Series: The Radical Call of Jesus
Message: Radical Discipleship
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Daily Walk: Japhet De Oliveira

Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 104:25–29. 

Read:  Revelation 11:19–15:4 (ESV). Re-read in the English Standard Version for new insights or questions.  

Reflect: We pick up with the other character who needs to be introduced—the Dragon. As you probably guessed or may already know, this symbol represents Satan. Ranko Stefanovic in Plain Revelation provides a summary and ties it beautifully to the First Testament reality that John’s audience would have recognized. 

In Revelation, Satan is a real enemy, not some imaginary figure. He stands behind all the evil that transpires on earth. In Revelation 12, he is waiting for the Messiah to be born from the people of Israel, so he may destroy him. How long has he been waiting for the birth of the Messiah? Since God announced that there would come the One born from “the woman” who would crush the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). Since that time, Satan has been waiting for the Promised Child to be born in order to destroy Him.
Eventually, the Messiah is born. He is to rule the nations with an iron rod, in fulfillment of Psalm 2:7–9—a reference to His judicial role (Rev. 19:15). Although Satan desires to kill this child, he is not able to, because the child is taken to heaven, to God’s throne (12:5). This refers to Christ’s exaltation to the heavenly throne after His ascension to heaven (Eph. 1:20–22; 1 Pet. 3:22). The exaltation of Christ serves to introduce the subsequent scene (Rev. 12:7–12). This event ultimately resulted in the permanent expulsion of Satan from heaven (12:10).
As Christ is taken to heaven, to the throne of God, the woman, who represents the church, finds divine protection in the desert during the prophetic time period of 1,260 days. During this time, she waits for the return of Christ and the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom (pp. 141–142).

Satan is on his last losing stretch and wants to take as many as he can with him. He tried to achieve this through the Dark Ages by direct coercion. Through corrupt religio-political systems, over 50 million faithful followers of Jesus were killed during the Dark Ages. Satan has chosen deception to create a false discipleship path. We are called instead to be radical disciples. 

Recalibrate: ​​​When you see that the plan of salvation from creation is starting to come together before your eyes, how does it shift your attitude toward your own faith development?

Respond: Pray for insight.

Research: Peter Roennfeldt recently released a new book on discipleship called Following Jesus. His church is also part of a radical movement worth exploring. http://www.following-jesus.com​