A Defeated Foe
12/12/25 Bible Thought (Revelation 12)
The Christian has a real enemy, but an enemy that has been really defeated. Yet that does not mean that the white flag has been or will be raised.
This is the tale of Revelation 12.
A Look at Revelation 12
In Revelation 12, the scenes shift to depicting the cosmic struggle between a vanquished foe, Satan, depicted as a dragon, and the forces of heaven.
The dragon sought to destroy the Messiah, the offspring of the woman, and failed (Rev. 12:4-5). He is cast from heaven (Rev. 12:7-9) and he is likewise overcome by the saints’ faithfulness unto death:
“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Rev. 12:11).
Being cast out of heaven and conquered by the sacrificial death of Christ, the dragon displays his wrath by making war on the rest of the woman’s offspring—namely the church, those who, “keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 12:17).
He knows his time is short, and in fury he tries to drag with him as many people as possible.
While battle is on the horizon, the believer can take heart—the war is already won. Satan might be furious with the church, but he has no real power. He is cast down, and all of his attempts to defeat God or the church are utterly futile. Though crowned with 10 diadems he is a phony. He is no sovereign.
Bringing it Home
However, that does not mean that he will surrender.
Fighting until the end, he makes war. The believer is truly caught up in that cosmic conflict as we see in today’s chapter. The apostle Paul understood this in these terms:
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).
Yet, the believer need not fear. Even if life be taken away from us for the sake of Jesus’ name, we are overcomers for Christ has first overcome by His blood.
Christ defeated the devil using his own weapon—death (Heb. 2:14-15). As such, the believer stands in Christ’s victory and now, “the accuser of the brothers” (Rev. 12:10) has been cast down for he no longer has any basis for his accusations.
Formerly, he could have brought up our track-record of sins but now all that is left to bring is a slate wiped clean. Our record of debt was nailed to the cross of Christ (Col. 2:14) and every demonic authority that might try to accuse us has already been put to open shame through Christ’s victory (Col. 2:15).
As the apostle Paul so powerfully concluded, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).
If we need not be terrified of the living God anymore (see 1 Jn. 4:17-19) then certainly we need not fear a defeated foe.
Challenge for Today:
Do I ever find myself fearing my spiritual adversary?
While we shouldn’t treat the spiritual war that we are in flippantly, there is no cause for fear. Christ has overcome and our final victory is certain.