 |
| www.goodfreephotos.com |
Often I minimized the power of lies in my own life. I failed to daily and actively fight against subtle lies and replace them with the truth of the Bible. Revelation 12 magnifies the reality that we are in battle, but it explains the why which often eluded me. Satan wants to destroy our faith because all his plans and hopes have been thwarted. He wants to do as much harm as possible, even though it won't change the end result.
As we look at Revelation 12 and 13, we see clearly why Satan attacks the church, his primary mode of operation to do so, and how the church prevails against him.
Satan angrily attacks the church because he ultimately failed.
Satan is furious because he was unable to defeat Jesus and the redemption He brought to mankind through His life, death, and resurrection. Satan's days are numbered and his limited time to deceive draws closer to an end.
Revelation 12:1-6 explains the gospel in a different light then we are accustomed to, but with this perspective we gain an understanding of our enemy (and his inability to ever defeat us). God will always protect His people. The imagery of the woman likely symbolizes the church (or people of God) and the dragon is Satan. The reference to 1,260 days (and similar time equivalents like 42 months, 3.5 years, and times, time, and half time) is frequently used within Revelation to symbolize a limited time period of suffering for God's people. From this text, we watch the gospel before our eyes as we read. Then we see Satan go after the church because his first attempt to thwart Jesus and His saving work failed.
Revelation 12:7-17 gives us a better understanding of the impact of Jesus' death and resurrection we may not have noticed before: Satan can no longer stand before God and accuse sinful man. (Think of the story of Job or the vision of Joshua in the book of Zechariah.) Satan was thrown down to earth once Jesus conquered sin and death. His leash continues to shorten by being cast down to earth. He has already been defeated, but in the limited, short time that remains on the clock counting down to the end game, he angrily pursues the church.
Satan uses lies to deceive
Satan wants to destroy and deceive as many people as possible. Satan will use deceit and lies (likely what the imagery of water from his mouth represents in 12:15) to try to lead the church and unbelievers away from the truth about Jesus. But we also see God's protection over the saints despite the evil one’s attempts (12:16). His tactics have not changed, but they remain as effective as the day he placed a seed of doubt in Eve's mind.
Believers overcome Satan through faithfulness and clinging to the Truth
For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We tear down arguments, and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4)
Revelation 12 highlights the realness of the spiritual battle surrounding us every single day. The devil wants us to believe lies. He wants us to doubt God's goodness. He wants to destroy our faith. And yet if we take this lies captive and replace them with the truth, we can overcome him because Christ has already defeated him.
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
Revelation 13 demonstrates the devil's desire to deceive and destroy before his time is up. God protects His own (13:8), but many will be led astray by the devil's duplicity. Somehow God allows some of His own to be taken captive or killed before ultimate victory of the devil, but the evil one will not prevail.
Believers must proactively fight against the lies of the evil one who wants to shipwreck our faith and hold fast to our Beloved King who will ultimately crush him. Armed with Truth and eyes fixed on Jesus, faithfulness to our Savior leads to victory...even if the path doesn't make sense to the world.
As we look at Revelation 12 and 13, we see clearly why Satan attacks the church, his primary mode of operation to do so, and how the church prevails against him.
Satan angrily attacks the church because he ultimately failed.
Satan is furious because he was unable to defeat Jesus and the redemption He brought to mankind through His life, death, and resurrection. Satan's days are numbered and his limited time to deceive draws closer to an end.
Revelation 12:1-6 explains the gospel in a different light then we are accustomed to, but with this perspective we gain an understanding of our enemy (and his inability to ever defeat us). God will always protect His people. The imagery of the woman likely symbolizes the church (or people of God) and the dragon is Satan. The reference to 1,260 days (and similar time equivalents like 42 months, 3.5 years, and times, time, and half time) is frequently used within Revelation to symbolize a limited time period of suffering for God's people. From this text, we watch the gospel before our eyes as we read. Then we see Satan go after the church because his first attempt to thwart Jesus and His saving work failed.
Revelation 12:7-17 gives us a better understanding of the impact of Jesus' death and resurrection we may not have noticed before: Satan can no longer stand before God and accuse sinful man. (Think of the story of Job or the vision of Joshua in the book of Zechariah.) Satan was thrown down to earth once Jesus conquered sin and death. His leash continues to shorten by being cast down to earth. He has already been defeated, but in the limited, short time that remains on the clock counting down to the end game, he angrily pursues the church.
Satan uses lies to deceive
Satan wants to destroy and deceive as many people as possible. Satan will use deceit and lies (likely what the imagery of water from his mouth represents in 12:15) to try to lead the church and unbelievers away from the truth about Jesus. But we also see God's protection over the saints despite the evil one’s attempts (12:16). His tactics have not changed, but they remain as effective as the day he placed a seed of doubt in Eve's mind.
Believers overcome Satan through faithfulness and clinging to the Truth
For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We tear down arguments, and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4)
Revelation 12 highlights the realness of the spiritual battle surrounding us every single day. The devil wants us to believe lies. He wants us to doubt God's goodness. He wants to destroy our faith. And yet if we take this lies captive and replace them with the truth, we can overcome him because Christ has already defeated him.
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
Revelation 13 demonstrates the devil's desire to deceive and destroy before his time is up. God protects His own (13:8), but many will be led astray by the devil's duplicity. Somehow God allows some of His own to be taken captive or killed before ultimate victory of the devil, but the evil one will not prevail.
Believers must proactively fight against the lies of the evil one who wants to shipwreck our faith and hold fast to our Beloved King who will ultimately crush him. Armed with Truth and eyes fixed on Jesus, faithfulness to our Savior leads to victory...even if the path doesn't make sense to the world.