06.04 - More on the Chaining of Satan

6.4 MORE ON THE CHAINING OF SATAN

Rev 20:1-10 was written to Christians who were experiencing a great deal of persecution and who needed hope that God would take care of them despite the overwhelming worldly odds that we against them. Like the rest of the Book of Revelation, it was written in figurative language to convey the essence of the message without necessarily revealing the specific events to which these principles and promises applied. Many of the figures used portray the basic principles of human nature as they apply to man’s response to a loving God who must allow the horrible consequences of sin to be revealed in this world so that we will not have to experience it throughout eternity. Even if we could definitively pin down the original application, these scriptures still apply to all men everywhere in principle.

2Th 2:1-12 was written to Christians who were not under the same degree of persecution. However, they were deceived into thinking that the second coming of Christ was necessarily imminent. Paul addressed their need in a more literal way, although the specific application might still be subjected to argumentation. Since we have given our explanation to both of these scriptures independently above, we will not elaborate further. Instead, we will allow these two passages to provide a commentary on each other. We will do this by interleaving the passages where we believe they have similar application. We start with 2Th 2:1-7:

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way. The falling away was allowed by God. It could have been prevented, but to do so would restrict the free will of man. Clearly, however, God will not allow Satan to have the power to exercise this deception until the end of time. Thus, the promise that he will "be taken out of the way," which is described in more detail in Rev 20:1-3: And I saw an angel come 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. The chaining of Satan would lead to the revealing of those who are wicked and exercising their control over the nations. This is reflected in 2Th 2:8-10: And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

Paul was emphasizing the time frame -- certain things had to happen before the second coming: A falling away -- an apparent triumph of Satan. But it was to be only temporary. On the other hand, John is emphasizing the hope that will still exist as long as we know that God is in total control. We continue in Rev 20:4-6: 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. 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. The battle is for the minds of men; it is not a military battle. Certainly, military battles will result, which will demonstrate the true nature and the ultimate result of the influence of Satan. But without deceit, Satan is powerless. It is man’s misperception of reality that causes all of his trouble (John 8:32). The deceit is described by Paul in 2Th 2:11-12: And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. This is attributed to God only because He allows Satan to exercise his deadly powers in His presence. God cannot sin, and He cannot be tempted with sin (Jas 1:13), but it is clear that as part of His judgmental authority, He will allow men who do not have a love for the truth to be deceived by the strong delusion of Satan. However, even the ultimate deceiver will be destroyed. This judgment of the deceiver, which has already been alluded to by Paul, is described by John (Rev 20:10): 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. The purpose here is not to present a chronology of events -- it is to compare the principles which are being presented in both passages. Both deal with the second coming; both deal with Satan -- his ability to deceive, God’s allowing of him to function, and God’s limiting and ultimately eliminating his power.

We can understand this even if we have difficulty in pinning down the specific dates of the 1000-year reign. In fact, there is no danger at all in presenting all that God has given us on the subject, and allowing the hearers to draw their own conclusions. Problems arise when influential teachers add to God’s word and become not only the deceived of Satan, but also deceivers themselves.