Search
Apollyon
APOLLYON. Greek equivalent of Abaddon in
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
Present participle of the verb apolluo, "to destroy."
I. Definition.
A proper name, original with the author of the Apocalypse and used by him once (
II. Old Testament Background.
1. Fundamental Meaning:
The term Abaddon ("destruction") appears solely in the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament and in the following narrow range of instances:
2. Personification:
One other feature of Old Testament usage is worthy of consideration as throwing light upon
III. New Testament Usage.
1. The Starting-Point:
The starting-point of the Apocalyptist’s use of "Apollyon" is to be found in the fundamental meaning of "Abaddon" as moral destruction in the underworld, together with the occasional personification of kindred terms in the Old Testament. The imagery was in general terms familiar while the New Testament writer felt perfectly free to vary the usage to suit his own particular purposes.
2. Apollyon not Satan but Part of an Ideal Description:
(1) Since Apollyon is a personification he is not to be identified with Satan (compare
(2) This interpretation finds additional support in the writer’s significant departure from the familiar usage. In the Old Testament the place of destruction is personified--in
3. Apollyon Necessary to the Picture:
The importance of the conception of Apollyon to the completeness of the picture should not be overlooked. It is intended to represent these forces as having a certain principle of internal unity and as possessors of the power of effective leadership.
4. General Significance of the Description:
As to the specific significance of the vision of the locusts as a whole it is not easy to reach a conclusion. Professor Swete suggests (Commentary on Apocalypse in the place cited.) that "the locusts of the abyss may be the memories of the past brought home at times of divine visitation; they hurt by recalling forgotten sins." It seems to us more probable that it represents an actual historical movement, past or to come, demoniacal in origin and character, human in the mode of its operation and the sphere of its influence, used by God for a scourge upon mankind and kept in restraint by His grace and power. See Abaddon.