Audio Download

Rev 20:1-6 Those Who Have Part in the First Resurrection, Pt 3

[Study Aired June 20, 2025]

Rev 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.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 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.
Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

In this study we are continuing to demonstrate what the scriptures reveal this “bottomless pit” is.

The sixth symbol of the fifth trumpet of Revelation 9 is the bottomless pit itself. Where and what is this thing called “the bottomless pit?” All of the commentaries think this pit and its smoke is speaking of some great false spiritual leader, and indeed it is. However, this great false spiritual leader isn’t interested in sitting in a physical temple. What He wants is the real throne of God within the real temple of God. So that is where we will all find him in our own appointed time; sitting on Christ’s throne within each of us, and it is there that this entire revelation is taking place, including the revelation of this ‘bottomless pit’.

John Gill’s Commentary is a very typical take on what this bottomless pit signifies:

“Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit,…. With the key that was given him; he made use of his universal power over all bishops and churches, enacted laws, issued out decrees, made articles of faith, and imposed them on men’s consciences, and obliged all to submit to his hellish principles and practices; and this, as it may be applied to Mahomet, the eastern antichrist, may regard the publishing of his Alcoran, and obliging all his followers to receive it as the infallible word of God.” (End Quote)

If ever we need to remember that we are to “read, hear and keep the things written therein,” it is as we consider what the scriptures mean by “the bottomless pit.” All the comments and commentaries, such as this comment by Gill, serve only to further the function of the smoke that comes from this thing called “the bottomless pit” blinding us from knowing what it signifies. The last thing in the world the Adversary wants us to know is the correct location and the Biblical understanding of where this “bottomless pit” is.

Some teach that this bottomless pit doesn’t even really exist until the beginning of the millennium, when Satan is cast into the bottomless pit and restrained for one thousand years. The first three verses of this 20^th chapter are quoted to make that point:

Rev 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.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 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.

As we just witnessed, the first mention of this ‘bottomless pit’ is in Revelation 9 where an angel is given the key to this ‘bottomless pit’ and is permitted to “darken the sun and the air by means of the smoke that arises out of the pit.” As we discovered in our study of Revelation 9, the smoke which comes out of the bottomless pit by which the Sun and the air is darkened is the 200 million ‘locusts”, which signify the false doctrines of all the false churches which obscure “The Light” of “the Truth” of Christ’s doctrines.

If we search for the phrase ‘bottomless pit’, we will find it seven times in the King James’ Version, and all seven are found only here in the book of Revelation. Here are those seven entries. The first three are right here in this ninth chapter of Revelation:

1) Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless [Greek: abussos] pit [Greek: phrear].

2) Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless [abussos] pit [phrear]; and there arose a smoke out of the pit [phrear], as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit [phrear].

3) Rev 9:11  And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

4) Rev 11:7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

5) Rev 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 earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

6) Rev 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.

7) Rev 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.

The Greek word for pit is ‘phrear,’ Strong’s number 5421. This word is also found a total of seven times in the New Testament. Of those seven entries, four of them are found right here in verses 1 and 2 of Revelation 9. They are all emboldened above. It is also translated as ‘pit’ in Luke 14.

Luk 14:5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit [Greek: phrear], and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

The remaining two entries are found in:

Joh 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well [phrear] is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Joh 4:12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well [phrear], and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

So the only time this Greek word ‘phrear’ or ‘pit’ or ‘well’ is used in this entire book of Revelation is in these two verses of Revelation 9. There is no ‘pit’ – the Greek word ‘phrear,’ Strong’s number 5421 – mentioned in any of the other five verses here in Revelation where we find the English phrase “bottomless pit.” The other five times this phrase ‘bottomless pit’ appears in the book of Revelation, it is translated from the single Greek word ‘abussos,’ Strong’s number 12.

What is so interesting and revealing, is that when we go to our concordance, we discover that the Greek word ‘abussos’ (Strong’s number 12, translated “bottomless pit”), appears more than seven times. This word ‘abussos’ actually appears nine times in scripture, and it is those two extra times where the meaning of “the bottomless pit” is made clear. Here is the first of those two very revealing entries.

Luk 8:31 And they [the demons named legion] besought him [Christ] that he would not command them to go out into the deep [Greek: abussos, the sea].

Before we get to the last remaining verse where the word abussos is found in the New Testament, let’s take note of what this verse in Luke 8:31 shows us about the world of demons. This verse reveals to us that demons, and all false spirits, much prefer to be enthroned in God’s church rather than to be sent out into the deep sea of all the uncalled masses of mankind. What newsman wants to be stuck with reporting on the lives of the common man, when he could be at the United Nations, reporting on the lives of the leaders of this world. Like all of us, demons want to be where the action is, and in the spirit world the action is where God’s people are either learning Truth or being deceived. Demons always seek to be preeminent and so do the children of the adversary, who are typified by religious leaders who do not like the doctrine of Christ:

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Mar 12:38  And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,
Mar 12:39  And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:

Where demons really prefer to be is in God’s very temple and sitting on the very throne of Christ, in the hearts and minds of God’s people:

Luk 20:45  Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples,
Luk 20:46  Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Diotrephes was possessed of the spirit of the adversary:

3Jn 1:9  I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.

Now let’s look at the only entry for this word abussos which we have not yet considered. It is this entry which will reveal to us where the ‘bottomless pit’ is located.

Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down [from above]:)
Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep [abussos]? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Notice how this Greek word ‘abussos’ or ‘deep’ is translated when we go back to the Old Testament and read the verse from where Romans 10:7 is quoted:

Deu 30:11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
Deu 30:12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:14 But the word [Christ] is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

So where is the abussos? Where and what is this thing referred to as “the bottomless pit?” The ‘abussos’, the bottomless pit, just like ‘heaven’ and just like the Word of God, is not way out beyond the milky way. Neither is it in the depth of the physical oceans and physical seas. The ‘abussos’ is within each of us, “in your mouth, and in your heart.” That is where “the abussos”, “the bottomless pit” is located, and that is where the smoke originates signifying all the self-righteous lies and false doctrines which “darken the sun and the air” in this fifth trumpet judgment of Revelation 9:1-12, which we are to “read, hear, and keep.”

So when we read in Revelation 20 that Satan is cast into the ‘abussos’ and is imprisoned with a great chain, he doesn’t ‘go’ anywhere. He is simply restrained under ‘house arrest’ in the very carnal minds of mankind, unable to lie to and manipulate mankind until the time appointed to be released from the ‘abussos’ and be commissioned as ‘the Lord’s hand’ to go forth and deceive the nations again. According to Deuteronomy 30, both the abussos and heaven are “very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart.”

What is the function of this symbolic “thousand years”?

Why does God imprison the adversary and give the kingdoms of this world over to the rulership of His elect for ‘a thousand years’ and then release Satan upon that very same world? What good or what purpose is accomplished by this time of ruling the kingdoms of the world and then releasing Satan to deceive the nations again?

The fact is that this thousand-year dominion of the Lord’s elect over the nations of this world is a work of our heavenly Father which is expedient in accomplishing His plan and purpose of saving “all in Adam.” Before we see what that plan and purpose is, we need to understand the spiritual significance of the number one thousand. One thousand is a multiple of the number ten, which our studies of numbers in scripture revealed to be the full blossom and the perfection of the flesh.

Spiritual Significance of the Number Ten

As we are told, even at its very pinnacle of perfection, flesh and blood are still nothing more than “corruption” which “cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

So if the number ten signifies the perfection of the flesh with its ten plagues (Exo 7-11), its ten commandments ‘for the unrighteous’ (Exo 20, 1Ti 1:9), and its ten rebellions against God (Num 14:22), then what is the spiritual significance of one thousand? One thousand is just a multiple of ten, and it therefore signifies nothing more than an amplification of the perfection of our corruptible flesh. One thousand is in fact ten to the third power. Three, of course is the process of judgment, and that is exactly what we will see is the purpose, the function and the fruit of this symbolic one thousand years of the rulership with an odious rod of iron over the fleshly kingdoms of this world at the hands of God’s elect.

It requires the very spirit of Christ and His Father within us to keep reminding us that these very words are “within our mouths and in our hearts” and are addressed to “he that hath an ear” within the seven churches. It requires Christ Himself living within us to remind us that it is we who are told to “read, hear, and keep the things which are written in this prophecy.” The natural man cannot see how “all things are ours” (1Co 3:21-22), but the spirit gives us the “key of knowledge” which reveals to those who are given “eyes to see” that even this symbolic thousand years of the hegemony of the Lord’s firstfruit elect is part of our reward, even as the first resurrection is ours.

Here are those who will be in that most blessed event:

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This [those who rule with Christ for 1,000 years] is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

“This is the first resurrection.” What is the first resurrection? It is those who John sees sitting upon thrones. It is those who are given to judge this world with Christ for a thousand years and then “judge angels” in a lake of fire which follows this thousand-year reign of God’s elect overcomers. We will be learning more about this ‘lake of fire’ later in this same chapter.

1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? [for a thousand years] and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? [in the lake of fire] how much more things that pertain to this life?

The first resurrection is first because it is “the resurrection of life” Christ spoke of in John 5:27-29. It is the “blessed and holy… resurrection” for all those who had already been judged in “this present time” (Rom 8:18). Those in the first resurrection were the first to die to the carnal mind of their old man. The resurrection of those who first died in Christ was for those who were sometimes literally and sometimes symbolically “beheaded for their witness of Jesus and for the word of God.” The first resurrection is the resurrection of those who were granted to judge themselves here and now, thereby becoming those who are the first to be judged while still in these vessels of clay. The first resurrection is the resurrection of those who were first to lose their physical lives in favor of the promise of life in a spiritual body.

Matthew 10:39 is a principle which applies to every man in both the first and second resurrections:

Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

All judgment is the Lord’s chastening which will teach all men the Lord’s righteousness:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned [ to the “great white throne judgment] with the world.

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

“Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” They will appear at a later judgment to be “chastened of the Lord” which is the very purpose and function of Biblical ‘judgment.’

“Which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands” does not mean that these overcomers had somehow figured out a way to avoid keeping the things written in this book concerning the worship, image, number and mark of the beast. We know that is not what this means because we are told we are all “marred in the Potter’s hand… shapen in iniquity, and conceived in sin” and that all men, “both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond” will worship this beast and that he will “overcome and kill the saints.” That is the first state of all flesh:

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

You and I are both “shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin.” We are all  “made of clay.” “Both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond” is all inclusive. So what does “had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands” mean (Rev 20:4)?

Here is what that means:

Rev 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, [and] over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

If we are granted “the victory over the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name”, then it can be said that we “had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands.”

If verse 4 tells us that the overcomers reign with Christ and His father for “a thousand years” and verse 6 tells us the overcomers will be “reigning priests of God for a thousand years”, it is obvious that all others will come up in the great white throne judgment which is destined to follow the “little season” of rebellion and worldwide deception which immediately follows this symbolic millennium. It is the “rod of iron” rulership which precipitates this rebellion, and this rebellion is expedient to give the Lord the occasion He is seeking to destroy all flesh and to bring the function of death to its much desired end, fulfilling this prophecy by the apostle Paul:

1Co 15:12  Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? [The doctrine of Hymenaeus and Philetus, (2Ti 2:16-18)]
1Co 15:13  But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
1Co 15:14  And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
1Co 15:15  Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
1Co 15:16  For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
1Co 15:17  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is  vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1Co 15:18  Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
1Co 15:19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
1Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
1Co 15:21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the [first of the] firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming [The second firstfruits, (Rev 14:4)].
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end [The final harvest “at the end of the year”, (Exo 34:22)] when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. [The great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death is the destruction of death, (Rev 20:13-15)]
1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
1Co 15:29  Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
1Co 15:30  And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
1Co 15:32  If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.
1Co 15:33  Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
1Co 15:34  Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

If the dead rise not at all… why are we baptized for the hope of the dead (Rom 8:23-26)? If the dead are raised, then there must be a resurrection to life for those who are being judged in this age. If there is a resurrection to life, then there must also be a resurrection to judgment, and those two resurrections must be separated by a literal kingdom of God’s elect ruling over the kingdoms of this world, followed by a rebellion which will give the Lord the occasion (Jdg 14:4) He is seeking to destroy all flesh:

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. [“the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth”]

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will see what happens when the world is ruled by the Lord’s elect with a rod of iron for a thousand years and then given back over to Satan.

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [is] as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.