2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
The very first time that I read the book of Revelation, I felt like there was so much that is negative about it. Was I ever wrong! One could say the same thing about dwelling on the subject of Satan in the context of spiritual warfare. He would be wrong too. Of course, the devil himself is the personification of all evil. But, one can't achieve a better understanding of his origin and behavior without also examining his interaction with God and God's interaction with mankind. When we see this whole picture, we begin to realize the depth of the love and protection our Abba affords us. If the Bible is God's love letter to us, and I believe it is, then any messages that I write, if I understand what God teaches me through the Scriptures, necessarily will be my love letters to Him. When one realizes that the book of Revelation is the consummation of all the promises God has made throughout mankind's history, we can see it as the most positive story ever told. Now, let's look at some citations from Revelation which shed light on Satan's persona and how God will deal with his primary enemy. Keep in mind how important to preparing us to wage spiritual warfare that this "combat intelligence" is.
REV 12: 3-4, "Another mysterious sight appeared in the sky. There was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and a crown on each of his heads. With his tail he dragged a third of the stars out of the sky and threw them down to the earth. He stood in front of the woman, in order to eat her child as soon as it was born." To really understand this verse fully, it is very helpful to go back to DN 7: 7 and DN 8: 10. DN 7: 1-8 is his vision of the four beasts, and DN 8: 1-14 is his vision of the ram and the goat. When we read both these passages, a picture emerges that describes human empires set up due to the devil's impact on faithless minds of the times, and how God deals with them. DN 7: 7, "As I was watching, fourth beast appeared. It was powerful, horrible, terrifying. With its huge iron teeth it crushed its victims, and then it trampled on them. Unlike the other beasts it had ten horns." Horns often refer to kings in the Bible. With seven heads, each with a crown on it, one must think of Rome, the empire built on seven hills. It had ten city-states, each governed by a king. We must realize that God is allowing Daniel to prophesy about the future, including our future. DN 8: 10, "It [the little horn, representing the antichrist] grew strong enough to attack the army of heaven, the stars themselves, and it threw some of them to the ground and trampled on them." Going back to REV 12: 3-4, we already know from previous discussion of REV 12: 9 that the dragon symbolizes Satan. It is interesting to note that "with its tail he dragged a third of the stars out of the sky and threw them down to the earth" certainly is consistent with the other passages we have been studying which refer to Satan's evil angelic followers also being thrown out of heaven. The picture of the dragon dragging his angelic followers out of heaven is of interest, because it connotes the fact that it is through their actions, not God's choice, that they would be cast out of heaven. Many feel that the woman in this passage refers to Israel at first and later to include the church. The baby here is Christ. Later we told that even through the dragon wants "to eat the child as soon as it is born," the "child is snatched away and taken to God's throne" in REV 12: 5. In other words, Christ ascended into heaven instead of becoming evil and not enduring His suffering. Once again, the negative story of the dragon [Satan, the devil, the serpent] is made positive by the love and His remarkable glory that our Abba reveals in His part in it.
We can believe that the Hebrew word, "bene-Eloheim," used here for stars in REV 12: 4 refers to "God's sons" or angels, who were originally created to be righteous, beautiful, and perfect. Lucifer was originally one of them. That some of them used their free agency to follow Lucifer is a tragedy for them and for us all. But, we must see that our loving Abba uses this awful tragedy to His advantage, by using the pain and suffering Satan and these evil angels cause as a means to sanctify humans and to accomplish His righteous purposes. Never once is our Lord not in control. This is a critical truth that we must not forget. That is why in REV 12: 12 the statement can be made, "And so be glad, you heavens, and all you that live there! But how terrible for the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, and he is filled with rage, because he knows that he has only a little time left." The Lord determines what that time will be, not the dragon! When we keep this in mind, we can go into our own battles with the adversary just as David did when he faced Goliath [1 SAM 17: 45-47], knowing God is with us! Remember one of Jesus' names is Immanuel, which means "God Is With Us" [MT 1: 23].
PRAYER: O Lord, as David said in PS 18: 2, You are my Protector, my strong Fortress. "The Lord is my Protector, my strong Fortress. My God is my Protection and with Him I am safe. He protects me like a shield; He defends me and keeps me safe. PS 18: 16, "The Lord reached down from above and took hold me; He pulled me out of the deep waters." The deep waters for us are found in spiritual warfare. But, Dearest Lord, You promise us Your protection from the devil's traps and give it to us when we see how You have equipped us with Your spiritual armor and the same power You used to raise Christ from the dead [EPH 1: 18-20 and 6: 10-20]. You are our Supreme Ruler, as David wrote in PS 47: 2, & 5-7, "The Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King, ruling over all the world...God goes up to His throne. There are shouts of joy and the blast of trumpets, as the Lord goes up. Sing praise to God; sing praise to our King! God is King over all the world; praise Him with songs!" How small and insignificant we are compared to You. And yet, Your love for us extends to sacrificing Your only Son on the cross for us and then sending us the gift of Your Spirit to guide us continually. We humbly approach You to confess our sins and to offer at Your feet our worship, adoration, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, honor, glory, praise, and thanksgiving. We go forward into battle with the enemy, knowing that if we will endure in our faith, You will see us to victory in Christ Jesus. Our pledge is to return the love You give us to the full extent that You created us to do. In Christ's holy name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow, we will wind up the discussion of stars and go on to a look at God's throne, His power, and the angels. This additional "combat intelligence" will help us to even realize how more prepared staying in His word daily and having an active prayer life can make us for the battles ahead. If you are feeling intensely loved by our Abba and maybe even surrounded by a circle of His angels to protect you, then the Holy Spirit has used me to do His job today. It never ceases to amaze me how our awesome Deity is able to make time in His busy schedule for each and every one of us, no matter what our circumstances might be. Sometimes it isn't easy to remain faithful, particularly when we are battling evil in our lives. But, imagine how blessed and advantaged we are by His presence along side us when we do. We need never feel alone or abandoned, as long as we will keep doing what we must to keep our own faith strong and to help the Holy Spirit strengthen the faith of others. Remember MK 10: 27, "Jesus looked straight at them [His disciples] and answered, 'This is impossible for man but not for God; everything is possible for God.'" We need to be on God's side for real victory. God loves each of you, and so do Peter and I.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn