p. Thirteen | Satan Bound a Thousand Years

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California, U.S.A. · Oct 21, 1930

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 57, No. 41.

Satan Bound a Thousand Years

It seems necessary to spend one more hour in studying the events that take place upon this earth at the time of Christ's second coming. At that time the righteous are gathered, caught up to meet the Lord in the clouds, and return with Him to heaven. Judgments of fearful description will be visited upon this earth immediately. The wicked flee in terror from the face of God, crying to the rocks and the mountains to fall on them. This anguish will be of short duration, for we read: “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.” 2 Thessalonians 2:8.

Again it is written: “The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He shall . . . give a shout . . . against all the inhabitants of the earth. . . . For the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh. . . . And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” Jeremiah 25:30-33.

SLAIN BY BRIGHTNESS

Thus we see that when Christ comes the wicked are slain by the brightness of His glory, and will lie scattered upon the face of the earth. The earth, which has suffered under the curse from the day that Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 3:17, 18), will be mightily shaken, for we read, “The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” Revelation 6:14. “There was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” “And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.” Revelation 16:18, 20.

The Old Testament refers to this same time of desolation in various places. Jeremiah said: “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. . . . The mountains . . . trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. . . . There was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. . . . The fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger.” Jeremiah 4:23-26.

Isaiah presents a similar picture: “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. . . . The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled. . . . The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate.” “The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.” Isaiah 24:1-6, 20.

EARTH IS GROANING

From these texts it is very clear that this old earth, which is even now groaning under the weight of sin, will be shaken from center to circumference, and reduced to a chaotic condition, even as it was before the “Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2) and brought order out of confusion. At that time Satan, who is responsible for sin, will feel the terrible judgments of God. God has waited long for rebellion to ripen and manifest itself in all its terrible reality; but then, once for all, He will visit His judgments, and the whole universe will say, “Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because Thou hast judged thus.” Revelation 16:5. The Scriptures state: “It shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited,” Isaiah 24:21, 22. The ones referred to as the “host of the high ones that are on high” are Satan and his angels. In 2 Peter 2:4 we read, “God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, . . . to be reserved unto judgment.” There are legions of evil angels. (Luke 8:30.) They are said to dwell “in high places,” as we read in Ephesians 6:11, 12 (margin): “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and

blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in high places.”

These evil spirits, of which Satan is the leader, will be brought to this earth, and shut up as in a prison. Desolation will be everywhere. There will be no sun to witness the scene; cities and mountains will be torn to pieces, and dead bodies will be scattered over the surface of the earth. Such will be the home of Satan and his angels for “many days,” after which “they shall be visited.” This is the wilderness into which the antitypical scapegoat is sent. Here he will have time to review the results of his rebellion against heaven.

BOUND A THOUSAND YEARS

The Bible tells us just how long he will be bound here. “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, . . . 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.” Revelation 20:1-3.

During this same period, the righteous are in heaven, reigning with Christ on thrones of judgment. We read: “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 they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” “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.” Revelation 20:4, 6. This judgment in which the righteous share is the judgment of the wicked. It is stated, “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? . . . Know ye not that we shall judge angels?” 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3. Again, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.” 1 Corinthians 4:5.

When this judgment is completed, and sentence is meted out to the wicked, Christ and all the saints will return to this earth. “I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was . . . clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron. . . . And He hath . . . a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:11-16. “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all.” Jude 14, 15.

NEW JERUSALEM DESCENDS

“Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, . . . and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, . . . and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. . . . And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee.” Zechariah 14:3-5.

The leveling of the Mount of Olives prepares a place for the holy city, the New Jerusalem, to rest upon. As Christ, with the saints and the holy city, descends to the earth, the wicked are resurrected, for we read: “The rest of the dead [which are the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Revelation 20:5. “When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations, . . . 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.” Revelation 20:7-9.

Here we have brought to view the final stand of Satan and his followers against God. Since his rebellion in heaven, he has waged an unrelentless warfare against righteousness, and as he sees the New Jerusalem, with the saints inside the walls, and the host of wicked, just resurrected with him, on the outside, the spirit of hatred surges anew through his being, and he marshals his followers for a final effort to defeat God's purpose. As they approach the city, there will be seen the great white throne of God: “And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.” Matthew 25:32. In the presence of the wicked host, Christ confers the

restored kingdom on the righteous who are on His right hand; and then the wicked hear the awful words from Him whose love and mercy they have rejected. “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25: 41. Complete destruction will be their lot.

“The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Revelation 21: 8. “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15. God has said, “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23.

The fire will devour the wicked, root and branch, and purify the earth. Of this, however, we will read next week.