Satan’s Imprisonment (Rev. 20) and Allusions to 1 Enoch 10,54–57,and the Day of Atonement

Abstract

This article argues that Satan’s plot in Revelation 20 draws from the Asael/Azazel myth in 1 Enoch 10.4–8 and 54–57. The former Enochic passage, like Rev. 20, tells of an angel who is commissioned to imprison a rebellious angel for the moral corruption of humanity. Both are sealed in the pit until judgment day, when they are to be thrown into a great fire. The latter Enochic passage describes Asael’s preparation for war against the holy city and subsequent judgment, which resonates with Rev. 20’s battle against the city and judgment. This article argues that these allusions to Asael were specifically made to allude to the Azazel ritual of the Day of Atonement, which is the background to Asael’s imprisonment in 1 En. 10, and the idea finds affirmation in similar literature, Jewish traditions, and festal patterns in Revelation. This article lastly and briefly considers what typological and soteriological implications this allusion to the Day of Atonement may have.