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The Captivity of Satan, December 13
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.
Revelation 20:1, 2
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At the coming of Christ the wicked are blotted from the face of the
whole earth—consumed with the spirit of His mouth, and destroyed by
the brightness of His glory. Christ takes His people to the city of God,
and the earth is emptied of its inhabitants....
The whole earth appears like a desolate wilderness. The ruins of
cities and villages destroyed by the earthquake, uprooted trees, ragged
rocks thrown out by the sea or torn out of the earth itself, are scattered
over its surface, while vast caverns mark the spot where the mountains
have been rent from their foundations.
Here is to be the home of Satan with his evil angels for a thousand
years. Here he will be confined, to wander up and down over the broken
surface of the earth and see the effects of his rebellion against God’s
law. For a thousand years he can enjoy the fruit of the curse which he
has caused. Limited alone to the earth, he will not have the privilege of
ranging to other planets, to tempt and annoy those who have not fallen.
During this time, Satan suffers extremely. Since his fall his evil traits
have been in constant exercise. But he is then to be deprived of his
power, and left to reflect upon the part which he has acted since his fall,
and to look forward with trembling and terror to the dreadful future,
when he must suffer for all the evil that he has done and be punished for
all the sins that he has caused to be committed.
I heard shouts of triumph from the angels and from the redeemed
saints, which sounded like ten thousand musical instruments, because
they were to be no more annoyed and tempted by Satan and because the
inhabitants of other worlds were delivered from his presence and his
temptations.
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