Bible Questions and Answers

In the Bible, what does a dragon symbolize? Is it a literal creature?

Dragons do not exist. The word signifies a serpent.

In the 0ld Testament:

• Nehemiah 2:13 KJV And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
• Nehemiah 2:13 NKJV And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire.
• Psalms 91:13 KJV Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet..
• Psalms 91:13 NKJV You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

In the New Testament:

• Revelation 12:7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,

Using Strong’s Concordance: Dragon 1404 δράκων drakon Translated in the KJV – ‘dragon’ 13 times. Meaning: a great serpent,

This connects us with the literal serpent in Genesis which deceived Eve. The serpent has a metaphorical seed – those who devise and do evil.

• Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.
• Matthew 12:34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

It includes those who invent and serve their own gods. Thus the ‘devil’ or ‘Satan’ (the adversary) being the propensity to do evil which resides within man is represented as a serpent in opposition to the Gospel and the teachings of Christ.

In Revelation the opposition to the preaching of the Gospel by the pagan Roman authorities is described as a war in heaven (representing the political heavens) between Michael (the archangel) (representing those who preached the Gospel) and the Serpent (representing the pagan Roman authorities). In the end those who preached the Gospel won and the Serpent and his angels were cast out of the political heaven. Constantine legalised Christianity and Theodosius outlawed idolatry in the Roman government.

Sadly, the liberated Church went rapidly downhill from there becoming the Mother of Harlots described in Revelation 17.

When Christ returns to rule the earth, the serpent (the evil within man and false religions) will be restrained by righteous governors who can read minds. Evil will be suppressed. This restraint will continue for 1000 years.

• Revelation 20:2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

At the end of this time the restraint will be relaxed to permit a final rebellion.

• Revelation 20:7-9 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

Man’s opposition to God will cease and all who live on will possess the divine nature, freed from sin forever.

I hope you find this helpful.

God bless,
Glenn