Amillennialists tell us that this Apocalyptic scene has already occurred, or is now the case, affirming that Satan was bound when Christ came the first time and defeated him at the cross and by his resurrection. There are various schools of thought among Amillennialists about the nature and extent of this binding; And about the place where the effects of Satan's binding are realized. Some believe that the reign of Christ with his saints is now occurring in the church age but that this reign is not by saints on earth but by dead saints in heaven in the intermediate state. Others say that the reign is by saints on earth, but that it is a spiritual reign in conjunction with living a Christian life. So, that is the first issue to decide. Who is directly benefited by the imprisoning of Satan, the inhabitants of heaven or earth?
Is Satan being bound in order to keep saints in heaven from being deceived by Satan? Surely not, for that would imply that saints in heaven were deceived prior to this binding of Satan. That is totally untenable as all should confess.
Further, not only is Satan bound or chained so as to limit his activities (such as deceiving the nations) but he is also "shut up" in prison so that not only is his ability to deceive people on earth prevented but his very presence is removed from the earth. He is not being shut out of heaven but shut out of the world of human beings. So, Amillennialists must affirm that Satan is not only prevented from his activities, such as deceiving people, but his ability to tempt them, oppress them, or influence them in any way is also prevented. The binding and imprisoning of Satan is in relation to this world.
Amillennialists say that Satan was bound and imprisoned in the bottomless pit sometime during the earthly career of Christ. They will say that some, but not all, of the activities of Satan are prevented. But, what was he able to do before the coming of Christ that he could not do after? Some agreeably say it is his being unable to deceive but will contend that he is 1) only prevented from deceiving the elect and 2) not a hindrance from any and all deception. But, in response we ask "so Satan could deceive the elect before the coming of Christ?" Some Amillennialists will say that the binding is a mere restraint or limitation placed upon the work of Satan via God's providence. But, that has always been the case. The case of the prophet Job demonstrates the fact that Satan could only do what God suffered him to do. Is that, however, the binding of Satan of the text in Revelation chapter twenty?
The bottom line is simply this: Satan is deceiving the nations, or the peoples, as much now as he has ever done and this is proof that the binding and imprisoning of Satan has not yet occurred. Satan still has a presence in this world and is affecting it in many ways and this is further proof that he has not yet been cast into the bottomless pit.
John Walvoord in "Is Satan Bound?" (At Bible.org - See here; emphasis mine) wrote:
"The Scriptures present, then, on the one hand the great power of Satan and on the other hand that this power is limited and under the sovereign control of God. It is important to note that the premillennialist, seeking as he does to honor the Word of God, does not for one moment deny that the power of Satan is limited in the present age, in fact, in any age. Strangely, some amillennial writers have attempted to demonstrate that the premillennial view is erroneous by pointing to Scriptures which speak of Satan’s limitation. Both the Old and New Testaments bear a clear revelation on this point, and all millennial views must accept what the Scriptures teach. Whether this limitation should be identified with the binding of Satan in Revelation 20:1-3 is quite another issue. While all agree that Satan is limited, all do not agree that Satan is bound."
Exactly so. Walvoord writes further:
"Whatever view may be taken of the nature of the millennium, it is obvious from the passage whether taken literally or symbolically that Satan is bound before the millennium. If, then, the millennium is still future, it follows that Satan is not bound, but if the millennium has already begun and is now in progress, as the amillennialist believes, then Satan must be bound now. The usual amillennial approach to this passage points out the fact, which all recognize, that the book of Revelation uses symbols, that its chronological scheme is that of recapitulation, and that it is therefore difficult to determine dogmatically what the exact meaning of any symbol may be and the exact place in the chronological plan of the book in which to fit each new revelation. It is the opinion of the writer, however, that the events of the nineteenth and twentieth chapters are progressive and successive and that this is plain in the nature of the narrative, but it is not necessary to assume this in order to determine the meaning of the binding of Satan."
Again, this is spot on. I plan to write against the idea that the things in the Apocalypse are not given in the order of their occurrence, against the idea that the events connected with the seals, trumpets, and bowls are instances of recapitulation. If we do see things chronologically in the Apocalypse, then we will see how the binding and imprisoning of Satan occurs after chapter nineteen and the coming of Christ.
Walvoord writes further:
"A fact apparently overlooked by the amillennial interpretation is that the binding of Satan is not the total of his limitation. According to Revelation 20:3, Satan is not only bound but the angel “cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him....” This is not even a symbolic picture of partial limitation, but of total limitation. Only the premillennial interpretation can fit such a description."
Agreed. Satan is not only imprisoned in the bottomless pit, but he at that time has no presence in the world. Let the Amillennialist who believes Satan is now in the bottomless pit come forward and explain how he can now be in the pit and yet be free to roam the world.
Every evil spirit that Jesus and his apostles cast out of people was a prelude to the time to come when not only Satan, but every evil spirit, will be cast out of this world so that there will be no evil spirits present in the world during the thousand years. So Jesus said: "But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you." (Luke 11: 20 kjv) The kingdom of God will have fully come when Satan and his evil demons have been cast out of the world.
Walvoord writes further:
"As has been previously stated, one of the peculiarities of the amillennial position is that they cannot agree among themselves as to the extent of the binding of Satan."
That is true. Amillennialists have a difficult time proving to us that Satan is now chained in the bottomless pit and is not able to deceive the people any longer. I heard one Amillennialist say that Satan, though imprisoned in the bottomless pit, is still able to run his criminal enterprise from prison like other inmates have done. That is quite ridiculous. The prison where Satan will be confined is a God built prison and such will not be possible.
Walvoord writes further:
"What is the testimony of the Scriptures? Can Satan deceive the nations now? Is he totally inactive? We need only quote Scripture."
After saying this, Walvoord cites several scriptures that show that Satan is very active in this world at present and very active in deceiving people. But, we will cite one. Peter writes: “Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (I Peter 5:8 kjv) If Satan is now walking about on the earth and in the world, then obviously he is not confined to the pit. If he is on the hunt for prey, then he is not confined in the pit.
Satan is called "the god of this age" (II Cor. 4: 4) and is blinding the people. But, such language is against the idea that he is now bound with chains in the bottomless pit and unable to deceive anyone. Jesus also referred to Satan as the "prince" (Grk. "archon" or ruler) of this age. Said Jesus: "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out." (John 12: 31 nkjv) This was a prophecy of the binding and imprisoning of Satan that we read about in Revelation 20: 1-3. Some Amillennialists will argue that the above text shows that Satan was "cast out" of the world shortly after Jesus spoke those words and that this is inferred from his twice use of the word "now." But, that is a false inference. What Jesus is saying is that his victory over sin and death removes the only thing preventing his casting out and his imprisonment, and it is the Lord's prerogative to choose the exact time when that happens and that time is when Christ comes the second time. That event is now next on the divine agenda.
Walvoord writes further:
"Satan is seen to tempt, to deceive, to blind, to buffet, to hinder, to work signs and lying wonders, to have children (i.e., unbelievers), to walk about seeking whom he may devour. Is this a picture of Satan bound? Is this in harmony with the amillennial interpretation of Revelation 20:1-3? The obvious answer is that Satan is not bound, that he still deceives, that he still has great power, and that in respect to the earth he can severely attack both the Christian and the unsaved-howbeit in the will of God."
Satan is obviously not bound now nor excluded from our world. The Amillennialist who argues that Satan is now in the bottomless pit is taking that view to scripture and not deriving it from scripture.
Walvoord writes further:
"Compare these Scriptures with the following statement of the amillennial view by William Masselink:
“The binding of Satan for a thousand years is the symbolical figure used to teach us that his power is completely broken for a season... From this passage in Revelation we learn that Satan is bound in a two-fold sense: in the relative sense and in the absolute sense. With respect to the nations he is not bound completely. The result of this binding is that he can deceive the nations no more. In regard to the saints he is bound in the absolute sense. The glorified souls are entirely beyond his dominion?”
Revelation 20:1-3 teaches, in contrast to William Masselink, that Satan will be completely bound, that he will be totally inactive. At the present time, the Scriptures themselves indicate the continued activity of Satan, his attacks upon saints in the earth, his deceiving of men."
Amillennialists may talk about how Satan is bound but with a "long chain" but it is however a view that is forced upon the text. The plain faced reading of the text tells us that Satan is cast out of this world, and is placed in the pit where he can no more have influence in the world. There is no need, however, to "water down" all that is involved in the binding and imprisonment of Satan. Just as the Book of Genesis began with Satan entering into the world to tempt Adam and Eve so the Book of Revelation ends with Satan being excluded from the world.
Walvoord writes further:
"Floyd Hamilton’s argument from Matthew 12:24-29 that Satan was already bound at that time is refuted by the plain facts of the context. In the first place, Christ does not say that Satan is bound-he uses the word only in the illustration. Obviously, Satan was not bound in the sense of Revelation 20:1-3 as demon possession abounded. Even Mr. Hamilton would be loath to state that the Jews who demanded the crucifixion of Christ were not deceived by Satan. Yet his hypothesis demands that Satan can no longer deceive the nations. He states, “The way of salvation has been opened to all nations and there is nothing that Satan can do to block that way.” Does not the Scripture reveal that the reason for the unbelief of the world in relation to the Gospel is due to Satan’s deceptive and blinding work (2 Cor 4:3, 4)? How is it that after nineteen centuries of proclamation, the Gospel has yet to win even a majority of those who have heard it? How is it that in contrast to the Christian faith with its Spiritual power the heathen religions such as Mohammedanism are actually gaining converts faster than Christianity? How is it that apostasy has overtaken the church to-day? There can be only one answer, and that is that Satan is working, deceiving, hindering, blinding, devouring. If so, then Satan is not bound, nor is he shut up where he cannot deceive the nations. If Satan is not bound, then the millennium is yet future and our hope is for the coming of the Lord."
Does Matthew 12: 24-29 teach that Satan was bound when Christ came the first time?
"Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."
There is no question that Satan is "cast out" of a person when demons are exorcised from the bodies of people. But, that is not the same casting out of Satan from the world that Jesus spoke about in John 12: 31 or John wrote about in Revelation 20: 1-3. That Satan is bound when a person is liberated from demon possession is not denied, nor is it denied that he is in some sense bound when a sinner is saved. But, that is not the binding or casting out of John 13: 31 or Revelation 20: 1-3. That it is a miniature of it is not to be doubted. But it is not the thing itself. Satan is not imprisoned in the bottomless pit every time a demon is exorcised. Satan's deceiving of people does not cease when a person is saved.
Amillennialists say that "a strong man's house" is a reference to the world of human beings and that Jesus is saying that in order for him to enter Satan's house he had to first bind Satan. But, that is reading too much into the text. Further, we may ask "when did Christ bind the strong man?" By this interpretation he would have bound Satan even before he entered the world via his incarnation and cannot be interpreted to mean that he bound Satan by his later death and resurrection. It is a far-fetched idea to say that Satan was chained in the bottomless pit all through the life of Christ. So, did he come to Christ in the temptation in the wilderness or not?
Walvoord writes further:
"A study of all the factors which enter into the interpretation of Revelation 20:1-3 leads to three conclusions: (1) Satan is not now bound and shut up in the abyss in relation to heaven, though his power has always been limited. (2) Satan is not now bound and shut up in the abyss in relation to the earth, though here too his power is limited; Satan stands judged and defeated; and Christ is victorious. (3) The binding of Satan and his period of total activity are still future and will constitute a major feature of the future millennium on earth. There is not now nor ever will be a fulfillment of the prophecies of a righteous rule upon earth until after Satan is bound-an event coincident with the return of Christ to establish His earthly kingdom."
That is correct. Prophesied the Lord Jesus Christ:
"Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out." (John 12: 31 nkjv)
Commentators at Precept-Austin (See here) give us these comments (emphasis mine):
"Clearly Satan is still active and powerful today in the world (1Pe 5:8-10+, Eph 6:10-20+) so that the words he will be cast out is a prophecy to be fulfilled in the future and will be progressive or in stages (see note below). It reminds me of the term "prophetic aorist" (although I realize cast out is future tense in this verse), which describes a future, unfulfilled event in the past tense, because it is so sure to be fulfilled. By analogy, the future casting out of Satan is as we sometimes say "a done deal!" Why? Because at the cross Jesus defeated the ruler and sealed his future doom forever. Satan now operates as a defeated foe with a finite amount of time left to operate."
That is also correct. Even in Revelation 12: 9 Satan is still called "the deceiver of the whole world" and that is what he is throughout the Book of Revelation until we get to Revelation 20 when he is cast out of the world and imprisoned in the bottomless pit and not able to deceive anyone any longer.
In closing let me say that the Amillennial view that affirms that Revelation 20: 1-3 or John 12: 31 has been fulfilled already has no legs to stand on. People who do not have a bias will admit that Satan is not now bound nor cast into the pit.
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