The Incarceration of Satan

Before beginning this week’s message I want to share with you one of the principal reasons for this blogsite. As much as I want to help others come to a more perfect understanding of Scripture, I continue to hope that others will help me perfect my own understanding. To that end, I had someone draw my attention to an error I made in the December 1st 2006 offering “Openly Teaching Error.” I wrote:

Volume 1 -- Chapter 10 -- Page 1: “When Jacob’s family saw that the two brothers had met as close friends, the wives, children and servants came near and bowed. Jacob explained that they were his two wives, his twelve children and his servants.”
Note: On his return from the land of Laban to his father’s home in Canaan, Jacob brought with him his two wives, “his eleven children,” and his servants! Benjamin, Jacob’s second son by his wife Rachel, had not yet been born.

A few days ago someone close to me asked: “What about Dinah?” He then offered the following scripture: Genesis 30:20-21 “And Leah said, ‘God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.’ So she called his name Zebulun. Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.” -- I missed this completely! -- It seems that when Jacob met his brother Esau he did indeed introduce “...his two wives, his twelve children, and his servants.”

Can you understand the pleasure it gives me that someone took the time to correct me in this? Now my understanding of God’s word is a little more perfect today than it was yesterday -- and I hope and pray it will be a little more perfect tomorrow than it is today.

The Incarceration of Satan

I have no doubt that every member of the “church” of God has researched the scriptural account of the Day of Atonement to his or her own satisfaction; but I wonder whether each of us understands it exactly the same way. What causes me some concern is the removal of the “Azazel” goat into the wilderness. Does this refer to the time of Satan’s 1,000 year incarceration during the reign of Jesus and His brethren; or does it refer to his eventual removal and banishment from the face of the Earth at the end of the Millennium?

For those who need to refresh their memories concerning the Day of Atonement, I would recommend that you begin with a study of Leviticus 16:1-22. I would also recommend that you refresh your understanding of God’s annual Holy Days as they are recorded in Leviticus 23:1-44. However, I first want to deal with the 1,000 years of Satan’s imprisonment in the bottomless pit and its relationship to the Millennium.

Revelation 20:1-3 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.”

Q…Do the 1,000 years of Satan’s incarceration run concurrent to the 1,000 year reign of Jesus and His brethren; or are they two separate and distinct periods of time?

Revelation 20:4 “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness [of] Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

This passage refers to the 1,000 year reign of Jesus and His brethren. Take time to read each of the verses from Revelation 20:1-4 very carefully. Notice that the imprisonment of Satan and the reign of the Messiah are both of 1,000 years duration; but nowhere does it say that both events are to run concurrently! The belief that each period of time runs exactly parallel to the other is based on an assumption -- an assumption I believe to be incorrect!

The problem, as I see it, has been created by an imperfect understanding of the timing of the annual Holy Days. Many believe that the return of the Messiah, the imprisonment of Satan, and the beginning of the millennial reign of Jesus and His brethren will all take place on one and the same day. I believe this to be a wrong understanding of Scripture!

We have been taught that the Feast of Trumpets will begin a series of trumpet sounds, prophesying a series of climactic events, culminating in the return of Christ at the sounding of “the last trump”! We have also been taught that at the time of Christ’s arrival, the prophecy of the Day of Atonement will be fulfilled by the removal of Satan and his imprisonment in the bottomless pit. Finally, on that same day, Jesus and His brethren will stand on the Mount of Olives and their reign of 1,000 years will begin. What we need to do is take another very hard look at each of these events separately in the light of Scripture.

The Feast of Trumpets is the first of God’s annual “Autumn Holy Days”; it is observed on a separate and distinct calendar day from each of the other annual holy days. I have no doubt that the day of the Feast of Trumpets is prophetic of a series of events as shown by the blowing of a series of trumpet sounds. I also have no doubt that the sounding of the last trump will herald the triumphant appearance of Jesus to begin His reign as King of kings over the peoples and nations of the Earth. But I also believe that the actual day of the Feast of Trumpets, foretells the actual day of the return of Christ -- three-and-a half years before the inception of God’s Kingdom and the beginning of the Millennium!

I want to repeat that! It is my belief that the return of the Messiah will take place at the sounding of the first of a series of trumpet sounds, as prophesied by the actual day of the Feast of Trumpets. This unheralded appearance will be for the specific purpose of assembling His brethren. It is my belief that Jesus must return to gather together His brethren from the four corners of the Earth -- before the time of Satan’s removal -- and several years before the setting up of His Father’s Kingdom!

I could go into a great many reasons to support the previous statement, but at this time I shall mention only one; and I readily admit that one is very controversial. I believe “The Seventy-Week Prophecy” of Daniel Nine has yet to be completed! There is still a period of three-and-a-half days left in the prophecy which has yet to be fulfilled -- and if you will remember, three-and-a-half days in prophecy translates to three-and-a-half years in actual fulfillment.

It is my belief that Jesus will return three-and-a-half years before the inception of the Millennium in order to prepare His brethren for the duties and responsibilities they will be asked to perform during their 1,000 year reign.

One more time -- just to be sure:

The Feast of Trumpets is the first of the annual fall Holy Days of God; as an annual Holy Day it is separate and distinct from the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. I agree with the teaching of the ministry that the Feast of Trumpets is prophetic of a series of events which will culminate in “the triumphant appearance of Jesus” as King of kings, and Lord of lords. However, according to their teaching, this is the initial return of the Messiah and it will not take place until the sounding of “the final trumpet”; while I believe He will have already returned “unheralded,” at the sounding of the first trumpet several years before.

It also bears repeating that the Day of Atonement is observed several calendar days after the Feast of Trumpets, and several calendar days before the Feast of Tabernacles. In fulfillment of this prophetic Day of Atonement, I believe Satan will be chained and incarcerated during the third of the final three-and-a-half years of this present age, and at least one full year before the Millennium begins. It is during the third of the final three-and-a-half years that the entire “church” (including the resurrected “dead in Christ”) will finally be at-one with God!

Hosea 6:1-2 “Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.”

When Satan is Released

Revelation 20:7 “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.”

Q…Is it your understanding that Satan’s imprisonment will end following the completion of the 1,000 year reign of Jesus and His brethren? If so, then you must believe that the final battle referred to in Revelation 20:7 will take place following the completion of the Millennium? Do you truly believe this final battle between God and Satan can take place beyond the 7,000 year plan of God?

If we can accept that the annual holy days of Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles are prophetic of separate and distinct future events, then we can understand that the 1,000 years of Satan’s imprisonment will begin some time before the inception of the 1,000 year reign of the Saints -- and will end some time before the Millennium is complete.

John 18:36 “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here.’”

Q…Do you believe that the brethren of the Churches of God are ready, at this time, to do battle with Satan and his followers? Perhaps you believe that the very moment you become a spirit-being (if such is our destiny) you will immediately have the ability to defeat those who were created as powerful spirit-beings untold millennia ago? If you do so believe, then once again I must truly wonder at the naiveté of mankind!

It may be that by the end of 1,000 years of service toward God, with 1,000 years of experience, instruction, development, and strengthening of and by the Spirit of God, we may indeed be ready for such a fight -- but certainly not at the beginning!

At the end of this present age, following the incarceration of Satan, God the Father will pour out His wrath upon the peoples and nations of this world. He will prepare the way (as David did for his son Solomon), so that the reign of Jesus and His brethren may begin in an atmosphere of relative peace. In duality, I believe that Jesus and His brethren will fight the final (end of the Millennium) battle against Satan and those whom Satan will gather together from the nations of the Earth. At that time, Satan and all who follow him will be defeated by Jesus and His brethren, preparing the way for the arrival of the New Jerusalem and God the Father.

Revelation 21:1-3 “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.’”

It may be that the events recorded in Revelation 21:1-3 will take place immediately following completion of the Millennium. Whether immediately, or after a considerable length of time, the new heaven and the new Earth and the arrival of the New Jerusalem, can only take place following the completion of the 7,000 year plan of God.

John 7:37-39 “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart, rivers of living water will flow.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Q...At the end of the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles -- what happens next? When everything that has been prophesied up to the end of the Millennium has been fulfilled -- what happens next? At the end of every calendar week -- what happens next? At the end of a prophetic week of 7,000 years -- what happens next?

I apologize for the excessive repetition; but I want to be absolutely sure you grasp what it is I want to say. The annual holy day we refer to as the “Last Great Day” is observed following the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles; and I wonder if the emphasis we have placed on it being “the last day” may not have created some unnecessary confusion.

The “Last Great Day” is indeed the final day of the feast; but as it follows the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles is it not prophetic of a new beginning? We need to remember that the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles is prophetic of the entire 1,000 years of the Millennium -- and at the end of every week, a new week begins!

As we have come to understand the 7,000 year plan of God: it will only be complete at the conclusion of the millennial Sabbath Day. When that first millennial Sabbath is over, and the first 7,000 years since the creation of man has been completed, is it possible that the first day, of the first week, of the first year, of a new millennium in the on-going plan of God will begin?

Note: This is the season when many Christians unknowingly (or knowingly) observe the pagan festival of the Saturnalia; those of the “church” of God are well aware of the many satanic rites and celebrations which accompany this observance. Next week, rather than discuss the non-Christian nature of the keeping of this Xmas festival, I would prefer to discuss the mystery surrounding “The Three Wise Men” who visited the Christ child?