Ok, I’ll say upfront that this is a longer read than usual because I’m trying to reveal a pattern. I wish that I was a painter and could depict the following two scenes from the Bible, but since I am NOT, I ask you to use your imagination when you read these two stories and visualize them as if you are there. If you have time, read the full stories in Luke 2 and Revelation 12. If not, I’ve abbreviated them a bit below. Oh, one more thing. Try not to get caught up in Revelation’s symbolism and just read this passage as a story.
Luke 2
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? … 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. …7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 9 After hearing the king, they went on their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place where the Child was to be found. … 12 And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way. 13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”…
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”
Revelation 12
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2 and she was pregnant and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven crowns. 4 … And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her Child. 5 And she gave birth to a Son, a male, who is going to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was caught up to God and to His throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for 1,260 days. … 13 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. … 17 So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
There is so much here, but I’ll stick to one thing. Do you see the pattern? Herod was enraged when he learned the Magi had not delivered the Child into his hands. Since he didn’t know who the Child was, he “made war” on Rachel’s children in Bethlehem in hopes of killing Him. In like kind, the dragon was enraged when he couldn’t devour the Child. When persecuting the woman wasn’t enough to satisfy his rage, he “went off to make war with the rest of her children.” They are mad because they have been defeated, but they will continue to lash out at anyone nearby. As Christians, we should be very aware that our lives are surrounded by this dynamic every day.
The adverb enraged means marked by extreme anger, in a rage, infuriated. We do well to remember that the enemy is always enraged because he can’t touch Christ. He can’t stop the victory Christ won for us on the Cross, so he RAGES against His children constantly. When the enemy seems to be raging more than usual, it means that he is furious about something that didn’t go his way. He has lost, and he gets reminded of that every time we live in the reality that we are in Christ. In Christ, he cannot touch us, but he will always continue to persecute and rage against us.
I discovered the connection between these two passages years ago, but I am experiencing this truth in a new way these days. Things are literally raging around me, and it’s scary until I remember it’s just Satan throwing a temper tantrum. That’s not to belittle the tragic things we are seeing. They are real and most of us are experiencing the impact first hand. But as Christians, it is well with our souls, so the less attention we pay to the tantrum of Satan and the more we proclaim the Lord until His coming, the more the Kingdom will rule and reign in our hearts, our lives, and impact those around us.
Don’t get caught up battling a temper tantrum. Proclaim God’s love.