Revelation 20:1 - 3

Satan Bound 1,000 Years

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

The bottomless pit is the same place where the rich man went in the story of Lazerus and the rich man, (Luke 16:19-31 ) It is where those who do not follow and obey Christ go while waiting the judgment day.

These are all terms for “Satan”, the vision gives us no doubt who is being chained and bound for a thousand years.

The thousand years is not a definite time in the scriptures, time is relative in scriptural prophesies. In Daniel 9:24, seventy weeks means 490 years, in Revelation 6:11 “a little season” meant until the Reformation which was still several centuries in the future.

Satan is being restrained by the Bible being given back to the people, and their belief in Christ and Christ's doctrine restrained the effect of Satan on the world's governments.

In my personal belief, the governments of the world have begun to ignore the word of God, at least from the formation of the Soviet Union when they restricted Christianity (aprox. 1918), the other countries which ban the Bible being brought into their country. (Saudi Arabia) And the efforts of the U.S.A. To restrict the teaching and Bible messages on public properties. All of this shows me the 1000 years have passed already.

We are in the battle now, spoke of later in this chapter, again my personal opinion based on the events happening in the world, indicating Satan has been released because of people who ignore and scorn the word of God.