And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to 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 cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on 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).

The destruction of those who reject God and the removal God's people from the earth will leave the earth desolate. In Revelation 20, John describes an angel who binds Satan with a great chain and throws him in the abyss. The term abyss is used in Scripture to denote the grave, death, destruction, and the prison of the demons (Romans 10:7, Luke 8:31).

The term abyss is also used in the Greek version of the Old Testament to describe the state of the uninhabited world when it says, “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).

I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld and lo the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, by His fierce anger (Jeremiah 4:23-26).

The whole world will be turned into a great prison for Satan and his demons. The great chain with which he is bound is the chain of circumstances that will prevent him from deceiving the nations, as they will have already been destroyed and no one remains on the earth. The Biblical records abound with examples of chains of circumstances: Psalm 2:3; 107:10,14; 116:16; Ecclesiastes 7:26; Isaiah 28:22, 52:2, and 58:6; Jeremiah 40:4; Lamentations 3:7.

It shall come to pass in that day
That the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones,
And on the earth the kings of the earth.
They will be gathered together,
As prisoners are gathered in the pit,
And will be shut up in the prison;
After many days they will be punished. (Isaiah 24:21-23 NKJV).

In these verses, we see that God's judgments fall not only upon the kings of the earth, but also on the demonic forces ("the host of exalted ones"). The evil confederacy will be shut up in prison of isolation and after one thousand years they shall be released (Revelation 20:3). During the millennium, Satan and his army will thus be captives on the desolate earth, while God's people are taken to heaven. 

Learn how God's people are given an upportunity to judge