ABSTRACT
Revelation 20 is generally viewed as a crux interpretum in the debate over the timing and nature of the millennium. In verses 1–3, the apostle John describes a vision in which Satan is bound and imprisoned in the abyss for a thousand years. Premillennialists consider this passage to be compelling evidence for a future millennium, because this restriction of Satan is clearly incompatible with his activity and influence in the present age. In contrast, amillennialists believe that Satan is currently bound in the abyss and therefore that the millennium of Revelation 20 is a present reality. As evidence for their view, amillennialists generally point to the significance of the abyss, the purpose of the binding, and parallel passages in the New Testament which are said to shed light on the meaning of John’s vision. But a careful evaluation of these three arguments demonstrates that the case for amillennial view cannot be sustained and therefore that the binding of Satan must be future, just as premillennialism teaches.
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