Revelation 20:2-3
“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.”
King James Version
John sees Satan seized and bound for a thousand years so he can no longer deceive the nations — the binding that frames the millennium debate.
Fulfillment References
Revelation 20:7-10 Matthew 12:29 Luke 10:18 Jude 1:6
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalApostolic theology (typically premillennial) anticipates a literal binding of Satan and reign of the risen Jesus, the one God victorious over the dragon.
JewishSecond-Temple apocalypses speak of binding evil powers before the age of redemption; Revelation develops this imagery.
CatholicWith Augustine, the binding is the present restraint of Satan during the Church age so the gospel can reach the nations.
ProtestantA watershed for millennial views — whether the binding is a present spiritual reality or a future literal confinement (below).
OrthodoxSymbolic of Christ's victory limiting Satan's power in the present age of the Church.
DispensationalA future literal binding: Satan is removed during a literal 1,000-year earthly reign of Christ, then briefly loosed.
AcademicScholars note this is part of the only explicit 'thousand years' passage; its reading determines the millennial systems.
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Cross-references, Hebrew/Greek, Dead Sea Scrolls notes, study tools and multi-tradition analysis in the interactive explorer.
Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, PhD · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.