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1 And[kai] I saw[eido] an angel[aggelos] come
down[katabaino] from[ek] heaven,[ouranos] having[echo] the key[kleis] of the
bottomless pit[abussos] and[kai] a great[megas] chain[halusis] in[epi] his[autos] hand.[cheir] KJV-Interlinear
1 And I saw
an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain
in his hand. NASB
The Old Testament is filled with prophecies of the coming Kingdom of God, wherein the Messiah/Savior, will return to the earth and rule all of the nations for a period of 1000 years, Deut 30:1-5; 2 Sam 7:12-16; Ps 2:6-12; Isa 2:2-4; 11:1-10; 12; 24:23; 32:15-20; 35:1-2; 60:10-18; 65:20-22; Jer 3:14-18; 23:5-6; 30:3; 31:35-40; 33:14-18; Ezek 34:23-24; 36:16-38; 37:15-28; Dan 2:44-45; Hos 3:4-5; Joel 3:18-21; Amos 9:11-15; Mic 4:1-8; Zeph 3:14-20; Zech 14:9-11.
During this time, the evils that have filled the earth will first be removed, and then the pristine era of the Garden of Eden will return to the earth.
The planet will be drastically remolded, all aggressive animal characteristics will be subdued, prosperity will abound, health will be greatly enhanced, lifespans will extend into the hundreds of years, there will be no injustice or governmental corruption.
All of the old ways that we now take for granted or assume in life, will be gone.
It all begins with the defeat of Satan and his armies, which we studied in the last chapter, and then the removal and incarceration of Satan for the entire period of the 1000 year rule of Christ.
After the Second Advent of Christ, an angel will come down out of heaven to the earth, carrying a great chain. The chain is an instrument with which to bind something. Today we would call it a set of handcuffs.
This angel is not indentified, but his power and authority are clearly described.
He carries a key to the abyss, and that is the delegated authority given to him by God.
The abyss is a temporary place for confinement. It is a place of extreme torment and fear. Even the demons fear to go there, Lk. 8:31.
The Lake of Fire is the permanent place of punishment, not the abyss, Isa. 24:21-22.
Satan is the god of this world currently, 2 Cor 4:4, the prince of the power of the air, Eph. 2:2.
It is he, and through him that all things unfair, all things evil, all things corrupt, all things of bias and prejudice, all things in compromised health and security, and so forth, exist.
Without Satan, and with Christ ruling, then there will be true prosperity, true health, true happiness, true fairness in all matters, and these things and more, will exist for everyone for the entire 1000 year period of the Kingdom of Christ.
Even at the end of the millennium, when a huge population of people will reject faith in Christ, despite His presence, these things will still exist for all. And this will only prove that stability of prosperity and environment are insufficient to save. One still has to believe in Christ in order to be saved.
And when Satan is released, those who have rejected Christ will turn to Satan in a heartbeat, whom they have never seen nor even known.
And of course Christ will prevent history from deteriorating back into what it had been. He will put down the rebellion and end history for this universe.
But for now, we need to understand that the Millennium in not occurring presently. Just look around you, at the many troubles in the world. The Millennium is still future, will follow the Tribulation, which follows the Rapture, which we can only look forward to and wait until it occurs.
The Bible is very clear as to the chronology of these events.
We have studied the wedding process, the formation of the Bride, the presentation of the bride in Heaven by her removal from this world (rapture), and the last ditch effort by Satan to bring in his own kingdom, which ends up in total disaster (tribulation).
And finally, when evil is defeated by Christ, then His 1000 year rule will begin.
But first Satan has to be incarcerated so that his influence, which has so saturated daily life in this world such that none of us can tell the difference, is terminated.
Man has his sin nature, but man is not so near destructive as when Satan's influence is around. The proof will be the lack of war and the greatly diminished crime (if any), in the Millennium.
The justice of Christ will serve to immediately correct all injustices, and will help to keep life on an even keel.
