Revelation 20:3

And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
cast	ἔβαλεν ebalen	G906	to throw (in various applications · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
him	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
into	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
pit	ἄβυσσον abusson	G12	depthless · noun — accusative singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
shut	ἔκλεισεν ekleisen	G2808	to close (literally or figuratively) · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
him	αὐτοῦ, autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
up	κλείω kleíō	G2808	to close (literally or figuratively)
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
seal	ἐσφράγισεν esphragisen	G4972	to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security o… · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
upon	ἐπάνω epanō	G1883	up above · preposition
him	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
that	ἵνα ina	G2443	compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
deceive	πλανήσῃ planēsē	G4105	to (properly · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
nations	ἔθνη ethnē	G1484	a race (as of the same habit) · noun — accusative plural neuter
no	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
more	ἔτι eti	G2089	"yet · adverb
till	ἄχρι achri	G891	(of time) until or (of place) up to · preposition
thousand	χίλια chilia	G5507	a thousand · adjective — nominative plural neuter
years	ἔτη. etē	G2094	a year · noun — nominative plural neuter
fulfilled	τελεσθῇ telesthēa	G5055	to end · verb — aorist passive subjunctive, 3rd person singular
and	καί kaí	G2532	and
after	μετὰ meta	G3326	properly · preposition
that	ταῦτα taûta	G5023	these things
he	αὐτός autós	G846	the reflexive pronoun self
be	δεῖ dei	G1163	also deon deh-on' · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
loosed	λυθῆναι luthēnai	G3089	to "loosen" (literally or figuratively) · verb — aorist passive infinitive
little	μικρὸν mikron	G3398	small (in size · adjective — accusative singular masculine
season	χρόνον.¶ chronon	G5550	a space of time (in general · noun — accusative singular masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Revelation 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the ea…
Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Daniel 6:17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; t…
2 Thessalonians 2:9-11 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the…
Matthew 27:66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that…
Revelation 20:7-10 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 20:1-10

We have here, I. A prophecy of the binding of Satan for a certain term of time, in which he should have much less power and the church much more peace than before. The power of Satan was broken in part by the setting up of the gospel kingdom in the world; it was further reduced by the empire's becoming Christian; it was yet further broken by the downfall of the mystical Babylon; but still this serpent had many heads, and, when one is wounded, another has life remaining in it. Here we have a further limitation and diminution of his power. Observe, 1. To whom this work of binding Satan is committed - to an angel from heaven. It is very probable that this angel is no other than the Lord Jesus C…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 20:3

shut him--A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and ANDREAS omit "him." set a seal upon him--Greek, "over him," that is, sealed up the door of the abyss over his head. A surer seal to keep him from getting out than his seal over Jesus in the tomb of Joseph, which was burst on the resurrection morn. Satan's binding at' this juncture is not arbitrary, but is the necessary consequence of the events (Rev 19:20); just as Satan's being cast out of heaven, where he had previously been the accuser of the brethren, was the legitimate judgment which passed on him through the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ (Rev 12:7-10). Satan imagined that he had overcome Christ on Golgotha, and that his power was se…

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Adam Clarke on Revelation 20:3

He should deceive the nations no more - Be unable to blind men with superstition and idolatry as he had formerly done.

John Gill on Revelation 20:3

And cast him into the bottomless pit,.... Or deep, into which the devils desired they might not be sent, and which they dreaded as a torment, it may be, because a place of confinement, Luke 8:31 for this is called a prison, Revelation 20:7 and is distinguished from the lake of fire, into which the devil is afterwards cast, Revelation 20:10. And shut him up; that so he might not rove about in the air, nor go to and fro in the earth, nor walk about like a roaring lion, seeking to affright, disturb, or devour: and set a seal upon him; or upon the door of the pit, for further security, as was upon the stone at the mouth of the lion's den, Daniel 6:17 and of Christ's sepulchre, Matthew 27:66. T…

The Church Fathers

set a seal upon him. That is, placed upon it the bolt of the cross so that he might never regain his strength, nor any more seduce the nations, whom the resurrection will restore and make better.
— Apringius of Beja,

These thousand years are reckoned from the passion of Christ. During them it is not permitted to the devil to do whatever he wishes, for God does not permit his servants to be tempted beyond that which they are able to endure.
— Caesarius of Arles, EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 20:3, HOMILY 17

And he shut him up and sealed it over him so that he might not deceive the nations any longer. He forbade and, as if with a royal seal, closed him off, so that he might not deceive the nations, but those destined for life, whom he previously seduced, might not be reconciled to God.
— Bede, Commentary on Revelation

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Millennium — A thousand years; the name given to the era mentioned in Rev. 20:1-7. Some maintain that Christ will personally appear on earth for the purpose of establishing his kingdom at the beginning of this…
Pit — A hole in the ground (Ex. 21:33, 34), a cistern for water (Gen. 37:24; Jer. 14:3), a vault (41:9), a grave (Ps. 30:3). It is used as a figure for mischief (Ps. 9:15), and is the name given to the…
Millennium · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Pit · .The bottomless pit — .The bottomless pit
Seals · Illustrative of: Security — Illustrative of: Security
Year · Satan to be bound for a thousand — Satan to be bound for a thousand

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 20:1-10

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 20:3

Adam Clarke on Revelation 20:3

John Gill on Revelation 20:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 20:1-10

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 20:3

Adam Clarke on Revelation 20:3

John Gill on Revelation 20:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Revelation 20:3