Revelation 12:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

NIV: The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

NASB: And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

CSB: So the great dragon was thrown out--the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.

NLT: This great dragon — the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world — was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Some teachers believe the expulsion of Satan from heaven, described here and in earlier verses, refers to his initial rebellion against God before the dawn of human history (Ezekiel 28:14–17). However, prior to this yet-future moment, the Devil still has access to God's throne, where he accuses believers (Job 1:9–11). In the instance described here, Satan and his followers are thrown down to the earth, so he no longer has access to heaven.

In Revelation 12:9 the apostle John refers to Satan as "that ancient serpent," a reference to his appearance in the garden of Eden to tempt our first parents. John also calls him Diabolos in Greek, in English "the Devil," from a term literally meaning "slanderer" or "opponent." Satanas is the Greek word derived from the Hebrew name for the leader of the evil spirits, Sā'tān. This entity is "the deceiver of the whole world," as Jesus said the Devil was "a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44). Proof that Satan deceives the whole world may be found in those who think success brings true happiness or sex brings lasting pleasure or money offers security. It may also be found in the false religions and cults that reject or twist the truth.

Revelation 12:7–12 describes a war in heaven which breaks out between Michael and his angels and the Devil. Prior to this expulsion, the Devil has access to heaven, where he accuses believers. Job 1 confirms this fact. However, he cannot prevail in his war on Christ and His followers. Genesis 3:15 prophesies his violent opposition to the virgin-born Son of God, and Revelation 20:1–10 reveals his ultimate defeat and eternal punishment. Revelation 13 unveils the Devil's two henchmen, the beast and the false prophet, who assist him in persecuting Israel.

This chapter relates several highly symbolic visions, which introduce figures critical to the end times. First is a woman, representative of Israel. Second is a red dragon, identified with Satan. Third is a male child, who is Jesus Christ. The red dragon seeks to devour the woman's male child, but God caught the child to His throne, referring to the ascension of Jesus after His resurrection. The passage then continues to describe a war in heaven between Michael and Satan—here Satan becomes the fourth key figure—which results in Satan's complete and total eviction from heaven. Satan attempts to destroy Israel, most likely through an armed invasion, which is supernaturally defeated by God through an earthquake. The fifth main figure is the collective ''offspring'' of the woman. These events are given further details in passages such as Ezekiel chapter 38.

Preceding verses have brought us to the middle of the tribulation, after the seal judgments and very near the end of the trumpet judgments. Now, the focus shifts to symbolically introduce a series of important figures. These are mentioned in various eras, not as part of the earlier chronology of Revelation. This passage relates to Matthew 24:15–26 and Isaiah 16:1–4. Ezekiel 38 and Joel 1 describe an invasion into Israel from the north, and Revelation 9 identifies the invading army as demon inspired. Revelation 13 continues to describe major end-times figures, focusing on ''the beast,'' also known as the Antichrist, and the False Prophet.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''