In biblical literature, the term "dragon" is often used symbolically to represent chaos, evil, and opposition to God. The imagery of the dragon is deeply rooted in ancient Near Eastern mythology, where dragons were seen as formidable creatures embodying chaos and destruction. In the Bible, this symbolism is adapted to convey spiritual truths and moral lessons.

Old Testament References

The Hebrew word "tannin" is frequently translated as "dragon" or "serpent" in the Old Testament. In the creation narrative, Genesis 1:21 mentions, "So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good." Here, the "great sea creatures" can be understood as a reference to powerful, chaotic forces that God subdues and orders within creation.

In the prophetic literature, dragons symbolize nations or entities that oppose God and His people. Isaiah 27:1 states, "In 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." Leviathan, often depicted as a dragon, represents chaos and evil that God will ultimately defeat.

New Testament References

The Book of Revelation provides the most vivid imagery of dragons in the New Testament. Revelation 12:3-4 describes, "Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, tossing them to the earth." This dragon is identified as Satan, the adversary of God and His people, who seeks to devour and destroy.

Revelation 20:2 further clarifies the identity of the dragon: "He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years." Here, the dragon is explicitly linked to Satan, emphasizing his role as the ultimate source of evil and opposition to God's kingdom.

Symbolism and Interpretation

The dragon, as a symbol, represents the forces of evil and chaos that stand in opposition to God's order and righteousness. Throughout Scripture, the dragon is depicted as a powerful adversary, yet one that is ultimately defeated by God's sovereign power. This imagery serves to reassure believers of God's ultimate victory over evil and His ability to bring order out of chaos.

The dragon's portrayal in the Bible also serves as a warning against aligning with forces that oppose God's will. It underscores the reality of spiritual warfare and the need for vigilance and faithfulness in the face of evil. The dragon's defeat in Revelation signifies the culmination of God's redemptive plan and the establishment of His eternal kingdom, free from the presence of sin and evil.Ezekiel 29:3
Speak, and say, Thus said the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the middle of his rivers, which has said, My river is my own, and I have made it for myself.
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Ezekiel 32:2
Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him, You are like a young lion of the nations, and you are as a whale in the seas: and you came forth with your rivers, and troubled the waters with your feet, and fouled their rivers.
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Revelation 12:1
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars:
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Revelation 13:1
And I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads the name of blasphemy.
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Revelation 16:13
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
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Constantine's Letter to Eusebius and Other Bishops, Respecting the ...
... More probably for his wickedness, and perhaps with thought of the "dragon" of the ...
speaks of the serpent as the "subtlest." For historical and symbolical use of ...
/.../the life of constantine/chapter xlvi constantines letter to eusebius.htm

But Besides, if Birds of Augury Converse with one Another...
... A mighty dragon shot, of ... the poet and the majority of mankind, it is the "Olympian
himself who sent him to the light." And it is with a symbolical meaning [4043 ...
/.../origen/origen against celsus/chapter xci but besides if.htm

New Testament History and Prophecy.
... events, then, that we must find the explanation of much of this symbolical language. ...
born to the woman is the Christian church; the great red dragon that seeks ...
/.../gladden/who wrote the bible/chapter x new testament history.htm

The Old Faith Preparing for the New - Development of Hellenist ...
... on heathenism than in the apocryphal story of Bel and the Dragon,' or in ... stories,
or to the popular beliefs, and by tracing the supposed symbolical meaning of ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter iii the old faith.htm

The Protevangelium.
... the opinion of those who maintain that the serpent is only a symbolical signification
of ... xx.2), Satan is called the great dragon, and the old serpent; the last ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/the protevangelium.htm

The Revelation and Career of the Anti-Christ.
... and of the stars to the ground and stamped upon them (probably a symbolical reference
to ... a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the Dragon (the Devil ...
/.../pink/the redeemers return/4 the revelation and career.htm

The Articles of Smalcald. AD 1537.
... They accordingly took their place, together with the Appendix, among the symbolical
books of the ... [481] Luther calls it also 'the dragon's tail (Drachenschwanz ...
/.../creeds of christendom with a history and critical notes/ 44 the articles of.htm

The Apocalypse.
... The three enemies are the dragon (12:3-17), the beast from the sea (12:18-13:10),
and the beast from the earth, or ... (c) The number is symbolical of Antichrist ...
/.../schaff/history of the christian church volume i/section 101 the apocalypse.htm

The Synod of Jerusalem and the Confession of Dositheus, AD 1672.
... were by the Synod of Jassy, and thus clothed with a semi-symbolical authority. ... p.
467): The Wisdom of Solomon, Judith, Tobit, History of the Dragon, History of ...
/.../creeds of christendom with a history and critical notes/ 17 the synod of.htm

Acts x. 4-Jan
... sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:17), the sword by which the dragon is beheaded. ...
seen and heard, and to be sensible of what the things shown were symbolical. ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on acts and romans/homily xxii acts x 4-jan.htm

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