{Middle of the last book of the Bible}
Revelation 12:9
This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
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The Devil is real! Here in Revelation chapter 12 you get a great correlation of information, Dragon, Serpent, Devil, Satan, "fallen" Angel all referring to the same entity or being.
Satan is described as this great enemy of God and accuser of us who believe in God.
If you read on in the passage (included below) you'll see those people that Satan accuses are the same who defeat him by the Blood of the Lamb. You with Jesus defeat Satan! Not only is there a great enemy but He is defeated. But at a cost? We win but blood is shed. And it is the blood of Jesus and his followers' blood that is shed.
The defeat of Satan is sure, but it is also sure that it is costly to defeat him.
Jesus blood was a great cost. You too must suffer and some of the followers of Jesus will suffer to death to be involved in the defeat of Satan.
Have you thought about the serious and important role you have in the fight against evil? God's salvation involves his people's participation. Please follower of Jesus don't ignore the fact that, Satan is a real and powerful enemy. But also don't despair, because we are confident that the Devil's defeat is sure!
But recognise this defeat comes at a great cost and you will suffer. Although this suffering now is nothing compared with Jesus' suffering and your suffering is guaranteed a victorious outcome.
The book of Revelation is full of picture language, simile, metaphor, analogy and symbolism. But although it is full of figures of speech, Revelation is also plain and clear. Because the pictures aren't as familiar as the ones we use today the meaning seems a bit more obscure. If you don't understand then email me and I'll write you a paragraph of current modern picture language /slang that you'll understand but won't mean exactly what it says but will mean exactly what you'll understand.
Here's are some guidelines for understanding the Bible:
- Always ask what this passage contributed to God's revelation of Jesus. Genesis to Revelation the Bible is about Jesus. That's what Jesus said. Look for Jesus. What does this part of the Bible tell me about God's character, promise, will or expectations?
- Compare the Bible with the Bible. Jesus referred to the Bible nearly in everything he said. It not only reinforced the truth but further explained it.
- What did this mean for the original audience? Try to understand the words firstly in the whole Jesus /Biblical context and then secondly what did the immediate context of the first intended audience understand by it?
- Lastly, how can this move you to trust Jesus today?
Revelation 12:1-18 NLT
Then I witnessed in heaven an event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, and she cried out because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth. Then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born. She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days. Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.” When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time. Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth. But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon. And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus. Then the dragon took his stand on the shore beside the sea.
https://soundcloud.com/wkbode/the-defeat-of-the-devil
itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/willi…bode/id635644278
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