WHO IS APOLLYON? (REVELATION 9:11)

Among the many strange and exotic beings in the book of Revelation is the cryptic king of the locust-like creatures who goes under two names, the Hebrew Abaddon and the Greek equivalent, Apollyon. Starting with the Hebrew designation, commentators have the following to say:

    Ford: “The name is derived from Heb. 'abad, 'to perish,' and is employed as a poetic synonym for the abode of the dead. Abaddon is personified in Job 28:22. In Jewish literature Abaddon is used as the name of the lowest part of Gehenna.”

    Hahn adds, “Although in most of the OT writings destruction is understood in the sense of earthly death and extinction, later texts occasionally link the words of this group with the concepts of hades, the underworld, and thanos, death (Prov. 15:11; 27:20; cf. Job 26:6; 28:22). They give to destruction a far-reaching significance, relating to the state after death.”

    Innes says, “Some have seen in words such as 'abaddon, 'destruction' (Jb. xxxi.12, xxvi.6, xxviii. 22; Ps. lxxxviii.11; Pr. xv.11, xxvii.20)...a place of punishment within Sheol. But no passage where they occur necessitates this interpretation...”

    Merrill: “In the Old Testament it is paired poetically with Sheol (the underworld) in Job 26:6; Prov 15:11; 27:20; with 'bury' in Psalm 88:12; and with 'death' in Job 28:22. Thus 'abaddon is the grave, the underworld, or the like, clearly the meaning in Job 31:12. In Job 28:22 Abaddon and Death are personified as denizens of the subterranean realm. In all cases it is a mysterious place, one of darkness (Ps. 88:2) and destruction.”

With that background, we can now move to the New Testament context and the Greek equivalent of Abaddon – Apollyon:

    “A distinction may be made between apollymi and the related noun apolei (destruction) and olethros (ruin, perdition) which are more strongly associated with physical destruction, and the vb phtheiro which includes moral and religious destruction...apollyon is a personification of the Heb. abaddon, ruin. It means destroyer, and contains a pun on the name of Apollon, the god of plagues. Here it refers to the angelic king of the underworld, the prince of the scorpions, describing him as Destroyer, and so illuminating once again the contrast between God's salvation (soteria) and eschatological ruin (apoleia).” (Hahn)

    Douglas similarly defines Apollyon as the “satanic angel of the bottomless pit (Rev. ix.11) whose Greek name is given as Apollyon, 'destroyer'. In Hebrew 'abaddon means '(place of) destruction', and is regularly translated thus in the AV [i.e. KJV] Old Testament to signify the region of the dead – a familiar concept in later Jewish literature.”

Whenever I have read this passage in the past, I wondered if there were any connection of Apollyon with the Greek god Apollo. And it turns out that is indeed possible, as several scholars point out:

    Ford says, “His Greek name is Apollyon, which might possibly link him with the god Apollo (Apollon) although the spelling here is apollyon. The grasshopper or locust [Rev. 9:7] was one of the emblems of this archer god who poisoned his victims [Rev. 9:10]. This name may be introduced into our text to identify one of the principal pagan gods with hell and destruction.”

And there are yet other more specific referents possible:

    Mounce points out, “Many commentators feel that the verse contains a derogatory reference to the Greek god Apollo and those emperors who claimed a special relationship to him. To name the king of the underworld Apollyon would be a cryptic way of saying that an emperor such as Domitian who liked to be regarded as Apollo incarnate was in reality a manifestation of the powers of the underworld.”

    Similarly, Beale says, “Augustus enjoyed playing the role of Apollo in private dinner plays, and Romans sometimes referred to Apollo as 'Tormenter' [see Rev. 9:10]. This would also be a further hint that the figure in v. 11 is Satanic and that evil angels are to be identified with sinful rulers and peoples.”

    Beale goes on to narrow down the exact identity of Apollyon to either a Satanic figure or Satan himself. He personally leans toward the latter possibility, although other scholars are quick to point out the unlikeliness of that possibility in view of the fact that Satan [the fallen star] opens the Pit from the outside in Rev. 9:1 whereas the underground king is dwelling there at the time (v. 11).

Two last points of interest come to mind. The first relates to the fact that the “locust” even have a king in the first place. Phillips comments on this fact by first quoting from Proverbs 30:27, which states that “the locust have no king.” He notes that in contrast, “These demon locust do. As though it were not bad enough for them to be intelligent in themselves, they are capably and ably led by the satanic angel who reigns over the abyss itself.”

Then let me make one more observation regarding the possibility that John is mocking a Greek god by making him “king of the locust.” We must remember that II Kings 1:2-3 calls the god of Ekron Ba'alzebub, meaning Lord of the Flies, in place of what was probably the real name of that deity, Baalzeboul, Lord of the Heavens.