Tour of Revelation Pt. 12

Sonic the Hedgehog has been battling Dr. Robotnik for over thirty years. The nefarious doctor has built every weapon he can imagine to stop him. He has tried to stop Sonic with wrecking balls, lasers, drills, electricity, robot clones, Chaos Emeralds, claws, mechs, and kart races. Every time he tries, Sonic can defeat him with his speed and endurance. Robotnik might be a threat and a royal pain to Sonic and his friends, but Sonic always defeats him.

Revelation 12 is a hodgepodge of fantasy, cosmic battles, and symbolism, but it represents the greatest story ever told. Mary, the chosen mother of Jesus, is about to give birth to the King of all Nations. The dragon, Jesus’ arch-nemesis, tries to consume him, but God gives her a hiding place for 1,260 days. Then, God and his angel armies go to war in Heaven against Satan and lose their place.

This doesn’t sound like the traditional Christmas story, but this illustration shows what happened in history when Jesus arrived on Earth. He was destined to be king over the world; the forces of evil tried to stop him, and God defeated Satan’s attempt to foil the plan.

Historically speaking, this description sounds like when Mary gave birth to Jesus, and Herod tried to kill the child, but an angel warned the parents, and they escaped to Egypt. This could also represent the plight of the church as fugitives in a society that persecutes them for their faith. The War in Heaven represents one of Satan’s attempts to overthrow what God is doing (was this his first attempt or his last? The text isn’t clear).

For a modern reader, this story powerfully reminds the church that evil might look fierce, and Satan may win a few battles, but ultimately, there is no chance for evil to stop Jesus from being the good and fair king over the Earth. In the end, the dragon causes chaos and mess, but victory belongs to God.

Figure It Out:

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”[a] And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Revelation 12:1-9

  1. Which part of this passage surprised you the most? What part of this passage feels like good news? What part confuses you?
  2. What temptation is there to feel like Satan is going to win and God is going to lose?
  3. How does God protect Jesus and the Church in this lesson? (Read v. 10 for some insight on God’s good news)
  4. How can we share with our brothers and sisters that God has never truly lost, but his victory is coming?