“Yes, but not quite yet”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, September 29, 2022
Revelation 12:7-12 (Forward, p. 62) CEV p. 1305
Living between the times: it is something that is profoundly difficult for us human beings. Spiritually, we live between the times in so many ways. We live between the times between Good Friday and Easter: we know that Jesus in His crucifixion has defeated sin and death, but Easter hasn’t fully happened, not yet. At least, not for us. We haven’t seen the full effects of the Resurrection in our own lives and in our own world. And we live between the times of Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension and His second coming to judge and redeem the world. And, as depicted in today’s account, we live between the times of Satan’s expulsion from heaven and his eventual defeat. We know that he is now a defeated foe and we know that his time is almost up, but that doesn’t make it a whole bunch better as we know that he is alive and well, and functioning very well, here on earth. In fact, because his time is short—here he is like a cornered beast—he is all the more desperate, and dangerous. Even though defeated, he is still at his habitual work of accusing and slandering God’s people, and yes, still at war with God’s people. And so, it is this ‘yes, but not quite yet’ that is so difficult, so trying, for us.
Yet, there are several things that most surely can be of comfort to us. Firstly, that we have a Saviour and friend, Jesus Christ, who forever lives to make intercession for us, and so, He is ‘going to bat’ on our behalf and protecting us from Satan’s wiles. And secondly, we have that same angelic host, Michael and his angels, who stand on our side and are there to help us in our struggle. And thirdly, we have the example of ‘the saints’. We are told that they actually defeated Satan through the blood of the Lamb and word of their testimony because they were loved not the lives even unto death and were willing to give up their lives for Christ. And so, the future, the prospects, are not bleak. The end is in sight—and more specifically, Satan’s end—and so we simply need to hold on and trust through these times of uncertainty, those times of ‘yes, but not yet’. Amen.
Forward notes: “And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon” (verse 7a).
“Today is the feast of Saint Michael & All Angels. Michael is an archangel, sometimes referred to as ‘the great captain’ or a leader of angels. In this passage from Revelation, even though the dragon and his angels fought back, they were defeated.
“Ah, angels. Our culture is fascinated by them. ‘You are an angel!’ we sometimes say to a friend or even a stranger. Images of angels can be found in garden statues, on sweatshirts, refrigerator magnets, and even night lights. I didn’t pay much attention to angels until a friend described angels to me as ‘messengers.’ That brought me up short. I started to think about the idea that there were beings in our midst bringing us messages from God. I began to pray, ‘Lord, may I meet your messengers today, and may I have the good sense to recognize them. And may I be a messenger, too.’ Since starting to say that prayer, I have had many encounters that can only be described as a meeting with a messenger. I am now much more cognizant of messengers—and messages—in our midst.”
Moving Forward: “Ask God to help you recognize angels in your daily life.”