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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 10:18He said to them, “I saw Satan having fallen like lightning from heaven.
- John 12:31Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.
- Rev 20:10The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
- 1 Jn 5:19We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
- Isa 14:12How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low!
- Rev 20:2–3He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years,
- Job 2:1–2Again, on the day when the God’s sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, Satan came also among them to present himself before Yahweh.
- 2 Cor 4:4in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them.
- Gen 3:1Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?’”
- Rev 12:7There was war in the sky. Michael and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war.
- 2 Th 2:9–11even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
- John 8:44You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father.
- 1 Jn 3:8–10He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil.
- 1 Pet 5:8Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
- Rev 2:24But to you I say, to the rest who are in Thyatira, as many as don’t have this teaching, who don’t know what some call ‘the deep things of Satan,’ to you I say, I am not putting any other burden on you.
- Isa 65:25The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. Dust will be the serpent’s food. They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,” says Yahweh.
- Rev 12:3Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns.
- Rev 20:8and he will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
- Rom 16:18For those who are such don’t serve our Lord, Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the hearts of the innocent.
- Rev 9:1The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him.
- 2 Cor 11:14And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.
- Isa 27:1In that day, Yahweh with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the twisted serpent; and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.
- 2 Cor 2:11that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
- Rev 2:13“I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. You hold firmly to my name, and didn’t deny my faith in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
- Acts 26:18to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
- Luke 22:31The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat,
- Matt 4:1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
- Luke 8:12Those along the road are those who hear, then the devil comes, and takes away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.
- Matt 4:10Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”
- Luke 22:3Satan entered into Judas, who was also called Iscariot, who was counted with the twelve.
- Job 1:6–12Now on the day when God’s sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, Satan also came among them.
- Matt 4:8Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.
- Gen 3:13Yahweh God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
- Gen 3:4–5The serpent said to the woman, “You won’t surely die,
- Matt 4:5Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple,
- Matt 25:41Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
- 2 Cor 11:3But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
- Rev 13:14He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast; saying to those who dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived.
- Eph 4:14that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
- 1 Tim 3:6–7not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.