Who is Abaddon in Revelation 9:11?

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CutlerB

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I would like to say first, that I resist the following interpretation, but I would like to hear your explanations of Apocalypse 9:11 and the other few verses.

[BIBLEDRB]Apocalypse 9:11[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Apocalypse 20:1-3[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Apocalypse 1:18[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Apocalypse 19:11-16[/BIBLEDRB]
My question basically is: Who is this Abaddon, Apollyon, Exterminans? My feeling, and I believe the most common interpretation, is that it is Satan. However, the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe this angel to be Jesus Christ, although they taught that it was Satan before that. They argue the following:


  1. *]Apocalypse 9:11 speaks of Apollyon, Abaddon.
    *]The angel with the keys to the bottomless pit, though, is “God’s representative”. (Apocalypse 20:1-3)
    *]Jesus Christ has the keys to the pit. (Apocalypse 1:18)
    *]Jesus Christ is presented as the “Executioner” and “Destroyer” as well. (Apocalypse 19:11-16)

    Therefore, they argue, the Lord Jesus Christ is Abaddon, the “Destroyer”.

    Somehow, this just feels totally inappropriate and false, somehow. I see the following problem with their reasoning:

    1. *]“Abaddon” is not said to have the keys to the pit in 9:11.
      *]Jesus, of course, does have they keys though.
      *]19:11-16 does not call Jesus either “Destroyer” or “Executioner”. And though one could argue that he is presented that way, that in no way means he is the same one as in 9:11. by that logic, anyone who destroys something (even God Himself) must be “Abaddon”.

      In its material, the Watchtower says that the angel from 9:11 has commonly been identified as “satanic”, but that, according to them, needn’t be the case.

      I ask for your responses, especially concerning whether you agree with my response’s reasoning. Thank you!
 
Abaddon is an angel who is the servant of God who binds Satan and casts him down at the command of God.

The verses in Rev 1 and 19 are clearly about Jesus, as they identify Him as the one who was dead and is alive, and that He is the Word of God.

This is really not confusing.

However you are confused because you are trying to make sense of the Apocalypse using a JW interpretation. They begin from the assertion (an assertion they share with the Mormons who also are not a Christian sect) that Jesus was an angel who was deified by the Holy Spirit at His Baptism and by His perfect obedience.

However if you take John 1 for what it actually says Jesus is the second person of the Trinity who is God forever and over all things and so any talk about angels does not relate to Him.

Of course the JW’s must muddy these waters because they reject the deity of Christ (like the Mormons and the Sikhs and the Muslims and the Jews and the Hindus and the Buddhists and every other non-Christian sect) and so seek to proof text away His deity by blending passages and glossing over those that confess Him to be God.

So I would not listen further to word a JW has to say about the Apocalypse and instead go ask a Priest.

God Bless
 
bogeydogg said:
Abaddon is an angel who is the servant of God who binds Satan and casts him down at the command of God.

The verses in Rev 1 and 19 are clearly about Jesus, as they identify Him as the one who was dead and is alive, and that He is the Word of God.

This is really not confusing.

However you are confused because you are trying to make sense of the Apocalypse using a JW interpretation. They begin from the assertion (an assertion they share with the Mormons who also are not a Christian sect) that Jesus was an angel who was deified by the Holy Spirit at His Baptism and by His perfect obedience.

However if you take John 1 for what it actually says Jesus is the second person of the Trinity who is God forever and over all things and so any talk about angels does not relate to Him.

Of course the JW’s must muddy these waters because they reject the deity of Christ (like the Mormons and the Sikhs and the Muslims and the Jews and the Hindus and the Buddhists and every other non-Christian sect) and so seek to proof text away His deity by blending passages and glossing over those that confess Him to be God.

So I would not listen further to word a JW has to say about the Apocalypse and instead go ask a Priest.

God Bless
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I never accept anything the JWs say, it’s simply a matter of interest. Is there a Church teaching on this? Because you said Abaddon was an angel of God, I thought he was Satan, and others may say differently?
 
Yes I have heard many great teachings on this, and not one pops into my head right now. So I am kind of flying off the cuff here…

However I can see how you might say Abaddon is Satan, but elsewhere in Scripture (thinking Job here) it is equated with the grave so more along the line of like death sitting on the pale horse and hell/ sheol following after him.

In Rev 20 however the Scripture plainly says that the angel binds the serpent and casts him into the pit (punishment) so if Satan were this angel who was king of the pit why would he be punished by being sent there?

Seems odd.

To that end, because this angel is binding and punishing Satan I have always thought of him as Heavenly. After God does not reward Satan’s rebellion with a separate kingdom to rule over called hell (remember we are not Greeks and neither are we Egyptians with separate gods of the underworld) rather God prepares the pit as a place of perdition to punish Satan for his rebellion and so I would think the angel who rules over it would be and angel of the Lord.

God Bless
 
CutlerB said:
I would like to say first, that I resist the following interpretation, but I would like to hear your explanations of Apocalypse 9:11 and the other few verses.

[BIBLEDRB]Apocalypse 9:11[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Apocalypse 20:1-3[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Apocalypse 1:18[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Apocalypse 19:11-16[/BIBLEDRB]
My question basically is: Who is this Abaddon, Apollyon, Exterminans? My feeling, and I believe the most common interpretation, is that it is Satan. However, the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe this angel to be Jesus Christ, although they taught that it was Satan before that. They argue the following:


  1. *]Apocalypse 9:11 speaks of Apollyon, Abaddon.
    *]The angel with the keys to the bottomless pit, though, is “God’s representative”. (Apocalypse 20:1-3)

    blah blah blah

    I ask for your responses, especially concerning whether you agree with my response’s reasoning. Thank you!
Click to expand...

  1. I don’t know why you’d want to listen to JWs ideas on Christianity. They went off the rails a long time ago.
 
From what I have read, Abaddon is a demon. But you might want to ask a priest since they know more about the bible than probably all of us.
 
I went to a talk an exorcist gave a couple years ago and he mentioned a demon named Abaddon.
 
CutlerB said:
I never accept anything the JWs say, it’s simply a matter of interest. Is there a Church teaching on this? Because you said Abaddon was an angel of God, I thought he was Satan, and others may say differently?
Click to expand...
Why would the Church have a teaching on this?
 
thistle said:
Why would the Church have a teaching on this?
Click to expand...
Well, I meant that she might have mentioned it somewhere. Not as “If anyone denies that Abbadon is XY, let him be anathema” but just in passing in some document or so.
 
CutlerB said:
Well, I meant that she might have mentioned it somewhere. Not as “If anyone denies that Abbadon is XY, let him be anathema” but just in passing in some document or so.
Click to expand...
The Church does not have teachings or even documents on all individuals mentioned in the Bible stating who they are.
 
Nelka said:
The Devil or a demon that is at the bottomless pit.

Abaddon - Hebrew.
Apollyon - Greek.
Click to expand...
Going to have to agree…
Apocalypse 9:11 (Douay Rheims)
Click to expand...
11 A king,** the angel of the bottomless pit**; whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek Apollyon; in Latin Exterminans,
Click to expand...
“The angel of the bottomless pit” certainly sounds like a description of Satan to me.
 
Per Michael Barber, Unlocking the Book of Revelation:

The locusts are the minion of Satan. Apollyon is close to Apollo, a God frequently worshipped by the Roman emperors. As such John may be revealing that demonic forces are the true power behind Rome’s strength.

PnP
 
The mention of this angel having three names, depending on the language. Might indicate an attempt to imitate the Trinity, by deceiving people in some way. Recall Satan fell, because of his desire to be above God. A study of the original names in mythology may reveal something about these fallen angels.
 
I do not think we have to bother to talk about what the JW say about the book of Apocalypse. Let us go direct to the text.

In ch. 9:11 we read:

“his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek his name is Apollyon.” and in English his name is Destroyer.

If you want this same thing all translated in English will be like this:

“his name in Hebrew is Destroyer, and in Greek his name is Destroyer.” and in English his name is Destroyer!!!

Now we are also told that he is a king and is the angel of the abyss.

How we know he is Satan???

In ch. 12 we are told that a war took place in heaven and Michel and his angels fought with the great dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, and that he was thrown out of heaven to earth and that he stood on the sand of the sea. And in ch. 13 we are told that a beast came out of the *sea **and the great dragon (Satan) gave the beast great power. In ch. 11 we are told that a beast came out of the *abyss **to kill the two witnesses and the two beast are the same and only one beast.

In ch. 20 we are told that:
“1 And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the Abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he seized the dragon, the ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years 3and threw him into the Abyss, and shut and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years are finished.”

Therefore we know that Satan is in the abyss, but the thousand years must be finished now because in ch. 9:1 the angel open the shaft of the abyss and smoke came up and out of the smoke locusts to the earth etc., etc., and they have a king over them: the angel of the abyss, who is Satan, now we know.

Did you find useful the round trip!!!

**This beast is the same one, once is describe as coming out of the abyss and in the other as coming out of the sea.
 
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