Comfort in the Midst of an Unseen War

Comfort in the Midst of an Unseen War

Revelation 12:7-12

Do you like horror movies? I have to admit that I don’t. I don’t really like the feeling of being frightened, and with all the CGI and special effects, today’s movies are very realistic and frightening. Most of the horror movies from my day weren’t all that scary. You could tell pretty easily that the monsters weren’t real.

The other reason I don’t care for horror movies is that, not only is the real world scary enough, but from the Bible I know that there are things going on around me that are a lot scarier than any movie could depict. There is a war going on that involves my eternal welfare. It’s a war against a dragon who is described as an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. How do you fight someone who has seven heads. While you try to chop one off, six more are trying to eat you. How do you win against something so big and powerful that a flick of his tail can knock a third of the stars out of the sky?

Who is this frightening beast? John tells us that he is the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. He is the one who was there in the garden after the creation of Adam and Eve. He is the one who convinced Eve to listen to him instead of God, who through her has led the whole world astray. And he doesn’t do his work alone. He has angels with him. We call them Demons, possibly represented by the third of the stars mentioned earlier.

There are many who might say, “there’s nothing to fear here. This is Revelation. It’s fantasy. It’s not real. This Satan figure is just a personification of evil, just something the church created to scare people into doing what the church wants.” That’s Satan would like us to think, but it’s not true. He is real. John hears a voice in heaven saying, 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. Paul reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Peter tells us that our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. And that someone is YOU and ME.

In the movies the hero can get eaten by some giant extra-terrestrial beast and come out alive, but if this giant dragon, Satan, devours you, you aren’t escaping. You are lost forever.

Hopefully this description of Satan is scary enough to get your attention. Hopefully it reminds you that there are more things going on in this world than meet the eye. Hopefully it reminds you to be vigilant and sober, always wanting to be ready for Satan’s attacks.

But it sounds hopeless, doesn’t it? How can we fight an enemy we can’t see? How can we stand against an enemy that is obviously much more powerful than we are, who has an army of angels on his side so that we are completely outnumbered? It seems much worse than the situation Elisha’s servant thought he was in when he saw that the king of Aram had sent his army to surround the whole city just to capture Elisha.

As Elisha told his servant, don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.

John tells us there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Michael, the angel God has put in charge of protecting his people, together with those we call the good angels, defeated Satan and his angels. In other words, the angels God sends to watch over and protect us are stronger than Satan and his angel/demons. What a wonderful thing it would be for God to open our eyes the way that he did the eyes of the servant of Elisha so that we could see God’s mighty angels, the horsemen and chariots of fire, right here with us right now! But as is often the case, we are blessed when we have not seen but simply believe that they are here because God says so.

God’s angels are always present to protect us, to keep us in all our ways, until God decides that our time on earth has come to an end. Then, as they did for the poor beggar Lazarus, they carry us to the place Jesus has prepared for us in heaven. There we will finally be out of the reach of the great dragon, Satan, for good, for all eternity.

The picture of Michael and his angels defeating Satan and his angels gives us comfort. It’s comforting to know that the Angel of the Lord encamps around us and that angels are watching over us to pick us up lest we dash our foot against a stone. But there is something John says that is even more comforting. He hears the voice in heaven saying, Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

Most scholars believe that this is speaking about the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Jesus resisted every temptation of Satan, went to the cross and won salvation for all by suffering the punishment that we all deserved for our sins. He rose from the dead on the third day, he descended into hell to proclaim his victory over Satan, and he has ascended to the right hand of God who has placed all things under his feet, where he rules everything for the benefit of the church. Because of this, Satan’s accusations have become powerless. It’s useless for him to try to accuse us before God because Jesus is right there pointing to his perfect life that has been credited to us, and his innocent death that has paid the price for our sins.

How the heavens rejoice each time even one person is brought to trust that Jesus has won salvation for them. They overcome Satan by the blood of the lamb. Even while they live out their lives on earth and Satan tries to overcome them with guilt by pointing to their many sins, they look to the lamb. They say, “go away Satan. I know that I have sinned and that I deserve to spend eternity with you in the fires of hell, but I have been cleansed of every spot of sin by the blood of the lamb. The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses me from all sin. That’s God’s promise. Nothing, not even my earthly life, is more important to me than clinging to this promise of God. I am willing to die rather than give up my faith in Jesus. I rejoice that my name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” When we state God’s promise, when we cling to it, the devil is defeated, and he must flee from us.

How the heavens rejoice each time a believer testifies that Jesus is the only way, truth, and life, the only Savior! We heard in the Gospel lesson that, as the seventy-two returned from their mission trip-- from healing the sick and casting out demons, but most importantly proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven had come, and that people should repent and believe the good news that Jesus was their Messiah-- Jesus says that he was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightening. As believers testify that Jesus is their Savior and the Savior of the world, Satan’s kingdom shrinks. As the Holy Spirit works through the word and sacraments, more and more people are won for God’s kingdom and the angels in heaven rejoice.

The war that we can’t see, the war between Michael and his angels and Satan and his angels, and the battle for our eternal souls, that’s scarier than the scariest horror movie because it’s not fiction. It’s real. It affects where we will spend eternity.

But God comforts us as Elisha comforted his servant. He reminds us that Satan and his demons are not strong enough to overcome Michael and his angels. He reminds us that, even though we are no match for fighting off the dragon on our own, he is easily defeated by the blood of the Lamb and the word, the sword of the Spirit.

Satan’s accusations can’t harm us because we have been cleansed by the blood of the lamb. The word of God, the sword of the spirit, is a double-edged sword. it’s defensive. It enables us to discern what is true and what is false. It reveals Satan’s lies for us so that we are not misled by him. And it enables us to go on the offensive, to attack Satan and his kingdom and to set captives free as the Spirit works to bring others to faith in Jesus. We have Jesus’ promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against his church.

When you are frightened by what’s happening in this scary world in which we live, remember Elisha’s servant. Remember that the angel of the Lord encamps around you. Remember that Michael and his angels continue to fight for you. God uses his mighty angels to make sure that everything works together for your eternal good.

When Satan tries to frighten you with his lies and accusations, remember that you are victorious over him through the blood of the Lamb, and by the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.