Revelation 20:1

The Thousand Year Reign

20:1 Then ¹  I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding ²  in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.

Revelation 9:1

9:1 Then ³  the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky ⁴  to the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the abyss. ⁵ 

Revelation 9:11

9:11 They have as king over them the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon. ⁶ 

Revelation 11:7

11:7 When ⁷  they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war on them and conquer ⁸  them and kill them.

Revelation 9:2

9:2 He ⁹  opened the shaft of the abyss and smoke rose out of it ¹⁰  like smoke from a giant furnace. The ¹¹  sun and the air were darkened with smoke from the shaft.

Revelation 20:3

20:3 The angel ¹²  then ¹³  threw him into the abyss and locked ¹⁴  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.)

Revelation 17:8

17:8 The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss ¹⁵  and then go to destruction. The ¹⁶  inhabitants of the earth – all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world – will be astounded when they see that ¹⁷  the beast was, and is not, but is to come.

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

[20:1]  ² 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.

[9:1]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[9:1]  ⁴ tn Or “from heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[9:1]  ⁵ tn On this term BDAG 2 s.v. ἄβυσσος 2 states, “netherworld, abyss, esp. the abode of the dead Ro 10:7 (Ps 106:26) and of demons Lk 8:31; dungeon where the devil is kept Rv 20:3; abode of the θηρίον, the Antichrist 11:7; 17:8; of ᾿Αβαδδών (q.v.), the angel of the underworld 9:11…φρέαρ τῆς ἀ. 9:1f; capable of being sealed 9:1; 20:1, 3.”

[9:11]  ⁵ sn Both the Hebrew Abaddon and the Greek Apollyon mean “Destroyer.”

[11:7]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[11:7]  ⁸ tn Or “be victorious over”; traditionally, “overcome.”

[9:2]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the shaft,” but since this would be somewhat redundant in English, the pronoun “it” is used here.

[9:2]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:3]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:3]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:3]  ¹³ 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.

[17:8]  ¹³ tn On this term BDAG 2 s.v. ἄβυσσος 2 states, “netherworld, abyss, esp. the abode of the dead Ro 10:7 (Ps 106:26) and of demons Lk 8:31; dungeon where the devil is kept Rv 20:3; abode of the θηρίον, the Antichrist 11:7; 17:8; of ᾿Αβαδδών (q.v.), the angel of the underworld 9:11…φρέαρ τῆς ἀ. 9:1f; capable of being sealed 9:1; 20:1, 3.”

[17:8]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:8]  ¹⁵ tn Some translations take the ὅτι (Joti) here as causal: “because he was, and is not, but is to come” (so NIV, NRSV), but it is much more likely that the subject of the ὅτι clause has been assimilated into the main clause: “when they see the beast, that he was…” = “when they see that the beast was” (so BDAG 732 s.v. ὅτι 1.f, where Rev 17:8 is listed).