A look at the incident with the Philistine god Dagon as a type of Satan, and what happens to him.

When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day. 1 Sam 5:2-5 Let's get right to the point. The story of the Ark of God in the temple of Dagon is typical of the Incarnation, the Coming of the Lord. The first day that the ark resided in the temple speaks of the First coming of Jesus and the second day speaks of the Second Coming. Let's look at a few points.

A. As the Ark came down from Israel, Jesus came down from Heaven.

The land of the Philistines was along the sea coast to the west of the hill country where the Israelites lived. For the Ark to travel from its home with the children of Israel to reach the Philistines, it had to go down. Down from Israel to the Coast. B. It came into the land of the Philistines; likewise Jesus came to dwell among men. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, . (John 1:14) C. The ark entered Dagon's temple; Jesus entered Satan's kingdom..

D. And Dagon fell upon his face before the ark; And Satan was defeated.

. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, .. Isaiah 19:1

And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, .. Mark 3:11

And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Luke 10:18

E. They took Dagon and set him in his place. It is man who has given Satan his place. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Romans 6:16) In case you need to make a connection between idols and demons or unclean spirits, consider the following scripture. But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: . (1 Corinthians 10:20) Passover
In Exodus we read of the Lord's judgment against Egypt. At Passover the most important judgment took place. It was a judgment against the people of Egypt and against their gods; their idols. It also took place overnight. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. Exodus 12:12 The Passover is a time that speaks of redemption and judgment. This passage refers to a judgment the Lord carries out at Passover. The first time was at the time of Moses. This instance set the pattern.

The episode with the ark in 1 Samuel concludes with the ark returning to Israel.

And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. (1 Samuel 6:13) We know that the wheat harvest takes place about the time of Pentecost, 50 days after Passover, so the time the ark entered Dagon's temple may well have been at or near about the Passover.

The next time is during His first coming, at the Passover when Jesus was crucified. The prince of this world is judged at that point.

Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. (John 12:31) It corresponds to Dagon's first falling.

The Next time to come will be the fulfillment of Passover that takes place at the second coming.

This will be the final judgment of the prince of this world, when Satan is stripped of his power [hands] and authority [head]. [If you think I'm hinting at a connection between Passover and the Second Coming, you're right.]

This corresponds to Dagon's second falling over, and losing his head and hands.

After Jesus rose from the dead, we find in Matthew:

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (Matthew 28:18) But elsewhere we read: But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? (Hebrews 1:13) This is a reference to Psalm 110. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Psalms 110:1 Back in Hebrews it says: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. .. But now we see not yet all things put under him. (Hebrews 2:8) That is to day even though Satan has fallen he still has power and authority in this world.

How can this be if all power is given unto Jesus? This is because Jesus does not yet exercise this power. But in Revelation chapter 11 we read of a time when He will exercise this power. It comes just after the resurrection of the two witnesses and the sounding of the seventh trumpet.

And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. (Revelation 11:16-17) At this time, our proclamation of Our God Reigns takes on a whole new meaning.

F. So the ark stayed overnight in Dagon's temple a second time, and Dagon fell again, this time losing his head and hands. And this points to a second confrontation between Jesus and Satan, after a dark night of judgment, when Satan will lose all power and authority.

Samson
Dagon is mentioned also in Judges 16 where Samson, a type of the end time church, is brought out of prison. The Philistines were celebrating their great victory over Samson by offering a sacrifice to Dagon. But God restored Samson who then destroyed the Temple of Dagon. A foreshadowing of the destruction of Satan's kingdom.

the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment. (Job 20:5) The Footstool
We find the following verse in two places in the Bible. It refers to David, a type of Jesus, and thus to Jesus and also to the church. Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me. 2 Samuel 22:41 and Psalms 18:40 In Joshua there is a passage that details what it means to be given the necks of your enemies. Recall that Joshua is also a type of Jesus. And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.
And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. Joshua 10:24-25 So to be given the necks of you enemies means to put them under your feet. Now recall Psalm 110 where it says: The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Psalms 110:1 This means that getting the necks of your enemies makes them your footstool. When Dagon lost his hands and head, all that was left was a stump. And a stump makes an excellent footstool. The stump of Dagon started just below the head, at the neck, so Dagon's neck became a footstool.

So the Lord will make Satan a footstool for Jesus, who is seated at His right hand.

And His church will share in that final victory. As the Church is His Body, the feet speak of the last part of the Body, or the end time church. The feet that are made clean being washed with tears of repentance, and anointed by worship in his presence.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! (Isaiah 52:7)

And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. (Romans 16:20)

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