What the Abyss is and why Satan and the demons are currently in it.

There’s a lot of confusion amongst Christians about exactly WHERE Satan and the demons are. Some claim that Satan is on earth only. Others claim that he is on earth but still has access to Heaven (considering how Job 1:6 sounds). Others claim that he’s in Hell now with no access to Heaven at all. Yet, Scripture still describes him as all of these things. Describing him as “roaming the earth,” while also being “fallen from Heaven,” while also being condemned and chained.

My answer here isn’t going to be definitive in the sense that upon reading it all Christians will agree with it. I don’t plan on going into that much detail. My goal here is not to convince you with thorough exegesis that all other opinions are wrong, but rather to provide another perspective that harmonizes what Scripture actually says. So I will not be cross-examining all the other views out there, but rather providing a unique alternative. I believe it is coherent, logical, and consistent with Scripture.

Note also that I interpret Revelation chapter 20 the same way as Amillennialists do. I don’t interpret all of the events of Revelation through an Amillennialist lens though. I see both metaphorical and literal events being described in Revelation. So I have a lot in common with my Premillennial brethren as well in the interpretation of Revelation. Ultimately, I hold a unique combination from each view. And though I’ve been told by some that I cannot do this, quite frankly they’re wrong. It is dogmatic insistence to choose one of the dominant views to have that conclusion, not necessity by logical requirement. It is fully logical to interpret different parts of Revelation in multiple ways, and even some parts in more than one way.

I mention that here because an Amillennialist view of Revelation 20 supports my understanding of the Abyss. However, you don’t have to have an Amillennialist eschatology to believe what I’m going to lay out. You can be Premillennial or Postmillennial, too. If you’ve never explored any of the different end times views you could check out my short course here that walks you through each of them. If you have no interest or opinion about the end times you can just ignore all of that for now. It’s really not necessary in order to follow the rest of the point about where Satan is.

Is Satan in Heaven now?

No. I have laid out some of the supporting verses sequentially. While the verses are pulled out of different places of the Bible, combined holistically they form a cohesive narrative.

You can click on them and read the surrounding verses in Scripture in context to better understand the bigger picture. But since, in the Bible, it is not laid out sequentially, it can be confusing if you don’t see how they all fit together first.

Satan and his angels were cast out of Heaven.

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.

Luke 10:18 So He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.“

This must have happened prior to the Fall of humanity. Satan is already on the Earth, and in rebellion to God, when he tempts Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. At the very least, it is this event that initiates his rebellion. Either way, his rebellion is either before this event, or simultaneous with this event. It is certainly not thousands of years after it.

Genesis 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life.

Satan’s punishment and curse.

Satan is punished for inspiring the fall of humanity. He is cursed above all livestock (which will be killed and eaten and offered as sacrifices) so his curse is worse than that. He is told that he will eat dust. What is dust? Dirt, dust mites, or dead skins cells that have shed off. This isn’t real food. It has no life in it. God is telling Satan that he and his kind will be dead, eat death, live off of death.

I also think the “on your belly you will go” is a metaphor for his bondage. He will not walk upright, be visible, be glorious, be powerful. He will not manifest and walk the earth like God’s angels do in Scripture. He and the demons will be bound in the spiritual realm, they will be unseen, only as powerful as humanity lets them be by believing in their lies.

Satan is currently in the Abyss, which is another name for the spiritual realm on Earth.

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.

Revelation 20:2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

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.

The spiritual realm on earth = the “second heaven.”

I think the Abyss is the same as the “second heavens.” Think of this as another way of saying “the second spiritual place.” This is called by some translations “the heavenlies.” But certainly we can all agree at this point that Satan is in a spiritual place that is not Heaven. The “first heavens” are the clouds and skies, and maybe outer space and stars, depending on the context. The “second heavens” are an unknown place if not the same as the Abyss. And the “third heaven” is the Heaven that God and the angels dwell in.

Paul went, either bodily or in a vision, to the third heaven. He identifies it as the THIRD heaven:

2 Corinthians 2:12 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows.

Principalities and authorities in “the heavenlies.” If the spiritual realm on earth, the one that the demons exist in, is not the second heaven, then what is? Why would Paul identify God’s throne room as the third heaven, implying that there are other spiritual realms that demons exist in.

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 3:10 His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,

The Abyss.

The Abyss has been described as where Satan is, a spiritual realm. But it also described as a place “under the earth.” There is no denying that Scripture describes it this way. There is no denying that ancient Jews believed it to be under the earth. The question is this literal or metaphorical? Is it literally under the surface of the earth, with no access to the earth? Or is it metaphorically under the earth? Meaning that it is a spiritual realm that is beneath the physical and natural aspects of the earth? I believe this latter interpretation to be true. After all, if it was totally under the earth, and a realm completely separated from the earth, demons would not even be a threat to us. Yet they are.

Philippians 2:9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names,

Philippians 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth

The Abyss spiritual realm on Earth does intersect with the physical realm on Earth. This is how he and the other demons are able to affect and influence humanity.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

1 Corinthians 10:20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.

Demonic Reprieve from the Abyss.

Human cohabitation (demonization of a person) is a temporary reprieve from being in this Abyss environment. When a demon leaves a person (and maybe when they are exorcised out of a person) the Abyss is where they return to. It is cut off from its earthly dwelling home and returned back to the Abyss. Jesus described it as a dry, restless place.

This is perhaps the greatest argument for the Abyss being the place that demons normally dwell in. A place that they hate. If the Abyss was not created until much later, after the Tribulation, appearing in Revelation 13 and 20, these passages make no sense at all. To be biblically faithful, and logically coherent, we must admit that the Abyss already exists at the time of Jesus and that the demons are well familiar with it.

Luke 8:31 And the demons kept begging Jesus not to order them to go into the Abyss.

Matthew 12:43 When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.

We also see demons coming OUT of the Abyss during the Tribulation. The Antichrist is described as coming out of the Abyss. The demons who harm and kill people come out of the Abyss. This tells us that the demons are in the Abyss prior to this, does it not?

Revelation 9:1 Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the pit of the Abyss.

Revelation 9:2 The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.

Revelation 9:3 And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth.

Revelation 9:4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Satan is the prince of this world.

But if Satan and the demons are in the Abyss, then how can he be the prince of this world? Well, the Abyss is not entirely separated from this world.

Satan is the prince of this (our) world.

John 14:30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me.

John 16:11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.

He is also called the “ruler of the power of the air.” Have you ever wondered why air? It does seem like an odd word to use here. But what is air? Something unseen yet felt. Something all around yet not taking up space in the physical. I believe the “air” here is a reference to the spiritual realm. The Abyss spiritual dimension that overlays our physical dimension. Satan is the ruler of unseen, spiritual, supernatural forces that intersect with our physical, natural reality.

Ephesians 2:2 in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

Satan’s Bondage and Limitations.

He, and all the other demons, are “bound” in this spiritual realm. While they do have access to Earth they have limitations. How is Satan bound? He cannot manifest in full, physical form. God’s angels do throughout Scripture. Why doesn’t Satan? Why don’t all the other demons? If Satan wants to be worshipped like a god and have a throne on top of a mountain to establish himself like the Most High God why doesn’t he physically do this? He can’t. It’s not an option available for him. Why do they try to live inside of people? Why do they control the “air” instead of just being worshipped tangibly on the Earth? Because they HAVE to! If they want to receive worship they must influence humans spiritually to worship them through their own wills.

It’s possible that demons could bodily manifest at one point on Earth. Perhaps when Satan entered the Garden of Eden he was more physical and glorious than we might assume. Perhaps when the Nephilim were created (see Genesis 6:1-4) the fallen angels could bodily manifest. Perhaps. It would certainly make them easier to worship by humanity. But it is interesting to consider that high places were built, across various cultures, to counterfeit gods. There could have been thrones that they sat upon. This is speculation. We do know that Satan was cursed in Genesis 3, when only two humans existed. A strong argument could be made that he was cast into the Abyss at that time. We will investigate these questions at another time.

The Abyss Opens During the Tribulation.

During the final great Tribulation he and the other demons will be released from the Abyss and given access to fully manifest on the Earth. Some of the plagues are described as coming out of the Abyss. The Beast (aka the Antichrist) comes out of the Abyss. As does Satan.

Revelation 9:2 The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.

Revelation 11:7 When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.

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 20:7 When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released from his prison, Revelation 20:8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth–Gog and Magog–to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore.

Then Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will return with His angel army, defeat them once and for all, and he and his demons will be thrown into the eternal Lake of Fire (Hell).

Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.

Revelation 19:13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God. 16And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Revelation 19:19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies assembled to wage war against the One seated on the horse, and against His army. Revelation 19:20 But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Revelation 20:9 And they marched across the broad expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

Revelation 20:10 And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Conclusion. Satan is currently in the Abyss, the spiritual realm on Earth. As are all the demons. He is not in Hell separated from the earth. He’s also not in Heaven. He was cast out of Heaven along with all of the other angels who rebelled against God (fallen angels i.e. principalities, demons). He will be released from the Abyss during the Tribulation, perhaps bodily, perhaps vicariously through the person of the Antichrist. Ultimately, they will all be defeated and thrown into Hell (the eternal lake of fire) forever.