December 11, 2017….the last time I taught in this space from our Revelation study. Good grief! I have no idea what happened to cause me to lose my ‘Revelation mojo’, but here we are. To be very honest with you, I had not given much thought to picking back up with our Revelation study until I received an email from a new subscriber, Dotty, asking where the rest of the Revelation 12 teaching could be found.
That sort of cranked the engine on the part of my brain that writes and I discovered that I wanted to move along in our study. So, my lovelies, I’m not sure how often I will be back here writing on Revelation, but for today, we are going to look at Revelation 12:7-12, which is a pretty easy passage to understand. In it we see the ultimate throw-down take place.
Here it is, for your reading pleasure from the ESV:
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back,
8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world–he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
12 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!”
In this passage, John is reaching back into time and reminding us of how we got to the point where mankind is today. He is retelling the story of the fall of Satan and his evil angels that is chronicled in Isaiah 14: 12-14 (ESV). I like to think of it as a throw-down that God smacked on Satan!
12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
And in Ezekiel 28:12-19:
The word of the LORD came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.
14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.
18 By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.
19 All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’”
Although these two non-Revelation passages are speaking to the kings of Babylon and Tyre, there is a deeper meaning to them, and ultimately they apply to Satan.
In Revelation 12:7-12 John gives us a sweeping synopsis of the fall of Satan, which led to his banishment from heaven. This in turn led to his enticement of Adam and Eve to take a bite of forbidden fruit, which led to their banishment from Eden and the presence of God.
In order to restore relationship between God and man, AND to overcome the power of sin and death in the lives of man, Jesus Christ came to earth, died on a cross, and was resurrected on the third day. While Satan still has power on earth, he no longer has any power in heaven. Heaven is the Kingdom of God and one day, Jesus will rule and reign on earth.
Verse 11 also speaks of martyrs who have given their lives for sake of the gospel down through the ages.
I love how one portion of Scripture teaches, or confirms, another portion and today is a prime example of that. Soon we will finish chapter 12. Have a lovely day.
SDG/FCA!!
