For what seems to be God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and what seems to be God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.— 1 Corinthians 1:25 GNT
The UK government recently began early releases of prisoners in England and Wales because prisons are effectively full. The government said without intervention, prisons would run out of space, leaving nowhere to detain newly sentenced offenders. The news was received by some victims and families of victims with great concern and disappointment.
Most prisoners are now released after serving one‑third of their sentence. But those convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences, grooming offences, manslaughter, death by dangerous driving, or causing the death of a child will not be released early.
Sometimes prisoners are released on parole before the expiry of a sentence on the promise of good behaviour. This assumes the prisoner’s possibility of change, reform, rehabilitation, and opportunity of reintegration into the community.
In Revelation 20, it says: “Then I saw an angel…seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while… When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. He will go out to deceive the nations…in every corner of the earth…” Revelation 20:1-3; 7-8 (NLT)
Reading this scripture, my question is: why? Why release Satan to deceive the nations again? Surely humanity must have had enough of Satan’s deceitful evil influences and operations and glad he’s been taken out of the system! Has anyone else ever asked the same questions I’m asking here?!
What is the wisdom behind releasing Satan? Did God mean for his release to reveal the extent and truth of the human heart, vindicate God’s final justice on Satan, or both? Perhaps God meant to teach us that regardless of if Satan were removed from the world, it doesn’t necessarily translate to people loving and obeying God. The most astonishing part of Revelation 20 is that people still choose to follow Satan despite having lived through Christ’s righteous reign without Satan’s deceptive influences.
The truth is, people can witness God’s goodness and still choose rebellion. Just like the Israelites experienced deliverance from Pharaoh in Egypt, witnessed the miraculous Red Sea crossing and other miracles, yet they repeatedly rebelled. At one point, they even turned to go back to Egypt! We are no different today.
One thing we can, however, be sure of is that Satan’s release is not the same as being released on parole. There is no possibility of Satan changing, reforming, or being rehabilitated because his mission has always been to discredit and show God as bad.
The question is, would humanity have remained faithful if Satan had remained incarcerated forever? I don’t know. One thing I do know is, in the end, God wins. “For what seems to be God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and what seems to be God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” 1 Corinthians 1:25 (GNT)
Stay blessed,
LaraLex
