In the Great War of God, the Almighty (Revelation 19:11-16), the world's armies are decimated. Yes!!! The beast and the false prophet are thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone! Yes!!! But we are left with a cliffhanger regarding the demise of the dragon. Although it seems like a cliffhanger, it really isn't. Chapter divisions are man-made; they are not inspired by God. The story continues on in the next chapter; all we have to do is keep reading! So, let's read on!!!
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. Revelation 20:1-3
The birds are stuffing their beaks and bellies as the next scene materializes. John's gaze leaves the carnage on the blood-flooded ground and returns his eyes toward heaven. He sees an angel coming down from heaven. The angel is holding two things in his hand; the key of the abyss and a great chain. Notice the word "hand" is singular; he will be using his other hand for something else.
Could this abyss be the same as the one pictured in Revelation 9? Perhaps. There are similarities. What about the abyss that the beast comes out of; is it the same? Possibly. The Greek word for both abyss and bottomless is the same, "abussos," which means depthless. Looking outside of the book of Revelation, we can find the word abyss used twice more; in Luke 8:31 and in Romans 10:7. Are all these places really just one place, the prison for demons? Might be. Might not be. Scripture doesn't tell us with absolute certainty.
The angel descending from heaven holds both the key to the abyss and a great (huge, mighty) chain in the same hand. What does he do with his other hand? He seizes the dragon. Just like that. No fanfare, no battle, no nothin'. Sheds a whole new light on the phrase, "I can beat you with one hand tied behind my back!" In this case, it would be, "I can beat you with one hand holding a key and a great chain." The headlines read, "Dragon seized by a nameless angel." Puts Mr. IWannaBeSupreme in his place, doesn't it! Don't you just love it? God is Almighty. Nothing in this universe can even remotely begin to compare to Him in any way, including His strength. He is the Owner and Possessor of all power, and He gives it to whomever He pleases. In this case, He gives strength to an unnamed angel. All the Glory belongs to God alone!
It is interesting, too, that while the angel remains anonymous, the dragon is identified with his four names from the book of Revelation; the dragon (Revelation 12:9), the serpent of old (Genesis 3:1), the devil (enemy), and Satan (Accuser). God makes sure we know precisely who this monster is.
The angel is not finished with his mission, though. As soon as he grabs the dragon, he binds him, assumedly with the great chain in his hand. Again, no skirmish or fighting, just an angel putting the kibosh on a defeated dragon. And he will stay that way for 1,000 years! Where? The angel throws his shackled prey into the abyss. Can the serpent of old slither his way out? No way! He is there to stay. Remember, the angel has the key, so he shuts the abyss and seals it over the not-so-mighty Satan. This devil will not be bothering the nations for quite some time.
There is a 1,000 year period that must be completed before Satan will be released. God has a plan for every nanosecond of those 1,000 years, both in the pit and on the earth. There will no "time off for good behavior" for Satan. During those years, Satan will not be able to deceive the nations; they will not be able to blame Satan for any of their own bad behavior. They, alone, will be 100% responsible.
Satan will be released after his 1,000-year prison term, but it won't be for long. The Greek word for short is "mikros," from which we get "micro"; it means small and little. So, yes, Satan will be released (and he will have only one thing on his mind), but he will also have very little sand left in the hourglass.
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to be deceived? Satan has a pretty light task when it comes to deceiving our simple minds; he doesn't have to work very hard. Why? It's an easy answer. We don't know God's Word! We don't understand and believe truth well enough, so it doesn't take much effort to distort what little we do know. Satan would still be an expert at deceit even if we weren't so negligent in our studies. He is a treacherous deceiver, liar, accuser, and murderer. But it's not who Satan is that matters. It's who God is; and who we are as His people!
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15