Revelation 20:1-3 The Millennium and the Binding of Satan

Notes
Transcript

Intro

Will Christ return before or after the Millennium?
The thousand year period from Revelation 20 where Satan is bound and the saints reign with Christ.
How you answer that question goes a long way in determining the kind of Eschatology you have.
If you remember from last week, there are basically four different views on the Millennium.
And what separates the 4 views is how they answer two simple questions about the Millennium.
Number 1: When will Christ Return? Will He return before or after the Millennium?
And then number 2: What is the nature of His Kingdom? What influence will the Millennial Kingdom of Christ have on the earth in world history?
So the Timing of the Millennium, and the Influence of the Millennium on the earth.
Now this won’t cover everything these 4 positions believe, but here’s a summary of how each eschatological view answers these questions.

Summary of Views

First off, you have Premillennialism and Dispensationalism.
Both of these views say that Christ will return before the Millennium to establish a physical Kingdom on the earth for a literal 1000 years.
The difference between the two is that Premillennialism or Historic Premillennialism believes with all the other views that the Church is the spiritual fulfillment of Old Covenant Israel and so all of God’s dealings leading up to the end focus on the church.
Dispensationalism on the other hand draws a hard line between the Church and Israel and focuses end time events mostly on Israel.
Where Premillennialism says the Church will go through the Great Tribulation under God’s sovereign protection, Dispensationalism says that the Church will be raptured out of the world before the Great Tribulation during which God will save the Jews.
Then at the end of the Great Tribulation, Christ will return with all the saints to establish a Jewish political Kingdom that will rule he earth for a 1000 years.
If I had to guess, I would say these two views or some combination of these two views are what most of you all are familiar with or grew up with.
And while they are different, for the rest of these sermon when I say Premillennialism, think both Historic Premillennialism and Dispensationalism because both of them say Christ returns before the Millennium.
Next, you have Amillennialism.
Amillennialism says that the Millennium will not be a literal 1000 year physical Kingdom on the earth.
Instead the Millennial Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom and it spans the entire church age.
It began during Christ’s incarnation and runs all the way through history until He returns.
So in Amillennialism, Christ returns after the Millennium, and the Millennial Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, a spiritual reign of Christ in the hearts of his people the church and with the saints in heaven worshiping around the throne.
The gospel will have an influence in the world, but it will not have a widespread physical and transforming influence before Christ returns.
Instead, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan will run parallel to each other all the way to the end.
Even though Christ’s victory is never in doubt, neither one will dominate the other although the ultimate victory of Christ’s Kingdom when He returns at the end of history.
Finally, Postmillennialism.
Postmillennialism and Amillennialism are very similar in many ways.
Like Amillennialism, Postmillennialism says that Christ returns after the Millennium and the entire church age is the Millennial reign of Christ.
But like the Premillennialist, the Postmillennialist believes that the Kingdom of Christ will have a physical and transformational effect on the world.
The difference is, this doesn’t happen through Christ’s return but through the slow, incremental growth of the Kingdom through the preaching of the gospel, prayer, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
That one day, the gospel will be so successful and so overwhelm the world that a vast majority of the world will be saved.
This is what marks Postmillennialism off from all the other views.
A sure confidence and hope that the Great Commission will be so successful that The knowledge of the glory of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14).
And as the world becomes more and more Christian, and as all of those Christians are discipled to obey Christ and everything that He commanded, what will happen to the world?
It will be transformed from top to bottom, inside out.
Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Every aspect of life and every level of society will be brought into submission to Christ.
Believers will work out their own salvation with fear and trembling as God the Holy Spirit works in them to do all things to the glory of God out of new hearts that Love God and Love God’s Law.
That the nations will belong to Christ because God has promised they are his inheritance and He shall have dominion from sea to sea to the ends of the earth and the blessings of righteousness, justice, and peace will flow like never before.
So Postmillennialism, really, is not the fringe position. Its the middle position of all the views.
Answering those two questions about the Millennium Postmillennialism says Amillennialism gets the timing right.
We are in the Kingdom now. Christ is on the throne. He is reigning with all authority in heaven and on earth.
But like Premillennialism and Dispensationalism, it says that the spiritual Kingdom of Christ will have a real-life, transforming impact on the world.

What Marks the Millennium?

Well how do you choose? How do you know which one is right?
Do you just pick which one you like more? Which on sounds best? Pick and choose?
The answer is simple, “What does the Bible say about the Millennium, and specifically what does Revelation 20 say about it since that is the only place in the whole Bible where a 1000 year reign of Christ is ever mentioned?”
But even then, its not so cut and dry because like we saw last week, there are godly, Bible-believing Christians that can hold any one of the 4 views, and they will all point to the Bible as their reason for doing so.
So here’s what I want to do. In Revelation 20, there are basically two things that mark the Millennial Kingdom.
You have the Binding of Satan and the First Resurrection where the saints reign with Christ.
I want ask what do those things mean, and is there anywhere else in the Bible that might tell us when those things will be?
By doing this, hopefully we can clear the decks between 4 views.
Because if the Binding of Satan and the First Resurrection are present realities, then that would tell us we are in the Millennium now and give us good reason to doubt Premillennialism of all forms as a viable option for a biblical eschatology.
So over the next two weeks, here’s what we are going to do.
We are going to look at the Binding of Satan and the First Resurrection and ask what the Bible says those things mean.
And my argument is going to be that the binding of Satan and the First Resurrection are present spiritual realities that define the church age from Christ’s first coming all the way to his second coming.
That we are in the Millennium now given what the Bible says about the Millennium itself.
And for this sermon, we are going to focus on the binding of Satan, and my main argument, my BIG IDEA is this.

Jesus bound Satan in His incarnation, death, and resurrection, and now Satan is powerless to stop the gospel’s growth among the nations.

Rules of Hermeneutics

But before we do that, we need to establish some ground rules for interpreting the Bible.
Especially difficult passages of the Bible. And especially one of the most difficult passages in one of the most difficult books of the Bible.
The first rule is Scripture interprets Scripture.
What does Scripture say a passage means, not what do we think it means.
And Number 2. we interpret less clear passages in light of more clear passages. Not the other way around.
The Bible is its own highest authority and it never contradicts itself.
So when we come to a difficult passage that’s hard to understand, we should look for similar passages that are easier to understand and interpret it according to them.
In other words, In other words, we don’t build a theology off of a confusing or highly debated passage of Scripture.
We build doctrine off of clear Scriptures and interpret difficult passages through that lens.
So two rules. Scripture interprets Scripture, and we interpret less clear passages in light of more clear passages.
And this is especially important for studying Revelation 20 because Revelation 20 is one of the most difficult chapters in one of the most difficult books in the entire Bible.
So it would be unwise to build a theology off of that passage and then interpret other Scriptures according to it. Instead, we should interpret it in light of other passages that are easier to interpret.
With that said, let’s get into Revelation 20:1-3.

1000 Years

Revelation 20:1-2 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
Now right off the bat the thousand years.
Because if I’m saying that the Millennial Kingdom of Christ spans from Christ’s incarnation all the way to His second coming, that’s obviously been more than a thousand years.
And the Premillennialists will immediately say, “Aha! You aren’t interpreting the Bible literally. It says a thousand, it means a thousand. If you interpret it any other way, that’s what the liberals do.”
In fact, Premillennialists will constantly beat the drum, “We interpret the Bible literally.”
Let’s talk about that. What does it mean to have a literal interpretation of the Bible?
It means you read the Bible as literature.
History/wisdom. Narrative/epistle. Symbolic language.
Reding the Bible symbolically doesnt automatically make you a liberal if that’s what the context demands. Sometimes, understanding symbolism makes you a serious student of the Bible who actually reads the Bible literally.
Now when it comes to numbers. There are some numbers that you have to interpret literally.
God created the earth in 7 days.
Jesus rose from the grave 3 days later.
But that doesn’t mean every number you read in the Bible is always literal.
Remember when Peter asked Jesus how many times do I have to forgive my brother? And Jesus said 70 times 7.
If you take that number literally, that means you’re keeping a tally and the moment your brother sins against you 70 times 7 plus 1, you stop forgiving them.
Now was that what Jesus was trying to say? No. He was saying, You forgive as many times as it takes.
And the number 1000 in particular in the Bible is not always taken literally.
For example, Psalm 84:10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. But the thousand and first day we start pushing it.
What about Psalm 50:10? For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. Is God trying to tell us that He owns all the cattle on a thousand hills but the cattle on the thousand and first hill belongs to somebody else? Or is God trying to tell us that He owns everything?
And finally, this is the best one. Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.
This is obviously not saying that God stops being faithful after a thousand generations. Rather, its saying He is always faithful.
So, ironically, just in these three examples, by taking the number 1000 as a literal number, you end up with an interpretation that is the exact opposite of what Scripture is actually saying.

144,000/New Jerusalem

And even in Revelation itself. 1000 seems to be a number for John to describe the fullness or the perfect total of something.
The 144,000. Could that be the 12 tribes of Israel times the 12 Apostles of the New Testament church times a thousand to represent the fullness of God’s people?
Or the New Jerusalem. If this was a literal cube that came down from heaven that had a length, height, and width of 12,000 stadia, it would be a city that would cover most of the United States and go about 1500 miles into space which is about 1300 miles higher than the space station.
Is that what John was trying to say or does the cube represent the Holy of holies from the temple and the number 12 represent the people of God and by multiplying it by a thousand, John is saying that the church is the full and complete temple of God where God dwells with His people?
All of this shows us what it actually means to read the Bible literally. It means you read the Bible as Literature and the quote “literal” meaning of the Bible is the meaning the author was trying to communicate.
We read poetry different than we read historical narrative.
And we read the instructions and commands of the NT letters different than we read the parables or the prophets or apocalyptic literature.
Reading the Bible literally means you read what the author was trying to say.
Does God literally lead you beside still waters and make you lie down in green pastures or is that symbolic language to talk about His spiritual grace in our lives.
Or when John the Baptist came to prepare the way of the LORD. Did he literally lift up every valley and make low every mountain so that the whole world became a flat plain?
Or was that metaphorical language that John prepared the way by preaching repentance making a highway to the Messiah?
And like I said, Premillennialists, especially Dispensationalists, will always say, “We take the Bible literally,” as a way to make it seem like they’re the only view that really takes the Bible seriously.
But here’s the big secret. They don’t even read the Bible literally all the time in every passage.
In Matthew 24, you have the Olivet Discourse where Jesus describes the Abomination of Desolation and the Great Tribulation. And most Eschatologies would say that is still future.
The only problem with that is Jesus because in Matthew 24:34 he says, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”
A literal interpretation would demand that Matthew 24 be fulfilled in that generation. To the generation Jesus was actually talking to.
And yet, many people that say we take the Bible literally, don’t take that literally at all.

Revelation Examples

Even in Revelation itself, you can’t take every single single thing literally.
Is there literally a woman standing on the moon clothed in the sun wearing a crown of twelve stars on her head fighting a dragon? A literal interpretation of Revelation 12 would say there is.
Is Jesus literally a lamb? Like a sheep? Does He literally have seven horns and seven eyes? That’s Revelation 5.
Is Satan literally a dragon?
Or the beast. Is he literally a 7 headed monster with ten horns that crawls out of the sea to rule the earth? Or is that symbolic imagery to talk about a man who raises himself up against Christ and leads a Satanic empire in rebellion against Him?
And they would say, “Well, of course those aren’t literal. You need to read those passages in context." To which I would say exactly.
Context helps us to determine what is literal and what is symbolic language and the literal interpretation is always the one the author intended to communicate.
And that’s how you interpret the Bible literally.
So the thousand years in Revelation could be a literal 1000 years.
I will tell you there are some Postmillennialists that say it will be a literal thousand years in the future that basically starts when the nations beating their swords into plowshares under Christ and peace dominates the world.
But it could also not be a literal thousand years, and you can say that while still taking the Bible literally as the inerrant, infallible, Word of God.
Now what about the binding of Satan?

Satan’s Binding

Revelation 20:1-3 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
So in this passage, we see one of the hallmarks of the Millennium. Satan is bound for a 1000 years.
What does that mean?
Well let’s look what it says.
Satan was bound to the bottomless pit. The Abyss. This is the netherworld the dwelling place of demons under the judgment of God.
And I think that’s the key. The Abyss is the place of judgment for demonic spirits until the Great Day of Judgment where they will be thrown in the lake of fire.
So when it says Satan was bound and thrown into the Abyss, its saying he was judged and it when it was shut and sealed over him he was sealed for judgment.
His destruction is sure.
We are going to look at it in more detail here in a second but this is tied to what Jesus said in John 12:31. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And Jesus says that judgment of Satan happened when he was lifted up on the cross.
This is the same thing. Satan has been judged and cast out through the death and resurrection of Christ.
He is sealed for judgment.
And he has been bound with a great chain to restrain his demonic activity on the earth, specifically that he might no longer deceive the nations.
Now before we go on and look at what that means, I want to take a step back and ask is there anything else in the Bible that tells us about the binding of Satan? About when he was bound or will be bound?
Because if the binding of Satan is one of the defining characteristics of the Millennium, that will go a long way in telling us when the Millennium is. Then we can go and look at what the binding of Satan means for us today.
Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 12:25-29.
Jesus was casting out demons left and right, and all the people were amazed and began asking, “Can this be the Son of David?” Can this be the Messiah, the Savior of the World and the King who will rule all the nations?
And the Pharisees, jealous in heart, said, This is not the Messiah! He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of Demons, Satan himself.”
He is not the Son of God, He is the son of the devil and his is trying to trick you into following Him.
And, knowing their thoughts, here’s what Jesus said.
Matthew 12:25-29 Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.
Remember our rules. Scripture interprets Scripture and you interpret less clear passages in light of more clear passages.
What does Jesus say?
If I were working for Satan, Satan’s kingdom, his house, would fall because every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste.
But, if I’m casting out demons by the Spirit of God then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
Don’t miss this.
If we believe Jesus really did cast out demons by the Spirit of God, which we do, then we also have to believe the Kingdom of God, the reign of Christ, or in other words the Millennial Kingdom has come.
Past tense. Already happened.
This is a clear statement from the Lord with proof that the Kingdom of God has come.
Jesus continues. Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.
The strong man is Satan. And Jesus is saying that He came to plunder his house.
To destroy the Kingdom of Satan and take everything for Himself.
But to do that he had to first bind the strong man, and thats what He was doing.
By casting out demons, healing the sick, preaching the gospel and ultimately dying and rising again on the cross, Jesus was binding the strong man.
He says it Himself. And that’s the same word used in Revelation 20.
1 John 3:8 The reason the Son of God appeared [the reason He took on human flesh] was to destroy the works of the devil.
The binding of Satan happened in the incarnation of Christ. Scripture interprets Scripture.
And He didn’t just bind him. He defeated him. He crushed the serpent’s head when His heel was bruised on the cross just like God promised
And in Jesus’ death and resurrection Colossians 2:15 says He disarmed the rulers and authorities [the demonic rulers and powers of whom Satan is the foremost] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in the cross.
So Revelation 20 says the millennium begins with the binding of Satan, and if Jesus bound him in the first century like he said he did, that means the millennium started 2000 years ago.
According to Jesus, Satan has been bound, judged, and sealed for judgment. That hallmark of the Millennium is a spiritual reality now

Objection

But hold on a second! I though Satan was the ruler of this world, the god of this age. Look at all the evil in the world. How can you say that he is bound!
If he is bound, that chain is a long leash.
But those verses are saying that Satan rules the physical earth. Jesus has been given all authority of heaven and on earth. Not Satan.
Those verses teach us that Satan is the god of wickedness. Of the worldly, sinful, rebellious kingdom.
When Paul talks about godly sorrow and worldly sorrow, he’s not talking about physical locations. For lack of a better word, he’s talking about spiritual locations. Spiritual states of the heart.
Or think of it like this. The John who wrote, For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, is the same John who wrote Do not love the world.
Why would John do that? Why would John not tell us to love the same thing God loves?
Because he’s not talking about the same thing.
World, in the Bible, can mean the earth and all the people in it, or it can mean the fallen world. Unbelief, darkness, and everything that is in sinful rebellion to God.
This is clearly seen in Ephesians 2:1-2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.
So all that it means when it says that Satan is the ruler of this world, is that Satan is the ruler of ungodliness and disobedience. The prince of darkness.
That’s why when someone is converted to Christ Colossians says they delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the Kingdom of Christ (Col 1:13-14).
Or like Acts 26:18 says, they turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.
The god of this world is the god of unbelief and darkness. To say that Satan rules the physical world and that all the nations are in his hands to do with as he wills is to deny that Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords and have been given the nations as His inheritance.
Now saying all that does not mean that Satan is not active in the world or that he has been vaporized or totally destroyed today.
He is still a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).
So if all that’s true, what does the binding of Satan actually mean? Well Revelation is actually very specific on what the binding of Satan and sealing for judgment actually leads to.

Four Names

The first clue is in the four different names John uses for Satan.
First, he calls him the Dragon.
In Revelation, the Dragon is the Beast who rules over all other beasts.
A beast in the Bible is a tyrannical or persecuting ruler or government using their kingdom to challenge the Kingdom of God.
Before Christ, Satan owned the nations. They were his, under his power and control as the dragon, the ruler of the world.
I think when Satan offered Christ the nations during His temptation in the wilderness, that was a valid offer. And why that was a temptation was because that’s what Christ came for and Satan was saying you can have it without the cross.
But when Christ came he bound the strong man to plunder his goods. To plunder Satan’s Kingdom and bring the nations into His. That’s what the Great Commission is all about.
Its not that Satan doesn’t have influence over the nations. He’s still at work in the sons of disobedience. But the nations no longer belong to him, they belong to Christ.
And Christ’s will for the nations will be done, not Satan’s.
Then John calls him the Serpent.
The tempter from the Garden. The one who deceives and twists God’s Word.
And the point here is that Satan is now bound because his head has been crushed.
His deception is broken, and it will not endure. It has been overcome by the gospel of Christ and the truth of God’s Word.
Next, he’s the Devil.
The blasphemer, accuser, and slanderer.
He is bound and no longer free to accuse those in Christ because they have been covered in the blood of the Lamb and there is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
Finally, John calls him Satan.
The adversary of God and His people is defeated.
He has been thrown down to lick the dust all the days of his life just like God promised in Genesis.
He has been overcome and put to open shame by Christ on the cross.
Now when you put all that together, here’s what that means. The Dragon, the Serpent, the Devil, and Satan has been bound, not at all meaning that he is no longer at work in the world, but he has been bound verse 3, that he might no longer deceive the nations.
Well what does that mean? Deceive the nations? John shows us when Satan is released for “a little while” at the end of the Millennium.
In verses 7-9 Satan is unbound and he deceives the nations by gathering them together to march against the church too try and destroy the people of God.
To try and snuff out, once and for all, the light of the gospel.
So there we have it.
The binding of Satan means that try as he might Satan will never be able extinguish the church and he is absolutely powerless from keeping the light of the gospel from going forth to all the nations.
And if Satan really has been bound like Christ said, that means that is what we can expect throughout the entire gospel age of the church.
The binding of Satan guarantees that the gospel will be victorious in the world, and the Great Commission will go forth as the church marches on under the banners of Heaven.
Before Christ, all the nations outside of Israel were under Satan’s dominion.
Only Israel knew the One True God and had salvation. But after Christ, the Gentiles, all the nations, were brought in.
Satan can do nothing to stop the gospel because the nations belong to Christ.
Jesus has opened the door for the Great Commission to go forth and no one is able to shut it.
Let's make it a little clearer. Go to John 12:31-32. What we started looking at earlier today.
John 12:31-33 “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
The context of this passage is Jesus talking about his crucifixion, and this verse says the same thing that Revelation 20 does.
By His death and resurrection, Jesus has judged the ruler of this world. He has cast him out. Satan has been bound.
And now Satan is no longer free to deceive the nations because now that Christ has been lifted up from the earth, because Christ has been crucified, he has bound the strong man and is drawing all people to himself.
He is plundering his house through the Great Commission and the preaching of the gospel.
Let's look at one more place where Scripture interprets Scripture on the binding of Satan.
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil...
Notice the timing. Christ destroyed the devil, in his incarnation. When he took on flesh and blood and died in our place for our sins.
And what is the result of Satan being destroyed? Verse 15...
and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
The deliverance of sinners from slavery and death into life. That he may no longer deceive the nations.
These are all talking about the same thing. The same idea.
The binding of Satan does not stop every aspect of his activity on the earth.
Instead it casts him out and opens the door for the gospel.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.
Go plunder the strong man’s house.
Now if this is true. If the Kingdom of Christ has come and Satan has been bound, like I believe is true when we let Scripture interpret Scripture.
Then this should give us great confidence that the Great Commission will be fulfilled.
That all the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord that they will turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God (Psalm 22:27, Acts 26:18).
The Church is marching on to victory in discipling the nations.
If Satan has been bound, and if the One who has all authority in heaven and on earth promises to be with us until the end what can stop us?
Look what Paul says in Romans 16:20.
Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
Remember where Paul is getting this idea.
God promised Jesus would crush the head of the Serpent.
And that happened ultimately and definitively on the cross.
But here Paul says, God will crush Satan under your feet.
In other words, Christ is continuing to crush the head of the Serpent leading to His ultimate destruction in the lake of fire through his body the church and the preaching of the gospel to all nations.
In Luke 10:17-20 Jesus sent out His disciples and they came back with joy saying Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!
And Jesus responded to them by saying, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Satan has fallen. He has lost!
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
Jesus has sent His church out into the world on Satan’s Kingdom.
This is where we start getting into the application. Our job today in light of the truth of God’s Word.
Often times we think of spiritual warfare as only defensive.
As if we are just getting hit over and over and over again. But its a war. We play offense too.
Ephesians 6:10-12 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
The church is sent out into the world to make war on the Kingdom of Satan. To wrestle against rulers and authorities, cosmic powers of darkness and spiritual forces of evil, doing all that they can to keep the nations in their grasp.
And God has given us the armor of God. The belt of truth. Breastplate of righteousness. Boots ready and strong enough to take the gospel to the world. The shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
And the point of all this Paul says in verse 19, that we may boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel.
How we make war on the Kingdom of Satan is by preaching the Word of God. That is our offensive weapon.
And elsewhere, Paul says these spiritual weapons, the weapons of our warfare in 2 Corinthians 10, have divine power to destroy strongholds. Arguments. Lofty opinions. Any deception of the enemy that raises itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
What that means is that the way God will crush Satan under our feet. The way Christ will draw all people to Himself. The way the Kingdom of Satan and all his works will be overthrown is by the church boldly proclaiming the Word of God and bringing it to bear on every single aspect of life.
To preach the gospel and teach the nations everything Jesus has commanded.
Like the Apostles in Acts 17, to proclaim another King, Jesus. He is Lord and to Him belongs the obedience of the people (Genesis 49:10).
That is what we and every other biblical church is working towards.
And you know what? Its going to happen!
The Great Commission will succeed. It can’t not! Satan has been bound. He’s been cast out. There’s nothing he can do to stop the gospel from going out to all the world.
We might be persecuted, killed, hard pressed on every side. But Satan will never extinguish the church and he will never snuff out the light of the gospel.
So all the strongholds you see out in the world that look daunting. Overwhelming. All the things that make you think, this is so far gone.
We should see those things and say can you believe what God is about to do?
Its only a matter of time before the gospel absolutely destroys those demonic strongholds to nothing but dust.
But only if we preach the Word.
Only then, through the slow growth of the gospel, will Christ topple every idol idols and destroy every enemy that raises itself against Him.
Victory is assured. He’s on the throne. And as the Bible says He must reign until all His enemies are put under His feet.
The nations belong to Him and He is plundering the strong man’s house.

Conclusion

The question is do we believe it?
Do we believe that:

Christ bound Satan in His incarnation, death, and resurrection, and that Satan can do nothing to stop the gospel’s growth among the nations.

That’s the hard part isn’t? Especially when the world looks this dark.
But faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
Will we believe God’s Word, or will we believe the things our eyes can see?
And if God’s Word is true, what does that tell us about our warfare?
How will knowing that the weapons God has given us have divine power to destroy every demonic stronghold motivate us to carry out the Great Commission.
D-Day has happened. Satan was defeated on the cross and now all we are doing is marching towards Berlin all because the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ truly is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).

Let’s Pray

Scripture Reading

Ephesians 6:10-20 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
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