The dragon spoken of in Revelation 12 is ever on the prowl. Though there may be disagreement over the identities of the woman and the child, Satan’s identity as the dragon is clear. Cast from the heavenly realms with his angels, He will inhabit only the earth and the sea, and in fury he will seek all God-fearing people for “he knows that he has little time” (Revelation 12:12).
The psalmist saw this dragon also. He pleaded, “O Lord, rescue me from evil people. Preserve me from those who are violent, those who plot evil in their hearts and stir up trouble all day long. Their tongues sting like a snake; the poison of a viper drips from their lips” (Psalm 140:1-3).
Revelation 12:10-11 reveals that we have three weapons in our arsenal with which to fight the dragon. First, “the Accuser has been thrown down to earth” (v. 10). We are no longer under guilt and condemnation, and we do not have to listen to the devil’s accusations against us.
Second, they “defeated him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of their testimony” (v. 11). In the precious blood of Jesus and with the testimony of His saving grace, we have a mighty weapon to wield against the dragon.
Finally, “they were not afraid to die” (v. 11). You cannot truly kill someone who has already been crucified with Christ.
“Rejoice, O heavens! ” (Revelation 12:12). Our enemy is destined for defeat!
Zechariah 1
A Call to Return to the LORD
1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo:
2“The LORD was very angry with your ancestors.3Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the LORD Almighty.4Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.5Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever?6But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors?
“Then they repented and said, ‘The LORD Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.’”
The Man Among the Myrtle Trees
7On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.
8During the night I had a vision, and there before me was a man mounted on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.
9I asked, “What are these, my lord?”
The angel who was talking with me answered, “I will show you what they are.”
10Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the LORD has sent to go throughout the earth.”
11And they reported to the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.”
12Then the angel of the LORD said, “LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?”13So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
14Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion,15and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’
16“Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the LORD Almighty.
17“Proclaim further: This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’”
Four Horns and Four Craftsmen
18Then I looked up, and there before me were four horns.19I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?”
He answered me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
20Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.21I asked, “What are these coming to do?”
He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise their head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.”
Revelation 12
The Woman and the Dragon
12 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.4Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.6The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.9The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
12Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”
13When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.14The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.15Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.16But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.17Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
Psalm 140
Psalm 140
140 Rescue me, LORD, from evildoers;
protect me from the violent,
2who devise evil plans in their hearts
and stir up war every day.
3They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s;
the poison of vipers is on their lips.
4Keep me safe, LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
protect me from the violent,
who devise ways to trip my feet.
5The arrogant have hidden a snare for me;
they have spread out the cords of their net
and have set traps for me along my path.
6I say to the LORD, “You are my God.”
Hear, LORD, my cry for mercy.
7Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer,
you shield my head in the day of battle.
8Do not grant the wicked their desires, LORD;
do not let their plans succeed.
9Those who surround me proudly rear their heads;
may the mischief of their lips engulf them.
10May burning coals fall on them;
may they be thrown into the fire,
into miry pits, never to rise.
11May slanderers not be established in the land;
may disaster hunt down the violent.
12I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor
and upholds the cause of the needy.
13Surely the righteous will praise your name,
and the upright will live in your presence.
Proverbs 30:17
17“The eye that mocks a father,
that scorns an aged mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
will be eaten by the vultures.
