This week we are concluding our series on spiritual warfare by turning to a key passage in the book of Revelation. Much of John's revelation concerns spiritual warfare as he seeks to provide encouragement to a harassed group of persecuted Christians. The genre of literature, called Apocalyptic Literature, has its own conventions. Though the visions seem bizarre to the Western reader, the highly symbolic language was intended to encourage the reader that there was more at stake than what meets the eye. Greater forces were at play than what might be assumed given the humble circumstances of the persecuted people.
The context of our passage this week is a war in heaven. A great red dragon, identified as Satan, intends to eat the child of a woman who is about to give birth. The descriptions of the child leave no doubt that he is Christ. The woman then must be the messianic community or the believing Jews obediently waiting for their Messiah. When the child is born he is snatched up to the throne of God and the woman is secreted away to be under divine protection for three and one half years, the time of intense persecution by the dragon in his fury over being cast out of heaven. The time frame appears to be a device used by John to say that the time allotted for the Devil's intimidation is limited and will come to an end.
The war in heaven coincides with the crucifixion of Jesus, his snatching away to the throne of God. The Devil is no longer able to accuse the people of God because of what Jesus has accomplished on the cross. God no longer listens to his accusations. Instead, his end is near. But before the end there is a time of persecution, and we often refer to this as the "church age" or it is sometimes in scripture referred to as the "last days." But John wants the reader to know in no uncertain terms that the enemy is in his death throes and his final days are approaching rapidly. Salvation has come, it is time to rejoice, Christ has won the victory; though there may be difficulty ahead, the outcome is secure.
The keys to the believers' effective spiritual warfare are to realize that the victory is won by: the blood of the lamb; the word of their testimony; and their willingness to die for their faith. Salvation has come, the kingdom is established, and it is time to rejoice. All this in spite of the present difficulties the church was experiencing under the heavy hand of Rome.
