3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads.

4 His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, hurling them to the earth…

9 And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

— Revelation 12:3, 4a, 9

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”

4-5 “You will not surely die,” the serpent told the woman. “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

14a So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

— Genesis 3: 1, , 4-5, 14a, 15

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, salvation and joy from Jesus Christ to you.

Chapters 12-14 are the center of John’s Revelation. The start of chapter 12 introduces the coming war involving earth and heaven. The full fury of Satan and the force of evil will rage against believers. Satan violently attacks, but God promises His strong protection for people. Seeing an enormous red dragon with seven heads and two horns and seven crowns on its head, John saw the dragon’s tail sweep a third of the stars—angelic beings following Satan—from sky and fling them to earth. John wrote that the red dragon is the ancient serpent called the devil or Satan who leads the whole world astray. This describes the depth of evil this dragon encompasses. The term “devil” means “slanderer or “accuser.” The name “Satan” means “enemy” or “adversary.”

This dragon is that ancient serpent who appears in the garden of Eden to tempt Adam and Eve—the one God cursed with ongoing enmity with humankind. Jesus Himself not only spoke of Satan but encountered and overcame him. The Bible records Satan’s attempts to undermine and defeat God’s purpose and plan for salvation. The apostle Peter said the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Satan led Adam and Eve into thinking they could be like God by disobeying God. Their disobedience leads the entire human race into corruption and sin’s downward spiral. However, there is good news. Hallelujah! God is stronger than Satan. Satan’s deceit and evil pursuits cannot and will not derail God’s purposes and provision for His people.