Victorious
October 1, 2011 5:30 AM -0500
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In this exciting conclusion to the series "Spooky," discover a fundamental truth which must impact your daily life even in the midst of the most heated spiritual battle.
Thesis: As Christians, we are included in God’s victory over Satan, which has already been secured, and we must behave accordingly.
Objective: Call believers to live with joy as the victor in the spiritual war, but also prepared Satan’s rage as his time grows short.
Objective: Call believers to live with joy as the victor in the spiritual war, but also prepared Satan’s rage as his time grows short.
- God wins (7-9).
- The ultimate battle happened in heaven (“Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon” (7); The battles happening here on earth are key to the spiritual war, but the final real battle happened in heaven. This is significant because it means that we can’t be responsible for the final victory.).
- God won (“The dragon and his angels also fought, but he could not prevail.... So the great dragon was thrown out” (7-9); God’s forces, led by Michael, defeated Satan and expelled him from heaven, hurling him to earth. He can cause all sorts of havock, but he has already lost the war.).
- We win (10-11).
- Salvation has come (“The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Messiah have now come” (10); God has secured his kingdom and the rightful authority of Jesus, and can - and does - offer certain salvation to us as a result.).
- We won (“They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (11); We, too, are given a share in God’s victory by (a) the blood of Jesus and (b) the word of our testimony. In other words, Jesus’ blood makes it possible for us to win. Our conversation and testimony embrace that victory and claim it as our own.).
- We win through sacrifice (“for they did not love their lives in the face of death” (11); Sometimes, our victory is not apparent because of the sacrifice involved. But even physical death is insignificant in comparison to the victory which God affords believers!).
- Act like it (12).
- Rejoice (“Therefore rejoice!”; As citizens of the kingdom of heaven, we should be absolutely joyful. Because no matter what happens in this world, in this life, we win in the end, we can and should have real joy, which comes from the certain expectation of good things!).
- Beware (“Woe to the earth and the sea, for the Devil has come down to you with great fury, because he knows he has a short time” (12); Even though the victory is already secure, Satan has not yet conceded. And he is mad about it! So we need to be prepared for whatever fury he will send our way.).
- Conclusion
- Victory
- “He is to say to them: ‘Listen, Israel: Today you are about to engage in battle with your enemies. Do not be cowardly. Do not be afraid, alarmed, or terrified because of them.For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.’” (Deuteronomy 20:3-4 HCSB)
- “Now I know that the Lord gives victory to His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with mighty victories from His right hand.” (Psalm 20:6 HCSB)
- “Lord, the king finds joy in Your strength. How greatly he rejoices in Your victory! You have given him his heart’s desire and have not denied the request of his lips.” (Psalm 21:1-2 HCSB)
- “For I do not trust in my bow, and my sword does not bring me victory.But You give us victory over our foes and let those who hate us be disgraced.We boast in God all day long; we will praise Your name forever.” (Psalm 44:6-8 HCSB).
- “Sing a new song to the Lord, for He has performed wonders; His right hand and holy arm have won Him victory.The Lord has made His victory known; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His love and faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen our God’s victory.” (Psalm 98:1-3 HCSB)
- “My heart is confident, God; I will sing; I will sing praises with the whole of my being. Save with Your right hand and answer me so that those You love may be rescued.” (Psalm 108:1, 6 HCSB)
- “There are shouts of joy and victory in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!The Lord’s right hand is raised. The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!”I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the Lord has done.” (Psalm 118:15-17 HCSB)
- “He will not break a bruised reed, and He will not put out a smoldering wick, until He has led justice to victory.” (Matthew 12:20 HCSB)
- “Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57 HCSB)
- “I am writing to you, young men, because you have had victory over the evil one.” (1 John 2:13 HCSB)
- “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, God’s word remains in you, and you have had victory over the evil one.” (1 John 2:14 HCSB)
- “For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not a burden,because whatever has been born of God conquers the •world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith.And who is the one who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:3-4 HCSB)
- “The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:21 HCSB)
- “I also saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had won the victory over the beast, his image, and the number of his name, were standing on the sea of glass with harps from God.” (Revelation 15:2 HCSB)
- Conquer
- “Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”” (Numbers 13:30 HCSB)
- “Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” (Romans 12:21 HCSB)
- “These will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings. Those with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”” (Revelation 17:14 HCSB)
- Victorious
- “The one who is victorious and keeps My works to the end: I will give him authority over the nations” (Revelation 2:26 HCSB)
- “Then one of the elders said to me, “Stop crying. Look! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has been victorious so that He may open the scroll and its seven seals.”” (Revelation 5:5 HCSB)
- “No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us.For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers,height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 8:37-39 HCSB).
- Communion
- Benediction
- Listen, Church: Today you are about to engage in battle with your enemy, the Devil. Do not be cowardly. Do not be afraid, alarmed, or terrified because of them.For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory. And He is the one who makes us, even now, more than victorious because nothing - nothing - in this world can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ryrie
Reflecting God
ESV Study Bible
HCSB Study Bible
- (7) “This likely will occur at the midpoint of the Tribulation. Michael is the only angel designated an archangel in the Bible.”
- (9-11) “Notice two of Satan’s activities in these verses: to deceive the world and to accuse the brethren. The believer’s defense against Satan is (1) to bank on the merits of the death of Christ, (2) to be active in witnessing, and (3) to be willing to make any sacrifice, including death (v 11).”
Reflecting God
- (7) Michael is “an archangel who defeats Satan in heavenly warfare. In Da 12:1 he is the protector of Israel who will deliver her from tribulation in the last days.”
- (9) This is “not the original casting of Satan out of heaven, but his final exclusion - a symbol of his intense hostility against God’s people in the last days (vv 12-17).”
- (10) “Satan in Hebrew means ‘accuser.’”
- (12) “his time” = “The period of final, intense hostility of Satan toward the people of God.”
ESV Study Bible
- (1-17) “Twice John sees the dragon decisively defeated, and both descriptions of the battle’s aftermath describe the woman’s protection in the wilderness (vv. 6, 13–17). The first vision (vv. 1–6) portrays a decisive battle at the turning point of history when Christ’s incarnation, obedience, sacrifice, and exaltation forever disqualified Satan as the accuser of believers (see v. 10).”
- (1-17) “Some interpreters think the second vision (vv. 7–17) also represents the same series of events, while others think it portrays events at the beginning of the great tribulation.”
- (7-17) “Michael and Heaven’s Armies Defeat the Dragon. The second of the two visions of vv. 1–17 reveals more detail about Christ’s victory and the dragon’s ongoing attempt to destroy the people of God.”
- (7) “In Daniel, Michael is the spiritual prince and guardian of God’s people (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1). Jude 9 identifies Michael as the archangel, attributing to him words that echo the angel of the Lord’s answer to Satan the accuser (Zech. 3:2). Many futurists think Michael’s battle with the dragon marks the beginning of the “time of trouble” (Dan. 12:1), which is also the great tribulation.”
- (8-9) “The victory of Michael and the holy angels over the dragon and its coconspirators may symbolize the triumphant power of Jesus’ cross (cf. Col. 2:15), or a subsequent defeat of demonic forces flowing from Christ’s victory at the cross, or the original casting of Satan and his demons out of heaven (see note on Rev. 12:4).”
- (8-9) “The devil (Gk.) and Satan (Hb.) describe a legal opponent, an accuser at law (see note on vv. 10–11).”
- (8-9) “Many futurists think he was thrown down to the earth indicates intensified demonic activity on earth during the great tribulation.”
- (10-11) “The dragon’s expulsion from heaven shows that Satan cannot press charges as the accuser of our brothers because the Lamb shed his blood for them and they maintain their testimony of trust even unto death.”
- (10-11) “Although “conquered” by the beast physically in death (11:7; 13:7), in fact the martyrs have conquered both the beast (15:2) and the dragon that empowers it. They have conquered him is set in ironic and beautiful contrast to 13:7.”
- (12) “Jesus’ death and exaltation inaugurated “the kingdom of our God” (v. 10) and guaranteed the certain and approaching demise of Satan’s tyranny. All the demonic activity here and in the Gospels is connected to Satan’s frustrated anger.”
HCSB Study Bible
- (7-10) “Because it is mentioned immediately after the woman fleeing into the wilderness (v. 6) and because its outcome immediately affects the earth at the end of the age (vv. 12-13), the war... in heaven probably also takes place just after the midpoint of the tribulation period.”
- (7-10) “Some interpreters hold that the cosmic war pictured here occurred after Satan's original fall (Isa 14:12-15; Ezek 28:11-17) or during the events surrounding Christ's crucifixion (Col 2:14-15).”
- (7-10) “The sense that the "woman" in Rev 12:6 is a believing remnant of Israel (see notes at 11:13 and 12:6) is strengthened by the clash of the dragon (identified as the Devil and Satan) with Michael the archangel (Jd 9), who is assigned to protect Israel (Dan 12:1).”
- (11) “Sometimes what looks like defeat is victory, as when believers die for their faith. Satan has killed them, but they are the ultimate victors because of the blood of the Lamb (Christ's death on the cross) and the word of their testimony.”