Revelation 12:7-12
As we hear of Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon in Revelation, there might be a number of fights, wars, and struggles between good and evil that come to mind in your own life and in the life of the world today. On this Feast Day of St. Michael and All Angels, we hear good news in the victory over life over death, of good over evil.
In Revelation, salvation and power come through the blood of the Lamb. Yes, there is this great cosmic battle between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels. That “ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, deceiver of the whole world” is defeated by the power that comes through the Lamb.
In The Rapture Exposed, Barbara Rossing writes:
“In the face of Rome’s ideology of Victory, the victorious Lamb of Revelation looks almost incongruous. In place of the overwhelming military strength, we are given the image of the Lamb’s nonviolent power. In place of Rome’s image of inflicting slaughter on the world, Revelation tells the story of the Lamb who has been slaughtered—and who still bears the scars of that slaughter. This reversal of images must have come as a big surprise to first-century Christians accustomed as they were to Rome’s images of power and victory. Revelation undertakes to reveal what true power and true victory is: At the heart of the power of the universe stands Jesus, God’s slain Lamb.” (Barbara Rossing, The Rapture Exposed. Basic Books, 2004. 109-110)
She goes on to call this Lamb-power.
Revelation continues to speak into this moment, into our lives, always pointing us back to the Lamb power through which come salvation, peace, and hope. While the great cosmic fight is an important plot point, it serves to point us, always, to the Lamb, to Christ crucified and risen.
If we “rejoice that [our] names are written in heaven,” (Luke 10:20) we do so because of the cross of Christ. If we claim the “word of our testimony” (Revelation 12:11), we testify to the power of death and resurrection. If we are “to lead to righteousness” (Daniel 12:3), we point to the cross and to the empty tomb. Always, that is the source of our salvation and any power we dare claim.
Evil is thrown down, death is conquered, and the life that comes through Lamb-power is victorious.
In the midst of all the other things that threaten to get in the way, in the midst of fear and anxiety about the future, of our country and of our world, there is a great deal of hope to be found in this cosmic battle. Evil is thrown down, death is conquered, and the life that comes through Lamb-power is victorious.
The blood of the Lamb gives Michael and his angels the power to defeat the dragon and his angels. That same Lamb-power gives us life right here and now. The Lamb, still bearing the scars, gives us hope and courage to stand up for those things we call good. Lamb-power leads us in the way of grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness. Revelation paints a picture of the cosmic battle during which evil will be defeated, and a promise to grasp to when hope seems far from reach. Lamb-power gives us life, abundant and everlasting, now and forever.
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