Apollyon: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:44, 4 September 2006

Revision as of 07:41, 25 September 2006

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Apollyon is the "foul fiend" who assaulted Christian on his pilgrimage through the Valley of Humiliation in [[John Bunyan]]'s great allegory ''[[The Pilgrim's Progress]]''. The identification with the [[Asmodeus]] of Tobit iii. 8 is erroneous.

Some also believe this Angel to be [[Michael (the angelic Jesusarchangel)|Michael]] as he is described as "The Angel over the abyss" and holding the "key to the abyss". The abyss is the area where the demons are confined and the logical jailor would be the rider of the white horse with the sword protruding from his mouth. This would also follow as Michael/Jesus is the destroyer of there demons in the final battle after the 1000 year reign of the devil and demons.

There is, however, an alternative Christian view which stands in contrast to the prevalent perception of Apollyon as a demonic figure. Rather than seeing the character of Apollyon as original to the book of Revelation, this view identifies Apollyon with the "destroyer" who carries out the tenth plague (the death of the firstborn) described in the Exodus account (Exodus 12:23). This view receives support from a subsequent reference to the "destroyer of the firstborn" by the anonymous author of the book of Hebrews, who in 11:28 describes the protection of [[Moses]] and [[Israel]] from God's destructive agent. In this instance the author makes reference to ο ολοθρευων (the destroyer), a participle form sharing a common root with Απολλυων. This alternate view would also explain why both Hebrew and Greek forms of the angelic name are supplied by the author of Revelation.