Revelation 12:11-18

11          And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

12          Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.”

13          When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

14          But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time.

15          Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth.

16          But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon.

17          And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children – all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.

18          Then the dragon took his stand on the shore beside the sea.

The critical blow to Satan came when Jesus (the Lamb) shed his blood on the cross as payment of our sins. Christ won the overall victory through the sacrificial payment of the penalty humanity deserved. His place on the cross was supposed to be ours. The victory continues through the sacrifices we make because of our fairness in him. Because he made sacrifices for us, we can make sacrifices for him. Through our acts of self-sacrifice for our communities around us, whether its our time, energy, money, or other resources, we are living out the plan that God created us to follow. As we continue to battle the evils of the world, we should not fear defeat or compromise with evil in order to escape the temptation and the situation. We should continue to serve Christ in the best way possible, staying in the situation and trying to still be strong and capable in the battle.

The devil begins to step up his battle against us because he knows that time is running out. Satan’s work is intense. The devil holds great power but can only go so far. It’s truly the “it could be worse” mindset. This is not to discount the pain, suffering, anxiety, and evil that’s consistently ongoing in our world, because it is sad, rage-inducing, and panicky. The fact though that it’s not worse than what it is, gives us hope that allows us to go out and help our neighbor in the same way that God helps us.

One of the reasons that God allows Satan to do evil and bring temptations to his people is so that those who pretend to be Christ’s followers will be weeded out form the believers. Satan wants to recruit as many followers as possible to help the fight against Jesus, but the evil of the world that he permits is to allow believers of God to rebel against him. To be able to understand that God isn’t who God says he is, and that it would be better to fight against God instead of fighting along him. Knowing that the last great confrontation with Jesus will come soon, Satan is trying to get as many people as possible on his side. About the believers, they are shown in the children mentioned in verse 17, with the woman representing the Jews and the son representing Christ.

The apostle Paul states that we are in a spiritual battle right now. John says that the war continues on, but the outcome is figured out. Satan and his followers are defeated and destroyed. Even thought the outcome is done, the battle continues. The battle involves Satan trying to grow his army through getting God’s people to turn away from him and turn toward God. Those who belong to God will fight on God’s side and receive a guaranteed them victory. No matter the difficulty of our walk with Christ, we must stay strong in our walk. Defecting away from God can make our world worse. Jesus told us that our walk with God will not be easy, but he guarantees that he will never leave us and never turn our backs on him.

Next bible study blog: It’s a Zoo in Here – Part 3

Associated Scripture

Revelation 12:11       Revelation 2:10, 6:9, 7:14, 15:12

Revelation 12:12       Revelation 8:13, 18:20

Revelation 12:14       Exodus 19:4; Daniel 7:25, 12:7; Revelation 17:3, 18

Revelation 12:17       Revelation 1:2, 11:7, 13:7