What is really going on in the world? What is going on behind the scenes? The book of Revelation give us a back-story to human history.

“A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun…Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns.” (Rev.13:1,3)

A sign is an extraordinary spectacle or event that points beyond itself. A sign is not the place or person it signifies, e.g. highway or street signs, maps, or nametags. John’s vision paints a picture of the nature of human history. It is a snapshot of what is going on from Genesis to Revelation, from the beginning to the end of time. It is a war with Satan played out on earth and in heaven. By understanding the nature of this war we can comprehend what is going on in the world, why there is so much conflict and suffering, and what is the relevance of Jesus and us to it.

What is going on in the world? The sign of the woman in labor points to the people of God, Israel, the seed of Abraham (Isaiah 26:17,18) who is pursued by Pharoah and finds refuge in the wilderness for forty years. It also points to Mary and the birth of Jesus, whom King Herod tries to destroy by the massacre of the children of Bethlehem (Matt.2:13-18). The Holy Family finds refuge in Egypt. Jesus is taken up into heaven at his ascension.

Why is there so much conflict and suffering in the world? The sign of the dragon points to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, the devil who tempted Jesus in the wilderness and the Satan who leads the whole world astray, as he did Judas and seeks to do to us (2 Cor.11:3; Luke 22:31; John 13:2).  He is called the accuser, or the prosecutor in God’s court (Job 1:9-11; Zech 3:1) He is also called Leviathan (Ps.74:14; Isaiah 27:1). For a full exposition of the person and work of Satan see “The Prince of Darkness: Radical Evil and the Power of Good in History,” and “Satan: The Early Christian Tradition,” both by Jeffrey Burton Russell, Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, published by Cornell University Press.

There is war in heaven, as there is on earth. Michael the archangel, led the hosts of heaven against Satan, and cast him out of heaven with his angels. Jesus testified that Satan is defeated whenever the gospel is proclaimed, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” (Luke 10:18,19) Satan is overcome by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus (“by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony”).

Satan may be defeated, but he is still dangerous. He may be mortally wounded by the Cross and Resurrection, but he still has a sting in his tail. He pursues the people of God and tries to drown us in his bile and deceit. He is enraged against the children of Abraham, the Bride of Christ, and seeks to destroy all those who seek to obey God’s commandments and faithfully hold to the testimony of Jesus. “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19)

This is why human history is the story of the conflict between good and evil, between those who seek to follow the moral law of God and love Jesus, and those who oppose the salvation and the power and the kingdom of God, and the authority of his Christ. There is a malignant power, a cancerous disease, that seeks to lead the whole world astray. It takes many different forms at various stages of history. Denial of the reality of its existence does not eliminate its effects on the minds and lives of all people through false religions, philosophies, ideologies, cultures and world views.  Why do people do terrible things? Why is there so much cruelty and violence, selfishness and abuse, corruption and greed, indifference and immorality? People are led astray by Satan and allow him to enter into them. They join the dark side of life.

Jesus accused those who rejected him as being led astray by the devil. “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me!” (John 8:42-47)

The graphic imagery of John’s vision is meant to grab our attention to this interpretation of human history. Why is so much world history about wars and battles between people, tribes and nations? Why is so much national politics about party divisions, competing ideas of justice, equality and liberty, class warfare, racial stereotypes, struggles for power, and personal animosity? Why is so much family history about conflict, estrangement, divorce, and emotional pain? Why do we hurt each other when we say that all we want is love and peace? Why is so much personal history about the struggle between our past and our present, our lower nature and our spiritual nature, our ideals and our realities, our desires and our addictions, our obsessions and our freedom? Revelation says that there is a war going on and we must sign up on one side or the other: Christ or Satan, the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness. We cannot be neutral in this world’s fight.

How do we withstand the devil and overcome his power? “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power…and he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” (Acts 10:38) This is what we are called to do in his name. We overcome the accuser and hurl him down by the proclamation of the blood of the Lamb, by the word of our testimony, and through the healing ministry of the Holy Spirit. This is how the church survived and flourished in the first centuries. This is how we are to survive and flourish today. We are called to witness to Christ and to pray in the Holy Spirit. We are called to pray for our world, for our nation, for our families, for our friends, for ourselves, for healing from all that afflicts us and from deliverance from evil.