He Reigns
Bible reading
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
– Revelation 12:10-17 (NIVUK)
‘Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.’
13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the snake’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the snake spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring – those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
Devotional
Things look bad, I mean they look really bad! Economies are crashing, poverty is getting worse, human trafficking, even with all the effort to stop it, is growing and expanding. COVID-19 has taken its toll on humanity with over four million dead, millions in hospitals and many more still struggling with the effects of the virus. Things look bad because things are bad. It’s easy to slip into despair but wait! Chapter 12 gives us the real story of why things look bad but, the victory is secure!
In one of the most complex images John has had to interpret we find the greatest hope. Chapter 12 is the theological centre of the book of Revelation and in this chapter, we find images of a woman, a dragon and a child. The symbols seem to move and shift as John fights for the words to explain what he’s seeing. But one image never changes or shifts – that of the Child, the Messiah.
The child, who is also the Lamb, is always the focus of chapter 12. It is the child who makes all the difference. So, if you never figure out completely what chapter 12 is all about, I encourage you to focus your mind and heart on the on verses 10-12. Here is our salvation! The power of God through the Messiah to defeat the accuser of mankind. Mankind, those who have triumphed over evil through the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, will never face defeat, not real, lasting defeat. These are the brave men and women who do not “love their lives so much as to shrink from death”.
The dragon is defeated, the Lamb is victorious, and the people of the Lamb stand firm and on solid ground. So, things may look bad, and things may be bad. But for those who hold fast their testimony about Jesus, they are already victorious and free!
– Connie Main Duarte
This devotional is part of a series that helps us navigate the texts of the book of Revelation with fresh eyes. A new devotional every Saturday.
These devotionals are available in Portuguese and in English.