We continue with,

The Millennium and the End of Sin

We continue with our look at Rev 20:1-3 this time as it is explained by Brother Frank Shallieu in his work, “The Keys of Revelation.”

VERSE 1 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand”.

“Jesus is the “angel” who has the key of the abyss. A “key” signifies the authority to lock and to unlock. In this case the locking is emphasized. Earlier, the fact that Jesus had the key was encouraging to the Church, for it meant he could unlock the chamber of death (Rev. 1:18). Here Jesus is the prison keeper of the “bottomless pit,” in which he will put Satan, the Adversary.

Great Chain of Light?

Is “light” the chain that binds the Adversary?

Do the opening of people’s eyes and the taking away, in part, of the ignorance with which Satan has blinded the masses curtail his influence in any manner?

Perhaps these questions would best be answered by still another question.

If light binds Satan, how is it possible for him to be loosed at the end of the Kingdom Age when (a) “the light of the sun shall be sevenfold” (Isa. 30:26), (b) all shall know the Lord from the least unto the greatest (Jer. 31:34), and (c) “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14)?

If light is binding Satan, how can the powers of evil be increasing day by day? If light can bind the prince of demons, would it not proportionately also bind the fallen angels . . . and even more so?

Satan capitalizes on a person’s known weaknesses. There are three time-honored areas of temptation: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Only one of these will now be considered: the flesh. No amount of education—in itself—can offset the depraved tastes and overpowering lusts and sexual desires that afflict the vast majority of mankind. Hence mental knowledge and moral enlightenment of proper behavior are not sufficient to bind Satan. As an invisible spirit being, he is greatly advantaged, whereas humanity is correspondingly disadvantaged by not being able to discern in advance, and thus guard against, the moment the Adversary chooses to make his attack.

The solution is God’s Kingdom, and in order for that Kingdom to be a success, there must be a new Mediator, a New Covenant, new instructors, and power as well as wisdom—all of which Jesus has in his possession. Even though a perfect Law with all the accompanying knowledge was given to Israel, the nation failed miserably; and if a perfect law were given to the world today, the people would also fail miserably. In fact, stupendous miracles, signs, and wonders attended the Israelites in Moses’ day, and yet they sinned only a week or two afterwards. Thus, in order for the human race to escape the ensnarement of sin in the next age, Satan and the powers of evil will have to be bound and each person given private aid and instruction. The people will need help mentally, morally, physically, and spiritually—in every way. Personal assistance will be required for them to reach perfection and to attain everlasting life. God has guaranteed that earth’s High Priest will do everything he can to assist them.

Light, for the present, merely makes Satan change his tactics at times. For instance, if a person who has been deceived by a certain means becomes aware of that method, the Adversary realizes the tactic must be changed. The Devil’s quiver is full of a deadly assortment of arrows. Light itself is not sufficient to bring in the Kingdom. Utopia will never be established unless Satan and his institutions are brought to naught. Not only does the roaring lion have to be chained, but the stones and other obstructions he has set up have to be removed so that there will be no hindrances (Isa. 35:8,9; 62:10).

We move on to Verses 2 and 3 in our next post.