Angels: Their Nature and Ministry

§10. SATAN BOUND

In connection with the first resurrection, John had a view of the triumph of Jesus over the enemy who shut up man in the prison of death. The resurrection of the just takes place at the coming of Christ, as the apostle says: “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. John’s vision of these events is described as follows:- ATNM 103.1

“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” Revelation 20:1-5. ATNM 103.2

To understand the full meaning of this text we must examine the subject of the sanctuary-one of the most important and instructive subjects presented in the Bible. The meaning of the word “sanctuary,” as given by the best authorities, is “a holy or sanctified place, a dwelling-place of the Most High.” (Cruden.) The Lord commanded Moses, saying, “And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8. But the sanctuary built by Moses, and used so long by the children of Israel for the offering of sacrifices and the service of the priests, was only a type of the real sanctuary in heaven, where Christ, our great High Priest, now officiates, Hebrews 8:1-6; 9:1-24. ATNM 104.1

In the typical sanctuary service every day in the year the people brought their offerings to the tabernacle and confessed their sins over them. The sacrifices were then slain, and the blood, representing the life of the victims over which the sins were confessed, was taken into the sanctuary. Thus the sins of those who made their confessions were conveyed from themselves into the sanctuary during the entire year. Hebrews 9:1-7; Leviticus 1:3; 4:1-7. At the end of the year the high priest presented two goats before the door of the sanctuary, and cast lots upon them. One lot was for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat. Leviticus 16:1-8. The one upon which the Lord’s lot fell was then slain, and his blood was taken into the sanctuary, and by it the sins taken there by the high priest (for he acted in behalf of the people) were atoned for. Verses 9-19. Then these sins were taken out of the sanctuary and placed upon the head of the scapegoat, and he bore them away to a land not inhabited. Verses 20-22. All this was typical of Christ’s ministration in the true sanctuary above. Hebrews 8:1-5. Therefore, Christ will minister in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary till the day of atonement or judgment. During this time the sins of God’s people are conveyed, by faith in the blood of Jesus, into the heavenly sanctuary. At the day of atonement, the blood of the Lamb of God will be offered to cleanse the heavenly sanctuary from these sins. ATNM 104.2

According to the pattern, when the heavenly sanctuary is cleansed by the blood of the Lamb of God, the sins of the righteous will be conveyed by the High Priest (Christ) and placed upon the head of the scapegoat, who will then be sent into a land not inhabited. Now we inquire, Who is this scapegoat? The following testimonies afford satisfactory information on the subject:- ATNM 105.1

“The Scapegoat.-The next event of that day, after the sanctuary was cleansed, was the putting of all the iniquities and transgressions of the children of Israel upon the scapegoat, and sending him away into a land not inhabited, or of separation. It is supposed by almost everyone that this goat typified Christ in some of his offices, and that the type was fulfilled at the first advent. From this opinion I must differ, because: 1. That goat was not sent away till after the high priest had made an end of cleansing the sanctuary. Leviticus 16:20, 21. Hence that event cannot meet its antitype till after the end of the 2300 days (1844). 2. It was sent away from Israel into the wilderness, a land not inhabited. If our blessed Saviour is its antitype, He also must be sent away,-not His body alone, but soul and body (for the goat was sent away alive)-from, not to, nor into, His people, neither into heaven, for that is not a wilderness, nor a land not inhabited. 3. It received and retained all the iniquities of Israel; but when Christ appears the second time, He will be without sin. 4. The goat received the iniquities from the hand of the priest, and he sent it away. As Christ is the Priest, the goat must be something else besides Himself, which He can send away. 5. This was one of the two goats chosen for that day, of which one was the Lord’s, and was offered for a sin offering; but the other was not called the Lord’s, neither offered as a sacrifice. Its only office was to receive the iniquities from the priest, after he had cleansed the sanctuary from them, and bear them into a land not inhabited, leaving the sanctuary, priest, and people behind, and free from their iniquities. Leviticus 16:7-10, 22. 6. The Hebrew name of the scapegoat, as will be seen from the margin of verse 8, is Azazel.... The Syriac has Azail, the angel (strong one), who revolted. 7. At the appearing of Christ, as taught in Revelation 20, Satan is to be bound and cast into the bottomless pit, which act and place are significantly symbolized by the ancient high priest’s sending the scapegoat into a separate and uninhabited wilderness. Thus we have the Scripture, the definition in two ancient languages, both spoken at the same time, and the oldest opinions of the Christians, in favor of regarding the scapegoat as the type of Satan.”-Crozier. ATNM 105.2

On this subject Dr. Charles Beecher, “Redeemer and Redeemed,” p. 66, says: “Two goats were to be presented before the Lord by the high priest. They must be exactly alike in value, size, age, color,-they must be counterparts. Placing these goats before him, the high priest put both his hands into an urn containing two golden lots, and drew them out, one in each hand. On the one was engraved ‘La-Yehovah’ (for Jehovah); on the other, ‘La-Azazel’ (for Azazel). ATNM 107.1

“The goat on which the lot La-Yehovah fell was slain. After its blood had been sprinkled in the holy of holies, the high priest laid his hands on the head of the second goat, confessed the sins of the congregation, and gave him to a fit man to lead away and let go in the wilderness, the man thus employed being obliged to wash his clothes and person before returning to the congregation.” ATNM 107.2

With regard to what this scapegoat represents, he says that “one opinion is that Azazel is a proper name of Satan. In support of this the following points are urged: The use of the preposition implies it. The same preposition is used on both lots, La-Yehovah, La-Azazel; and if the one indicates a person, it seems natural that the other should, especially considering the act of casting lots. If one is for Jehovah, the other would seem for some other person or being, not one for Jehovah, and the other for the goat itself. What goes to confirm this is that the most ancient paraphrases and translations treat Azazel as a proper name. The Chaldee paraphrase and the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan would certainly have translated it if it was not a proper name; but they do not. The Septuagint, or oldest Greek version, renders it by Üðïðïìðáéïò [Apopompaios], a word applied by the Greeks to a malign deity, sometimes appeased by sacrifices. Another confirmation is found in the book of Enoch, where the name Azalzel, evidently a corruption of Azazel, is given to one of the fallen angels, thus plainly showing what was the prevalent understanding of the Jews at that day. Still another evidence is found in the Arabic, where Azazel is employed as the name of the evil spirit. In addition to these, we have the evidence of the Jewish work Zahar, and of the Cabalistic and Rabinical writers. They tell us that the following proverb was current among the Jews: ‘On the day of atonement, a gift to Sammael.’ Hence Moses Gerundinensis feels called to say that it is not a sacrifice, but only done because commanded by God. ATNM 107.3

“Another step in the evidence is when we find the same opinion passing from the Jewish to the early Christian church. Origen was the most learned of the fathers, and on such a point as this, the meaning of a Hebrew word, his testimony is reliable. Says Origen: ‘He who is called in the Septuagint, [Greek] (Apopompaios), and in the Hebrew, Azazel, is no other than the devil.’ Lastly, a circumstance is mentioned of the Emperor Julian, the apostate, that confirms the argument. He brought as an objection against the Bible that Moses commanded a sacrifice to the evil spirit-an objection he never could have thought of if Azazel had not been generally regarded as a proper name. ATNM 108.1

“In view, then, of the difficulties attending any other meaning, and the accumulated evidence in favor of this, Hengstenberg affirms with great confidence that Azazel cannot be anything else but another name for Satan.”-Id., pp. 67, 68. ATNM 109.1

In conclusion on this point, Dr. Beecher says: “Would it not be strange if, in all the symbols of the sacrificial system, there was not a single intimation of the serpent’s existence? And where should we expect to see his baleful shadow, if not here on this great day of atonement?”-Id., p. 73. ATNM 109.2

In addition to these decisive testimonies, we offer the following from German commentators. Dr. A. Sulzberger, in Christliche Claubenslehre, pp. 101, 102, says:- ATNM 109.3

“The next time Satan appears no longer in the dark, disguised as a beast, but as a spiritual, personal being, in the desert, known under the name of Asasel (Leviticus 16:8), to whom, on the day of atonement, one of the two goats, laden with the sins of the people, is sent, in order to bring these sins to the father of all sin, and to inform him that the atonement for the people has been made, and that he, as accuser of the people, has consequently no claim on those whose sins have been expiated. ATNM 109.4

“That under Asasel a spiritual personality, and this the head of the evil spirits, is meant, becomes evident from the fact that of the two goats which are first brought before Jehovah, one is offered to Jehovah, and the other, laden with sin, is sent to Asasel into the wilderness, the abode of demons. From the relation into which Asasel is brought here to Jehovah, it becomes evident that on both sides stand personal beings; opposite to the personal Jehovah can only stand the personal Satan. With this view side Hengstenberg, Kurtz, Gesenius in his ‘Thesaurus,’ Delitzsch, Keil, etc.” ATNM 110.1

To this he adds the following note:- ATNM 110.2

[Word printed in Hebrew script] from the root [another word printed in Hebrew script] to remove, and expressing a higher degree of the same, signifies, according to the definitions of many Rabbins, Rosenmüller, Hengstenberg (‘The Books of Moses,’ p. 166), Gesenius (‘Thesaurus’), Ewald (‘Antiquities,’ p. 402), Vaihinger (Herzog’s Real Encyclopedia, I, p. 634), ‘the one completely removed.’ According to Baumgarten, ‘the apostate.’ According to the LXX, [Greek], averruncus, a demon, who is driven far away.” ATNM 110.3

August Däschsel, “Commentary in Loco,” says: ATNM 110.4

“The word [printed in Hebrew script] (La-Asasel), which occurs in the whole Bible only in this chapter, Leviticus 16, and here only four times, is differently explained by different interpreters.” “Most interpreters, however, and this justly, appeal to the fact that to the first lot-’for the Lord’-only such a second could correspond, upon which, likewise, the name of a personal being, or a proper name, comes. Now they take Asasel in this sense, ‘The one wholly removed, the one completely separated,’ and understand herewith the devil, the originator of sin, the head of the fallen angels, who is called, in the book of Job, Satan, and by the Rabbins, Sammael.” ATNM 110.5

Also A. Kinzler, “Biblische Alterthümer,” p. 215, says:- ATNM 111.1

“The most singular fact in all the ceremonies of the day of atonement is the proceeding with the second, the living goat, which is driven, laden with the sins of the people, into the desert, for Asasel. The latter word occurs in the whole Bible only in this chapter, Leviticus 16, and signifies neither the solitary wilderness, nor the respective goat itself (Luther, ‘the free goat’), nor ‘for entire removal;’ the words, ‘a lot for Jehovah and one for Asasel,’ demand, without question, that Asasel is to be considered as a personal being, who is placed in contrast with Jehovah. One can think in this only of the ruler in the realms of the demons, of Satan.” ATNM 111.2

Thus we see that it is susceptible of very clear proof that Satan is the great antitype of the scapegoat. Indeed, we can come to no other conclusion. How fitting, how just it is that Satan, the great author of sin, should receive back upon his own head the sins and transgressions into which he has led God’s people! ATNM 111.3

In the type they brought the scapegoat “alive before the Lord,” and the high priest confessed “over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat.” So it will be in the antitype. Satan will be arraigned, and Christ, his conqueror, will place upon him the sins and iniquities which he has caused the Lord’s people to commit, and send him away into a “land not inhabited.” This is that to which reference is made in the text quoted at the beginning of this section. Revelation 20:1-5. That old serpent, Satan, is bound a thousand years, and shut up in the bottomless pit, the abyss. ATNM 111.4

We can plainly see in this the antitype of the scapegoat. But he was sent into the wilderness, a land not inhabited. Then it is an important point for us to determine what this bottomless pit is, into which Satan is to be cast. If, on examination, we find it to be a “wilderness,” or a desolate place, this will confirm the truthfulness of our position, that Satan is the antitype of the scapegoat. Revelation 20:3 says that Satan was cast into the bottomless pit. Revelation 9:1-3 locates the bottomless pit on the earth: “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven [where to?] unto the earth; and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.” ATNM 112.1

What is the meaning of the term “bottomless pit”? The idea commonly attached to it is that of an eternally-burning hell. But this is not the Bible meaning of this term. Its primary signification is, a dark place, a waste, a wilderness, an uninhabited region. The original word, abussos, which, in Revelation 20:1-3, is rendered bottomless pit, is in other places rendered deep. Thus Genesis 1:1, 2: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep,” or the bottomless pit. The word is literally the abyss, as given by the American Bible Union. Thus, Revelation 20:1-3: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the abyss.” This, compared with Genesis 1:2, “Darkness was upon the face of the deep,” the abyss, or bottomless pit, locates this place very definitely. It is the face of this earth in its dark, void, chaotic state. ATNM 112.2

Then if, in the future, Satan is to be cast into the deep, or abyss, this earth must be reduced back to its original chaotic state, so that it shall be without form and void, and darkness upon the face of the deep. Will this ever be? Listen to Jeremiah, who had a vision of the future condition of the earth (chap. 4:19-28): “I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled; suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?” He then gives the result of this sound of the trumpet, alarm of war, and destruction upon destruction: “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.” Compare this with Genesis 1:2: “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” Then the time is coming when this earth will be reduced back to its original condition. But he continues: “I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate.” ATNM 113.1

The prophets plainly declare that all the earth will be desolate of its inhabitants and turned into a wilderness, so to remain for a period of a thousand years. Remember that it was a place similar to this into which the scapegoat was turned; i. e., a wilderness, a land not inhabited. This is the place where Satan, the great antitypical scapegoat, is to be bound a thousand years. Revelation 20:1-5 places the commencement of this period at the time of the resurrection of the blessed and holy, which is shown by 1 Thessalonians 4:16 to be at the second advent of our Lord. The battle of the great day, by which all the enemies of the Lord are slain (Revelation 16; Jeremiah 25), takes place at that time. So that is the time of the binding of the dragon and the desolation of the earth. And as this battle takes place in “the day of the Lord,” and as the utter and final overthrow of the wicked at the end of the thousand years of Revelation 20, also takes place in the day of the Lord, according to 2 Peter 3:7-10, it follows that the thousand years are in that period covered by this phrase, “The day of the Lord.” Of course in that day the desolation occurs. Thus Isaiah says: “Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.” “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” Chap. 13:6, 9. “For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof [Idumea] shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever.” Chap. 34:8-10. ATNM 114.1

The expressions “forever and ever” and “from generation to generation” show that the earth will be desolate for no short period of time. As we have seen, this desolation of the earth takes place at the beginning of the day of the Lord,-the commencement of the thousand years. This is also the time when Jesus makes His second advent, for He is the one who destroys the nations. Psalm 2:7-9. In Revelation 19 His advent is described, together with the destruction of the nations and the desolation of the earth: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God.... Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron; and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth; and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” Verses 11-21. This leaves the world desolate of its inhabitants. ATNM 115.1

The prophet continues: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [abyss] and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled.” Revelation 20:1-3. Thus we see that just as soon as the earth is made a wilderness, Satan is cast into this desolate region to remain a thousand years. ATNM 117.1

But where are God’s people at this time? They are caught up to meet the Lord, and are taken to heaven, where they reign with Christ during the thousand years. Paul says: “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. Jesus directly states that the saints will go to heaven. (Compare John 7:32-34; 13:33-36.) Then He tells them when and how they shall go there: “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:2, 3. This shows that the saints will be taken to heaven when the Lord comes. ATNM 117.2

In Revelation 19:1-10 John sees the saints in heaven, after their deliverance, praising God: “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God.” At His second coming Jesus takes His people to heaven, to that place which He has prepared for them. The wicked, as we have seen, are all slain upon the earth. ATNM 118.1

Thus Revelation 19 presents us with these two grand facts: (1) The deliverance of the saints and their triumphant entry into heaven. Verses 1-10. (2) The destruction of the wicked upon the earth. Verses 11-21. Thus the earth is left entirely desolate, without an inhabitant. The next verses describe the binding of Satan, and his being cast into the earth. Revelation 20:1-3. A query may arise as to how Satan is bound. Evidently in this manner: The saints are all in heaven beyond his reach. The wicked are all dead and in the earth; and hence they are out of his reach. Thus the devil is bound, having nothing to do but to roam up and down this desolate earth and meditate upon his sad condition. And it would also seem that he is confined to this earth, and not allowed to go to other worlds. ATNM 118.2

That the wicked are not raised till the end of the thousand years is directly stated in Revelation 20:4-7: “They [the saints] lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” ATNM 119.1

It was through the devices of the devil that the human family was led into sin, and brought under the dominion of death. Since that time he has ruled in the kingdoms of this world. He has stirred up men to war and carnage, till at last, at the beginning of the thousand years, the whole earth is desolated of its inhabitants. It is now one vast heap of ruins, of crumbling palaces, smoking villages, and forsaken cities. On every hand, in every clime, is written, in characters of blood, Ruin, Destruction, and Desolation. Thorns and brambles grow in the streets of once populous cities; wild beasts and satyrs roam through forsaken temples, and the doleful wind moans through their silent chambers. Ghastly skeletons of the dead lie strewn over all the earth. The clouds above are black, and the earth beneath sends up fire and smoke, according to the words of Isaiah 34:8-10. ATNM 119.2

When this is fulfilled, in what awful state the earth will be! Fire and brimstone on the face of the earth, and clouds and thick darkness above it! This is to be the home, this the kingdom, of the devil and his angels for one thousand years! ATNM 120.1

How changed the scene from the years of his triumph! He tempted, persecuted, and martyred the righteous without any mercy. But now his power is broken. The strong man armed has been bound by a stronger than he, and his house has been spoiled of its goods. Luke 11:21, 22. Christ, the mighty Conqueror, has bound the strong enemy, opened the grave, and brought forth the saints. They are now out of Satan’s power, and he is bound before them. What a scene! The devil in chains before the God against whom he rebelled, before Christ, whom he despised, before the angels, whom he insulted, and before the saints, whom he persecuted and murdered. ATNM 120.2

Behold him, majestic and terrible, even though fallen, as he stands and views the scene of ruin, of desolation, and of terror, the work of his own hands. As he looks upon the dark visages around him, the faces of his companions in woe; as he beholds their features, like his own, haggard and worn; as he glances at the awful scenery around him, his thoughts wander back to Eden, to heaven, to the beautiful city of God. He remembers that he was once there, that he was a glorious and holy angel, the companion of Christ, the friend of God. He was then happy, because he was obedient. Heaven was his home. He was surrounded by beauty, innocence, and loveliness. But he rebelled against God, and behold the result! Could he repent, could he be forgiven, oh, how quickly he would embrace the opportunity! But no; he sinned against too much light and knowledge and grace ever to be forgiven. He has so deeply stamped rebellion into his very being that heaven must not again be imperiled by his influence. He caused the Son of God to be put to death, and all the universe now holds him in abhorrence, and justifies his condemnation. He must suffer the consequences of his sins; for a long, dreary thousand years he must wander up and down this dark, desolate earth, without employment, except with his own thoughts, to meditate upon his sad condition. Lack of employment, the absence of hope, the certainty of his final doom, and the wrath of God resting upon him-all these must render him indescribably miserable. This is the harvest of evil-doing. He has fought against God, but now the blows have rebounded upon his own head; he has persecuted the righteous, but now they are beyond his reach and triumphing over his downfall; he has ruined their beautiful home, and now it is his prison. Thus he has fulfilled the proverb: “Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit; but the upright shall have good things in possession.” Proverbs 28:10. He must remain a thousand years in his own pit and suffer for his own evil deeds and for the sins of the righteous, which he instigated, and which have been justly laid upon him by Jesus the Son of God, our merciful High Priest. ATNM 120.3