The Dragon Makes War
Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring – those who obey God’s commands and hold to the teaching of Jesus.
Whoever said that obeying God and holding to the testimony of Jesus would be easy? If ‘they’ ever did say that, they were wrong. Even this vision of what is to come has the dragon (or Satan, Revelation 12:9) making war against those who love God and follow Jesus.One day this non-stop battle, this war against evil, will be over – but not yet. We haven’t gotten to the end of Revelation yet! One day God will make everything right and the dragon and all who rebel against God will be separated from Him forever. Those who love God and follow Jesus will be ushered into His Presence. This will be Heaven. The other is Hell. Hell was created, not for people, but for the dragon and his angels – those spiritual angelic beings that rebelled against God. People wind up in Hell only if they’ve spent their life saying ‘no’ to God, refusing His grace and rejecting His Gospel. Hell is God finally, after patient persistence, giving them what they always wanted. The truth, however, is that nobody will want separation from God.My assignment is to let people know! They may want to be their own Lord here and now… I get that. We all do! The thought of having Jesus Christ as Lord is, for many, not very appealing. But what we must see is the love and mercy of God who loves the unlovable, forgiving us of our sin and giving us new life! None of us will want to be separated from the living God for all eternity. None of us.Lord Jesus, You are the Victorious One. Thank You that You’ve already won the victory on the cross. The dragon is defeated! I follow You this day, obeying Your commands and holding to Your testimony, the Gospel. Help me reach those You love with this Good News.
Revelation 12:17
Whoever said that obeying God and holding to the testimony of Jesus would be easy? If ‘they’ ever did say that, they were wrong. Even this vision of what is to come has the dragon (or Satan, Revelation 12:9) making war against those who love God and follow Jesus.One day this non-stop battle, this war against evil, will be over – but not yet. We haven’t gotten to the end of Revelation yet! One day God will make everything right and the dragon and all who rebel against God will be separated from Him forever. Those who love God and follow Jesus will be ushered into His Presence. This will be Heaven. The other is Hell. Hell was created, not for people, but for the dragon and his angels – those spiritual angelic beings that rebelled against God. People wind up in Hell only if they’ve spent their life saying ‘no’ to God, refusing His grace and rejecting His Gospel. Hell is God finally, after patient persistence, giving them what they always wanted. The truth, however, is that nobody will want separation from God.My assignment is to let people know! They may want to be their own Lord here and now… I get that. We all do! The thought of having Jesus Christ as Lord is, for many, not very appealing. But what we must see is the love and mercy of God who loves the unlovable, forgiving us of our sin and giving us new life! None of us will want to be separated from the living God for all eternity. None of us.Lord Jesus, You are the Victorious One. Thank You that You’ve already won the victory on the cross. The dragon is defeated! I follow You this day, obeying Your commands and holding to Your testimony, the Gospel. Help me reach those You love with this Good News.
