0909 THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON

SEPTEMBER 9 = REVELATION 12

THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON

The imagery and symbolism continue to deepen through the rest of the book of Revelation. Part of the reason is because these are the things that John saw, and he is merely telling us the images without interpreting for us. And part of the reason is because John was in exile on Patmos, and whatever letter he would send out to reach the churches had to be cloaked in imagery that would be unclear to the Roman guards who would be releasing the letter for delivery. (We’ll see some of those more obvious hidden messages soon.)

So, in light of all that, I’m going to try to provide a running parallel commentary that says what John is saying, but uses different imagery. Sort of like I did back with some of the materials in the first four chapters. We’ll see how this works. Starting with verse numbers, so you know where to read.

1-2. God has always had a people for himself. They are to him like a bride, strong and radiant. From these people came a line for Jesus.

3-4. But God’s enemy has also been trying to oppose God’s plan. He rebelled in heaven, and a third of the angels joined with him. They tried to destroy Jesus before he could be born.

5-6. But in spite of the devil trying to destroy the work of Jesus, God protected both his Son and his people.

7-9. This spiritual battle began even before the ancient serpent in the garden. Satan had rebelled in heaven and was defeated, along with all his demons. They were thrown down to earth, where Satan continues to oppose God’s people and lead them astray.

10-12. Praise the Lord! He brings us the salvation and the power and the kingdom of God and of his Christ. He has hurled down the one who is constantly accusing our brothers and sisters before God. We triumph over him by the blood of Jesus and our connection to it. We choose to side with Jesus, all the way to death. So, all of heaven rejoices! But this is bad news for the earth, because the devil does his work down below. He is filled with fury, for he knows that his time is short.

13-16. So now the devil is on the hunt against all the people who belong to God. But God has protected his people, bringing healing and working miracles.

17. The devil is enraged at his defeat. So he has declared war against God’s people. God’s people must keep God’s commands and hold on to their faith in Jesus.

And this, my friends, is where we stand today. We are in the midst of a deadly spiritual war, and those who hold fast to their faith in Jesus will overcome and receive eternal life in heaven. 

But the battle is not over here below. So let us be faithful, even to death. Amen.