Isaiah 27:1
In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the fleeing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. Punishes Twice: 1. The Fleeing (sometimes translated: piercing) Serpent: Satan kicked out of heaven. A prophecy foretold in Genesis, to be fulfilled upon Christ's death and resurrection; and upon Christ's ascendance into heaven, Satan is cast down to earth. Notice the contrast. The word for fleeing: Strong's #1281: bariyach (pronounced baw-ree'-akh) or (shortened) bariach {baw-ree'-akh}; from 1272; a fugitive, i.e. the serpent (as fleeing), and the constellation by that name:--crooked, noble, piercing. This word fugitive-- perhaps a fugitive from God's presence in heaven. Genesis 3:14-15 14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust (Gen 3:19) shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (a prophecy fulfilled upon Christ's death). Revelation 12:1-12 The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon12 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. 5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Satan Thrown Out of Heaven7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 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. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Jesus also mentions this fall in Luke 10:18 18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 2. The Crooked/Twisted/Perverse Serpent The next punishment of Satan occurs in Revelation 20; he is bound for a thousand years in the bottomless pit, the Abyss (not the lake of fire yet), during Christ's Millennial Kingdom reign. 1. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. Slays Once: 3. The Dragon that is in the Sea (The sea as in many nations perhaps; he is no longer able to deceive the nations of men) Satan is cast into the lake of fire, hell, for eternity. He is defeated, slain, once and for all, forever and ever. 7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. |
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