They were ruled by a king, the angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek it is Apollyon.
Parallel translations
- WEB They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is “Abaddon”, but in Greek, he has the name “Apollyon”.
- KJV And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
- NKJV And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
- NASB They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.
- NLT Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon—the Destroyer.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Their king is the angel of the abyss, named Abaddon (Destroyer). The demonic horde is led by a being whose very name is destruction.
Overview
Unlike natural locusts, which have no king (Proverbs 30:27), this host is ruled by "the angel of the abyss." The names Abaddon (Hebrew, "destruction") and Apollyon (Greek, "destroyer") expose his nature and purpose. Whether this is Satan or a high demonic ruler, the point is that this army serves the cause of ruin. By contrast, Jesus came not to destroy but to save (John 10:10), and He will finally cast all such powers into the abyss (Revelation 20).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Job 26:6Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
- Rev 9:1–2Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the pit of the Abyss.
- Eph 2:2in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.
- John 8:44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
- John 14:30I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me.
- 2 Cor 4:4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- John 16:11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.
- John 12:31Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out.
- 1 Jn 4:4You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
- 1 Jn 5:19We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
- Rev 12:9And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
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Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 9:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.