READING FOR DECEMBER 19, 2024: DEUTERONOMY 34, REVELATION, PSALM 125 DEUTERONOMY 34 THE DEATH OF MOSES.
Years ago, when traveling to Florida by car, one would pass many signs promoting Lookout Mountain to “see seven states.”Moses went to the top of Mount Nebo, which is just east of Jericho on the other side of the Jordan River. From that vantage point he could see the Mediterranean Sea to the west, all of Naphtali to the north, and the Negev to the south. What a view! Although he was 120 years old, the text says he was strong enough to climb that high and still had great eyesight to see all this land. And this was before Woodway Internal Medicine and Family Vision Care. Moses led Israel out of bondage, but, as this story demonstrates, lived an imperfect life. Jesus, though, led us out of sin: “Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself” (Heb. 3:3). With Moses’s death, it was time to move ahead under Joshua’s lead.
REVELATION 12: Chapter 12 depicts the battle between a woman and a dragon. Most scholars believe the woman is Mary and the child mentioned in verse 13 is Jesus. The identity of the dragon is clearly stated as the devil or Satan. (12:9) There are several things we can glean about Satan from this chapter and knowing them will enable us to stand against his attacks.
Satan is a Real Being. This should be obvious to anyone who reads the Bible, for both the Old and New Testament speak about Satan. Unfortunately, many people (even some Christians) don’t believe Satan exists. In the Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis makes this comment about the reality of Satan, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”
Satan Rebelled Against God. This rebellion is depicted in 12:7. Satan was created as a good and beautiful angel named Lucifer, but pride entered his mind. We can’t understand how this happened, but from within, by an act of the will, Lucifer chose to exalt himself rather than God. He led other angels in his rebellion. Some suggest that 12:4 means that 1/3 of the angels joined him in his rebellion. The angels who joined him are what we now call demons.
READING FOR DECEMBER 19, 2024 CONTINUED: REVELATION 12, PSALM 126
Satan is Not All Powerful. Revelation 12:8 says Satan was “not powerful enough” to stand against Michael and he was cast out of heaven and hurled to the earth. Satan has limited power and is not powerful enough to stand against the power of God that is present in God’s people. “…the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Jesus said, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy…” (Luke 10:19)
Satan Wars Against God’s People. Revelation 12:9 says Satan attempts to “lead the whole world astray.” Verse 17 says he makes war against those who obey God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. This means us. We have an enemy who wants to destroy us. Peter says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Fortunately, God has given us everything we need to stand against his attacks and to extinguish all his flaming arrows. (Read about the Armor of God found in Ephesians 6:10-18)
Satan Will Not Win. Revelation 12:12 says Satan’s time is short. God has already decreed that the day will come when Satan will be judged. We will read about this judgment and Satan’s final destiny in Revelation 20. His defeat was secured when Jesus died on the cross. Revelation 12:11 makes it clear that Satan is overcome by the blood of the Lamb. Paul declares this in Colossians 2:15, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
PSALM 125 The Psalmist says those who trust in God are like Mount Zion in the sense that they cannot be shaken; the eternal God protects them forever. The word “Zion” is first mentioned in 2 Samuel 5:7: “David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.” This city of David was eventually named Jerusalem, site of the Temple and God’s special presence. Although we reside in Yorktown, as Christians we are really citizens of that heavenly Zion: “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels” (Heb. 12:33). The Psalmist looks for the day when the wicked no longer threaten Jerusalem. Revelation 21:27 tells us the wicked can never even enter the heavenly Zion: “Nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Hence, the major question in life is do we and our family have our names written in the Lamb’s book of life by receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior?
