THE WOMAN, THE DRAGON, AND THE MALE CHILD

Today’s Reading: Revelation 12 

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

Pictured is the exit of the Grotto at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The “male Child” of today’s reading was born here in the cave just beyond the open door.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verse: Revelation 12:11

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.

Jim and Kathy Cantelon write today’s 100 Words segment (originally published in Crossroads’ Day Unto Day devotional series)…

In this chapter, we read of a “war in heaven” (verse 7) precipitated by an attempt by Satan to destroy the pre-existent Messiah – the “male Child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter” (verse 5). One of the unusual aspects of this account is the use of the past tense. John writes of something that has already happened both in the heavenly and earthly realms.

In reading about Satan’s downfall (verses 8-9) one thinks of Jesus’ words in Luke 10:18, when He says to disciples He had sent out two by two, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” This may help us to understand why Satan now operates in the space/time realm of the created universe. It may also help us understand why this world and this age are so utterly evil. But it should also encourage us to know that Satan’s rule will not last forever…“his time is short” (verse 12c).

We need to remember that Satan is not God, nor is he a dark equivalent. He does not possess godlike attributes. He is not all-present. He is not all-knowing. He is not all-powerful. He is an enemy, but a defeated one. And in the interim, between his present “warrings” and his future destruction, we can resist him “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of [our] testimony.”

Satan is powerless in the presence of the “Lamb.” All those who by faith have placed themselves beneath the atoning blood of Christ are absolutely beyond the limited reach of this “accuser of the brethren.” As the old hymn says, we are “safe in the arms of Jesus.”

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I pray for 24/7 faith to resist Satan through “The blood of the Lamb and by the word of their [my] testimony” (Revelation 12:11). Grant me grace, O Lord, as You did those early church believers who “did not love their lives to the death.” I ask these requests in the Name of the One who lived as an Overcomer 100% of the time, Jesus Christ (Messiah). Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

John sees into eternity past. He can only describe Satan as a fearsome creature who reminds him of a dragon. The woman, Mary, represented the Jewish people through whom Messiah was born. They, the Jewish nation, will be supernaturally protected from the hatred and destruction of the dragon’s puppet, the Antichrist, for 3 1/2 years, the latter half of the great tribulation (12:6). These prophetic pictures seem to move back and forth, from the past to the future. Let us remember that at all times the male Child, Jesus Christ, continues to rule and overrule with the “rod of iron” (complete authority in the lives of all who have given Him their lives, and who continue by a daily act of their free will to yield to Him as their King).

Jesus spoke in John’s hearing decades earlier in similar Words (for a Gospel reading check out Luke 9:51 to 10:1-20). The sin of Satan in Heaven was pride. Jesus used the example of Satan’s fall to warn the disciples against the spiritual pride expressed in their report of successful ministry. Jesus does not say, “Good job, boys!” He immediately references Satan’s fall. John was allowed to see what Jesus had described years before. With God, time is not a limiting factor. He is outside of time! (quantum physics) He sees our first parents cast out of the Garden and the defeat of the serpent/dragon at the same instant.

Yours for the total overcoming power of Jesus who dwells in every believer,

David

This is the inside entrance to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. This building is the oldest standing church in the Holy Land.

Originally built by Constantine’s mother in the fourth century, Emperor Justinian rebuilt the current structure in the 530s. The Church of the Nativity was apparently spared destruction from the Persians in 614 A.D. because the invaders saw the depictions of the Magi on the walls. Local Muslim-Christian friendship is believed to be why the church was not destroyed during al-Hakim’s rule in 1009. The trapdoors in the floor reveal 4th-century floor mosaics from the Constantinian church.