Help us to honor You in Christ's
name, Amen. Turn with me to the book of Revelation
chapter 20. Revelation chapter 20. Knowing that the Scripture sets
forth that this book is the revelation of Jesus Christ. We are reminded of that fact
in every glorious view of our Savior. If I bring forth a message
out of this book that does not set forth Him than I have missed
the message of that passage. This book is a book, as I said
this morning, that is not written in a chronological order, but
it is truly a book that sets forth time after time after time
our blessed Savior in His setting forth, His work of redemption
of His people. So that being the case, we often
see situations repeated. We find instances that are set
forth again. For example, in Revelation 19,
we look this morning and it says, I saw the beast, that is, the
and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together
to make war against him that sat on the horse and against
his army." Here, that's a direct account verse concerning the
final overthrow of rebellion, the final Armageddon. As I've
said before, Armageddon or the resistance against God's people
where it appears that God's people have no hope. is not something
new in this book, but it has happened throughout the Scriptures. But in Revelation 16, verse 14,
it dealt with the same thing. The Scripture says, For they
are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto
the kings of the earth and the whole world, to gather them unto
the battle of that great day of God Almighty. So we see that
this book sets forth Time after time after time. Is that any
new thing? Read the book of Ephesians. Then
read the book of Romans. Then read the book of Deuteronomy.
Then read the book of Matthew. And it says the same thing over
and over and over. The Lord Jesus Christ. Well, this evening, we begin
another chapter. In this chapter, we are going
to view a span of time that actually reveals our blessed Savior in
the binding of Satan. This is a time that takes place,
as we will notice in a minute, from His birth to the final judgment
of Almighty God and all men. John says, ìAnd I saw an angel
come down from heaven. Now, without a doubt, and we
will see this in the next few words, but this is without doubt,
the angel of the covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Judges 2 says, and an angel,
that is a messenger of the Lord, came up from Gilgal to Bochum
and said, this is what the angel said in Judges 2-1. The angel
said, I made you go up out of Egypt and have brought you unto
the land which I swear unto your fathers. And I said, I will never
break my covenant with you. Who do you think is speaking?
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The angel of the covenant. So this angel John said, I saw
an angel come down from heaven. This coming down is actually
the Word made flesh. God Himself taking upon Himself
the form of a servant made in the likeness of men for the reason
of being the redemption or the redeemer. the salvation of God's
elect based totally upon his work, his blood, his merit. He came down. Now, to secure
the salvation of God's people, he said, I saw an angel come
down from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit and a great
chain in his hand. He laid hold on the dragon, that
old serpent which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand
years. Now, to secure the salvation
of God's elect, Satan himself, who has set up and maintains
an empire of sin within the heart of every man and woman born in
Adam, he must be bound. The Lord Jesus Himself said in
Matthew 12, 29, or else How can one enter into a strong man's
house and spoil his goods except he first bind the strong man?
Then he will spoil his house. When Adam rebelled against God,
in Adam all mankind fell. And Satan himself, the prince
of darkness, rules in the heart of all born in Adam. Men talk about having a free
will and they speak concerning having their free will. That
is nothing but a lie. Now the Spirit of God has revealed
to us that men are born not by the will of the flesh, not by
the will of man, but by the glory and grace of Almighty God. So when a man says within himself
and outwardly, I have a free will, that's a lie. Where do you think that lie came
from? From the one who rules. The Lord told the Pharisees,
you're of your father the devil. You speak what he speaks. You're
a liar. So he's got to be bound. You
see, Satan's seduced. our first federal head, Adam. And in him, what he did, we did,
as by one man's disobedience. Many were made sinners. But from that moment, Satan's
kingdom and rule reigned in fallen man. Ephesians 2.2, Paul says,
He says, wherein in times past, He's talking to believers now.
He says, wherein in times past, you walked. You walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, Satan himself, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience. I'm telling you, Satan rules
in the heart of all unregenerate. He rules. They are of their Father,
the devil. The whole purpose of the Lord
Jesus Christ coming down from heaven, someone would ask you,
why did He come? I know He came. Why did He come? The whole purpose of the coming
down from heaven by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Angel of the
Covenant, for the glory of God Almighty and the good of God's
elect, was the overthrow of the kingdom of Satan for the elect's
sake." Listen to this scripture, 1 John 3.8, "...for this purpose
the Son of God was manifested." You think, okay, well, whatever
he's going to say after this is going to tell you, "...for
this purpose that he might destroy the works of the devil." For
what reason he came into this world to bind him that bound
us? to redeem that which had been
lost in rebellion." John said, I saw an angel coming down from
heaven. He had the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain
in his hand. Now, first, what is meant by
the Lord Jesus Christ, the angel of the covenant, having the key
of the bottomless pit? Turn back and look at Revelation
1.18. When John first saw Him on the Isle of Patmos, the Lord
revealed Himself to John. And in verse 18 of chapter 1
of Revelation, the Lord spoke to John and He said, I am He
that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell
and death. So I know, and I'll tell you
what the keys of hell and death are in just a moment. So I know
He's got the keys of hell and death. Alright? Turn over to
Revelation 3, 7. It says, And to the angel of
the church in Philadelphia write, These things saith he that is
holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that
openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth."
So the Lord Jesus Christ, John says, I saw Him coming and He
had the key. The key of the bottomless pit. He's got the key. The key of
hell and death. The key of David. Or let me say
this, the key of the one of whom David is a type. You know the
Scripture that says that David was a man after God's own heart?
Do you think that that was this King David that was a rebel just
like every other man? Do you think that the Lord looked
at him and saw in David the King, the man born in Adam? Do you
think that that is He to whom God speaks? No, ma'am. Only as the Lord Jesus Christ
is His representative. David was a type of Christ, the
heavenly David. is the man after God's own heart.
This is He whom I am well pleased, the Lord Jesus Christ. So this
key represents something. This One that came down from
heaven who holds the key to death and hell and the house of David,
He possesses by right and by power the ability to cast into
hell or to place into heaven the house of the spiritual David. To open heaven to all that His
Father has given Him, or to cast into everlasting darkness all
that stand in rebellion against Him." He said, all authority
is given unto Me. If I go into a school and I need
to get into a certain office over here, they've told me over
in the office that I can go down this hall and get down You know,
turn down here and go there. And if I can get into that certain
room, there's some equipment over there that I'm looking for.
You know who I'm looking for, Pat? I'm looking for the man
that's got the keys hanging on the side of his belt there. Find
the janitor. He's got the key. I want to talk
to the janitor. I want to talk to the man that's
got the key. Do you know who this is that John sees coming
down from heaven? He's the one that's got the key.
Right here. All authority. The key of heaven,
the key of hell. Death in hell and the house of
David. If He unlocks hell and throws
a man in it, He's got the right to do that. If He opens the portals
of heaven, He's got the right to do that. The key of heaven
and hell and death itself. Isaiah 22, 22, and it says, "...and
the key of the house of David." That is, the house of the spiritual
David, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, I lay upon His shoulder,
Christ Himself, the government shall be, the administration,
the Spirit of God is revealing, is upon His shoulder. So He shall
open and none shall shut, and He shall shut and none shall
open. He has the key. He has the key. I have the key. That's what He
told John. I have the keys, heaven and hell. Luke 12, verse 5 says,
But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear. Fear him which
after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say
unto you, fear him. Respect him. He has the power. He has the key to leave a man
to himself. He has the power. He has the
key to open the word to the calling out of his own. If Almighty God,
by His Holy Spirit, opens your heart, you'll hear. If He doesn't,
you won't, Carl. You know that. He's got the key.
He's the one. He unlocks. He opens. John 5,
verse 21 says, For as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth
them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. Oh, what comfort
to John and to you that believe. all of the saints of God who
behold Him as possessing the key to the bottomless pit. And John says he had a great
chain in his hand. Now this great chain, knowing
that this is a vision, this is a picture, it's a revelation
of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, the power, the omnipotence
of Him who sits upon the throne. It reveals, this great chain
in His hand reveals, no doubt, the chain of darkness that is
referred to in 2 Peter 2 verse 4. It says, for if God spared
not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered
them into chains of darkness. Now, this is not a chain of iron,
a chain of darkness. That is to say, the shutting
them up to unbelief in black despair, leaving these fallen
angels, all of them, Satan, all of them that rebelled without
any hope of redemption. That's what he's saying. These
angels that rebelled against Almighty God and a third of them,
the Scripture reveals, fell from heaven. The Lord Jesus said,
I saw Satan fall as lightning. from heaven. When they rebelled
against Him, there is absolutely no hope of redemption. He did not take upon Himself
the form of an angel. He took upon Him the form of
a man, a human, born of flesh. A body was prepared Him. And
here is the chain that shall bind Satan for a thousand years. I can tell you for a fact that
we will get down, Lord willing, I say, you know, down for a fact,
Lord willing, Lord willing, we're going to get down to the point
where I will stop and we will take up on the thousand years.
I'm going to try to get down to the end of the second verse
where it says, and he bound him and Lord willing, we'll pick
up next Sunday morning on the thousand years and what that
means and when that is. But this this chain that He holds
in His hands. He is here to bind Satan. You realize that here He is. He's got the key. He opens, no
man shuts. He shuts, no man opens. This
order of angels that rebelled against God has no Redeemer. No Redeemer. But one might say,
isn't man by nature also bound? in trespasses and sins? Aren't
they rebels against God, just like these angels that rebelled
against God Himself? Yes, they are dead. Man is dead. But God has sent His only begotten
Son to redeem out of the order of man a people. I've explained
this before, but very quickly. John 3.16, For God so loved the world. Men
always interpret that. as saying that the Lord loved
everybody, that God loved everybody without distinction, for God
so loved the world. The world there is speaking of
the order of man. He didn't redeem the order of
fish. He didn't redeem the order of
four-footed beast. He didn't redeem the order of
birds. He didn't redeem the order of
the fallen angels. He redeemed out of every nation
and kindred and tribe and tongue and elect out of the order of
man. God so loved the order of man
that He sent His only begotten Son. Who did He redeem? And whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. In Scripture, John 3.16,
as Mr. Spurgeon one time says, the great
gun of Arminianism is the gun that truly is turned upon themselves
because it wasn't cast in their foundry, believe me. John 3.16
does not preach universal redemption. It says that God loved the order
of man. So He's coming down here with
a chain, chains of darkness. These fallen angels are forever
bound in chains of darkness, left to themselves. No redemption. There will be no fallen angels
in heaven because Christ did not shed His blood for them. And the Scripture says in verse
2, "...and He laid hold..." He laid hold. You know, Satan, has
delegated authority. Now that's, you know that that's
a fact. When Job, you know the story, you know what I'm about
to say. Job was told, given, I mean, Satan was given permission
by God to oppress Job. But the Lord told him, He said,
you can go just so far. You cannot touch him. You cannot
kill him. When first told him, you can't
kill him. You can touch him. Job said, well, you've hedged
him about. I'll take everything he's got as long as you don't
let me touch him. I mean, you know, he said, you let me put
my hand on him, he'll curse you to your face. The Lord says you
can touch him, but you can't kill him. He was delegated authority. Satan is powerful only as far
as God Almighty allows him. He says here, he laid hold. He
laid hold upon him who is who possesses delegated authority. He who is all-powerful laid hold
on him who had power only that God had given him. This one that
goes through the earth as a roaring lion is still God's roaring lion. He roars as God tells him that
he can roar. And no matter how subtle the
devil, how crafty He cannot escape the hand of Him who has the key
to the bottomless pit and the great chain in His hand." When
Almighty God puts His hand on whatever He chooses to put His
hand upon, that one is seized. And I want you to notice the
four descriptions. He laid hold on the dragon, that
old serpent, which is the devil, and said, In those four words,
in those four names, He sets forth who we are dealing with. He lays hold on, first of all,
the dragon. That word, dragon, is a word
that means to look or to see. That is the word, the interpretation
of the word, dragon, means to look or to see. But listen to
this verse, 1 Peter 5.8, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he
may devour. That is his attribute. He is the dragon, the one looking,
always looking to see, seeking out. whom he may desire." Who
is that? It's the dragon, that old serpent.
The wording of Scripture is so beautifully set forth. Not one
word in there, Mitch, is just placed there for no reason. Who
is it? It's the old serpent. The original is what it means.
The original artful and cunning deceiver. Who is that? That's
the old deceiver. That's the original. Where did
all of this deception from these men that stand up and falsely
proclaim a false Christ, where did it come from? It came from
the original. They're just nothing but carbon
copies. They're speaking of their Father,
just like their Father speaks. It was in this character that
we saw Him deceive Eve. She was beguiled, fooled. And here Adam, with his eyes
wide open, ate of the fruit. Who is this? He laid hold on
the dragon, the one that looks, the one that seeks, that old
serpent, the old deceiver, which is the devil. The word devil
means the slanderer, the liar, the murderer. John 8.44, I've
quoted this, he said, You are of your father, the devil and
the lust of your father, ye will do. He was a murderer from the
beginning and a bold not in the truth, because there is no truth
in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he
is a liar and the father of it." Men that stand up and proclaim
a false Christ, I'm telling you that they're
murderers. murderers of men's souls, standing
in pulpits and lying on God Himself, telling men, peace, peace, and
there's no peace in what they've said. There's no peace established
in what they're saying. The devil, the slanderer, the
liar, the murderer. And Satan, the accuser that accuses
the brethren before our God day and night, attempting to entrap,
to oppose and disable the saints by bringing up what they truly
are in themselves. Believe me, whatever the slanderer
or the accuser says, write it down. We are guilty of that. so-called preacher. Let me tell
you what he's done. Let me tell you this. That's
absolutely right. But let me ask you this. Is there
not glorious peace in this thought, that which I am accused of, that
is covered by the blood of Christ? He put it away. He paid that
debt. He paid my debt. What I am accused of, who shall
separate me from the love of Christ? What shall separate me? Thanks be unto God that even
my rebellion against Him, He took that and made it His own
and paid what I owe. This One is who laid hold and
bound Him. for a thousand years. Remember,
our Lord has come into this world to destroy the works of Satan. Bind him. Bind. It says that
He laid hold on me, bound him. Bound him for a thousand years. The binding here, it means to
restrain or hinder. And according to the purpose
of Almighty God, Satan himself has been placed in subjection. Remember that Satan has, because
of man's rebellion in the garden, he has man captured. Man is held
captured. In Acts 8.23, Peter said to Simon
the sorcerer, you remember when Simon came to him and he said,
the ability to heal right there. He said, what's that going to
cost me? Won't you show me how you did
that? How much do I have to pay for what you did? And Peter says,
I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the
bondage of iniquity. Men are bound servants of sin
because they are committers of it. Listen to this Scripture,
John 8, 34. Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. I'm telling you, every time I
think of the mercy of Almighty God that would put away my guilt
because of what I am, Paul said when he looked at himself, What
did he say? Oh, wretched man that I was?
No, no. Oh, wretched man that I am! Who shall separate me from the
body of this death? We are unable to bind Satan for
ourselves to obtain salvation. We are captives. The Lord Jesus
Christ must bind him for us. But how was He bound? He came
and He says, and He bound Him for a thousand years. When was
He bound? Well, first of all, He was bound. And remember, look at the timing
of this 20th chapter. He saw an angel come down from
heaven. There is the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ coming
into this world. He was bound, first of all, at
the birth of Christ. How was he bound at the birth
of Christ? Think of who is our representative. Who represents us? All that were
born in Adam has within their veins, flowing within their nature,
the blood of Adam. Rebellious sinners. Dead in trespasses
and sins. Conceived in sin. Came forth from our mother's
womb liars. Already, already dead. Satan was bound in Christ's birth
for he was conceived by the Holy Ghost. Luke 1.35 says, therefore
also that holy thing. which shall be born of thee shall
be called the Son of God." So here's Satan bound. Here is the God-man, the Redeemer,
the Savior, Jesus Christ. Satan was bound because Satan
had no hold over him. There was no kingdom of bondage
in the Lord Jesus Christ as there was in all born in Adam. All
born in Adam are sinners. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. But not this man. This man, holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. Satan has no hold
over him. That is our representative. He
is bound in the sense that he has no kingdom in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, Satan was bound by
Christ obedience to the law. 1 John is what I just quoted. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth
also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. All
of us have sinned. All of us have come short of
the glory of God, but not Him. Not Him. To him who has bound
Satan, this is what he said of himself. John 8, 29. do always those things that please
Him. How many things have you and
I done in ourselves that have pleased Him? Not one time, Pat. Not one time. There's none good. There's none good. There's none. No, not one. Not one. Christ
bound Him in His birth. He bound Him in His life. And
He bound Him in His death. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
2. Hebrews 2, 14, 15. Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2, 14, For as much then
as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself
likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy
him that had the power of death. that is, the devil, and delivered
them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject
to what? Bondage. They were in bondage. The one thing that Satan held
over the head of mankind, their just due, he is the instrument,
Satan is the instrument of death. God's broken law. That's why
men are in bondage to it. The Lord Jesus Christ was made
a curse to deliver His elect from the curse of the law. And
He, by His death, bound Satan from the ability to be able to
take them to hell. Not these. Not these. Not these
for whom He died. No, sir. Satan was bound. Satan
says, I'll have them. Christ says, you won't. I paid
their debt. I was born for them. As their
federal head, I was born without sin. I lived as their representative
when He walked on this earth. I walked on this earth. You that
believe, you walked on this earth in perfect obedience before Almighty
God. As He walked, you walked. When
He died, you died. When He was buried, you were
buried. And when He rose, you rose. And
when He ascended, you ascended. And right now, you sit with Him
glorified. Done. Done. In the eternal purpose
of Almighty God, it's over. Satan's bound. He cannot. He came and He died. bound him.
John 8.36 says, If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall
be free indeed. You're free. You're not bound
to Satan. Satan is bound to all of God's
people. But to all that Christ has left
to themselves, they're in the bond of iniquity. Colossians
2.15 says, And having spoiled principalities and powers, He
made a show of them openly, triumphing over them, in it. And I'll tell
you this, He has bound Satan in His resurrection and His ascension. Ephesians 4 verse 8 says, Wherefore,
He saith, when He ascended on high, He led captivity captive,
and He gave gifts unto men. Turn with me to Ephesians 4. Let me show you something that
is just Marvelous. Marvelous. I have
read this Scripture so many times and all of a sudden it just hit
me. Men by nature, they stand in
pulpits. Liars. Unregenerate. They call themselves preachers.
But unless the Lord gives them a new heart, what do they preach? A lie. It is spiritually discerned. The Word of God is spiritually
discerned. It is not carnally discerned. The Lord has bound Satan for
his people in his resurrection and ascension. Look, I'll just
start at verse 8 again. Ephesians 4, verse 8. The Scripture
says, Wherefore, he saith, when he ascended on high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men." Now let me show you, I'll
just skip down to verse 11, and I'll show you the gifts that
he gave unto men. He gave some apostles, and some
prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers
for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ, Till we all come in
the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the statue of the
fullness of Christ." Now listen. Let me show you something right
here. How when I said He bound Satan in His resurrection and
ascension, the Scripture said in verse 8, when He saith, when
He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, He gave gifts unto men.
When He said at the cross, it's finished. It's over. He gave
gifts unto men, some prophets, apostles, pastors, and teachers. Satan is bound to his ability
to stop the Word of God being preached. He cannot do it. Almighty God raises up. He has
raised up an assembly right here. And Satan cannot stop. He is
bound because God has given gifts unto men. Apostles, there's only
twelve. Prophets, those fourth tellers
before the Word of God was actually penned. Men that spoke under
the direct inspiration of the Spirit of God. Evangelists and
some pastors and teachers. Satan is bound. He cannot stop
you from hearing if the Lord has opened your heart. He can't
stop you. He cannot stop him who has the
key to the house of David, He who has the keys of heaven and
hell, He's bound. Now, you go somewhere else where
the gospel is not being preached, and I'm telling you, they're
blind. They can't hear. But He's bound. He cannot stop
you. Almighty God has bound Him. Do
you understand that? That's good news. You can come. We assemble ourselves, Freddy,
and we're free. We're free to hear. Free to understand,
because the Spirit of God teaches us He has made us free by His
blood. When God raised Him from the
dead, the Father gave an open declaration of His acceptance
of our Redeemer's sacrifice. That which had us captive, He
led captivity captive. And He gave gifts unto men. And
He sent some preachers to teach, to admonish, to comfort the people
of God. Isn't that a blessing that God
would send a pastor? Someone to tell forth His Word. Tell me, as I've said before
one more time, how the Lord has put away my guilt and He's kept
me by His grace. Tell me how He has bound Satan. and tell me again how Satan has
no hold upon me because of the blood of Christ that covers my
sins. That's good news. That is good
news for me. And Satan shall be finally shown
to be bound openly. I know this, that to this day,
men just, you know, they're declaring falsely and this, that and the
other. But one day, Satan will be openly shown to be bound. Turn with me. Last Scripture
here, Matthew 25. Matthew chapter 25 and verse
31 to 34. Matthew 25 verse 31. When the
Son of Man shall come in His glory and all the holy angels
with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory And before
him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one
from the other, as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats.
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats
on the left. And then shall the king say unto
them on his right hand, and listen, at this time come what may. It doesn't matter what the great
accuser would even have to say. What is he going to do? to stop
what Almighty God has purposed. Then shall the king say unto
them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. I'm telling you, Satan is bound. He's bound. And the Scripture
says, and Lord willing, this is where I'll take up next time,
He is bound for a thousand years. Verse 3 says, And the angel,
the Lord Jesus Christ, cast him into the bottomless pit, and
shut him up, and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the
nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled. And
after that he must be loosed a little season. Lord willing, I'd like to deal
with the thousand years, the millennium. When is it? What does this little season
mean? What does it mean that Satan is bound up for a thousand
years that he should deceive the nations no more, but that
he's loosed for just a little season to do? Lord willing, we'll
deal with that next time. But suffice it to this moment,
if the Lord returns before we ever preach or hear one more
message, thanks be unto Him that has bound Satan for all that
the Father has given the Lord Jesus Christ, that He has everlastingly
loved and redeemed by His own blood out of every kindred, nation,
tribe, and tongue of people. And Satan is bound to his ability
to destroy those that God has everlastingly loved. Okay, Gary.