Revelation 20:1
in Revelation 20Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And 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.
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This verse in Revelation 20
Commentary
16 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And I saw an angel come down from heaven - Compare the notes on Rev 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.
This site's exposition
a great chain in his hand
on Revelation 20:1-3
An angel descends with the key of the abyss and a great chain, and the dragon is seized under his full four-title name, the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, so no reader can mistake who is taken. The binding is fourfold and physical in its grammar, laid hold, bound, cast into the pit, shut up and sealed, and its stated purpose is that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years be fulfilled, a totality of restraint hard to square with the present age, in which the same book's own devil deceives the whole world (12:9) and Peter's lion still walks about seeking prey. This site's tradition reads the binding as future and actual, at the Lord's return which chapter 19 has just described; the reading that finds Satan bound now, in the church age, is answered by the seal and the shut door the text itself describes.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
We must entreat the Lord more earnestly here, lest we consent in error concerning the number of the thousand years or through our own excess nurture error. Rather, [let us entreat the Lord] that he who is called "Faithful" and "True" might keep our faith …
I saw another angel descending from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a chain, and having seized he says the Devil was bound and cast into the abyss. As on a painted canvas the things that were spiritually affected by the Lord against …
A commentator
Primasius of HadrumetumCOMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 20:1-2 · Written before 560.
proposed
We understand the angel coming down from heaven to be our Lord, Jesus Christ, who is called the angel of great counsel. He visited the region of those who are mortal, for as one who is stronger he wished to bind the strong one, so …
A commentator
Victorinus of PettauCommentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John · Written before 304.
proposed
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a chain in his hand. And he held the dragon, that old serpent, which is called the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed a little season."
The Medieval Church1 voice
an angel. An angel administers such a sentence,it says, in order to show that the devil is both weaker than thèse ministering powers in terms of power and that from the beginning in vain he boldly ruled over all. Here he narrates the destruction of …
9 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church6 voices
This passage expresses the destruction of the devil that occurred through the passion of our Lord. For through his passion the one who is stronger than [the devil], namely, Christ our God, bound him who seemed to be strong and freed us, who were his …
QUESTION: And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand. ANSWER: So, the Lord, equipped with the Father's power, came down in the flesh to wage war against the prince of the …
A commentator
Thietland of EinsiedelnCommentary (church-history corpus) · Written in the 10th century.
proposed
chain. By this is the great quantity of his power represented.
A commentator
Thietland of EinsiedelnCommentary (church-history corpus) · Written in the 10th century.
proposed
an angel. That angel is the Lord Jesus Christ, an angel of great prudence, who decended from heaven through the mystery of the Incarnation.
And I saw an angel ... having the key to the abyss, etc. Recapitulating from the beginning, he more fully explains how he previously said: The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend from the abyss and go into destruction (Rev. …
A commentator
Thietland of EinsiedelnCommentary (church-history corpus) · Written in the 10th century.
proposed
key to the bottomless pit. this is because he has in his power the hearts of those whom he hardens, and of those whom he opens to believing. The bottomeless pit is the great number of the faithful peoples, because just as it is incomprehensible, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Having the key of the bottomless pit - Mentioned before, chap. ix, 1. And a great chain in his hand - The angel of the bottomless pit was shut up therein before the beginning of the first woe. But it is now first that Satan, after he had occasioned the third woe, is both chained and shut up.
And I saw an angel come down from heaven,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
The words behind it
19 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| εἶδον | eidon | I saw | G1492 → | 374 times |
| ἄγγελον | angelon | an angel | G32 → | 175 times |
| καταβαίνοντα | katabainonta | descending | G2597 → | 81 times |
| ἐκ | ek | out of | G1537 → | 911 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| οὐρανοῦ | ouranou | heaven | G3772 → | 272 times |
| ἔχοντα | echonta | holding | G2192 → | 707 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κλεῖν | klein | key | G2807 → | 6 times |
| τῆς | tes | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀβύσσου | abussou | Abyss | G12 → | 9 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἅλυσιν | halusin | a chain | G254 → | |
| μεγάλην | megalen | great | G3173 → | 243 times |
| ἐπὶ | epi | in | G1909 → | 883 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| χεῖρα | cheira | hand | G5495 → | 175 times |
| αὐτοῦ. | autou | of him. | G846 → | 5565 times |
ΚαὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
εἶδονI saw
eidonG1492 →374 times
ἄγγελονan angel
angelonG32 →175 times
καταβαίνονταdescending
katabainontaG2597 →81 times
ἐκout of
ekG1537 →911 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
οὐρανοῦheaven
ouranouG3772 →272 times
ἔχονταholding
echontaG2192 →707 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
κλεῖνkey
kleinG2807 →6 times
τῆςof the
tesG3588 →19766 times
ἀβύσσουAbyss
abussouG12 →9 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἅλυσινa chain
halusinG254 →
μεγάληνgreat
megalenG3173 →243 times
ἐπὶin
epiG1909 →883 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
χεῖραhand
cheiraG5495 →175 times
αὐτοῦ.of him.
autouG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Peter 2:4For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
it leads to
- Matthew 25:41
Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jude 1:6
And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day.
- Romans 8:32
He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?
- Matthew 25:41
Through
Revelation 1:18the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.
it leads to
- Romans 6:9
For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.
- Hebrews 7:25
Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
- Romans 14:8–9
If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
- Psalms 68:20
Our God is a God of deliverance; the Lord GOD is our rescuer from death.
- Romans 6:9
Through
Jude 1:6And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 2:4
For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
- 2 Peter 2:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies18
About Revelation

This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alcuin of York, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS MANUAL ON REVELATION; Andreas of Caesarea, Commentary (church-history corpus); Andreas of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 20:1-3; Apringius of Beja, TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 20:1; Bede, Commentary on Revelation; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation; Primasius of Hadrumetum, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 20:1-2; Thietland of Einsiedeln, Commentary (church-history corpus) and Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John.
