The Revelation of Jesus Christ 2Sample

Christ Has Defeated Satan

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 (Revelation 20:1-2).

In The Sacred Romance, Brent Curtis and John Eldredge comment on the ongoing spiritual war:

What is clear is that Satan has lost the battle. Twice. The first time he was hurled in disgrace from the halls of heaven by Christ and His angels. The second time, he was unable to hold the crucified Christ within the gates of hell and was forced to hand over to Him the keys to death and Hades. But for a time he is placed on what feels like a very long leash to do what he can among us with his roaring.

The war is raging around us all the time, but it will not last forever, and there is no doubt in the outcome. Jesus Christ will defeat Satan and his demons, and Satan will be banished forever. Satan was defeated at Christ’s first coming, when Christ died on the cross to pay for sin and then triumphed over death with His resurrection. However, the sentencing of Satan will not be executed until Revelation 20, at the time of Christ’s Second Coming.

At that time, an angel, probably Michael the archangel, will seize Satan and throw him into the bottomless pit. It is fitting that an angel execute judgment on Satan, because Satan is a demon or evil angel, and his counterpart is a good angel. Never think that Satan’s counterpart is God. God has no counterpart, for He is far above everything and everyone else. He is incomparable. Satan’s counterpart is not God but the archangel Michael, according to Revelation 12:7. And it is likely that Michael is the angel who will execute judgment on Satan. Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit for a thousand years. 

For now, Satan is under impending judgment, but he is still at large. However, that does not scare us, for Christ is in us, and we need not be intimidated or deceived by Satan. Alert to the spiritual war and the satanic attack on our souls, we resist the devil and stand strong in Christ.