Revelation 12 - Friday 13th December

Today’s chapter is Revelation 12

Tom writes:

This seems to be a second look at the same situation as chapter 11. Rather than two witnesses, the church is now represented by a woman. The son - of course - is Jesus, born of the people of God and yet destined to rule us all. The dragon is the Devil. This vision calls the church to be alert to the prime plan of the Powers - to spew forth a torrent of accusations that cause them to drift away from Jesus’ church. I wonder if you hear the whispered thoughts and ideas that seem to pull you away from connection to Jesus’ church? At times I’ve felt like a child in a rip-tide being washed out to sea. This chapter wants us to hear those thoughts as demonic devices determined to drag us away from our destiny. Notice that while God has stood secure, and sovereign all through this book, with his eyes constantly on his people, the devil acts in furious anger, insecure about his future, desperate to salvage stuff for himself. He couldn’t even defeat an angel, let alone stand toe-to-toe with God. He is a Power who is weaker than we could ever believe, but more dangerous for it - as he lashes out with accusations that can really scar. And so we should help one another be ready to defeat his accusations.

If thoughts come based in anger or insecurity or self-preservation they are likely to be spewed from the dragon’s mouth. To listen to them and repeat them isn’t “being real” or “just being honest”; it is destructive foolishness, like licking your dirty pants. Understanding the Devil as Accuser helps us deal much better with the self-doubt and self-hatred that are the norm of our society. So often they are the Devil trying to use our minds as his weapon to destroy us. In those moments we don’t need to go over and over the finest details of the thoughts. Instead we just keep on keeping on. We don’t try to defeat the accusations; we can just forget them. In a bizarre but bracingly brilliant image we see all of creation opening its mouth to swallow the accusations of the enemy! And we see the great woman (us) being given wings by God and drawing us into his presence. So in summary, the truth behind this vision is the same as that of the whole of the Revelation - the church operates in a warzone and mighty powers are fighting it out, but God will easily win, and we will share in his victory if we faithfully endure and continue to live like the lamb.

Question for reflection

Are you prone to overthinking things? How might Jesus help you stop that?