One of the most debated passages in the New Testament is Book of Revelation 20:1–3, which describes Satan being bound for a thousand years so that he can no longer deceive the nations. Some readers assume this refers only to a future event. However, when Revelation is read alongside earlier biblical passages—especially Isaiah and the Gospels—a strong case can be made that this “binding” began with Christ’s first coming.
To understand this, we must follow the Bible’s unfolding storyline.
Promise in Isaiah: God Will Rescue Captives from the Mighty
Isaiah presents a powerful oppressor holding captives. Yet God promises to personally intervene, defeat that oppressor, and free those enslaved. In light of later revelation, this “mighty” adversary finds its fullest expression in Satan, who holds humanity in bondage.²
Jesus Explains His Mission: Binding the Strong Man
In the New Testament, the word translated “bind” is the Greek verb deō, which means to tie, fasten, or restrain. It is a common word used for chaining a prisoner or tying someone up. In the Gospel of Matthew 12:29 and Gospel of Mark 3:27, Jesus says that before someone can plunder a strong man’s house, he must first bind the strong man. Jesus identifies Satan as the “strong man.” His “house” represents the world under his influence, and his “goods” represent people held in spiritual bondage.
Jesus uses this picture to explain His ministry: He is the stronger one who restrains Satan in order to free those under his control. The point is not that Satan ceases to exist or becomes completely inactive, but that his authority is limited so Christ’s kingdom can advance.
Importantly, Jesus speaks of this binding as something occurring in His own ministry—not as a distant future event. His exorcisms demonstrate that Satan’s authority is already being broken.⁵
A Living Example: Loosed from Satan’s Bond
Here Jesus explicitly describes Satan as having “bound” her. Her healing becomes a visible sign that Satan’s grip is being undone. The language of binding and loosing reinforces what Jesus had already declared: He is overpowering the adversary.
The Purpose of Christ’s Coming
To “destroy” does not mean Satan ceases to exist, but that his works are dismantled and rendered powerless. Christ’s death and resurrection decisively limit Satan’s authority.⁸
Revelation 20:1–3 — The Dragon Bound
The purpose of the binding is specific: Satan is restrained from deceiving the nations. The text does not say that Satan becomes inactive in every sense, but that his ability to hold the nations in total spiritual darkness is curtailed.
Consider that the word used in the Gospels and translated as “bind” is the Greek verb deō. It means to tie, fasten, or restrain. The same verb appears in the Book of Revelation 20:2, where Satan is “bound” for a thousand years. The purpose of the binding is clearly stated: it is “so that he might not deceive the nations any longer.” The restriction is specific. It does not say Satan stops tempting individuals, influencing cultures, or opposing believers. Instead, it indicates that his former grip over the nations—a grip he has held since Babel and which has been keeping them in widespread spiritual darkness—is decisively curtailed. Binding, in biblical language, means limitation of authority, not total inactivity.
The Meaning of the “Abyss”
Revelation 20 also says that Satan is cast into “the abyss.” The Greek word is abyssos, meaning a deep place or bottomless pit. In the New Testament it refers to a realm associated with demonic restraint. For example, in the Gospel of Luke 8:31, demons beg Jesus not to send them into the abyss. This shows the abyss is a place of confinement or limitation. However, it is not described as the final place of judgment—that later appears in Revelation as the “lake of fire.”
Being placed in the abyss in Revelation 20, therefore, does not mean Satan is removed from all activity everywhere for a literal thousand years. Scripture elsewhere during this same era still describes him as active in opposing believers (e.g., 1 Peter 5:8). The imagery instead communicates restriction in a particular sense: he cannot prevent the gospel from going to the nations. Nor does the passage suggest that the thousand years is a period of complete earthly peace or bliss. Evil, suffering, and spiritual conflict still exist in the present age. The abyss symbolizes restraint and limitation, not total silence or a utopian era. It portrays Satan’s authority as decisively curbed by Christ’s victory, while awaiting his final and permanent judgment at the end of the age.
The Matthew–Revelation Covenant Framework
Within a Matthew–Revelation covenant framework, the storyline unfolds coherently.
He then commissions His disciples to make disciples of all nations.¹³
- Fulfillment begins (Christ’s ministry).
- Authority is secured (cross and resurrection).
- The nations are discipled (church age).
- Final consummation awaits Christ’s return.
The “thousand years” is therefore best understood symbolically, representing the present gospel age between Christ’s first and second comings.14
Conclusion
The binding of Satan represents the decisive limitation of his authority brought about by Christ’s redemptive work. The strong man has been bound. The captives are being freed. And the kingdom advances until its final consummation.
Endnotes
Isaiah 49:22–25 (ESV).
Cf. John 12:31; Colossians 2:15.
Matthew 12:29 (ESV).
Luke 11:21–22 (ESV); cf. Mark 3:27.
G. K. Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011), 606–609.
Luke 13:16 (ESV).
1 John 3:8 (ESV).
Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14–15.
Revelation 20:1–3 (ESV).
Cf. Matthew 12:28–29.
Matthew 4:17.
Matthew 28:18.
Matthew 28:19–20.
Augustine, The City of God, 20.7–9; see also Beale, The Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 990–1002.
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