The Woman and the Dragon - Part 2
War is a nasty business. Human history is a history of war, with some wars having more significance than others. However, the most significant war occurred in the spiritual realm. What was this war, and what caused it? In an earlier post, I pointed out that Revelation 12 can be divided into three parts:
The Dragon seeks to devour the woman’s child (vs 1–6)
The Dragon is defeated by the woman’s child (vs 7–12)
The Dragon persecutes the woman because of the woman’s child (vs 13–17)
In that first post, I discussed the conflict between the woman and the dragon in Revelation 12:1–6. The dragon was poised to devour the child born to the woman, but the child was caught up to heaven. Ever since Genesis 3:15, there has been conflict between the serpent (dragon) and the woman (God’s people, the true Israel). Satan attempted to thwart the coming of the promised one but was unsuccessful. In this article, we will consider verses 7–12, where John takes us back to Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection and shows us the spiritual realities of Jesus’s victory over Satan.
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 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. 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. 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. 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!” (Revelation 12:7–12 ESV)
Notice that in this section of Revelation 12, we stay in the spiritual realm. The war is in heaven, and the point of the war is the place of Satan and his angels. While those on the earth saw Jesus on the cross, the spiritual realm experienced a war. The victory of Christ over sin impacted more than just those elected unto salvation. There was war in the spiritual realm between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels. Notice that the dragon is called that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He is the ancient serpent, who deceived Adam and Eve, but that led to him being the deceiver of the whole world. The Greek word diablos is translated as devil and can also be translated as the deceiver. Satan means the adversary. If there ever was a time that John wanted to make sure that we understood the symbolism, it is here. There is no doubt who the dragon is and who he is against. Why was the dragon thrown down to the earth? Because “the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come.” Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Because Jesus now has all authority in heaven, Satan must be cast out of heaven. Remember that Satan had access to God on his throne. What did Satan do in Job? He appeared before God. In Zechariah 3, Satan appeared with the high priest Joshua before the Lord. However, Satan lost his place in heaven. Let’s look at Luke 10:17–19.
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. (ESV)
What did Satan do in heaven that he can’t do now? He accused the brothers. That’s what Satan did in Job. He accused Job of only serving God for the benefits. Of course, the Lord goaded Satan into accusing Job, but the point is that Satan accused Job before the Lord. Zechariah 3:1 says,
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. (ESV)
Satan was before the Lord to accuse Joshua the high priest. Further, why was Paul concerned with God’s justice in Romans 3? Romans 3:25 says God put forth Christ Jesus as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. Why did God do this?
This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:25b–26 ESV)
The Old Testament sacrifices did not pay for sin. They did not satisfy God’s justice. But now, because of Christ, the dragon has no right to stand before God and accuse anyone. In Zechariah 3, the Lord rebuked Satan, but now he is cast out. Let’s look at a couple of verses. First Romans 8:1.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
Let’s break this down.
There is therefore now. Not there was, nor there will be. Now, right now. The ever-present now.
No condemnation. None, nada, zero disapproval or rebuke.
For those who are in Christ Jesus. Not everybody, but only those who are in Christ Jesus. Not those who know about Jesus. Not those who have asked Jesus into their heart. Only those who are in Christ Jesus.
Let’s look at another passage, Romans 8:33–34.
Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (ESV)
Again, let’s break this down.
Who shall bring any charge or any accusation against God’s elect? No one. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Why is that? Because it is God who justifies. Not a bull or a goat, but God himself.
Who is to condemn? No one. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Why is that? Because the one who died and rose again is at the right hand of God and is interceding for us. Satan approaches to accuse, and Jesus says stop right there. Just as Gandalf told the Balrog in the mines of Moria, Jesus says to Satan, “You shall not pass! You have no access to the Father to accuse the Father’s elect. I have seen to that. I have all authority, and you have none.”
But, how do we share in the victory of Christ? By the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony (vs. 11). Notice that we have the same victory over the dragon through the blood of Christ and our confession. Romans 10:9–10 says,
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (ESV)
This results in a lifetime of faithfulness, not perfection, but faithfulness. Furthermore, they loved not their lives even unto death. We now proclaim with the saints throughout the ages, “Satan, I don’t care what lies you spew; I will die before I believe them. I don’t care what opposition you bring; I will die before I capitulate.” The great and mighty dragon was thrown down. The worst he can do is kill us, and that just sends us to Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28,
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (ESV)
Notice in verse 12 that there is rejoicing and woe over the defeat of the dragon. The heavens and those who dwell in them rejoice, but the earth and the sea are given to woe. This is because the devil has come down to the earth in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short! 1 Peter 5:8–10 says,
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (ESV)
We are eternally secure from the enemy in Christ, but while on this earth, we are subject to his attacks. This is addressed in the final section of Revelation 12, verses 13–17.
How do we apply what we see in this section?
The victory of Christ was complete, and his victory is our victory. We are safe in Christ, and we are overcomers in Christ.
When you or I feel condemned before God, we should not believe the lie that we are condemned. I am not referring to conviction over sin. Conviction over sin and condemnation are different. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, which leads to repentance and life. We understand our sin is not pleasing to the Lord and is detrimental to us. On the other hand, condemnation produces guilt. Condemnation says we are not worthy of forgiveness. Condemnation says you’re not worthy to observe the Lord’s Supper. Condemnation says I’m a failure, so just give up on the Christian life. Condemnation says yield to the world. Condemnation says Christ’s work for you and me was not enough. Condemnation is not from the Holy Spirit, and it leads to despair and death. The Holy Spirit never condemns, but points us to the forgiveness that has been purchased for us by Christ. The devil is our adversary, as Peter says, but the devil cannot condemn us in God’s courtroom; condemnation only comes from lies.
We should love not our lives even unto death. This does not mean that we hate ourselves, so we should just die. It means we love Jesus more than we love this life. As Paul said in Philippians 1:20–21
As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (ESV)
In the next part, we’ll look at verses 13–17, which describe the dragon’s pursuit of the woman after his defeat.
Photo by Sora Shimazaki: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-a-wooden-gavel-5668481/