STUDIES ON SATAN

THE END OF SATAN

In our last study upon the prince of darkness, we considered his present work. Now we take up the subject where we left off, and we will pursue it to its finality. We noticed God’s promise in Rom. 16:20 that Satan will be shortly bruised under the feet of believers, and all prophecy indicates that the fulfillment of this event is not far away. What a blessed thing it is to know that we have the victory over this wicked prince, and that he can never possess our souls.

Rev. 20:7-10 indicates what shall be the end of Satan. "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever."

However, before these things come to pass, there will be several other events transpire in which Satan will have his part, and with these we must also concern ourselves in this study. Satan has been busy at his nefarious business in every dispensation, and he will continue to be so until he is restrained by the Lord. It is needful for man to know as much as possible about his hellish designs so that he may be forewarned and forearmed. Many people are deceived and ensnared by Satan simply because they deny his existence, or at least have doubts about it, or else they deny his power and willingness to ensnare mankind in error. Never sell Satan short. He is the most hateful of all creatures, and he has a sufficiency of ability to put most of his wicked designs into action. In taking up the subject of the end of Satan, we propose to consider his activities from the end of this dispensation until he is finally and irrevocably cast into the lake of fire. We must note—

I. SATAN’S WORK DURING THE GREAT TRIBULATION.

The chief personage during the time of the great Tribulation will be the "man of sin," "the lawless one," II Thes. 2:3, 8, of whom we are told that his "coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders," II Thes. 2:9. This next world ruler will be a man totally under the control of Satan, and empowered by him to deceive the world, and to lead it into everlasting torment. This will be done in the same manner that Satan has always worked. The devil has always been a counterfeiter, and has deceived unwary people by substituting a false righteousness and a false worship.

Satan will give the world a universal religion. Immediately after the Rapture (I Thes. 4:17, 18; Rev. 3:10-11) follows the lukewarm Laodicean church, which the Lord spues out of His mouth, and it rushes into the apostasy (II Thes. 2:3). Satan will facilitate in every way the development of this apostate Christendom into the adulterous woman of Rev. 17. First, he will unify all sects and denominations into one organized church, as the accepted religion of all kings and inhabitants of the earth (See verse 2.) Next, he will give her a seat upon the scarlet-colored beast (verse 3), evidently the same as the first beast described in Rev. 13. The ten horns, ten kings, the same as the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s image, agree and give their power and strength unto the beast, so that all political power will be subject, for a time, to this apostate universal church (verses 12, 13, 17)."—.
W. E. Blackstone, Satan, His Kingdom and Its Overthrow, pp. 43-44.

A tremendous amount of progress has already been made in this direction in the present dispensation. False religions abound, and almost all of these talk of unity, while believers have become cold and indifferent to their duties. The world cannot, and no longer even tries, to differentiate between the true and the false. Mother Rome is inviting her "wayward" Protestant daughters to come home, and many of them are already packed for the trip. Morality and spirituality have gone out of governmental offices so that practitioners of every form of moral and spiritual degeneration now unashamedly occupy these high places.

Only one thing now hinders Satan from bringing his wicked plan into action. "For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that restrains now, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall be revealed the lawless one," II Thes. 2:7-8, according to the R. V. that follows the literal Greek here.

The Holy Spirit as He indwells believers is this "one that restrains now," and as soon as believers are taken out of the world at the coming of the Lord, that restraint will be removed. Note carefully. The restraining One is not taken "out of the world," as this is so often misquoted. He is taken out of the "way"; i. e., only His restraint is removed, otherwise none could be saved if the Spirit were taken out of the world, Rom. 8:9f, but we know that an innumerable multitude shall be saved during the great tribulation, Rev. 7:14. When the restraint is removed Satan will put into full effect all of his deceivableness of unrighteousness," II Thes. 2:10, and the whole world will be led captive.

Satan’s work during this time will be directed to the setting up of a false church (which he has had down through this age, but which, at this time becomes fully united, universal and utilized), a false Christ, a false prophet, a false religion, and finally a false God. All of his efforts are bent to accomplish his ancient desire to be as God (Isa. 14:13-14). So that, in the person of the Antichrist, he "opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God," II Thes. 2:4.

In the process of working to this end, the great warfare in the heavens as recorded in Rev. 12:7-10 takes place and Satan is cast out of heaven to no more have access before the throne of God. This apparently takes place at the middle of the seventieth week of Dan (Dan. 9:24-27), up to which time the world will have enjoyed a time of three and one half years of universal peace (I Thes. 5:3). But this shall be followed by three and a half years of unparalleled affliction, which is called "The Great Tribulation," Matt. 24:2 1. The expulsion of Satan and his angels from heaven will be the occasion of renewed persecution of the Nation of Israel by Satan as is declared in Rev. 12:4-6. In turn this will occasion God’s sending of great and sore afflictions upon the world for its wickedness, Rev. chapters 8-10.

With his failure comes conviction as a murderous accuser, falsifier, and deceiver. Foiled at every point he stands revealed to all heaven in all the devilish baseness of his true character, and all his hosts as the ministers and abetters of Satanic falsehood and the most hellish malignity. Such convicts can no longer be tolerated in the vicinage of heaven. Stunned and effectually repulsed by the infallible merits of the blood of the Lamb, the celestial forces pursue him to an utter rout. Henceforward neither he nor his angels are any more to have the liberty of the heavenly spaces. Henceforward "their place is not found any more in heaven." With his defeat and conviction, ejectment, complete ejectment, follows."—J. A. Seiss, The Apocalypse, p. 311.

The result of this expulsion of Satan and his angels from heaven is declared in Rev. 12:12-13: "Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child."

In his maliciousness, Satan turns his murderous hatred upon the inhabitants of the earth, and especially toward Israel, the woman through whom the Christ came, Rev. 12:13-16. This shall constitute the breaking of the covenant that the Antichrist shall have made with Israel, Dan. 9:27. However, God does not allow the devil to destroy the whole nation, but while He allows two-thirds of them to be cut off and perish, He brings the other one-third through the fire. And these constitute the "all Israel" that are saved at the return of the Lord Jesus in power and glory, Zech. 13:8-9; Rom. 11:25-26.

Being thwarted of his purpose to destroy the whole nation of Israel, Satan then turns his fury upon the believing remnant of the Jews, the 144,000 ‘from all the tribes of Israel, Rev. 12:17. Not only so, but Satan also works to effect a world-wide insurrection against God, proclaiming himself to be God incarnate in the Antichrist, and showing great miracles to prove it, II Thes. 2:4; Ezek. 21:25-27. Most of the world, and its governmental leaders shall be deceived by Satan, and shall gather themselves together against the Lord and against His Christ. "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils (Greek daemons— demons), working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty," Rev. 16:13-14.

And thus all of modern people that refuse to believe the simple Word of God, but who continually hunger to have their emotions stirred by seeing signs, wonders and miracles will be readily duped by the Antichrist’s false religion. Alas, alas how very many people of today are already in such a deceived condition for they hate the preaching of the Gospel of the grace of God, but they love false religionists that pretend to show signs and work miracles. And from these deceived multitudes the Antichrist will assemble the greatest standing army that the world has ever seen.

But as great as this army shall be which shall gather on the plain of Megiddo, Rev. 16:16, they shall not be able to lilt even a finger of resistance against the Lord of lords when He comes in His glorious power. "And I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness doth he judge and make war... And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS... And I saw the beast, 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. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a like of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh,"

Rev. 19:11, 15-16, 19-21.

Thus it is by the power of Christ, and not by any works of man that the forces of evil are defeated and the millennial reign of Christ upon the earth set up. There will be no "battle of Armageddon," properly speaking, for none will be able to resist Him. It will simply be the slaughter of Armageddon as verses 20-21 above so clearly show. The awfulness of that slaughter is suggested in Rev. 14:19-20. "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." This is the "winepress" referred to in Rev. 19:15— a winepress that flows out with blood, not wine—and it is to take place in a valley north of Jerusalem where there have been more battles fought through history than any other place on earth. Some find it hard to believe that as a result of this slaughter by the Lord blood will literally run four feet deep for two hundred miles. But we must remember that according to Rev. 19:18 there will be horses for all this great army to ride, so that this is to be taken literally. Who can visualize the awfulness of the wrath of God?

When Jesus returns to take up His place upon the throne of David, many events will transpire, most of which we cannot at this time consider, but one of these relates to our present study. This will be the binding of Satan for a thousand years. Therefore we consider—

II. SATAN’S RESTRAINT DURING THE MILLENNIUM

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and 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 alter that he must be loosed a little season," Rev. 20: 1-3.

We are well aware that some, because the teaching of this portion does not harmonize with their belief, arbitrarily declare that this is all figurative language, and in no wise to be understood literally. However, those that take such a stand never set forth what these "figures" picture, or if they dos so, they are not able to give any scriptural proof of their theory. The reason for this is that this is meant to be taken literally. It is to be granted that there are figures and symbols in the Book of Revelation, but each of these is explained by the Scriptures themselves either here or elsewhere. "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God," Deut. 29:29, but the things that are for man are also revealed to him, if he is willing to search for the key. Often the key to a particular scripture is hung, as it were, at the door, and so it is with the Book of Revelation. The book begins by pronouncing blessing upon those that read, hear and keep the things written in this book, "for the time is at hand," Rev. 1:3. This certainly does not sound like it refers to a book of "figures and symbols too mysterious to be understood," as some characterize Revelation.

The things that are set froth in Rev. 20:1-3 are to be taken literally, for Satan is to be restrained from all earthly activity during the literal one thousand years when the Lord Jesus Christ rules and reigns from the throne of David in literal Jerusalem. During this time the world will enjoy a Sabbath of rest more glorious than it has ever known. Unparalleled peace, prosperity and piety will obtain upon the earth when "The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away," Isa. 35:10

Satan, the enemy of God and man, having had possession as "prince of this world" for 6,000 years, and bestowed its rule, its honors and its "goods" upon whom he pleased—and always upon his best friends—it is fit that Christ, whose absolute right it is, should come and vindicate his rights, bind him hand and foot, and cast him out as an usurper, and take possession of all nations and kingdoms, of all power and dominion, and establish his beneficent rule and kingly jurisdiction over all. There is no hope for this sin-cursed earth so long as it lies "in the power of the wicked one." Its deep groanings never will cease until Jesus comes and strikes from its withered and galled limbs the heavy chains in which Satan has bound it."—J. R. Graves, Seven Dispensations, p. 488.

Doubtless some will ask, "Why is it necessary to bind Satan for a time only? Why not destroy him, or at least bind him permanently?" The answer lies in this: from the very beginning man has had a tendency to "pass the buck," or try to shift the blame for his sinful conditions to others. Adam blamed Eve for giving him the forbidden fruit. Eve blamed the serpent. Unregenerate man ultimately pushes the blame somewhere other than himself, and will not admit the Scripture teaching of the total depravity of man. But the millennial reign will vindicate the truthfulness of this doctrine.

During this period of one thousand years, there will be a perfect government over all the earth, being dispensed from Jerusalem, the throne city of the world, Zech. 14:9. And this will be enforced in every place by justified and glorified saints of God, Rev. 20:4, 6; 5:10. There will be perfect climatic conditions and the earth will bring forth abundantly, for the curse will be removed, Isa. 35:1-2; Amos 9:13-15, so that there will be no famines except as punishments, Zech. 14:17-19. Even the animal kingdom will be at peace with itself, and the "bloody law of tooth and claw" will be revoked, Isa. 11:6-9; 65:25. The deceiver of mankind will be bound as will also be all of his wicked helpers, and so, no religious falsehood will be allowed to be perpetuated anywhere on earth. There will be no false churches to teach false and damnable doctrines to unwary souls, but conversely, the glorified saints will rule and reign everywhere as "kings and priests" teaching pure truth. Under these circumstances what could hinder any person from coming to the Lord in repentance and faith and receiving Him as personal Savior? The answer is, Not a single thing except his own wicked and rebellious depraved nature.

And this is exactly what the Scripture sets forth as the case. The length of human life will be such that those that die at one hundred years of age will be accounted as but a child, but the person that has rejected salvation until he reaches this age will be accursed, Isa. 65:20. This one hundred years of probation will be enough to reveal to any individual how much better the reign of the Lord is than that of Satan was. Nevertheless many depraved hearts will be hardened against the holy and righteous reign of Christ. And though Satan is bound in the bottomless pit, unable to deceive them, they will nevertheless be ready and willing to follow any insurrection against the Righteous One that sits upon the throne of His holiness, restraining all overt acts of wickedness. Alter a thousand years of perfect conditions the population of the earth will be the greatest it has ever been. But all those that have not been born again during this last hundred years of probation, at the end of the millennium will be sick and tired of a perfect reign of righteousness. And they will be ready to follow Satan when he is released from his imprisonment in the bottomless pit (The Abyss as the Greek literally is—abussos). This brings us to consider further the mad career of Satan in his downward rush to perdition. We note—

III. SATAN’S FINAL ACT OF REBELLION.

"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them," Rev. 20:7-9.

Satan never changes, as we may easily see from the above Scripture. He is just as set in his wicked ways after a thousand years of imprisonment as he was before. He wants only an opportunity to manifest his willful rebellion against the Almighty, and his release from the abyss will be such an opportunity. But this Gog and Magog are not to be confused with the Gog and Magog in Ezek 38 and 39. The time element, as well as other things forbid our confusing them, but their similarity in some ways accounts, no doubt, for the same name being given to the two different events. J. R. Graves says:

Two of the most remarkable prophecies in the Divine Record are concerning powers bearing the title Gog and Magog; the one was delivered by Ezekiel (38 and 39), and the other through the apostle John on the Isle of Patmos. (Rev. 20). Neither of these important prophecies can be understood without understanding the ruler, nation and countries, intended by these names. They are rarely explained without confusion of ideas, and the prophecies are often, if not generally, confounded. The general impression, doubtless, is that they refer to the same event; while, in fact, they refer to events and times several thousand years remote from each other. By comparing the statement of the two prophecies, the reader will see that they are widely different confederacies, belonging to widely separated periods of time?—Seven Dispensations, pp. 438, 439.

Without going into detail about the differences between these two Gogs and Magogs, it will suffice to say at this point that doubtless the same name is applies to both of them because of their similarity of aim, geographical location, leader, etc.

These apocalyptic forces are figuratively styled Gog and Magog because the confederation is similar to that in Ezekiel’s prophecy, composed of peoples occupying the same countries combined to invade the same land to take possession of the same city, and for the same purpose—to seize the scepter of universal dominion from Christ and his people."—J.R. Graves, Seven Dispensations, p. 440.

These nations from the four quarters of the earth are ready and willing to follow Satan in a great rebellion against God as soon as he is released from his prison. Then will be manifest how that the unregenerate heart has no real love for righteousness, and will quickly turn back to the ugliness of sin and knowing submission to Satan at the first opportunity. Unregenerate man will sicken of the blessed righteous reign of Christ, and will yearn to return to the "fleshpots" of sin, just as the Israelites yearned to return to Egypt and all of its wickedness and bondage under Pharaoh. It will be just as was prophesied by Isaiah: "When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Let favor be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord," Isa. 26:9-10.

After Christ has visibly reigned over the earth for one thousand years, filling it with peace and universal blessings, and ruling it in righteousness by his redeemed saints, still there will be at the close, millions in all the nations, even as the sand of the sea in number, who have outwardly submitted to his authority, but who remain at heart his enemies and only await an occasion to manifest it in acts of open hostility."—J. R. Graves, Seven Dispensations, p. 529.

This last act of rebellion by Satan and all the unregenerate of the world will be speedily and permanently dealt with. For after one thousand years of the righteous reign of Christ, when there will be no open falsehood permitted and every person is taught the pure truth, there will be no more grace left for the ones who have rejected both Christ’s spiritual and earthly reign over them.

"...And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them," Rev. 20:91.

Thus is the end of those that hated Christ and would not have Him to rule over them.They would not have eternal life with Christ, and so they must share eternal death with Satan, for whom hell was originally prepared, Matt. 25:4 1. This brings us to consider—

IV. SATAN’S FINAL END.

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever," Rev. 20:10. E. H. Bancroft has well said:

The career of Satan since his rebellion has been downward, ever downward. The point of his descent began with the point of his attempted ascent. When he said "I will ascend," then he began to descend. When he began to exalt himself God began to abase him. That abasement will continue until he has been stripped of the last vestige of authority and power, and cast in abject impotence as the arch-criminal of the universe into the eternal burnings."—Elemental Theology, p. 267.

It is the present mistaken notion of many that Satan now has his abode in hell, but this is not so. He now ranges over the earth and even into the heavenlies. But his career will be cut short after this final act of impiety. When once he has been finally cast into the lake of fire, he will not be there as a king, nor as a tormentor of the lost, as is generally supposed, but will be confined and tormented himself. Then will be fulfilled that which is written in Ezek. 28:18. "Thou has defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee." And again, "They that see thee shall narrowly look on thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?" Isa. 14:16. He will be held in the utmost contempt by those very ones whom he deceived and led astray. Doubtless, one of the torments of Satan will be the constant reviling and contempt heaped upon him by all the other wicked in hell. He who aspired to "ascend above the heights of the clouds," and "be like the most high," "shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit," Isa. 14: 13-15.

Hell is prepared for the devil and his angels, Matt. 25:41, and to this Isa. 30:33 refers" "For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it." However, there will be no glory for Satan, for as grand as were his unholy aspirations, so great will be his degradation. There is always a recompense for sin—sin is always punished in kind.

The common notion that Satan is now is hell is not correct. The same is true of the idea that Satan shall ever be in hell as the one who inflicts torment on others. He will be cast into hell to be tormented. He now in­habits the heavenlies (Eph. 6:11, 12), has access to God (Job 1:6), and is active upon the earth (Job. 1:7; I Pet. 5:8). But finally Satan will be cast into hell.—T. P. Simmons, Systematic Study Of Bible Doctrine, p. 109.

The time of the world’s subjection to the ravages of the Wicked One is definitely limited, and "The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly," Rom. 16:20. What a blessed expectation is ours that someday he will be forever restrained from his wicked works, and believers shall enter the blessed "sabbath-keeping" that awaits them, Heb. 4:9 (literal rendering of the Greek text).

Thus Satan and his empire is to be overthrown. The Lord hasten it in His time, and till then may we ever pray, O God, our Father, "deliver us from the evil one" (Matt. 6:13, R. V.). Help us to "put on the whole armor of God," that we "may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil"... "to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand" Eph. 6:11-18. May we never forget that we have a mighty adversary (I Pet. 5:8), and that we can only overcome him "by the blood of the Lamb," and "the word of’ our "testimony," Rev. 12:11. Glory to Jesus, "the Lamb that was slain," who, through death will bring to naught him that has the power of death, that is the devil. (Heb. 2:14, R. V.).—W. E. Blackstone, Satan, His Kingdom and Its Overthrow, p. 54

.Man presently has the opportunity to choose with whom he will spend eternity. He will either spend eternity with God in the glories of the hereafter, or else he will spend eternity in "everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels," Matt. 25:4 1. Say, reader, where will you spend eternity?

END OF SERIES