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.
Study Note
Study Note
The binding of Satan for a thousand years and his subsequent 'little time' of release — 'so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended' — is the locus classicus for the millennial debate dividing premillennialist, amillennialist, and postmillennialist readings. The verb 'deceive' (planēsē) identifies Satan's primary activity throughout Revelation (12:9; 13:14; 19:20) as deception of the nations — not merely moral corruption but systematic epistemic subversion of knowledge of God. The 'thousand years' (chilia etē, appearing six times in Revelation 20:1–7) is the most temporally concrete of Revelation's numbers, yet its relationship to historical chronology is disputed by every major interpretive tradition. The 'little time' (chronon mikron) of release in verse 3b anticipates the final Gog-Magog battle (verses 7–9), creating a narrative arc from cosmic binding to final eschatological defeat.
Other Translations
and cast him into the abyss, and shutit, and sealeditover him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.
and he cast him to the abyss, and did shut him up, and put a seal upon him, that he may not lead astray the nations any more, till the thousand years may be finished; and after these it behoveth him to be loosed a little time.
And put him into the great deep, and it was shut and locked over him, so that he might put the nations in error no longer, till the thousand years were ended: after this he will be let loose for a little time.
Cross References
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the …
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain …
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into …
With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk …
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of …
And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do …
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: …
So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.