We continue with,

The Millennium and the End of Sin

Having examined Verses 4-6 let us now return to Verses 1-3 and what our Adventist friends have to say concerning these verses.

“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.” (Rev 20:1-3)

Seventh Day Adventist say:

The millennium, begins with Satan being locked up in a pit, along with all the angels who chose to follow him (Revelation 12:4).

So where is this pit where Satan is to be locked up so he ‘might not deceive the nations any longer’? Though the Bible doesn’t specifically state it, we can infer this pit refers to the earth after the resurrection of the saints.

All the righteous have already been taken up to Heaven to live with Christ (Revelation 20:4), and the wicked are still dead in their graves (Revelation 20:5). There is no one on earth for Satan to deceive. The entire planet is empty, left in ruins, without a single human being (Jeremiah 4:24-26).

We must respectfully disagree with this whole proposition which is wholly contrary to the divine testimony. None of the text supplied (properly interpreted) lend any support to this erroneous conclusion.

The first suggestion that, “The millennium, begins with Satan being locked up in a pit, along with all the angels who chose to follow him” is of course incorrect.

 The millennium begins with the Second Advent, the Parousia or (invisible) presence of our Lord, followed shortly thereafter by the resurrection of the sleeping saints, and then (or afterward) by those who are still alive one by one as they complete their consecration and are proven faithful until death (Likewise invisible and unseen by the world, as all such are translated, resurrected spirit beings). This process continues until the last of the feet members of the body of Christ have gone beyond the vail and the prescribed number of the Church has been completed.

Therefore, Satan cannot be bound until the last of these prospective members of the body have made their calling and election sure. For just as their Master before them they too must be fully tested even as he was. The servant is not above his Master. It is upon us all to be tested even as he, by the world, the flesh and the Adversary. If the Adversary were bound, we (which remain) could not be fully tested in all three points.

The fact is that even after the last of the very elect have been fully tested and gone beyond the vail Satan will not have been bound yet for there still remains the great company class who likewise must be tested. Even though they failed the test for the High Calling to be members of the body of Christ, they still must be tested for life itself.

Such are to be “delivered over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Cor 5:3–5)

Those who have consecrated (chosen to follow in the Masters footsteps), but failed to sacrifice voluntarily, will be delivered over to Satan (that is to his servants) for his buffeting, and pass through a great tribulation, with a view to effecting in them by this means a proper penitence for sin and a proper appreciation of the divine standard of truth and righteousness. The majority of this neglected class the scriptures seem to intimate will be found in the end of this age (in the day of the Lord Jesus, the day of his Parousia)— though doubtless there have been some of the same class throughout the age.” (R4035)

As for Revelation 12:4 this has nothing to do with the fallen angels following Satan as our Adventist friends suggest. Nevertheless, it is only natural that they should interpret it as such barring the fact that this particular Chapter of Revelation has been purposely presented by God as viewed through the eyes of the Professing Church, not as it is actually understood mind you, but as they see it. Thus, with the true interpretation of this chapter hidden from them they tend to imagine all types of vain things when interpreting it.

They seem to forget that Revelation is a symbolic prophecy as alluded to in the opening chapter by the apostle John. Trying to force a literal interpretation upon it only leads to confusion (as should be self-evident by the vast number of commentaries written upon the subject each depicting a somewhat different scenario).

Going back to Verse 3 of this chapter will help us get a true baring on what is actually meant, viz.,

“And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.”

A dragon is a civil power; the red dragon here represents Pagan Rome.

This dragon has seven heads (seven forms of government) and ten horns (supporting powers). Not all at the same time, but one following the next over time. The crowns upon the heads show Rome’s sovereignty during its seven stages.

“His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.”

The tail of this dragon is likely Constantine as he was the LAST emperor in Rome; he moved the Imperial capital to Constantinople setting up great changes in history. Constantine, now embracing Christianity, and being chief religious’ ruler of the empire, called the Council of Nice which drew to it one third of all the bishops (stars, teachers) of heaven (the Christian religious ruler-ship). It is almost at this point that Babylon is born. The bishops are “cast…to the earth” – that is to say, they now become primarily embroiled in earthly power-grabs and political maneuvering. Their spirituality is lost.”

For a more through look of Revelation Chapter 12 please see, “The Study of Revelation, Part 1”

In our next post we will reexamine Revelation Chapter 20 Verses 1-3 for ourselves.