Satan Bound

Rev. 20:1-3 (ESV)
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. [2] And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, [3] and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. “
“And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”
Here is made reference to the third chapter of Genesis, the serpent there is now identified with Satan, Genesis 3 doesn’t do this. In any case the serpent who was left to crawl on his belly and eat the dust of the earth, is now bound for a thousand years. The text gives not time frame for when this happens. But the earliest commentaries place this event with the incarnation of Jesus, and not without good reason. He is thrown into the pit so that he will not deceive the nations any longer, at the same time the Gospel is unleashed in the world and people from every nation hear it in their own tongue. (Acts chapter 2) Actas chapter two is interesting in that Luke inspired by the Holy Spirit indicates that just in that first great sermon of Pentecost all the nations under heaven have heard the gospel. The prophecies are all fulfilled and await the great consummation of the coming of the Lord. Missionary activity is not about ushering in the apocalypse. That will come in due time.
For a thousand years. It is peculiar, I remember a few years ago having a bit of a debate with some man you didn’t believe Jesus was ready to come back because Satan had not yet been bound for a thousand years. It was one of those conversations that you can tell is going no where fast. But he says just look at the world, is Satan bound, when there is all this evil? Who says we need Satan to be evil? That is my question. We are quite capable of evil ourselves without Satan’s help. And to say Satan himself is bound does not mean all his demons, his henchmen are bound with him. Mafia Dons have been known to operate their business quite well from a prison cell. But where the nations hear the gospel and come to faith there is evidence that Satan is bound. And this happens every day, and it has been for some 2000 years now.
Yes that is right, some two thousand years so far. The Thousand years is quite figurative. A nice round number like that normally is, and almost always is in the Bible. Why only a thousand years? It is but a day to God. We know not when, nor ought we try to discern when this thousand years will end, but rejoice with every day the sun comes up and we are given another opportunity to talk to our friends and neighbors about Jesus. We should not take this time for granted, it is a gift from God.