When the devil first appears in Revelation, he’s throwing Christians around, throwing them into prison to be specific.

After five references to “Satan” in the letters to the churches, he disappears until chapter 12 (the distribution of diabolos is the same). At first, he’s still throwing things down, throwing the stars from heaven with his tail. But the other six times ballo (throw) is used in Revelation 12, the dragon is the object thrown rather than the thrower. Finally, he is himself thrown into the prison of the abyss (20:3, 7) before being released and thrown into the lake of fire (20:10).

Revelation is a lex talionis story, a story of poetic justice, of the thrower thrown.