Apollyon

Apollyon, the Greek word for destroyer, is the name given in Revelation 9:11 to the angel of the abyss who rules over the demonic locusts released at the sounding of the fifth trumpet. His Hebrew name Abaddon carries the same meaning and is used in the Old Testament as a term for the realm of the dead or destruction (Job 26:6; Prov. 15:11). As king of the abyss, Apollyon commands a hellish army whose torment is compared to that of a scorpion sting—painful but not lethal.

The identification of Apollyon with specific historical figures or institutions has been debated across centuries of interpretation, ranging from Antiochus Epiphanes and the Roman emperors to later ecclesiastical and political figures. In the context of Revelation's symbolic world, Apollyon represents the organizing intelligence of demonic forces unleashed in the final period of tribulation. John Bunyan gave the name enduring literary currency by making Apollyon the monstrous adversary whom Christian encounters and defeats in The Pilgrim's Progress.