Revelation 12
In this short chapter we see
a highly symbolic picture of the many long wars of Satan. At different moments we see the war against
God, against Christ, against Israel, and against the Church. We see perhaps the
most detailed and definitive picture of Satan in Scripture. We see his persistence, character and
agenda. We see a woman in labor, in a
moment where she is defenseless and weak, and we see the newborn baby also weak
and small. At this moment the monster is
ready to kill and eat the child. We see a cosmic rebellion that leads one third
of cosmic powers to attempt a coup. We
see a cold, vicious, cancerous Evil that would be ruler. This Evil is relentless. Every effort of this
Evil is thwarted, but it continues to attempt in new ways to accomplish its
goals. Motivated by its frustration and
hate and evil the monster sets off to make war on the disciples of Christ.
Culture has worked hard to
de-vilify Satan. Under his tutelage and
influence and by his leading in popular culture his appearance has been
modified. He has been made over and made more appealing. He is presented as the agent of naughty fun,
a comic character of horns and tail. He
is the dapper and elegant, sophisticated, open-minded man about town. He is
presented as wanting to set us free from the oppression of old fashioned ways
and passé inhibitions. He has presented
his tools and temptations as harmless amusements and the opportunities for
enlightened living. He is only
interested in providing positive experiences. His PR department, with offices
in Hollywood, government, the media, higher education and misguided churches,
to name a few places, has deceived us.
John seems to stretch the
limits of language to describe Satan as a monster. The term monster is most adequate to describe
the depth of his evil. He is as warm and
charming and wholesome as a tank of raw sewage ladled over rotten meat for
supper. He is friendly and as conversational as a rattlesnake. As
delightful to have in our lives as stage 4, pancreatic cancer. He is less
desirable than summertime road kill writhing with maggots and oozing stench.
Every temptation is not, in the end, an invitation to something better, but the
first step toward death with this filth dominating our lives.
This is the place in our
lives where hate becomes a virtue, it is the place where obstinate stubbornness
is a grace in the face of compromise, where death is a sweet treat compared to
denial.
Questions to ponder
What kind of monster is most
terrifying to you?
While promising much and
delivering little the enemy of our souls offers a smorgasbord of sin. Where
have you seen the greatest contrast between the promises made by Satan and sin
and the actual results?
