Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. (Revelation 12:3-4a, NIV 1984).
My Musings – Later, in Revelation 12:9, the dragon is unmistakably identified as “that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan.” This arch adversary and accuser of the Church is depicted as an enormous (denoting strength), red (denoting terror), dragon (denoting fierceness and cruelty).
It is described as having seven heads, a possible veiled reference to pagan Rome (Rome was situated on seven hills). It also has ten horns, perhaps a reference to the ten provinces that the Roman Empire was divided into by Augustus Caesar. Finally, it has seven crowns upon its heads, which is afterwards explained to be seven kings, Revelation 17:10.
From similar descriptions of the “fourth beast” in Daniel 7:7–8, and the “beast coming out of the sea” in Revelation 13:1, this likely represents Satan’s control over a confederation of world empires during the great tribulation. The ten horns could also symbolize the ten kings mentioned in Daniel 7:24 who reign simultaneously (confederation) with the coming world ruler and who are also mentioned in Revelation 13:1 (stay tuned). Because of the possible “veiled” reference to ancient Rome, many commentators refer to this confederation as a revived Roman empire or modern Roman empire equivalent or “type.”
In the Old Testament, the word Satan is sometimes used as a verb and sometimes as a noun. When used as a verb, it means to oppose as an adversary. When used as a noun it is usually referring to a human adversary. But in four books of the Old Testament, the term is attached to a supernatural being (Numbers 22:22, 32; 1 Chronicles 21:1; Job 1:6-8; Zechariah 3:1;).
While somewhat of a mysterious figure in the Old Testament, the New Testament develops Satan’s character as the archenemy of God. Extra-biblical works, written prior to and contemporary with the New Testament documents, parallel the New Testament development. In the New Testament, he is referred to as the devil 32 times, Satan 33 times, Belial once, and Beelzebulb seven times.
His power in our world is very great. After all, man abdicated their sovereignty to him when they submitted to his cunning in Eden. He has been described as a “roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,” (1 Peter 5:8). Men are said to be “taken captive by him,” (2 Timothy 2:26). Christians are warned against his “devices,” (2 Corinthians 2:11), and called to “resist the devil,” (James 4:7).
But his power is not so great that he could prevent Christ from redeeming his people from “him that had the power of death, that is, the devil,” (Hebrews 2:14). Because Christ overcame death. No matter how powerful Satan may appear to be, his final overthrow by the power of God is certain. At which time, Christ reassert His dominion over the earth that He reclaimed upon His death and resurrection. A reclamation that was never in doubt.
“His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.” The image of stars battling in heaven was used in the Old Testament (Judges 5:20, “the stars fought”), the Sibylline (a legendary Greek prophetess) Oracles (a collection of prophecies in which Jewish or Christian doctrines were recorded by various Jewish and Christian writers from about 150 BC to about 180 AD), and some Greek sources.
Old Testament texts and later Jewish texts portrayed both Israel or the godly (Daniel 12:3) and angels (1 Enoch; probably also Isaiah 24:21 and 2 Baruch) as stars. Jewish traditions usually assigned the fall of angels to either Adam’s or to Noah’s time. But according to Genesis, Satan’s fall was clearly pre-Adam as he was present in the Garden of Eden in the guise of the serpent plotting to bring down God’s creation.
My Advice – Satan is not just a distant threat, loosed during the tribulation. Even today, “[our] enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8, NIV 1984). We are constantly engaged in Spiritual warfare against him and his demons (fallen angels). So, it is important to have some knowledge of who our enemy is, how he operates, and how we confront him. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, (Ephesians 6:12, NIV 1984), over which Satan rules.
“Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Ephesians 6:13–18, NIV 1984).
Sources:
Walvoord, John F. (1985). Revelation. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 958). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 2477). Peabody: Hendrickson.
Seal, D. (2012, 2013, 2014). Satan. In J. D. Barry, L. Wentz, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair-Wolcott, R. Klippenstein, D. Bomar, … D. R. Brown (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Easton, M. G. (1893). In Easton’s Bible dictionary. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Efird, J. M., & Powell, M. A. (2011). Satan. In M. A. Powell (Ed.), The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated) (Third Edition., p. 922). New York: HarperCollins.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sibylline-Oracles
Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Re 12:4). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
The Brew Is A Musing 