Sunday, December 16, 2018

Satan's Imprisonment, December 16


Satan's Imprisonment, December 16 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, KJV — Revelation 20:2 The revelator foretells the banishment of Satan and the condition of chaos and desolation to which the earth is to be reduced, and he declares that this condition will exist for a thousand years. After presenting the scenes of the Lord's second coming and the destruction of the wicked, the prophecy continues: "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." (Revelation 20:1 - 3.) HB 381.2 That the expression "bottomless pit" represents the earth in a state of confusion and darkness is evident from other scriptures. . . . HB 381.3 Here is to be the home of Satan with his evil angels for a thousand years. Limited to the earth, he will not have access to other worlds to tempt and annoy those who have never fallen. It is in this sense that he is bound: there are none remaining, upon whom he can exercise his power. He is wholly cut off from the work of deception and ruin which for so many centuries has been his sole delight. . . . HB 381.4 For six thousand years, Satan's work of rebellion has "made the earth to tremble." He had "made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof." And he "opened not the house of his prisoners." For six thousand years his prison house has received God's people, and he would have held them captive forever; but Christ had broken his bonds and set the prisoners free. . . . HB 381.5 For a thousand years, Satan will wander to and fro in the desolate earth to behold the results of his rebellion against the law of God. During this time his sufferings are intense. Since his fall his life of unceasing activity has banished reflection; but he is now deprived of his power and left to contemplate the part which he has acted since first he rebelled against the government of heaven, and to look forward with trembling and terror to the dreadful future. - The Great Controversy, 658 - 660. HB 381.6

1 comment:

Natural Wellness Health said...

"To God's people, the captivity of Satan will bring gladness and rejoicing. Says the prophet: "It shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve, that thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon [here representing Satan], and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! ... The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers; that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained." [Isaiah 14:3 - 6, Revised Version.] GC88 660.2
During the thousand years between the first and the second resurrection, the Judgment of the wicked takes place. The apostle Paul points to this Judgment as an event that follows the second advent. "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.] Daniel declares that when the Ancient of days came, "Judgment was given to the saints of the Most High." [Daniel 7:22.] At this time the righteous reign as kings and priests unto God. John in the Revelation says: "I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them." "They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." [Revelation 20:4, 6; 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3.] It is at this time that, as foretold by Paul, "the saints shall judge the world." [Revelation 20:4, 6; 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3.] In union with Christ they judge the wicked, comparing their acts with the statute book, the Bible, and deciding every case according to the deeds done in the body. Then the portion which the wicked must suffer is meted out, according to their works; and it is recorded against their names in the book of death. GC88 660.3
Satan also and evil angels are judged by Christ and his people. Says Paul, "Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" [Revelation 20:4, 6; 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3.] And Jude declares that "the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains - under darkness unto the Judgment of the great day." [Jude 6.] GC88 661.1
At the close of the thousand years the second resurrection will take place. Then the wicked will be raised from the dead, and appear before God for the execution of "the judgment written." Thus the Revelator, after describing the resurrection of the righteous, says, "The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." [Revelation 20:5; Isaiah 24:22.] And Isaiah declares, concerning the wicked, "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" [Revelation 20:5; Isaiah 24:22.] GC88 661.2