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The NET Bible®

Revelation 20:1

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

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Chains;   Key;   Millennium;   Pit;   Satan;   Vision;   Thompson Chain Reference - Keys;   The Topic Concordance - Devil/devils;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Creation;   Pit;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Millennium;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Abyss;   Pit;   Second Coming of Christ;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Croisade, or Crusade;   Millennium;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Millennium;   Pit;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Angels;   Devil;   Pit;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Abyss;   Bottomless Pit;   Dispensation;   Dragon;   Jesus Christ;   Millennium;   Prison, Prisoners;   Revelation, the Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Chiliasm;   Time;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Abyss;   Angels;   Ascension of Isaiah;   Chains;   Day of Judgment;   Descent into Hades;   Dragon ;   Key;   Keys;   Lake of Fire;   Resurrection;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Bottomless Pit;   Dispensation,;   Millennium;   Prophets, the;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Fire;   Gog;   Satan;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Chain;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Abyss;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Abyss, the;   Bottomless Pit;   Chain;   Key;   Keys, Power of;   Print;   Revelation of John:;   Satan;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Abyss;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Apocalypse;   Eschatology;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
King James Version (1611)
And I saw an Angel come down from heauen, hauing the key of the bottomles pit, & a great chaine in his hand.
King James Version
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
New American Standard Bible
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
New Century Version
I saw an angel coming down from heaven. He had the key to the bottomless pit and a large chain in his hand.
THE MESSAGE
I saw an Angel descending out of Heaven. He carried the key to the Abyss and a chain—a huge chain. He grabbed the Dragon, that old Snake—the very Devil, Satan himself!—chained him up for a thousand years, dumped him into the Abyss, slammed it shut and sealed it tight. No more trouble out of him, deceiving the nations—until the thousand years are up. After that he has to be let loose briefly.
English Standard Version
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
Berean Standard Bible
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain.
Contemporary English Version
I saw an angel come down from heaven, carrying the key to the deep pit and a big chain.
Complete Jewish Bible
Next I saw an angel coming down from heaven, who had the key to the Abyss and a great chain in his hand.
Darby Translation
And I saw an angel descending from the heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand.
Easy-to-Read Version
I saw an angel coming down out of heaven. The angel had the key to the bottomless pit. The angel also held a large chain in his hand.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And I sawe an Angel come downe from heauen, hauing the keye of the bottomles pit, and a great chaine in his hand.
George Lamsa Translation
AND I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand.
Good News Translation
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the abyss and a heavy chain.
Lexham English Bible
And I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
Literal Translation
And I saw an angel coming down out of Heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain on his hand.
Amplified Bible
And then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding the key of the abyss (the bottomless pit) and a great chain was in his hand.
American Standard Version
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
Bible in Basic English
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the great deep and a great chain in his hand.
Hebrew Names Version
I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
International Standard Version
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key to the bottomless pit and a large chain in his hand.Revelation 1:18; 9:1;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
AND I saw an angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand.
Murdock Translation
And I saw an angel that descended from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And I sawe an angel come downe from heauen hauyng the key of the bottomelesse pytte, and a great chaine in his hand
English Revised Version
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
World English Bible
I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And I saw an angel descending out of heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand.
Weymouth's New Testament
Then I saw an angel coming down from Heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and upon his arm he carried a great chain.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y say an aungel comynge doun fro heuene, hauynge the keie of depnesse, and a greet chayne in his hoond.
Update Bible Version
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
Webster's Bible Translation
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
New King James Version
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
New Living Translation
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand.
New Life Bible
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven. He had in his hand a key to the hole without a bottom. He also had a strong chain.
New Revised Standard
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And I saw a messenger, coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain upon his hand;
Douay-Rheims Bible
And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Revised Standard Version
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And I sawe an angell come doune from heven havinge the kaye of the bottomlesse pyt and a gret chayne in his honde.
Young's Literal Translation
And I saw a messenger coming down out of the heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain over his hand,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And I sawe an angell come downe from heauen, hauinge the keye of the bottomlesse pyt, and a gret chayne in his honde.
Mace New Testament (1729)
Afterwards I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, with a great chain in his hand.
Simplified Cowboy Version
Then an angel rode out of heaven carrying the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain.

Contextual Overview

1 Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain. 2 He seized the dragon—the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan—and tied him up for a thousand years. 3 The angel then threw him into the abyss and locked 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.) 4 Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. 7 Now when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea. 9 They went up on the broad plain of the earth and encircled the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I saw: Revelation 10:1, Revelation 18:1

having: Revelation 1:18, Revelation 9:1, Revelation 9:2, Luke 8:31

a great: 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6

Reciprocal: Genesis 3:15 - it shall Job 2:6 - save Job 21:22 - he judgeth Job 33:28 - will deliver Psalms 68:20 - unto Psalms 72:11 - all nations Psalms 91:13 - the dragon Isaiah 35:9 - No lion Isaiah 59:19 - the Spirit Isaiah 63:3 - and of the people Daniel 7:9 - till Zechariah 9:8 - no Zechariah 13:2 - unclean Matthew 8:31 - General Matthew 12:29 - General Matthew 16:19 - the keys Matthew 22:44 - till Mark 3:27 - General Mark 4:31 - is less than Mark 5:7 - that Luke 8:28 - I beseech Luke 11:22 - General Acts 2:35 - thy foes Romans 16:20 - shall Revelation 11:17 - thou hast Revelation 16:17 - into Revelation 20:3 - cast

Cross-References

Genesis 10:19
and the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon all the way to Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
Genesis 13:1
So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot.
Genesis 14:7
Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.
Genesis 16:1
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had not given birth to any children, but she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar.
Genesis 16:7
The Lord 's angel found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert—the spring that is along the road to Shur.
Genesis 16:14
That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi. (It is located between Kadesh and Bered.)
Genesis 18:1
The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest time of the day.
Genesis 20:13
When God made me wander from my father's house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: Every place we go, say about me, "He is my brother."'"
Genesis 20:14
So Abimelech gave sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him.
Genesis 24:62
Now Isaac came from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And I saw an angel come down from heaven,.... All Christ's enemies, and Satan's instruments being removed, the devil is left alone, and only stands in the way of Christ's kingdom; and what will be done to him, and how he will be in the issue disposed of, this vision gives an account: by the "angel" John saw, is not to be understood Constantine the great; for though he is the man child that was taken up to God, and his throne, being advanced to the empire, yet he cannot, with that propriety, be said to come down from heaven; and though he vanquished the Heathen emperors, in which the dragon presided, and cast Paganism out of the empire, by which the devil ruled in it, yet the binding of Satan is another kind of work, and seems too great for him; and besides, did not take place in his time, as will be seen hereafter: nor is an apostle, or a minister of the Gospel intended; such are indeed called angels in this book, and may be said to come down from heaven, because they have their commission from thence; and particularly the apostles had the keys of the kingdom of heaven, but not the key of the bottomless pit; and a chain and system of Gospel truths, which they made good use of for the establishing of Christ's kingdom, and weakening of Satan's, but not such a chain as is here meant; and they had the power of binding and loosing, or of declaring things lawful or unlawful, but not of binding and loosing of Satan; nor was he bound in the apostolic age: nor is one of the ministering spirits, or a deputation of angels designed; for though Christ will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, and will make use of them, both to gather together his elect, and to cast the wicked into the lake of fire, yet not to bind Satan; but the Lord Jesus Christ himself is this angel, who is the angel of God's presence, and of the covenant; and who is in this book called an angel, Revelation 7:2 to whom all the characters here well agree, and to whom the work of binding Satan most properly belongs; for who so fit to do it, or so capable of it, as the seed of the woman, that has bruised serpent's head, or as the Son of God, who was manifested to destroy the works of the devil, yea, to destroy him himself; and who dispossessed multitudes of devils from the bodies of men, and is the strong man armed that dislodges Satan from the souls of men, and is the same with Michael, who drove him from heaven, and cast him out from thence before,

Revelation 12:7. And his coming down from heaven is not to be understood of his incarnation, or of his coming from thence by the assumption of human nature; for Satan was not bound by him then, as will be seen hereafter; but of his second coming, which will be from heaven, where he now is, and will be local, visible, and personal: of no other coming of his does this book speak, as seen by John, or as future; nor will the order of this vision, after the ruin of the beast and false prophet, admit of any other.

Having the key of the bottomless pit: the abyss or deep, the same out of which the beast ascended, Revelation 11:7. And the key of this becomes no hand so well as his who has the keys of hell and death, Revelation 1:18 who has all power in heaven and in earth, and has the power of hell, of opening and shutting it at his pleasure, which is signified by this phase; see Revelation 9:1. The Ethiopic version reads, "the key of the sun", where some have thought hell to be; and yet the same version renders the word, the deep, in Revelation 20:3.

And a great chain in his hand; the key in one hand, and the chain in another; by which last is meant, not any material chain, with which spirits cannot be bound, nor indeed sometimes bodies possessed by evil spirits, Mark 5:3 but the almighty power of Christ, which he will now display in binding Satan faster and closer than ever.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And I saw an angel come down from heaven - Compare the notes on Revelation 10:1. He does not say whether this angel had appeared to him before, but the impression is rather that it was a different one. The whole character of the composition of the book leads us to suppose that different angels were employed to make these communications to John, and that, in fact, in the progress of things disclosed in the book, he had contact with a considerable number of the heavenly inhabitants. The scene that is recorded here occurred after the destruction of the beast and the false prophet Revelation 19:18-21, and therefore, according to the principles expressed in the explanation of the previous chapters, what is intended to be described here will take place after the final destruction of the papal and Muhammedan powers.

Having the key of the bottomless pit - See the notes on Revelation 1:18; Revelation 9:1. The fact that he has the key of that underworld is designed to denote here, that he can fasten it on Satan so that it shall become his prison.

And a great chain in his hand - With which to bind the dragon, Revelation 20:2. It is called great because of the strength of him that was to be bound. The chain only appears to have been in his hand. Perhaps the key was suspended to his side.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER XX.

An angel binds Satan a thousand years, and shuts him up in the

bottomless pit, 1-3.

They who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, who have

part in the first resurrection, and shall reign with Christ

a thousand years, 4-6.

When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out

of his prison, shall go forth and deceive the nations, and

shall gather Gog and Magog from the four corners of the earth,

7, 8.

These shall besiege the holy city; but fire shall come down

from heaven and consume them, and they and the devil be cast

into a lake of fire, 9, 10.

The great white throne, and the dead, small and great, standing

before God, and all judged according to their works, 11, 12.

The sea, death, and hades, give up their dead, and are

destroyed; and all not found in the book of life are cast into

the lake of fire, 13-15.

NOTES ON CHAP. XX.

Verse Revelation 20:1. An angel came down from heaven — One of the executors of the Divine justice, who receives criminals, and keeps them in prison, and delivers them up only to be tried and executed.

The key of the prison and the chain show who he is; and as the chain was great, it shows that the culprit was impeached of no ordinary crimes.


 
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