waters cover the sea. Even the horses bridles will have “Holiness to the Lord” written on them.

 

Are you living under persecution so you have to hide? If not, then Satan is bound. He isn't able to deceive the nations of the world and persecute the entire church. Read the text. It says he deceives all the nations.

Where does Revelation 20:1-10 say "The knowledge of the Lord shall fill all the earth, as the waters cover the sea. Even the horses bridles will have “Holiness to the Lord” written on them."???

 

Satan is alive and well and active right now. He is not bound.

It amazes me that even Sam Storms, an advocate of Charismatic Spiritual Warfare, believes Satan is bound.

 

So, Satan is actively devouring the church and all nations have been and are being rounded up to eradicate the elect? This must be a "yes" from you, and if not a yes, then Satan is bound and not being allowed to do whatsoever he wills against God's elect.

Satan is alive. Satan is active. Satan is bound. All three of these things are true.

It's interesting that you disagree with John Piper on this view.

 

The devil has always been limited, but he has never yet been bound, as he will be during the Millennial Reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is yet future.

 

Limited equals bound. He's unable to do what he wishes to do against the church (the woman of Revelation 12). Notice, in chapter 12, what he wanted to do to the church, but God would not let him. This is the binding of Satan. It is expressed in another way in Revelation 20. This is why Amillennialists see the 7 fold cycle in Revelation as John keeps going back to something and describing it again from a different angle.

Our main difference is that you are trying to read Revelation on a strict, linear, timeline while I am reading Revelation as a tapestry image in which John keeps circling back to an image to give us more details.

I understand your view. I was raised with it. It was hammered into me everytime Revelation was brought up. The problem was the fantastical hoop jumping and assumption making, outside of any context, that had to be done (such as forcing Zechariah 14 into the millennium). It begged a person to ignore practical reasoning and not ask questions of the text. I couldn't do that. I had to ask how a person made such a huge leap in logic. Ultimately, after holding dispensationalism for over 40 years, I had to let go of it. As I read scripture, reviewed commentaries, and listened to sermons of those who held anillennialism, I had to acknowledge that they are well reasoned and biblically supported interpretations of Revelation. The best part is the amazing blessing I received from Revelation. For the first time, I was encouraged by every line in the text. I saw its practical purpose for us today. It caused me to openly praise God for the great encouragement of Revelation. Before, in dispensationalism, I tended to see Revelation 4-19 as essentially irrelevant to the present since I imagined the church to be raptured away from that time and thus not important to me, other than to try scare the unsaved world into repentance. Now, I see the entire letter as practical to me right now. I see the spiritual war that Paul alluded to in Ephesians 6. I see my role in the fight. I find great encouragement to fight the good fight.

To go back to dispensationalism would be to go back to a view that is void of present blessing to the church. I cannot do that.

 

I don't believe that he is bound.

 

Does that mean you believe he is openly trying to kill you and wipe you out without the Holy Spirit restraining him?
Surely, if he is not bound, you have no protection from God on your behalf.

I recognize that God has graciously bound the devil and the Spirit of God protects and hedges me from what the devil truly desires to do to me.