Ancient serpent
Serpent (
Greek: ὄφις;
[39] Trans:
Ophis, /ˈo.fis/; "snake", "serpent") occurs in the
Book of Revelation as the "ancient serpent"
[40] or "old serpent"(
YLT) used to describe "the dragon",[20:2]
Satan[41] the Adversary,(YLT) who is the
devil.[12:9, 20:2] This serpent is depicted as a red
seven-headed dragon having ten horns, each housed with a
diadem. The serpent battles
Michael the Archangel in a
War in Heaven which results in this devil being cast out to the earth. While on earth, he pursues the
Woman of the Apocalypse. Unable to obtain her, he wages war with the rest of her seed (Revelation 12:1-18). He who has the key to
the abyss and a great chain over his hand, binds the serpent for a thousand years. The serpent is then cast into the
abyss and sealed within until he is released (Revelation 20:1-3).
In Christian tradition, the "ancient serpent" is commonly identified with the Genesis serpent and as Satan. This identification redefined the Hebrew Bible's concept of Satan ("the Adversary", a member of the
Heavenly Court acting on behalf of
God to test
Job's faith), so that Satan/Serpent became a part of a divine plan stretching from Creation to Christ and the
Second Coming.
[42]