“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.”
That is of hell, whither God threw down the Angels which had sinned, and bound them in chains of darkness to be kept unto damnation, 2 Pet. 2:4 ; Jude 6 . Now followeth the third place of the prophetical history, which is of the victory whereby Christ overcame the dragon, as I note, Rev. 7:1 . This place must necessarily be joined with the end of chapter 12 and be applied unto the just understanding thereof. This chapter hath two parts, one of the dragon overcome, unto verse 10 , the other of the resurrection and last judgment unto the end of the chapter. The history of the dragon is double: First of the first victory after which he was bound by Christ unto verse 6 . The second is of the last victory, whereby he has thrown down into everlasting punishment, thence unto verse 10 . This first history happened in the first time of the Christian Church, when the dragon thrown down from heaven by Christ, went about to molest the new birth of the Church in the earth, Rev. 12:17 , 18 . For which cause I gave warning, that this story of the Dragon must be annexed unto that place.