The Greek word Abaddōn (Ἀβαδδών) is a transliteration of the Hebrew Abaddon (H11), from abad (to perish, destroy). It means destruction, ruin, or the place of ruin. In the Old Testament, Abaddon appears six times as a synonym for Sheol/the grave — the realm of the dead (Job 26:6; 28:22; Proverbs 15:11). In Revelation 9:11, it appears as a proper name — the angel of the bottomless pit, called Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon (Destroyer) in Greek — a demonically powerful figure associated with the fifth trumpet judgment.
Abaddōn is a sobering reminder that Scripture does not sanitize the dark realities of evil, death, and judgment. The angel of the abyss is not a neutral figure but an actively malevolent being whose name (Destroyer) defines his mission. Yet the New Testament's wider testimony insists that Christ holds the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18) — even Abaddon's domain is under divine authority. The plagues of Revelation are not chaos but ordered divine judgments administered under the Lamb's opening of the seals. The Old Testament use of Abaddon as a name for Sheol echoes here: the realm of destruction has a lord, but that lord has a Sovereign. Destruction is real; but the Last Adam defeats the Destroyer (Hebrews 2:14; 1 Corinthians 15:26).