Satan is locked up during the Millennium so the earth can enjoy Christ's perfect righteous rule without the adversary's influence - a thousand-year period that mirrors the Garden of Eden and sets up the final testing of the generations born in the Kingdom.
Les Feldick teaches that the thousand-year Kingdom is the seventh period of testing the human race - a time when Christ reigns with absolute, benevolent power and no satanic force is operating (Clips 1-2). With Satan bound, the earth will experience Garden-of-Eden conditions: no sin, no death, ideal climate, and tremendous prosperity (Clip 6). Because children born in that Kingdom inherit the Adamic nature but have never had to choose for or against God, Satan must be released at the end of the thousand years so these new generations can make the same kind of choice Adam and Eve made - proving the human makeup is incorrigible (Clips 2-4).
Revelation 20:1-3 — This passage directly answers the question - it records the angel binding Satan, shutting him in the bottomless pit, and sealing him so he cannot deceive the nations for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:1-2 says: '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.' Verse 3 continues: '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.' When the thousand years are finished, Revelation 20:7-8 says: 'And 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, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.' Revelation 20:9 records the outcome: 'And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.' Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:25, 'For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.' In the Garden of Eden, the serpent's temptation of Eve included the promise of Genesis 3:5: 'For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.'
Les Feldick explains that the Millennium becomes 'another period of testing' - the seventh in a sequence of testing periods that runs all the way through human history (Clips 0-1). During that thousand-year Kingdom, Satan is locked up in an abyss and held under spiritual chains while Christ reigns as King with absolute, benevolent power (Clips 2, 7). Les describes the result as 'the epitome of everything that man could even hope or dream of': normal flesh-and-blood people producing, reproducing, and living in the absence of sin and the adversary, with ideal climate, tremendous prosperity, and a population explosion - like the Garden of Eden (Clips 5-6). Les emphasizes that children born to believers in the Kingdom will all be born with the same old Adamic nature their parents had, but because no satanic force is operating, they will have no opportunity for open rebellion - they have never had to make a choice for or against God (Clip 2). That is why Satan must be released 'for a little season' at the end of the thousand years: 'There is only one way you can give a choice, and that is there has to be more than one option.' Satan comes back to present his options to these new generations, just as he did to Eve - tempting them with 'Well yes, you've got it perfect, but you're still not God' (Clip 3). According to Les, 'the whole idea of the thousand years' is to prove once again that the human makeup is incorrigible. Even people living in a perfect environment with nothing amiss will follow Satan when he is loosed and rebel against the King, gathering against Jerusalem - only to be devoured by fire that came down from God out of heaven (Clips 4, 7). He also notes that God sovereignly ordains this sequence: Satan is released and once again causes the nations to reject the sovereignty of the King, which is exactly why Paul wrote that Christ 'must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet' (Clip 7).
Les teaches that the citizens of the Kingdom will be normal flesh-and-blood people having children, working, and producing - but in the absence of sin and the absence of the adversary, under the perfect righteous rule of Christ the King. He calls it 'the epitome of everything that man could even hope or dream of' (Clip 5). Because Satan is locked up, there is no sin and no death; the thousand years will bring tremendous prosperity, abundant food production, and an ideal climate - a Garden of Eden on earth - producing a population explosion from both the Gentile nations and the nation of Israel (Clip 6).
Les says the new generations born during the Kingdom will never have had to make a choice for or against God. Since no satanic force is operating and Christ rules with absolute benevolent power, they have no opportunity for open rebellion (Clip 2). Yet they are born with the same old Adamic nature. That is why at the end of the thousand years Satan must be released so these generations can be brought to a place of choosing. 'There is only one way you can give a choice, and that is there has to be more than one option' - so Satan comes back to present his options just as he did to Eve, tempting them with the idea that while everything is perfect, 'you're still not God' (Clip 3).
Les reminds his listeners that God has dealt with mankind under distinctly different circumstances in different eras - from the Garden of Eden, to the post-Flood world with human government and the permission to eat meat, to the call of Abraham out of pagan humanity (Clip 0). He says there have been six periods of testing all the way up through human history, and the Millennium must be the seventh, because 'God always does things in seven.' The thousand-year Kingdom therefore becomes one more period of testing the human race (Clip 1).
Revelation 20 says an angel came down from heaven with the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain, laid hold on the dragon - that old serpent, the Devil, and Satan - and bound him a thousand years, then cast him into the 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' (Revelation 20:1-3). When the thousand years expire, he is loosed for a little season and goes out to deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth, gathering them to battle against the beloved city, where fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them (Revelation 20:7-9).
A Different Set of Circumstances
Les shows that God has dealt with humanity under distinctly different circumstances in each era - the Garden, the post-Flood world, and the call of Abraham - framing why the Millennium will also be a unique period in God's dealings with the human race.
Satan Bound Until the Thousand Years Are Fulfilled
Les explains that Satan is locked up until the thousand years are completed, then must be loosed for a little season to test the new generations that come on the scene - making the Millennium the seventh period of testing the human race.
Kingdom Children Have No Opportunity to Rebel
Les teaches that children born in the Kingdom have no opportunity for open rebellion because no satanic force operates and Christ rules with absolute benevolent power - yet they are born with the Adamic nature, so Satan must be released so they can exercise free will and choose for or against God.
A Choice Requires More Than One Option
Les says a genuine choice requires more than one option, so Satan is brought back to present his options to the Kingdom generations just as he did to Eve - tempting them with the thought that although everything is perfect, they are still not God.
The Human Makeup Is Incorrigible
Les teaches that the whole idea of the thousand years is to prove once again that the human makeup is incorrigible - even in a perfect environment with nothing amiss, Satan deceives the nations into rebellion and fire from heaven devours them.
The Epitome of Everything Man Could Hope For
Les describes the Kingdom as ordinary flesh-and-blood people having children, working, and producing in the absence of sin and the adversary, under Christ's perfect righteous rule - the epitome of everything man could hope or dream of.
Garden of Eden Conditions on Earth
Les says the thousand years will bring a population explosion, tremendous prosperity, abundant food production, and an ideal climate - like the Garden of Eden - because there is no sin, no death, and Satan is locked up.
Christ Must Reign Until All Enemies Are Under His Feet
Les notes that Satan is held in an abyss under spiritual chains until the thousand years run their course, and that God sovereignly releases him so he can cause the nations to reject the King - the reason Paul wrote that Christ must reign until all enemies are under His feet.
Revelation 20:1-2: 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,
Records the actual moment Satan is bound for the thousand years.
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.
Gives the stated purpose of the binding - that he deceive the nations no more - and promises his later release.
Revelation 20:7: And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison;
Marks the end of his confinement at the close of the Millennium.
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.
Shows what Satan does once released - deceiving the nations into battle.
Revelation 20:9: And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Describes the end of the rebellion - fire from heaven devours the rebels.
1 Corinthians 15:25: For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
Explains why Christ's reign must continue until every enemy, including the final rebellion at the end of the Millennium, is defeated - the verse Les cites.
Genesis 3:5: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
The temptation Les compares to Satan's final deception of the Kingdom generations - the lure of being like God.
No. Les teaches that during the thousand-year Kingdom, Satan is locked up in an abyss and held there under spiritual chains until the thousand years have run their course (Clips 1, 7). Because no satanic force is operating, the people of the Kingdom live in the absence of sin and the adversary, under Christ's perfect rule (Clips 2, 5).
Les explains that children born during the Kingdom have never had to make a choice for or against God, yet they inherit the same old Adamic nature. To exercise free will, a choice requires more than one option - so Satan is brought back to present his options, just as he did to Eve, so the new generations can choose (Clips 2-3).
Satan goes out to deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth and gathers them to battle against the beloved city, Jerusalem. Fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them, proving Les's point that the human makeup is incorrigible even in perfect conditions (Clips 4, 7).
Watch the Teaching: Revelation 20 Explained: Satan Bound, the Millennium & Final Judgment