Yes — Satan is bound with a great chain, cast into the bottomless pit, and sealed there for the entire thousand-year reign of Christ so he cannot deceive the nations.
Revelation 20 describes an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. Satan—the dragon, that old serpent, the Devil—is bound for a thousand years, cast into the pit, shut up, and sealed. He remains alive but confined throughout Christ's millennial reign, and after the thousand years he is released for a little season. Les Feldick emphasizes that this pit is neither hell nor the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:1-3 — The core passage answering the question: the angel, the chain, the binding, the bottomless pit, and the seal.
Revelation 20:7-8 — Shows what happens to Satan once the thousand years are fulfilled—he is loosed and deceives the nations.
1 Corinthians 15:25 — Underpins why Satan's final end must await the end of the Millennium, since Christ must reign until all enemies are under His feet.
Revelation 20:1-3 records that John saw an angel come down from heaven with the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain. The angel laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent—which is the Devil and Satan—and bound him a thousand years. He then cast him into the bottomless pit, 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.' Revelation 20:7-8 then states that when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth. First Corinthians 15:25 likewise declares that Christ 'must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.'
Les Feldick walks through Revelation 20:1-3 and draws out several key points. First, since Satan is a spirit being, the great chain is not necessarily an iron chain; it is 'a chain of God's doing' that shows God will confine him so he can no longer carry out his work of opposition. Second, the place of confinement is a bottomless pit—a special place that is not hell and not the lake of fire. Third, the repeated phrase 'until the thousand years' emphasizes that the binding is temporary. Throughout the millennium Christ rules as absolute King of Kings and Lord of Lords with nothing of Satanic power to oppose Him, yet Satan is still alive and has not been put away forever. When the thousand years have finished, according to God's own sovereign way of doing things, Satan will once again be released and will cause the nations to follow him and reject the sovereignty of the King and of God. Les connects this to 1 Corinthians 15:25: 'For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.'
Revelation 20:1 shows an angel coming down from heaven with the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. Les Feldick points out that because Satan is a spirit being, the chain does not have to be an ordinary iron chain; it will be 'a chain of God's doing.' The point is simply that God will confine him so that he can no longer carry out his work of opposition. The angel then binds the dragon—that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan—for a thousand years.
The angel casts Satan into the bottomless pit, shuts him up, and sets a seal upon him (Revelation 20:3). Les emphasizes that this is a special place that is not hell and not the lake of fire—it is a pit of some kind where Satan will be held under spiritual chains of one sort or another until the thousand years have run their course. He is sealed there so that he should deceive the nations no more during that entire period.
Throughout the thousand-year reign, Christ rules as absolute King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and there is nothing of Satanic power to oppose Him. Yet, as Les notes, Satan is still alive—he has not been put away forever. The place of confinement is a bottomless pit, not the lake of fire. This final setting away of Satan cannot take place until the thousand years have finished.
Revelation 20:3 closes with the words 'after that he must be loosed a little season,' and Revelation 20:7-8 records that when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth. Les explains that according to God's own sovereign way of doing things, Satan will once again be released and will cause the nations to follow him and reject the sovereignty of the King and of God.
Hell and the Lake of Fire Are Different
Les explains that hell and the lake of fire are not the same thing and that hell will one day go into the lake of fire, which supports the point that the bottomless pit is yet another distinct place of confinement.
Satan Bound and Cast Into the Bottomless Pit
Les reads Revelation 20:1-3 and explains that the angel binds the dragon—that old serpent, the Devil—casts him into the bottomless pit, shuts and seals him so he cannot deceive the nations for a thousand years.
The Pit Is Neither Hell nor the Lake of Fire
Les clarifies that the place where Satan is confined is a special pit—not hell and not the lake of fire—and stresses the word 'until' to show that the binding is temporary.
Satan Held Until the Thousand Years Finish
Les explains that Satan is held under spiritual chains in an abyss until the thousand years are finished, and that his release to deceive the nations shows why Christ must reign until all enemies are under His feet.
Loosed for a Little Season
Les notes that Revelation 20 is the first place Scripture gives a thousand-year time frame for the Kingdom, and that when the thousand years are fulfilled Satan must be loosed for a little season to deceive the nations.
The Chain Is of God's Doing
Les explains that since Satan is a spirit being, he does not necessarily have to be bound with an iron chain; the chain is of God's doing and shows God confining him so he can no longer oppose God's work for 1,000 years.
Released After the Thousand Years
Les observes that 'until the thousand years' appears twice in just two verses, proving the binding is temporary and that Satan will be released again.
Satan Is Still Alive During the Millennium
Les points out that although Christ rules with absolute power and nothing of Satanic power opposes Him, Satan is still alive and has not been put away forever; his final setting away awaits the end of the thousand years.
Revelation 20:1: And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Introduces the angel and the instruments God uses to confine Satan.
Revelation 20:2: And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Identifies the one being bound and the exact duration of his binding.
Revelation 20:3: 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.
The key verse: Satan is imprisoned, sealed, and then released after the thousand years.
Revelation 20:7: And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Marks the end of his confinement and his release from the pit.
Revelation 20:8: And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Describes what Satan does immediately after being released.
1 Corinthians 15:25: For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
Les connects this verse to the necessity of Christ's reign continuing until Satan's final setting away.
Satan is bound for a thousand years. Revelation 20:2 says the angel laid hold on the dragon and 'bound him a thousand years,' and Revelation 20:3 says he is sealed 'till the thousand years should be fulfilled.'
No. Les Feldick explains that the bottomless pit is not the lake of fire; it is a special place of confinement. Satan remains alive in this pit throughout the thousand years and is not finally put away until after the millennium.
Les teaches that the chain is not necessarily an iron chain but a chain of God's doing. It shows that God is able to confine even a spirit being like Satan so he can no longer carry out his work of opposition.
He is loosed for a little season. Revelation 20:7-8 says he is released from his prison and goes out to deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth.
Watch the Teaching: What Happens to Satan, the Antichrist & the Dead?