Revelation 20:2 - Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

And he laid hold on the dragon... — Or, And he laid hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. The four words are thus used to describe the archenemy; they are the same as those used for the same purpose in Revelation 12:9. Over the world he has exercised in every quarter his power as prince of this world, and he has been found fierce as the dragon, subtle as the serpent, the slanderer of God and His people, and the adversary of all righteousness. He is bound as Christ declared (Matthew 12:29; comp. Colossians 2:15). A thousand years was the length at which Rabbis fixed the duration of Messiah’s kingdom. The period is not to be understood literally (see next verse).