"And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, who is the Devil and Satan," Revelation 20:2a). "And he laid hold on" - Seized him by violence - The word denotes “the employment of strength” or “force”; and it implies that he had power superior to that of the dragon. We can at once see the propriety of the use of this word in this connection. The great enemy to be bound has himself mighty power, and can be overcome only by a superior. This may teach us that it is only a power from Heaven that can destroy the empire of Satan in the world; and perhaps it may teach us that the interposition of angels will be employed in bringing in the glorious state of the Millennium. "The dragon" -There can be no doubt as to the meaning of the word here; for it is expressly said to mean the devil, and Satan. It would seem, however, that it refers to some manifestation of the power of Satan that would exist after the beast and false prophet - should be destroyed, and probably the main reference is to the still existing power of paganism. It may include, however, all the forms of wickedness which Satan shall have kept upon the earth, and all the modes of evil by which he will endeavor to perpetuate his reign. "That old serpent" - This is undoubtedly an allusion to the serpent that deceived our first parents (Genesis 3:1.), and therefore a proof that it was Satan that, under the form of a serpent, deceived them. "Who is the Devil and Satan" -In regard to the repetition of the names of that great enemy of God and the church here, Taylor says that this “almost resembles a modern Old Bailey indictment, in which special care is taken to identify the culprit, by a sufficient number of aliases. An angel from heaven, having the key of the prison of the abyss, and a great chain to secure the prisoner, ‘apprehended the dragon, alias the old serpent, alias the devil, alias the Satan, alias the seducer of the world,’ who was sentenced to a thousand years’ imprisonment.” The object here, however, seems to be not so much to identify the culprit by these aliases, as to show that under whatever forms, and by whatever names he had appeared, it was always the same being, and that now the author of the whole evil would be arrested. Thus the one great enemy sometimes has appeared in a form that would be best represented by a fierce and fiery dragon; at another, in a form that would be best represented by a cunning and subtle serpent; now in a form to which the word “devil” (“accuser”), would be most appropriate; and now in a form in which the word “Satan” - an adversary - would be most expressive of what he does. In these various forms, and under these various names, he has ruled the fallen world; and when this one great enemy shall be seized and imprisoned, all these forms of evil will, of course, come to an end.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 10:47:50 +0000
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