Abyss
The Abyss is the source of satanic attacks against the people of God, though it remains under the authority of the Lamb – Revelation 11:7.
When first introduced, “smoke” and the horde of
locust-like creatures ascended from the “Abyss” to torment the “inhabitants
of the earth.” In Revelation, it is the deep pit from which satanic agencies
ascend to wreak havoc and wage war against the “saints.”
It is also the “prison” where demonic forces are held until their appointed
time to execute their evil deeds - [Abyss Photo by Artem Maltsev on Unsplash].
In John’s first
vision, the one “like a son of man” was declared the “First
and the Last, and the Living One, and I became dead, and behold, living am
I unto the ages of ages!” He has absolute authority, including the
“keys of death and of hades.” And while “Hades”
may be an unclean and ominous place, it is not beyond his authority
- (Revelation 1:9-20).
In Thyatira, Jesus chastised the church’s “angel” for tolerating
the prophetess “Jezebel.” Like the “Great Harlot, Babylon,”
she was teaching the saints “to fornicate and to eat food offered to idols.”
She claimed it
was permissible to “know the deep things of Satan.” In her
mind, she was teaching the “deep things of God,” apparently, deeper
spiritual insight and practices.
Jesus exposed
her doctrine for what it was - the “deep things” or bathos
of Satan, which is a conceptual link
to the “Abyss,” the deep pit from which demonic
forces ascend to deceive men - (Revelation 2:18-29,
9:1-2, 11:7, 13:1,
17:8, 20:1-3).
When the fifth trumpet sounded, a “star” fell
to the earth with the “key” to open the “Abyss.” Likewise,
at the commencement of the “thousand years,” an “angel” descended
with the “key of the Abyss” to imprison Satan. At the end of that
period, he was released to gather the nations against the “camp of the
saints.” Elsewhere, “stars” represent “angels” or “messengers”
- (Revelation 1:20, 9:1-12, 20:1-10).
The opening of the “Abyss” unleashed a horde of “locusts
upon the earth” to torment men. They were like “horses
prepared for battle” and ruled by the “angel of the abyss,
whose name, in Hebrew is ‘Destruction’, also in the Greek, ‘Destroyer’.”
The “sixth trumpet” released the “four angels who were bound
at the great river Euphrates,” and it corresponds to the “Abyss”
from the “fifth trumpet.”
The fifth and sixth trumpets parallel the fifth and sixth “bowls of
wrath.” Like the “fifth trumpet,” the “fifth bowl of wrath”
caused the “darkening” of the kingdom of the “beast,”
as well as the tormenting of the men who had its mark. And like the “sixth
trumpet,” the “sixth bowl of wrath” dried up the waters of the “Euphrates”
to “prepare the way of the kings from the rising of the
sun.” Demons were dispatched to gather the “kings of the whole
habitable earth to the war of the great day of God the Almighty,” the
battle at “Armageddon” - (Revelation 16:10-16).
The “two witnesses” or “two lampstands”
prophesied for a “thousand, two hundred and sixty days.” In Revelation,
“lampstands” represent churches. At the end of their “testimony,”
the “beast that ascends from the Abyss” was released to attack the
“two witnesses,” and to “slay them” - (Revelation 1:20, 11:3-7).
That same “beast” appeared again when John saw it “ascending
from the sea.” The “sea” represents the same “depth”
or reality as the “Abyss.” In both instances, the “beast
ascended” to prosecute its war against the “saints/witnesses.”
Both visions borrow the same language from Daniel - “The same
horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them.” Thus,
the “two witnesses” represent the same group that is labeled “saints”
in chapter 13 - (Daniel 7:21, Revelation 13:1-10).
In chapter
20, John saw an angel “descending out of heaven, having the key of the Abyss,” with which to bind the Devil, and not to release him. This locates his imprisonment
in the “Abyss” BEFORE the events detailed in chapter 9 when
the “star” fell from heaven to release demonic
forces from the “Abyss” - (Revelation 20:1-3).
“The dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and
Satan.” These four names link the image to chapter 12, where “the great
red dragon was cast down, the ancient serpent, he that is
called the Devil and Satan; he was cast down to the
earth, and his angels were cast down with him” to
the earth.
Likewise, in chapter 20, Satan was “cast”
(ballō) into the “Abyss” BEFORE the commencement of
the “thousand years.” With the victory of the “Lamb,” he lost his
prosecutorial powers - (Revelation 12:9-13).
The Devil was bound to prevent him from “deceiving the nations until the thousand years ended,” a further link to chapter 12 when the “Dragon” was called “the deceiver of the whole habitable earth.” He was not bound from all activities, only from “deceiving the nations.”
In chapter 12, the voice pronounced “woe”
to the “inhabitants of the earth” for the Devil was “cast to the earth,”
knowing that he had “but a short time.” However, he was still able to
unleash destructive forces against humanity, including the “saints.”
Thus, though imprisoned, he was the “angel of the Abyss” and the
“Destroyer” - (Revelation 9:1-12, 12:12).
Similarly, Satan was freed from the “Abyss”
at the “end of the thousand years” to “deceive the nations” and gather
them for the final assault against the “saints.” He gathered the nations
to “ascend” over the earth to attack the “camp of the saints.”
Once more, the theme of evil “ascending” from the “Abyss” is repeated.
The “Dragon” did not escape from the pit; he was “released,” presumably
by the “Lamb,” but only for the appointed “short time” - (Revelation
20:7-9).
Note the parallels. In Thyatira, the “prophetess Jezebel”
attempted to deceive believers to commit idolatry. Likewise, the “beast from
the earth” deceived the “inhabitants of the earth” to give
allegiance to the “beast from the sea” and to its image. So also, “Babylon”
used her “sorceries” to “deceive all the nations.” And at
the end of the “thousand years,” Satan was released to “deceive
the nations” into making one last attempt to destroy the “saints”
- (Revelation 2:20, 13:14, 18:23, 20:8-10).
Thus, the Book of Revelation portrays
the defeat and imprisonment of Satan by the “Lamb” until his release at
the appointed time - the “short while.” Following the resurrection of
Jesus, the Devil is down but not completely “out,” and no longer is he able to
“deceive the nations” and lead them in a final assault against the “saints”
until he is loosed from the “Abyss.” Yet he remains deadly, though his
powers are curtailed.
And so, throughout the present age,
the “Lamb” remains in firm control, sovereign over all things, including
“Hades” and the “Abyss.” The “Dragon” will be unleashed
near the end of the age for one final assault against God’s people, but in the
end, his efforts will serve to further the purposes of Jesus and result in the
casting of Satan into the “lake of fire.”
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