Revelation 20:1-3 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 cast 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.

The Bible tells us that at the beginning of the millennium, Satan will be bound and cast into a bottomless pit in chains for a thousand years. But WHEN will this happen? Which day of the year? The church has always believed it would happen on the day of Atonement, but is that what the Bible says? After all, Atonement is a sad day – a day of mourning, to afflict your soul! If Satan was to be bound, and forever prevented from harming the first resurrection people, and kept from deceiving the world for a thousand years, wouldn’t that be a HAPPY DAY?? I most certainly would think so! Wouldn’t you?

Furthermore, the symbolism is just all wrong. On Atonement, the two goats are separated (Leviticus 16), and the azazel goat which represents Satan is led into the wilderness by the hand of a fit man, to wander there in solitude, and separated from the lamb – it is NOT cast into bondage, held in chains, or put into a bottomless pit!

On the day of Atonement, in the 49^th year, the year before a Jubilee year, all debts are cancelled, all property reverts to its original owner (Leviticus 25:9). So based on only that information, why would we assume that the Devil is going to be bound on this day? I can’t imagine. But I can offer a more logical alternative… how about the last day of Unleavened Bread?

Let’s look at what all happens on the last day of Unleavened bread. You might be surprised at the historical events that happened on it, before we’re done… but to start, let’s take one that everyone knows, the first explicitly recorded unleavened bread…

Exodus 12:15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

This was the command not to eat unleavened bread. This would start on the 15^th day of the first month, which was the night they left Egypt…

Exodus 12:39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.

And for the six days they walked out of Egypt. Two million people walking out of slavery, with a pillar of fire before them by night, and a pillar of cloud by day guiding them, until they reached the Red Sea at about sundown on the sixth day, starting the seventh and last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Exodus 14:13-14 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

And so all that night God stood between Israel and the Egyptians in a pillar of fire, while Moses parted the Red Sea. And the next morning the Israelites walked across, and the Egyptians followed them into the sea…

Exodus 14:27, 30-31 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea… Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.

Now thus far in this story, there are three very important things to remember; that Moses was a type of Christ (John 1:17, Hebrews 3:3, 8:5-6), that Pharaoh was drowned in the early morning, just as the dawn was breaking, and also, recall that Egypt is used as a type of sin throughout the Bible, and that Pharaoh, as the king of Egypt, thus the king of sin, is a type of Satan. So, continuing our story…

Exodus 15:1-3, 9-13 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name… The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

And this allows me to explain where I’ve been going with all of this. All of this happened as a type, or an example, of what is coming in the future still today. Picture the allegory; after the passover, when their sins were washed away, they began leaving Egypt (the place where sin is) behind. And for 7 days they put leavening (sin) out of their houses and didn’t eat leaven (sin) at all.

And on the seventh day the king of Egypt/Sin (Satan) was drowned and Moses (Christ) promised that the Israelites (firstfruits) would see Pharaoh (Satan) no more. Then Moses (Christ) and the Israelites (firstfruits) sang a song about how the Lord triumphed gloriously, even though the enemy (Satan) said “I will pursue, overtake, divide the spoil, draw my sword, and destroy them (Israelites/firstfruits).”

Next Moses (Christ) and the Israelites (firstfruits) sing to God saying that “Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.” This, of course, is referring only partially to the physical promised land, but rather its primary meaning is the redeemed of the earth being resurrected as immortal spirit beings who actually live with God in His habitation. As a matter of fact, to prove this interpretation of the song of Moses, I cite the fact that the resurrected firstfruits will sing this very same song after their resurrection!

Revelation 15:2-3 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

They sing this song because it applies to THEM! In fact, it was written FOR them, Moses’ use was only a TYPE of the real thing, that was given to us so that we could understand the real future meaning! In fact, all of the holy days, Sabbaths, and laws were given to us for that reason!

Colossians 2:16-17 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

But that is only the most famous example; there are many others. In Biblical times, bread was prepared daily (give us this day our… DAILY… bread) which required a rising process, and then a baking. Enough was made on Friday to last over until Sunday, at least during times when Israel was obeying God. But as a general rule, bread would have been in their houses at any given time. Certainly at meal times. This doesn’t seem important right now, but it will.

When Abraham was 99 years old, God visited him and promised him a son.

Genesis 17:21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

A few days later, after Abraham and his family had been circumcised, God returns and reiterates His promise…

Genesis 18:1, 10 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day… “And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son…”

The important part of this for us is that phrase “the time of life” and “at this set time next year.” That tells us that Isaac would be born one year from now, in the time of life. But what is this “time of life?”

John Gill’s expositor explains it by saying “this would be about the same time in the next year, perhaps at the spring of the year, which may be called “a time of life,” when all things revive, which in the winter season seem to be dead.”

This seems the only logical way this can be interpreted. But what this also means is that THIS is spring time when God made these promises to Abraham. That, presumably, happened around the holy days, since the holy days are the signposts of prophecy, and SHADOWS, or TYPES of things to come, and historically God has visited people like Moses, Abraham, Abel, etc, around the holy days.

So let’s assume for the moment that God visited Abraham these two times in the holy day season, in the springtime. Which holy days is not for the moment important to us, because our reason for looking at this is what happened immediately after the second visit in Genesis 18…

Genesis 18:16-21 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; … And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

So evidently God and two angels ate with Abraham, in the heat of the day, then left Abraham’s tent and headed towards Sodom. Abraham tagged along, and God decided to tell Abraham what was going on.

God was going to go judge Sodom and Gomorrah, and see if they were as evil as He had been told, and if they were, He was going to deal with them. Abraham, knowing that his nephew Lot lived in the city, began pestering God about whether or not He would destroy the city if there were 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, and finally 10 righteous people in the city, and God said He wouldn’t if there were ten righteous.

Genesis 18:33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

And now we follow the story of the angels who went into Sodom, whom Lot waylaid and prevailed upon to spend the night with him, the crowd formed outside his house, they condemned Lot for judging them, they were blinded, you know the story (or at least, you should!).

Then the angels said that God had decided to destroy this city, and that Lot was going to be delivered, to tell his family to get up and go

Genesis 19:17, 22-25 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed… Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

And so after the usual amount of quibbling and a certain person becoming salt,

Genesis 19:27-28 And Abraham gat up EARLY IN THE MORNING to the place where he stood before the LORD: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

So that’s the story of Sodom. But wait! I left out the key scripture. Back when Lot was trying to get the angels to spend the night at his house, it says…

Genesis 19:3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

Consider the facts we have; it was springtime. God visited evil and destroyed it. And they were eating unleavened bread. And unleavened bread is NOT what you make for a feast for honored guests – you make nice fluffy bread! So there must have been a reason that righteous Lot served them unleavened bread! This suggests a placement during the days of unleavened bread.

Now when you consider that the other visit with Abraham had happened a few days previous, and presumably also on a holy day, that puts this evening late in the days of unleavened bread. This strongly suggests that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed on the last day of unleavened bread, just as Pharaoh was! But still, it only suggests it – doesn’t prove it. Be that as it may, let’s continue…

Furthermore, notice how each was destroyed at dawn; Remember how it said that Abraham got up EARLY in the morning and Sodom was already a smoking wasteland? Well, Moses did the same thing.

Exodus 14:27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength WHEN THE MORNING APPEARED; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea

Moses stretched forth his hand and drowned the Egyptians WHEN MORNING APPEARED – or just at dawn! Now, that could all be coincidence. But the coincidences are starting to pile up: unleavened bread, dawn, springtime, and judgment against evil all happening the same way in both cases.

But let’s examine the purpose of Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed. We know that God isn’t judging the world today. That He lets them get away with most of their evil without judging them for it – look at Vegas, Paris, and Washington D.C…. But Sodom was different. Not, probably, in their sin content, but in that God decided to judge them on the spot, rather than waiting for the Day of the Lord.

Psalms 96:13 Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

But HE didn’t wait until the great and dreadful day of the Lord, still in our future, to judge Sodom and Gomorrah – Why?

Jude 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Why, they were destroyed for an EXAMPLE, so that we would know what the end times will be like! When God finally DOES judge the world, this is what He will do and HOW He will do it! But not just that – there is something else – it is an example of WHEN He will do it!

Luke 17:28-30 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Sodom was a type of the end-time judgment of the world! And like the judgment of Pharaoh, it happened in the springtime, at dawn and on the last day of the feast of Unleavened Bread!

But this unleavened bread thing pops up yet again in the days of David. David had been chased by Saul, and run from pillar to post, so to speak, by his enemy. And Saul one night went to visit the witch of Endor and see if she could bring Samuel up from the dead for a chat…

1 Samuel 28:15-19 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

By itself, this is interesting, but apparently irrelevant to our topic – but if we keep reading…

1 Samuel 28:24-25 And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof: And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.

I concede that this proof is not in and of itself conclusive, but it DOES fit the pattern nicely – it seems that everywhere that unleavened bread is mentioned, someone who is evil meets their fate. And that thought leads me very nicely back to the original question in all of this – when will the Devil meet HIS fate?

The world will be judged for its sins, as Sodom was, at the return of Christ when He comes to judge all nations. And we know that is when He will have Satan bound, under lock and key, unable to deceive the nations for a thousand years.

John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

When will the king of sin be made powerless over the sons of God, after having pursued and persecuted those who spent their lives fleeing sin and putting it out of their lives? On what happy day, after being chased by the king of sin for a lifetime, and having him constantly nipping at their heels trying to destroy them, with him as their continual adversary, will Satan finally be locked away so that they will “see him no more?”

It can only be the last day of Unleavened Bread, when the 144,000 sing the song of Moses over the destruction of the power of the king of sin.