THE MILLENNIUM (Satan)

The millennium is a period of time that begins after the second coming of Jesus. The same chapter tells us that the saints are in heaven with Jesus during this time. We first start by seeing what happens with Satan.

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…Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. *1

The apostle John in this vision sees an angel coming down with a chain in his hand to bind Satan for a thousand years.

Also, when the service finished atonement in the heavenly sanctuary, then, in the presence of God and the angels and the host of the redeemed, the sins of God's people will be put on Satan, he plead guilty to all evil that has made them commit. And as the scapegoat was released into a desert place, so Satan will be banished to the desolate land without people and turned into a hideous desert .* 2

Now the event takes place foreshadowed in the last solemn service of the Day of Atonement. When the ministration in the holy of holies had been completed, and the sins of Israel had been removed from the sanctuary by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, then the scapegoat was presented alive before the Lord; and in the presence of the congregation the high priest confessed over him "all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat." Leviticus 16:21. In like manner, when the work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary has been completed, then in the presence of God and heavenly angels and the hosts of the redeemed the sins of God's people will be placed upon Satan; he will be declared guilty of all the evil which he has caused them to commit. And as the scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited, so Satan will be banished to the desolate earth, an uninhabited and dreary wilderness.*2

The revelator foretells the banishment of Satan and the condition of chaos and desolation to which the earth is to be reduced, and he declares that this condition will exist for a thousand years.*2

During this time the redeemed are in heaven, the plan of salvation is complete and the only thing that remains is the complete destruction of sin.


The bottomless pit

At the coming of Christ the wicked are removed from the surface of the earth, consumed with the spirit of His mouth and destroyed by the brightness of His glory.

All land looks desolate desert. The ruins of cities and villages destroyed by the earthquake, uprooted trees, ragged rocks thrown by the sea or torn from the earth itself, are scattered over its surface, whereas large caves mark the spot where the mountains were torn from the ground .
That the expression "bottomless pit" represents the earth in a state of confusion and darkness is evident from other scriptures. Concerning the condition of the earth "in the beginning," the Bible record says that it "was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep."*2

And the earth was a formless void and darkness was upon the face of the deep ...*3

I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved back and forth. I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled. I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were broken down At the presence of the LORD, By His fierce anger. *4

Limited to the earth, he will not have access to other worlds to tempt and annoy those who have never fallen. It is in this sense that he is bound: there are none remaining, upon whom he can exercise his power. He is wholly cut off from the work of deception and ruin which for so many centuries has been his sole delight.*2

Even the wicked are now placed beyond the power of Satan, and alone with his evil angels he remains to realize the effect of the curse which sin has brought. *2

And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;* 5

For a thousand years, Satan will wander to and fro in the desolate earth to behold the results of his rebellion against the law of God. During this time his sufferings are intense. Since his fall his life of unceasing activity has banished reflection; but he is now deprived of his power and left to contemplate the part which he has acted since first he rebelled against the government of heaven, and to look forward with trembling and terror to the dreadful future when he must suffer for all the evil that he has done and be punished for the sins that he has caused to be committed. *2

JESUS IS COMING!

1 * Revelation 20:1-6
2 * The Great Controversy, "The Desolation Of The Earth", Ellen White
3 * Genesis 1:2
4 * Jeremiah 4:23-26
5 * Jude 1:6