Desolation of the Earth
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prophet Jeremiah declares: “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without
form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the
mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I
beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens
were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all
the cities thereof were broken down.”
Jeremiah 4:23-26
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Here is to be the home of Satan with his evil angels for a thousand
years. Limited to the earth, he will not have access to other worlds to
tempt and annoy those who have never fallen. It is in this sense that
he is bound: there are none remaining, upon whom he can exercise
his power. He is wholly cut off from the work of deception and ruin
which for so many centuries has been his sole delight.
The prophet Isaiah, looking forward to the time of Satan’s over-
throw, exclaims: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son
of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst
weaken the nations! ... Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into
heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: ... I will be like
the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of
the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider
thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did
shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed
the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?”
Isaiah
14:12-17
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For six thousand years, Satan’s work of rebellion has “made the
earth to tremble.” He had “made the world as a wilderness, and de-
stroyed the cities thereof.” And he “opened not the house of his pris-
oners.” For six thousand years his prison house has received God’s
people, and he would have held them captive forever; but Christ had
broken his bonds and set the prisoners free.
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Even the wicked are now placed beyond the power of Satan, and
alone with his evil angels he remains to realize the effect of the curse
which sin has brought. “The kings of the nations, even all of them, lie
in glory, everyone in his own house [the grave]. But thou art cast out
of thy grave like an abominable branch.... Thou shalt not be joined
with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain
thy people.”
Isaiah 14:18-20
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For a thousand years, Satan will wander to and fro in the desolate
earth to behold the results of his rebellion against the law of God.