13 When the dragon saw
that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth
to the male child. 14 The
woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that
she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would
be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of
the serpent’s reach. 15 Then
from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep
her away with the torrent.16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and
swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then
the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against
the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and
hold fast their testimony about Jesus. Revelations 12: 13-17
The dragon, the devil, has lost his place. He has been hurled to earth. Earth is a place of life! The devil hates life
above all things! Of all the life he hates, he hates human life the most! I
have asked previously, why did God allow the devil to continue to be? Why did
he allow him to roam? After meditating on this scripture I think it may be in
order to make him see the beauty of life!
The devil is the author of death! What could be a greater punishment to
the devil than to see life be fruitful and multiply upon the earth while his
efforts to kill steal and destroy are thwarted! He is not satisfied that
millions were killed in World War II because his desire is that all life
cease!
When the devil heard the God say “when you eat
you shall die” he did all that he could the facilitate death. Our scripture
says that he “pursued the woman,” in context, most evangelical commentators
believe the woman is Israel, most catholic commentators believe it is
Mary. I am not concerned with answer
that question in this blog. What I want
to emphasize is that he pursues the woman, who is a type for all women! Eve is
called the mother of all the living! What a title! The woman cited in our scripture bears a male
child, who is a type of all male children, but especially the Christ, the Messiah! In all women the devil sees the woman who
would bring forth the savior. In all men the devil sees Christ, because we are
made in the image of God!
The earth, in our scripture, assists the woman by
“swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.” Abel’s blood cried out from the ground to the
Lord. When there was death, nature
itself cried out to God for the injustice of it. There is not greater gift than life! Whenever we facilitate the extension of life
we are in cooperation with the creator. Proverbs 12:10 says, “The righteous
care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked
are cruel.”
Our scripture also says, that the devil was “enraged
at the woman and went off to wage war against
the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and
hold fast their testimony about Jesus.”
The commands of the Lord always provide the option of choice. Deuteronomy
30:15 15 See, I set before you today life and
prosperity, death and destruction. So the question is will we identify with the
author of life or the author of death?
