A phrase used in the Bible to describe a very deep place that is home to both the dead and evil spirits.
Bottomless Pit in the Old Testament
The Hebrew word means "the deep." In many Bible translations, this place is called "the abyss." In ancient times, people used this term for any place that was too deep to measure, like very deep wells or springs. The Old Testament uses this idea when talking about the waters at the creation of the world (Genesis 1:2) and the deep parts of the ocean (Psalms 33:7; 77:16).
In the cultures of the ancient Near East, people thought of this deep place as the opposite of heaven above. Over time, they began to use it as a way to talk about the grave, which they also called "Sheol" (Psalm 71:20). Later, in the time between the Old and New Testaments, people began to describe it as a place where evil spirits lived (Jubilees 5:6; 1 Enoch 10:4, 11).
Bottomless Pit in the New Testament
In the New Testament, "abyss" is used in both of these symbolic ways. For example, demons begged Jesus not to send them into "the abyss" (Luke 8:31). Many scholars believe this links to later references to a "prison" (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6). The meaning of this "prison" is unclear. But, studies of these verses, plus 1 Peter 3:19 and 4:6, suggest that the abyss is probably not the same as Hades (the realm of the dead). Instead, it seems to be a place where evil spirits are held. However, in Romans 10:7, Paul uses the word “abyss” to describe the grave, contrasting it with rising to heaven. Paul reworks a passage from Deuteronomy 30:12–13 in this context.
Bottomless Pit in the Book of Revelation
The term "bottomless pit" is used often in the book of Revelation. In this book, it is described as the home of several beings:
Creatures that look like locusts with scorpion stings (Revelation 9:1–11)
A ruler of this dark place, whose name is "Abaddon" or "Destruction"(Revelation 9:11)
The “Beast,” or Antichrist (Revelation 11:7; 17:8)
The bottomless pit is also where Satan will be kept for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1, 3).
The book of Revelation shows us three important things about the bottomless pit:
God has complete control over it. An angel receives a key to open the pit (Revelation 9:1). The Beast will come out of the pit and then be destroyed (Revelation 17:8). God's power is shown when Satan is captured, tied up, thrown into the pit, and locked inside it (Revelation 20:2–3). 4
The pit was created for destruction. When it was opened, thick "smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace" (Revelation 9:2). It is not the place of torment (called “the lake of fire” in Revelation 20:10–15). After the end times, the pit will be replaced by this final place of punishment (compare Revelation 17:8).
The pit is the opposite of heaven. Evil comes from the pit, just as good things come from heaven. In Revelation, the dragon and the Beast try to copy God's power and glory, but they cannot (Revelation 12:9). While heaven brings everything good, the bottomless pit brings everything evil.