Sealed in the Pit
By Pastor Kevin Sadler
(An excerpt from Revelation Volume 4, available in late 2018.)
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season” (Revelation 20:1-3).
After the
Savior’s death on the cross, a seal was placed on the stone at the
entrance of Christ’s tomb. Matthew 27:66 tells us, “So they went, and
made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.” On
resurrection morning though, the seal was broken and the stone was
rolled away, because Christ had conquered the grave. That seal could
never have kept Him in that tomb. He is “the Resurrection, and the Life”
(John 11:25). He is the “Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the
Ending…which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty”
(Revelation 1:8).
A “seal” will
be set upon the devil when he is shut in the bottomless pit. He is
powerless to break that seal, demonstrating that he is a created being.
If Satan could break this seal, he absolutely would. He will have 1000
years to try to break it, but he will fail.
This contrast
shows that we who believe and are on the Lord’s side are on the side of
power, victory, and hope. Those who are outside of Christ are on the
side of weakness, defeat, and hopelessness. By faith in Christ alone,
the unbelieving can be rescued and “delivered…from the power [authority]
of darkness, and…translated…into the kingdom of His dear Son”
(Colossians 1:13).
The seal placed
upon Satan ensures that he will no longer deceive the nations during
the 1000 years of Christ’s earthly kingdom. As we read in Revelation
20:3: “and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no
more.” Isaiah 14:12 says that he “weaken[s] the nations,” and he does
this by his deceptions. Satan will be sealed in his prison, giving
blessed relief to the earth and its inhabitants by his absence. He is
the one “which deceiveth the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). With Satan
locked up, the whole world will be set free from his deceits and wiles.
After the
1000-year phase of Christ’s earthly kingdom is “fulfilled… he must be
loosed a little season.” Satan will not be rehabilitated during his
1000-year sentence. God reveals to us that Satan’s nature will not
change even after 10 centuries of confinement. He will remain proud,
defiant, and at enmity against God. His hatred of God will only burn
hotter after the 1000 years. By Satan being released, God also reveals
that mankind doesn’t change either. After 1000 years, we see how
susceptible mankind will still be to Satan’s deceptions and methods, as
the number who are deceived and follow him will be “as the sand of the
sea” (Revelation 20:8).
The loosing of
Satan for a short time is part of God’s sovereign plan: “he must be
loosed” (v. 3). Everything God does is good and righteous and has a
purpose. Mankind has a free will and, at the close of the Millennium,
just prior to the eternal state, God gives the inhabitants of Christ’s
earthly kingdom one last opportunity to believe in Christ or reject Him.
After 1000 years of peace and righteousness, with the world as it
should be, will they “have this Man to reign over” them (Luke 19:14)?
The answer from the unbelieving world will be a resounding “No!”
Many think that
the world can be fixed through politics and human government. If we
just get this political ruler or that political ruler in office, then
everything will be all right. It’s a gross understatement to call that
wishful thinking. Even when the perfect Ruler reigns over the world for
1000 years, the world will still choose evil. Even if the world were all
that it could be, people would still reject Christ. It all stems from
the heart of mankind and shows that “The heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9).
Christ can
change the heart. For us under grace, when we trust in Christ, believing
that He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again (1 Corinthians
15:3,4), God creates a new nature in us (2 Corinthians 5:17). By this
“inward man” being “renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16) through the
Word of God and the Holy Spirit, Christ can transform our hearts and
lives (Romans 12:1,2).
Trumpet, Bowl Judgments - Armageddon: Rev 9 & 16 -
Les Feldick
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Les Feldick Ministries
30706 W. Lona Valley Rd.
Kinta, OK 74552
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