Revelation 12

Revelation 12

In this short chapter we see a highly symbolic picture of the many long wars of Satan. At different moments we see the war against God, against Christ, against Israel, and against the Church. We see perhaps the most detailed and definitive picture of Satan in Scripture. We see his persistence, character, and agenda. We see a woman in labor, in a moment where she is defenseless and weak, and we see the newborn baby also weak and small. At this moment the monster is ready to kill and eat the child. We see a cosmic rebellion that leads one-third of cosmic powers to attempt a coup. We see a cold, vicious, cancerous evil that would be ruler. This evil is relentless. Every effort of this evil is thwarted, but it continues to attempt in new ways to accomplish its goals. Motivated by its frustration, hate, and evil, the monster sets off to make war on the disciples of Christ.

Culture has worked hard to de-vilify Satan. Under his tutelage and influence and by his leading in popular culture, his appearance has been modified. He has been made over and made more appealing. He is presented as the agent of naughty fun, a comic character of horns and tail. He is the dapper and elegant, sophisticated, open-minded man about town. He is presented as wanting to set us free from the oppression of old-fashioned ways and passé inhibitions. He has presented his tools and temptations as harmless amusements and the opportunities for enlightened living. He is only interested in providing positive experiences. His PR department, with offices in Hollywood, government, the media, higher education, and misguided churches, to name a few places, has deceived us.

John seems to stretch the limits of language to describe Satan as a monster. The term monster is most adequate to describe the depth of his evil. He is as warm and charming and wholesome as a tank of raw sewage ladled over rotten meat for supper.   He is friendly and as conversational as a rattlesnake. As delightful to have in our lives as stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He is less desirable than summertime roadkill writhing with maggots and oozing stench. Every temptation is not, in the end, an invitation to something better, but the first step toward death with this filth dominating our lives. 

This is the place in our lives where hate becomes a virtue; it is the place where obstinate stubbornness is a grace in the face of compromise, where death is a sweet treat compared to denial. 

God, give me the grace to hate evil with a white hot passion. AMEN.