In the past couple of devotions, we’ve introduced the dragon and the woman. This devotional reading looks at the conflict between the two.
Nuggets
- All inhabitants of Heaven rejoice.
- Not everyone will submit to God’s Plan of Salvation, and those who don’t will experience punishment.
- Satan feels the urgency of his work.
- Satan pursues the Church, symbolized by the woman.
- God limited Satan when He cast him down to earth – but Satan is still a formidable foe.
- No, Satan isn’t taking his defeat sitting down — he is still pursuing the the woman/the Church.
- God’s creation sticks together.
- Satan’s main characteristic is his wrath, which he takes out on us.
We’ve been taking our time digging into Revelation 12. It has two main characters.
One is the pregnant woman. The woman symbolizes the church.
The other is the dragon. This symbolizes Satan.
We finally ready to get to the actions of each of the characters. Let’s jump in.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the Intermission series
Heaven Rejoices
“Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” (Rev. 12: 12 ESV).
Rejoice
All inhabitants of Heaven rejoice.
In the preceding verses, we’ve talked about how Satan and his demons were banished from Heaven for disobedience. The archangel Michael won the battle against Him.
That brought rejoicing throughout Heaven.
We’ve talked many times that Heaven is a place of rejoicing. This celebration is occurring because the inhabitants of Heaven have overcome.
This isn’t a select few. It isn’t the cream of the crop.
It is everyone in Heaven.
We generally think the angels are celebrating for us. Maybe.
Spurgeon had a great reminder. The angels could have been celebrating for their overcoming, too.
We think that they have always followed God — and the ones who remain in Heaven have. But that means they resisted Satan and didn’t fall when he did.
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So, they did have a mountaintop experience of obedience.
This shows us Satan can be defeated.
Also, this shows us how we are to thank God. We are to thank Him that Jesus prevailed, Satan was defeated, and we have remained as part of the remnant. “If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah” (Isa. 1: 9 ESV).
Thomas reminded us that, even though we sin, punishment is not permanent. We can be forgiven when we truly repent and ask God to forgive us.
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The forgiveness we receive makes us want to pass it on to others. This is our marching orders.
- “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation’” (Mk. 16: 15 ESV).
- “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Mt. 28: 19-20 ESV).
More on that later.
Woe to You
Not everyone will submit to God’s Plan of Salvation, and those who don’t will experience punishment.
It might be easy for worldview people to rationalize that Jesus isn’t going to be a Judge. They read the first part of John 3: 18. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned …” (Jn. 3: 18 ESV).
However, they gloss over or ignore the last part. “… but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (Jn. 3: 18 ESV).
They don’t see how a loving, merciful Father can bring the woe on us.
But then they question why this life is so difficult. Shouldn’t it be smooth sailing?
Seiss told us why this isn’t so. He wrote,
“We wonder betimes at the smallness of its [the world’s] success, and the hard struggle it ever has for its existence. But why should we wonder? Think of the might of the devil and his angels, of their malignity against it, and how deeply the whole world is in their possession. All that we can do is to work on, like Paul, if that by any means we may ‘save some.’”
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Well, those who haven’t professed Jesus as their Savior and Lord will get the woe. They are tied to Satan’s possession of the world.
What did Peter say? “… Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (I Pet. 5: 8 ESV).
Roaring? Devouring? The wrath keeps going as Satan goes about his nefarious endeavors.
More later on Satan’s wrath.
Satan Knows His Time Is Short!
Satan feels the urgency of his work.
I have at times wondered how much Satan really does know about the future. Did he know that Jesus would be resurrected? Does he know that he will be defeated in the end?
Personally, I don’t think Satan is all-knowing much less all-powerful. I think he does know he is battling Someone way stronger than himself.
But that doesn’t make Satan any less of a foe. That probably makes him more like a cornered animal — spitting mad.
Spurgeon took it a different way than Satan knowing the Day of the Lord is “near.” He viewed how Satan knows he is losing the battle for our salvation and sanctification.
It seems logical, as Spurgeon thinks, that Satan knows the condition of the soul in which he is working. He knows when he is welcome and when he isn’t. He knows when we buy into what he is selling and when we begin not to.
Well, when we are buying into what Satan is selling, we enthusiastically look forward to sinning. Then the shine fades as we become closer to God.
Spurgeon contends that Satan knows when the Holy Spirit is working on us. The light in the darkness of our souls should be evident.
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If only that would mean that Satan would leave us alone when we choose and continue to choose God! We know that isn’t the case. Satan continues to try to turn us away from God.
The Struggle
“And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time” (Rev. 12: 13-14 ESV)
Satan may have been banished from Heaven. That doesn’t mean he has been totally defeated – yet.
It does mean God has limited Satan in some ways.
Cast Down
God limited Satan when He cast him down to earth – but Satan is still a formidable foe.
I know. It doesn’t seem much of a limit sometimes. “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God? (II Cor. 4: 4 ESV).
There are a lot of people in this world that Satan can influence. We know that he is going to convince more to follow Him than will follow God. “… For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many” (Mt. 7: 13 ESV).
Pursued the Woman
No, Satan isn’t taking his defeat sitting down — he is still pursuing the the woman/the Church.
How does Satan pursue the woman/the Church? Just as he pursued Eve. He will deceive us.
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden”?’” (Gen. 3: 1 ESV). The next couple of verses documents his lies.
True, Satan will pattern the temptation so that it will be more attractive to us. He will do what he needs to do to ensnare us.
This includes disguising himself as a messenger of God. “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” (II Cor. 11: 14-15 ESV).
Fly into the Wilderness
The woman/the Church is protected and nourished.
A second limit placed on Satan is talked about in the end of the verse. Satan is limited while the woman is “… nourished for a time, and times, and half a time” (Rev. 12: 14 ESV).
God protects His church.
Yes, God allows the trials and tribulations to occur, but they won’t go on forever. They either end when their course is done, or they will end on the Day of the Lord.
Either way, God limits the tribulation.
Satan’s Fury
“The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea” (Rev. 12: 15-17 ESV)
Earth Came to Help
God’s creation sticks together.
We may think it strange phrasing to say the earth came to help. It does though.
The woman fled into the wilderness. That means trees to hide her. It may mean caves in which she could stay.
In some instances, it can mean the vast expanse where we can be one place and our pursuers miles off. In other instances, it can mean darkness to hide our activities. Weather may give us a helping hand.
Still, Satan didn’t give up. He continued to pursue the woman.
Likewise, Satan continues to pursue the Church.
But this is also the third way that Satan is limited. The earth came to help the woman. The power of God is accessed in a variety of ways.
God uses others and their knowledge to protect us. He works things out in His universe to support us.
God is in control of everything.
The Dragon Became Furious with the Woman
Satan’s main characteristic is his wrath, which he takes out on us.
Satan’s wrath is stirred. It probably doesn’t take much to get him riled up.
We cannot underestimate Satan. Yes, we may think of them as normal, everyday battles of life.
We shouldn’t be frightened. God is stronger than He is.
One reason Satan is so furious is that he knows his time is short. But that would just increase his passion, wouldn’t it?
In fact, Satan is so passionate that his actions are described as war. These bloody conflicts can lead to massacres.
Yikes! That is what the Church has to withstand.
Satan will turn his wrath on us in different ways. As we said, he is going to use whatever means is most attractive to us that will get the job of turning us away from God done.
Making the Connections #1
I can find great nuggets in the sermons that may or may not be on topic. Thomas made a great comment about sanctification. He wrote, “As light extends, and virtue grows, all schemes of wrong, political, social, and religious, crack to pieces and tumble to ruin.”
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Elaine-speak. We can really kick ourselves when we sin.
What we don’t always do is recognize our growth and what that growth accomplishes. Yes, it makes our character to become as God is.
Collectively, as the Church grows, we influence this world. Evil is defeated.
This brings joy.
Making the Connections #2
Yes, Satan was defeated. He was punished and fell from Heaven.
Did that stop Satan? We know it didn’t. Remember how he went after the pregnant woman earlier in this chapter?
- “And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him” (Mk. 1: 13 ESV).
- “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (I Pet. 5: 8 ESV).
Satan will be stopped and punished on the Day of the Lord. Until that time, we have to resist his temptations.
Making the Connections #3
Thomas made another great observation that I hadn’t really thought about – or at least not in a long while. He noted that the Church is in the wilderness. Its way has always been intricate, dangerous, and gloomy.
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What is the benefits of being in the wilderness? Thomas said that there are privileges, such as having God’s power and the whole earth to aid it.
God has not left us here unprotected. We have access to His power.
- “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (II Tim. 1: 7 ESV).
- “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Mt. 16: 10 ESV).
Making the Connections #4
Worldview people think Satan is so wonderful, allowing them to be so successful on their own in this world. They see all the wonderful things of this world coming from him.
They do not realize that the devil came to them in great anger. Being the father of lies, his anger continues to fuel his deceit.
Worldview people will be rewarded by Satan on the Day of the Lord – or whatever end they envision. They won’t.
They will be punished along with Satan for eternity.
Making the Connections #5
Spurgeon said something interesting. He wrote,
“When God begins His great work in a sinner’s heart, to lead him to Christ, it is no bad sign if the man feels more hatred to God than ever, more dislike to good things than before: nor need we despair if he is driven into greater sin. The ferocity of the temptation indicates the [vigor] with which Satan contends for any one of his black sheep.”
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Spurgeon contended that – when the Holy Spirit is convicting us for salvation – we will probably go the other way first. We will go farther from Him.
Why? Because wouldn’t Satan be trying everything in his power to keep us from submitting to God?
It is hard to withstand Satan’s temptations. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be as meaningful.
It is hard to understand God – we can’t fully. We think we should, but we can’t. It is hard to let go of that expectation.
We have to make a conscious decision to turn toward God and accept Him.
How Do We Apply This?
- Don’t underestimate Satan.
- Don’t be afraid of Satan.
- Don’t give Satan an inch.
- Be prepared for Satan’s temptations.
- Remember Satan will be defeated on the Day of the Lord.
- Shut the door to Satan as soon as we feel him raging within us.
- Look to God to accomplish that.
- Be encouraged that Satan rages more when he knows he is on the way out of our hearts.
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Father God. Thank you for the way You protect Your Church. We cannot withstand Satan on our own. We must have You watching over us and strengthening us. Amen.
What do you think?
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