We are Truly at War

Scripture: So when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to her place where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. ... Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 12:13-14,17

Observation: This vision from heaven involves a great red dragon, identified as satan. He is the antagonist against a woman. She has given birth, and the child is taken to heaven while the woman is hidden away in the wilderness for care and protection. The dragon - who has along the way lost a battle to Michael and been cast out of heaven - pursues the woman. However, when he fails, he "makes war on the rest of her children" who are the Christians of earth.

Application: I truly understand almost nothing of this entire section of the bible. I can understand the basics about the fall of satan, and maybe I can come up with a couple interpretations about the woman, her child, her place of seclusion, the passing of time, etc. Certainly, every concept and idea I guess at would be just that ... guesses, which would require true divine inspiration to understand.

However, I can understand verse 17 ... the dragon makes war on those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus. This is the primary issue for the Church of Jesus Christ today ... satan makes war against us. He makes war against the entire Church, each individual congregation, and one-by-one against every believer. He makes war in our private lives, and he makes war in public venues. He engaged in war within our very homes, at our churches themselves, in our communities, and across out entire culture. He uses as his weapons our personal sin, lies about what is right and wrong, earthly political practices, modern technology and media, and even our own flawed practices that have evolved over the passage of time.

This is the truth we as believers in Christ must understand: Satan cannot harm the Lord, he cannot harm Jesus, and he has already been cast out of heaven, so he has turned his wrath upon God's creation and especially upon the believers in Jesus Christ, in an attempt to destroy that which God loves.

God loves us, so satan hates us. And make no mistake, satan is powerful, and he acts. He plans and convinces and attacks. He uses all his abilities on earth to truly 'make war' against the faithful followers of Christ, which includes the lies he has imbued into all the rest of society. The battleground is the unbelieving ... it is to them whom Christ sends us to spread the good news, and it is they who have been given the weapons of satan - the lies about salvation and lies about the nature of God - to fight against the truth and love of Jesus.

We are at war. Satan first tries to prevent the good news, then looks to destroy us believers. He looks to destroy our belief system, our overall unity, our individual communities, our own families, and our very earthly lives. So warns the Lord himself.

Prayer: Lord, I know my terrible thought life is the result of the whispers of satan. Please, Lord, protect me and my mind and my heart from his deceptions. Furthermore, please protect my family, my friends, my church, and the entire community of those who follow the way of Jesus. Satan is strong, but your, my Lord, are so much stronger, and it is upon you I place my hope and my faith. Amen.