The last line of John’s description of the demonic locust rising from the bottomless pit refers to their king, Abaddon in Hebrew or Apollyon in Greek. Both words mean Destroyer.
Although Proverbs 30:27 states the locust have no king, there is a reference to the king of the locust in LXX Amos 7:1. The Hebrew reads “after the king’s mowing” although translating the final three words of 7:1 is difficult since the Hebrew גֵּז is rare. The Septuagint translation of Amos 7:1 is considerably different than the Hebrew Bible: “Thus the Lord God showed me and look, the offspring of locusts is coming early, and look, one locust is Agag, the king” (LES2). The name Agag is associated with the Amalekites; in 1 Sam 15 Saul was command to attack Agag, king of the Amalekites.
This translation understands the Greek Γώγ, Gog, as Agag. The NET of the Septuagint translates this as “Gog, their king.” It is likely the translator read the Hebrew word גֵּז as Gog (גּוֹג). The same confusion appears in the LXX of Numbers 24:7, the king is Agag but the LXX has Gog. While it is tantalizing to hear an echo of Ezekiel 38-39 and a foreshadowing of Revelation 20:8, the evidence that Gog is the king of the locust is thin.
The name Abaddon appears only here in Revelation, although the word אֲבַדּוֹן is found in the Hebrew Bible a few times with reference to the abode of the dead, in parallel with Sheol (Job 26:6; Prov 15:11). In Job 31:12 it is also a location: “a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon.” Later rabbinic literature used the term for the place of punishment for the wicked (Grether, “Abaddon,” ABD 1:6).
The name is found in several fragmentary Dead Sea Scrolls as a location of the dead (the pot, sheol, etc.)
1QHa Col. xi:19-20 I thank you, Lord, because you saved my life from the pit, and from the Sheol of Abaddon 20 have lifted me up to an everlasting height, so that I can walk on a boundless plain.
1QHa Col. xi:32 The torrents of Belial break into Abaddon. The schemers of the deep howl at the din of those extracting mud.
4Q432 Frag. 4 i:4 [And when they rush forth, Sheo]l [and Abaddon open; all the arrows of] 5 [the p]it [make their voice heard] while going down [to the abyss; and the gates of Sheol] «open» 6 [for al]l […] the deed[s of the serpent.
4Q504 Frags. 1–2 viir:7 the earth and all its schemers [… the] 8 great [abyss], Abaddon, the water and all that there [is in it …] 9 all its creatures, always, for centuries [eternal. Amen. Amen.]
In Revelation 9:11Abaddon is not a location but rather the “king of the locust.” In Greek, the name of the king is Apollyon, the destroyer. The Greek is related to the word ἀπολλύναι, “to destroy” but also to the name Apollo (Charles, 1:246). David Aune suggests an allusion to Nero since he claimed to be Apollo and was “identified with Belial in some early Jewish literature” (Aune, 2:535).
However, Beale suggests Abaddon/Apollyon refers to “the angel is that of the exodus plagues” (504). During the tenth plague a destroying angel swept over Egypt. Unfortunately, “destroyer” is a participle of ὀλεθρεύω rather than ἀπόλλυμι. Jubilees 49:2 calls this angel Mastema. LXX Psalm 77:49 refers to “evil angels” active in the plagues.
That Abaddon or Apollyon is associated with the Egyptian plagues would be consistent with the first four trumpets which also alluded to the plagues.
Carefully observe the winners, don’t always pay attention to the losers
It is interesting how important it is to cross reference scripture to see these parallels. You mentioned at the end that “That Abaddon or Apollyon is associated with the Egyptian plagues would be consistent with the first four trumpets which also alluded to the plagues.” I thought this was interesting because it is consistent with what we have read before and the ways we have seen the Lord work prior to Revelation. I think it is very interesting that there is an angel that destroys here, but also one from earlier in the time of the plagues in Egypt. I think the parallels of the Bible are one of the most fascinating aspects of the Bible and of Christianity. It shows just how perfectly everything was planned out from start to finish and how well everything fits together. Even things that have not happened yet will play out in such a way that the Bible talks about it and cross references that event to something in earlier history. I think the details of scripture and the meaning behind the words used is so interesting and brings a lot of light and clarification on the meaning and importance of each passage. It really shows the power of God because no one else could have been the author of a book that works so perfectly together through all of time and that stay consistent through every event in life and history. We can trust the Bible and Gods word because of how self attesting the Bible is and how scripture always holds true.
Abaddon might have one of the coolest names in the Bible known as the “destroyer” and is Abaddon is Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek. Abaddon is a very interesting person because of the name destroyer which can only mean a few not very good things. This thing is the king of the bottomless pit which isn’t a very nice place it seems like to want to be. To be honest, John is a very brave man describing Abaddon because it sounds like not one to mess with very much. It is very interesting that the name Abaddon only appears in the Book of Revelation which means a couple of different possibilities. One that Abaddon is not all that important so that is why it is only appeared in one book. Another possibility is that this “king” is a very powerful person that shouldn’t be discussed upon. Abaddon being the “king of the locust”, it brings in a few factors of what kind of person Abaddon was. It is possible that Abaddon was associated with the Egyptian plagues which is consistent which the first four trumpets. Abaddon at the end of the day is a very interesting person to speak upon in Revelation, many different theories that could play into this so called “king”.
As mentioned in the article, John describes a metaphor in which locusts rise from a pit. This points to Abaddon/Apollyon. I found the reference to locusts and kings to be interesting from the OT. Also, the Hebrew word for his name appears in a few other locations, mostly about a sort of parallel to Sheol. This word is also found in places that refer to destruction via fire or, generally, punishment. Before reading this article, I did not know that Abaddon was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. When it does, it never refers to a person but rather, to a place of destruction and despair. Lastly, I found it interesting that Beale would connect this name with the plagues of Egypt. As we see with the four trumpets, there is some overlap.
Palmer (1982) in The Communicator’s Commentary notes that the name Abaddon/Apollyon is typically a name also associated with the devil. In The Pilgrim’s Progress, we also see Apollyon represent a demon. In many play adaptations I’ve seen and heard about, he appears to look like a human. Since the Bible doesn’t seem to give us a description, I guess he’d have to be identifiable as something (in this case, a human). Palmer interestingly mentions that although he is the destroyer, he doesn’t have the power to destroy as he wishes. He further explains that in the face of extreme evil, everything is still subjected to the sovereignty of God. No evil can prevail without God allowing it.
When looking at the idea of Abbadon and Apollyon I was always confused as to what and who it referred to. I have always referred to Apollyon, Abaddon and Satan as the same being. When I looked at it from the surface, I would see that there were these names for the “demon prince” or for the “king of hell” or “king of the locust”. I have always seen these negative things as comparable and all these sinful or harmful behaviors of one true evil: Satan himself. . I never thought about taking those as different positions or realizing that they are completely separate beings. I have had a stark realization that assumptions (especially when reading into the book of Revelation) can and will have a drastic impact on our interpretations of these scriptures.