Revelation 12

Then 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 Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over 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. Therefore 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.” When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 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. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 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. ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬-‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Lord of Heaven and Earth will one day triumph over all evil.  Satan is aware of this fact, knows that he will eventually be defeated, and that his time is running out.  Because we are currently living in the End Times, the devil’s anger is heightened, and he works with a sense of urgency.  He is keenly aware that his time to wreak havoc on the Earth is drawing to a close.  The destruction, poverty, violence, disease, negativity, moral depravity and hatred that are growing at an alarming rate are a result of the devil being more determined than ever to fight against God’s will and destroy the peace that Jesus brought.  But as believers, we still have hope!  We can show compassion and a desire to help this hurting world, but we do not need to be overwhelmed or depressed about the ever worsening evil that surrounds us.  Through our faith in Christ, we have been given the power to be victorious in our daily lives, and we have been given the knowledge that we will, in fact, win in the end.  Every day, this darkness brought on by Satan and his demons can be overcome simply by turning on the light of God’s presence in our lives.  Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).  Similarly, Jesus says this about each one of us: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).  Despite what the news shows us every day, God’s light is winning and will triumph in the end.  At first glance, it appears as though the world is falling more and more under the control of the evil one.  But what we see on the news is not the whole story, and is definitely not the real story.  The truth is that God’s Kingdom is an eternal one, and His Kingdom is expanding.  “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all He promises and faithful in all He does” (Psalms 145:13).  His Kingdom lives and grows in the hearts of His followers, despite what the headlines say.  Having said that, the immense darkness of our present world can sometimes make us question our hope.  This is precisely why God tells us to place our hope in a Kingdom that is outside of the physical world we live in.  John 18:36 (AMP) says, “Jesus replied, ‘My kingdom is not of this world [nor does it have its origin in this world]. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting [hard] to keep Me from being handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this world.’”  We are even encouraged to pray that His Kingdom will come to Earth: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10).  How is God’s Kingdom brought to Earth?  Well, it starts with us.  The way we live our lives indicates whether we are abiding in His Kingdom.  Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 2:12 (NLT): “We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy.  For He called you to share in His Kingdom and glory.”  He goes on to say that we do this by receiving His Word.  We show that we truly have received, believed, and accepted God’s Word when our lives are changed because of it.  Our minds change, our thoughts change, our priorities change, our motives change, our words change, and our actions change.  The changed lives of followers of Christ enable His Kingdom and His influence to spread here on Earth.  “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).  Jesus invites us to believe that despite the darkness we see, the light is actually winning.  However, each of us has a role to play.  We, the church, are the answer to the darkness in the world.  We must all do our part and illuminate our section of the world by obeying God’s commands and doing the good works He has asked us to do.  We must bring God’s light of love and hope to those around us.  We can overcome any darkness that comes near us in our lives because “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).  Thank God that the devil’s time is almost up!  But let’s not forget that our time is short, too.  What are you going to do with the time and the life you have been given, in order to bring desperately needed light, love, hope and joy into this dark, desperate and hungry world?  Let’s encourage each other to get out there and illuminate our corner of the world today!