Why can't Satan be finally put away before the thousand years are finished?
Satan cannot be finally put away before the thousand years end because he is still alive, though bound in an abyss under spiritual chains. Christ must reign until all enemies are placed under His feet, and Scripture shows Satan's final setting away occurs only after the thousand years are finished.
Les explains that during the thousand years Satan is not destroyed but is merely bound in an abyss and held under spiritual chains until the thousand years run their course. According to God's own sovereign way, Satan will once again be released and will cause the nations to follow him and reject the sovereignty of the King and of God. Paul was led by the Spirit to write that He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. From the onset of His rule and reign in the thousand years, Christ is absolute King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and there will be nothing of Satanic power to oppose Him, but Satan is still alive. He has not been put away forever, so this final setting away of Satan cannot take place until the thousand years have finished. Revelation chapter 20, beginning in verse 7, shows this occurs at the end of the thousand years.