bottomless pit
Revelation 9:1
9:1 bottomless pit. The word for pit, abussos (Greek meaning “without a base”) is translated “deep” in Luke 8:31 and Romans 10:7. Modern versions usually transliterate it simply as “abyss.” This pit is apparently the lowest compartment of Hades, at the very center of the earth. Its “bottomless” description can thus be taken literally, since all of its boundaries are, in effect, ceilings. It probably refers to the lowest hell, or tartarus (II Peter 2:4), where “the angels that sinned” (evidently the transgressing “sons of God” of Genesis 6:1-3) are confined in “chains of darkness” awaiting their final judgment. It is probably these that will temporarily be released by Abaddon from the bottomless pit.