key persons in the bible

Well, that is a unique and interesting way to try to explain how the Beast "is not, was, and is to come" in Rev 17.

Rev 17.8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.

You're saying the Beast was once the Serpent in the Garden, and died, but will reemerge as the Antichrist? It's true that God said the Serpent's head would be crushed, which may have taken place at the Cross, where the power of the flesh was destroyed. And Satan will appear to have restored his Kingdom on earth in the time of the Antichrist. So it's an interesting view--don't know if it's true, but thanks for sharing.

Rev 13.The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.

• The serpent of old who deludes. (Gen. 3: 1)
• Satan, who deceives. (Rev. 20: 7 & 8)
• The devil who robs, kills & destroys. (John 10: 10)
• The dragon, who devours. (Rev. 12: 4)

The 4 names of the evil one which describe his 4 fold strategy.

Douggg said:

The anointed cherub in Ezekiel 28:14 is the created angelic being once in heaven, near the throne of God, who played instruments in the heavenly praise of God. Until, one day, he sought that same sort of praise to himself, being full of pride and beauty. And became Satan, the adversary against God and man, who God created also. The name Satan means "adversary".

The serpent in the garden that tricked Eve and Adam into sin by eating from the forbidden tree, was of the beasts of the field, i.e. beasts that God created. The serpent got his name as the serpent from Adam.

Genesis 3:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

So the most human-like beast of the field - Adam named as the serpent. Satan, the adversary to God and man, spoke through the serpent to get Eve and Adam to sin.

Revelation 12:9 documents the connection between Satan and the serpent beast. Both of which are deceivers.

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Satan:
The anointed cherub > sought to be worshiped himself and became Satan, the adversary > entered the serpent beast to deceive Eve and Adam to sin> became the power, the prince of the air > became the red dragon who sought to have baby Jesus killed > now goes about like a roaring lion seeking who he can destroy > will enter the man of sin to commit the transgression of desolation > will be cast down to earth from the second heaven > will then indwell the statue image of the beast-king > will be exposed on the temple mount that everyone will see him when Jesus returns > and will bound in chains and cast into the bottomless pit prison for a thousand years to be a terror no more.

the serpent:
The serpent beast, used by Satan in the garden of Eden, died and his spirit sent to the bottomless pit. Someday, as a disembodied spirit will be allowed to come out of the bottomless pit and possess the revealed man of sin, at the time the slain man of sin is brought back to life. The possessed returned to life man of sin is called the beast in Revelation 13.

the Antichrist:
The common name for the end times person of evil. He begins as the little horn person > then becomes the prince who shall come > then becomes the Antichrist > then becomes the revealed man of sin > then becomes the beast-king.

You:
a child of God, anyone who has been saved by believing upon Jesus, His death on the cross for atonement of your sins, and His resurrection, for eternal life, looking forward to the redemption of your body.

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Angels are not ... disembodied spirits

Angels also have bodies, although they are not mortal like our own; they live in a dimension we find hard to comprehend. Interestingly, the apostle Paul says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 15:50). At the resurrection we will be given new bodies that, like the angels of heaven, will never die (we will be human with eternal life)

Angels are capable of appearing in different forms ... what their actual form is ... we really do not know. We do know they can appear as humans.

The fallen angels are referred to as demons ... do these demons actually physically enter our bodies? Not in the physical sense. They influence our thinking and sometimes we give our thinking over to that influence (spiritual influence - not physical)

The spiritual influence is the battle for the mind ... we are to have the mind (spiritual influence) to think like Christ and not the mind of satan and demons) and thinking like them. This is why all over the Bible we are taught our thinking needs to be changed.

Everything has a physical body of some sort ... angels are described as physical beings in the bible .... physical beings that have the ability to effect our thinking ... whether that thinking (spiritual-mind influence) is in line with God's or the spiritual influence - thinking/mind) of demons.

God will evidentially allow thinking to be transferred to animals as well ... there are a few accounts of that happening ... ie satans thinking in serpent form ... and the man being possessed and his demon thinking being transferred over into pigs.

It's a battle for the mind (our thinking) intangible but not disembodied. When we die (earthly death) our thoughts perish. When we are resurrected we will receive new physical bodies and our thoughts will be returned to us in that new body. We will remember our sinful ways and the sinful world ... but also understand that sin no longer has any power over us and be thankful for a eternal life without sin.

Psalm 146:4
King James Bible
His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts (spirit) perish.

There’s 1 Timothy 6:14-16, where we learn that God alone possesses immortality. As things currently stand, we humans are mortal. We die and cease to exist. Simple as that (until resurrected)

Also, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 talks about believers receiving immortality at the resurrection, at Jesus’ Second Coming. As in, we as humans, do not have it now. It will happen at resurrection ... not before. We do not have disembodied "spirits" ... nor do the angels.

Only God alone is a disembodied spirit .... He created everything with physical form. Everything was created by Him and is sustained by Him. It was through Jesus that He took on human physical form. Jesus will retain that human form and we will live with Him on the newly created earth.

John 4:24 boldly states “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 1 Timothy 1:17 refers to him as the “the King eternal, immortal, invisible.” This indicates that although God can appear in various forms including human form , he has no basic physical form

According to Jesus we will be resurrected and given physical bodies. Flesh and bones. but sinless.

Luke 24:39
King James Bible
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

Luke 24:29
Our thoughts perish, our bodies perish .... until resurrection day.

Rev. 21 Verses 1 to 4. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; [4] he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.

A brief mourning period of things past in heaven.

We are totally mortal period ... and do not become immortal until Jesus returns ... and His Word is very clear on that point.

Douggg said:

Randy, I am saying that the mystery of Satan, the scarlet beast in Revelation 17, is that he used the garden of eden serpent beast in his objective. And that in the end times, Satan will use the Antichrist person also in his objective.

Satan's objective is to divert worship of God to himself.

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The serpent in the garden will not re-emerge as the Antichrist. But will eventually come out of the bottomless pit to possess that person.

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OK, I got it. However it seems to play into a kind of fantasy scenario that is unknown in Scriptures except perhaps in just this place.

I've never fully understood why Satan assumed the form of a Serpent or if somehow he possessed a Serpent? Since, however, we read that Jesus cast demons into pigs it seems likely that Satan could possess a Serpent?

Anyway, I might model it a little differently, and yet use your thoughts in a different way. Satan possessed a Serpent in the Garden. He was the "Beast who was." Then the claim of death upon man made by Satan was defeated with respect to God's People. It happened at the Cross. This Beast "was not."

But then Satan will possess a human creature again as an attempt to reclaim people for eternal separation from God. This is the Beast who is to come. It's a theory.

Douggg said:

I did not say that angels are disembodied spirits.

The serpent beast when it died became a disembodied spirit and sent to the bottomless pit.

No, not a disembodied spirit. Disembodied means once having a physical body, but no longer having a physical body. God is a Spirit, but not a disembodied spirit. God in His fullness is incomprehensible.

Luke 10:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

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ok ... there are some that do indeed believe in disembodied "spirits" ... ie "immortal soul".

True worship of the Lord must be “in spirit,” that is, it must stem from love of God, from the experience of knowing Him personally.

We must be born of the divine Spirit (led by the Holy Spirit). This will purify the heart and renew the mind, giving us a new capacity for knowing and loving God. The Holy Spirit will help us to overcome sin. This is true worship. It is the fruit of the working of the Holy Spirit working in the life of the believer ... we should experience continuous improvement ... this is how we know we "have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit" .... improvement.

1 Corinthians 2:11 ESV​

For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

It seems to me ... it is through the Holy Spirit is how the Godhead (the 3) knows everything that is going on ... and through the Holy Spirit is also how God implements His will (although will not do it forcibly) ... a sort of telepathic communication that goes between a human person and Jesus and God the Father and the Holy Spirit (them working together in a continuous ever present circular motion within the 4)

The heart, mind, soul (sum of the entire person) and the word spirit is used interchangeably to mean exactly the same thing. If we are indeed in Christ the Holy Spirit will help us change/improve our character ... becoming more Christ like .... more like Christs character.

Per the verse above .... we can't comprehend it. It's quite profound experiencing the work of the Holy Spirit.

Even though it can't be fully understood ... I still study it LOL