Salvation, Power, and the Kingdom of God – Revelation 12:10-11

Revelation 12:10-11 - “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.  They overcame 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…”

Revelation 12 is about “the Woman” and the Dragon.  Bible Scholars today debate about the identity of “the Woman,” a symbolic figure here.  Some scholars believe she is a symbol of the nation of Israel – out of which came the Messiah (Jesus) and the first Christians.  Others think she symbolizes the church, which brings Jesus to the world today through our testimony, and which suffers so much persecution.  We will not attempt to resolve this debate here, for our purpose is to emphasize the clearer, and more important, points in the chapter.  Similarly, scholars disagree about the timing of Satan (the Dragon) being cast to the earth.  Some believe this refers to an event in the Last Days, which intensifies the demonic activity in the world, while others think this refers symbolically to an event in the distant past.  Taken by itself, this chapter seems to suggest that it is in the last days.  On the other hand, Jesus seems to refer to this as a past event in Luke 10:18.  It is not important for us to settle such disputes in this lesson, as both viewpoints are acceptable to some sincere Bible scholars.

Other points are very clear.  The “male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter” in verse 5 is Jesus Christ (see Revelation 2:27; Revelation 19:15; and Psalm 2:9).  In addition, the “Dragon” is a symbol of the Enemy (Satan, also called the Devil), who “leads the whole world astray” (Revelation 12:9) with spiritual deceptions and sin.  According to this passage, one-third of the heavenly angels joined Satan in his revolt against God, but they failed completely (Revelation 12:4; Revelation 12:9; see also Matthew 25:41; 1 Peter 3:19-20; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6).  Nevertheless, we must not dwell on things relating to Satan or demons, lest we give them attention they crave but do not deserve.  The Bible warns us to avoid thinking or talking too much about evil things and to focus our minds instead on Christ, salvation, and the things that please God (Philippians 4:8-9; Psalm 119:37; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Colossians 3:1-2).  We now turn to the heavenly declaration, which should be the focus of our preaching on this chapter.

Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God – Christians must understand that everything around us will soon end, and Christ will abruptly replace this present world system.  Things in this world, and in our lives, may get worse before they get better, but we know the conclusion of history – Jesus reigns forever.  Salvation refers to the eternal project to rescue sinners from darkness and sin, which Jesus accomplishes – his name in Hebrew means “Savior.”  (Matthew 1:21).  The power of God will be fully manifest on earth after Jesus returns – now we prophecy only in part (1 Corinthians 13:9); and we see miracles rather inconsistently.  The Kingdom of our God is where God is in control rather than men.  The authority of his Christ – Jesus is the “Christ,” which means God’s “anointed,” because he fulfills God’s eternal project of salvation.  Jesus receives full authority from God the Father (Matthew 28:18).

The accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night – The name “Satan” actually means “accuser” or “adversary” in Hebrew.  Believers must understand that the Enemy is not merely an evil spirit who brings disease, accidents, or other misfortunes.  He also reminds us of our former sins (to discourage us from holiness) and brings accusations against us to God Himself (see Job 1 & 2).  This role of the accuser is much more serious than any physical afflictions the Enemy can bring on us!  Many people today do not take their own sin seriously – they think God will overlook sins, or be relaxed about sin.  They fail to understand the intensity of the legal charges brought against each of us in heaven every day.  The Enemy is like a ferocious, imbalanced, bloodthirsty prosecutor, highlighting every sin and failure in hopes of seeing us condemned and cursed by God.  The situation is utterly hopeless for us except for the covering of Jesus’ blood.  They “overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”