Satan as the dragon – continued

The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.


The dragon thrown out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-12)

Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragonThe dragon and his angels also fought, but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was thrown out ​— ​the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satanthe one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him. 

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been thrown down. They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not love their lives to the point of death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you with great fury, because he knows his time is short (emphasis added).

Revelation 12:7-12

We are spirited away from the pregnant woman and the fiery red dragon (vv. 1-6) to a cosmic battle between Michael and the dragon involving holy and evil angels. The conflict is severe. Michael and his angels prevail. Satan and his angels are cast down to earth. No longer does “the accuser of our brothers and sisters” have access to the throne in heaven. While the battle is won in the unseen spiritual realm, John is careful to record that it is the blood of the Lamb and the testimony of Christian martyrs that deliver the knock-out punches. The heavens rejoice, but the earth and sea brace themselves for a furious dragon onslaught.

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Same Bible, different conclusions

A few months back, a Christian school in Kansas City announced it was closing its doors due to a severe reduction in financial support. The reason: Urban Christian Academy had placed on its website a statement that it is an LGBTQ-affirming institution. When donors discovered this, many stopped writing checks. 

A story about the school’s demise appeared in the Kansas City Star, which, in turn, attracted interest from ABC News.

I received a call from a Chicago-based ABC reporter, who confessed he was in a quandary. He couldn’t seem to find a Christian organization in Missouri willing to go on record that Scripture is not LGBTQ-affirming.

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Satan as the dragon

The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.


The word dragon (drakon in Greek) appears fourteen times in thirteen verses in the CSB New Testament – all of them in the Book of Revelation. Other English translations, such as the English Standard Version and the New American Standard Bible, sometimes translate the Hebrew tanniyn as “dragon,” “serpent,” or “monster” (e.g., Neh. 2:13; Isa. 27:1; 51:9; Ezek. 29:3; 32:2). The CSB renders tanniyn “serpent” or “monster” in these same verses, but “dragon” never appears in the CSB Old Testament.

In the Septuagint, which includes various Greek translations of the Old Testament, drakon translates a number of Hebrew words for a variety of animals, including the lion (Job 4:10; 38:39), snake and asp (Job 26:13; Amos 9:3), and the jackal (Jer. 9:11; Lam. 4:3; Mic. 1:8). It is also used for the great monster Leviathan (Job 40:20; Ps. 74:14; 104:26; Isa. 27:1). In the Septuagint version of Esther, an apocalyptic battle between Mordecai and Haman is depicted as dragons locked in mortal combat. This is similar to the battle between Marduk and Tiamat in the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation story. According to Peter Bolt, the same myth may lie behind the Septuagint addition to Daniel, the story known as Bel and the Dragon.

The apostle John uses drakon exclusively in Revelation as a symbolic representation of Satan. Further, he links “dragon” and “serpent” to identify this creature as the ancient tempter in the garden of Eden. The dragon is explicitly identified as “the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9; cf. Rev. 20:2). 

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Amendment to Article VI of the BF&M 2000: The Church

Following is the last in a series of columns on The Baptist Faith & Message 2000.

Messengers to the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans voted to amend Article VI of The Baptist Faith & Message to clarify the role of pastor. 

Messengers approved a motion by Jared Cornutt, pastor of North Shelby Baptist Church of Birmingham, Ala., to amend Article VI: The Church to add the words “elder/overseer” alongside “pastor.” 

The amended portion of Article VI originally read:

“In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”

The text now reads (italics added for emphasis):

“In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its two scriptural offices are that of pastor/elder/overseer and deacon. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”

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Satan as the serpent

The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.


In Greek mythology, Medusa is a gorgeous woman who engages in a tryst with Poseidon in one of Athena’s temples. As punishment, the virgin goddess Athena turns Medusa into a Gorgon, a race of snake-women whose gazes turn people into stone. Gorgons have serpents for hair, long claws, sharp teeth, and scales covering their bodies. Athena later helps the hero Perseus slay Medusa, giving him a shiny bronze shield that enables him to watch Medusa’s reflection rather than look directly at her. After cutting off Medusa’s head, Perseus mounts it on his shield, using it to paralyze his enemies in battle.

Jump forward to a 15th century Polish yarn in which a fearsome dragon lives in a dark cave along the banks of the Vistula River. Day after day, this fire-breathing monster terrorizes civilians, pillaging their homes and devouring their livestock. King Krakus sends out his bravest knights to slay the dragon, but all fall prey to the winged beast’s deadly talons and bone-crunching jaws. In desperation, the king promises his beautiful daughter in marriage to the man who vanquishes the dragon. 

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