KJV: And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
YLT: and he shall go forth to lead the nations astray, that are in the four corners of the earth -- Gog and Magog -- to gather them together to war, of whom the number is as the sand of the sea;
Darby: and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war, whose number is as the sand of the sea.
ASV: and shall come forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
| ἐξελεύσεται | will go out |
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Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular Root: ἐξέρχομαι Sense: to go or come forth of. |
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| πλανῆσαι | to deceive |
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Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active Root: πλανάω Sense: to cause to stray, to lead astray, lead aside from the right way. |
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| ἔθνη | nations |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural Root: ἔθνος Sense: a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together. |
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| τὰ | - |
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Parse: Article, Accusative Neuter Plural Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| τέσσαρσιν | four |
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Parse: Adjective, Dative Feminine Plural Root: τέσσαρες Sense: four. |
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| γωνίαις | corners |
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Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Plural Root: γωνία Sense: corner. |
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| τῆς | of the |
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Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| γῆς | earth |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular Root: γῆ Sense: arable land. |
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| τὸν | - |
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Parse: Article, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| Γὼγ | Gog |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: Γώγ Sense: the king of the land of Magog who will come from the north and attack the land of Israel. |
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| Μαγώγ | Magog |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: Μαγώγ Sense: a land north of Israel from which the King of Gog will come to attack Israel. |
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| συναγαγεῖν | to gather together |
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Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active Root: συνάγω Sense: to gather together, to gather. |
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| εἰς | unto |
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Parse: Preposition Root: εἰς Sense: into, unto, to, towards, for, among. |
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| πόλεμον | war |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: πόλεμος Sense: a war. |
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| ὧν | of whom |
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Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Genitive Masculine Plural Root: ὅς Sense: who, which, what, that. |
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| ἀριθμὸς | number [is] |
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Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: ἀριθμός Sense: a fixed and definite number. |
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| αὐτῶν | of them |
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Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural Root: αὐτός Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself. |
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| ὡς | like |
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Parse: Adverb Root: ὡς Sense: as, like, even as, etc. |
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| ἄμμος | sand |
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Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular Root: ἄμμος Sense: sand, sandy ground. |
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| θαλάσσης | sea |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular Root: θάλασσα Sense: the sea. |
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Greek Commentary for Revelation 20:8
First aorist active infinitive of purpose of πλαναω planaō Satan‘s chief task (chapter 12 to chapter 18, in particular Revelation 12:9; Revelation 13:14; Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:3, Revelation 20:10). [source]
Clearly the reign with Christ, if on earth, was not shared in by all on earth, for Satan finds a large and ready following on his release. See Revelation 7:1 (Isaiah 11:12) for “the four corners of the earth.”Gog and Magog (τον Γωγ και Μαγωγ ton Gōg kai Magōg). Accusative in explanatory apposition with τα ετνη ta ethnē (the nations). Magog is first mentioned in Genesis 10:2. The reference here seems to be Ezekiel 38:2, where both are mentioned. Josephus (Ant. I. 6. 1) identifies Magog with the Scythians, with Gog as their prince. In the rabbinical writings Gog and Magog appear as the enemies of the Messiah. Some early Christian writers thought of the Goths and Huns, but Augustine refuses to narrow the imagery and sees only the final protest of the world against Christianity.To gather them together to the war Second aorist active infinitive of purpose of συναγω sunagō a congenial task for Satan after his confinement. See Revelation 16:14 for this very phrase and also Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:19.Of whom (ωναυτων hōn- ως η αμμος της ταλασσης autōn). Pleonasm or redundant pronoun as in Revelation 3:8 and often (of whom - of them).As the sand of the sea Already in Revelation 13:1. Clearly then the millennium, whatever it is, does not mean a period when Satan has no following on earth, for this vast host rallies at once to his standard. [source]
Accusative in explanatory apposition with τα ετνη ta ethnē (the nations). Magog is first mentioned in Genesis 10:2. The reference here seems to be Ezekiel 38:2, where both are mentioned. Josephus (Ant. I. 6. 1) identifies Magog with the Scythians, with Gog as their prince. In the rabbinical writings Gog and Magog appear as the enemies of the Messiah. Some early Christian writers thought of the Goths and Huns, but Augustine refuses to narrow the imagery and sees only the final protest of the world against Christianity. [source]
Second aorist active infinitive of purpose of συναγω sunagō a congenial task for Satan after his confinement. See Revelation 16:14 for this very phrase and also Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:19.Of whom (ωναυτων hōn- ως η αμμος της ταλασσης autōn). Pleonasm or redundant pronoun as in Revelation 3:8 and often (of whom - of them).As the sand of the sea Already in Revelation 13:1. Clearly then the millennium, whatever it is, does not mean a period when Satan has no following on earth, for this vast host rallies at once to his standard. [source]
Pleonasm or redundant pronoun as in Revelation 3:8 and often (of whom - of them). [source]
Already in Revelation 13:1. Clearly then the millennium, whatever it is, does not mean a period when Satan has no following on earth, for this vast host rallies at once to his standard. [source]
See Genesis href="/desk/?q=ge+10:2&sr=1">Genesis 10:2. where Magog appears as a son of Japhet. Magog is a general name for the northern nations, and, according to Ezekiel, Gog is their prince. Josephus says that the descendants of Magog were the Scythians. [source]
Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Revelation 20:8
See on 1 Corinthians 14:11. The distinction is from the Greek and Roman point of view, where the line is drawn by culture, as between the Jew and the Greek it was drawn by religious privilege. From the former stand-point the Jew ranked as a barbarian. Scythian. “More barbarous than the barbarians” (Bengel). Hippocrates describes them as widely different from the rest of mankind, and like to nothing but themselves, and gives an absurd description of their physical peculiarities. Herodotus describes them as living in wagons, offering human sacrifices, scalping and sometimes flaying slain enemies, drinking their blood, and using their skulls for drinking-cups. When a king dies, one of his concubines is strangled and buried with him, and, at the close of a year, fifty of his attendants are strangled, disemboweled, mounted on dead horses, and left in a circle round his tomb. The Scythians passed through Palestine on their road to Egypt, b.c. 600, and a trace of their invasion is supposed to have existed in the name Scythopolis, by which Beth Shean was known in Christ's time. Ezekiel apparently refers to them (38,39) under the name Gog, which reappears in Revelation. See on Revelation 20:8. [source]
Lit., over ( ἐπί ). As distinguished from the “four corners” of Revelation 20:8. They overspread the earth. [source]
Ingressive first aorist active indicative of οργιζομαι orgizomai “became angry.” The culmination of wrath against God (Revelation 16:13.; Revelation 20:8.). Cf. Psalm 2:1, Psalm 2:5, Psalm 2:12; Psalm 99:1; Acts 4:25. John sees the hostility of the world against Christ. [source]
Hebrew redundancy (where - there) as in Revelation 3:8; Revelation 8:9, Revelation 8:9; Revelation 13:8, Revelation 13:12; Revelation 17:9; Revelation 20:8.Prepared (ετοιμαζω hētoimasmenon). Perfect passive predicate participle of τοπος hetoimazō for which verb see Matthew 20:23; Revelation 8:6; Revelation 9:7, Revelation 9:15; Revelation 16:12; Revelation 19:7; Revelation 21:2, and for its use with απο του τεου topos John 14:2. and for the kind of fellowship meant by it (Psalm 31:21; 2 Corinthians 13:13; Colossians 3:3; 1 John 1:3).Of God “From (by) God,” marking the source as God (Revelation 9:18; James 1:13). This anticipatory symbolism is repeated in Revelation 12:13.That there they may nourish her (ινα hina ekei trephōsin autēn). Purpose clause with τρεπουσιν hina and the present for continued action: active subjunctive according to A P though C reads τρεπεται trephousin present active indicative, as is possible also in Revelation 13:17 and certainly so in 1 John 5:20 (Robertson, Grammar, p. 984), a solecism in late vernacular Greek. The plural is indefinite “they” as in Revelation 10:11; Revelation 11:9. One MSS. has trephetai (is nourished). The stereotyped phrase occurs here, as in Revelation 11:2., for the length of the dragon‘s power, repeated in Revelation 12:14 in more general terms and again in Revelation 13:5. [source]
The accusative case as in Revelation 7:1; Revelation 8:3, etc. Αμμος Ammos is an old word for sand, for innumerable multitude in Revelation 20:8.Out of the sea (εκ της ταλασσης ek tēs thalassēs). See Revelation 11:7 for “the beast coming up out of the abyss.” The imagery comes from Daniel 7:3. See also Revelation 17:8. This “wild beast from the sea,” as in Daniel 7:17, Daniel 7:23, is a vast empire used in the interest of brute force. This beast, like the dragon (Revelation 12:3), has ten horns and seven heads, but the horns are crowned, not the heads. The Roman Empire seems to be meant here (Revelation 17:9, Revelation 17:12). On “diadems” (διαδηματα diadēmata) see Revelation 12:3, only ten here, not seven as there.Names of blasphemy See Revelation 17:3 for this same phrase. The meaning is made plain by the blasphemous titles assumed by the Roman emperors in the first and second centuries, as shown by the inscriptions in Ephesus, which have τεος theos constantly applied to them. [source]
John proceeds now after the interruption in Revelation 16:15. Perhaps “the mountains of Megiddo” though not certain. Megiddo is in the valley of Esdraelon, and by the waters of Megiddo (the Kishon) Israel gained a decisive victory over Sisera (Judges 5:19), celebrated in Deborah‘s song. See also Revelation 20:8. and Ezekiel 39:2, Ezekiel 39:4. [source]
The habits of vultures are described by Christ in Matthew 24:28. This is a bold and powerful picture of the battlefield after the victory of the Messiah, “a sacrificial feast spread on God‘s table for all the vultures of the sky” (Swete). Is this battle the same as that of Har Magedon (Revelation 16:16) and that of Gog and Magog (Revelation 20:8.) mentioned after the thousand years? The language in Revelation 20:8. seems like this derived from Ezekiel 39:17., and “in the Apocalypse priority in the order of sequence does not always imply priority in time” (Swete). There seems no way to decide this point save that the end seems to be at hand. [source]
First aorist active infinitive of ποιεω poieō to express purpose. See πολεμεω μετα polemeō meta in Revelation 12:7 and the use of συναγω εις πολεμον sunagō eis polemon in Revelation 16:14; Revelation 20:8. The beast (for his army see Revelation 16:13.) led a league of ten kings against Babylon in Revelation 17:16., but with the purpose also of fighting the Lamb (Revelation 17:14). [source]
Future passive of λυω luō no longer bound as in Revelation 20:2. He uses the future as a prophet in Revelation 20:7, Revelation 20:8, but in Revelation 20:9, and Revelation 20:10 he uses the aorist as a seer.Out of his prison (εκ της πυλακης αυτου ek tēs phulakēs autou). For πυλακη phulakē in this sense see Revelation 2:10. Out of the abyss of Revelation 20:2, Revelation 20:3. [source]
Return to the prophetic future of Revelation 20:7, Revelation 20:8. For βασανιζω basanizō see Revelation 9:5; Revelation 14:10. For “day and night” (ημερας και νυκτος hēmeras kai nuktos) see Revelation 4:8; Revelation 7:15; Revelation 12:10; Revelation 14:11. For “for ever and ever” (εις τους αιωνας τον αιωνων eis tous aiōnas ton aiōnōn) see Revelation 1:6, Revelation 1:18; Revelation 4:9, Revelation 4:10; Revelation 5:13; Revelation 7:12; Revelation 10:6; Revelation 11:15, etc. The devil was cast down from heaven (Revelation 12:9), then imprisoned (Revelation 20:2.), now he received his final doom. [source]
The allusion may be partly to the pot of manna which was laid up in the ark in the sanctuary. See Exodus 16:32-34; compare Hebrews 9:4. That the imagery of the ark was familiar to John appears from Revelation 11:19. This allusion however is indirect, for the manna laid up in the ark was not for food, but was a memorial of food once enjoyed. Two ideas seem to be combined in the figure: 1. Christ as the bread from heaven, the nourishment of the life of believers, the true manna, of which those who eat shall never die (John 6:31-43, John 6:48-51); hidden, in that He is withdrawn from sight, and the Christian's life is hid with Him in God (Colossians 3:3). 2. The satisfaction of the believer's desire when Christ shall be revealed. The hidden manna shall not remain for ever hidden. We shall see Christ as He is, and be like Him (1 John 3:2). Christ gives the manna in giving Himself “The seeing of Christ as He is, and, through this beatific vision, being made like to Him, is identical with the eating of the hidden manna, which shall, as it were, be then brought forth from the sanctuary, the holy of holies of God's immediate presence where it was withdrawn from sight so long, that all may partake of it; the glory of Christ, now shrouded and concealed, being then revealed to His people” (Trench). -DIVIDER- -DIVIDER- This is one of numerous illustrations of the dependence of Revelation upon Old Testament history and prophecy. “To such an extent is this the case,” says Professor Milligan, “that it may be doubted whether it contains a single figure not drawn from the Old Testament, or a single complete sentence not more or less built up of materials brought from the same source.” See, for instance, Balaam (Revelation 2:14); Jezebel (Revelation 2:20); Michael (Revelation 12:7, compare Daniel 10:13; Daniel 12:1); Abaddon (Revelation 9:11); Jerusalem, Mt. Zion, Babylon, the Euphrates, Sodom, Egypt (Revelation 21:2; Revelation 14:1; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 9:14; Revelation 11:8); Gog and Magog (Revelation 20:8, compare Revelation href="/desk/?q=re+2:7&sr=1">Revelation 2:7, Revelation 2:17, Revelation 2:27, Revelation 2:28). Heaven is described under the figure of the tabernacle in the wilderness (Revelation 11:1, Revelation 11:19; Revelation 8:1-13; Revelation 8:3; Revelation 11:19; Revelation 4:6). The song of the redeemed is the song of Moses (Revelation 15:3). The plagues of Egypt appear in the blood, fire, thunder, darkness and locusts (Revelation 6:9). “The great earthquake of chapter 6 is taken from Haggai; the sun becoming black as sackcloth of hair and the moon becoming blood (Revelation 8:1-13) from Joel: the stars of heaven falling, the fig-tree casting her untimely figs, the heavens departing as a scroll (Revelation 8:1-13) from Isaiah: the scorpions of chapter 9 from Ezekiel: the gathering of the vine of the earth (chapter 14) from Joel, and the treading of the wine-press in the same chapter from Isaiah.” So too the details of a single vision are gathered out of different prophets or different parts of the same prophet. For instance, the vision of the glorified Redeemer (Revelation 1:12-20). The golden candlesticks are from Exodus and Zechariah; the garment down to the foot from Exodus and Daniel; the golden girdle and the hairs like wool from Isaiah and Daniel; the feet like burnished brass, and the voice like the sound of many waters, from Ezekiel; the two-edged sword from Isaiah and Psalms; the countenance like the sun from Exodus; the falling of the seer as dead from Exodus, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel; the laying of Jesus' right hand on the seer from Daniel. -DIVIDER- -DIVIDER- “Not indeed that the writer binds himself to the Old Testament in a slavish spirit. He rather uses it with great freedom and independence, extending, intensifying, or transfiguring its descriptions at his pleasure. Yet the main source of his emblems cannot be mistaken. The sacred books of his people had been more than familiar to him. They had penetrated his whole being. They had lived within him as a germinating seed, capable of shooting up not only in the old forms, but in new forms of life and beauty. In the whole extent of sacred and religious literature there is to be found nowhere else such a perfect fusion of the revelation given to Israel with the mind of one who would either express Israel's ideas, or give utterance, by means of the symbols supplied by Israel's history, to the present and most elevated thoughts of the Christian faith “(this note is condensed from Professor Milligan's “Baird Lectures on the Revelation of St. John”).A white stone ( ψῆφον λευκὴν )See on counteth, Luke 14:28; and see on white, Luke 9:29. The foundation of the figure is not to be sought in Gentile but in Jewish customs. “White is everywhere the color and livery of heaven” (Trench). See Revelation 1:14; Revelation 3:5; Revelation 7:9; Revelation 14:14; Revelation 19:8, Revelation 19:11, Revelation 19:14; Revelation 20:11. It is the bright, glistering white. Compare Matthew 28:3; Luke 24:4; John 20:12; Revelation 20:11; Daniel 7:9. It is impossible to fix the meaning of the symbol with any certainty. The following are some of the principal views: The Urim and Thummim concealed within the High-Priest's breastplate of judgment. This is advocated by Trench, who supposes that the Urim was a peculiarly rare stone, possibly the diamond, and engraven with the ineffable name of God. The new name he regards as the new name of God or of Christ (Revelation 3:12); some revelation of the glory of God which can be communicated to His people only in the higher state of being, and which they only can understand who have actually received. -DIVIDER- -DIVIDER- Professor Milligan supposes an allusion to the plate of gold worn on the High-Priest's forehead, and inscribed with the words “Holiness to the Lord,” but, somewhat strangely, runs the figure into the stone or pebble used in voting, and regards the white stone as carrying the idea of the believer's acquittal at the hands of God. -DIVIDER- -DIVIDER- Dean Plumptre sees in the stone the signet by which, in virtue of its form or of the characters inscribed on it, he who possessed it could claim from the friend who gave it, at any distance of time, a frank and hearty welcome; and adds to this an allusion to the custom of presenting such a token, with the guest's name upon it, of admission to the feast given to those who were invited to partake within the temple precincts - a feast which consisted wholly or in part of sacrificial meats. -DIVIDER- -DIVIDER- Others, regarding the connection of the stone with the manna, refer to the use of the lot cast among the priests in order to determine which one should offer the sacrifice. -DIVIDER- -DIVIDER- Others, to the writing of a candidate's name at an election by ballot upon a stone or bean. -DIVIDER- -DIVIDER- In short, the commentators are utterly divided, and the true interpretation remains a matter of conjecture.A new nameSome explain the new name of God or of Christ (compare Revelation 3:12); others, of the recipient's own name. “A new name however, a revelation of his everlasting title as a son of God to glory in Christ, but consisting of and revealed in those personal marks and signs of God's peculiar adoption of himself, which he and none other is acquainted with” (Alford). Bengel says: “Wouldst thou know what kind of a new name thou wilt obtain? Overcome. Before that thou wilt ask in vain, and after that thou wilt soon read it inscribed on the white stone.” [source]
Second perfect active participle of ιστημι histēmi (intransitive). “Where all the birds of prey would behold him” (Beckwith). For ορνεοις orneois (birds) see Revelation 18:2 and for εν μεσουρανηματι en mesouranēmati (in mid heaven) see Revelation 18:13; Revelation 14:6.Come and be gathered together (Δευτε συναχτητε Deute sunachthēte). Δευτε Deute is the adverb δευρω deurō (hither), used when two or more are addressed, possibly from δευρο ιτε deuro ite (come here). Asyndeton also without και kai (and). First aorist passive imperative of συναγω sunagō The metaphor is drawn from Ezekiel 39:17.Unto the great supper of God The habits of vultures are described by Christ in Matthew 24:28. This is a bold and powerful picture of the battlefield after the victory of the Messiah, “a sacrificial feast spread on God‘s table for all the vultures of the sky” (Swete). Is this battle the same as that of Har Magedon (Revelation 16:16) and that of Gog and Magog (Revelation 20:8.) mentioned after the thousand years? The language in Revelation 20:8. seems like this derived from Ezekiel 39:17., and “in the Apocalypse priority in the order of sequence does not always imply priority in time” (Swete). There seems no way to decide this point save that the end seems to be at hand. [source]
As in Revelation 19:20 with the two beasts, as he adds, “where are also the beast and the false prophet” Return to the prophetic future of Revelation 20:7, Revelation 20:8. For βασανιζω basanizō see Revelation 9:5; Revelation 14:10. For “day and night” (ημερας και νυκτος hēmeras kai nuktos) see Revelation 4:8; Revelation 7:15; Revelation 12:10; Revelation 14:11. For “for ever and ever” (εις τους αιωνας τον αιωνων eis tous aiōnas ton aiōnōn) see Revelation 1:6, Revelation 1:18; Revelation 4:9, Revelation 4:10; Revelation 5:13; Revelation 7:12; Revelation 10:6; Revelation 11:15, etc. The devil was cast down from heaven (Revelation 12:9), then imprisoned (Revelation 20:2.), now he received his final doom. [source]
Second perfect predicate participle of ιστημι histēmi intransitive and followed by επι epi and the accusative case γωνιας gōnias as already in Revelation 3:20 Old word for angle (Matthew 6:5), also in Revelation 20:8.Holding Present active participle of κρατεω krateō to hold fast (Mark 7:3; John 20:23). The four winds (cf. Matthew 24:31) are held prisoner by angels at each of the four corners. Some Jews held the winds from due north, south, east, west to be favourable, while those from the angles (see Acts 27:14) were unfavourable (Charles). There is an angel of the fire (Revelation 14:18) and an angel of the waters (Revelation 16:5).That no wind should blow (ινα μη πνεηι ανεμος hina mē pneēi anemos). Negative purpose clause with ινα μη hina mē and the present active subjunctive, “lest a wind keep on blowing.”Upon any tree Accusative case here with επι epi rather than the preceding genitives (γησ ταλασσης gēsthalassēs), “upon the land or upon the sea,” but “against any tree” (picture of attack on the tree like a tornado‘s path). [source]
Old word for angle (Matthew 6:5), also in Revelation 20:8. [source]