Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; (Revelation 20:1 NKJV)
I read the bible everyday. I usually read two or three chapters. I have never begun at Genesis 1:1 and read straight through to the end of Revelation. My pattern is sometimes random at my own whim, and sometimes Spirit led. I've read the entire bible several times, and some books many times. Right now, I am again reading Revelation. I'm near the end, chapter 20, where I came across today's verse.
Revelation is John's account of what Jesus revealed to him about the final days of the Age of Grace in which we live, and the return of Christ. Here he witnessed Satan's capture and imprisonment -- Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years... We often view Satan as more powerful than he is. Oh, he has power, but he is by no means in equal opposition to the lord. When it is time for his apprehension, Jesus won't come to get him, or even Michael or Gabriel, God's most powerful angels. Just an unnamed angel from the Lord's host of angels will be sufficient to do the job.
...and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; Satan had a moment two thousand years ago where he believed he had successfully entombed the son of God, Jesus. He probably celebrated that as a great victory..... for just three days. When Jesus decides to remove Satan's influence from the earth for a thousand years, it will be done with sparse effort. This will not be his full and final punishment. That will come a millennium later. Perhaps it will be a great heartache for him to see his manipulative influence removed and the earth, and to see it's creatures, man and the Lord in living in harmonic peace.
Satan has read the end of the Book. He knows what is coming for himself, and often tries to attack Christians in a similar way. He wants to bind us with fear or shame or by convincing us that his authority is equal to the Lord. God seeds ministry in our hearts and Satan screams that we will surely fail. He would love to bind us in the smallest Christian image he can so that the influence of Christ in us won't overshadow him. God seeds hope, he seeds fear and we are left to follow fear or faith.
Is there a ministry dream the Lord has placed in your heart that you are afraid to step into? Jesus doesn't send us into ministry, He leads us. Everywhere He asks us to step, He has already tread. Quit listening to the deceiver, and follow Christ. When you do, Satan's voice will fade in the distance.
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