Revelation 20:1-6; With the swift and decisive defeat of the beast, false prophet and their huge army at Armageddon, Jesus Christ, the “rider on the white horse” inaugurates his millennial reign on earth. Before that begins, and angel from heaven is sent with the key to the Abyss and a great chain with which to bind the dragon for “a thousand years”. The purpose of this imprisonment of the devil is “to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended“. John then sees thrones which are for those “given authority to judge” from among the martyrs and saints of the Lord, for the duration of the thousand years. With the world system of Babylon destroyed and the “ancient serpent, who is the devil” locked away, the only source of sinful rebellion is within the fallen nature of the unrepentant.