Revelation 12:10-12

Revelation 12:10-12


10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

"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.

11They 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.

12Therefore rejoice, you heavens

and you who dwell in them!

But woe to the earth and the sea,

because the devil has gone down to you!

He is filled with fury,

because he knows that his time is short."



Dig Deeper

While studying the years during the Civil War, I had many students over the years ask why John Wilkes Booth would assassinate Abraham Lincoln after the war was virtually over. That's an interesting question, actually. Nearly everyone else in the country at the time believed that the war had, for all intents and purposes, come to an end. That's why history has largely recorded Booth's act as an unnecessary and violent act of vengeance that didn't need to happen. Yet, during the brief time that he was on the run following the assassination and before he was finally killed, Booth left a short written diary of sorts that explained that he killed Lincoln precisely because he didn't think the war was over yet. He sincerely believed that if he could kill Lincoln it might invigorate the South and his beloved rebels might have a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. History, though, has proved him wrong. Despite his act, the South had been defeated and even the successful assassination of President Lincoln wouldn't turn that around.


The pages of the Revelation reveal very clearly that the Dragon, the accuser, has been definitively defeated. Yet, it also promises that he has made his way into the present age in a desperate attempt to stop what has already been determined. We don't know if his motivation is the same sort of unrealistic delusion that overtook Booth or if it is the type of rage that comes when someone knows they are going down and are determined to take as many with them as possible, but one thing Revelation makes clear. The Dragon is defeated but he is still dangerous. He is filled with fury and was about to vent that rage on the people of the first century.


12:10-11 - In response to the previous part of the vision, John hears a call to worship from a loud voice in heaven. The assembly is told to praise God for His incredible work in defeating the Dragon. The voice pronounces four results of God's victory: salvation has come, power has come, the kingdom of our God has come, and the authority of Christ has come. The Kingdom has come and Christ has been given dominion over the earth because the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. Don't miss the point here. The greatest battle in all of history has already been fought and won by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Dragon has been defeated and we also learn that the martyrs did not die in vain. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. They were victorious because they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. These first century heroes understood that in this age the person who loves his life would lose it, but the one who would hate his life would keep it in the 'age to come' (John 12:25). The victory over the Dragon was won through the blood of the Lamb. This demonstrates that this is not some future battle at the end of the world. The victory was won in the middle of history by the event in history, the death and resurrection of Jesus. Satan had been left powerless (Heb. 2:14-15), and so, Paul could assure the believers in Rome that "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Romans 16:20). The illegitimate ruler of the world was defeated by the coming of the true ruler, Jesus Christ.


12:12 - The voice continues to exhort the congregation to rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell (or literally tabernacle) in them! Who is it that dwells in heaven? John has already told us that the Church's worship takes place before the heavenly throne of God (Rev. 4:4-11; 5:8-14; 7:9-17). Believers in Christ are seated in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6), where we have our true citizenship (Phil. 3:20). Those who dwell in the heavens and rejoice are the members of the Church. We have followed Christ in His ascension (Eph. 1:20-22; 2:6) and have become His Temple (cf. 7:15; 13:6).


Christ's defeat of the Dragon does not mean that he has been annihilated. In fact, like an injured and cornered animal, he fights all the harder. The voice says woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short. The seventh trumpet has sounded and now the third woe has arrived. The domain of the Dragon is now the land and the sea but he has lost forever the right to have dominion over the world. This is why John sees two great beasts. The Beast from the sea is symbolic of the pagan nations (this will be seen clearly in 13:1-2). The second Beast is from the land, which represents apostate Israel. Thus, the voice is prophesying that both Israel and the Empire of Rome will become the pawns of Satan in his frenzied attempt to hold on to the remains of his domain. He is filled with fury, knowing that his time is short to bring about the destruction of the Church while it is still connected to old Israel. Satan first tried to stir up the land and sea to destroy the Church, and then provoked them to war against each other in an attempt to crush the young Church between them. Satan knows that his time is short but thinks that perhaps he can destroy the fledgling Church before she can take full root.




Devotional Thought

What an incredible thought to realize that despite all of Satan's attacks and best efforts, that God will keep us safe and bring us into the 'age to come' if we are obedient. Spend some time today reflecting on the 'age to come' (see Is. 11 for a symbolic description of it) as well as God's power in protecting us from the great accuser.