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"Teaching the things concerning the kingdom of
God..."
Part 218
THE BINDING OF SATAN
(continued)
“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” (Rev.
20:1-2).
If
I titled this message “The Millennium,” what would that
mean to you? Have you heard that one day
Jesus is coming back to earth again, and when He comes He will pass through the
“Eastern Gate” into the city of
Six
times the expression “a thousand years” occurs
in this chapter. Three times it
refers to the binding of Satan, and three times to the reigning of those souls who are made alive in Christ. Must we accept this literally? Is the bottomless
pit a literal pit? Is the chain that
binds Satan a literal chain? Is the seal
placed upon the pit to keep Satan from getting out a literal seal? Are the thrones the quickened souls sit upon
actual and literal seats? Is the
thousand years a literal time period? There
are sixty-six books in the Bible, and I have forgotten how many chapters and
verses, but nowhere else between the covers of this Book is there a single
reference to a reign of Christ for “a thousand years.” If six verses had been omitted from this
chapter, the idea of Christ reigning on earth for a thousand years would
The
“thousand years” is the longest period of time referred to in the
Revelation. By what right does anyone
declare that everything in the passage is symbolic or figurative except the “thousand years,” which must
be taken literally? If all other numbers
in the book had a strictly literal fulfillment then we would have to agree that
this one should also. But let me ask — does
the Lamb in the midst of the throne
actually have seven horns and seven eyes?
Were there literally two hundred million galloping horsemen, no more, no
less? Did a little stream of human
blood, bridle deep to horse and two hundred miles long, actually flow from a winepress
where grapes were trodden under foot?
Were there seven thousand, not one more nor one less, slain in the
earthquake? Ah, these are all
word-pictures portraying beautiful and powerful spiritual truths! Let us with bowed head and shoes removed from
our feet see if we cannot stand on that
holy ground where we are enabled by the spirit of wisdom and revelation from
God to catch the Holy Spirit’s object as He teaches by the comparative object-lesson method.
All
scripture attaches a symbolical significance to numbers, as it also does to
colors and dimensions. Numbers such as
one, two, three, four, six, seven, ten, and twelve, and their combinations and
products, represent certain realities and qualities of either the world or the
In
keeping with the spiritual usage of Bible numbers we are told in Revelation
13:18, “Here is
The
Holy Spirit has also given us the number of the sons of God reigning with Christ a thousand years. We know that
the 144,000 in chapter fourteen of the Revelation are counted and found to have the Father’s name
written in their foreheads in the same way that the men of the earth-realm bear
the mark or number of the beast in their foreheads. Neither of these are tattoos or electronic
chips! This signifies people having the mind of either the beast or of the
Father. These are symbols that point to
spiritual realities. These hundred and
forty-four thousand are not the whole number
of God’s redeemed people. In verse four
of chapter fourteen the 144,000 are called “the firstfruits” unto God and the
Lamb. They are, therefore, the elite among all of God’s people — a
select company, called and chosen ones, the feet of which stand upon an
eminence — mount Zion, the mount signifying kingship and dominion. Thus, the “firstfruits” are not firstfruits
merely in the order of time, but of divine purpose — that ground of precedence
to which
In
interpreting scripture, one of the worst things that can be done is to take
numbers and interpret them literally rather than discovering the meaning of the number. In other words, the key to the understanding
of a passage with numbers is the value of
the number. So, then, we need to ask the
Lord, “What does this number 144,000 mean?”
The explanation is that 144,000 = 12 X 12 X 1000. Twelve in scripture is the number denoting divine government. We will
not take time to explain that here, as it is only incidental to our
present thought. Now, twelve times
twelve is twelve squared by itself, yielding the number 144. One hundred forty-four is thus the divine
government of God brought to its highest
expression. It is divine government
multiplied by divine government — the absolute fullest and most ultimate
manifestation of the
We
need to note a feature that very, very few have seen here. The term “millennium” is, of course, another of those man-made expressions like
the term “rapture” which doesn’t actually appear in scripture. It is the word which is used to express the
“thousand years” spoken of in our text.
But where the modern church has stumbled here is that she has missed for
the most part God’s definition of this thousand years because she knows not the
biblical name for it. She, being ignorant
of God’s name, has in her darkness built up an elaborate system of myths and
fairy tales around the name she invented.
The carnal mind always misses every spiritual
fulfillment of the visions of John on
As
I have been taught by the Holy Spirit I have come to see that the “millennial
reign” of Christ is not necessarily a one thousand year period. I would like to think it is much more than
that, if you want to count years! To
reign with Christ for a thousand years means to rule with Christ in the
illumination, glory, and power of the day of the Lord! This is not a mathematical number, denoting
an exact duration of earth-time, but a spiritual number revealing the reality
it stands for — the unlimited,
While
the day of the Lord certainly has a chronological reality to it, the day of the
Lord is first and foremost a state of being, a state of illumination,
understanding, knowledge, consciousness, and experience. The day of the Lord is the
John
discovered the Throne Zone! He
discovered the glory of the day of the Lord!
He discovered those realities that exist beyond the outward, visible,
physical realm, hidden away in the
I
do not expect men to love me for pointing out that the understanding of even
some who call themselves sons of God has not progressed one whit beyond that of
the theologians in the carnal church systems of man in these things! The fact is, the Lord Jesus Christ, the
firstborn Son of God, did not preach even one sermon about the “millennium”
publicly to the multitudes that followed Him, nor did He teach it privately to
His disciples when He opened to them the scriptures and explained the meaning
of His parables, either before or after His death and resurrection. And yet, all of His teaching concerned the
Now,
don’t misunderstand me! I do not say
that the coming age, which is only the next
stage of the unfolding of the
In
Bible
The
figure ten is a symbol of earthly
completeness, so ten times ten times ten, the cube of ten, or a thousand, is
merely a symbol of multiple completeness
or fullness. It is my conviction that it signifies
something higher by far and something infinitely more meaningful and glorious
than dates on the calendar! The thousand
years in our text is the number ten in the third power, signifying a complete
and total binding of Satan within man and a complete and total reigning with
Christ IN THE FULLNESS OF THE DAY OF THE LORD.
It bespeaks the intensity, the completeness, the comprehensiveness, the
broadness, the extensiveness, the richness, and the totality of both the
binding of Satan and the reign of Christ in and through His elect! The essence of the millennium is within us
now because in some measure the light, illumination, and the glory of the Lord
has risen within His elect and to that degree we are even now reigning with
Christ! It is a spiritual number signifying spiritual
realities rather than a specific number of earth years. That is the mystery.
We live in a day when almost everyone, saint
and sinner, recognizes that this is a crazy, mixed-up world we live in. But most preachers and multitudes of
Christians are constantly talking about how bad it is and how dark it is getting. Hogwash!
It might be getting dark in the world you live in, but in the
Yes,
many think Christ will come and reign for a thousand years — and He will, for
one thousand years is as a day, and a day is as a thousand years, and that day
is the Day of the Lord in your life. Individually, the thousand years is the
symbol of a time in a person’s walk where he experiences the power and glory of
ruling and reigning with Christ in his life.
It is the symbol of an attainment and ministry whereby the authority and
power of God’s Christ is expressed and revealed in and through us as sons of
God. I know no words, be they many or
few, that could more adequately establish that the term “thousand years” is the
New Testament code-word for THE DAY OF THE LORD. The thousand years is the symbol of a time in
the life of a son of God where he experiences the absolute and total binding of
Satan, so that Satan is not only cast out of his heavens, as seen in chapter
twelve of the Revelation, but is now effectively bound in his earth, until he
can say in all confidence with the firstborn Son of God, “The prince of this
world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” The
thousand years is the symbol of that place in the life of a son of God where he
experiences the power and glory of ruling and reigning with Christ. It is not a literal thousand years, it signifies an attainment of
reality, maturity, and ministry whereby the authority and power of God’s Christ
is revealed and expressed through us in
its totality as the elect of God. It is
dawning within us now, but must shine
brighter and brighter until the full accomplishment and revelation of it. When Satan is bound in your life one hundred
percent, when Christ rules in you one hundred percent, the brightness of the
Day of the Lord has reached its zenith within your life. Again — it is not a date on the calendar — it is reality
in the spirit!
The
elect of the Lord who walk in the Spirit and are taught by the Spirit have
little interest in dates and years, or in the passing of time. Our
primary interest, yea, our all-consuming passion is to KNOW HIM in the fullness
of Himself! Those who love God and
hear His voice by the Spirit are learning the blessed and holy truth that God’s
purposes being worked out in the earth are not tied to dates on the calendar
but to the spiritual growth and development within God’s called and separated
people. God’s calendar is both spiritual
and experiential, not natural, physical, or carnal. It is that we might experience Christ in the
perfection of His nature, in the fullness of His spirit and power, in the
accomplishment of His purposes, and in
the unveiling of His sonship glory, that the creation might behold HIM
in the dawn of the New Day. Then
everything and everyone will be blessed and quickened because of what He has
wrought in us, not merely because a date on the calendar has arrived. Only by the power of Christ raised up in us,
the Light that He is, can anything anywhere be transformed by our hand. By His Light all darkness shall be
dispelled. The arising of His glory, the
dawning of His Day, is not a date to be calculated, but an attainment to be
realized! It is the power of the voice of God, and the wonder of the work of God in His elect that alerts us
to the reality of this Day — not dates, times, cycles, chronologies,
prophecies, numbers, or calculations of any kind.
“YE
are the light of the world,” Jesus declared to His disciples. THOSE WHO ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD ARE THE DAY OF THE LORD! Nothing could be plainer than that. We who are of the Day, and are not lovers or
sleepers of the night, have a high heritage.
“For ye were one time darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk
as sons of light” (Eph. 5:8).
“While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be
sons of light” (Jn. 12:36). “Ye
are all the sons of light, and the sons of the day: we are not of the
night, nor of the darkness. Therefore
let us not sleep, as do others…” (I Thes. 5:5-6). We who have received the love of the truth
and have been made the light of the world have a higher calling. We have privileges, and duties to
perform. We must be about our Father’s
business! There must be a parting of the
ways with all who walk in the night of sin, negativism, religious bondage and
spiritual drunkenness. It is time to
forsake the shame and error of former carnal and religious realms, and time to
look up, time to arise and shine!
The
Day is at hand! The night is far
spent. We must go forth and lead the way
for all who will follow. The day of the
Lord begins with those who are enlightened, cleansed of all error, bondage, and
carnality, and clothed upon with the glory of Christ’s presence, mind, and
nature. The day of the Lord begins with
those who have eyes to see the true purposes of God for this hour, and commit themselves to walk therein. There is glory and power and rejoicing and
praise ahead for those who walk in the light of this new Day. This is the Day of deliverance, not
bondage. The bands are broken. Christ is conqueror! HE holds the key to the bottomless pit, HE
holds the great chain in His hand with which to bind the devil. Oh, yes — He reigns! We are not expecting the antichrist. We are not expecting the great
tribulation. We are not expecting more
darkness and gloominess, for we have met the Christ, we have witnessed His
power, we have received His word, we have heard His heart, we have beheld His
glory, and have been made one with His purposes. His hosts are invincible, and we are those
hosts. Our
The
firstborn sons of God are the Day of the Lord, for upon
them is risen the glory of the Lord and they are the light of the world. I know what the church system has
taught, but they taught a lie. They
teach that the Day of the Lord is the seven-year tribulation at the end of the
age. They teach that it is the day of
God’s vengeance, when the fullness of His wrath is poured out without mixture
and without measure upon the nations and the inhabitants of the earth. They teach that the Day of the Lord is a
period of horrible trouble, suffering, cataclysmic upheavals, atomic warfare,
devastation, and darkness upon earth. They
have no scriptural foundation. Yes,
there was such a dark and gloomy “day of the Lord” upon
A
great light shined in the darkness, the greatest light that has ever been upon
this earth and yet, to this day, they have not seen it and are still living and
walking in darkness. The very glory of
the Father was revealed to them as the
scripture said it would be. All God ever
could be or ever shall be was manifested before them in Jesus Christ, the
firstborn Son of God. No greater light
could have shone unto them than that light, because the Light of lights was
there to see. Most of them did not recognize
Him, neither did they suspect that the Lord of glory was right there in the
midst of them. If they had entered into
Him, He would not have declared that another
day yet remained for the children of God (Heb. 4:4-8). Let us not fall short of what He is now
speaking into our hearts! God is in this
Day raising up a people that is hearing His words of instruction and beginning
to walk in the light of the glory of God’s Christ.
I
admonish all who read these lines — be established in YOUR DAY. It is a new day, the day of the Lord! It is not the day of antichrist, nor the
great tribulation, nor is it the literal millennium. It is the ever-present day of the unveiling of
the glory of Christ and this day comes as a thief. Christ’s presence is beginning to fill the whole earth in a new expression and the
glory of the Lord is risen upon a people.
This is not a fallacy, this is the sovereign work of God in the lives of
those who have been called to this Day.
This is the very truth, the very understanding as the Spirit has made it
known unto His called and chosen people, that we might know the counsel of God
for this very Day. Though multitudes
continue to walk in darkness, the darkness of the world of the carnal mind and of the fleshly religious systems of
man, you shall walk in the Light and
the Light shall dispel the darkness!
Many stubbornly cling to those things which are passing, to the former
orders and moves of God that have ended, the relics of a former day of glory,
the ruins of an order that God has now shaken, but those whose hearts have
responded to the call to sonship and the kingdom are taking hold of those
things that are new. The former heavens
are being rolled up like a scroll and set aside. There is a new order being raised up, a new heaven and a new earth for
you today, saints of God!
One
of the deep hidden mysteries of God is the great and eternal truth that the day
of the Lord is the Word of God. At the dawn of history, out of the inky
blackness of the formless void of primeval chaos, the word of the Lord issued
the divine fiat, “Let there be
light!” God then divided the light from the darkness and
called the light “Day,” and the darkness He called “Night” (Gen. 1:3-5). The apostle John elaborates on this thought
of the Word of God being the Day of the Lord, declaring, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God…in Him was life; and the life was the light of men” (Jn.
1:1,4). Note the sequence: In the
beginning was the Word. In the Word was life. And that life was the light
of men. The Word, the Life, and
the Light are one. In our natural world
the light of men is the sun, and the sun is the light which is the Day. Can we not see by this that in the spiritual
world the
The
sweet singer of
If
we have considered the matter as we ought, we have surely discerned that there
are two kingdoms in the world: the
The
day of the Lord is one continuous Day known only to the Lord, but it dawns upon
different territories as it moves along in God’s purposes. The natural earth-day is one continuous day,
for it is always day somewhere in the
world, and if you can fly fast enough with the rotation of the earth you
will
As
one has written, “‘The day of the Lord
cometh, for it is (always) nigh at hand; a day of darkness and of gloominess, a
day of clouds and of thick darkness, as
the morning spread upon the mountains’ (Joel 2:1-2). Have you ever watched the day arrive among
the mountains, especially where there is fog or haze or where the mountains
rise above the clouds? The mountain
peaks receive the first light. Then as
the day arrives in its fullness, light can reach the valleys. But early in the morning the peaks can be in
full sunlight and the valleys are still in darkness. And so it is in the spirit. Those who rise high enough, not in their own
strength or
The
light shines in the darkness of this world at this very moment, and it shall
yet shine to dispel all darkness from all realms, bringing Eternal Day. There shall be no more night! That is one of the beautiful and faithful and
true promises of the Revelation.
Speaking of the light of Christ John wrote, “The light shineth in the
darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (Jn. 1:5). That word “comprehend” is an unfortunate
translation. And a
Thank
God, there is a time for the darkness to be chased away. You go into a room and the minute you switch
on the light, the darkness leaves, it vanishes.
Darkness and light cannot exist together, although they do exist side by
side. The astronauts see both day and
night at the same time as they circle the earth in their orbit high above the
planet. There you have light and
darkness side by side and the darkness just cannot take it in. But the sunlight moves across the earth and
the darkness is swallowed up. In like
manner, when God’s time comes for a man, a woman, a people, or a nation to be
brought into His light, He has only to bring the light to shine upon them, and
the darkness flees away. The hour is wonderfully nigh at hand when the
sons of God shall shine their light upon the nations of earth! The darkness upon the face of all people
shall be dispelled and billions shall come to the full light of God’s
Christ. Only the sovereign revelation of
the Lord by His Spirit can accomplish this, and it shall be done.
What
is light?
No one has ever seen pure light, or even sunlight, for light is
invisible. Those things which we see are
really only the objects that are revealed by light. You and I do not see the light, we only see
that which reflects the light. Remove
the objects and we would see nothing.
Even what we perceive in our atmosphere as sunlight, or in our houses as
light, is not really light, but those things within our atmosphere and in the
room where you now sit, which reflect the light. Light is invisible. Light cannot be seen! That is why “outer space” consists of vast
reaches of complete darkness, unless interrupted by some planetary body
revealed by some source of light. Truly
did the apostle write, “God is light, and
in Him is no darkness at all.” And just
as truly it is written, “No man has seen
God at any time.” You don’t see
light, therefore you cannot see God, for God is light! That is why God has channeled Himself through
Jesus Christ, for in Jesus is revealed all the
The
late Carl Schwing shared the following beautiful meditation on this very
concept. “There is a joy which comes
with the sunrise of a new day. How often
I have been blessed to see the first rays of the morning as they rested atop
the hills, and to watch them
Some
of you who now read these lines are reading them by the light of day while
others are reading them after darkness has settled upon your land. In the same way, some of you walk in
spiritual light in different dimensions, while others of you walk in spiritual
darkness on different dimensions. Some
of you walk in the unveiling of the unbounded
It is in this spiritual enlightenment that we
step into GOD’S DAY! It is in this Day
that Christ is and that Christ brings, in which we receive the great
chain with which Satan can be bound in o
The
sons of God reign with Christ for a thousand years — that is, they reign with
Christ IN THE GLORY OF THE DAY OF THE LORD!
The sons of God overcome Satan until he is unable in any way or manner
to express himself in or through their earth for a thousand years — that is,
Satan is rendered inoperative and powerless by the AUTHORITY AND
The
ones sitting on these thrones are overcomers who recognize that they are seated
with Christ in a heavenly realm that is far above the influence of the carnal m
To be continued… J. PRESTON EBY
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