,, Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;”
Rev. 20: 1-2
We have studied in the previous chapter what will happen to the Antichrist and the false prophet:
,, Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.”
Rev. 19:20
but in order to establish the golden age something else is needed, so we read:
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he caught the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. is, and to seal over it, that it shall no more deceive the nations, till the thousand years be completed; and then it should be resolved for a short time. "
So far in the Bible we have seen many situations in which Satan "wins" while in Revelation and especially in this chapter we see his defeat and this is probably one of the reasons why Satan is trying to convince people that the Bible is a difficult book to understand and that it is it's best that people don't try to study it, and especially not Revelation, because they still can't "understand anything" and then, "why would they waste time when they won't understand anything anyway"
But the truth is completely different and everyone who wants to study God's word and read what he writes will come to know and understand what is written in the bible, that is, what God wants to say to man.
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven."
among the angels of God there is a hierarchy so that there are cherubim, seraphim, archangels and angels and they differ in power and rank.
In the Epistle of Jude it is written about Michael, who is the highest in rank of angels:
,, Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"”
Jude 9
We see that he does not judge or curse Satan but hands him over to God and in Revelation he writes:
,, And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Rev. 12: 7-9
Here we see that Michael with the angels removes Satan from the hall of heaven and throws him to the ground and his action is limited only on the earth. And now at the end of the great troubles in our text it is written that the "ordinary angel" catches .
Satan is very strong but he must obey the Lord because He is much stronger than Him he is only a creature created by God and as such he has no chance in the fight against God he can only do what God allows him and not what He wants ,,
Satan is limited and he cannot be present everywhere and we can see that from the verses written in the book of Job.
,, Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the Lord and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it."”
Job 1: 6-7
,, Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.And the Lord said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the Lord and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it."”
Job 2: 1-2
And that he cannot do what he wants we can see from the same book where Satan says to the Lord:
,, "Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”
Job 1:10
and then the Lord says to Satan in the twelfth verse:
,, So the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”
Job 1:12
And after that second conversation, the Lord allows Satan to "strike" Job, but says to Satan:
,, So the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life."”
Job 2: 6
So we clearly see that Satan must do what God commands him to do, he was given permission to "hit" Job with various temptations but he was also given the task of guarding his soul and probably Satan could have wiped out Job and his soul but he can't and we are not working.
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven" This angel descends from heaven and has the power to do the following:
-to catch Satan
-to keep it fresh for a thousand years
- to throw him into the abyss
-to close it and seal it
-all this means making it inactive for a thousand years
- to let him go when he's a thousand years old
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand."
These chains or chains are not the chain that we know and use on earth because Satan is a spiritual being and such a chain would probably not serve, it is a chain prepared with Satan and we don't know what he looks like, we can only guess.
"And he caught the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound for a thousand years,"
The apostle Jude writes about demons:
,, And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;”
Jude 6
And these demons have some "chains" and as for the chains we know it says:
,, And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.”
Mark 5: 2-4
So the demon broke the chains and ropes, which means that earthly things are not a problem to break, which tells us that those "chains" that God prepared for Satan, he will not be able to break.
And when he is thus bound he goes on to write:
"And cast her into the abyss, and shut her up, and sealed her, that she should no more deceive the people, till the thousand years were finished; and then it should be resolved for a short time. "
We will see this release of Satan later and now back to:
"And seize the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and is bound for a thousand years," In this verse we can see four names given to Satan, although there are others that describe his character, so in our text we have: dragon, the old serpent, the devil, and Satan.
Revelation 12 says:
,, And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.”
Rev. 12: 3
so this beast is a monster "great red dragon" and the Lord Jesus said of it:
,,... He was a murderer from the beginning, ..."
John 8:44
who shed a lot of blood from Abel until today and will continue to do so in the future as long as he can. From the beginning, Satan "convinced" people that the solution to the problem lies in wars and conquests, which means that he is the inspirer of arms production. Through the production of weapons, Satan has an influence on the states that wage these wars, because the greatest bloodshed in history was between two or more warring states, and as a "dragon" he rules through statesmen and emperors. In Revelation 20 we read that Satan will be released as Satan and not as a dragon as he was imprisoned because in the millennial kingdom the only ruler will be the Lord Jesus Christ and Satan cannot influence Him as the world's "leaders":
,, Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison”
Rev. 20: 7
Here is an example related to this topic:
When the prophet Daniel prayed to God, his prayer was immediately answered, but the answer was delayed by 21 days because the prince of the Persian king was a "demon", that is, he was controlled by the demon servant of Satan.
,, "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.”
Daniel 10:13
and this is also the reason why the apostle Paul teaches that we should pray for kings and authorities:
,, Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
“
1 Tim.2: 1-2
We have seen why Satan is the "great red dragon" and now let's see why the old serpent. The old one means that he has been in the world from the beginning, from ancient times, and the serpent refers to his cunning because we know from the Bible that he deceived Eve. or came into the world. And since then he has been cunningly "sneaking" around people and deceiving them, that is why the apostle Paul writes:
,, But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
2 Cor.11: 3
and below the apostle writes how Satan turns into an "angel of light" through false messengers in order to deceive careless people more easily :.
,, For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”
2 Cor.11:13-15
The next name is Devil and means the degenerate and Satan drops everything that is from God by giving false reports about God, Christ, the Church, salvation and everything that is important and beautiful ..packs unimportant things "and offers them to the" broad masses ". uses a large arsenal of ... lies "to deceive many and has perfected this technique for thousands of years so that people throughout history and today can very easily deceive in this way, the Lord Jesus said of him:
,, ... and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
John 8:44
Satan is the author of many lies and even false religions such as "Babylon" which we have studied and to note that the term "devils" is not correct because one is the Devil or Lucifer and his servants are Demons and not devils, so one is the Devil and many demons.
And in the end we had the name Satan and the meaning of this name is a deceiver, an enemy, a prosecutor who is always ready to take action of deception, condemnation, slander or accusation. He constantly accuses faithful people before God but we have an advocate before God the Lord Jesus who defend and pray for us.
Here is how Satan accused Job before God when God Himself says, "There is no such man on earth, good and just."
,, Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the Lord and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it." Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?" So Satan answered the Lord and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing? "Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. "But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" So the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”
Job 1: 6-12
Then next time Satan accuses Job again even though God has clearly said that Job is "good and just."
,, Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the Lord and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it." Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause." So Satan answered the Lord and said, "Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. "But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" So the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life." Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.”
Job 2: 1-7
Satan is therefore very persistent in his intentions, but there will come a time when he will no longer be able to do that, and we have already studied that, and we will see later that he will be released when he is a thousand years old. to quickly experience the final "condemnation", which is the Lake of Fire.