April 6 - Thousand Years of Peace (pt. 2)

April 6 – Thousand Years of Peace (pt. 2)
Revelation 20:1-6

“And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations any more until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.” (Rev. 20:1-3)

Think about those chains that the Angel carries in Revelation 20:1. Those really have to be amazing chains, they will be required to contain a spiritual being. It seems awesome to me that Satan has no power to resist this Angel. Do you realize what that says? Satan’s power is only as strong as God allows it to be. The moment that God removes Satan’s power, he’s finished. We need to recognize this in our own lives. Satan’s power is only as great as we allow it to be. When we remove Satan’s power in our lives, he’s finished.

The angel seizes Satan and does three things. He throws him into the Abyss, locks it and then seals it. The mark of God – the number three. Satan is securely locked away for 1000 years. The seal that is placed on the Abyss I much that is used to keep Daniel in the Lion’s Den (Daniel 6:7) and the one placed on Christ’s tomb (Matthew 27:66).

But, the heart dreads the last sentence of Revelation 20:3, “After that he must be set free for a short time.” It will be alright. Remember who is in control. I don’t know that we can even consider the length of time that 1000 years encompasses. IT’s hard for us to comprehend the differences in our society in just 100 years. The year 1900 saw the beginning of many changes in our society. The year 1800 was another marked beginning. The year 1000 began a millennium of unprecedented growth. From the Middle Ages through the Renaissance to the Industrial Age; from a population of 310 million in 1000 AD to 600 million in the year 1700 AD to 6070 million in the year 2000; from nomadic cultures to nation states and the rise of democracy, the world has changed enormously in 1000 years.

As approach these 1000 years of Christ’s reign, please keep these changes in mind. The people that began the millennium with Christ will not be around at the end. Many, many generations will pass during this time.