Dragons

Do you believe that dragons are, or were, real? I always thought they were fictitious creatures, until I read the Bible. Now I'm not so sure.

The Bible mentions the word "dragon" 14 times (in the NIV). All of those mentions are in the Book of Revelation. But if one searches the King James version, our search returns 34 results. The majority are found in the OLD Testament. Here's an example.

"Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet." - Psalm 91:13

The modern-day translation of the word dragon in Psalm 91 is "monster." So, why the change? Don't the translators believe in dragons anymore?

"Pfft. Dragons," they'd say. "There's no evidence that dragons ever existed. The Bible is wrong."

Don't get me started.

The word "dragon" comes from the mid-13th century Old French -"a fabulous animal." In Latin, the word is "draconem" meaning "huge serpent." In Greek, the word is "drakon" meaning "serpent or giant sea fish."

We're getting a bit off track. Let's go to the Book of Revelation.

"Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea." - Revelation 12:7

Here the dragon is figurative. It's Satan. The woman is Israel. Her offspring are those who believe in Jesus.

Anyway, dragons were real, fearsome creatures. Perhaps not like Smaug in Lord of the Rings, but maybe more like a T-rex from Jurassic Park. All of this means that Satan is a force to be reckoned with. We should be fearful of him, but we have a Savior who will fight for us and protect us.

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he (Jesus) shall bruise your head, and you (Satan) shall bruise his heel.” - Genesis 3:15

This verse is the first mention of the Messiah, coming out of Israel. The dragon (serpent) is to be feared, but our Savuor is Jesus, the dragon killer.

I Am Fire, I Am Death - Smaug

The Caduceus Lie

The medical community has a 'caduceus' as its symbol - two snakes spiraling upward around a staff with some wings at the top. It was created in honor of Hermes, a Greek god, and his 'magical' staff. Yeah, well here's a better idea.

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever  believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

The serpent in the wilderness? What was that?

"Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” - Numbers 21:8

God's people had sinned, again, so He sent serpents among them who began biting and killing them as a punishment for their disobedience. The serpent on the pole was a foreshadowing of Jesus on the cross.

Jesus referred to Moses's serpent on a pole when He was talking about His own death. The serpent, synonymous with sin and death, was a perfect example of Jesus, who became sin as He died on 'a pole,' the cross, that all who looked to Him would be saved.

The medical profession does good work, but they've got nothing on Jesus - the best healer in the business!

The Bigger Threat

I was out working in the garage the other day when I noticed a dark, shadowy shape in the corner behind some boards. "What could it be?" I wondered. So I leaned in closer to take a look and . . .

It was a snake! In our garage!! What the heck was that thing doing in there? How did it get in? How was I going to get it out? All good questions. But let's take a look at the Biblical lesson to be learned here.

As you probably know, a snake or serpent, is indicative of Satan and therefore sin. Let's take a look at my questions about Mister Snake and translate them into a sin context.

What is sin doing in my life? How did sin become a part of my life? And how can I get rid of sin in my life? Again, all good questions. Digging deeper, did God, who created everything, create sin?

Sin has been a part of every humans life since just about day one. Eve, Serpent, Apple, Sin. But did God create sin? No. But God did create the OPPORTUNITY to sin. We chose to sin. God tests us but He will never tempt us. Does that make sense?

How did sin get into our lives? That's easy. I just explained most of it. We were tempted to sin by Satan. Why? Because Satan wanted God's job and when he couldn't get it he rebelled against God. Sinning is a choice. OUR choice.

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” - Genesis 3:1

So, if we always have sin in our lives, how do we get it out? The answer is, we can't. None of us has led a sinless life. But Jesus has. And Jesus is the key. When Jesus died on the cross He did so as a punishment for OUR sins. By doing so, Jesus paid our debt. He paid the cost for our sins. In doing do we basically became sinless in God's eyes because our debt had been paid.

So, how did I get the snake out of the garage? I picked up a long-handled tool and removed him. If life, our instrument for defense against Satan is God's Word. The Bible describes it as "a double-edged sword." Perfect for slaying a serpent.

Did God Create Sin? - Gotquestions.org