Episode #74—Is Satan Bound?

One of the most intriguing questions Christians grapple with is the nature of Satan’s activity in our present age. Is he bound or is he roaming free? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is both.

The apostle Peter provides a sobering warning to mid-first century believers facing persecution:

Peter’s language is vivid and alarming. The devil prowls like a roaring lion—and lions roar either to warn intruders or to announce they’ve captured their prey. Either way, the sound is terrifying. This passage clearly presents Satan as active and dangerous.

But this is not the complete picture.

In Revelation 20, we encounter a very different scene:

The context here is crucial: Satan is bound specifically so “that he might not deceive the nations any longer.” This binding doesn’t eliminate his activity entirely, but severely restricts his power in a particular way.

Jesus himself spoke of this binding during his earthly ministry. When the Pharisees accused him of casting out demons by Beelzebul, Jesus responded:

Jesus was declaring that he had bound the strong man—Satan—and was now plundering his kingdom. This binding has been in effect since Christ’s ministry, death, and resurrection.

The “thousand years” mentioned in Revelation 20 should be understood as a long period of time rather than a literal millennium. We are living in this period now—the time between Christ’s first and second comings, when Satan is bound in a specific sense.

What does this binding mean practically? Satan cannot prevent the gospel from reaching all peoples of the world. Before Christ came, there was essentially one nation worshipping the true God. Even though there were remnants of Gentiles who came to faith throughout Old Testament history, they were a very small minority.

But after Christ’s ascension, everything changed. The gospel went to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8, to the Gentiles in Acts 10, and throughout the Roman Empire from Acts 13 onwards. Over the past two thousand years, it has spread around the globe to all tribes, tongues, and nations. This is clear evidence that Satan is bound—he cannot keep the gospel from the nations as he once did.

Christ has all authority in heaven and earth, and Satan’s ability to control nations has been terribly weakened. This is why we can obey the Great Commission and disciple all nations.

So how do we reconcile Peter’s warning about the prowling lion with Satan’s binding in Revelation 20? The answer is that Satan is roaming around, but he’s on a leash. He can only go so far.

Think of a dog barking savagely behind a fence whilst you run past. The dog is real, the threat feels genuine, but the dog cannot actually reach you. Or picture someone in a chokehold during jiu-jitsu: They will tap out, but they might still thrash and kick on the way down.

Satan is active and dangerous, but his power is limited. He may have more of a stronghold in some nations than others, and there may be periods when it appears that he is conquering. But appearances can be deceiving. Those whom God has chosen will still be saved, as Jesus promised in John 17. No one will be lost.

Even in the book of Job—one of the oldest books of the Bible—Satan had to ask God’s permission before afflicting Job. He has never had free reign.

1. S. Lewis, in The Screwtape Letters, identified two equal and opposite errors we can fall into regarding Satan. The first is to give him too much attention and become obsessed with demonic activity. When we do this, we lose sight of the truth that “greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

The second danger is to ignore Satan altogether, as though he doesn’t exist.

Christians in the West perhaps err on the side of ignoring spiritual warfare, while believers in other contexts may see demons behind every rock and every sinful habit. The latter extreme leads to casting out “demons of drunkenness” or “demons of pornography,” which is a cop-out. We must take responsibility for our own sins rather than blaming demonic influence for our moral failures.

The Bible never actually uses the word “possessed.” The literal term is “demonised”—heavily influenced by demons.

A Christian cannot be possessed because the Holy Spirit indwells believers. However, Christians can be oppressed by demons. Most of us will likely never encounter Satan personally—he is not omnipresent like God and can only be in one place at one time. But his demons can harass and oppress believers.

In places where the gospel has prevailed over centuries, there tends to be less demonic manifestation because Satan has been plundered. In places where the gospel has less of a foothold, demonic activity may be more evident. But it is unbelievers, not Christians, who can be demonised in the fullest sense.

Consider the testimony of a woman in Thailand whose parents dedicated her to Buddhist demons before her birth. Throughout her childhood, people consulted demons through her. Even after her conversion, she experienced severe spiritual oppression during an annual Buddhist festival—debilitating migraines and depression. Yet she could still think clearly, cling to Scripture, pray, and fellowship with believers. She had hope. She was oppressed, but not possessed.

This aligns with Mark 5, where the demonised man was restored by Jesus and found “sitting there, clothed and in his right mind” (Mark 5:15). When a person is converted, they are in their right mind. They can think clearly. This is why Peter urges believers to be “sober-minded” (1 Peter 5:8).

The battle is primarily in the mind. Paul instructs us: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2). In Philippians 4:8, he gives us specific direction: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Rather than giving Satan credit (if we can call it that) for our struggles, we should focus on Christ and renew our minds with truth. We are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37). If we are saved, we are free from the dominion of sin.

In South Africa and other contexts where belief in curses and witchcraft is prevalent, Christians sometimes live in fear. They worry that a sangoma’s curse might affect them or that family involvement in the occult has placed them under demonic bondage.

But believers need not fear. A Christian cannot be under a curse. You may be part of a family experiencing demonic oppression but, if you are a child of God, you have been delivered from that kingdom of darkness. Christ has transferred you into his kingdom of light.

We should not be consumed with worry about Satan’s activity. Instead, we should rejoice in our freedom and focus on what is true and righteous—namely, Christ and the work he has accomplished.

The most compelling evidence that Satan is bound is the unstoppable advance of the gospel. For thousands of years, Satan kept the nations in darkness. But since Christ’s victory, the good news has penetrated every corner of the globe. Satan cannot prevent it.

This doesn’t mean he has stopped deceiving people—clearly, many remain deceived and unsaved. But it does mean that the gospel is conquering worldwide, reaching all tribes, tongues, and nations, just as Revelation prophesied.

The Millennium, then, is not a future golden age but the present age of Christ’s reign. He rules and reigns now through his church as we take the gospel to the nations. This honours him and displays his victory over the powers of darkness.

We live in a sin-cursed, sin-saturated world where Satan and his demons are a reality. We should neither obsess over them nor ignore them. We must be sober-minded and watchful, as Peter instructed, but we must also remember that, through Christ, we have overcome.

Satan is bound—he cannot prevent God’s purposes from being accomplished. Yet he is also active—prowling about on his leash, able to frighten and oppress, but unable to snatch away those who belong to Christ.

We need not be consumed with Satan. We need not fear his schemes or the occult practices of those around us. Instead, we fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who has already won the victory and in whom we are secure.

Greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world.