“Hark the herald angels sing, a dragon waits to eat our king.” That was a tweet by Chad Bird, linking to his blog post, “When a Dragon Tried To Eat Jesus: The Nativity Story We Don’t Talk About.” The opening sentence is: “I’m still searching for a Christmas card with a red dragon in the nativity, lurking amidst the cows and lambs, waiting to devour the baby in the manger.” It points to the nativity account in Revelation 12. When a friend posted a link to the article, I responded with, “I don’t have a Christmas card, but some of us do talk about it,” and linked to the December issue of New Horizons. But what happens after the birth and earthly ministry of Christ? What about when he has been snatched up to heaven and we, his people, his church, are still on earth—along with the dragon? What is going on? Is the dragon defeated? How dangerous is he? Are we now his victims? Revelation 12:10-12 gives you hope!
The accuser no longer has access. Satan accused God’s people. John uses dramatic symbolism, but he helpfully identifies the dragon as Satan, who, as his name indicates, is the accuser of God’s people. Think of Satan accusing Job before God, or again, bringing an accusation against the high priest, Joshua, in Zechariah 3. There is a superficial validity to Satan’s accusations—since God’s people are sinners (the serpent-dragon had something to do with that), how can a holy God forgive them? How can God’s justice do anything but condemn? A majestic voice from heaven explains. Continue reading “The Dragon’s Defeat”