Alan Dale Gross
Active Member
REVELATION CHAPTER 20, VERSE ONE;
- "And I saw an Angel Come Down from Heaven, having the key of the Bottomless Pit, and a great chain in His Hand."
"This is not indicating that John is now having a Vision of events that happen after the events in Chapter 19.
It is just the introduction of a New Vision that John was seeing. This is obviously a different Vision from chapter 19,
and there is nothing in Scripture which would have anyone believe the events in the Chapters of Revelation go along chronologically.
"In fact, the scriptures preclude it!
"The word Angel here is the Greek word [aggelos] meaning messenger,
and is the "exact" same word translated messenger throughout New Testament Scripture.
"This Messenger who Came Down from Heaven with the key and great Chain to Bind Satan is God's Anointed Messenger Jesus.
He is Messenger of the Covenant of God Who Comes Down from Heaven with the Power to Bind Satan
and by His death give that Covenant Strength (Philippians 2:6-8).
"It's the Fulfillment of Prophesy of the Messenger of God Who Redeems from the hand of the strong one, Satan.
This Messenger of the Covenant is the Deliverer Out of Zion
that was Prophesied to Come and Defeat Satan and Free his captivity, to Make Strong the New Covenant with Israel (see Jeremiah 31).
"Christ is the Prophesied Foundation of the Temple Rebuilding (building again), and the freeing of Israel.
But in order to do that, that great deceiver Satan had to first be Bound because he held the Captivity of the nations or Gentiles,
with the strong hand of death hanging over them. This Messenger Who Came Down from Heaven
with the Power to Bind Satan and Loose the peoples of the World, is Jesus Christ.
Malachi 3:1
- "...and the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly Come to His TEMPLE, even the Messenger of the Covenant,
- Whom ye delight in: behold He shall Come, saith the Lord of hosts."
is He Who Came Down from Heaven to Give the Covenant Strength. He Came with the Key and great Chain to Bind Satan in a bottomless pit (Abyss)
that he can no longer deceive the Gentiles by holding them in bondage. Revelation 20 is the Fulfillment of that Prophesy.
Isaiah the Prophet spoke of a Time when the Gentiles (nations) would come into the Kingdom of God (Isaiah 9:1; 42:6; 49:2,22)
when the Messiah Came to Free the captivity, and this was Fulfilled in Christ's First Advent.
"Therefore, the basis upon which the Gospel can now go unto all the nations of the World
is that Satan’s deceiving hold upon the Gentiles (same word as translated nations) has now been Bound
as All Power is Given to Christ to Evangelize the World.
Matthew 28:18-19;
- "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All Power is Given unto Me in Heaven and in Earth.
- "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:"
because he has been Bound from doing so. That Power of Binding is in the symbolism of the key, the chain, and the Messenger from Heaven.
"Satan cannot be Bound with a literal Chain of iron, or locked in a pit with a literal brass Key.
Satan is a spirit being which cannot be Bound by literal Earthly devices. The words here of keys and chains have Spiritual significance.
"The Lord uses these symbols to illustrate a Spiritual (but very literal) picture for us.
Once we understand this, half the battle of understanding His Word is won.
"The Key here symbolizes that the Messenger has the Right and Authority to Bind and Loose.
This messenger come down from Heaven holds the Right and Authority and means (key) to Bind Satan.
"The signification being, "He who holds the key, holds the Ability and Authority to Restrain Satan".
That would also include Ability and Authority to loose Satan from that Restraint.
"The Chain symbolizes the Power (force or energy required to do the Holding) to Bind.
It is a "Great" Chain because Satan is a spiritual and strong adversary (more on this later),
upon whom only a Great or Special Binding from God Will Restrain.
"The Bottomless Pit is symbolism for a boundless void (or Abyss) of nothingness.
Satan (a spirit being) is held in idleness, that his ability to deceive the gentiles
whom God is now also Drawing by the Pouring Out of the Holy Spirit, is stopped. i.e.,
Satan cannot prevent this while God's church is being Built.
"This First Verse of REVELATION 20, is opening the Vision with a Word Picture of the Time that the Messenger from God Came,
as Prophesied, to Restrain Satan, and Loose the Gentiles from his deceiving grip.
"This took place at Christ's First Advent.
"It is a opening image of the Promised Messenger [aggelos] of the Covenant Coming Down from Heaven
with the Authority, Means, and Power to Bind Satan, and free the nations.
This Messenger was Prophesied to come to His Temple and Bring Peace to Israel by Freeing the captivity and Reconciling them to God.
"The Mystery is Revealed that the Gentiles or nations were included in this Promise."
"And when we think about this honestly, what other Messenger Comes Down from Heaven with the Seal (security) of the Living God,
and the Keys to Bind and loose Satan, and has the Power to take hold of him, and Cast him in a void where he cannot deceive the nations for a period?
"Only the Lord Qualifies for such an impossible task! No one else has that kind of Power to overcome or conquer the strong one, Satan.
The Only messenger Who Came Down from Heaven to Bind Satan is Jesus Christ! And when we carefully study scripture
we see that this was precisely as was Prophesied. It was for this reason that The Messenger of the New Covenant was Prophesied to Come.
"To Ransom the prisoners from the hand of the strong one and Set Jacob Free. Jesus Fulfilled that Prophesy.
"We get a little better understanding about this in the next verse."