Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy 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.
- KJV And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit 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.
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 1:18and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever more. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
- 2 Pet 2:4For if God didn’t spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
- Jude 1:6Angels who didn’t keep their first domain, but deserted their own dwelling place, he has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
- Rev 9:1–2The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him.
- Rev 18:1After these things, I saw another angel coming down out of the sky, having great authority. The earth was illuminated with his glory.
- Rev 10:1I saw a mighty angel coming down out of the sky, clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was on his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.
- Luke 8:31They begged him that he would not command them to go into the abyss.
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.