Revelation 12:9 calls Satan "the great dragon" and "the old serpent called Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world."
The light of the Word of God was in the world in the Garden of Eden, and He said to Adam,
"You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it dying you will die." (Genesis 2:16-17)
- but Satan said,
"Surely you will not die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like (the omniscient) God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5).
Satan is not "the opposite of God": God is the Almighty, omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (present everywhere) God. The serpent is none of those things, but that "word" which opposes and contradicts the light of the truth of the Word of God, is darkness:
Adam loved the darkness more than the light because he wanted to be like God, so he ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Then Adam hid from God (Genesis 3:8), because he had sinned, and he was aware that his deed was evil.
Regarding the condemnation of those who do not believe His Word, Jesus said,
"Now this is the condemnation: that the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God." (John 3:19-21).
Satan had no power to deceive until Adam and Eve believed his lies. The serpent only has power to deceive through the power human beings themselves give him through believing his lies, and the only power he has in the world is the power he has through deception, but he has never been able to stop the spread of the truth:
"And the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness has not mastered it." (John 1:5).
Abel believed God and in the promise of the gospel, and God accepted His sacrifice (Genesis 4:2-4). Noah believed God and in the gospel of the coming seed, and "being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." (Hebrews 11:7).
Abraham believed God and in the gospel of the promised seed, and it was credited to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23).
Isaac, Jacob and Joseph believed God. Moses believed God. Joshua and Aaron believed God. The Judges believed God. The prophets all believed God. The Psalmists believed God. King David and a number of other kings believed God. The apostles of Jesus believed God
- all before Jesus died and rose again.
- In Genesis chapter 3, we read of how Satan appeared in the Garden of Eden and deceived mankind.
- Revelation 12:9 calls Satan "the great dragon" and "the old serpent called Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world."
- The reason given for Satan being bound in Revelation 20:1-3 is that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years have expired:
"And he cast him into the abyss and shut him up and set a seal on him, that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years should be fulfilled."
"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." (Revelation 20:7-8).
If we look for statements in the New Testament implying that Satan was bound when Jesus died and rose again, all we will ever find is passages stating the opposite:
Jesus called Satan "the ruler of this world"; and the New Testament calls him "the prince of the power of the air who works in the sons of disobedience", who we are told will give the beast and false prophet his seat, power and great authority (Revelation Chapter 13).
The saints are warned to be weary of his wiles and to resist him, and to put on the full armor of God because "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood" (John 12:31; 1 Peter 5:8-9; Ephesians 6:11-12; Revelation 2:9-10 & Revelation 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; James 4:7 ).
Ephesians 2:2 tells us about Satan's influence over the societies of this world, this Age.
Revelation Chapters 12-13 portray this current status quo as spanning the entire present Age and culminating in the beast's war against the saints in Revelation Chapter 13 (see Revelation 13:7).
THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST
1. Jesus told Pilate that His Kingdom is not of this world [kosmos] in this present time [Greek: nyn] (John 18:36); and
2. Christ's later Revelation to His churches tells us in Revelation 11:15 that the kingdoms of this world [kosmos] will become the Kingdoms of our LORD and of His Christ when the seventh trumpet sounds, and He shall reign to the ages of the ages; and
3. Hebrews 2:8 tells us that (although) all things have (already) been placed under Christ's feet, in this present time [Greek: nyn] we do not see it yet, but what we do see in this present time is Jesus (who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death), crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man; and
4. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:27-28 that Christ, when He returns, shall have put down all the human rule and authority and power (naturally, this can only be referring to the human rule and authority and power of this present world), and when all things shall be subdued unto Christ, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all, because it is manifest that God the Father is excepted, which did put all things under Christ (1 Corinthians 15:27).
Amillenialists argue that Satan was bound when Jesus ascended into heaven, normally citing Revelation chapter 12, and asserting that this is what the chapter says or implies (though the chapter says nothing of the sort. It does not mention any "binding" of Satan).
"AMILLENNIALIST" ARGUMENTS:-
1. THE DESTRUCTION OF SATAN'S WORKS THROUGH CHRIST'S DEATH & RESURRECTION
Satan's works consist primarily in the death that became part of human experience, and the sin that leads to death.
Revelation 20:3 gives the reason Satan will be bound: He will be bound in order that "he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled", and the verse closes with the words "and after that he must be loosed a little season."
The destruction of Satan's works will not last only for a thousand years and be "reversed" for a short period at the close of the thousand years (as though Satan's works were merely "bound" for a thousand years).
"Since then the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise partook of the same; that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death (that is, the Devil), and deliver those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Hebrews 2:14-15.
"And they overcame him (the devil) because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony. And they did not love their soul to the death." Revelation 12:11.
The blood of the Lamb speaks of the death of Christ.
"He who practices sin is of the Devil, for the Devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, that He might undo the works of the Devil." 1 John 3:8
"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." Romans 8:3.
To equate or even to link Satan's power to deceive the nations with Christ's power to destroy sin and death is a denigration of the power of God.
2. "BINDING A STRONG MAN"
In Mark chapter 3 we read:
"The experts in the law who came down from Jerusalem said (of Jesus), "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and, "By the ruler of demons he casts out demons." So he called them and spoke to them in parables:
"How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom will not be able to stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan rises against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand and his end has come. But no one is able to enter a strong man's house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house." (Mark 3:22-27)
Revelation 20:3 gives the reason Satan will be bound: He will be bound in order that "he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled", and the verse closes with the words "and after that he must be loosed a little season."
"The house" in Jesus' parable represents the demon-possessed man out of whom Jesus had cast out demons (not "the nations"): Satan was not being bound for a thousand years and shut up in the abyss so that he was unable to deceive the nations for a thousand years every time Jesus or one of His apostles cast demons out of individuals. Nor was there ever any reversal "for a little season" once an individual been delivered.
Scripture teaches us that Satan set himself up in opposition to God. This does not mean that he is the opposite of God. God is Almighty, omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and omnipresent (present everywhere at every moment and at any moment in time). Satan is none of those things.
To argue (as many do) that the above passage implies that Satan "was bound at Calvary" (or "restricted in his ability to deceive the nations so that the gospel could spread") is tantamount to asserting that Satan's power needed to be restricted in order for the work of the Holy Spirit in hearts and minds of people, calling them to salvation, to become "powerful enough"
- and scripture tells us that "the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness has not mastered it." (John 1:5).
The truth is that Satan has never needed to be 'bound' or restricted in order for God to work, or for the gospel of the Kingdom of Christ to be shared with the nations, and to take root and bear fruit.
Satan's power to cause disruption in the spread of God's Kingdom in the world has always been limited to how much God will allow; and Satan only receives power to deceive the nations through the power that human beings give him through their believing of his lies, and believing in his lies.
3. ANGELS WHO ARE BOUND IN A PRISON UNTIL JUDGEMENT DAY
Peter's and Jude's epistles both refer to angels who were bound at a time which was already antiquity to both Jude and Peter when they wrote about it ( 2 Peter 2:4-8 and Jude 1:5-7).
Not only do the above verses not imply anything with regard to the binding of either Satan or his angels at the time of the ascension of Christ, but the references to angels who are bound (found in the above verses) are not found anywhere else in biblical scripture:
An account of the binding of these angels that are mentioned in 2 Peter 2:4-8 and Jude 1:5-7 is found in the book of Enoch - which also speaks of a literal millennial reign of the Messiah and mentions the binding of these angels as having taken place during the days of Noah.
The surrounding context of the text of both Peter's and Jude's statements in the above passages, is itself a time which was already antiquity to the apostles' day, where Peter also mentions the days of Noah (among other ancient epochs in the pre-Christian era), and Jude mentions Sodom and Gomorrah (clearly speaking about events that took place in a time which was already antiquity in the apostles' day).
4. BOUND "IN THAT HE IS UNABLE TO DECEIVE THE NATIONS 'UNTO BATTLE'"
One of the reasons why this assertion isn't scriptural is because it adds the words "unto battle" to Revelation 20:3 (thus adding to scripture in order to take away from scripture) - because not only does this assertion actually contradict the text of Revelation 20, it is used to play down the binding of Satan, bringing it down to the level of human reasoning so that the thousand years can comply with man-made theology which ignores the meaning of words and the context of many passages, changing the meaning.
There is nothing either in Revelation Chapter 12 (the apocalypse of the woman & her seed, and Satan's war against both her and "the rest of her seed"), nor anywhere else in the New Testament that states or even implies that Satan has been bound. The opposite is the case.
AN ADVERSARY EXISTING IN A KING'S KINGDOM
It's logical that if a king has an adversary in his kingdom who is causing disruption, killing or harming the king's subjects, deceiving as many as he can, continuously encouraging dissent against the king and continuously calling the king's authority and integrity into question,
then if the king wants to put a stop to it, he would need to either bind the adversary and lock him in a dungeon, rendering the adversary completely unable to cause more harm, or simply destroy the adversary,
but if the king in his wisdom and sovereign will continues to permit the adversary for a season and a time to continue, whether it be in order to separate the king's loyal and faithful subjects from his adversaries or for any other reason, then this choice and decision is within the king's sovereign right.
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