Troublesome Topic: REVELATION 12 AND THE ORIGIN OF SATAN AND DEMONS

Revelation 12:3

Translation

Another sign was seen in heaven,

behold,

it was a great red dragon,

with seven heads and ten horns,

and on his heads

are seven crowns.

Paraphrase

Another important teaching tool was seen in heaven, and

you should have been there to see it; it was a powerful, dangerous Deceiver who possessed all leadership;

and all legal authority which it exercised ruthlessly, and his leadership was characterized by complete victory.

Revelation 12:4

Translation

With its tail

it sweeps a third of

the stars out of heaven

and cast them to the earth.

The DRAGON stands before the woman who is about to give birth so that when she does give birth to her child

he can destroy it.

Paraphrase

His animalistic characteristics sweep a portion of, but not all of

the angels out of heaven

and threw them violently to the earth.

THE GREAT DECEIVER stands ready before the woman who is about to give birth so that when she does give birth to her child, he can destroy it.

Revelation 12:9

Translation

The great DRAGON,

that ANCIENT SERPENT,

who is called

THE DEVIL

and SATAN, the one who is continually deceiving all the inhabitants of the earth, was thrown to the earth and the angels were also thrown out with him.

Paraphrase

The GREAT DECEIVER,

that CRAFTY TEMPTER FROM THE GARDEN,

who is called

the FALSE ACCUSER, and is ALWAYS OPPOSING GOD, the one who is continually deceiving all the

inhabitants of the earth, was thrown out; he was thrown down to the earth and the angels were also thrown out with him.

“He Has Thrown Down the Accuser of Our Brothers”

Verses 7-9 remind us of the time prior to Adam and Eve’s fall into sin when Satan and his followers were thrown out of heaven. That mental image is correct and is the desired image here. However, from the second half of verse 10 we learn that is not the entire picture; there is another layer. Satan has been able to go regularly to the throne room of God and bring accusations against God’s followers—that is how open God is. We see that scenario played out in the story of Job. However, there comes a time when God says, “enough!” and Satan is cast out of heaven and not allowed to continue his accusations against that believer.

I favor the viewpoint that this is done on an individual scale, for each individual believer, rather than us all waiting for the time God will stop such accusations against all of us collectively. I favor it because it fits better with the theme of Revelation, which is the encouragement of believers who are facing persecution or strong opposition. We have seen His salvation and power and rule more fully revealed because He has taken action to stop Satan’s accusations against each of us. That means God sees our character, He trusts our heart, and He does not believe any of those accusations. Satan is always trying to convince God that we deserve judgment, but we need not worry about Satan’s accusations effecting any change in how God sees us. Rather we can have confidence that, if Satan crosses a line in making accusations against us, God will say “Enough!” This is evidence that God places more emphasis on reconciliation than on punishment.

The fact that Satan’s primary activities are to accuse and deceive should be an encouragement to us in one specific way—it means that Satan cannot directly do anything to us, so he has to resort to indirect tactics. If we are close to God, He will help us see through the enemy’s attempts at deceit.

Footnotes

1

“Seen in heaven” indicates that this epic struggle is on a spiritual level and is much greater than the human struggles we are familiar with here on earth.

2

Red was the color of blood and of fire, thus the idea of “dangerous” fits well. The word “dragon” meant “huge serpent.” Any reference to a snake or a serpent brought to mind Satan’s deception in the garden of Eden. Indeed, Satan has always been a deceiver and always will be. For these reasons the phrase “great, red dragon” is adequately expressed in modern English as “powerful, dangerous deceiver.”

3: “Ten horns”

While seven was the number for completeness in a general sense, ten was the number for completeness in regard to legal and structural matters. “Horns” were a picture of strength and ruthlessness because, in the animal world, the one with the largest, or sharpest horns, if it knew how to use them well, would win any conflict. In the phrase “ten horns,” “ten” indicates a complete legal or political power and “horns” points to a ruthlessness in exercising that power.

4

This is a different kind of crown than the ones the woman of verse 1 wore, for two different Greek words are used. Her crowns showed she had the right to rule because such a right had been bestowed upon her; the dragon’s crowns were the crowns of a victorious conqueror. She had authority because it had been granted to her by someone else; he had authority because he had claimed it for himself through trickery and cunning.

5: “child”

This Greek word is neither masculine, nor feminine; it is neuter, and it simply means “child.”

6

“Dragon” and “serpent,” mean basically the same thing. They both point to a crafty, deceitful nature. Above I have distinguished them a little bit so it will not sound odd, and because they have different adjectives describing them, but know that they mean the same thing. Deceit is the primary characteristic of the enemy of our souls.