Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

To: wmfights; the_Watchman
Ok, here we go again. This will be the fifth time I've tried to send this reply. The poor connection and worse location has been the bane of my attempts to reply with long replies full of html. So, here it goes: How does a bound Satan influence it, or cause mohamed to fall into a trance and recite "satanic" verses?

I've never seen any Scripture that would lead me to believe Satan was bound at the cross or at Pentecost


I believe that the misunderstanding begins with what seems to be your interpretation of what it means for Satan to be bound. If I may refer to another reply from a different member:
the_Watchman - “If this is the Millennium, then the chain is too long!” This is a reference to Rev 20:3. My version reads: “... that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years shall be fulfilled.”
Ahem, first of all, what a statement from Missler, eh? If this is the Millennium then the chain is too long? If this is the Millennium then who is Missler to question God's Sovereignty and purpose? If God's will is to allow people to their sin while saving some from "all the world," who is Missler to question God? [**aside - Watchman. Sorry, I wasn't avoiding your reply. I was inundated with replies and honestly thought I was at least answering you in part. Alas, I was replying to other members with similar replies. Hope this reply to wmfights at least partially answers your reply. Again, sorry.**]

OK, the dispensational error, as I see it, with reference to the binding of Satan is the interpretation that the binding is complete, i.e. that Satan can act no more. Well, this leads to a whole slew of misunderstandings, so allow me to clear it up. Noone believes that Satan is completely unable to act, in fact, neither the Scripture in question, nor the Scripture in general lend to such an interpretation. No, what we believe is that Satan is bound and that his binding is what keeps him from deceiving "the nations" - that it, end of story. The Scripture in question:
Revelation 20:1-3
"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."
The passage quantifies his binding to being unable to deceive the nations any longer. Topcat54 does a good job at explaining this:
It is a spiritual binding for spiritual purposes; "so as to not deceive the nations". It is because Satan was bound at the cross that the gospel can go freely into all the world.
As theologian Cornelis Venema explains:
Considering the biblical story of the history of redemption, significant change from the old covenant to the new becomes evident in terms of the nations of the earth. Whereas in the old covenant, the Lord called Abraham from Ur of Chaldees and dealt primarily with the nation of Israel, in the new covenant the gospel is being preached in the whole world (Matt. 24:14) and the nations are being discipled (Luke 24:47, Matt. 28:16-20). This difference in covenant administration does not affect the substance of the covenant of grace — the Lord who created the heavens and earth and all peoples, already in the first promise to Abraham spoke of the blessing that would come to all the peoples and nations — but it does affect the way in which the good news is being preached to all the nations of the earth.

Compared to the extension of the kingdom of God in this present age, prior to the coming of Christ in the fullness of time the nations of the earth remained predominantly under the deception of Satan. Though the Lord’s dealings with Israel were never narrowly ethnic, they were restricted in ways that, in the present age, are no longer true. Those who are members of the new covenant church of Jesus Christ are apt to forget the greater richness of saving blessing that has been poured out upon the nations of the earth in these last days. The light of the gospel that has shone among the nations of the earth in the present age contrasts vividly with the darkness in which the nations dwelt during the period of the old covenant.
As for passages dealing with the binding of Satan read Matt 12:26-29, Matt 28:18, Luke 10:9-19 (especially 19), John 12:31-32 (v.31 speaks of Satan being cast out when Jesus is crucified). Now, consider this statement:
If it is a standard rule of thumb in reading the Bible that Scripture should interpret Scripture and that the more obscure passage should be interpreted in the light of the more clear passage, the conclusion that best fits this evidence is: the vision of Satan’s binding in Revelation 20, so that he is no longer capable of deceiving the nations, is a representation of the events coinciding with the coming of Christ in the fullness of time. Christ has come and won a decisive victory over the evil one. This victory is variously revealed to us in the Gospels and throughout the New Testament. With his victory over Satan’s temptations in the wilderness, his declaration and exhibition of the power of the kingdom in casting out demons and plundering the enemy’s stronghold, his vanquishing of sin and death upon the cross, his resurrection from the dead, his ascension to the Father’s right hand, and his pouring out of the Spirit of Pentecost — in this entire complex of Christ’s saving work he has won a decisive victory over Satan. No longer is Satan able to deceive the nations. The promise of Psalm 2, that the nations will be given by God the Father to his Son as his rightful inheritance, is being fulfilled (verses 7-9).

464 posted on 05/27/2009 8:29:02 AM PDT by raynearhood ("Naysayers for Jesus" - Charter Member)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 424 | View Replies ]


To: raynearhood; the_Watchman
...(v.31 speaks of Satan being cast out when Jesus is crucified).

If it is a standard rule of thumb in reading the Bible that Scripture should interpret Scripture and that the more obscure passage should be interpreted in the light of the more clear passage,

John 12:31 should also be seen in context with John 14:30.

I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me.

Satan has a hold on those in a fallen state. Jesus was sinless. Satan could have no hold on him and all believers are protected by Jesus' blood sacrifice.

John 12:31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.

If I read John 12:31 in context with John 14:30 it seems straight forward that the prince of this world is being driven out from being able to grab hold of believers and the world (non believers) will suffer judgment.

Another passage that further fleshes this out is:

Eph. 2:1-2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

IOW, Satan is not bound he is active in non believers. It is believers he can't devour.

466 posted on 05/27/2009 6:52:56 PM PDT by wmfights (If you want change support SenateConservatives.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 464 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson