"And 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 case 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)
There is a debate that exists among many Christians regarding what exactly the idea of Satan being bound means. Latter Day Saints are not united in the interpretation of this either. When speaking on the subject of the millennium, a member of my class commented that Satan would not literally be bound, but that this was figurative since the people that would live under the personal reign of Jesus Christ would not give place to Satan. A citation of the following passage was added as evidence: "And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan haas no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth." (1 Nephi 22:26)
There are other passages that indicate this binding may be figurative rather than literal. Personally however, I do not subscribe to the figurative binding for several reasons.
First, a literal binding is possible. Satan is not just a concept, or an idea, he is a literal individual that is filled with hatred and malice toward men. God did in reality cast him out of heaven. God does have power to bind any individual since he is omnipotent.
Second, if it is people that are not giving into temptation, why not say that? Why use the wording that places Satan as the direct object. And if at the end of the thousand years people begin doing evil, why not say that they forsake God as was so frequently said of the children of Israel in the Old Testament? Why say that Satan shall be loosed? It makes the most sense that Satan is the direct object of binding and loosing when the binding and loosing is literal.
Finally, and particularly for LDS scriptorians, if modern revelation is the key to our understanding and the Book of Mormon tends to point to a figurative binding, why would the Doctrine and Covenants indicate a literal binding? "For Satan shall be bound, and when he is loosed again he shall only reign for a little season, and then cometh the end of the earth." (D&C 43:31) "And so on, until the seventh angel shall sound his trump; and he shall stand forth upon the land and upon the sea, and swear in the name of him who sitteth upon the throne, that there shall be time no longer; and Satan shall be bound, that old serpent, who is called the devil, and shall not be loosed for the space of a thousand years." (D&C 88:110)
I believe that people underestimate the power of Satan. He has accumulated ages of experience, and he knows very well how to manipulate men. There really is only one person that can best him every time, and that is Jesus Christ. He is the one that redeems men that have enough faith in him from the grasp of the devil. He is the one that saves us from Satan's power. Because of him we pray to God for deliverance from evil. He is not just saving us from a concept, a philosophy, or an idea... Christ saves us from a literal threat, from a real villain that plots against us with malice and disdain. If we trust in him, he will save us all.
