Matthew 12:43

The Return of the Unclean Spirit

12:43 “When ¹  an unclean spirit ²  goes out of a person, ³  it passes through waterless places ⁴  looking for rest but ⁵  does not find it.

Luke 11:20

11:20 But if I cast out demons by the finger ⁶  of God, then the kingdom of God ⁷  has already overtaken ⁸  you.

Revelation 16:13-14

16:13 Then ⁹  I saw three unclean spirits ¹⁰  that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 16:14 For they are the spirits of the demons performing signs who go out to the kings of the earth ¹¹  to bring them together for the battle that will take place on the great day of God, the All-Powerful. ¹² 

Revelation 18:2

18:2 He ¹³  shouted with a powerful voice:

“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!

She ¹⁴  has become a lair for demons,

a haunt ¹⁵  for every unclean spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. ¹⁶ 

Revelation 20:1-3

The Thousand Year Reign

20:1 Then ¹⁷  I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding ¹⁸  in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain. 20:2 He ¹⁹  seized the dragon – the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan – and tied him up for a thousand years. 20:3 The angel ²⁰  then ²¹  threw him into the abyss and locked ²²  and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)

[12:43]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:43]  ² sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.

[12:43]  ³ tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females. This same use occurs in v. 45.

[12:43]  ⁴ sn The background for the reference to waterless places is not entirely clear, though some Jewish texts suggest spirits must have a place to dwell, but not with water (Luke 8:29-31; Tob 8:3). Some suggest that the image of the desert or deserted cities as the places demons dwell is where this idea started (Isa 13:21; 34:14).

[12:43]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[11:20]  ⁶ sn The finger of God is a figurative reference to God’s power (L&N 76.3). This phrase was used of God’s activity during the Exodus (Exod 8:19).

[11:20]  ⁷ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[11:20]  ⁸ tn The phrase ἔφθασεν ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς (efqasen ef’ Juma") is important. Does it mean merely “approach” (which would be reflected in a translation like “has come near to you”) or actually “come upon” (as in the translation given above, “has already overtaken you,” which has the added connotation of suddenness)? The issue here is like the one in 10:9 (see note there on the phrase “come on”). Is the arrival of the kingdom merely anticipated or already in process? Two factors favor arrival over anticipation here. First, the prepositional phrase “upon you” suggests arrival (Dan 4:24, 28 Theodotion). Second, the following illustration in vv. 21-23 looks at the healing as portraying Satan being overrun. So the presence of God’s authority has arrived. See also L&N 13.123 for the translation of φθάνω (fqanw) as “to happen to already, to come upon, to come upon already.”

[16:13]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[16:13]  ¹⁰ sn According to the next verse, these three unclean spirits are spirits of demons.

[16:14]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουμένη 1 states, “the inhabited earth, the world…ὅλη ἡ οἰκ. the whole inhabited earth…Mt 24:14; Ac 11:28; Rv 3:10; 16:14.”

[16:14]  ¹² tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

[18:2]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style

[18:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “It” (the subject is embedded in the verb in Greek; the verb only indicates that it is third person). Since the city has been personified as the great prostitute, the feminine pronoun was used in the translation.

[18:2]  ¹⁵ tn Here BDAG 1067 s.v. φυλακή 3 states, “a place where guarding is done, prison…Of the nether world or its place of punishment (πνεῦμα 2 and 4c) 1 Pt 3:19 (BReicke, The Disobedient Spirits and Christian Baptism ’46, 116f). It is in a φ. in the latter sense that Satan will be rendered harmless during the millennium Rv 20:7. The fallen city of Babylon becomes a φυλακή haunt for all kinds of unclean spirits and birds 18:2ab.”

[18:2]  ¹⁶ tc There are several problems in this verse. It seems that according to the ms evidence the first two phrases (i.e., “and a haunt for every unclean spirit, and a haunt for every unclean bird” [καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς πνεύματος ἀκαθάρτου καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς ὀρνέου ἀκαθάρτου, kai fulakh panto" pneumato" akaqartou kai fulakh panto" orneou akaqartou]) are to be regarded as authentic, though there are some ms discrepancies. The similar beginnings (καὶ φυλακὴ παντός) and endings (ἀκαθάρτου) of each phrase would easily account for some mss omitting one or the other phrase. The third phrase (“a haunt for every unclean animal” [καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς θηρίου ἀκαθάρτου, kai fulakh panto" qhriou akaqartou]), however, is more problematic since it is missing in several important mss (א C 051 Ï). The passage as a whole, including the third phrase, seems to be an allusion to Isa 13:21 and 34:11. It seems reasonable, in such a case, to assume that since there is good ms evidence to support the third phrase (A 1611 2329 al), it probably dropped out of certain mss because of its similarity to the two preceding clauses. It is the presence of all three phrases in the original that most likely gave rise to the divergent ms evidence extant today.

[20:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:1]  ¹⁸ tn The word “holding” is implied. The two clauses “having the key of the abyss” and “a huge chain in his hand” can be construed in two ways: (1) both are controlled by the participle ἔχοντα (econta) and both are modified by the phrase “in his hand” – “having in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.” (2) The participle ἔχοντα refers only to the key, and the phrase “in his hand” refers only to the chain – “having the key of the abyss and holding a huge chain in his hand.” Because of the stylistic tendency in Rev to use the verb ἔχω (ecw) to mean “hold (something)” and the phrase “in his hand” forming a “bracket” along with the verb ἔχω around both the phrases in question, the first option is preferred.

[20:2]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:3]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:3]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:3]  ²² tn Or “and shut.” While the lexical force of the term is closer to “shut,” it is acceptable to render the verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) as “locked” here in view of the mention of the key in the previous verse.