I have the privilege this Sunday to bring a message out of Revelation 12:7-12. We continue in our sermon series called Creation to New Creation. This week we see the heavenly and spiritual reality behind our personal experience in the “already but not yet” kingdom.
Why does the Bible talk about the defeat of Satan in a decisive and real sense, yet on the other hand still portray him as powerful? Put another way, why is Satan in one sense “the crushed serpent,” yet still in another sense “a roaring lion seeking someone to devour”?
Growing up in Southern California, run-ins with snakes were a normal part of our lives.
I remember many times when my dad had to come out with a shovel to kill the poisonous rattlesnakes we encountered. He would behead the snake and give us the rattler.
One solid strike between the head and the body is all it took. Done. Dead. Defeated.
But even after its defeat, what is the decapitated snake able to do? The body writhes, and coils, and even in some cases lunges forth and strikes, as if to bite and inject its venom. But there is no head, no fangs, and no way to kill.
This is a helpful picture of how our text portrays the defeat of Satan yet his real activity on the earth today. Satan’s defeat is “already” at the cross of Christ, but it is “not yet” finalized or completed. So, we live in the tension of the already-but-not-yet kingdom of God.
One of the main ways Satan now attacks God’s people is through accusing you in our hearts, minds, and souls. When these accusations come, what are we to do?
Our text equips us with the power to withstand Satan and his schemes, as we live in this “already-but-not-yet” tension.
Come and gather with us this Sunday to worship and be equipped to fight and overcome the schemes of the evil one.
In preparation you might consider reading and mediating on Revelation 12 and Ephesians 6:10-20. Also, we will be singing Overcome by Jeremy Camp and Build My Life by Matthew Redman this Sunday in response. Consider listening to these songs this week.
In Christ,
Tim