Question: What is Nate’s favorite food? Hint: He refined his palate for fish eggs and octopus while living in Japan for two years. Another interesting fact about Nate: He had lived in three countries by the time he turned 5 years old. Born in Reston, VA, then two years in Barbados and two years in Japan. He is now 8 years old.

Revelation 12

Let’s Keep Score

I covered Revelation 12 briefly yesterday but went back to it this morning. This chapter gives an aerial view of Satan during the tribulation. A good story teller will weave character development into the progression of the story in order to build the drama toward the culmination of final chapter. The writer of Revelation does this well.

The antagonist is hurting

In this chapter we can “feel his pain” (that is Satan). The antagonist of the story does much harm but, as we all know, he loses and goes up in flames in the end. Verses 1-5 provide context to the history of Satan in relation to Israel and the Messiah. Verse 1 says, “…a woman, clothed with the sun…and she was with child…” Clearly, this is God’s chosen nation of Israel pictured as the mother of the Messiah and represented ultimately as Mary. Verse 3 says, “…a great red dragon….his tail swept away a third of the stars” (a third of the angels). Clearly this is a reference to Satan who rallied a third of the angels to rebel against God and follow him. Verse 4 says, “the dragon stood before the woman…so that when she gives birth, he might devour the baby.” Who was it that inspired Herod to put out the decree to kill all babies under the age of two? I don’t know, maybeeeee, SATAN! (sorry for the silly church lady joke J ) Satan failed, Jesus escaped and He fulfilled his mission on earth. Score: God 1, Satan 0.

The woman has a protector

In verse 6, the scene switches back to the tribulation period where the woman (Israel) is given protection from God during the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation. Verse 7 is a transition of “meanwhile, back in heaven…”  Verse 7 says, “and there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon.”  Now, this phrase stopped me in my tracks. War in heaven?  How can that be? But as I thought about it, Satan has a “place” in heaven. We see it in Job 1 beginning in vs 6. Satan came before God and accused Job. The next several verses in Job 1 provide a dialogue whereby Satan says he came from the earth (he is not Omni-present) and is now in heaven “accusing” Job before God. Revelation 12 affirms Satan’s role in heaven in verse 10, “for the accuser of our brethren…he who accuses them before our God day and night.”  So it seems that Satan and some of his angels have a place in heaven.

Are you keeping up with the scene changes? J

Back to the scene in heaven in Revelation 12…..A war breaks out, I assume, because the rapture has occurred (God 2, Satan 0) and the tribulation has begun and Satan “knowing that he has only a short time,” (verses 12), rebels and attempts to move out of “his place” in heaven and take on a greater role in heaven. What happened?  “And they (Satan and his angels) were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place for them in heaven,” verse 8. Then verse 9 says they were thrown out of heaven and down to the earth. (God 3, Satan 0).  Being thrown down to earth, in rage, Satan goes after the woman, Israel, during the tribulation with intensified fury, vs 13. But God provides protection for Israel from the presence of the serpent, says verse 14. (God 4, Satan 0).

Having failed in heaven and now failing on earth to extinguish Israel, the chapter ends in vs 17, “so the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children (gentile believers) who keep the commandments of God and holds to the testimony of Jesus.”  Wow, a lot of drama in this chapter. More to come in the next chapter.

Resist and draw near!

In light of what we know about the work of the accuser today, how then should we live? “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you (final score: God’s team infinity, Satan 0). “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you,” James 4:6-8.