The dragon, the beast, and the false prophet – Part 1: The Satanic Trinity

In the book of Revelation, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet are grouped together into one group. These three entities are what I call the “Satanic Trinity”, and this study is going to focus on the aspects and characteristics of each of these three entities.

The Serpent in the Garden of Eden     
  
When looking at what occured in the garden of Eden, one can see that this Satanic Trinity was directly responsible for the fall of man. The first fact to consider is that it was not the serpent that deceived Adam, but rather another human being, Eve; however, it all began with the serpent's ability to communicate with and thus able to influence her.
                 
Genesis 3:1 "Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made."
 
The word that was translated into the word "crafty" is the Hebrew adjective "`aruwm". It means "shrewd" or "sly". The book of Revelation makes it clear that the serpent is the dragon, and that he is Satan.
                 
Rev 12:9 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.
   
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.
   
This serpent possessed a great deal of intelligence; enough intelligence to be able to communicate with Eve as well as devise a scheme that would be successful in leading them into disobeying God's Word to them. Let's look at the conversation that took place in the Garden.
  
Genesis 1:  1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Verse 1 shows how skilled the serpent was at deception when the serpent asked, "Did God say you cannot eat of every tree in the Garden?" Eve replied saying that they could eat of every tree in the Garden, but not of the tree that was "in the midst of the Garden"; there is a clear distinction made between "the trees of the Garden" and "the tree in the midst of the Garden". When Eve told the serpent that they would die if they ate from the tree that was in the midst of the Garden, the serpent replied that they would surely not die, but rather that their "eyes shall be opened", and that they would be "as gods", knowing good and evil."
 
When God created Adam and Eve, God gave them instructions, His Word, regarding what they could eat and what they could not eat. This was God's Gospel truth that would have guaranteed them eternal life. When God told them that they would die, this meant that eternal life would be taken away from them; this is what God meant when he said that they "would surely die". However, the serpent, who is the father of all lies, was able to convince Eve that they would not physically die, and that their eyes would become opened, and that they would become "as gods". This was in essence the initiating and creation of the first false gospel of the world. Once the serpent was able to propagate this false gospel into Eve's mind and convince her to believe in it, she then also propagated it into Adam's mind and was able to convince him to also believe in it.
 
From this short account of Adam and Eve in Eden, it is evident that the Satanic Trinity of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet began to establish its perpetual presence on Earth as far back as the early days of Creation. When Eve succeeded in convincing Adam to believe in this newly created false gospel, she in essence became the first false prophet of the world as she succeeded in leading them into complete rebellion against God's Word.
      
As the Satanic Trinity of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet began working together in the world of mankind, it would evolve into a fierce and perpetual battle against the kindgdom of God and His Elect.  In God's plan to become victorious in this battle with the Satanic Trinic and the forces of Evil would be the sole reason why the Lord Jesus would have to be born into the world and then die on the cross at Calvary. This Satanic Trinity is such a powerful entity, that on Judgment Day, it will be acredited with leading the cause for the destruction of billions of human souls, along with their own desturcion in the lake of fire.
  
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
  
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.