A costly defeat!

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(First published on 12/19/11, edited and republished 03/05/13)

{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

He never grows weak or weary.

https://soundcloud.com/wkbode/consider-the-following

Isaiah 40:28-31 NLT

Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
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Isn't a good nap a wonderful luxury? Isn't it wonderful to sleep peacefully and to rest your weary body and wake refreshed? I often find myself at the end of my energy. Even this morning in reading the Bible and writing this blog I've felt exhausted, and that was after a restful weekend. But I know where to turn to be refreshed!

God in heaven is never weary. God in heaven never grows tired or needs a rest because he is weak. He never wears out.

Don't you just love to learn a new morsel of truth? Aren't you thrilled to gain a bit of understanding? Have you ever had one of those eureka moments when you've discovered something you didn't know before and it all fits together so much better now that you understand?

God already knows everything. Nothing can be added to his knowledge. No new truth will enlighten God. God cannot be taught something he does not already know.

God is the creator of all that is, all that has ever been, and all there will ever be! Goodness, love, wisdom, understanding, light and life all find their source in God. He lacks nothing and nothing is without him.

God does not need you to inform him of anything. God knows the deepest secrets of your heart.

God's immense vastness is infinite and unfathomable.

You are no match for God. God is eternal. God is outside of the confines of time and space. God is not hampered by a lack of time. 

Oh small person in a vast universe, you need God's strength. And rejoice, for God has promised his limitless strength will lift you up. When you grow weary, God will give you help. 

Don't trust in your own strength. Teach yourself to humble yourself before God who knows all. He can enlighten you. You will not find the ability to carry on in yourself. You will fail in your own strength. You will run out of resources. But those who rest in God will never run out of resources.

Give up what little you have to gain what cannot be measured!

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Isaiah 40:12-31 NLT

Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice? No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand. All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God. The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing— mere emptiness and froth. To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him? Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains? Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down! 

Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God— the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant? God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them. He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing. They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff. “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One. Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

https://soundcloud.com/wkbode/consider-the-following

The Son with power

John 19:7-11

7 The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.”

8 When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. 9 He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. 10 “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?”

11 Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”

http://bible.us/116/jhn.19.7-11.nlt

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Jesus claimed to be the son of God! That's what made the Jewish leaders so mad that they wanted to kill him. Lots of people today want to make out that Jesus is just a good guy with good teaching. They just want a 'nice' Jesus. These people miss the real Jesus. They miss the point. Jesus made a big deal about his identity. Jesus raised the issue often. He took opinion polls and survived his constituents. Jesus wanted to make sure that the message was delivered by the right people. (I'm quite tempted to 'proof text all these statements but will leave it to you to read the Bible for yourself!) Some people he hushed up and others he sent out with a message. But by the time to we get to Jesus death he was very open about who he was. And it was the reality of his claim that scared the Pharisees into wanting him dead and Pilate into taking a step back and considering what he was about to do. Claims to be some kind of king or leader were as rife as ever in Jesus and Pilate's day. So it was not the claim alone that stirred so much consternation.  Surely, Pilate as shaken by the claim. Pilate as not a  Jew. He didn't have a Jewish religious perspective. He did understand the implications of usurping Caesar.  But as he said, Jesus was the king of the Jews and the Jews wanted their king dead. Many in ancient Palestine would have wanted Pilate and Caesar and most of the other leaders dead (things have not changed much in that area), but Pilate understood power, both authority (as in his own) and power en-massing (as in the crowds during a holiday). I think that day Pilate learned to respect a much greater power. The power that gave legitimacy to both the people and the rulers. The power of God (and God's Son). Jesus establishes the 'divine right' of rulers as emanating from God. And yet the whole situation and even Jesus' complacence with the situation was a respect of the power of his Father's plan and authority. Nothing that was happening that day was out of hand. Nothing was random coincidence. Nothing happens unless God allows it.

Do you see the power of God at work? Do you realize that you have no rights or authority that do not flow from God? Do you threaten God with your unwillingness? Do you bargain as if you have something of value? Do you act as if you are in control of this world, your workplace, your family, your partner, your children, or even yourself?

Really? Do you have any thing that isn't given to you or allowed you by God?

But with power comes responsibility. This you have! You do have ownership of your own choices and the outcomes of those choices. You may crucify/deny/ignore/mock the Son of God but you still will have to answer to him. Are you ready? Who really has the power of life and death? The Son of God does.