Useful Bible Studies > Revelation Commentary > chapter 12
Satan (the devil) has suffered a series of defeats in his evil plan to make himself like God.
Originally, it seems that Satan was one of the most important angels in other words, one of God’s most important servants. However, he allowed proud thoughts to fill his mind. He was not content to be God’s servant; he wanted to be the master. That was when he suffered his first great defeat. He lost his important position in heaven. Isaiah 14:12-15 may refer to that event.
The devil saw that he could not defeat God because of God’s great power. So instead he tried to attack God when he (God) was weak. When Christ, God the Son, became man, Christ knew our human weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15). That was when the devil opposed him (Matthew 4:1-10). However, Christ remained loyal to God even in his death (Mark 14:36). By his death, he defeated the devil (Hebrews 2:14).
Revelation 12:7-9 seems to describe another great defeat for Satan. Even after the above defeats, Satan still has some power in the spirit world (Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12). God even permits him to enter heaven to accuse God’s people (Job chapters 1 and 2; Zechariah 3:1-2; Revelation 12:10). God permits that to test God’s people, and to prove that they really are loyal to him (1 Peter 1:6-7).
However, it seems that, soon before Christ’s return, the devil will lose that power. That will be the result of the war between the angels (God’s special servants) and the evil angels (the devil’s special servants). Then the devil will concentrate his evil activities upon the earth. For a short period of time, he will carry out his most wicked acts ever against the earth (Daniel 12:1; Revelation 12:12. Then, in Revelation 19:11-21; Christ will lead the armies of heaven against him. The result will be Satan’s complete defeat (Revelation 20:1-3).
Next part: The names and titles of Satan (Revelation 12:9)
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© 2016, Keith Simons.