Revelation 20:1-2; A Great Chain in His Hand

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Revelation 20:1-2 (KJV)  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 

The angel also carries a great chain in his hand. Paul wore a chain in Rome (2 Timothy 1:16) as Peter did during his Jerusalem imprisonment (Acts 12:6-7), but here it is not a material chain such as would bind a physical chain. It is rather one that would be necessary to shackle a spiritual being such as Satan (cf. Jude 6, where a different word for “chain” appears”).

2 Timothy 1:16 (KJV)  The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: 

Acts 12:6-7 (KJV)  And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. 

Jude 6 (KJV)  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 

With this in mind, it is literal binding of Satan, not merely a limited restraint. Just as the sickle of Revelation 14:14-15 depicts a grand and dreaded reality, so does the chain here. It is stronger than the one that bound Samson and stronger than “legion” who broke the chains that restrained the Gadarene (Mark 5:3-4) (Swete).

Mark 5:3-4 (KJV)  Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. 

Swinging into action immediately, the angel seized and bound the dragon – And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.

The name “the dragon”, the first of Satan’s titles used here, is his most frequent title in Revelation 12:3, 4, 7, 13, 16,17; 13:2, 4, 11; 16:13). Then follow the other names ascribed to him in Revelation 12:9.

Revelation 12:3-4 (KJV)  And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 

Revelation 12:7 (KJV)  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 

Revelation 12:13 (KJV)  And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 

Revelation 12:16-17 (KJV)  And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.  

Revelation 13:2 (KJV)  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 

Revelation 13:4 (KJV)  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 

Revelation 13:11 (KJV)  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 

Revelation 16:13 (KJV)  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 

Revelation 12:9 (KJV)  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 

[Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody, 1995, 406-407]