END OF TIME PROPHECIES 143

The great dragon cast out of heaven.

"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him.

                                                                                                                 Revelation 12v9

Here we have the most comprehensive description of Satan in the entire bible.   There are many more titles, but in this one verse we have five which declare the character of the evil one.  

• Dragon     -     This declares his violence and ferocity.
• The serpent     -     This declares his craftiness, his subtlety.
• The devil     -     This declares his slander, his lies, his false accusations.
• Satan     -     This means the adversary, the opposition to God and all that is good.
• The deceiver     -     This declares his trickery by which he blinds people to the truth. 

All of us know that there are unseen forces of evil operating in this world.   Events, which often defy credibility, continually happen leading us to the conviction that there are dark forces at work.   The bible crystalizes this for us with a description of the prime perpetrator of evil and this is a warning to all of us that we should not be  "ignorant of his devices."  

a.   Dragon.     Jesus Christ, in the book of the Revelation is described as the Lamb many times over.  The suffering Lamb who gave his life for all mankind, and, in so doing took on the forces of evil.   In contrast Satan is depicted as a dragon intent on destruction.   This suggests ferocity and brutality with intent to destroy.   Satan has many sides and in these last times assumes the brutal reality of his existence, as a dragon breathing out fire.    In Ephesians 6v16  Paul speaks of the  "fiery darts of the evil one."   In the present day he operates as "an angel of light" but in reality is "as a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour."  1st Peter 5v8     The title dragon is found thirteen times in the book of the Revelation.   It represents powerful murderous violence which has been his stock and trade since the very beginning.   All violence in the world stems from him.   He is described in Isaiah chapter 14 as  "the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms."   The prophet Ezekiel, in describing his beginnings, records the following  "thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created, till iniquity was found in thee.   By the multitude of thy merchandise, they have filled the midst of thee with violence and thou hast sinned, therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God and I will destroy thee, o covering cherub from the midst of the stones of fire."   Ezekiel 28v15-16 

b.  The serpent.   "That old serpent" thus identifying him as the one behind the voice of the serpent in Genesis 3v1-16.   The point of the serpent is that he is cunning, as stated in Genesis 3  "more subtle than any other beast of the field."   Satan occupied the body of a serpent and spoke through it to Adam & Eve.   The unfolding of the chapter reveals his clever ploy.   He cast doubt on the word of God; he cast doubt on the goodness of God; and he cast doubt on the judgment of God.   He succeeded by appealing to the woman's immediate bodily need and also to her sense of pride.   In the course of time a serpent has come to describe a human being like this  "a sly or treacherous person who exploits a position of trust in order to betray it."    This is exactly what Satan did and this is exactly what people do who follow him.  In Genesis 49v17 Jacob predicted that  "Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horses heels, so that his rider shall fall backward."   This is the influence of Satan on human beings.  His power should not be under estimated.   He was behind the Prince of Tyre of Ezekiel chapter 28  of whom it was said  "behold thou art wiser than Daniel."   Paul warns all Christians to be on their guard against the wiles of the devil.   "I fear lest by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.   For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached or if ye receive another spirit which ye have not received or another gospel which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him."   2nd Corinthians 11v3-4

The classic illustration of the wiles of the devil are recorded in the book of Exodus, as Pharaoh tried to prevent the Israelites from leaving Egypt.   God had simply commanded Moses that all their people with all their possessions were to put three days distance between themselves and Egypt in order to worship God in the wilderness.   Four times Pharaoh, energized by Satan, tried to prevent it by suggesting compromise.

• Exodus 8v25     -     "Go ye sacrifice to your God in the land" thus coming short of God's demands to proceed to the wilderness.
• Exodus 8v28     -     "Go sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away."   God explicitly stated three days journey.
• Exodus 10v11     -     "Go now ye that are men and serve the Lord."   Contrary to the mind of God that all the people must go.
• Exodus 10v24     -     "Go ye serve the Lord only let your flocks and your herds be stayed."   Thus they would lose the ability to sacrifice to their God.

Satan is still operating like this today, suggesting compromise after compromise after compromise, and God's people need to hold fast to the simplicity of the word of God which has brought them to salvation.   Satan and all who follow him will try to corrupt this in whatever way he can.