Jude supports the view of a current binding of the whole kingdom of darkness, in v 6, when he says,
“the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains [Gr.
desmois]
under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.”
The "angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation" are devils or demons. They are the evil angels that sided with Satan at the beginning and rebelled against God. What spiritual condition does Jude say they are in during this new covenant period? They are spiritually bound! They are spiritually curtailed. They are restrained since the earthly ministry of Christ. The Church has been anointed to confront and overcome Satan throughout the nations. The nations are no longer ignore, deceived and without hope.
Repeated Scripture shows that the Church has now been given spiritual power over Satan to resist him, bind his powers, spoil his goods, damage his kingdom and thwart his plans.
2 Peter 2:4 closely correlates with Jude v6, saying,
“God spared not the angels that sinned, but ‘cast them down to hell’, [Gr. tartaroo] and delivered them ‘into chains’ [Gr. seiraís] of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.”
This passage is an obvious mirror of Jude verse 6, describing the spiritual restrains that the whole demonic realm is
currently subject to, up until the judgment. It is worth noting that this passage is the only place in Scripture where we find the Greek words
tartaroo (Strong’s 5020) and
seiraís (Strong’s 4577). The word
tartaroo in the original does not refer to hell (Hades) but rather to the abyss. In fact, the Greek word
tartaroo comes from
tartaros which refers to the deepest part of the abyss. Moreover, the Greek word
seiraís means bonds. This text powerfully confirms the Amillennial view that Satan’s demonic kingdom is already bound in the invisible spiritual realm of the abyss.
But that is not all. Revelation 9 support the Amil view of Revelation 20. 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6 and Revelation 9:1-3 refute the idea that the abyss only becomes the domain of demons after the coming of Christ. They show the abyss occupied now by Satan's minions, prior to the last trumpet. Revelation 9:11 also shows Satan (Abaddon/Apollyon) there as well. Of course, the restrain here cannot be physical. After all, Satan is a spiritual being. He is like a dog on a chain. He cannot stop the Gospel going out to the nations since the cross. He once had that power. How can Premils recognize the restraint of the demonic host in the pit but not Satan? You cannot divorce them.
Revelation 9:1-5:
“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Revelation 9:10-11: “And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”
Revelation 9 describes an abyss that is full of wicked spirits that are restrained, but will be released prior to the second coming for a short season. This is something Premils choose to overlook. The abyss is inhabited
now with Satan's minions. They have a king over them (Abaddon / Apollyon), a ruler who marshals their hosts. This is Satan - the only king in the kingdom of darkness.
The spiritual restrains will be released on Satan and the beast antichrist system at the end to curtail the global spread of the Gospel. At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be loosed for a short time. The one who "letteth," or restrains, will be taken out of the way (2 Thess 2:7). This enables Satan to establish his world-kingdom under antichrist. The result is the final, all-out assault upon the true Church and her living, faithful members. The "beloved city" represents the church. The "saints" are all those whom the Spirit of Christ has sanctified through faith in Christ.
We see
the devils in Revelation 9:2-3,
the beast in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12, Revelation 11:7 and Revelation 17:8, and
Satan in Revelation 9:10-11 and Revelation 20:3 all being released before the second coming for a little season. This is not a coincidence. This is not a fluke. It shows the detail and corroboration of Scripture. This is something that Premil severely lacks, and why many are turning away from it. That is why Premils get so quickly frustrated in debates. They have no other biblical support for their position. When you challenge them to support their view of any given matter in Revelation 20 they amazingly quote Revelation 20 as their corroboration. They do not seem to grasp, that is not the way corroboration works!
The interpretation that Premils put on Revelation 20:2-3 and the gigantic theology they build upon their opinion of this lone passage is at very best unfair and at worst duplicitous. It reads:
“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 [Gr. ethnos or the Gentiles) no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”
In Revelation 20, we are looking at a vision about a dragon. Is this a literal dragon? Of course not. Satan is a spiritual being. It is a symbolic vision. The chain and key are also not literal and physical but symbolic.
- The dragon represents Satan.
- The angel is Christ.
- The chain represents restraint.
- The key represents authority.
John was given a symbolic picture of a dragon (yes a dragon) being placed into a prison with chains around him. Was this a literal dragon? No! Were these literal metal chain? Of course not. Was this a physical brick penitentiary? Of course not. This represented Satan being placed under spiritual restraint after the resurrection. The restraint related exclusively to the deception of the Gentiles. It allowed the Gospel to spread globally and Satan could not stop it. The Gentiles were blind, deceived and ignorant before the cross, since Christ’s victory and Satan's restraint the light has shone upon the Gentiles and countless have been set free.
Revelation 20 is simply showing an figurative picture of the victory Christ secured over Satan through His sinless life, vicarious death and glorious resurrection (the first resurrection). The symbolic dragon is thrown into a symbolic prison with symbolic chains upon him. You need to see that Satan is not a physical being, so a physical brick prison and metal chains won't cut it. This literal imagery represents deeper spiritual truth - namely that Satan is curtailed from deceiving the Gentiles as he did before the cross.