Difference between revisions of "Apollyon"

== Smith's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_71409" /> ==

<p> Apol'lyon. [[Apollyon]] or, as it is literally in the margin of the Authorized Version of Revelation 9:11, "a destroyer", is the rendering of the [[Hebrew]] word, Abaddon, "the angel of the bottomless pit". From the occurrence of the word in Psalms 88:11, the rabbins have made Abaddon, the nethermost of the two regions into which they divide the lower world; but that in Revelation 9:11, [[Abaddon]] is the angel and not the abyss, is perfectly evident in the Greek. </p>

<p> <strong> APOLLYON </strong> (‘the Destroyer’). The [[Greek]] equivalent in Revelation 9:11 of <strong> [[Abaddon]] </strong> , the angel of the bottomless pit, who was also the king of the locusts (see Abaddon). The word does not appear in its Greek form in later Rabbinic writings, and only here in the NT. As an angel [[Apollyon]] seems to have been regarded as equivalent to Asmodæus, king of demons, in Judaistic mythology; but our data are too few to warrant precise statements. </p> <p> Shailer Mathews. </p>

== Morrish Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_64726" /> ==

<p> The [[Greek]] translation of the [[Hebrew]] name ABADDON, which signifies 'destroyer.' He is king of the locusts of the bottomless pit, and ruler over the destroying agents that proceed from thence: it is one of the characters of Satan. Revelation 9:11 . </p>

== Holman Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_38528" /> ==

== Webster's Dictionary <ref name="term_87571" /> ==

<p> (n.) The Destroyer; - a name used (Rev. ix. 11) for the angel of the bottomless pit, answering to the [[Hebrew]] Abaddon. </p>

== Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology <ref name="term_17629" /> ==

<p> <i> See </i> [[Abaddon]] </p>

== Easton's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_30388" /> ==

Revelation 9:11

== American Tract Society Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_15362" /> ==

<p> See ABADDON, or Apollyon. </p>

== Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament <ref name="term_54912" /> ==

<p> See Abaddon. </p>

<p> '''''a''''' -'''''pol´i''''' -'''''on''''' ( Ἀπολλύων , <i> '''''Apollúōn''''' </i> ; אבדּון , <i> ''''''ăbhaddōn''''' </i> , "destroyer"): [[Present]] participle of the verb ἀπολλύω , "to destroy." </p> I. Definition <p> A proper name, original with the author of the [[Apocalypse]] and used by him once (Revelation 9:11 ) as a translation of the [[Hebrew]] word "Abaddon" (see [[Abaddon]] ) to designate an angel or prince of the lower world. </p> II. Old [[Testament]] Background <p> 1. Fundamental Meaning </p> <p> The term [[Abaddon]] ("destruction") appears solely in the [[Wisdom]] literature of the Old Testament and in the following narrow range of instances: Job 26:6; Job 28:22; Job 31:12; [[Psalm]] 88:11; Proverbs 15:11 . In all these passages save one (Job 31:12 ) the word is combined either with Sheol, "death," or "the grave," in such a way as to indicate a purely eschatological term based upon the advanced idea of moral distinctions in the realm of the dead. In the one exceptional passage (Esther 8:6 is incorrectly referred to - the word here is different, namely, אבדן , <i> ''''''ābhedhān''''' </i> ) where the combination does not occur, the emphasis upon the moral element in the "destruction" mentioned is so definite as practically to preclude the possibility of interpreting the term in any general sense (as Charles, <i> HDB </i> , article "Abaddon"; per con., Briggs, <i> ICC </i> , "Psalms" in the place cited.; <i> BDB </i> , sub loc.). The meaning of the word, therefore, is: the place or condition of utter ruin reserved for the wicked in the realm of the dead. </p> <p> 2. Personification </p> <p> One other feature of Old Testament usage is worthy of consideration as throwing light upon Revelation 9:11 . Abaddon and the accompanying terms "Death" and [[Sheol]] are personified (as in Job 28:22 ) and represented as living beings who speak and act (compare Revelation 6:8 ). </p> III. New Testament Usage <p> 1. The Starting-Point </p> <p> 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. </p> <p> 2. [[Apollyon]] Not [[Satan]] but Part of an [[Ideal]] Description </p> <p> (1) Since Apollyon is a personification he is not to be identified with Satan (compare Revelation 9:1 where Satan seems to be clearly indicated) or with any other being to whom historical existence and definite characteristics are ascribed. He is the central figure in an ideal picture of evil forces represented as originating in the world of lost spirits and allowed to operate destructively in human life. They are pictured as locusts, but on an enlarged scale and with the addition of many features inconsistent with the strict application of the figure (see Revelation 9:7-10 ). The intention is, by the multiplication of images which the author does not attempt to harmonize, to convey the impression of great power and far-reaching destructiveness. (2) This interpretation finds additional support in the writer's significant departure from the familiar usage. In the Old Testament the <i> place </i> of destruction is personified - in Revelation 9:11 , personal forces <i> issue </i> from the Abyss, of which the presiding genius is [[Destruction]] in person. The seer's picture is equally independent of the tradition represented by the [[Talmud]] (Shab f. 55) where Abaddon is personified as jointly with Death president over six destroying angels. These modifications are evidently due to the exigencies of the pictorial form. It is clearly impossible to portray forces proceeding from the place of ruin in the charge of the place itself. </p> <p> 3. Apollyon [[Necessary]] to the [[Picture]] </p> <p> 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. </p> <p> 4. General Significance of the Description </p> <p> 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 ( <i> [[Commentary]] on Apocalypse </i> 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]] . </p>

<ref name="term_71409"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/smith-s-bible-dictionary/apollyon Apollyon from Smith's Bible Dictionary]</ref>

<ref name="term_64726"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/morrish-bible-dictionary/apollyon Apollyon from Morrish Bible Dictionary]</ref>

<ref name="term_38528"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/holman-bible-dictionary/apollyon Apollyon from Holman Bible Dictionary]</ref>

<ref name="term_87571"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/webster-s-dictionary/apollyon Apollyon from Webster's Dictionary]</ref>

<ref name="term_17629"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/baker-s-evangelical-dictionary-of-biblical-theology/apollyon Apollyon from Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology]</ref>

<ref name="term_30388"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/easton-s-bible-dictionary/apollyon Apollyon from Easton's Bible Dictionary]</ref>

<ref name="term_15362"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/american-tract-society-bible-dictionary/apollyon Apollyon from American Tract Society Bible Dictionary]</ref>

<ref name="term_54912"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/hastings-dictionary-of-the-new-testament/apollyon Apollyon from Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament]</ref>