1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

3 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 finished. After these things he must be released for a short time.

— Revelation 20:1-3

Then the fifth angel sounded. Then I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth, and the key of the pit of the abyss was given to him.The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being.

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revelation 9:1

You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

— John 8:44

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

After seeing Jesus’s glorious return to earth as the conqueror on a white horse, John witnessed an angel come from heaven. The angel held a great chain and a key to the Abyss, a bottomless pit where demons dwell or are confined. The angel in Revelation 20 used the great chain to imprison the dragon — “that ancient serpent,” “the devil,” “Satan, “murderer” and “a liar and the father of lies.”

Satan has actively worked on earth since the beginning of human history. In the garden of Eden, he led Adam and Eve to disobey God. All humanity fell with them and thus inherited a sinful nature. Satan, a prowling lion “looking for someone to devour,”‘ is constantly seeking to ruin people, who were created in God’s own image. He arrogantly plots and acts to defeat God, His purposes, and His people. The devil confronted and opposed Jesus throughout His life, beginning with Herod’s attempt to kill Jesus at His birth. As Jesus lived on earth, He delivered people from the devil’s control and still does today. Jesus overcame Satan and his terrible death strategy to destroy God’s people forever when He rose victoriously from the grave.