When Satan Goes to His Eternal Abode

When Satan Goes to His Eternal Abode

Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years….7. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. 8. And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9. 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. 10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Introduction:

In this lesson, we shall see the final demise of Satan, and we shall learn important lessons about the nature of man and the nature of Satan – lessons that many fail to understand. We remember that Satan was created as a glorious angel, Lucifer, perhaps the greatest creation of God. He was the anointed cherub walking on the fire stones of heaven. He was created early along with other angels and was initially without fault. However, pride in his beauty led to rebellion against God, and he somehow managed to secure a following of a third of the angelic host, who then became evil spirits. After the creation of Adam and Eve, he deceived them to rebel against God, and the same sin-nature and pride has infected the entire human race.?

Since this time, Lucifer became Satan, the adversary of God, and the Devil, or the deceiver and accuser of man before God. He has had access to heaven to accuse mankind, but at some time, he will be cast out of heaven in such a way that he is unable to return, and he will be confined to earth. Knowing that his final destruction is approaching, he will viciously attack all believers on the earth as well as the remnant of Jews surviving in the time of tribulation. At the return of Jesus Christ with the saints, Satan will be bound 1000 years in the bottomless pit.

What happens to Satan beginning at the millennium?

Satan is bound and unable to attack mankind for 1000 years. It would appear that his army of evil spirits are also neutralized at this time. At the beginning of the millennium, those who survive are either believers who were not killed or Jews who have accepted Jesus Christ as their messiah. Thus, we can say that basically mankind consists of born-again believers who will marry and have children.

The children born during the millennium, however, will need to personally receive Jesus Christ to have the indwelling Holy Spirit. They will be in a nearly perfect environment with no more wars, crime, and perhaps few or no natural disasters. There will be universal prosperity. The saints who returned with Jesus Christ will rule and Jesus will sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem. Death will be rare, with people living hundreds of years. The temple and temple offerings will be present as a reminder of the need for redemption and the new birth.

At the end of 1000 years, Satan will be loosed from the bottomless pit. He will quickly gather an enormous army of the unsaved who will rebel and surround the believers in Jerusalem. Fire from God out of heaven will destroy the rebels. Satan will be cast alive into the fire sea (hell) to join the antichrist and the false prophet, who have already been there for 1000 years. They will be tormented away from God forever.

Lessons to be learned:

Satan, who once experienced the glories of heaven and the closeness to God in a unique way, became God’s adversary and enemy when pride filled his heart. Satan has been exposed to the gospel. He has been punished for 1000 years, plenty of time to repent. But the moment he is released from the bottomless pit, he demonstrates his true nature in raising a rebellion. He is cast into the lake of fire and tormented forever. There is no evidence that any fallen angel can repent. They are aware of their eternal destination, but nothing in the Bible suggests that they will turn to God. They hate God, and they hate mankind, especially those who follow God and are born again. There are groups identifying as Universalists who apparently believe that Satan and evil spirits will eventually be saved. There is nothing Biblical which supports this contention, and much to oppose it. Note that the punishment is forever. There is nothing suggesting purgatory.

The false prophet and antichrist are both men, not angels. They do not repent and note that they also are placed in hell forever. Certain groups deny the presence of hell and believe that after death if one is not in heaven (or on a paradise on earth like the Jehovah’s Witnesses), one simply ceases to exist. They deny that God would allow someone to be tortured forever.

Many persons attribute war, theft, murder, adultery, and other evil deeds to a bad environment. However, during the millennium, the environment is almost perfect. No wars, murders, thefts, etc. are present, or they are immediately punished. Apparently many conform on the outside but are still rebels against God and His rule in their hearts. Since the sin nature in man is unchanged, when Satan is released, he quickly finds a huge army of malcontents who will rebel against God. Thus. the problem is not our environment, but our sin-nature, which must be counteracted by the indwelling Holy Spirit. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, we MUST be born again. Then we can be transformed into His image. The new nature will transform the sinner condemned to hell to be fit for eternity in heaven. We should remember that the Bible is very clear about hell being forever, and not just a period of time to reform us. Jesus warned us about hell more than any other individual. He died to redeem us, preserving God’s justice while showing God’s mercy and love. We need to heed his warning and accept Him as our personal savior.?