Revelation 20:1-2; Having Key of the Bottomless Pit

Revelation 20:1-2 (KJV)  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, 

With the beast, false prophet, and their followers out of the way, the fourth scene of the seventh bowl judgment turns its attention to one who furnished their motivation and power, Satan – And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 

It has been seen earlier the eight scenes of this last bowl portray events in the order of their chronological fulfilment. Further reflection regarding the present paragraph confirms this conclusion. It cannot be recapitulation of the earlier account of Satan’s being cast from heaven to earth where he proceeds to deceive and persecute (Revelation 12:9; 13:14; 18:23).

Revelation 12:9 (KJV)  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 

Revelation 13:14 (KJV)  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 

Revelation 18:23 (KJV)  And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 

The account of Revelation 20:1-3 tells us of a removal from the earth that keeps him from pursuing these activities any longer.

Revelation 20:1-3 (KJV)  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. 

The only way one could view Satan as bound before a time in the future would be to construe his binding as a restriction of his activity, not a cessation of it. Confinement in the bottomless pit, however, requires a complete termination of his activity in the sphere of the earth.

To date this has never happened. The uniform testimony of the New Testament is that Satan is not bound during the period of Christ’s two advents.

The binding of Satan and the thousand years are an element of the seventh and last of the seven bowl judgments, otherwise known as the seven last plagues. So the binding of Satan and the Millennium must come in conjunction with and as a result of the second advent of Christ.

[Robert. L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody, 1995, 404-405]