Abyss (religion)

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Abyss (religion) — simple overview

The abyss is a word used in the Bible for a very deep, endless place. It comes from the Greek word abyssos, meaning deep or boundless. In the Bible, the term appears in both Hebrew and Christian writings.

What the word means in the Bible
- Hebrew background: The Hebrew ideas behind the abyss are tehóm (the deep or the watery deep) and ṣulā (sea-deep). These terms picture the primordial waters from which creation began. The sea monster rahab is sometimes connected to this deep, stormy imagery. In Genesis 1:2, the abyss can mean the chaotic watery depths before God brings order. It can also simply mean very deep places like the ocean or the Earth’s interior.
- Later Jewish thought: In intertestamental Jewish writings, the abyss becomes an underworld. It can be the place of the dead (Sheol) or a realm where rebellious spirits or demons are kept (Hell). This use influences the New Testament.
- In the New Testament: The abyss is linked to demons and evil beings. For example, in Luke 8:31, Jesus is asked by demons to avoid sending them into the abyss. Romans 10:7 also uses the idea when talking about the realm of the dead.

Abyss in the book of Revelation
- The abyss is a significant setting in Revelation. It is the place from which certain creatures and powers come, and it is described as a prison for the Seven-Headed Dragon during the Millennium (Revelation 20:3). Abaddon, the “angel of the abyss,” is mentioned in Revelation 9:11.

Other biblical and related ideas
- Psalm 42:7 uses the phrase deep calls to deep, a poetic image of the soul’s longing for God and the sense of depth within depth.
- In the Gnostic text On the Origin of the World, the end of the world involves archons being cast into the abyss, where they fight until the strongest is left.

See also
- Abyss (Thelema)
- Abzu
- Cognitive closure

This short version covers the main ideas of what the abyss means in biblical and related traditions, explained in plain language.