So, this might get some varied reactions; I'm hoping that a reasonable, biblical based discussion can be held on the topic anyway.
But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house...
And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
-Matthew 12:28–29,32
Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. -2 Thessalonians 2:3–12
The Thousand Years
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
The Defeat of Satan
And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, (ESV)
-Revelation 20:1–3, Revelation 20:7–9
Okay, so...where am I going with this? In all three of these passages we see these ideas: Satan deceives against God's truth; that's how he controls, ultimately, the nations, enhancing their already sinful desires to do his biding against the people of God.
We see that there is a time when Satan is prevented from deceiving the nations to some extent by some force/person...he is bound, or restrained.
There is also a time when he will be 'released', to go forth and deceive again, with specific intent to gather the nations against the people of God.
My thought is that these three passages are linked. Their content is too similar to ignore.
"Bind/Bound": to hold or restrict by force or obligation; tie or fasten, to restrain.
"Restrain": prevent (someone or something) from doing something; keep under control or within limits. Control, deprive.
If they are linked, then they also shed some light on some other issues. Matthew 12 shows us that Jesus 'bound' the strongman so as to 'plunder' his house. In other words...Satan, the acknowledged 'prince of this world', was bound so "the Kingdom is upon you". The gospel news of Christ spread across the globe like nothing ever previously witnessed. Even now, Christianity, while the highest persecuted religion, is still sitting at the top, number wise. The 'prince of this world' has not been able to stop the gospel going forth, even though he and his demons have no doubt tried. As Christ said, "I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." The Kingdom marches now.
2 Thess 2 tells us that troubling times will come. The 'Man of lawlessness' will arise, his coming empowered by Satan and his false signs, wonders and....'all wicked deception'. That this man is being 'restrained' by something, and that his coming will be with Satan's deception.
This leads us to Revelation 20, when we are told that Satan will be bound against decieving the nations, but at the end of time will be let out 'for a little while' to deceive the nations 'to gather them together for war' against the people of God.
What we know about this 'man of lawlessness', often termed the Antichrist, is that he will persecute the people of God with a passion. He will lie like a pig in mud, and deceive everyone into thinking he is divine by working miracles. He indeed must have Satan's powers behind him.
By now, you see where I'm going. The kingdom is now; the Millennial Kingdom. Satan has been bound while the gospel has progressed across the globe. And as we see persecution against Christians rise, we must ask ourselves, has Satan been 'released' to bring forth his final man of deception? His final push against the people of God? Will we possibly see this end time fulfillment in our time, or could this 'little season' be longer and more dreadful than we think? Or, do we think the increased persecution we see today is just part of the inevitable ebb and flow, as horrible as it is, against Christians. That in a generation things won't be so bad, and perhaps the Post-Mills have it right after all!?
.
Looking forward to civil and thoughtful debate with all!
