Expert: Brian Thompson - 2/9/2012

Question
Hi Brian

Need help on this passage please.
Revelation 12:9

9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan,. . . angels were cast out with him.

Brian, this may sound stupid (I've been that many times before)
lol

My questions please; Why is it that Devil & Satan appear to me as two different evils. I thought that the Devil was the Devil and that was it ~ what's with Satan entering in this scripture ?

The word AND separates the two making it to me to mean again two separate evils ?
Please help me out on this one Brian.

GOD bless you
Ray M.

Answer
Hi Ray

I don't read that passage in the same way you do. The devil and satan are names that refer to the same individual just as Lucifer also refers to the same individual.

The best way to explain it is to look at how we refer to Jesus. Jesus is his personal name and Christ is a description, The holy or annointed one, the saviour. The term devil is a description and satan is a personal name. In some parts of scripture the writer was describing what was done and so referred to the devil in other parts it referred to satan, as in where Jesus said I saw satan fall like lightning. In the book of Revelation we have a great deal of description of what the devil was doing and so the whole thing is drawn together by referring to satan by these names leaving no doubt that evil is dealt with. In Scripture the one person may be referred to by many names or titles each one describing a different attribute