IS SATAN BOUND?
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 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.
Revelation 20:3 describes the millennium as a time in which the dragon, or Satan, is bound and no longer able to “deceive” the nations. In order to tackle this text, amillennialists introduce ideas into Revelation from outside of the text of Revelation, such as Jesus’ comment about binding the strong man in Matthew 12, or the fact that demons were subject to the seventy disciples in Luke 10. They also allude to the destruction of Satan in Hebrews 2:14. These are all valid texts. Yes, Jesus did destroy the works of the devil while He was on the earth. Yes, Jesus saw Satan’s kingdom shake when the seventy disciples exerted their God-given authority over devils. Yes, the finished work on the cross did legally destroy Satan’s power over believers. Is this what John is referring to in Revelation 20? Not at all. John is referring to a global cessation of the dragon’s capacity to deceive; a time when he is shut up and sealed in a bottomless pit. If the loosing of Satan in Revelation 20:8 speaks of a time of massive opposition to the Gospel, then the binding of Satan in Revelation 20:3 speaks to the contrary -- a time of massive acceptance of the Gospel. Certainly, church history has not been a testament of such a state.
Let us look at a few verses in Revelation that deal with nations being deceived, as well as the time frame, and the ultimate source of that deception.
(Rev 12:9) And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Hendriksen is quick to attribute these events of Revelation 12 to the time frame of Christ’s first advent up until the second advent. He states, “Satan, having failed to defeat Christ, continues his attack upon the Church.” (pg. 141, More than Conquerors). He goes on to state that the “time, times, and and half a time begins at the moment of Christ’s coming…and extends to a point of time very near to His second coming.” (pg. 142, More than Conquerors). Yet, Hendriksen doesn’t address the statement concerning Satan’s deception, particularly the phrase “which deceiveth the whole world”. He could perhaps attribute this statement to Satan’s prior activity (i.e. prior to the first advent) in order to avoid the contradiction with Revelation 20:3. However, in light of grammatical considerations, I find such a notion wanting. The verb πλανων is a present active participle, and should thus be rendered as Young’s Literal renders it:
Rev 12:9 and the great dragon was cast forth--the old serpent, who is called `Devil,' and `the Adversary,' who is leading astray the whole world--he was cast forth to the earth, and his messengers were cast forth with him.
So John is using the present participle in one of two ways. He is either using it adjectivally to describe the nature of the dragon congruent with the time frame of his casting (i.e. the church age), or he is using it adjectivally to describe the nature of the dragon independent from the vision altogether (i.e. at the time of John’s writing). Either case proves that the dragon is not bound in his deceptive capacity. If John was speaking of Satan’s prior deceptive capacity, he would have used the aorist tense for πλανάω just as he did for εβληθη. In English it would have been something to this effect – “and ‘the Adversary,’ who led astray the whole world—he was cast forth…..”
Now let us proceed to the next applicable verse.
Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
This passage is speaking of the deceptive nature of the second beast. In Revelation 19, he is called the “false prophet”. His deceptive nature is described there as well:
(Rev 19:20) And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Notice where this second beast gets his authority:
Rev 13:12 (ESV) It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.
Observe that the second beast (a.k.a. the ‘false prophet’) has the same authority as the first beast. Therefore, let us find the origin of the authority of the first beast:
Rev 13:4 (YLT) and they did bow before the dragon who did give authority to the beast, and they did bow before the beast, saying, `Who is like to the beast? who is able to war with it?'
Rev 13:8 And bow before it shall all who are dwelling upon the land, whose names have not been written in the scroll of the life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world;
Notice the dragon is behind it all. Even Paul’s man of sin, who has a striking resemblance to the false prophet, has been empowered by Satan himself:
2Th 2:8 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:
2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
Is this deception of the dragon limited only to a little short season prior to the parousia? Not at all. Hendriksen himself claims that the first beast “represents every form of worldly government which persecutes the church, whenever and wherever it appears in history.” He also claims concerning the dragon, “It is the dragon, Satan, who rules: his plans are executed by the governments of the world.” (pg. 146 More than Conquerors). Therefore, if the dragon is “bound” during the whole of church history, as the amillennialist proposes, we are forced to see a “bound” dragon giving authority to the very beasts that are destroying and deceiving nations. The language of Revelation 20 doesn’t allow for such power. John saw the dragon sealed up so that he could not deceive the nations any longer.
Next, let’s look at the other infamous character of Revelation – the harlot city Babylon.
(Rev 18:23) And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
(Rev 18:24) And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
Notice the harlot is another source of worldwide deception. Perhaps an amillennial interpreter would attempt to force this deception into the last little season prior to the parousia. Yet, an honest look at verse 24 doesn’t allow for this. Surely, John is seeing the blood of the prophets and saints of all ages. Therefore, the deceptive sorceries are congruent with that bloodshed. What does this have to do with the dragon? Well, take a look at who the harlot is sitting on:
Rev 17:3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:7 But the angel said to me, "Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her.
Rev 17:8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.
Notice she sits on the first beast Revelation 13, who had seven heads and ten horns (Rev 13:1), and was slain and had subsequently been revived (Rev 13:3). This makes the deceptions of the harlot very relevant to our discussion. If she is riding on the beast, that means she has the authority of the beast, who has authority from the dragon.
Therefore, from the book of Revelation itself, we see that the dragon is empowering all three primary characters – the first beast, the false prophet, and the harlot – to deceive the nations during the church age. This proves that the dragon is not yet bound with respect to his capacity to deceive the nations, which is in accord with Pauline, Johannine, and Petrine demonology:
2Co 4:4 (ESV) In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
1Jn 5:19 (ESV) We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.