The Book of Revelation - Cause of the War - Essay Example

? Religion and Theology The Book of Revelation The book of Revelation was written during the rule of King Domitian around 81-96 AD (Easley and Anders 22). During the period, Christians were strongly being persecuted for their belief in Jesus Christ (Geisler and William 93). Main aim of the book was, therefore, to give Christians hope during the end times. In addition, the book was intended to urge Christians to remain strong and faithful at times of persecution and suffering. Revelation is a prophetic book, as John records “…on that day, I was in the spirit…... which said, write on the scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches…..” (Rev. 1: 9-11). By applying themes of symphony, the message in the book is repeated in different ways using different signs and symbols. Despite several visions and revelations, main theme in the book is, however, clear; God is in control and in the end, all evil will be destroyed. Faithful victors will, on the other hand, be blessed with the new earth and new heaven. The book of Revelation is related to other biblical books, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament (Malina 72). Analyzing any section of the book of Revelation, therefore, calls for revisiting other books in the Bible. This paper presents exegesis of Revelation 12: 7-13. Revelation 12: 7-13 The passage is an extract from the vision of “The Woman and the Dragon” (Rev. 12). From verse seven of Revelation 12, a war breaks in heaven between Michael and his angels against the dragon, also with his angels. In verse 9, the dragon is described as the “the ancient serpent,” “the devil or Satan,” or the “deceiver of the whole world.” The dragon and his angels are, however, defeated and they lose their position in heaven. A joyous moment, thus, follows the victory because “the accuser of our brothers, who accused them before our God day and night, has been hurled down” (Rev. 12: 10). Through the truth and the blood of the Lamb, the faithful defeat the serpent. The passage also warns inhabitants of the earth and the sea that the Devil has come to them. War between the “Woman’s offspring” and the dragon is further explained in verse 13. The extract raises some questions, which need to be answered for full understanding of the extract. The questions include: what was the main cause of the war in heaven, why did God not completely destroy the dragon and his angels if He actually defeated them, and what is the literary and symbolic context of the passage. Cause of the War During creation, the Godhead did not intend any creation, both in earth and in heaven, to perish. Each member of the heavenly beings had special duties. Lucifer, Satan’s name during creation, was the “Light-bringer” or the “Light-bearer” in heaven (Zuck and Zuck 92). Lucifer, instead, became so proud and started to boast about his position. In effect, together with a third of all angels, he started to rebel against God. The rebellion disrupted the relationship between God and Lucifer, especially on issues concerning relationship between mankind and the trinity. The woman, who is yet to give birth, described in the passage reveals the glory of heaven (Rev. 12: 1). As recorded in Isa 26:17 and 54: 13, the woman represents God’s people. In the revelation, Apostle John attempts to blend Moses and other prophets through symbolism. That is, there is transition from a single woman, Eve, to a woman in labor portraying Israel as God’s covenant people. Moreover, the birth of Jesus Christ is foreseen by prophet Isaiah in Isa 7:14 and after more than 2000 years, there is birth of true followers of Christ. The woman is, thus, God’s covenant people and the male child born (Rev. 12: 5) represents God’s people of end time. By pursuing the woman and the child, the dragon was out to destroy all those who obey God’s commandments and proclaim the truth revealed by Jesus. Forsyth (p. 66) considers the protection given to both the mother and the child as a show of God’s love for those who obey his commandments and are pure in their heart. The war erupts after the woman and her son are protected by God. Therefore, as a possible cause of the war, Satan became furious with the love that God had for those who were faithful to His commandments and obey the truth proclaimed by Jesus. On the other hand, Braaten (p. 133) explains that the war was caused by the role given to Jesus in the salvation plan. A third of the spirits did not recognize Christ as the savior. Rev. 12: 5 talks about the son who “will rule all nations with an iron scepter.” In Luke 2: 27 and Psalms 2: 8-9, the “rod of iron” is used to break a vessel into pieces. Broken pieces, however, never leave hands of a potter. The potter remolds broken vessels “in his own image” (Jer. 18:6). Also, in Rev. 21: 5, God is declared the maker of everything new. Therefore, through the throne of the child, who will rule all nations, God will remold wicked beings. Satan with his angels were, however, not happy with this plan and consequently, the war broke up. This is another possible cause of the war. Continual Existence of Satan Verses 7 and 8 confirm that after the victory of Michael, Satan together with his angels, were cast down from heaven. The question that arises is, if God truly defeated Satan, why did he not destroy him completely or if God truly love those who obey His commands, why did He allow Satan to make war with the faithful (Rev. 12: 17). Moreover, the verses do not specify whether Satan and his angels were still in heaven or had left heaven at the time of the war. In the passage, no verse attempts to answer the questions about continual existence of Satan. To answer the questions, there is need to understand who actually did the action of “casting out.” The war in heaven described in the passage symbolizes the constant conflict between evil and good. Victory of the war, therefore, came when Christ died for mankind on the cross. Thus, when reading the passage, the wordings should not be taken literally. As explained by Forsyth (p. 143), even if the “war” is taken literally, the defeat of Satan is consistent with what Jesus had said some 2000 years ago in Mathew 16: 18 “….and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” In another context, time of the victory and casting down of Satan confirms that the deceiver had previously left heaven. In verse 11, casting down was “...by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…” The verse implies that Satan was cast out when or immediately after crucifixion of Christ. Also in Luke 10: 18, Jesus says, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” The verse implies that either Satan had fallen from heaven before his casting out or Jesus lied about Satan. The action of casting out can, therefore, be looked at both symbolically and literally. Based on the passage, we cannot be certain about who or what force did the casting out. Nevertheless, we can be certain about the time of casting out; during crucifixion. We can, thus, conclude that Satan had previously fallen at least once from heaven. The falling down could have been long before creation or after the time of Job. During Job’s time, Satan occasionally accompanied angels as they presented themselves before the Lord (Job 1: 6). The verse implies that during the time of Satan had already fallen from heaven. Overall Synthesis of the Passage There is a strong correlation between the passage and theology. The passage reveals more understanding about God, relationship between God and Satan, and relationship between God and faithful Christians. The passage discloses that Jesus will bring reward to faithful Christians who obeyed God’s commandments. Also, the passage confirms that Jesus will defeat all evil and will be with his people till infinite time. There will, therefore, be close relationship between God and the saved souls. There is also a message of encouragement to Christians, who should remain firm despite hardships they face. The passage also reveals that a peaceful environment in heaven was disrupted by Satan. However, God is faithful to His promise and will never let His people suffer. By casting Satan down, the passage confirms that there an ongoing war between light and darkness. Therefore, symbolic interpretations of the passage include disclosure of God as a loving and powerful father, continual war between evil and good, suffering and persecution to those who are faithful to God’s commandments. Nevertheless, in the end, the faithful will have a strong and everlasting kingdom. Conclusion In sum, the book of Revelation was written by Apostle John, who considered himself a member of God’s family. The Apostle writes what was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit in the Island of Patmos. The book, thus, has several visions that foretell what is yet to happen or what had started happening during the time of the writer. Revelation 12 describes the vision of the woman and dragon. Verses 7 to 13 illustrates a war that erupts following birth of the “Son.” The passage uncovers the type of relationship between God and His loved people. The verses also provide possible causes of war between God and Satan. One question, however, remains unanswered in the passage; why did God not destroy Satan and his followers? Works Cited Braaten, Mark. Come, Lord Jesus: A Study of Revelation. Liturgical Press, 2007. Easley, Kendell and Max Anders. Holman New Testament Commentary – Revelation. Holman Press, 1999. Forsyth, Neil. The Old Enemy: Satan & the Combat Myth. Princeton University Press, 1987. Geisler N. and William E. A General Introduction to the Bible. Moody Publishers, 1986. Malina, Bruce. Social-Science Commentary on the Book of Revelation. Fortress Press, 2000. The Bible. New International Version. Zuck L. and Zuck R. Basic Bible Interpretation. Chariot Victor Publication. 1991 Read More