Satan Thrown Down to Earth
7Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. 8And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. 9This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
10“The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.” For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth—the one who accuses them before our God day and night. 11And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. 12Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.”
13When the dragon realised that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time. 15Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth. 16But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon. 17And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus. 18Then the dragon took his stand on the shore beside the sea.
Revelation 12:7-18
Let’s recap for a moment and regather our thoughts at the big picture level. I told you in a previous Gem that John witnessed an event in heaven that set the scene for what was to follow. A battle ensued in heaven which spilled over on to the earth. What John saw concertinaed time. He saw the moment satan initiated the battle in heaven and his resultant expulsion from heaven. When satan was cast out of heaven he took with him a third of the angels (stars) [12:4]. His first challenge was to attempt to kill or devour the woman’s baby.
The first three verses of the passage before us in this Gem make it clear. I don’t think I have to make it any clearer than John’s words recorded in 12:7-9. Verse 10 makes it clear that John has picked up the announcement made by the loud voice in heaven concerning the fact that the salvation and power of the Kingdom of God has come at last (as we have been told several times in the last three chapters).
- There will be no more delay (10:6)
- The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever. (11:15)
- The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.” (12:10a)
We then come to the verse which is the lynch pin for this series labelled ‘Facing Death Not Afraid To Die’:
And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
Revelation 12:11
Who does that apply to? Verse 17 gives us the clue which is why I coloured it red to highlight it.
And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.
Revelation 12:17
This great dragon, the ancient serpent, the devil, or satan, the one deceiving the whole world is the one who declared war on the woman and her child, Christ, and on the rest of her children. Which leads to the question: Who are the rest of her children? That is the clue which leads us to the understanding that the woman, figuratively speaking represents in a poetic way, the children of God of the Old and New Covenants. Put another way in verse 17 they are those who “keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.” Can it be any clearer?
The first group representing the children of the New Testament are the disciples or apostles, to whom Jesus said:
If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.
John 15:18-21
“But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.” So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:17-20
What alternative did they have?
- “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him?”
- “Do we obey God or you who are commanding us not to preach in His name, not to use His name ‘LORD’ for another?
- “We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
- “Faced with the choice of “keeping God’s commandments and maintaining our testimony for Jesus, we choose to keep His commandments and maintain our testimony.”
So how did the first group of the rest of the woman’s children do on maintaining their testimony in the face of death? Twelve disciples along with Paul, Barnabas, Luke, Mark and Silas were all martyred for their faith with the exception of John.
Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome in AD 66 at Nero’s command. According to Dionysius (Acts 17:34) they were killed on the same day but in different parts of Rome. Paul said to Peter “Peace be with thee, cornerstone of the Church, Shepherd of the lambs of Christ”. Peter said to Paul, “Go in peace, preacher of the truth and good, mediator of salvation to the just.” Peter asked “Crucify me heads downwards, for I am not worthy to die as my Master died.” The crowd of onlookers reportedly pummelled them and spat on them before Paul was beheaded.
Andrew was bound to a cross in an X form (saltire). He welcomed it. Later some of his bones were taken to Scotland by Regulus, a monk from St Andrew’s Cathedral in Patras on the Ionian Sea. Most of his remains are interred in St Andrew’s Cathedral.
According to ancient sources Matthew died by the sword in Ethiopia while celebrating Mass, martyred at the direction of a king whom Matthew had rebuked for lusting after a nun.
Philip according to tradition was crucified on a tall cross in Hierapolis, Asia Minor.
Bartholomew (also called Nathanael) was ordered beaten with rods by King Astreges, then idolators flayed him, then crucified him and finally beheaded him.
James son of Zebedee, brother of John, was beheaded by order of Herod Agrippa I in Judea.
James brother of Jesus was martyred in AD 62 or 69 by being stoned to death by the Pharisees on order of High Priest Ananus ben Ananus.
Jude (Thaddeus) was crucified in Edessa (modern Turkey) in AD 72.
Thomas (Didymus) was killed by four soldiers spears supposedly in India or possibly in the Kabul Valley in Afghanistan.
Simon Zelote, the Zealot, died by crucifixion and afterwards his tormentors sawed his body in half and buried him in Persia, Iberia or Britain? [Couldn’t have been sawn in half then, maybe thirds.]
According to Nicephorus (Historia eccl., 2, 40), Matthias first preached the Gospel in Judea, then in Ethiopia (by the region of Colchis, now in modern-day Georgia) and was crucified and afterwards axed in the head.
[John] Mark (according to Eusebius) was dragged through the streets of Anianus AD 62 or 63, then attacked by Pagans, dragged through fire with ropes and his body then torn to pieces.It is believed Barnabas was stoned to death but the apocryphal Acts of Barnabas states that he was bound with a rope by the neck, and then was dragged to the site where he would be burned to death.
Silas died a martyr’s death in 65 AD, crucified during the reign of Emperor Nero due to his refusal to renounce his faith.
The apocryphal Acts of Timothy states that in the year 97 AD, the 80-year-old Timothy tried to halt a procession in honour of the goddess Diana by preaching the Gospel. The angry pagans beat him, dragged him through the streets, and then stoned him to death.
Only John died a natural death among the eleven original disciples and four apostles. Thus almost all disciples and apostles were true to the response Peter and John made to the members of the Sanhedrin. “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
One of the things which impressed me the most [and led to his conversion] was the way Christians died with dignity and with prayer with their hands raised to God.
Tertullian
The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.
Tertullian
It is the cause, not the death, that makes a martyr.
Napoleon Bonaparte