Day 207

“And the serpent hurled water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.” Revelation12:15. (NASB)

Vs13-14 covers a lot of history where God preserved his church in the wilderness. First in the mountains of Europe and then in the “new world.”
The mouth of the serpent reminds us of the temptation in the Garden of Eden. While the devil certainly seeks to hinder the church by force, his most effective weapon is often deception. The attacks and the temptations come from unexpected directions.

Just as terrorists look diligently for undefended targets, Satan studies us with great diligence, seeking points of weakness. In our own strength and wisdom, we will be as helpless as the residents of apartment blocks in the Ukraine, as Soviet missiles reigned down upon them.
The woman in this text represents the people of God throughout the Christian age who have suffered at the hands of oppressive governments and hateful majorities. For those who suffer for their faith, there is always the temptation to ask why. The suffering of the moment is usually incomprehensible. It is impossible to fully explain why God allows it.

What Revelation 12 does, is pull back the curtain and show us the larger context for Christian suffering. There is a war going on in the universe, a war that began in heaven (Rev 12:3-4) and climaxed after the death of Jesus on the cross (Rev 12:7-12). The battles we face from day to day are a minuscule part of that larger conflict. It may not be possible to see how our suffering fits into the larger picture of God’s plan. But Revelation shows us that when bad things happen to God’s people it is because of a supernatural fury that must be allowed its moment in the sun, but will one day be destroyed forever (Rev 20:7-15).

So we need to be patient and trust God no matter what happens. Justice is coming, but it will not take hold before I pass through serious trials. If I demand an explanation for everything that happens to me, I will lose faith in God. I need to be content with the fact that in this life we “know in part” (1 Cor 13:9).There are times when our experience poses questions the mind is unable to answer. But valid answers always exist. When it comes to the things we suffer, it is wise not to expect all the pieces to fit on the basis of our limited perception. God alone knows the big picture. The cross tells us that He can be trusted. If we don’t know now we don’t need to know.

The opening of the earth (metaphorically) did not stop the dragon, he went to solicit help from the two beasts in Revelation 13. Make sure you understand who these beasts are, because they are major players in the rest of the book of Revelation. Request my study “81 ways of identifying the Beast.”