Revelation 20:3

And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator records an angel's action immediately after binding Satan in Revelation 20:2, occurring at the commencement of the thousand-year period before the vision shifts to seated judges in Revelation 20:4.

The words — The verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) literally means "shut," paired with the sealing of the Abyss (ἄβυσσον) to enforce total confinement.

The thread — The imagery of sealing a pit to restrict a hostile power echoes Daniel 6:17 and anticipates the beast's later emergence from the Abyss in Revelation 17:8.

Why it lands — The text states that deception is suspended for a fixed duration before a mandated release, requiring the reader to accept a divinely imposed timeline rather than demanding immediate resolution.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Revelation 17:8 The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be.
Revelation 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain.
Daniel 6:17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that nothing concerning Daniel could be changed.
2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Matthew 27:66 So they went and secured the tomb by sealing the stone and posting the guard.
2 Corinthians 11:3 I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
Revelation 20:7 When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released from his prison,
Psalms 90:4 For in Your sight a thousand years are but a day that passes, or a watch of the night.
2 Corinthians 11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.