The Hebrew word Abaddon comes from the root abad (H6, to perish or be destroyed) and means destruction or the place of destruction. It appears six times in the Old Testament (Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; Psalm 88:11; Proverbs 15:11; 27:20) as a poetic personification of or parallel to Sheol — the realm of the dead. In Proverbs, both 'Abaddon and Death' are personified as insatiable (Proverbs 27:20). In the New Testament, Abaddon appears as the name of the angel of the bottomless pit (Revelation 9:11).
Abaddon represents the ultimate consequence of sin — total destruction and separation from God. Yet even Abaddon is not hidden from God: Death and Destruction lie open before the LORD — how much more do human hearts! (Proverbs 15:11). The Gospel declares that Christ descended even into the realm of the dead (1 Peter 3:19) and holds the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18). The power of Abaddon is broken by the resurrection — the one who was feared as the angel of the abyss is defeated by the Lamb who was slain.