Revelation 11:19-12:17 God’s ultimate goal is not to remove all evil but to cause us to mature and overcome evil by ourselves.

Revelation 11:19-12:17

A

And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthqu and a great hailstorm.

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.

B

Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,

C

“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

BACKGROUND

The apostle John was shown the backstory of revelation: how Satan together with the fallen angels were banished to the earth where the final battle will be fought. God’s ultimate goal is not to destroy Satan but for His children to be perfected; to overcome Satan by resisting his temptations. Hence, Satan is only a vessel to perfect His children. Satan is only as powerful as people allow him to be. Once God’s children are perfected, Satan will be put away forever. Today’s devotion teaches us: God’s ultimate goal is not to remove all evil but to cause us to mature and overcome evil by ourselves.

OBSERVATION

A

The temple of God in heaven is for the same purpose as the temple on earth; for all in heaven to gather to worship God. The ark of the covenant represents authority, its appearance portends God’s rule over the world. The sign of the woman in labour represents the church who is about to give birth to Christ. The church paves the way for Christ to be incarnated on the earth and dwell among man. That said, the church is not a religious body, it comprises people who seek God and obey the truth regardless of their religion, culture and nationality. The three magi’s from the east are such. The sun and the moon represent the patriarchs and matriarchs of the church. The 12 stars represent the 12 archangels who are tasked to protect and minister to the church.

B

The sign of the red dragon represents Satan whose goal is to destroy the Christ Child. The seven heads represent the seven demonic spirits that go out to deceive the entire multiverse. Here, Satan in wanting to be worshiped as God imitated the divine order of the seven spirits of God that fill the entire multiverse (see Revelation 1:4-5, 3:1, 4:5, 5:6). The 10 horns represent the power structure through which Satan attempts to rule the multiverse. 

Now, Satan, in anticipation of the final battle (on earth) sent his evil angels comprising a third of the angels to the earth to devour the Christ Child; God’s appointed Ruler of the multiverse. Consequently, Christ defeated Satan by humbling Himself at the cross. Following Christ’s ascension to seat at God’s right hand, Satan was banished to the earth. Consequently, the multiverse is freed leaving Satan’s influence confined to the earth.

C

Satan, having been confined to the earth, uses temptation and the law to trap and oppress humanity. Satan, knowing his time is short goes off to make war with the followers of God. However, the followers of the truth persevered by their testimony of righteousness. And by the blood of the Lamb, they are appointed as priests after the order of Christ to defeat Satan.

TRUTH

God’s ultimate goal is not to remove all evil but to cause us to mature and overcome evil by ourselves.

The parents’ job when it comes to raising children is not to remove the bullies and bad characters from the neighbourhood. But to teach their children what is good and what is bad behaviour, and how to resist the influences of bad characters. In that aspect, bad characters are instrumental to the growth of our children without which they cannot be a light to the world. 

Therefore, destroying Satan and his agents is never God’s ultimate goal (for God to destroy Satan is in fact a very small thing.) God’s ultimate goal is to help His children grow in maturity by overcoming and resisting evil for themselves. In fact, evil does not originate from Satan; it is inherent in the choices people make. Hence, Satan is merely a vessel to tempt man while revealing what is within his heart. Hence, the real evil is not Satan, but the corrupt ego of man. Satan acquired authority to rule and create havoc because of Adam’s sinful desire to be independent of God’s rule. That said, Satan not only tempts, he goes off to make war with the children of God by forcibly imprisoning, robbing and inflicting them with tribulations. God does not immediately put a stop to Satan’s activities because tribulation regenerates the children of God making them worthy to rule the multiverse with Him. 

In the case of Jesus, He did not destroy Satan without first putting death His human ego; the source of all evil. The blood He shed is the evidence and covenant that all who deny themselves will likewise put to death their corrupt ego and be perfected. That is the reason why Satan mustered all his angels (a third of the stars) and sent them to the earth with one purpose; to kill the Christ Child. Satan knew that the Christ Child is sent by God to destroy man’s corrupt ego. When man’s corrupt ego is destroyed, the children of God will rise up to put an end to Satan’s reign over the multiverse.

APPLICATION

Therefore, when you face tribulations that do not seem to go away, do not be discouraged for they are producing in you perseverance and character, resulting in hope fulfilled which is the glory to rule the multiverse with Christ. When the time is right, when you have learned to trust God, the Spirit will supply wisdom and power to overcome the tribulations.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, I thank you for the tribulations even though they are overwhelming. Give me peace and assurance that everything will work out according to your will. When the time is right, give me wisdom and courage to overcome the tribulations. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.