Revelation 20:1-3 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. (2) He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; (3) 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.”
In this section we have been discussing the various inhabitants of the earth that will be present during our Lord’s millennial reign. Nevertheless, there is one category of inhabitants that will be conspicuous by their absence during that time, i.e. the devil and his angels. In the above quoted passage of scripture we can see that for the duration of the Lord’s millennial reign, the devil and his angels will be bound up in the bottomless pit. For the last number of millennia mankind has been plagued by the reign of Satan and his angles on the earth; as his demons have wrecked havoc among mankind through their continuous instigation of wars, misery and destruction. As can be seen from this passage, all of their deceptive influence will be removed from the earth during the Lord’s millennial reign, thus allowing mankind to live in peace and stability for the first time since Adam and Eve walked in the Garden of Eden.
Isaiah 14:5-18 “The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the ruler; (6) He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, He who ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted and no one hinders. (7) The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing. (8) Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, Saying, 'Since you were cut down, No woodsman has come up against us.' (9) "Hell from beneath is excited about you, to meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. (10) They all shall speak and say to you: 'Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? (11) Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your stringed instruments; the maggot is spread under you, and worms cover you.' (12) "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! (13) For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' (15) Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. (16) "Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, (17) Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?' (18) "All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, everyone in his own house.”
The above quoted passage of scripture describes the wickedness of Satan’s rule over the earth. This passage describes Satan as striking the people in wrath with a continual stroke and ruling the nations in anger. This passage goes on to say that Satan made the earth tremble, shook kingdoms, weakened the nations, made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities. This passage then describes the event of Satan being shut up in the bottomless pit for one thousand years i.e. during the Lord’s millennial reign; Hell from beneath is excited about you, to meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you: 'Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your stringed instruments; the maggot is spread under you, and worms cover you.' "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! This passage then goes on to tell us how the nations of the earth will react to the knowledge of the devil and his angels being cast into the bottomless pit during that time, for it says that the whole earth will be at rest and quiet and they will break forth into singing. Clearly the devil and his demons will not be missed during the Lord’s millennial reign.
Michael E.B. Maher
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