Tom Pennington: Putting Sin to Death

John MacArthur's Memorial Service

Scott Aniol Addressing the Use of Images of Christ

Todd Friel on Why Andy Stanley's Teaching About Unhitching the Old Testament from the Faith is Dangerous

Jonny Ardavanis and John MacArthur Discuss Why Jesus Had to Die

What Do Amils Mean by the Binding of Satan?

One issue that is always brought up by opponents of Amillennialism is the binding of Satan which means Satan cannot tempt the nations from receiving the gospel. Many will mention countries where it is illegal for the gospel to be shared and where the church has been persecuted. 

I think many believe when they hear Satan being bound, they might be thinking he has no power on the earth. His activity has been shut down till the return of Christ. 

Kim Riddlebarger writes:

John’s visions in Revelation are given in the language of apocalyptic symbolism.  John does not intend for us to understand these things literally, but rather to read them in light of the Old Testament, where these symbols and images appear previously.  The symbolic nature of the vision is obvious.  How can an angel bind an immaterial spiritual being (Satan) with a real chain?  How can a spiritual being be locked away in a pit?  This is apocalyptic symbolism plain and simple.  

First up is the matter of the proper identification of this particular angel and then determining the meaning of the symbolism of the key to the abyss and the chain.  The answer to the angel’s identity is tied to the use of “keys,” which are mentioned throughout the Book of Revelation.  In Revelation 1:18, Christ holds the keys of Death and Hades in his hand.  In chapter 3:7, the Holy One has the key of David which opens and shuts.  In Revelation 9:1-2 we read that “the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth.  The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.  When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace.  The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.”  

Given the symbolism of the keys prior to this vision, we already possess the “key” (pun intended) to interpret correctly the symbols mentioned by John in Revelation 20:1-3, 7, with some degree of certainty.  The Abyss is a reference to Death and Hades–the realm with which Satan is most closely associated in the Book of Revelation.  Having been cast of out heaven (according to Revelation 12:7-9), John sees an angel (who is either Jesus, or an angel exercising the Lord’s authority) confining Satan to the abode of the dead.  Satan has been cast from heaven where he had been making accusations against the saints (i.e., Job 1:6-12; Zechariah 3:1-10).   According to verses 2-3 of Revelation 20, which are repeated here, the angel “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.”  

John’s vision should be interpreted in light of the background we have previously established.  But we must also give due consideration to what John specifically says of this “binding.”  Satan is bound to the Abyss–the realm of Death and Hades–for a specified time (a thousand years).  He is bound for a specific purpose—he is prevented from “deceiving the nations” until the thousand years are over.  The imagery of the devil being bound restates in apocalyptic symbolism the biblical data considered previously.  Satan has been “cast down” and “bound.”  After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Satan is prevented from deceiving the nations en masse.  This is unlike the prior period of redemptive history (considered above) when the devil was able to mobilize pagan gentile powers to oppose and assault the people of God until his defeat on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  John is describing the age of the gospel, in which that gospel is to be proclaimed to all the nations.  Therefore, the correct reading of Revelation 20:1-3 is that Satan is currently bound by the preaching of the gospel.  His lies are exposed and his powers of deception are greatly diminished in the new covenant era.  It is the proclamation of Christ crucified and risen which “binds” the devil. 

But to be clear and avoid misconception as much as possible, the binding of Satan does not in any sense mean that all of his evil activities cease during the thousand years.  In fact, John has already warned us in Revelation 12:12 that after Satan is cast out of heaven, “woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you!  He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”  Like a sick or wounded animal sure to die, Satan is more dangerous now than he was when he had free access to heaven–even while confined to the abyss.  Satan has been defeated by Christ’s death and resurrection.  His doom is assured.  One little word shall fell him.  The truth of the gospel exposes his lies for what they are.  But with the time he has left, Satan rages against the people of God trying to muster his increasingly feeble power.  The gospel of Christ crucified is to Satan what kryptonite is to Superman.

Nevertheless, John reports in his prior visions that since Satan has nothing to lose, he wages war on the saints and at times, appears to overcome them.  This is why Peter speaks of Satan as our enemy who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (I Peter 5:8).  This is why Paul can speak of Satan as “the god of this age, who blinds the minds of unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 4:4).  You can put a vicious dog on a chain, but you sure don’t want to get within the radius of the chain, or you’ll still get mauled!

At no point does John say or imply that Satan ceases all activity during the thousand years.  In fact, Scripture warns us that the devil’s rage increases because he knows the end is coming.  But John does say that Satan is prevented from deceiving the nations so as to organize them against the people of God (Christ’s church) as he once did during the Old Testament era.  Is this not what John has been reporting from the very beginning of his Apocalypse?  The Beast was already manifest in John’s day in the form of the Roman empire (the fourth empire of Daniel’s vision—cf. Daniel 7).  But Christ has defeated the Roman Caesar, evident in the fact that we can go to Rome today and walk among the ruins of a once great persecuting empire.  

Rome’s Antichrist emperors have come and gone, relegated to the annals of history.  Indeed, beasts in many forms have come and gone throughout the age, persecuting the church for a time, only to be overcome by the testimony of the saints and the blood of the Lamb.  Hitler’s thousand year Reich lasted less than fifteen years.  Stalin’s great socialist utopia collapsed before our eyes.  Even though nations who persecute the church come and go, they are prevented from organizing against the church as a whole and destroying it as the Assyrians and Babylonians did to the divided kingdoms of Israel.  Inevitably these empires all come to an end–often times a bloody end brought about by the providential intervention of God.  

That said, in verse 7 John reveals that one day Satan will be released from the abyss at the time of the end.  No longer bound, Satan will again organize the nations against Jesus Christ and his church, only to be crushed by Jesus on the day of his second advent when our Lord delivers his people once and for all, when we are raised from the dead, final judgment is meted out, and the new heavens and earth appear, the home of everlasting righteousness.

A Lecture on Justification from David de Bruyn

This video features David de Bruyn addressing the doctrine of justification by faith alone at St. John Viennay Seminary, which is a Roman Catholic seminary, followed by a Q&A session. 

Tom Pennington's Tribute to John MacArthur

Ever since John MacArthur passed away, there have been many tributes to him. Articles, podcast, and videos have been going nonstop. Tom Pennington just recently released perhaps one of the most heartfelt tributes to MacArthur.

Phil Johnson: The Reliability, Authority, and Sufficiency of God's Word

Brad Klassen on the Holiness of God

R.C. Sproul: Free from Indwelling Sin

 This sermon is audio only.

Why Are Christians Supporting Unbiblical Positions?

Megan Basham, Alisa Childers, and Natasha Crain join the Cross-Examined, hosted by Frank Turek, podcast addressing why Christians and Church leaders support ideas and positions that go against the Bible.

Is Eastern Orthodoxy Promoting a Different Gospel?

Christopher Yuan and Alisa Childers Discuss the Pillars of Side B "Theology"

Costi Hinn on the Justice and Wrath of God

Justin Peters: The Sin of Partiality

Seven Steps to Die Daily

What then are the best means of preserving in a believer's heart that lively sense of justification which is so precious to the soul that knows it? I offer a few hints to believers. I lay no claim to infallibility in setting down these hints, for I am only a man. But such as they are l offer them.

1. To keep up a lively sense of peace, there must be constant looking to Jesus. As the pilot keeps his eye on the mark by which he steers, so must we keep our eye on Christ.

2. There must be constant communion with Jesus. We must use Him daily as our souls physician and high priest. There must be daily conference, daily confession, and daily absolution.

3. There must be constant watchfulness against the enemies of your soul. He who would have peace must always be prepared for war.

4. There must be constant following after holiness in every relation of life, in our tempers, in our tongues, abroad and at home. A small speck on the lens of a telescope is enough to prevent our seeing distant objects clearly. A little dust will soon make a watch go incorrectly,

5. There must be a constant laboring after humility. Pride goes before a fall. Self-confidence is often the mother of sloth, of hurried Bible reading, and sleepy prayers. Peter first said he would never forsake his Lord, though all others did; then he slept when he should have prayed; then he denied Him three times and found wisdom only after bitter weeping.

6. There must be constant boldness in confessing our Lord before people. Those who honor Christ, Christ will honor with much of His company. When the disciples forsook our Lord, they were wretched and miserable. When they confessed Him before the council, they were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

7. Last, there must be constant jealousy over our own souls and frequent self-examination. We must be careful to distinguish between justification and sanctification. We must beware that we do not make a christ of holiness.

Adapted from Our Great Redeemer: 365 Days with J. C. Ryle

Book Review: Think Biblically edited by John MacArthur and Abner Chou

A worldview is basically how a person looks at the world around them. All of us have a worldview of some kind depending on where you live in the world. Christians are ones that need to think and look at the world around them through the lens of the Bible. What this is means is that God's people are to have a Biblical worldview.

John MacArthur and Abner Chou has gathered writings from their fellow teachers at The Master's Seminary to speak on how we can view sin, mental health, creation, and other topics with a Biblical worldview in a book titled, Think Biblically.

The first part of the book deals with the Biblical foundation of forming a Biblical worldview which begins with seeing Scripture as the authority for the believer along being sufficient in life and godliness. Chou writes about Hermeneutics which is interpreting the Bible followed by other writers addressing gaining a Biblical worldview also looking at what the Bible says about sin, creation, having a right relationship with God, and looking at how God sees the nations.

The remainder of the book deals with the Biblical formulations. These chapters look at developing a Biblical worldview in various subjects such as our postmodern world, what it means to be a Christian man or woman, and looking at how we should view science in the light of scripture. There are even chapters on developing a Biblical worldview in mathematics, education, and even enjoying worship and music. 

I am thankful this book was released in a second edition because there is so much that has happened in the world that a book like this needed to be updated. Those who wish to seek assistance in gaining a Biblical worldview, this book will be a valuable resource for you and your church.

I received in this book from Crossway in exchange for an honest review.   

Tom Foord: The Finished Work of Christ

Phil Johnson: Jesus Calling