Revelation 12:7–12

And the end will come. The end to the evil that prevails. The end to death and sorrow. 

The simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, His birth, death and resurrection, is a stumbling block to those who thing they can earn eternal life without Him.

And all the world will know Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords!

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

This week we’re invited to change our paradigm for success.
Not always easy to do in a world with the temptation that in order “to be somebody”, we need to arrive somewhere other than where we are now. In so, we forget (or do not see) the beauty and light that resides inside. Now. This little light of mine... I'm going to let it shine…

I return often to this affirmation and encouragement from David Orr, “The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as we have defined it. SabbathMoments 

Revelation 12:7–12

7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” The New King James Version

Michael is an archangel. According to Daniel 12:1 he is a special guardian angel for the nation of Israel. Apparently he commands an army of angels. Michael and the heavenly forces are victorious, making heaven off-limits to Satan and his demons. 

The devil’s expulsion from heaven to the earth means that this world becomes his base of operations, and that his anger is vented toward the remaining inhabitants of the earth. Thus it is likely that the end times will be the greatest period of spiritual warfare in history. 

The heavenly defeat of Satan is followed by reference to his earthly setbacks, including the crucifixion of Christ (the blood of the Lamb), the verbal witness of believers (the word of their testimony), and the martyrdom of some of the brethren. All these events precede the coming of the kingdom of our God. 

Those in the heavens have good reason to rejoice, because of the permanent expulsion of the devil. On the other hand, the natural creation (the earth and the sea) now has an additional woe to contend with—the great anger of the devil, who knows his time is short. Soon Satan is to be bound in the bottomless pit for a thousand years. The NKJV Study Bible

Michael an archangel; the protector of God’s people. In the heavenly assembly, the gods and angels came together before Yahweh to discuss the happenings and fate of the cosmos 

Satan’s role in the divine council was that of an accuser or a prosecuting attorney figure. He and what would become his demonic entourage are eventually expelled from the council. In retaliation, he transitions from accuser to pursuer, going beyond mere accusations to attempting to inflict physical harm. Satan is banished from the divine council in heaven to earth, then to the abyss, then finally to the lake of fire.  

The Greek terminology used here—diablos (meaning “slanderer”) and satan (meaning “accuser”)—appropriately coincide with the description of the dragon’s activities. John regularly introduces God’s enemies, then details their demise. Satan is introduced here and receives his final punishment in chapter 20. Satan’s role in the divine council was to accuse continually, but he rebelled from this proper role and became evil. Here, he carries on his original work, but outside of God’s jurisdiction. 

The knowledge that Satan could be defeated by faith, witness, and perseverance would have been a tremendous encouragement to the members of the seven churches and others being pressured to compromise spiritually. They were willing to be martyred for the sake of remaining faithful to Christ. Faithlife Study Bible

The attempts of the dragon proved unsuccessful against the church, and fatal to his own interests. The seat of this war was in heaven; in the church of Christ, the kingdom of heaven on earth. The parties were Christ, the great Angel of the covenant, and his faithful followers; and Satan and his instruments. 

The strength of the church is in having the Lord Jesus for the Captain of their salvation. Pagan idolatry, which was the worship of devils, was cast out of the empire by the spreading of Christianity. The salvation and strength of the church, are only to be ascribed to the King and Head of the church. 

The conquered enemy hates the presence of God, yet he is willing to appear there, to accuse the people of God. Let us take heed that we give him no cause to accuse us; and that, when we have sinned, we go before the Lord, condemn ourselves, and commit our cause to Christ as our Advocate. 

The servants of God overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb, as the cause. By the word of their testimony: the powerful preaching of the gospel is mighty, through God, to pull down strong holds. By their courage and patience in sufferings: they loved not their lives so well but they could lay them down in Christ’s cause.

The redeemed overcame by a simple reliance on the blood of Christ, as the only ground of their hopes. In this we must be like them. We must not blend any thing else with this.  Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Luke 10:18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.