by David Scott Robertson
"Then I [John] saw an angel come down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon - that old serpent, the Devil, Satan - and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:1-3).
One angel. One chain. One hand. That's how Almighty God has decreed that the Devil, Satan, that old serpent, should be bound and put away for a Millennium.
In this prophetic preview of coming attractions, we see the Devil put in his place - a place God has reserved for him from the foundation of the world.
Here the prideful arch angel who fell into God's disfavor, who was cast down from heaven to the earth, will eventually fall, fall, fall for a period of thousand years. How low can you go at that rate? Lower than any creature has been in the history of the world.
When a man dies, his physical body is buried "six feet under" ground while his spirit either ascends to heaven or descends to hell. But in this passage from Revelation we see Satan fall far below the underworld of hell. That's a long plunge from the highest place of honor in the angelic hierarchy as an arch angel to the lowest place in existence - the bottomless pit.
What rivets my attention, though, is the manner in which Satan is escorted from the earth. One angel. One chain. One hand. How completely humiliating this will be for the one who aspired to be God. Think of it! One angelic being, single-handedly (literally) takes him out! I can't help but wonder about the identity of this angel who gets to rid the earth of the father of lies. I wonder which angel is it whom God awards the unprecedented honor of binding the creature that bound billions of others created beings?
- Could it be the warrior arch angel, Michael, Lucifer's nemesis?
- Could it be the famous messenger angel, Gabriel, who makes some great announcement as he tosses the Devil into the Abyss?
- Could it be the same angel whom God sent to strengthen Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as Christ faced the cross?
- Could it be the least senior angel (if that's how it works in heaven) and Satan knows all too well the significance of this particular angel doing the deed?
I suppose we could speculate long and hard on the matter but to no avail since the Bible is silent on the matter. All we do know for sure is that one angel with one chain uses one hand to bind the chief enemy of mankind and rid the earth of him for a thousand years. Very dramatic stuff!
I don't know about you, but if I were an angel, I'd want that job! I'd want to be the one responsible for working with God to render the devil harmless and remove his influence from the world.
I'm not an angel, I'm a man. A born again man. As a Christian believer, God has deputized me with authority to bind the devil here and now (Matthew 16:19; Luke 10:19)! As Christians, we don't have to wait for this epic future event to take place in order to see Satan's power bound and his overpowering influence mislead those we love.
Through faith in Jesus and His awesome Word we can wield spiritual power today to bind the Devil just like that one day, one angel, with one chain, will use one hand to put the Devil away!
DSR
1/5/04