The Dragon’s Pursuit and Binding of Satan

The basic characters and events symbolized by Revelation 12 are actually not that difficult to grasp. As to the characters,

The woman is the church (vv. 1-2).

The dragon is Satan (vv. 3, 9).

The third of the stars are the rest of the fallen angels (vv. 4, 9).

The child born to rule all nations is Christ (v. 5).

The rest of the woman’s offspring is the church in this age (v. 17).

And as to the events depicted, note that there is a two (or three) part structure:

Verses 1 through 6 take us from the initial fall of the devil, to the First Advent of Christ, to the “church age.”

Verses 7 through 12 raise us up to the war in heaven, in which the devil is defeated and cast out of heaven.

Verses 13 through 17 chronicles the flight of the woman from the dragon in the time in between Christ’s first and second coming.

Difficulties Answered

The position I have been defending—at least with respect to the meaning of the thousand years in Revelation 20—is the Amillennialist view. Now 1 John 5:19 tell us that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” At first, this becomes another part of the same tension. How can Satan have been bound at the First Advent and then John make this statement right afterwards? The false dilemma emerges for many. Concisely stated: “Satan Bound or World Under the Evil One?”

So reconciling the second half of Revelation 12 and the first part of Revelation 20 has other texts to consider. It can be difficult to judge the time of the view on earth in what is clearly the “A.D.” period (Rev. 12:7-17). It seems to connect “he knows that his time is short” (v. 12) with the defeat at the First Advent; and even granting the broad New Testament use of eschatological time words—e.g. last, end, short, soon—why does it wait till the end of the whole section to finally mention the rest of the offspring (v. 17)?

Since the woman represents the church in general throughout, the fact that her relationship to the child is repeated in verse 13 does not mean that John is backtracking, or still speaking of the First Advent. It is more like a relative pronoun. It just showing that it is the same woman being discussed. This is a statement of her state throughout the “church age,” namely,

“But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time” (v. 14).

From this, we can rightly infer that the offspring are already included, as she is a figure for the spiritual Jerusalem anyway. It is all Christians who are “into the wilderness” in this way.

Objection 1. If the devil being cast down is linked (by Amillennialism) to his being bound—that is, at the First Advent—then, how is it that his being cast to the earth seems to initiate his ravaging of the church or world (vv. 12, 13)? 

Reply to Obj. 1. This tension already exists between God’s sovereignty and the prevalence of evil, in general; and so this is nothing but the same dilemma applied to the eschatological realm. But we can offer a more specific and thorough response.

The Binding and Loosing of Satan

We ought to first take inventory of our assumptions about the spiritual realm. Are we quite sure that we are not being a little too selective in which portions we want to reserve as symbolic and which parts must be literal and thus have many literal implications? 

Are heaven and the “gloomy darkness” in which demons are said to be bound (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6) even “beyond”? Our first faulty assumption behind that one is our “two-tiered” geography dividing the heavenly-spiritual realm and the earthly-material realm. 

Even more generally, on the level of hermeneutics, have we considered the figurative nature of the imagery? We are presented with this picture to consider:

1. The imagery of being cast out is spatial; but Satan is not a spatial being.

2. The imagery of chains is physical; but Satan is not a physical being.

I have always found it helpful to use the analogy of the mob boss giving orders from prison. In other words, the objection also ignores the concept of rank among the demons. In order to argue conclusively that this binding restricts demonic activity in total, one would have to demonstrate that all demonic powers are as totally restricted as Satan is said to be (already dubious), perhaps arguing from 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 about the chains of the demons. 

The argument from the imagery proves too much. Again flip the same coin over on the 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 texts. If being in such chains necessitates the non-existence of their evil actions, then, logically, only two options are open to us: (1) These are only some demons being discussed and not all—the others are the ones who commit evil acts in the present age; or else (2) These are all, and yet this does not prohibit their evil activity in total. In either case, the entire objection is overthrown.

The Difficulties of the Other Views are Far-Surpassing

Binding and Loosing Satan in Premillennialism

Either, Satan loosed while Christ is already on earth. Christ is depicted as returning from heaven to destroy all His enemies (2 Thess. 1:5-10; 2 Pet. 3:10-12; Rev. 19:11-21). 

Or else, Christ returns to heaven, then comes back again. Again, not impossible; but this would imply a deceiving of the nations (Rev. 20:7) that are presently being ruled by Christ. And though this fits better with Christ defeating His enemies in a return from heaven, nowhere in Scripture is there a suggestion of a second second coming to earth.

Binding and Loosing Satan in Postmillennialism

Either the binding does not coincide with Christ’s First Advent. Posmillennialists will typically agree with Amillennialists that it does in some way, which really becomes the key.

Or, if it does, then the initiation of the kingdom does not coincide with the devil’s binding. The realization of the kingdom talked about by the postmillennialist is one that must be initialized far after the resurrection and ascension. In one sense, these are less awkward problems than those within premillennialism, but it does unhinge the earthly manifestation of Christ’s reign from the spiritual center of gravity in Christ’s ascension and the devil’s defeat.

Binding and Loosing Satan in the more Modern Gnostic-Pietistic Amillennialism

Remember that there is a brand of Amillennialism that divides the spiritual reign from the kingdom’s advance through history. In this view, the binding of Satan is more or less the mirror of Christ’s protection of the church’s spirituality. As Christ’s rule is spiritual over the church’s internal governance and the piety of believers, so Satan’s defeat releases their souls from his spiritual bondage. But those are the limits.

It is the loosing of Satan, however, that can explain the more intense aspects of the picture of Revelation 12. So Satan’s opposition can be constant, building, and then come to an intensified ultimate version toward the end.