And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Parallel translations
- WEB I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
- BSB Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain.
- NKJV Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
- NASB Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
- NLT Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
An angel descends with the key to the abyss and a great chain. He comes to bind the ancient enemy.
Overview
The chapter opens a new vision in which an angel holds authority over the abyss and the means to restrain Satan. The key and chain signify that the devil's power is limited and subject to God. This sets up the binding of Satan, a passage central to the debated question of the millennium.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Rev 1:18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
- 2 Pet 2:4For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
- Jude 1:6And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
- Rev 9:1–2And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
- Rev 18:1And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
- Rev 10:1And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
- Luke 8:31And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 20:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.