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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 12:9 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
  • KJV 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.
  • NKJV 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.
  • NASB 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.
  • NLT This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The great dragon—the ancient serpent, the devil, Satan, deceiver of the world—is thrown down to earth with his angels. The enemy is unmasked and cast out.

Overview

Here the dragon is fully identified: the serpent of Eden (Genesis 3), the devil and Satan, who deceives all nations. His being "thrown down to the earth" marks the loss of his heavenly standing, accomplished through Christ's victory (compare Luke 10:18; John 12:31). Though cast down, he remains active on earth for a time. The verse exposes the true identity of the world's great deceiver, already condemned.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 40

  • Luke 10:18So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
  • John 12:31Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out.
  • Rev 20:10And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
  • 1 Jn 5:19We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
  • Isa 14:12How you have fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations.
  • Rev 20:2–3He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
  • Job 2:1–2On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him.
  • 2 Cor 4:4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
  • Gen 3:1Now 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?’”
  • Rev 12:7Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
  • 2 Th 2:9–11The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
  • John 8:44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
  • 1 Jn 3:8–10The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.
  • 1 Pet 5:8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
  • Rev 2:24But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned the so-called deep things of Satan: I will place no further burden upon you.
  • Isa 65:25The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the food of the serpent will be dust. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.
  • Rev 12:3Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads.
  • Rev 20:8and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore.
  • Rom 16:18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
  • Rev 9:1Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the pit of the Abyss.
  • 2 Cor 11:14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
  • Isa 27:1In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.
  • 2 Cor 2:11in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
  • Rev 2:13I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits. Yet you have held fast to My name and have not denied your faith in Me, even in the day when My faithful witness Antipas was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
  • Acts 26:18to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’
  • Luke 22:31Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.
  • Matt 4:1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
  • Luke 8:12The seeds along the path are those who hear, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
  • Matt 4:10“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
  • Luke 22:3Then Satan entered Judas Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve.
  • Job 1:6–12One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.
  • Matt 4:8Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
  • Gen 3:13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”
  • Gen 3:4–5“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her.
  • Matt 4:5Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple.
  • Matt 25:41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
  • 2 Cor 11:3I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
  • Rev 13:14Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived.
  • Eph 4:14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.
  • 1 Tim 3:6–7He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same condemnation as the devil.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Revelation videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Revelation 12:9YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on RevelationMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.

How Revelation 12:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.