Daily Devotional November 30, 2018
Alistair Begg
. . . Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back.
Revelation 12:7
War
always will rage between the two great sovereignties until one or the
other is crushed. Peace between good and evil is an impossibility; to
pretend otherwise would signal a victory for the powers of darkness. Michael will always fight;
his holy soul is vexed with sin and will not endure it. Jesus will
always be the dragon's foe, and not in any quiet sense but actively,
vigorously, with full determination to exterminate evil. All His
servants, whether angels in heaven or messengers on earth, will and must
fight; they are born to be warriors. At the cross they enter into a
covenant never to make a truce with evil; they are a warlike company,
firm in defense and fierce in attack. The duty of every soldier in the
army of the Lord is every day, with all his heart and soul and strength,
to fight against the dragon.
The dragon and his angels will fight back;
they are incessant in their onslaughts, prepared to use every kind of
weaponry. We are foolish to expect to serve God without opposition: The
more zealous we are, the more we can expect to be attacked by the
ruffians of hell. The church may become lazy, but her great antagonist
does not; his restless spirit never allows the war to pause; he hates
the woman's seed and would happily devour the Church if he could. The
servants of Satan share a great deal of the old dragon's energy and are
usually an active crew. War rages all around, and to dream of peace is
dangerous and futile.
Glory
be to God, we know the end of the war. The great dragon will be cast
out and forever destroyed, while Jesus and those who are with Him will
receive the crown. So let us sharpen our swords tonight, and ask the
Holy Spirit to make us ready for the conflict. Battle was never so
important, and the crown never so glorious. Every one to their positions
as warriors of the cross, and may the Lord tread Satan under your feet
shortly!
