There are TWO CLASSES of fallen angels and neither of them is in hell (yet). Where are they? We shall see that one class is already in a “pit” that sounds similar to the one in Luke 8:31 and the other class are living in the heavens right above us. Let’s look at the Scriptures which confirm this.

1) In 2nd Peter 2:4 we read, “For if God spared not [the] angels who had sinned, but having cast them down to THE DEEPEST PIT OF GLOOM had delivered them to chains of darkness [to be] kept for judgment” (DARBY translation). The angels described here committed a sin so egregious in God’s eyes that He has already “delivered them to the deepest pit of gloom” where they await the final Judgment Day. This may indeed be the same “pit” mentioned in Luke 8:31, “And they besought Him that He would not command them to go away into THE BOTTOMLESS PIT.” Other translations use the word “abyss” or “deep” in lieu of the word “pit” but they are the same word in the Greek. The demons in this verse know that eventually they too will be cast into “the bottomless pit” along with the angels mentioned in 2nd Peter 2:4, but Jesus granted them their request and He allowed them to enter into a herd of swine instead  (Luke 8:31-32).

2) In Ephesians 6:11-12 we read, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the DEVIL. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, AGAINST SPIRITUAL HOSTS OF WICKEDNESS IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES” (NKJV). Here we have the second class of fallen angels; namely, “the devil and his angels” (see Matthew 25:41).  They are living in the atmospheric heavens right above earth. This is borne out in Ephesians 2:2 where the devil is referred to as “the PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.” But the time is coming when the devil and his angels will join the other class of fallen angels in the bottomless pit. We read of that in Revelation 20:2-3, “He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he CAST HIM INTO THE BOTTOMLESS PIT, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should not deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished.” At this time ALL FALLEN ANGELS will be imprisoned in the bottomless pit for one thousand years. The Lord imprisons them so they can’t “deceive the nations” during the 1,000 year reign of Christ.

The rest of Revelation 20:3 says, “But after these things he must be released for a little while. Verses 7-9 teach us why God allows Satan to be released, “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, God and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.” God will allow Satan to be released to test all those who were born during the Millennial Kingdom. Those who are not saved will follow Satan in his last act of rebellion against God and His saints. We see that God will destroy them instantly before they can bring any harm to the saints of God. What happens next? Verse 10 informs us that “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” The devil and his angels (and I believe the other class of angels as well), will finally be consigned to their eternal prison, the lake of fire (i.e. hell). They will join the first two occupants of hell, the beast and the false prophet, who were cast into the lake of fire 1,000 years earlier (see Revelation 19:20). After the Devil and all fallen angels are cast into hell the “Great White Throne Judgment” will take place, resulting in all who died without believing in Christ being cast into the lake of fire (see Revelation 20:11-15).  (367.5)  (DO)