Satan bound During the Gospel age, the Saints ruling and reigning with Christ:
And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. Mk3:26-27
Satan is bound during the Gospel Age, (Rev20:1-3) in the sense that he now has his own ‘limited territory in which to operate. Thus he has been ‘Stripped (spoiled) of his advantage, Col2:15, (cast out Jh12:31) in that those who are truly in Christ have Victory over ‘Sin, flesh and devil, walking by obedient faith, working by love and Purifying their hearts of all worldly defilements. (note: this does not include the repeat after me crowd, saved in sin, sin daily folks in the apostate professed churches who imagine themselves in Christ) He is still the Prince and power of the air, god of this age and roaring lion prowling about seeking whom he may devour. (Eph6:12, 1Cor4:3, 1Pet5:-8-9) But is NOT able to entirely stop the spread of Gospel truth from God's holy remnant who keep the faith even unto death.
The True Saints (overcomers) Rule and Reign with Christ Now, in live and in
death:
For if we died with Him, We shall also live
with Him. If we
endure, We shall also reign with Him If we deny Him, He also will deny us.
If we are
faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himsel. 1Tim2:12-13
For to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord 2 Cor. 5:8, We reign even over death because we have part in the first resurrection. For: 'blessed are the dead which die in the Lord Rev14:13, the second death, spiritual-death in hell-has no power over those who are in Christ Jesus! Rev20:6
His Saints have the power and authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, Lk10:19, to Cast down arguments and every ‘high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ! 2Cor10:5. They Contend earnestly for the faith that was once delivered, Jude3-4, and expose the unfruitful works of darkness, Eph5:11. The professed Church types have been rendered impotent against the powers of darkness, having been overtaken by the sooth and flattering speech of false teachers who promise them liberty in their sins and tickle their ears with fables, 2Pet2:18, 2Tim4:3-4. When Christ announced the Kingdom of heaven at hand, Mk1:15, He was speaking of the Saints 'spiritual identity in Him and their present tense position of 'sitting together' in heavenly places, ruling with Him and being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. He is the Chief Cornerstone of the Holy Temple of our household (fellowship of Saints) as it grows in Perfection and stature unto Him.
and raised us up
together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to
come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us
in Christ Jesus.
n whom you also are being built together for a
dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Eph2:6-7, 22
John
declared: We know that
whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth
himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. 1Jh5:18
Herein is the present position of a true Saint of God, he
'keeps himself'
(pure from sin, guarded) and the
'wicked one
(Satan's minions) cannot touch him! But under the existing deception of casting
the Millennial Kingdom into the far off future, the Professed Church cannot
expect this kind of victory over sin, flesh and devil until they are in their
glorified bodies after the (supposed) Rapture. Here they are merely 'sinners
saved by grace, offering up their filthy rags to God with desperately wicked
hearts continually subject to repeated failure and shame, but under the Magic
Cover that removes them from personal responsibility for their actions.
Everything Scriptures says about the Saints overcoming, keeping the faith,
having victory over the beast, his image, the mark and the number of his name
(Rev15:2) is reserved for the 'Tribulation yet to come. (which they will escape
since they are not appointed unto Wrath, 1Thes5:9)
But the Tribulation has already begun, Rev1:9, and will increase
in intensity as the Day approaches
(Lk21:25-28, Heb10:25) Satan is Cast out, overcome, stripped of his advantage, at the Cross, Jesus declared: 'I saw Satan fall like lightening from heave!' Lk19:18, (Confirmed in: Isa14:12, Ezk28:16-17, Rev12:9) the Millennial Age (thousand: chilioi, undetermined timeframe) is upon us and will not end until the Return of Christ. There is no Chronological order of events revealed in the Book of Revelations, rather it is a series of Visions shown to John concerning the Gospel age and the coming End of the ages, when 'Time shall be no more', Rev21:1, and so will then commence the New heaven and New earth in which righteousness dwells.
There is
NOT
two Kingdom reigns, two Returns, two houses or two Judgments! When Christ
returns at the Final Trump,
ONE
bodily resurrection takes place and the Separation begins between the Just and
the unjust, the Sheep and the goats, the good and the bad, Wheat from the
Tares, Jh5:28-29, Lk20:34-36, Mat25:31-46, 13:42-43,
NOTHING
is said to follow these events except the Great White Throne Judgment,
Rev20:11-15. The resurrected are
NOT
thrust into some mythical 1000 yr Kingdom reign, followed by yet another binding
and releasing of Satan and concluding in another Armageddon. Every Passage
declares a
FINAL
harvest taking place, the Parables of the Lord correspond with Rev14:14-16:
And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and
upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden
crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
And another angel came out of the temple,
crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and
reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is
ripe. And he that
sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
And another angel came out of
the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
And another angel came
out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him
that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the
clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. Jn5:28-29
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Dan12:1
There is nothing
Secret about His return, 'the Voice of the Archangel, the Trumpet of God, 'forever
with the Lord!' Again, nothing said about the resurrected Saints dwelling in a 'temporary
earthy Kingdom subject to more deception and war. The eternal Kingdom commences!
Those alive at the time will be 'caught up' in the clouds, those
already deceased 'raised into their glorified bodies. Are we to 'believe
that 'Glorified Saints and supposed survivors of the tribulation are dwelling
together in the Millennial Kingdom? If so, WHERE did these
'survivors come from if 'everyone living is Killed in the final conflict,
Rev19:21
For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:
and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in
the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1Thes4:17
This is Directly in line with the Final, 7th Trumpet Rev11:15: 'And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
The Apostles were not looking for a temporal Kingdom, but for a FULL and final Redemption of all creation, in which death, sorrow, pain and tears will be no more and Righteousness dwells. Could they say these things if deception and war were still a factor in the Kingdom?
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2Pet3:10-13
For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Rom8:22, 25
And God will wipe
away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor
crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.
Rev21:4
Christ is reigning now, seated at the Right hand of the Father in heaven, Lk22:69, Col3:1, Eph1:20-23, Acts2:34-35, His Saints reigning with Him, in this, the Gospel Age, until all enemies are put under His feet and the end comes, Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For “He has put all things under His feet 1Cor15:24-27
When He returns, He will deliver the Kingdom to God, this will be done ONCE and for all time! The Gospel age represent the Millennial reign, when it concludes all things will be made New and nothing that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie shall remain. Rev21:27. The language of Rev20, wherein the futurists find their Millennial fallacies, is difficult to unravel. It speaks of Satan being bound for a thousand years (chilioi) and cast into a bottomless pit and then released for a time and brought to final judgment. Taken literally, as the futurists often do, this becomes problematical, in that (as we've already shown) Christ has bound the Strong man (Satan) already, so for Scriptures to harmonize, Rev20 has to correspond with Christ and the 1000 yrs, as it is shown concluding with final Judgment, must also line up with what Scripture reveals about the Return of Christ. This cannot be a 'separate event, following chronologically a 'supposed Rapture return of Christ, seven year tribulation and commencement of a Millennial reign in which we have another binding and releasing of Satan.
To properly understand this, we must accept the fact that John is speaking in highly illustrative and metaphorical language throughout the Book of Revelation. As the Mark represents an identity and the Beast a System, (and a thousand is not a literal thousand) so the Binding and Bottomless Pit must be applied in the same manner in order to coincide with the rest of Scripture. The Bottomless Pit, of immeasurable depth, can also represent a bottomless pit of evil from where proceeds an endless torrent of false teachers, evil spirits, darkness and lies, proceeding forth as a cloud blinding the nations, Rev9. Therefore when Satan was bound by Christ, or 'deprived of his full authority over man, the Gospel was able to 'turn the world upside down, Acts17:6, and millions, Jews and Gentiles alike, were brought into the fold. However, when 'The thousands years have expired Satan will be released', and wreck his havoc on man. Meaning as we approach the end of the Gospel age (the signs showing forth, Lk21:21-28) and the Mystery of Lawlessness (no longer restrained by the truth) is fully revealed, 2Thes2:8-9, the Professing Church almost entirely apostate, 2Tim3:1-5, 4:1-4, the 'fallen star, Rev12:1, uses the Key (representing authority) to unlock the Pit and allow Satan's territory to expand (be loosed) and with all 'lying signs and wonders, in unrighteous deception, DECEIVE those who love not the truth that they might be Saved! The Gospel that has previously restrained him, Keys of Kingdom of heaven, Mat16:19, are frustrated by the Man of sin (false teachers) being revealed in the Great falling away. 2Thes2:3, apostasy. Satan knows his time is running out, Rev12:12 and his wrath is great against the true Saints. He has overcome the establishment Church Systems, given his authority to the Beast and his image and is ruling over Mystery Babylon in all its malevolent glory. The 'loosing' is an 'accomplishing of prophetic events taking place as the Gospel age winds down and Judgment draws near. (IMO)
Yet , in the midst of all this chaos, His True Saints have Nothing to fear! As they have overcome since the days of John (tribulations) so they continue to overcome as the tribulation intensity to the end. Both the living and the dead martyrs, 'Witnesses, testify in the Spiritual realm together and await final redemption.
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Rev14:12
And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. Rev15:2
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Rev12:11, 17
His True Bride is making herself ready, Rev19:7-8, clothed in fine White Linen that represents their righteous acts being found by Him without spot and blameless prepared to dwell with Him forever in the New heaven and New earth wherein Righteousness dwells. 2Pet3:14 There is NOTHING in Scripture to indicate that another (Millennial) age will commence following the Gospel age that concludes with the Return of Christ. That would mean Christ must return 'Twice, Satan must be bound and released Twice and the final Judgment must occur Twice! YET Scripture clearly shows there is ONE final Trump announcing the return of Christ, ONE Resurrection of the dead and ONE Judgment. There are no Second chances, when the Gospel age is finished the Day of Salvation is over. That's why the call is imperative: In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2Cor6:1
By Mike D