Has the Devil already been bound “so that he should deceive the nations no more”? Or is the prophesied binding of Satan a future event?

In the book of Revelation, a powerful "fiery red dragon" wages war with the people of God. The dragon is none other than "that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world." He is the "accuser of our brethren," and his chief agents of destruction are a seven-headed beast from the sea and a two-horned beast from the h (see Revelation 12–13). These two monstrous entities—also known as "the beast and the false prophet"—are political and religious powers the Devil uses in his war against the saints, "who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 12:17).

Ultimately, the Devil loses the battle. The beast and false prophet and the legions that follow them are defeated by the "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS," who "strikes the nations" with His "sharp sword" and "treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" (Revelation 19:16–17).

The Devil, now defeated, is captured, bound, and imprisoned. John puts it this way:

"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; 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" (Revelation 20:1–3).

Satan, a spirit being, cannot be bound with a literal chain or confined to a literal pit. So the symbolic nature of this description is not in question. The question is two-fold: 1) When does the binding of Satan occur? 2) What is the nature of this binding?"

"Post- and Amillennialist Views

Amillennialist Jack Cottrell says that Revelation 20:1–3 "symbolically represents Christ's present control over Satan and his works, and the consequent limitation of his power" (The Faith Once for All, p. 497).

Reformed theologian Douglas F. Kelly states, "As a result of Christ's finished work in dying on the cross, in rising from the dead, in ascending to the Father, and in being crowned on the throne of glory, Satan lost his power to deceive the untold millions of pagans, whom he formerly kept blinded to God's saving truth" (http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/binding-satan/). Professor Kelly further states, "Although the evil one still has limited power in a fallen world, it is far less than what he had when he was able to bind and blind all nations outside Israel" (ibid.).

Postmillennialist Kenneth Gentry, also a Reformed theologian, writes, "The implications of this binding are enormous. Before Christ's coming, all nations beyond Israel are under Satan's dominion… Israel, alone of all the peoples of the earth, knows the true God and enjoys his salvation…. But with Christ's coming and the spread of 'the gospel of the kingdom,' Satan's dominion over the Gentiles collapses" (http://postmillennialismtoday.com/2014/02/03/the- binding-of-satan/).

Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, commenting on Revelation 20:1–3, writes, "The illumination of the nations with the light of the gospel is effected both by the [first] coming of Christ and by the binding of Satan" (The Book of Revelation, p. 210). Professor Hughes, after presenting the evidence, concludes "that the thousand years during which Satan is bound and confined had their beginning with the incarnation of the eternal Son, and in particular with the achievement of the purpose of the incarnation, namely, the conquest of Satan and his realm on the cross of Calvary and the redemption of man by the grace that flows from the cross…" (ibid., p. 211).

According to these scholars, the binding of Satan has already occurred, and the "binding" is not the complete removal of Satan's deceptive influence in the world but the limitation of his power to deceive.

Augustine on the Binding of Satan

The concept of a past binding of Satan is not new. Augustine (AD 354–430), whose writings strongly influenced Christian theology, especially in the West, taught that the binding of Satan occurred at the first coming of Christ. He believed the "abyss" (or "bottomless pit") into which the chain-bound Devil is cast represents "the countless multitude of the wicked whose hearts are unfathomably deep in malignity against the Church of God." This is not the first time Satan has been in this abyss, Augustine explains, but now that he is "prevented from harming believers, he takes more complete possession of the ungodly" (The City of God, Chapter 7).

If the abyss into which Satan is cast is the "countless multitude of the wicked," how does this "more complete possession" prevent the Devil from deceiving the nations?

Augustine explains, "But by the chain and prison-house of this interdict the devil is prohibited and restrained from seducing those nations which belong to Christ, but which he formerly seduced or held in subjection" (ibid.).

Augustine further explains, "The devil, then, is bound and shut up in the abyss that he may not seduce the nations from which the Church is gathered, and which he formerly seduced before the Church existed. For it is not said 'that he should not seduce any man,' but 'that he should not seduce the nations' — meaning, no doubt, those among which

the Church exists— 'till the thousand years should be" "fulfilled,'—i.e., either what remains of the sixth day which consists of a thousand years, or all the years which are to elapse till the end of the world" (ibid.). For Augustine, then, the "bottomless pit" is not a literal place, but is a metaphorical way of describing wicked men and angels collectively. These are the Devil's own, and in this "pit" of depravity he is confined. He is chained—restricted, greatly limited— and is therefore powerless to suppress the gospel. The gates of hell cannot prevail against Christ's

Church!"

"Biblical Support?

Post- and amillennialists claim scriptural support for the view that Satan has already been chained and imprisoned in the bottomless pit. They appeal to the sound principle of interpreting ambiguous texts in the light of unambiguous ones—so Revelation 20:1–3, they claim, should be understood in the light of unambiguous scriptures on Christ's victory over Satan. Let's look at a few of their favorite proof texts.

John 12:31–33: "'Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.' This He said, signifying by what death He would die."

Jesus is speaking of the effects of His coming death. Through His death, He brings an end to the power of sin and the reign of the Devil. But this passage refers to the beginning, not the end, of the process that will ultimately rid the world of sin's power and the Devil's influence.

Indeed, Christ has defeated the Devil in mortal combat and restricted his activities, but is this what Revelation 20:1–3 describes? We'll come back to this question later.

Colossians 2:15: "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it [i.e., in His death]."

Christ, through His death, removed His disciples' record of sins (see verses 11–13), thus stripping a significant weapon from the arsenal of the "accuser of our brethren." No record of sins means no grounds for

accusation. Christ died to "destroy him who had the"

"power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14–15). The Devil can no longer, through the threat of death, intimidate those who, through Christ's death, have "passed from death into life" (John 5:24).

But is this simply a different way of saying the same thing Revelation 20:1–3 says? It's not difficult to see how one could connect this passage with the "binding of Satan" in Revelation 20, but proof that both passages refer to the same event is lacking.

Matthew 12:28–29: "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 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."

This is a simple analogy. The "strong man" is Satan, and Jesus "binds the strong man" before taking charge of the strong man's house. But is this an action that's already completed? Even if Satan has been in some sense "bound" or restricted, does this mean that no greater restriction will be imposed upon him in the future? This text does not establish a past/present fulfillment for Revelation 20:1–3.

In addition to the above texts, post- and amillennialists highlight the New Testament passages that seem to indicate the Kingdom of God was inaugurated in the time of Jesus and the apostles. As noted above, Jesus said His expulsion of demons by the Spirit of God indicates that "the kingdom of God has come upon you." He sent out His disciples to the cities, instructing them to proclaim, "The kingdom of God has come near to you" (Luke 10:9). Jesus Himself "came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:14–15).

There is a sense in which the Kingdom of God was present then and is present now. During the ministry of Jesus, the Kingdom was present in the Person of the King of the Kingdom. The Church of God is the embryonic Kingdom, but not the Kingdom in its full and final form. So yes, there is a sense in which the Kingdom of God was and is present. But if there is no future establishment of the Kingdom of God on this earth, then there is no sense in which the Kingdom is now present! The presence of the Kingdom depends entirely upon the Kingdom of God as a future reality. To put it another way, aspects of the future Kingdom may, according to God's purposes, be brought into the present. This principle, widely recognized by Bible scholars, has been described as the "presence of the future."

And this leads us to an essential but often overlooked principle—one found throughout Scripture and is a vital key to understanding the above scriptures and many similar ones.

Proleptic Statements

"Prolepsis" is defined as "the representation or assumption of a future act or development as if presently existing or accomplished" (Merriam- Webster Dictionary). Proleptic statements are not uncommon. For example, someone may say, "You're in," when in fact you're not yet in, or "You're a dead man," when in fact you're still alive. These statements anticipate a future reality, but they're stated as if the anticipated reality presently exists. The term "prolepsis" literally means anticipation.

Proleptic statements appear throughout Scripture.

God warned Adam, "[I]n the day that you eat of it [the tree of the knowledge of good and evil] you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17). This may be considered proleptic, for Adam did not die in the day he ate of the forbidden fruit. In effect, God was saying, "Eat it, and you're as good as dead."

God was speaking proleptically when He said to Abraham, "I have made you a father of many nations" (Genesis 17:5). Isaac, heir of the promise, had not yet been born when this statement was made.

In Genesis 17:16, God promises to give Abraham a son through his wife Sarah. English translations usually render the verbs in the passage in the future sense. The NKJV, for instance, states, "And I will bless her and also give you a son by her." However, the Hebrew uses the past tense, stating that God gave a son to Abraham by Sarah, though Isaac had not yet been born at the time this statement was made. Young's Literal Translation renders the verse this way: "and I have blessed her, and have also given to thee a son from her; and I have blessed her, and she hath become nations—kings of peoples are from her." This is another example of a proleptic statement.

Paul, after speaking of Abraham's faith and quoting Genesis 17:5 ("I have made you a father of many nations"), states that God "gives life to the dead and calls those things that do not exist as though they did" (Romans 4:17). Paul, then, recognized the use of prolepsis in Scripture.

The "presence of the Kingdom" passages should be understood as proleptic statements, for apart from the certainty of the future Kingdom of God, the Kingdom cannot in any sense be present. Unless there is a future resurrection of the dead, God's people have not in any sense been "made alive" or "raised" with Christ. And unless there is a future resurrection and transformation of the saints, there is no such thing as eternal life as a present possession.

God, says Paul, "made us alive together with Christ … and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6–7). This statement is not true if there is no future Kingdom of God. Our having been "made alive" anticipates and depends upon the future reality of the resurrection of the dead. Our position "in heavenly places" anticipates and depends upon our future inheritance in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus assures us that "he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life" (John 5:24). Believers have"

"eternal life as a present possession only in the sense that, as long as they're faithful, eternal life is guaranteed to them. Jesus, then, is speaking proleptical- ly.

The writer of the book of Hebrews understood Psalm 8:6 ("You have put all things in subjection under his [man's] feet") proleptically. He writes, "For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do NOT YET see all things put under him" (Hebrews 2:6, emphasis added).

The prophetic visions that make up the book of Revelation are interspersed with proleptic pictures of the triumphant church (7:4–17; 14:1–5; 15:2–4; 20:4–6). These "snapshots" of the glorified church of the future are designed to encourage the persecuted saints and motivate them to faithfully persevere in keeping the commandments of God and holding the faith of Jesus.

A good understanding of the use of prolepsis in the Bible should help us better understand the biblical statements assuring us that Christ has vanquished the enemy, having taken him and his legions captive and made a public spectacle of them. While it is true that Christ defeated the Devil in mortal combat and restricted his power, the proleptic element within these passages should not be ignored. And it may be true that the future binding of Satan has, in a limited sense, been brought into the present, but it is clear that the full confinement described in Revelation 20:1–3 has not yet happened!

The Devil Is "Alive and Well"—and ACTIVE—on Planet Earth!

Peter cautioned, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world" (1 Peter 5:8–9).

How does Satan cause the "brotherhood in the world" to experience "sufferings"? He uses human agents in his war against God's people. Sometimes these human agents are government officials and religious leaders. In other words, according to Peter, the Devil still has the power to deceive the nations. Surely Peter did not think the Devil had been chained and confined in such a way "that he should deceive the nations no more."

Paul affirms this when he writes, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:11–12).

Paul is saying that the real enemy is Satan, the Devil, not the human principalities, powers, and rulers the Devil deceives and uses in his war against the people of God. Paul obviously did not believe Satan had been so restricted that he could no longer deceive the nations.

To the Ephesian believers, Paul writes, "And you… were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:1–2).

The "prince of the power of the air" is Satan. Here Paul connects Satan with "the course of this world," indicating the powerful influence Satan exerts in the world, and tells the Ephesian believers they were once under the Devil's powerful influence. He affirms that Satan is still very active in the world when he describes him as "the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience."

As noted earlier, the two beasts of Revelation— "the beast and the false prophet"—are political and religious powers Satan influences and uses in his war against the people of God. In their original form, they were the Roman Empire and the propagandizing imperial cult, but embodiments of these two powers have appeared several times over the centuries and will appear again as a major force at the end of the age. This shows that Satan still "deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9).

Some interpreters claim that Revelation 20:1–3 (the binding of Satan) and Revelation 12:7–9 (Satan's expulsion from heaven) are two very different ways of saying the same thing. Philip E. Hughes, for instance, writes, "The casting of the dragon into the abyss, therefore, we understand as coinciding with his being cast down from heaven as previously recorded in 12:7–9" (The Book of Revelation, p. 210).

In agreement with this view, the booklet Revelation: A Divine Message of Hope, published by the Knights of Columbus, states, "Thus the thousand-year reign is not something confined to the end of the world. It is now going on. The chaining of Satan is one way of saying what was put quite another way in 12:7–9. There Satan was pictured cast out of heaven to lead the world astray. Here he is cast out and sub- mitted to control. Both facts are true" (p. 42).

But this view obscures the story flow that emerges from the successive visions that make up the book. In Revelations 12 and 13, the expelled dragon makes war with the saints, empowers the beast and false prophet, and leads the world astray. In chapters 19 and 20, the beast and false prophet are destroyed, and the dragon is chained and sealed in the abyss. This is not one vision recapitulating another, but visions that reveal a chronologically ordered flow of events.

The Binding and Imprisonment of Satan

Revelation 19:11–21 describes the Second Coming of Christ. If, as some claim, this is not the Second Coming, then the book of Revelation, which describes "a new heaven and a new earth" and "the holy city, New Jerusalem" (chapters 21–22), apparently does not speak of the Second Coming of Christ. Given the central place of the Second Advent in the ending of the old age and the beginning of the new one, it would seem odd indeed if the book of Revelation did not include a description of this crucial event.

In Revelation 19:11–21, Christ, depicted as a Warrior-King riding a white horse, comes with His heavenly army and meets His enemies on the battlefield. The beast and false prophet are "cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone" (verse 20), and their armies are "killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse" (verse 21). Then, an angel descends from heaven, captures the dragon, binds him, casts him into the bottomless pit, and secures the entry so the dragon cannot escape (20:1–3). As long as he's confined to the pit, the dragon can "deceive the nations no more."

The description here does not harmonize with the picture of the Devil as a "roaring lion" who "walks about … seeking whom he may devour" or as the "prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience." Nor does it complement the notion of a crime boss who, though incarcerated, has limited but significant influence through contacts outside the prison walls. No, what is described here, in highly symbolic terms, is the complete (though temporary) removal of the Devil's influence. The Devil is out of sight, out of mind— until he shows up again at the end of the Millennium.

Between now and the day Satan is chained and confined, God's people will have to contend with him. Paul's advice to the saints of Ephesus is the best advice for saints today…

"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11)."