The Destiny of the Bride of Christ - Part 8
After the seventy-five days of God’s wrath on the earth and Satan’s forces are defeated at the battle of Armageddon, Satan will be bound. He will not face his final judgment until after the 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth, but he will be imprisoned during this time, as we are told in Revelation 20:1-3:
“And then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding the key of the abyss (the bottomless pit) and a great chain was in his hand. And he overpowered and laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent [of primeval times], who is the devil and Satan, and bound him [securely] for a thousand years (a millennium); and the angel hurled him into the abyss, and closed it and sealed it above him [preventing his escape or rescue], so that he would no longer deceive and seduce the nations, until the thousand years were at an end. After these things he must be liberated for a short time.” (AMP)
This downfall and imprisonment of Satan was prophesied many, many years ago.
Ezekiel describes Satan’s defeat and imprisonment in this way:
“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you think you are as wise as a god, I will now bring against you a foreign army, the terror of the nations. They will draw their swords against your marvelous wisdom and defile your splendor! They will bring you down to the pit”—Ezekiel 28:6-8 (NLT)
Isaiah is much more descriptive in his prophecy of the downfall and imprisonment of Satan:
“In that wonderful day when the Lord gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains,** **you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say,
“The mighty man has been destroyed. Yes, your insolence is ended. For the Lord has crushed your wicked power and broken your evil rule. You struck the people with endless blows of rage and held the nations in your angry grip with unrelenting tyranny. But finally the earth is at rest and quiet. Now it can sing again! Even the trees of the forest— the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon— sing out this joyous song: ‘Since you have been cut down, no one will come now to cut us down!’
“In the place of the dead there is excitement over your arrival. The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead stand up to see you. With one voice they all cry out, ‘Now you are as weak as we are! Your might and power were buried with you. The sound of the harp in your palace has ceased. Now maggots are your sheet, and worms your blanket.’
“How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’ Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths. Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ‘Can this be the one who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble? Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wasteland? Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?’
“The kings of the nations lie in stately glory, each in his own tomb, but you will be thrown out of your grave like a worthless branch. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, you will be dumped into a mass grave with those killed in battle. You will descend to the pit.
This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “I, myself, have risen against Babylon! I will destroy its children and its children’s children,” says the Lord. “I will make Babylon a desolate place of owls, filled with swamps and marshes. I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”—Isaiah 14:3-23 (NLT)
Satan’s imprisonment means that for the next 1,000 years, people will be able to live in peace on earth without the devil’s temptations; without his deceptions; without his lies; without suffering unjust losses; without the devastating destruction and death that Satan has been inflicting on people since the beginning of time!
It will be a glorious age without the evil influence of Satan!
Those Overcomers who qualify to rule and reign with Jesus as His Bride during this coming age will enjoy uninterrupted peace and joy with their first love as He reigns supreme from Jerusalem!
