And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
We have here, I. A prophecy of the binding of Satan for a certain term of time, in which he should have much less power and the church much more peace than before. The power of Satan was broken in part by the setting up of the gospel kingdom in the world; it was further reduced by the empire's becoming Christian; it was yet further...
Commenting on Revelation 20:1-10
By whom is meant not Paganism, for that was destroyed in the Roman empire under the sixth seal, and was the consequence of the war between Michael and his angels, and the dragon and his; and before this time it will be destroyed in other parts under the sixth and seventh vials, when the kings of the earth, being gathered together at Armageddon, will be...
Verse 2. And he laid hold on. Seized him by violence--εκρατησε. The word denotes the employment of strength or force, and it implies that he had power superior to that of the dragon. Compare ; . We can at once see the propriety of the use of this word in this connexion. The great enemy to be bound has himself mighty power, and can be overcome only by a superior.