Your Adversary the Devil

After the interlude of examining near-death experiences, we move on with our study of John's Revelation. The great drama of our rescue from the power of the dragon is portrayed by the woman (the church or true believers) giving birth to a male child (the promised Messiah) who ascends to His throne to rule the nations with a rod of iron (Ps 2:7-9). The Child is safe, but what about the woman? She too is safe. "She has a place prepared by God in which she is nourished in the wilderness, just as were the Children of Israel in the days of Moses.

Before we study how the woman is safe and nourished let us pause to consider what it means that the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, has been thrown down to the earth, and his angels with him (Rev. 12:9). As noted earlier, the scene shifts now from heaven to earth where Satan pursues the woman and  her offspring.

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. - Rev 12:7-9 ESV

Satan Falling (A Scribe From Beneath) 

. . . the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world--

But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!" And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. - Rev 12:12-13 ESV 

Bodie Hodge posted a detailed study of Satan's fall from heaven. He points out that the name The Satan is first found 10x in Job 1-2 and literally means the adversary in Hebrew. The Satan is also found 3x in Zechariah 3:1-2. The early church father Justin Martyr (Dialogue, chp. 103) gave us the Hebrew etymology of the name. Satan without the definite article is used 10x in Scripture and can be translated as an adversary (e.g. Num. 22:22,32; 1 Sam. 29:4; 2 Sam. 19:22, etc.).

Hodge traces the etymology of the name Lucifer to the Latin translation of Isa. 14:12. The Hebrew heylel there means "light bearer" or "morning star" (cf. Isaiah 14:12 ESV). The Greek version of the OT (the Septuagint) translates the Satan as diabolos (slanderer). Diabolos is the same word found in the Greek N.T. The English word devil is derived from it. Nowhere else in Scripture is Satan referred to as Lucifer. We cannot be certain the Isa. 14 passage even refers to Satan, the devil. If it does it refers to him during and after his fall—not before. Nevertheless, many Christians feel that the Isaiah passage refers to Satan's being "thrown down to the earth," as proclaimed by John's Revelation.

The war in heaven to which the Revelation refers is beyond our reckoning, outside time. The serpent/tempter appears from the beginning of Bible history (Gen. 3:1-6). We cannot date Satan's fall.  It happened outside of human history. It is enough to know the dragon and his angels have no place in heaven. What awaits them is the abyss, the lake of fire, as noted earlier and detailed later in the Revelation (Luke 8:31; Rev. 9:2; 19:20; 20:2,3,14,14).

What is important for us to note, however, is what the Apostle Peter points out:

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. - 1Pe 5:8-11 ESV