Page 119 - Heavenly Signs by Mel Gable
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                4  who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes
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                   his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

              The passage of scripture makes the statement that he is the “son of destruction.” Should this statement be taken
              figuratively or literally? If it is to be taken literally, then this must represent a proper name in Greek. “Apollumi”
              means to destroy to utter destruction. Scripture says that the fallen angels have a king over them. “Apollyon” is
              the king “angel of the abyss.”

              Revelation 9:11 “They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon,
              and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.”
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              The Greek word Ἀπολλύων Apolluōn; “a destroyer,” Apollyon, the angel of the abyss:—Apollyon
              His proper name is derived from ἀπόλλυμι apollumi; to destroy, destroy utterly, destruction:—bring, destroy, destroyed
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              The proper name has the meaning of destruction, a destroyer in both the Hebrew and the Greek languages. Isn’t
              it interesting to find the “son of destruction” referred to by the Apostle Paul? Could this mean that the father of the
              Antichrist is the king of the Abyss, a fallen angel?  The giants of old were mighty men who were men of renown
              and kings of this world. They were the evil ungodly individuals, who once died became demonic spirits. Lucius
              Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius, a third century Christian writer stated the Antichrist would be “born from an evil spirit.”

              “A king shall arise out of Syria, born from an evil spirit, the overthrower and destroyer of the human race, who shall destroy that
              which is left by the former evil, together with himself. … But that king will not only be most disgraceful in himself, but he will also be
              a prophet of lies … and power will be given to him to do signs and wonders, by the sight of which he may entice men to adore him. …
              Then he will attempt to destroy the temple of God and persecute the righteous people.” Lactantius (b 240–d 320) Christian author

               This explains the description of the Antichrist being a despicable person who seized “the kingdom with intrigue.”

              Daniel 11:21 “In his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been
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              conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue.”

              In Revelation it makes a statement of the beast “going to destruction” during the Doom of Babylon. This seems to
              indicate a named place or a person’s proper name.  This “going to destruction” occurs in two passages of scripture.

              Revelation: 17 8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and
              going to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book
              of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast that he was and is not and
              will come.”  212

              Revelation: 17:11 “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and
              he goes to destruction.”    Note: earlier manuscripts had “is going to destruction”
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              The beast that John saw in his vision was coming up out of the abyss.  We know that the king of the abyss is
              Apollyon, the destroyer, or man of destruction. This parallels well with the name of the Antichrist being a man of
              lawlessness. We also know that the state of the earth prior to Noah’s Flood was one of increasing lawlessness
              upon the earth. This state was created by the fallen angels and their hybrid giants, the men of renown.



              212  New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (2 Th 2:3–4). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

              213  New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Re 9:11, Re 17:8, Re 17:11). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
              214  Thomas, R. L. (1998). New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : Updated edition. Anaheim: Foundation
              Publications, Inc.

              215  New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Da 11:21). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
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