The Abyss

And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. (Revelation 20:1-3, NIV 1984).

My Musings – The word abyss is derived from a Greek word meaning something which is bottomless. Despite some confusion in the use of the term, the Abyss or bottomless pit is not Hell. Rather, it is a prison somewhere in the underworld, where some demons are confined by God.  “God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to [the Abyss], putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment. ” (2 Peter 2:4, NIV).

Although not Hell, it must be a fearsome place since the demons that are not confined there, they dread being sent there. “Jesus asked [the demon], ‘What is your name?’ ‘Legion,’ he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged [Jesus] repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.” (Luke 8:30–31, NIV 1984). They know that Jesus has the authority to send them there. He holds the key. as Revelation 1:18 we read that Christ holds all the keys and Satan must get his authority from Christ.

Abaddon (from the Hebrew) or Apollyon (from the Greek) rules the abyss (Revelation 9:11), and out of which will come the beast from the sea (Revelation 11:7).  As noted above, it is not the “lake of fire and brimstone,” although Satan “[after] the thousand years [are] ended” will ultimately be sent there for all eternity. “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:9–10, NIV 1984).

Abaddon means place of destruction, which occurs six times in the Old Testament. It was generally used as a reference for the place of the dead (Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; Psalm 88:11; Proverbs 15:11; 27:20). It sometimes serves as a synonym for Sheol and is variously translated Hell, death, the grave, or destruction.  The same Hebrew word occurs once in the New Testament in its Greek equivalent, Apollyon (Revelation 9:11), where the idea of destruction is personified as the angel of the bottomless pit, so the word is translated destroyer. Abaddon (Apollyon) was the angel reigning over the realm of the dead, who appeared after the fifth trumpet in John’s vision (Revelation 9:1).

My Advice – God will ultimately deal with Satan and all the fallen angels that joined him in the rebellion. He will also deal with all people who reject the free offer of God’s grace through Jesus. Don’t reject Him.

Resources:

Manser, M. H. (2009). Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies. London: Martin Manser.

Brand, C., Draper, C., England, A., Bond, S., Clendenen, E. R., & Butler, T. C. (Eds.). (2003). Abyss. In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Major Contributors and Editors. (2012, 2013, 2014). Abyss. In J. D. Barry, L. Wentz, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair-Wolcott, R. Klippenstein, D. Bomar, … D. R. Brown (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (p. 4). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Wiersbe, W. W. (1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (pp. 821–822). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.