Satan, Devil, Serpent, Dragon – Not random names

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There is nothing positive to be gained from the great adversary of Jesus Christ. However, the language used in the Word of God to describe this great enemy reveals the subtleties of the gospel. The terms Satan, devil, serpent, and dragon are not chosen purely by chance.

Not a single randomly chosen word

The Word of God is not a novel and therefore does not employ a diverse choice of words to refresh the reading experience. Yet the Scripture is anything but boring or soporific, if one approaches it with unbiased, childlike curiosity. The choice of words, and this is always surprising, is not random, but rather describes a specific context or even a character. Unfortunately, today’s everyday languages, for example, German or English, have degenerated significantly compared to earlier languages. This applies to vocabulary as well as grammar.

The evolutionary idea that former “cavemen” developed a language over the millennia from their initial snorting, babbling, and grunting is not correct, but rather that ancient peoples generally communicated in a more sophisticated, far more complicated way than “modern humans.” In this regard, a reference to “Origin and Development of Languages ​​- Linguistics versus Evolution,” by Roger Liebi (Source – German).

Go deeper in Bible study

Bible study should always be accompanied by understanding the word written in one’s own language in the original text. This doesn’t mean having to learn ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek, which would certainly be a huge advantage, but there are reference works for this. These contain the Scriptures in their original language and translate them word for word with the corresponding meaning in one’s own language. Particularly valuable here is the breakdown of the origin and the common usage of the Hebrew or Greek word.

It is often the case that German or English doesn’t have a truly equivalent word that can do justice to the original word. Consider the example of “love.” In Greek, you find words like agapa, agapaó, agapé, depending on their grammatical position, and in Hebrew, a-hab-aw, dode, kheh-sed. All have a different aspect but are usually translated as “love.” This love has nothing to do with “emotional outbursts” and certainly nothing to do with “eroticism” (Info).

Differently chosen names

Just as the many names of Jesus Christ each describe His character or His work (Info), various names also appear in the Bible for the great adversary. These names were not chosen at random.

The adversary of Jesus Christ is mentioned as Satan, Dragon, Devil, and Serpent. It is striking that the different names used each have a different context. However, the differences are not described in great detail, which is understandable, since the Gospel is the good news of humanity’s path to salvation, not a biography of the adversary. Nevertheless, this specific choice of words is definitely worth emphasizing in order to highlight the subtleties of Scripture. One should not be too nitpicky about this..

Four attributes of the adversary

The various names for the great adversary can be roughly categorized as follows:
– Satan: Adversary, Accuser
– Dragon: Destroyer, Warmonger
– Devil: Seducer
– Serpent: Deceiver

Satan – Adversary & Accuser

The term “Satan” is already found frequently in the Old Testament. His actions and intentions correspond to the opposition to God’s will. Be it the temptation of David to conduct a census contrary to God’s will (1 Chronicles 21:1) or the opportunity to accuse Job by provoking apostasy. Satan also brought charges against the High Priest Yeshua (Zechariah 3:1), and Jesus Christ retorted to Peter that Satan should leave because he was trying to thwart the path of salvation through the death of Jesus Christ through Peter (Matthew 16:23).

Dragon – Destroyer & Warmonger

The prophet Isaiah also described the rise of a destructive dragon. “…for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent” according to Isaiah 14:29. In ancient times, “snake” and “dragon” were the same beast (snake with a dragon’s head), and this is also evident in German Bible translations. Egypt, which had grown in ancient times through conquest and warfare, was also described as a seat of the dragon, the sitting monster (Isaiah 30:6-7). The Babylonian king, who attacked Judah and Jerusalem, is also described as a dragon (Jeremiah 51:34).

Particularly interesting is the dragon’s attribute as the destroyer, which is linked to the second beast from the earth according to Revelation 13. This beast has two horns like a lamb, but its voice is that of a dragon. A hint as to who this roaring destroyer might be (Info).

Devil – The Seducer

The Adversary’s most well-known act of seduction, or rather, his attempt, was his seeking Jesus Christ in the wilderness at the end of the 40-day Lent (Matthew 4, Luke 4). The Adversary sought to seduce the incarnate Jesus Christ to save himself, to tempt God, and even to bow down before Him. Jesus Christ accused the Pharisees of having the devil as their father (John 8:44), because the devil seduced the “spiritual high places” to do his will by exploiting the Pharisees’ greed for power and money. The devil seduced one of the twelve disciples, Judas, to betray Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver (John 13:2).

Serpent – The Deceiver

The best example of the (cunning) serpent as “the deceiver” is the Garden of Eden and the first fall of man. Through cleverly formulated lies (deception), the serpent tricked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. She was deceived by the serpent’s promises that she would never die, that she would now be able to distinguish between good and evil, and that she herself would even become like God. A deception practiced to this day by the Church of Rome, even as official doctrine (Info).

It is deception that represents the greatest danger at the end of time for even believers (Info)!

All properties on Earth

The Bible even names the adversary with all his attributes in one breath in two places.
Revelation 12:9:
“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.“

Since then, he has been imprisoned on earth and, together with the angels who fell with him, carries out the destructive work of destruction, deception, seduction, and accusation.

Revelation 20:2:
“And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,“

Thus, the destroyer, deceiver, seducer, and accuser are rendered incapable of action. The earth is lifeless, and the redeemed are in the New Jerusalem, still in heaven. After the 1,000 years, Satan will be released again to repeatedly deceive the condemned people who have been brought back to life at the second resurrection (Revelation 20:7).

But the evil activity will come to an end. There will be no more destruction, deception, seduction, or accusations.

Bible verses from King James Version (1611)