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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. (NASB) Rev. 12:9 |
Here
we are told that the dragon symbolizes Satan, the serpent of old.
The
next part of the verse is loaded with symbolism. The first two symbols are the
dragon’s seven heads and ten horns. The meaning of the seven heads is given
later in Revelation 13 and 17, where we will be told that the dragon’s
seven heads represent seven kingdoms or empires. The last of the seven empires
will be Antichrist’s kingdom and his power will come from Satan and his
evil forces. We will learn more when we reach Revelation 13. For now we can say
that the ten horns symbolize ten kings who will initially start to rule over
this final empire. The Antichrist will murder three of them and leave seven kings
to reign with him during the last 3.5 years of the Tribulation (Dan. 7:23-25).
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