Revelation 12:7-9

Revelation 12:7-9

And war in heaven became.  Michael and his angels went to war with the dragon and the dragon and his angels made war.  And he neither had strength nor was a place was found in heaven for them any longer.  And the dragon – the great ancient snake, the one who is called a devil and Satan who lead astray the whole world – he was thrown into the earth and his angels were thrown with him.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

In this passage we hear one of the titles given to the dragon, the antithesis of God.  The name that we hear is “Devil.”  The work devil comes from the word diabolos.  This word’s literal definition means slanderer.  God’s antithesis, the dragon, is indeed a slanderer.  After all, in bringing about a war with God, isn’t this dragon slandering God’s reputation?  Isn’t this dragon slandering God’s character?  In leading a rebellion against God, isn’t the dragon reaching out and attacking the very character of God?  The dragon is indeed a slanderer, but first and foremost he is a slanderer against God Himself.

Why is it important to think of the devil as a slanderer, or accuser, or God?  Have you ever thought of the devil as God’s slanderer before?

Second Thought:

The second title that we hear is Satan.  This comes from the word satanas, which means adversary.  Satan is indeed God’s adversary.  Satan’s primary goal in life is to disrupt God’s ways and to harm the relationship that God has with His creation.  So often people think that Satan is trying to get more followers than God so he can prove himself bigger and more powerful.  That’s just not true.  Satan’s primary agenda isn’t with being bigger and more powerful than God.  Satan’s primary goal is to be God’s adversary.  He desires to disrupt and corrupt that which God is doing.

Again, why is it important to understand that Satan is God’s adversary?  What insight can you gain from realizing that Satan’s primary fight is against God?

Third Thought:

Finally, we turn to the place that most of us think when we are taught about the words satanas and diabolos.  Of course, Satan is our adversary and our slanderer, too.  We have the story of Job, who is the subject of Satan’s attack.  We have the story of Judas, whom Satan entered into in order to corrupt his relationship with his Creator.  We often think of Satan as our accuser, pointing out to God all of the sin and rebellion in our life.  We often think of Satan as our adversary, putting temptation into our life so that he will have a place to bring accusation against us.  As Satan desires to break relationship between God and creation, he will seek any means of accomplishing that goal.  He will attack not only the creator but the creation as well.

How does Satan attempt to break your relationship with the Father?  In this light, why is it meaningful to remember that the fundamental truth is that the relationship can only be restored through an act of God: sending Jesus to die for our sake?

Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation 12:10-12