Read Acts 4:1-4 and Revelation 12
1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
1 A great and wondrous 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. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its 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. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”[a] And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. 7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The 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. 10 Then 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. 11 They 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. 12 Therefore 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.” 13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The 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. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
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. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight. (CS Lewis, “The Screwtape Letters”)
I play hockey and before each game our coach gives a team talk within which he points out some of our opposition’s strengths and weaknesses: “Number 9 has scored 10 goals already this season so we need someone to stick on her at all times. Last time we played them, their left defender was weak, so let’s attack hard down that side” and so on. However, this critique of the opposition, while an important part of his talk, is never the main focus. Rather, our coach spends the majority of the time reminding us of our strengths (and – to a lesser extent – weaknesses) and instructing us on any particular strategies we are to employ during the game.
John Stott notes that, while earlier on in Acts we are presented with an almost idyllic picture of the early Christian community, it is not long before opposition is encountered. Behind this opposition – although only not explicitly mentioned until chapter 5 – is the unseen reality of Satan who, Stott argues, employs three main weapons: violent persecution; moral compromise (e.g. 5:1-10) and the danger of exposure to false teaching (6:1-4 – from which we could also add disunity and strife amongst the believers). We should, he goes on, therefore read Acts and Revelation side by side: “Both tell much the same tale of the church and its experience of conflict, but from a different perspective. Luke in Acts chronicles what unfolded on the stage of history before the eyes of observers; John in the Revelation enables us to see hidden forces at work.”[1]
However, while it is important to be aware of Satan and his strategies – as it helps us to deal more wisely with them – it is, as CS Lewis points out (and Stott would concur), unwise to focus too much on this! Further, here, as elsewhere, the opposition causes harm to particular individuals but cannot stop the spread of the church at large, which – on the contrary – continues to grow.
- Thinking about the equal and opposite errors that CS Lewis describes (denying/ignoring the existence of Satan versus over-focusing on him), which are you more inclined to and why? Is there anything you could/should do to rectify this?
- Are there any areas in your life now where you face opposition? What form does this take? What (and/or who) has God given you to help you overcome this opposition/persevere through it?
If you have a bit longer :-)
Read Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
One morning last week, I received a text from a friend who had felt prompted by the Spirit to pray for me and asked if there was anything in particular I’d appreciate prayer for; which was great because there was!
- Who could you hold up in prayer today? Are there regular people who you have committed yourself to pray for? Is there anyone you could drop a note to, letting them know that you’re praying for them?
- When away from our family and friends overseas, it can be particularly encouraging to know that people back home are praying for you. Look at the list of OHers currently living overseas[2] and choose one or more of them to pray for today. If there’s anything particular you pray for, or any notes of encouragement or Bible verses that you want to send to them, let me know and I’ll pass these on.
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