Introduction

† One of the most misunderstood subjects in Scripture is the binding of Satan in Revelation 20. Many assume the thousand years is a future earthly kingdom, yet the New Testament repeatedly shows that Jesus began defeating Satan during His earthly ministry. The evidence points to a first-century period, beginning with Christ's victory at the cross and ending with the judgment upon Jerusalem in AD 70. The "thousand years" symbolizes the complete period in which Satan was restrained from preventing the gathering of God's elect before the Old Covenant age came to its end.

The Strong Man Was Bound

Matthew 12:28-29

But if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or, how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

† Jesus said the kingdom had already arrived during His earthly ministry.

† Before Christ could plunder Satan's kingdom, He first had to bind the strong man.

† This places the beginning of Satan's binding during Jesus' ministry, not thousands of years later. (Matthew 12:28-29; Luke 10:17-20)

Satan Fell During Christ's Ministry

Luke 10:17-20

Now the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!" And He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven."

† Jesus described Satan's fall as something already taking place through His ministry.

† The disciples' authority over demons demonstrated that Satan's power was being restrained.

† This harmonizes perfectly with the binding of the strong man before the kingdom spread throughout the nations. (Matthew 12:28-29; John 12:31)

Now Is the Judgment of This World

John 12:31-32

Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself."

† Jesus connected Satan's defeat directly with His death on the cross.

† The cross was not merely forgiveness for sin, it was also Christ's victory over the ruler of that covenant age.

† From that point forward, the gospel spread with power throughout the Roman world before Jerusalem's destruction. (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14)

Christ Destroyed the Devil's Power

Hebrews 2:14-15

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

† The cross was the decisive blow against the devil's authority.

† Jesus destroyed the one who had the power of death, showing Satan's defeat began at Calvary.

† This perfectly explains why Revelation later pictures Satan as already bound during the first-century transition. (Hebrews 2:14-15; John 12:31-32; Colossians 2:15)

Christ Triumphed Over Every Power

Colossians 2:15

When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

† Paul declared Christ had already disarmed the rulers and authorities through the cross.

† Satan's defeat was not postponed to a future millennium.

† The victory had already been publicly displayed before Revelation was written. (Colossians 2:15; John 12:31-32)

Satan Bound for a Thousand Years

Revelation 20:1-3

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he took hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 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.

† Revelation is filled with symbolic numbers, and the thousand years represents a complete, divinely appointed period.

† Satan was not removed from existence, he was restrained from deceiving the nations while the gospel gathered God's elect.

† The New Testament consistently places this restraint during the first-century transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. (Matthew 24:14; Colossians 1:23)

The Gospel Reached the Nations

Colossians 1:23

if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

† Paul declared that the gospel had already gone throughout the known world before AD 70.

† This was only possible because Satan's ability to keep the nations in complete darkness had been restrained.

† The mission Jesus began reached its covenantal goal before the judgment upon Jerusalem. (Matthew 24:14; Romans 16:25-26)

The Gospel Reached All Nations Before the End

Matthew 24:14

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

† Jesus said the gospel would be preached throughout the inhabited world before the end of that age came.

† Satan's restraint allowed the gospel to spread rapidly throughout the Roman world.

† Paul later confirmed this mission had been accomplished before AD 70. (Matthew 24:14; Colossians 1:23)

The Time Was Near

Revelation 1:1-3

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

† Revelation begins by declaring its prophecies would happen shortly.

† John did not point his readers thousands of years into the future.

† The binding of Satan belongs within the same first-century time frame established throughout the book. (Revelation 22:6-10; Matthew 24:34)

Historical References

† Josephus described how the gospel spread throughout Judea before Jerusalem's destruction while recording the events leading to AD 70. (The Wars of the Jews, Book 6)

† Eusebius recorded that the Christians obeyed Jesus' warning and fled Jerusalem before its destruction, showing the fulfillment of Christ's first-century prophecies. (Ecclesiastical History, Book 3, Chapter 5)

† Tacitus confirms Christianity had spread throughout the Roman Empire by the first century despite intense persecution, demonstrating the unstoppable advance of the gospel during the period Christ described. (Annals, Book 15, Chapter 44)

† Irenaeus testified that Revelation concerned events connected with the closing years of the first-century apostolic age. (Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 30)

How It Applies To Us Today

† Christ has already won the decisive victory over Satan through His death and resurrection.

† We don't wait for Jesus to bind Satan because Scripture shows He already accomplished that during the first-century transition.

† We live in the fully established New Covenant Kingdom where Christ reigns and His gospel continues to bring people into His body.

Q & A Appendix

Q: When did Satan begin to be bound?

A: Jesus said the strong man had to be bound before His house could be plundered, placing the beginning of Satan's binding during Christ's earthly ministry. (Matthew 12:28-29)

Q: Why was Satan bound?

A: So he would no longer deceive the nations while the gospel gathered God's elect during the New Covenant transition. (Revelation 20:1-3; Matthew 24:14)

Q: Was the thousand years a literal one thousand calendar years?

A: No. Revelation is a symbolic book, and the thousand years represents the complete period of Satan's restraint during the first-century transition between Christ's ministry and the end of the Old Covenant age. (Revelation 20:1-3; Revelation 1:1-3)

Q: What marked the close of that period?

A: The judgment upon Jerusalem in AD 70 completed the end of the Old Covenant age exactly as Jesus foretold. (Matthew 24:34; Luke 21:20-22)

Q: If Satan was bound, why does evil still exist?

A: Revelation says Satan was bound so that he should deceive the nations no more during that appointed period. It never says all evil would cease. Sin still comes from the human heart. (Revelation 20:1-3; James 1:13-15)

Q: Was Satan completely inactive while bound?

A: No. His binding was specific. He was restrained from preventing the gathering of the nations through the gospel until God's first-century redemptive plan reached its completion. (Revelation 20:1-3; Matthew 12:28-29; Colossians 1:23)

Q: Does the Bible ever use the word "Millennium" or "Millennial"?

A: No. Neither "Millennium" nor "Millennial" appears anywhere in the Bible. Those are theological terms derived from the Latin word mille, meaning one thousand. Scripture simply speaks of "a thousand years" in Revelation 20:1-7. The question isn't whether we believe in a "Millennium," but what the symbolic thousand years represents in its biblical context. (Revelation 20:1-7)

Q: Was the thousand years of Revelation 20 the period between AD 30 and AD 70?

A: Scripture indicates it was. Jesus began binding the strong man during His earthly ministry, secured His victory through the cross, and Satan's restraint continued throughout the first-century transition until the end of the Old Covenant age. Revelation places these events in the time that would shortly come to pass and was at hand, not thousands of years in the future. (Matthew 12:28-29; John 12:31-32; Revelation 1:1-3; Revelation 20:1-7; Matthew 24:34)

Q: If Satan was bound, what was he bound from doing?

A: Revelation gives the answer. Satan was bound so that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years were finished. It does not say he ceased to exist or that all evil ended. His restraint allowed the gospel to spread throughout the nations during the first-century transition before the judgment upon Jerusalem. (Revelation 20:1-3; Matthew 24:14; Colossians 1:23)

Q: What marked the end of the symbolic thousand years?

A: The completion of the Old Covenant age and God's judgment upon Jerusalem in AD 70 marked the close of that redemptive transition. Jesus repeatedly said these events would occur within that generation, and Revelation opens by saying its prophecies would shortly come to pass because the time was at hand. (Matthew 24:34; Luke 21:20-22; Hebrews 8:13; Revelation 1:1-3)

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †

© Fulfilled Prophecies - Dan Maines.

Source Index

† Matthew 12:28-29, Luke 10:17-20, John 12:31-32, Revelation 20:1-3, Colossians 1:23, Revelation 1:1-3

† Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, Book 6; Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book 3, Chapter 5; Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 30