Revelation 12:9 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.
It is amazing what a name can do. You give a very bad flu strain a fancy name and you can close down the world’s economy. You give a company a fancy logo, and even though it doesn’t make any profit, its stock can sore making billionaires. A name makes a big difference.
As kids, we knew names made a difference. When our mom called us by all our names, we knew we were in trouble. When the other kids as school called us names, we knew it hurt, and that we didn’t like it. When we got married, our name was changed to Mr. & Mrs.
Our name carries our reputation with it, either positive or negative. Back when I was in school, we studied the history of the United States. We even learned about the traitor with whom I shared my last name. I became the traitor!
My first name was used in a one season TV program, Mr. Terrific, about a superhero named Stanley Beamish. But he was in incompetent superhero, so again my name was dragged down. And there was that famous pig on Green Acres who carried my name. Yikes, my name didn’t stand a chance.
Our text drops us in the middle of this section of Apocalyptic style writing. It is filled with imagery that defies earthly words. It speaks about creatures and events that don’t fit our earthly categories, although they are expressed in the only categories the author had at the time, earthly ones.
And right in the middle of the description of the actions of the character “the great dragon,” we receive the identity of this particular character spelled out for the audience. He is the villain of the story. But he has been a villain since his creation.
The two names, devil and Satan, are the names used to describe the figure who opposes God and messes with His people. We encapsulate this with the old phrase, “The Devil made me do it.” This enemy of God has limited power and authority, but he uses it in very creative ways. And people still fall for his tricks.
Our text tells us of a time when he was, or will be thrown out of heaven with those who followed him. The text doesn’t give us a clear indication of the timing of these events that are portrayed in this vision. The one thing we know for certain is that the LORD wins!
What is interesting to me is that the text tells us that this dragon “leads the world.” He is in a position of power and authority. We don’t know at this point whether he is an actual person in history, or whether he is the force behind the movement of the world against God, but he is the one doing the leading.
And right after this dragon is hurled to the earth, losing whatever place he had in the hierarchy of heavenly beings, the declaration of the triumph of Jesus is proclaimed in heaven. The accuser of Jesus’ followers has been defeated. They join those who triumph! They do it through what Jesus did on the Cross, and by the testimony of their life and their mouth.
Satan has already and will in the future be defeated. That much we know. Jesus is already victorious and will be in the future. We can choose to join in with His victory through the Gospel and live that victory out in our lives. We can join the throngs of heaven in rejoicing that the devil and Satan have been defeated!
The Arnold Journey 