Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Revelation 12 before reading the devotional below.
Today’s chapter is a fascinating retelling of the entire biblical narrative, with the woman (likely a description of the church/God’s chosen people) birthing a “male child” (the Messiah) all while the dragon (Satan) is working to snatch him away. The text directly tells us that the dragon is Satan, so we don’t have to interpret that. We also know that the “rest of the woman’s children” are those who follow Jesus. It’s a dramatic depiction of spiritual battle in a single chapter.
Again we come to the question, “Why would God reveal this? And why would he choose to tell it in this way?” My first thought is that God is declaring himself victorious in the most epic fashion. This Lamb (not exactly the most ferocious creature) was able to defeat a dragon. Of all the dragon stories I have read, not one of them had a Lamb as the hero. There is a distinct gentleness that does not conflict with a fierce and heroic victor. God is revealing himself as the One who rescues in the most unexpected way.
A key takeaway verse for us today is verse 11: “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.” This is the verse for the church. Satan stands before God accusing us day and night. But when we claim the blood of Jesus our Lamb and testify to his goodness, Satan is defeated. The only way to do this is to not cling to life as defined by earthly treasure. If we are too caught up by what the world has to offer, we will not be able to engage in this supernatural battle. We need to be able to sacrifice anything at any moment to follow Jesus wherever he takes us. What holds you back from following Jesus into deeper spiritual places?