In arguing that Satan’s present-day activities are not in conflict with his present-day imprisonment in Revelation 20, Hendriksen writes, “A dog…bound with a long and heavy chain can do great damage within the circles of his imprisonment” (Hendriksen 1967: 190). What Hendriksen seems to ignore, however, is that Satan’s “circles of imprisonment” is identified in verse 3 as the abyss. If Satan is free to roam and do damage only in the abyss, then he is indeed cut off from activity on the earth. In similar fashion, Cox writes, “Satan, though bound, still goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. The chain with which he is bound is a long one, allowing him much freedom of movement” (Cox 1966: 139). Rather than regarding the chain as the means by which Satan is bound (tied up), Cox writes as if the imagery were one of Satan on a leash. The “length” of the chain is not only unstated, it is irrelevant, for the imagery is one of Satan being bound by it and then locked and sealed in an escape-proof prison. What indication is there, in the language of Revelation 20:1–3, that Satan has “much freedom of movement”? Simply sated, there is none (90–91). —Quoted from Revelation 20 and the Millennial Debate by Matthew Waymeyer
