Home > Bob's Thoughts, Revelation > 12 Reflections on War in the Book of Revelation

12 Reflections on War in the Book of Revelation

May 11th, 2010 bob Leave a comment Go to comments
  1. The STORY of the Bible is the STORY about warfare: God is a warrior (Exod. 15:3), and from Old Testament to New Testament times up to the present, God has called upon his people to be a warring people (Eph. 6:10ff.).
  2. As a Story, Revelation develops this theme of war from the first chapter to the last (Rev. 1:5b-6,8; 2:7, 11,17,26; 3:5,12,21; 5:5; 17:14; 19:15, etc.).
  3. God is commander-in-chief, and through the centuries, God’s people make up his army.
  4. On the other hand, Satan is the commander-in-chief of the forces of evil. His army is made up of individuals, institutions, and different kinds of structures (e.g., economic, etc.).
  5. God is commander-in-chief who is both for and against his people, depending upon their own faithfulness or lack of loyalty.
  6. Jesus was a divine warrior, opposing and defeating the forces of evil (Matt. 3:11-12; 10:34; Col. 2:13-15; Eph. 4:8).
  7. The Church, the Body of Christ, is to be the Church of warriors, confronting the forces of evil and bringing liberation to prisoners-of-war.
  8. Consider the make-up of the armies, the strategies, the weapons, the outcome, the battlers, the defeats and the victories, etc.
  9. Though Satan has been defeated, he is still able to make war. The period between the cross and the final coming is the time between the battle that secured the ultimate victory and the final defeat and cessation of hostility.
  10. In the meantime the battle continues, and the church is called upon to wage war against God’s enemies just as Israel was God’s army in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, God and his people fight against flesh and blood enemies. In the New Testament, Jesus directs the church in a battle against the spiritual forces of evil while it also anticipates the climactic war that takes place at the end of history.
  11. Like Yahweh who rode clouds into battle on behalf of his people (Ps. 68:4; Dan. 7:13; Nahum 1:3), Jesus will return as a warrior (Rev. 1:7; see also 19:11-17; 20:7ff.). And yet, there is NO BATTLE! In the words of Martin Luther, “One little word shall fell him” (the “him” being Satan).
  12. “The safest place to be is on the battlefield with Christ.” Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination, p. 160.

Related posts:

  1. 12 Reflections on War in the Book of Revelation
Categories: Bob's Thoughts, Revelation Tags:
  1. No comments yet.
  1. No trackbacks yet.