Read with Me
Revelation 12:7-12 (NET)
Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, so there was no longer any place left in heaven for him and his angels. So that huge dragon, the ancient serpent, the one who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world–was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying:
“The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the ruling authority of his Christ have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
the one who accuses them day and night before our God.
has been thrown down.
But they overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
and they did not love their lives so much
that they were afraid to die.
Therefore you heavens rejoice, and you who reside in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea
because the devil has come down to you!
He is filled with terrible anger,
for he knows that he only has a little time.”
Listen with Me
The inability of the dragon, satan, to stop the Messiah before He had completed His mission, caused him to assail the very throne of God in an effort to return his hold on the kingdoms of the world (Luke 4:6). But there was no way for satan to win in the battle against the forces of the Almighty God. The resurrection of Jesus and his ascension into heaven to God’s right hand had sealed satan’s doom and he knew it. He was cast down to earth, no longer allowed to make accusations against God’s people (The name “satan” is actually a title meaning “accuser”), because they had been redeemed.
Even though the enemy had been defeated and thrown down, he was not yet destroyed. But the saved and sanctified believers had received two important tools that could help them to stand firm when he attacked them, as he was now doing through the persecution, the Great Tribulation that was going on. Those tools were the blood of Jesus through which they were saved and preserved, and the word of their testimony through which the light of salvation spread, continually pushing back the darkness of the enemy.
A key point is that the people of the kingdom were fearless in pushing forward God’s kingdom agenda. They were literally willing to die for the sake of the gospel if that became necessary. And that willingness led them out into the open with the good news. They realized that lying low and hiding out did nothing to solve the problem that was facing them. It was only through steadfast obedience to God’s commandments and steadfast obedience to Jesus Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), always wearing the spiritual armor God provided (Ephesians 6:10-20), that they could not only fight, but could be victorious as well.
The speaker from heaven knew that because the devil had been cast down by the victory of Christ, he would wage an all-out war on the Church, trying his best to completely destroy it, stem, root, and even seed, in a last ditch effort to survive. It was going to get even more ugly before it started to get better.
Pray with Me
Father, this puts the lie to the belief that satan is equal to and opposite You, just as eternal and just as powerful. You not only won this battle and permanently exiled the accuser from Your presence, but You will also ultimately lock him away forever in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10). Thank you, Lord, that even though we still have to deal with the enemy, he is a defeated foe whose doom is absolutely sure. And on that we can depend. Amen.