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| Woman of the Apocalypse (Hortus deliciarum) |
It’s Perry Gresham Weekend once again. Yesterday, we heard a word from Richard Beck that reminded us that “We Wrestle Not Against Flesh and Blood,” but rather against the powers and principalities of this present darkness. This morning, I return to this pulpit for the first time since I retired more than four years ago. Zach commissioned me to continue the conversation that Richard started yesterday. With that in mind, I chose the reading from Revelation 12.
We don’t often hear from John of Patmos in our mainline churches, especially if the preacher draws sermon texts from the lectionary, which has been my practice over the years. Nevertheless, I believe that John has an important word to share with us this morning.
Here is John’s word:
And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world he was thrown down to earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Rev. 12:7-8)
John employs a variety of images in this passage, including references to Egyptian and Greco-Roman mythology, as well as biblical allusions, such as Genesis 3 and possibly the opening chapters of Job. John envisions a war in heaven that leads to the defeat of the great dragon, who has seven heads and ten horns, along with seven diadems. While this may refer to the Roman Empire and the emperor, John also identifies the dragon that Michael and his angels defeated with Satan or the devil. There are two other characters in this story. The first character is a woman, who has been identified with Mary and with Israel---I tend to go with Israel---along with a male child whom she gives birth to, a child who appears to be the messiah. According to John, after he is thrown down from heaven, Satan wages war against the woman and her child, along with the rest of her children who keep the commandments of God and testify to Jesus.
As we read scripture, we encounter numerous passages that connect heaven and earth, such as the Lord’s Prayer. What happens in heaven affects what happens on earth. So, while Satan may have been banished from heaven, he hasn’t given up deceiving and accusing God’s children.
When we read passages like this, it might seem like we’re watching a scene from Star Wars. Could this be Luke and his friends battling the evil Sith lords Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine? You can see the similarities, but no light sabers are involved in this story.
While mainline Protestants don’t talk much about Satan or spiritual warfare, perhaps we’re living in a moment when such talk could be warranted. Although we need to be very careful how we use this language, Richard has invited us to consider the message of Ephesians 6, which suggests that “our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). Could what we read in Ephesians 6 fit with what John describes in Revelation 12?
One of the challenges posed by the Book of Revelation is the presence of rather violent imagery. Nevertheless, although he speaks of wars taking place in heaven and on earth, God’s people are never told to engage in violence. That is because the devil and his angels have been conquered not with swords or spears but “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
Although I don’t think John knew about the Gospel of Luke, there is a similarity between what we read in Revelation 12 and what Jesus shared in Luke with the seventy disciples, whom he sent out on a mission of healing and preaching. He told them that he “saw Satan fall from heaven” (Luke 10:18), and he connected Satan’s fall with their witness as they shared the good news that God’s realm is on the horizon.
The problem we face, according to John of Patmos, is that Satan may have been defeated in heaven, but the war on earth continues because the devil isn’t finished accusing and deceiving humanity. Therefore, evil continues to make its presence felt in our midst.
When it comes to the presence of evil and suffering in the world, as Richard Beck points out, we tend to think of them as if they’re a “logical puzzle to be solved rather than a reality to be resisted” (Beck, Reviving Old Scratch, p. 81). We may find ourselves trying to defend God’s honor by devising various theodicies, but as Beck points out, what John of Patmos, along with the author of the letter to the Ephesians, does is remind us that we’re not just living in the midst of a political crisis, we’re living in the midst of a spiritual one. As Ron Allen writes in his commentary on Revelation, “The figure of Satan reminds us that evil in the world is more than individuals doing bad things. Destructive forces in the world are often systemic in nature.” He also reminds us that “evil is tenacious,” so we need to prepare for the long haul [I Will Tell You a Mystery, p. 119]. Yes, our battle is not just against flesh and blood; it’s a spiritual battle against the powers and principalities that inhabit the systems of this world.
When we see threats emerging to the future of democracy in this country, along with the growing attraction to authoritarianism here and abroad, together with support for religious nationalism and ethnocentrism, we’re not just talking about an individual person. We’re talking about systems that are expressions of cosmic powers that have evolved over time and taken root in our midst, including systems like racism, that must be resisted, not just explained. The pathway of resistance, as John of Patmos reminds us, doesn’t involve violence on our part, even if we end up being the targets of violence.
So, getting back to our reading from Revelation 12, we see the dragon, otherwise known as Satan, falling from heaven but continuing to operate in our midst as the accuser and deceiver, and manipulator. So, how should we respond?
In his book Reviving Old Scratch, which some of you have been reading, Richard reminds us that the Bible takes the existence of evil for granted. Nevertheless, prophets, including Jesus and John of Patmos, among others, have called on us to join the resistance. The Borg of Star Trek fame may tell us that resistance is futile, but John of Patmos disagrees. While the path forward isn’t an easy one because resisting evil comes with a cost, Satan’s defeat was set in motion when he was cast out of heaven. We participate in the resistance to the accuser and deceiver not with weapons of war or acts of violence, but “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
The slaughtered Lamb we encounter in Revelation is none other than Jesus, the one who endured the cross. However, in the resurrection, he received “power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing” forever and ever (Rev. 5:12-13). When it comes to the ones who defeat the dragon through their testimony, John has in mind the martyrs who stood firm in the face of evil. These are the ones who resisted the temptation to give in to the empire’s false but seductive promises.
When it comes to the battles we face, Richard Beck writes that “there are forces in the world satanically opposed to love. So if love is going to invade and establish a beachhead in our lives, we’re going to have to fight for it. That is what I mean by spiritual warfare.” However, when it comes to engaging in this spiritual warfare, he writes, “it’s a battle fought with love and for love” [Reviving Old Scratch, p. 97]. Yes, our battle with evil is rooted in Jesus’ sacrificial love displayed on the cross. Then, as we read in Eugene Peterson’s translation of Colossians 2, “He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets” (Col. 2:15 MSG). In other words, Jesus made a public spectacle of the spiritual powers and principalities of this world by enduring the cross. This is the victory won by love for love by the God who is love and revealed to us in Christ, who endured the cross and thereby defeated the forces of evil.
C.S. Lewis pictured this event in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In that story, the White Witch, who held Narnia in her control, tried to kill Aslan on the Stone Table. However, she discovered that there is a deeper magic that brought Aslan back to life. When Aslan returned to life, he broke her control over Narnia. While the battle still raged, the victory had already been won.
As we face the crises of our time, and they are many, ranging from the growing threats to democracy to the war on immigrants in our communities, from the increasing presence of racism to the attacks on our Trans siblings, let us remember Jesus’ mandate of love that he gave to the disciples at the conclusion of his final meal before his arrest and crucifixion. He told the disciples, and us as well, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35 NRSVUE).
Preached by:
Dr. Robert D. Cornwall
Minister Emeritus
Central Woodward Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Troy, Michigan
Perry Gresham Weekend
November 9, 2025
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