In the Revelation Satan, or another fallen angel, will be given the key to the Abyss. Upon the opening of the Fifth Seal when the Abyss will be unlocked, a cloud of locusts ascends from the pit where they were bound. Their king was Apollyon, or the Destroyer. (Revelation 9:1-11) Apollyon is apparently a high ranking fallen angel, who is now locked in the Abyss until the time appointed by the Lord for his release.

The king of the locusts is also named in the Septuagint, or Greek translation, of the Old Testament. The Old Testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek about 270 B.C. Please note that when Jesus, or the Apostles, quoted Scripture very frequently they were quoting from the Septuagint because of its wide use and familiarity at that time.

• “Thus has the Lord God shewed me; and, behold, a swarm of locusts coming from the east; and, behold, one caterpillar, king Gog.” – Amos 7:1 (Septuagint translation)

This may explain the leader of the hordes of Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer and the house of Togarmah, as found in Ezekiel 38. Gog, the leader of these nations, is none other than Apollyon, the Destroyer. This also helps place the chronology of the Ezekiel 38 invasion of Gog and Magog. It will be within the Tribulation, and after the Church has been called Home.

The purpose of this invasion will be to show the world that God is in control.

• “Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” – Ezekiel 38:15-16

This identification of Gog also explains why he shows up again at the end of the Millennium, in the Revelation 20:7-8:
“Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number [is] as the sand of the sea.”

The Lord, Holy and Righteous, allows each of us to make our own choice. After one-thousand years of peace under the administration of the Lord Jesus, Satan will be released once again to deceive those who rebel against the Lord. They are allowed to choose who they will follow. This final opportunity for decision is followed by the same fate as that of those who choose to rebel against the Lord today; destruction. And the leader of the hordes who will face destruction is Gog or Apollyon or the Destroyer.

I am so thankful that the Lord provided a way for all of us to escape destruction and death through the Salvation of the Lord Jesus. If you have not done so, choose Jesus; choose Life. May the Name of Jesus be praised forever.