Revelation 20:1-3 (NKJV) Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things, he must be released for a little while.
V1 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.” This key is in heaven. The Greek word for “bottomless” is (G12) ἄβυσσος ábussos, which means (Vine): “It describes an immeasurable depth, the underworld, the lower regions, the abyss of Sheol.” Compare 2 Peter 2:4—Where the Greek word is (G5020) ταρταρόω tartaróō, which means a place of darkness and the lowest abyss of hell.
Most understand Sheol/Hades is down towards the center of the Earth. It is thought of as being a stacked region with Paradise on top (protected by God to be a blessing). Sheol/Hades is the holding cell for the dead until Jesus rose from the dead. For those who believed in God (Genesis 15:6, etc.), it was a place of blessing where they stayed until the Lord Jesus completed His earthly ministry and rose from the dead, sanctifying the believers to be justified and sinless to go to heaven. For those who refused to believe, it is the compartment of torment (Luke 16:23-28).
See Luke 23:43 when Paradise was not yet in Heaven. The Lord Jesus would see the thief on the cross next to Him and tell him that He too was going to Paradise and would see him there. He went to Paradise, too (1 Peter 3:19-22). I imagine that Jesus preached to the believers concerning Himself, His ministry, and their future. The crowd of those who refused to believe also heard Him. After Jesus ascended, Paradise was transferred to Heaven (2 Corinthians 12:4 and Revelation 2:7).
The next area beneath Paradise was the holding cell for non-believers waiting for the Great White Throne judgment (Revelation 20:11). The lowest place was of unknown death and the place for the evil angels (Revelation 9:1-2, 11, Revelation 11:7, Revelation 17:8, and Revelation 20:1, 3). In Revelation 1:18, it is recorded that Jesus has the keys of hell (Hades) and death. This key was entrusted to an angel as well as a chain for a specific assignment. This chain is not made of materials found on Earth but is a spiritual chain of some sort which restricts these evil beings. God is able to make a chain that can bind angels.
V2 “He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years…” This angel received his assignment which would include everything necessary to apprehend the dragon (satan), bind him, and bring him to the Abyss for 1,000 years. The 1,000 years is literal. Satan is literal, heaven is literal, angels are literal, the abyss is literal. Why would just one word (in Greek) be symbolic? The 1,000 years are necessary for Jesus to literally reign from Jerusalem and bless Israel with all His promises. Not only does Israel enjoy the reign of Jesus but those on Earth will too. These promises will be fulfilled: Isaiah 11:9, 1 Corinthians 15:25, Zechariah 14, etc. To spiritualize these passages takes away any reality. For which interpretation is correct? Is it teacher A’s, B’s, C’s? The only consistent method is the plain, normal sense.
V3 “…and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.” During the Millennium there will be no deception from satan. The Bible does not address what demons will do or be during this time. Sin is still present though subdued by the great reign of the Lord Jesus.
Keathley writes on this chapter:
“Like the calm after a storm, Rev 20:1-15, which catapults us into the millennial reign of Christ, brings a great sigh of relief with the binding of Satan and the resurrection and reward of the Tribulation martyrs. In the overall outline, this chapter is the second part of the third main section of Revelation (cf. Rev 1:19). Remember that this third section, chapters 4-22, is all futuristic. The first part of the third section described the Tribulation (Rev. 4-19). The second part describes the Millennium and great white throne judgment (Rev 20:1-15), and the third part takes us into the eternal state (Rev 21:1-27; Rev 22:1-21).
“This is one of the greatest and most important chapters of the Bible. It presents in summary the tremendous series of events that encompass the thousand-year reign of Christ on Earth. Many Bible expositors believe that it is in this future period that many Old and New Testament prophecies will find their ultimate fulfillment, like Isa 2:1-4; Isa 4:2-6; Isa 11:1-10; Jeremiah 23:5-6; portions of Mat 24:1-51; Mat 25:1-46; 2Th 2:10; and 2Pe 3:10-12.
“However, the view that Rev 20:1-15 is speaking of a literal thousand-year reign of Christ is also one of the most controversial, and a bewildering array of diverse interpretations may be found in regard to this passage.”
Keathley also quotes Dr. D. Pentecost:
“Pentecost cogently points to three great dangers:
“First, he warns, that “it does not really interpret Scripture.” In other words, it goes beyond all well-defined principles and laws of interpretation and leaves one open to the unlimited scope of one’s own fancy. It yields no true interpretation, though it may possibly illustrate certain valuable truths.
“A second danger is that in the allegorical method, “the basic authority in interpretation ceases to be the Scriptures, but the mind of the interpreter.” The interpretation may then be twisted by the interpreter’s doctrinal positions, the authority of the church to which the interpreter adheres, his social or educational background, or a host of other factors.”
“Finally, Pentecost says, “a third great danger in the allegorical method is that one is left without any means by which the conclusions of the interpreter may be tested.”
We learn:
- Satan is not omnipotent.
- Satan’s future will be an eternity of punishment.
- There is a place of punishment.
Questions:
- How is it that this angel is able to subdue satan?
- Why does God delegate this task to an angel?
- Why is the plain, normal sense of Bible interpretation correct?