What About Satan?

         It may surprise you to find out that Satan does not join the Antichrist and the False Prophet in the Lake of Fire at the end of the 3½-year war. Instead, he is bound temporarily in the bottomless Pit, a compartment of Hades.  He is no longer able to deceive the nations while he is sealed within his own personal Hell.
            Toward the very end of the 1,000 years, Satan is released to “go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog [the defeated 8th kingdom], to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.”
            Why on earth would God allow such a thing? Because He is loving and just. I know, this may be a little hard to swallow at first, but bear with me. Remember, His will is that all mankind be saved.
            Since the start of the 7th Day, there are people who have come to the Lord, many by seeing the rapture and finally believing. They either somehow managed to survive the trumpet judgments and the command to take the mark of the beast, or they died a martyr’s death. If they died as a martyr for their new-found faith, they are “grandfathered” into the Body of Christ and reign with Him for the rest of the 1,000 years.
            As for the rest of the believers who survived everything on the earth, they are part of the family of God and the redeemed, but they are not part of the Body of Christ. Why not? Because they did not believe until after they saw Christ come. Being a part of the Body of Christ is always by faith—believing without seeing.
            There are also unbelievers who survive the wrath of that Day, as well as people being born during the rest of the 1,000 years. Remember, the human DNA is still corrupted by the Fall. They still need to be born again. Because God created mankind with a will, these people always have a choice whom they will worship—Christ or Satan.
            By the way, this further proves that Christ and His Bride are not physically on the earth during the 1,000 years because that would mean that the people would be walking by sight and not by faith. In 2 Cor. 5:7 we are reminded that it is always a faith issue.
            So Satan is released to give all mankind one final choice. The fact that people are still being born with a fallen nature, and therefore need to accept Jesus as their Savior, is clear because Satan is able to deceive enough people to form another invasion against Jerusalem.
            Think about this for a moment. We finally have just cultural institutions on the earth, compliments of the Heavenly Government working through God’s representatives on the earth—Israel, who is now charged with spreading the Gospel message. Satan is bound and there is no demonic influence. Yet because of the fallen nature, which knows evil, people can still choose to reject God and “do it their way.” This is why Hell exists. It is the only way to justly contain evil once and for all, and bring in eternal righteousness.
            Take a moment to think about this truth as well. Do we really think Satan would be able to raise up such a rebellion if Christ and His Bride were physically present on the earth in our glorified form? No unredeemed human can stand or survive the glory of God’s holiness.
            Needless to say, this final rebellion is immediately destroyed with fire from Heaven. Satan is thrown into the Lake of Fire (eternal damnation). The cosmic battle is over. Then comes the final judgment. Stay tuned.