Greek Word Apollyon

11-12: The locusts in this passage have a king who is called “the angle of the abyss,” and his name Apollyon (Greek for destroyer). This is linked with Sheol, a place of death in the OT (Job 26:6, Psalm 88:11, Proverbs 15:11). This name suggests that this angel is king over the demons, and likely refers to a very powerful demon, if not Satan himself. The Greek word Apollyon may be “a derogatory allusion to the god Apollo,” emphasizing to the Romans who ruled the churches in Asia worshipped nothing more than a lowly demon. Even as this king of demons works to bring the sinful to ultimate death and destruction, God ultimately is in control and uses him to lead to bring about the glorious goal that he has already planned. Two “more woes

The fact that the first woe is past does not mean that these events have already transpired in history, but it does indicate the “vision containing the events is now over.” The phrase “after these things” indicates not a historical order of events, but only the order of the visions that John received, which indicates that the primary concern in the passage is the order of the visions, not the chronological order of these events depicted in the visions.

13-15: The mention of the golden altar draws the reader “back to the cry to God for justice from the glorified saints from below the altar” in Rev 6:10, and shows that the sixth trumpet is God’s response to the petitions of the saints. The number four “stands for the completeness in the Bible,” and the horns are a representation of power, so the vision would seem to refer to God’s complete and holy power, while

Instead of turning to God, they instead hardened their heart toward God and headlong flung themselves into their own sinful practices, just as the Israelites did on Mt Sinai in Exodus 32. Their vices, such as murder, sorcery (can be translated drugs), immorality, fornication (Greek pornea), and theft are all “associated with idol worship in the OT and NT”, such as in Jeremiah 7:5-11, Nahum 1:14, and Acts 15:20. While this all seems grim, these gruesome images are intended to shock believers out of their own complacency, and also bring sinners to repentance, for the judgment of the world is coming soon upon the earth. While the fate of those depicted is sealed, the fate of those reading is not, and this message should help believers to stay true to their faithful witness even unto