Little Season (1) - Satan was Bound

The season ushered by the Man of Lawlessness is called the "little season" or "short Time" The passage that describes this season is not well understood.

And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time (Rev 20:1-3).

The binding of the devil is not a future event as most Christians assume, because the Devil was totally defeated by Jesus’ victory on the cross.

Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Col 2:15).

Jesus has already done everything that has to be done to destroy the Devil’s power He proved this by casting out demons wherever he went (Matt 12:29). However, since he ascended into heaven, Jesus can only work on earth through his body. He won a major judicial victory on the cross, but it must be enforced on earth by the Holy Spirit working through the church. Jesus challenged his disciples to exercise this authority as long as they remained on earth.

Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matt 18:18).

Jesus repeated this statement to stress that its importance (Matt 16:9). The devil works in the spiritual realm, but God’s people on earth have authority to bind everything every evil power in that realm.

During the Times of the Gentiles, the church does not use this authority very effectively, so the devil continues to operate as though he had never been bound. As Christians suffer for the gospel during the Times of Distress, they will get a new revelation of the defeat of the devil and their power to bind him. The Kingdom of God will come to fulfilment when the Church gets to grips with this authority and binds him completely. Throughout the Times of the Kingdom, the church will be on the top of its game and ensure that he is bound and powerless.

John said that the devil is bound for a thousand years (Rev 20:3). This is not a literal thousand years. A thousand equals ten to the power of three. Ten represents completeness and three is perfection, so a thousand equals perfect completeness. The thousand years describes the season when the Kingdom of God has perfect fulfilment. The time may last for much longer than a thousand of years, but throughout that time, the Devil is totally bound.