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Would he come? While he was in England preaching a crusade, Dwight L. Moody was asked to visit a man who'd been paralyzed for years. Entering the man's house, he expected to find a depressed and gloomy handicap man. Instead, he found him to be vibrant and full of life.
After a long visit, Moody asked the man, "Don't you ever get discouraged, having to lie here like this all day long, week after week?"
"Yes," the man replied, "When the devil comes in, walks over to my bed, and whispers in my ear, Does God really love you, letting you suffer like this? Whenever that happens," the man continued, "I just grab old Satan by the neck and drag him over to the foot of the cross. I make him look at Jesus dying for my sins. And I ask him, doesn't he love me?"
Jesus loves me and you enough to die for our sins. He won a victory over Satan at the cross. The sentence against the Devil hasn't been carried out, yet. Satan is defeated, but not done. He's free to attack God's people and oppose God's work. That freedom will be taken away one day. In Revelation 20:1-3 John tells us he saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss. This angel held in his hand a great chain and with it bound the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, for a thousand years. He "grabbed old Satan by the neck" threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be set free for a short time. God still has one more task for him to perform.
What is this thousand-year period (Millennium)? Why is Satan imprisoned in the Abyss? Why is Satan released and allowed to entice men again to evil? Scholars suggest three possible interpretations. Some believe Jesus will return to establish a specific thousand-year kingdom on earth; others generally believe the thousand-year kingdom is symbolic for the present age; and still others believe Christians will help establish the thousand-year kingdom on earth prior to Jesus' return.
The earliest church Fathers believed in a literal future, thousand-year reign of Christ. Papias is said to have reported that the apostle John promised a material, agricultural paradise to come, in a Millennium after the resurrection of the righteous.
The mid-second century Christian philosopher Justin Martyr accepted a literal, future, thousand-year reign of Christ in a rebuilt Jerusalem after the resurrection of the righteous.
By the time of the fourth century church historian Eusebius nearly all Christian leaders believed the Millennium represented the present era. The Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. condemned belief in a literal Millennium as superstition. Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and many prominent church leaders also agreed with this thinking.
By the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, John Darby's idea of a dispensational literal Millennium became attractive. Concerned with legalism in the church, Darby sought to distinguish which parts in the Bible addressed Israel and which addressed the church. He argued God dealt with Israel until the church age and again would deal with Israel during the Tribulation, after the church's Rapture to heaven.
Debates over interpretations, however, miss the point of Revelation entirely. John's vision occurs within a framework that Jesus will return before the thousand-year period, yet the real debate among diverging views is whether to press his vision as a literal plan for the future. Revelation does have a future Millennium, but it presents not a chronologically sequenced series of future events, but various images that weave together different threads of end-time expectations. Revelation places complementary visions of the end side-by-side, just as the diverse Old Testament portrayals of creation are placed. Some suggest we have misunderstood the point of Revelation because we have missed its literary genre.
Those who interpret the Millennium of Revelation 20 as symbolic for the present age will find encouragement that believers have been raised with Christ, share a role in Christ's kingdom in the world, and will be spared from the horror of a final judgment without Christ.
The context of these verses, however, most naturally suggest a future Millennium and therefore a future hope. One could still argue the future Millennium might be symbolic. The distinctions, though, between a literal or symbolic future period do not affect the most important points. Whether in a temporary intermediate kingdom or in the new heaven and new earth, we will be with Christ. Revelation 20 is a promise of future hope, particularly relevant to those who have suffered. Jesus will raise those who have suffered for him, and they will be rewarded by reigning with him.
The devil cannot act without God's permission, which in turn encourages us not to be afraid of his present activities, including persecution. When God deems the time appropriate, it will take only one angel to imprison the devil -- as Luther's hymn put it, "one little word shall fell him."
The story is told of a time when Satan held a strategy session for subverting those who were close to salvation. "What shall we do?" asked Satan. A daring demon stood and shouted, "I have it! I know what we can do! We can tell men there's no life after death, they die like animals." Satan's face fell as he answered, "It will never work. Man isn't ignorant; even atheists admit of times when they sense a tomorrow after death."
Another demon spoke, "Here's the solution! Let's say there's no God or if there ever was, he's dead--because even if he started the universe, he's left it now." Satan replied in dismay, "That won't work either; most of them know there's a God, even though they don't seek him."
Other ideas were presented, but none brought hope to Satan and his underlings. Finally, as they were about to give up, one demon leaped in glee, "I have it! A sure solution!" The other demons crowded around to hear the plan. "Go tell them God is real and the Bible is God's Word." A gasp came from the audience as the demon continued, "And tell them Jesus is God's Son and frees men from sin." The other demons were horror-stricken, thinking their associate had gone bananas, until, with a smile, he added, "Then tell them this isn't the best time to choose Christ. Help them make excuses for delaying their decision. Tell them there's no hurry!" The demons danced in delight, realizing a workable plan had been discovered.
Satan has been defeated, will be bound for a time, but later released temporarily before his final destruction. God still has a purpose for him. Knowing there will be a final judgment God calls all to repentance, for someday--when it's no longer possible to ignore God and his perfect way--it will be too late to repent.
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Rev. Charles Eldredge is a member of Maitland Church of the Brethren. He has a Facebook page and can be contacted by email: ce1133 @verizon.net.