Rev 12:7-12
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
I was reading this passage and then this struck me:
1. God is exceedingly humble in heaven.
We have a creation that knows God and yet has the audacity to 'break out war' in His presence. Imagine an ant deciding to shout the odds and declare you remove yourself from your house
. Would the devil 'declare war' if he thought of himself as an ant?
2. God does not make mistakes.
The devil has spent / spends his time accusing us before God, day and night. Instead of 'moving on' with something like... grasping you messed up and working on restoring things. He is hell-bound on hurting God, by hurting us. Clearly God removes someone from His presence, not because they made a mistake, but rather because the are hell -bent on pursuing a life of evil.
3. God was exceedingly humble on earth.
God could have come to earth and simply died for us. Any death on His part should have been sufficient surely? But instead He became a 'lamb' to the slaughter. He put Himself at the mercy of evil men and the devil. They could do whatever they wanted to Him.
4. God reveals His greatness to us by His amazing humility.
Creator of all + exceedingly humble = Great God! I am reminded of Matt 18:4 'Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven'.
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
I was reading this passage and then this struck me:
1. God is exceedingly humble in heaven.
We have a creation that knows God and yet has the audacity to 'break out war' in His presence. Imagine an ant deciding to shout the odds and declare you remove yourself from your house
. Would the devil 'declare war' if he thought of himself as an ant? 2. God does not make mistakes.
The devil has spent / spends his time accusing us before God, day and night. Instead of 'moving on' with something like... grasping you messed up and working on restoring things. He is hell-bound on hurting God, by hurting us. Clearly God removes someone from His presence, not because they made a mistake, but rather because the are hell -bent on pursuing a life of evil.
3. God was exceedingly humble on earth.
God could have come to earth and simply died for us. Any death on His part should have been sufficient surely? But instead He became a 'lamb' to the slaughter. He put Himself at the mercy of evil men and the devil. They could do whatever they wanted to Him.
4. God reveals His greatness to us by His amazing humility.
Creator of all + exceedingly humble = Great God! I am reminded of Matt 18:4 'Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven'.
