Cosmic conflict

Why? Why is a penetrating question. Why can also be a very difficult question to answer. It is often used by Christ followers when we don’t understand the trials, the tragedies and injustices of life we face. I’ve heard this question throughout my ministry career. Why did my son have to die? Why is God taking me with cancer when I have two little children to raise? Why? Why did my wife spouse leave me? Why did my nephew take his life? Why won’t my son have anything to do with Jesus? Why? I’m sure all of us have our own whys that we’d like answers for.

Then there’s the questions of “why is there so much suffering and injustice in our world?” Why do innocent babies have to die? Why are Jews always the target of hate? Why does the war between Russia and Ukraine never end? Why are so many children being trafficked in our country? Why is there so much hatred and division in our world today? Why?

But now, as we’ve spent time highlighting the persecuted church this summer, discovering how whole villages are being attacked and families murdered in places like Nigeria; discovering how laws are being enacted to eradicate church buildings in places like India; or laws that are being made that call for the death penalty for blasphemy in places like Pakistan – you may be asking why Christians all over the world are facing increasing discrimination, imprisonment, violence, rape and even death? Why is there so much malice aimed at those who follow Jesus today?

Well, the reason is simple. We are at war. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all participants in a cosmic conflict between the forces of evil and the followers of Jesus. And today, as we return to the book of Revelation, we are not only going to look at the scope of this conflict but also how God helps us win the war. So, if you have your Bible with you today, let me encourage you to open it now to Revelation 12:1-17, where we will see why it can be so hard to follow Jesus in our world today, but also How God has made it possible for us to overcome when we are being assaulted for our faith. So, if you’ve found Revelation 12, let’s dive into this war by unpacking John’s vision of

The Conflict on Earth: A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Revelation 12:1-2 We begin by identifying the woman. John makes it clear that this is not an actual woman but rather a symbol, referring to her as a sign that he saw in heaven. The key to understanding her identity is found in verse 17, where John says that her children are all “who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” The woman, therefore, represents the covenant community of God’s faithful people, through whom God brought forth His Son, into the world.

Notice how she is “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” Wrapped in the sun, she bears the glory of God. With the moon under her feet, she exercises spiritual authority. And the crown of stars on her head represents the victory we have in Christ. The sun, moon and stars also connect her with God’s covenant people, Israel. In Joseph’s vision in Genesis 37:9-11, the sun was his father Jacob, the moon was his mother Rachel, and the stars were the sons who became the twelve tribes of Israel. This is a significant picture of God’s covenant community in both the Old and New Testaments.

However, in this vision: She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.” This is a telling description. Her birth-pains here refer to the persecution of God’s people during OT times leading up to Christ’s birth. The idea of persecution is expressed in the phrase “in pain” (literally “being tormented”). This verb is used in the NT of the suffering of trial and persecution. So, the woman’s pain revels how the faithful Jewish community was constantly tormented in the period leading up to the birth of Christ. Who was tormenting her? Who was persecuting God’s people? Look at vs 3:

Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. Revelation 12:3-4 John sees a second sign in heaven. It is “an enormous red dragon” the color evidently standing for bloodshed and murder. John also identifies him in verse 9 as “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan.” The number of the seven heads and ten horns emphasizes completeness. This is the completeness of his oppressive power. His crowns are the iron crowns of tyranny.

Many people today dismiss the devil as a fantasy or myth. But you cannot take the Bible seriously without believing in this personal and powerful spirit, the fallen archangel who is the enemy of Christ and His church, nor can you make real sense of the world as it is without accounting for him.

Here now we see Satan’s war on God’s people: The dragon takes his stand in front of the woman to devour her child. This assault on the part of the dragon is not new. In Genesis 3:15 God said, And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Since this declaration Satan has sought to prevent this male child from coming. He moved Cain to kill Abel. He moved Pharoah to kill Hebrew baby boys. He moved Saul to attempt to kill David. He moved Haman to plot genocide against the Jews. He moved Herod to kill Jesus. But in all of this, he failed. For verse 5 tells us, “She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” Theologian Richard Phillips summarizes this conflict by saying: “The woman’s offspring was primarily Christ, but in Him it includes the entire church of the old and new covenants. The rest of history features the conflict between the devil and God’s covenant people, centered on his opposition to Christ himself. “He shall bruise your head,” God promised, “and you shall bruise his heel.”

Then we read: “And her child was snatched up to God and to His throne. The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. Rev. 12:5b-6 Here is the unquestionable evidence that Satan was defeated in this earthly conflict. Christ defeated Satan by His death, burial, resurrection and ascension. Satan could not prevent Christ from rising from the dead and returning to the Father. But he would continue to torment God’s people on earth.

We see here as the woman now flees to the wilderness, to a place prepared for her by God, where He protects and cares for her until the day of Satan’s judgment. So, even though Jesus won the conflict on earth, God’s people are still in danger. But we are not to worry, He’s going to give us what we need to overcome. We will see that later in this passage.

But next we see that this cosmic conflict isn’t just happening on earth, its also taking place in heaven. The Conflict in Heaven: Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Revelation 12:7-9

This war describes how Michael and his angels defeated the devil and his angels in heavenly combat. Up until this point, Scripture tells us that Satan had access to the throne of God. But he never approached God to worship. Rather, whenever he came before God, he came to accuse God’s people of sin. And up until the death of Christ, Satan had a good case. However, once Jesus offered himself for the sins of the world and poured out his blood on heaven’s mercy seat – Satan no longer had any basis for his accusations against us. So, Michael, and his angels battle Satan and his angels for one purpose: to throw him out from heaven once and for all.

However, this passage teaches us a lot about our adversary by his descriptive titles listed here. If you’ve never understood how evil and dangerous Satan is, these titles help us get a grip on who we are up against: (1) “the great dragon” emphasizes his ferocity and terror. He is nothing to toy with. He is pure evil. (2) That “ancient serpent” identifies him with the beguiling snake of Genesis 3 who seduced Adam and Eve to sin. To get an idea of how powerful his deceptions are, we need to remember that he charmed one third of the angels to follow him over God. (3) “the Devil,” means “the accuser” or “the slanderer.” And (4) “Satan” is a proper name meaning “the adversary” “the enemy.” He is the “one who deceives the whole world,” but now he is defeated and kicked out of heaven. He can no longer accuse you of sin before God, if you have trusted in Jesus. He was defeated on earth by Christ, He was kicked out of heaven by Michael, and now in this grand announcement that follows, God tells us How We Win! Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. Revelation 12:10

They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” Revelation 12:11-12

Notice, the progression in this passage. First, Christ defeats Satan by His death, burial, resurrection and ascension. Next, Michael and his angels defeat Satan and his angels and throw them out of heaven. Now, a third member of this conflict is identified: “our brothers and sisters in Christ.” This is what is said of us: They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! We win! That’s what is announced in heaven. The Church wins. We overcome our adversary, the accuser, the deceiver in three ways.

First, We win by the blood of the Lamb It is by the blood of the lamb that we can overthrow the accusations of the devil. The only reason Satan appeared in heaven was to accuse us because he was seeking our condemnation under God’s law. And example is given in Zechariah 3:1, which showed: Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. Verse 3 states Joshua was in fact guilty of sin. The Bible says, “Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments.” As Israel’s high priest, Joshua represented the entire nation, which had been in exile because of its sin and idolatry. Satan loved to point this out and urged that God could not bless Israel by restoring them to Jerusalem.

This is the kind of accusation that Michael put to an end because of the conquest of “the blood of the Lamb.” Before Jesus’ death, Satan had a good case against God’s people. But when Jesus shed his blood to pay the penalty for the sins of his people, he wiped away the evidence of our sin. As a result, there was no longer any charge that could be held against us in God’s courtroom.

This is exactly what happened in Zechariah’s vision of Satan and Joshua the high priest. Jesus appeared and commanded, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Then he said to Joshua, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” (Zechariah 3:4). On this basis Jesus said, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan!” Christ took Joshua’s filthy garments to himself and bore the penalty of his sin on the cross. God then transferred Christ’s righteousness to Joshua, so that he was justified before God’s law. This is precisely what God does with us when we trust in Jesus as our Savior. He wipes away the record of our sin and gives us the righteousness of Jesus. This is why Paul rejoices in Romans 8:1 saying, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

This is the good news of the blood of the Lamb. Once you believe in Jesus Christ, Satan loses his ability to accuse you in the court of God’s justice. It is not that you have not sinned, for you have. But as 1 John 1:7 declares: “the blood of Jesus, God’s Son cleanses us from all sin.” This is how we win! This is how we overcome our adversary. We win by the blood of the Lamb. Here now is the second way we win:

We win by testifying to the good news Satan wants the news of his defeat kept quiet. So, when Christ followers spread the good news of forgiveness in Christ, Satan’s power is diminished. Satan knows that the gospel is the power of God for salvation. He knows that every person who puts faith in Jesus is another person he cannot destroy. Therefore, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the great power we get to wield in the cosmic battle.

D.A. Carson says it this way: “The hosts of darkness are pushed back by Christians bearing witness – giving testimony to who God is and what He has done in Christ. How else can we push back against Satan and his forces” We will be defeated if we simply keep silent. If you never share the gospel with anybody else, you yourself are defeated. You are not pushing back the frontiers of darkness. This is how Satan is defeated – by the blood of the lamb and the word of your testimony.”

And if you have been forgiven by the blood of the Lamb, you have a testimony that can defeat the evil one. How cool is that! That’s the second way we win. And finally,

We win by holding onto the hope of our salvation We overcome our adversary because God’s Word says, “they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”

As followers of Jesus Christ, we’ve not just been saved by the blood of Jesus, we don’t just win by sharing the good news, but we win by holding onto the hope we have in Jesus. Our hope in Jesus is what helps us endure suffering. Our hope in Jesus is what helps us see the difficulties in this life as temporary. And our hope of eternity that is ours in Jesus, is what loosens our grip on the hopes of this world. So that, when we hold onto our hope in Jesus, we can face anything the evil one throws at us. No matter how hard he tries, no matter how nasty he plays, he has absolutely no power to take away the hope we have in Jesus. That’s how we win. That’s how we overcome the hatred and malice of the evil one who seeks to destroy us. We have the blood of the Lamb, we have the power of the gospel, and we have the hope of heaven. So, the voice in heaven declares: Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” Revelation 12:12

With this last verse, we need to recognize that even though Christ has won, even though Satan has been kicked out of heaven, and he cannot defeat God’s people; he knows his time is short, so what we see next is what I call: Satan’s Last Gasp: When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Revelation 12:13-14

By now, we recognize that the target of Satan’s fury is the church, signified here by the woman. But God is aware of the church’s plight. So, God provides for His people with a beautiful image of eagle’s wings. The most significant background for this image comes from the prophecy of Isaiah – that in the wilderness, God’s people will receive wings like eagles when He comes to deliver them in the last days.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

This is what God promises: God promises to strengthen and nourish His church as we wander through the wilderness of this world. How will he do this? The same way He did for His people in the wilderness wanderings of Sinai; by providing manna, bread from heaven. In other words, our bread from heaven, who helps us soar on the wings of eagles, is Jesus. It is His presence that strengthens, nourishes and protects us in the wilderness today.

But just what is Jesus’ protecting us from? John tells us: Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. Revelation 12:15-17

Again the images of Satan’s attack are figurative. The flood coming from Satan’s mouth is a flood of deception and persecution. We are already well aware of Satan’s strategy of persecution. Nearly half a billion people are facing some form of persecution in the world today. That’s been part of Satan’s war on the church from the very beginning.

But today, Satan’s flood of deception comes through false teachers, worldly compromisers, and even demons who are mounting an all-out assault on the truth of God’s Word, inside and outside the church. And this assault is coming like a flood today, because Satan knows if we hold to the truth, if we obey the truth, then the truth will set us free. So, his goal is that if he can’t keep us from the truth, then he must distort the truth of God’s Word – to bring error or compromise into the church, so we might abandon the gospel, lose our power, and no longer look to God for hope.

So then, if can keep us from God’s truth or distort the truth, if he can keep churches from preaching the gospel and lifting up Jesus, he knows he can destroy God’s people. This is the world we are living in today – a world where Satan’s fury is unleashed in persecution and deception – so that he might keep people from obeying God’s commands and sharing their testimony about Jesus.

This is why in our world today there is no end to wars. This is why there is no end to suffering. This is why there’s so much hatred and division. For we live in a world where Satan knows his time is short, and his malice knows no boundaries. For even though Jesus has won the war, even though Satan’s been kicked out of heaven, and even though God has given us what we need to overcome his attacks, we are living in the days of Satan’s last gasp.

So yes, we are in a battle with Satan but let us never forget: Jesus has already won the war!
Satan has been defeated. Jesus has won!
That’s not just our hope.
That’s the power of the gospel that helps us overcome and win this cosmic conflict!