Revelation 20:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Here he recounts the overthrow of the devil, which took place during the Master's sufferings. The almighty Christ our God bound him, though he considered himself strong, and delivered us, his spoil, from his power. He condemned him to be cast into the abyss. This is clear from the fact that the demons begged Him not to send them into the abyss. That he was bound is witnessed by the abolition of idolatry, the destruction of idol temples, the dwindling of sacrificial blood, and the worldwide spread and knowledge of the divine will.

In this case we must doubly entreat the Lord that we may not consent to error concerning the number one thousand, the number of many years, and that we may not support error by our own departure from the truth. But He Himself preserves our faith, He who is called Faithful and True. The Lord Himself said at the beginning of this book: "I am the First and the Last, and the Living One; I was dead, and behold, I have the keys of Hades and of death" (Rev 1:17-18). He says that He bears a ministry, so that He can open the well of the abyss. The great chain is the unbreakable bond of the divine ordinance, which He holds in His hands, that is, actively and effectively.

In our understanding, the angel descending from heaven is the Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaiah He is called the Angel of great counsel. Visiting the realm of mortals, He, as the stronger One, desired to bind the strong man, so that those formerly vessels of wrath might become vessels of His mercy. He accomplished this by the deed He had previously promised, proclaiming: "How can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?" (Mt 12:29), that is, the devil. The key of the abyss is the depth of the divine judgments, for "the judgments of God are a great abyss" (Ps 35:7). Certainly, to Him alone it is known who, from the multitude of sinners, will be numbered in the full company of the elect.

Summarizing what was said from the beginning, John sets it forth more fully: "The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend from the abyss and go to destruction" (Rev 17:8). Thus the Lord, endowed with the authority of the Father, descended in the flesh to battle the prince of the world and, having bound him, to free his captives.

By the binding of the devil and his confinement in the abyss is understood here the overthrow of his power, accomplished through the coming of Jesus Christ to earth and His saving sufferings for the human race. The Evangelist John says directly that Jesus Christ appeared in the world to destroy the works of the devil (cf. 1 Jn 3:5). The Lord Himself also spoke of this: "Now is the judgment of this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out" (Jn 12:31). Indeed, the binding and weakening of the devil during the earthly life of Christ the Savior was evident. Unclean spirits trembled at a single word of Christ, obeyed His disciples in His name (cf. Lk 10:17), and in general obeyed all Christians according to their faith in the Son of God. Historically this was expressed in the fall of paganism and the spread of Christianity. The thousand years are the time from the Lord's becoming man until the coming of the antichrist.

Thus, after the crushing of paganism by the Cross of Christ in the ancient Roman Empire, the devil was deprived for an indefinite time of the power and ability to corrupt and destroy nations with his former ease and freedom. That this truly refers to the binding of the devil after the overthrow of Roman paganism is clear from the direct connection between the Seer's words and the preceding vision, which depicts the fall of Roman paganism (Rev 18, 19). Since this fall occurred not suddenly, but gradually, it is difficult to determine with positive exactness from which point the final fall of paganism should be reckoned. Therefore some interpreters assign an earlier date to this event, while others assign a later one.