“And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.”
Revelation 12:3-4
You might think that dragons and monsters only appear here in Revelation 12 at the end of the Bible. Not so!
“And God said, ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.’ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:20-21
Most English translations use this phrase, “great sea creatures,” and a few just call them “whales.” But the Hebrew word is “tannin” and is better translated “dragons!” It’s remarkable that these were just casually thrown in on day five like stars on day four, like it was nothing. And don’t miss the fact that “it was good.” In the original creation these sea dragons were not dangerous or deadly – they were like God’s rubber ducky in the ocean.
But then a different kind of serpent (“nahash”) slithered into God’s good garden in Genesis 3. Instead of ruling over this beast of the wilderness as God had created and commissioned them to do, Adam and Eve let the deceptive snake rule them by enticing them to rule themselves. (See the Son of Man video from the Bible Project.) God cursed the serpent with this preview of the gospel:
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Genesis 3:15
A Son of Man would one day come who would crush the serpent’s head and rule over the beasts and all creation as God originally intended. In the meantime, God gave warnings about what the humans should now expect.
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”
Genesis 3:16
Desire for control was crouching over Eve (and all people) like a lion in the grass. Would she rule over that desire? Would Adam exercise dominion over his own selfish desires and lead Eve like a godly man or would his desires rule over him?
Did you ever wonder why Cain and Abel are the next story in the Bible? After confronting Cain for his half-hearted offering, God warned him in language similar to what He had said to Eve:
“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
Genesis 4:7
Now it isn’t just “desire” stalking Cain, it is sin. Does Cain gain mastery over his selfish desires? No. Instead of ruling over the beast of sinful desire, that “tannin” (dragon) overcame him and Cain became a beast himself, murdering his brother.
Here is the lesson about dragons in the Bible: if you don’t learn to rule your selfish desires you will become a dragon and cause harm to others.
Fast forward to Nebuchadnezzar, the great king of Babylon. He had a troubling dream about a huge tree.
“The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth.”
Daniel 4:20-22
Kings and rulers are appointed by God to bring safety and blessing to the people in their domains (Rom. 13:1-4). They are supposed to be like great trees, providing shade and food for all the “animals” around them. But when Nebuchadnezzar chose to exalt himself and indulge his own pride and selfishness instead of caring for his subjects, what happened to him?
He became a beast.
“You shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.”
Daniel 4:25
No doubt you have some dragon-like people in your life, who breathe fire and bring destruction instead of blessing to you and others. Will you try to use the weapons of the serpent (violence and murder) to resist these dragons? Or will you follow the path of the true Son of Man who defeated the ultimate dragons (sin, death and the devil) by dying?
Don’t become a dragon as you try to evade and resist the many evil beasts roaming this planet. Be a true Son of Man, using the weapons Jesus gave us of prayer, submission, faith, hope and love!