Satan Is Imprisoned During The Millennial Reign Of Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday January 3, 2010
The Day of the Lord: Satan Is Imprisoned During The Millennial Reign Of Christ
Lesson # 33
Please turn in your Bibles to Revelation 19:11.
This morning we will continue with our “Day of the Lord” series and in particular our study of the millennial reign of Christ, which helps to compose this prophetic period of history.
Today, we will study that during the millennial reign of Christ, Satan will be imprisoned for a thousand years, which will contribute to the perfect environmental, social, economic and political conditions during this period.
At His Second Advent, the Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven with the elect angels and the church to deliver Israel from Satan and the non-elect angels and Antichrist, the false prophet and the Tribulational armies.
At that time, our Lord will destroy the Eastern and Western Confederacies and will have Antichrist and the False Prophet thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:11-19), He will imprison Satan for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3) and will establish His millennial reign on planet earth (Rev. 20:4-6).
Revelation 19:11, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.”
Revelation 19:12, “His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.”
Revelation 19:13, “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”
Revelation 19:14, “And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.”
Revelation 19:15, “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”
Revelation 19:16, “And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’”
Revelation 19:17-18, “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ‘Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.’”
Revelation 19:19, “And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”
Revelation 19:20, “And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.”
Revelation 19:21, “And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”
Revelation 20:1, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.”
Revelation 20:2, “And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”
Revelation 20:3, “And he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.”
The fact that Revelation 20:3 teaches that Satan will be incarcerated for a thousand years at Christ’s Second Advent clearly implies that he is not incarcerated at this present time in history and won’t be until the Second Advent of Christ.
In fact, 2 Corinthians 4:4 says that Satan is the “god of this world” at the present time and also deceives the entire world as well (1 John 5:19; Revelation 12:10).
The greatest enemy of the church is Satan whose name means, “adversary” because he is the enemy of God.
He is also called the “tempter” (Mt. 4:3), the murderer (Jn. 8:44).
He is compared to a “lion” in 1 Peter 5:8, a serpent (Gen. 3:1; Rev. 12:9), and called an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:13-15).
The Christian is not to be ignorant of his schemes and devices (2 Cor. 2:11).
Satan is a creature (Ezek. 28:13) and a person since the Scripture state that he possesses the traits of personality in that he shows intelligence (2 Cor. 11:3), exhibits emotions (Rev. 12:17, anger; Luke 22:31, desire), and demonstrates that he has a will (Isa. 14:12-14; 2 Tim. 2:26).
Satan is referred to as a person in both Old and New Testaments (Job 1; Matt. 4:1-12).
Satan was a prophet, priest and a king in eternity past prior to his rebellion against his Creator and was the preeminent creature in the universe before his fall, which is demonstrated in Ezekiel 28:11-19.
Ezekiel 28:11-12, “Again the word of the LORD came to me saying, ‘Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.’”
“Seal of Perfection” means that before his fall, Satan upheld, embodied and represented perfect divine standards.
“Full of wisdom” indicates that Satan has an extremely high degree of wisdom and indicates that Satan did not reject God out of ignorance.
“Perfect in beauty” means that Satan before his fall in eternity past was the epitome of beauty.
Ezekiel 28:13, “You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared.”
“Eden” refers to the original garden of Eden on the original planet earth before the earth’s renovation in Genesis 1:3 and following.
These nine jewels are comparable to the twelve jewels found on the breastplate of the high priest of Israel, where each jewel represented one of the twelve tribes liable for military service.
Satan in eternity past before his rebellion was the high priest of God ruling over these nine divisions or tribes of angels just as the high priest in Israel presided over the twelve tribes of Israel.
Ezekiel 28:14, “You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.”
“Anointed” describes Satan as one who God conferred divine power to in order to carry out his duties.
“Cherub” is a particular category of angel that take the lead in worshiping God (Is.6; Rev. 4:8b; 5:8, 14; 7:11-12; 19:4), and act as intermediaries for God in His royal manifestations (Rev. 6:1-7; 15:7), and control access into His presence and fellowship.
“Who covers” refers to the fact that Satan’s original position can thus be described as that of the ultimate ‘imperial guard,’ charged with warding off all that is profane from the perfect holiness of God.
Ezekiel 28:15-19, “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; It has consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; You have become terrified and you will cease to be forever.”
Satan or the devil, the son of the morning was entrusted with responsibilities and was granted privileges beyond those of any other angel, but he abused his freedom through arrogance and rebellion against God (Ezek. 28:12-19).
He was the anointed cherub who guarded the throne of God and was said to be created perfect in wisdom and beauty and he was blessed with the title of Hallel Ben Shechar, “morning star, son of the dawn” (Is. 14:12) but the Scriptures teach that he led the angels in rebellion against God (Is. 14:12-14).
Now, according to Matthew 25:41 Satan was sentenced to the Lake of Fire for his rebellion but he appealed the sentence but this sentence has not been executed since the Scriptures state that Satan is the “prince of the power of air” (Eph. 2:3), and the ruler of this world.
The elapse of time between the sentence and its execution indicates that human history is part of a momentous trial, the appeal trial of Satan.
The words “devil” and “Satan” are not names but titles, both of which mean “accuser” or “adversary” as an attorney accuses someone in court.
The Greek New Testament terms Satanas, “Satan” and Diabolos, “devil” are legal terms with the former meaning “adversary,” and the latter meaning “slanderer, false accuser.”
He is called the devil and Satan because he was the defense attorney who represented himself and the fallen angels at the prehistoric trial and because he continues to act as an attorney now that the trial has entered its appeal phase during human history (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-5; Zech. 3:1-2).
Isaiah 14:12, “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!”
“Star of the morning, son of the dawn” speaks of Satan's role in reflecting the glory of God (cf. Job 38:7, where all the elect angels are described as “stars of the morning”).
“Star of the morning” (helel) literally means, “shining one” and is translated in the Septuagint (Greek translation of Hebrew Bible) as “light bearer” and by the Latin Vulgate as “Lucifer.”
“Son of the dawn” (Ben-Shachar) is an apt rendering of this title, for it denotes a heavenly body so brilliant that it can be seen even in daylight.
Isaiah 14:13-17, “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit. Those who see you will gaze at you, They will ponder over you, saying, ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, who made the world like a wilderness And overthrew its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?’”
Every fallen angel has already been judged and sentenced to the Lake of Fire by the Supreme Court of Heaven before human history.
The execution of that sentence will not be carried out until the conclusion of the appeal trial of Satan and the fallen angels (Rev. 20:10).
The Scriptures teach that the execution of Satan’s sentence to the Lake of Fire will not be executed until the end of human history.
Before the execution of his sentence, Satan will be imprisoned for a thousand years.
Satan must be thrown into prison at the Second Advent of Christ according to Revelation 20:1-3 before the millennial reign begins (Rev. 20:1-3).
All unbelievers will be removed from planet earth at the Second Advent of Christ and thrown into Torments and ultimately into the lake of fire at the Great White Throne Judgment that concludes human history.
At the Second Advent the beast (Antichrist) and the false prophet will be thrown into the Lake of Fire before Satan (Jews: Ezek. 20-33-38; Gentiles: Matt. 25:31-46).
These judgments are designed to produce perfect government and environment on planet earth.
Satan will be released from prison after the millennium and will immediately start a rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ.
Theologians call this rebellion, the “Gog, Magog rebellion,” which God will put down decisively.
The appeal trial of Satan terminates after the Gog and Magog revolution (Rev. 20:7-9).
The eternal state will take place after the execution of the sentence against Satan and the fallen angels when they are cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:10) and will take place after the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-14).
This leads us to the communion service and so therefore, could we have our ushers pass out the communion elements and let us take a few minutes to meditate upon the Lord and prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Supper.
Luke 22:14, “When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.”
Luke 22:15-16, “And He said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’”
Luke 22:17-18, “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, ‘Take this and share it among yourselves for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.’”
Luke 22:19, “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”
Luke 22:20, “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.’”