Israel had been removed from the sanctuary by virtue of the blood of the sin offering , then the scapegoat was presented alive before the Lord ; and in the presence of the congregation the high priest confessed over him " all the iniquities of the children of Israel , and all their transgressions in all their sins , putting them upon the head of the goat ." Leviticus 16:21 . In like manner , when the work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary has been completed , then in the presence of God and heavenly angels and the hosts of the redeemed the sins of God ' s people will be placed upon Satan ; he will be declared guilty of all the evil which he has caused them to commit . And as the scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited , so Satan will be banished to the desolate earth , an uninhabited and dreary wilderness .
The Revelator foretells the banishment of Satan and the condition of chaos and desolation to which the earth is to be reduced , and he declares that this condition will exist for a thousand years . After presenting the scenes of the Lord ' s second coming and the destruction of the wicked , the prophecy continues : " 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 , 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 ." Revelation 20:1-3 .
That the expression " bottomless pit " represents the earth in a state of confusion and darkness is evident from other scriptures . Concerning the condition of the earth " in the beginning ," the Bible record says that it " was without form , and void ; and darkness was upon the face of the deep ."[ The Hebrew word here translated ‘ deep ’ is rendered in the Septuagint Greek Translation of the Hebrew Old Testament by the same word rendered ‘ bottomless pit ’ in Revelation 20:1-3 ; Genesis 1:2 . Prophecy teaches that it will be brought back , partially at least , to this condition . Looking forward to the great day of God , the prophet Jeremiah declares : " I beheld the earth , and , lo , it was without form , and void ; and the heavens , and they had no light . I beheld the mountains , and , lo , they trembled , and all the hills moved lightly . I beheld , and , lo , there was no man , and all the birds of the heavens were fled . I beheld , and , lo , the fruitful place was a wilderness , and all the cities thereof were broken down ." Jeremiah 4:23-26 .
Here is to be the home of Satan with his evil angels for a thousand years . Limited to the earth , he will not have access to other worlds to tempt and annoy those who have never fallen . It is in this sense that he is bound : there are none remaining , upon whom he can exercise his power . He is wholly cut off from the work of deception and ruin which for so many centuries has been his sole delight . The prophet Isaiah , looking forward to the time of Satan ' s overthrow , exclaims : " How art thou fallen from heaven , O Lucifer , son of the morning ! how art thou cut down to the ground , which didst weaken the nations ! . . . Thou hast said in thine heart , I will ascend into heaven , I will exalt my throne above the stars of God : . . . I will be like the Most High . Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell , to the sides of the pit . They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee , and consider thee ,
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