Corona Chronicles - Crown of Gold

Welcome back to Corona Chronicles. We started yesterday in revelation chapter 12. And we saw some amazing scenes there, rich with old testament imagery, looking at this woman standing for the people of God, this child who is gonna be a baby, yet a ruler, and 1 that is also under attack from from an evil 1. And we're carrying on that scene and we're we're gonna spend some more time thinking about that. So we're in chapter 12 and we're just gonna read about 7 to 9.

Then war broke out 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 snake called the devil -- Mhmm.

-- or Satan who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth. And his angels with him. Well, you know, it's the next part of the story or in 1 sense we've gone back even further. Own way because revelation doesn't really deal with things chronologically.

Mhmm. But we've got this what is called a war in heaven, but between obviously good angels that are following God and angels that are following Satan and there's this war going on. Now we don't you know, we can't be absolutely sure in all the details that are going on. But we know that Satan is a dragon. Mhmm.

We know that he is the ancient snake. We know he's called the devil satan. Mhmm. And he has power in the sense that he can he could lead the whole world astray. But he has no power in the sense that He's the 1 thrown out and hurled down.

Mhmm. And he could only really reign in time on this earth. Yeah. I think that's right. I think 1 of the 1 of the ways it's easy to go wrong in revelation is to try to take everything as a kind of as you say chronologically in a historical order and everything means this and to try to put together time scales.

Which is not really how it's written and and people can get quite confused when they try to do that. But nonetheless, the realities that it's describing are real, aren't they? And what's clear here as you say is that Satan did have a a sort of position in heaven and although the bible isn't wanting to give us the full backstory there, it's not wanting to give us everything. It's just explaining this reality, isn't it? But that Satan for whatever reason was thrown out of heaven and they were hurled down to the earth.

And as you say, there's power there to lead people astray. And Paul says, you know, the places that, you know, Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers that to live in this world is to breathe in his lies. And to turn away from God. So he definitely has under God because it's not a jewelism, is it? No.

This is the thing. So In a lot of eastern thought and mysticism and religion, there are 2 equal and opposite powers in the universe. 1 is good, 1 is evil. Yeah. And there's a constant tussle.

And 1 minute, it looks like so and so is in control within the next minute. The bible is never painting that kind of picture. No. God is always sovereign, satan is a created being, but for a time, you know, has a power and authority in this in this in this world to to do what he loves to do. Is to turn away from God, isn't it?

Yeah. And just just on that because you get this in in the whole of revelation and and actually particularly in in chapter 12 It's not a god either that's just what's the word. Responding. Mhmm. So evil happens, God responds.

Because there's a whole lot of talk, isn't there on the on the internet? You know, Why does God allow? Yeah. Sort of thing. And and you sort of think, well, hold it.

Hold it. It's not that God is just sort of allowing. He's just responding God is in control. Yeah. And he's even in control of Satan here.

And so he allows this rebellion, but and this strong beast, but he's thrown down. Mhmm. And his only place of of any power now is is time space this this world. Mhmm. So God is in control, definitely even though Satan is is real.

And as we saw last year well, gonna say last time at yesterday. The This this hurling down is in some way connected to this child, isn't it? You know, so the birth and the reign and the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ is is is essential to God's victory plan. Yeah. And Satan is defeated in Christ.

We saw that yesterday from Genesis 3, you know, right right from the very beginning. It's the, you know, a proto gospel if you like. Jesus is gonna come and he's gonna crush Satan. And so he's hurling down in his defeat. Is connected to the reign of this child, isn't it?

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's that's the amazing thing, isn't it about Satan? He he he seems to be mad with anger. Mhmm.

But his his madness against Christ and against Christ people. Actually, is God working out his plan? Mhmm. So he kills the Christ? But, you know, Christ at that point takes the sin of the world and then rises again.

So he he he he bites -- Yeah. -- Jesus foot but Jesus foot crushes his head. Yeah. The very place is bitter. Yeah.

And he knows he's defeated. It's interesting in the gospels, isn't it? When the demons come to Jesus and they'll say, have you come to torture us before the appointed time? Yeah. You know, they know there's a day coming where they're they're gonna be defeated and they're gonna be completely destroyed forever.

And this is just the I think as you've described it before, it's like a beast with his head chopped off, you know. In many ways, they're more dangerous because he's thrashing around. He's been hurled down. He's angry. So a toddler who knows he can't get what he wants.

And so he's gonna rip his toy room to pieces and throw his toys down. It's just a way of expressing his anger at the authority, isn't it? But, you know Yes. I I I was watching a nature program yesterday and I was talking about this particular cop roach. Mhmm.

And you can cut its head off but it's also got a brain in its stomach or something as well. And even though its head is cut off, it still comes at you. Yeah. It can't see or eat. Yeah.

But it's still alive because it's got another and it's sort of like the fatal blows happened with Satan, but he still still coming. So that gives us hope in this world because we're not dualist. And we're not over to Satan. Satan will not win. Mhmm.

He's going to be, you know, extinguished. Mhmm. I think we're gonna leave it there.