2nd
3rd or 4th Michaelmas
Revelation 12:1-17
And a momentous image was unveiled in the world of spirit: a woman, clothed with the radiant power of the sun, the moon under her feet, her head adorned with the crown of the twelve stars of heaven. And she is with child and cries out in the labor and pain of giving birth.
And
at the same time, a second image
Benjamin West
was revealed in the heavens: a great fiery-red
dragon with seven heads and ten horns. On its heads, it has seven crowns, and
its tail is sweeping a third of all the stars in heaven and dashing them onto
the earth. And the dragon is standing before the woman about to give birth so
that when she bears the child, he can devour it. And she bore a child, a son 'who
would shepherd all nations with a rod of iron.' And the woman's child was
caught up to God and his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness where
she has a place that God keeps ready there so that they can take care of her
for days numbering one thousand two hundred sixty.
And a war flared up in the spirit world. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. And the dragon fought amid his own angels, but he was not strong enough, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. Down came the dragon, the giant, the serpent, the evil one called both Satan and the devil, deceiver of all the world. Onto the earth, he came hurtling down, and all his angels with him.
And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying:
"Now
can begin the deliverance, the power, and the kingdom of our God.
[or, Now can begin the working which proceeds from
our God—
the power to heal the world,
the power to transform all being,
the power to draw everything into godly being.]
Arisen
is the spiritual leadership of his Christ.
Overthrown
is the accuser of our brothers,
He
who accused them night and day before the countenance of God.
They
have overcome him through the blood and the sacrificial power of the Lamb
And
by the divine Word to which they bore witness.
They
did not love their own lives too dearly, nor did they fear death.
Therefore,
rejoice you heavens
And
all who lodge therein!
But
woe to the earth and the sea:
For
the Adversary has come down to you,
And
he seethes with measureless fury,
For he knows that his time is short."
And
when the dragon recognized that he had 
Durer, colorized
been cast onto the earth, he began to
persecute the woman who had borne the son. Then the woman was given the two
wings of the great eagle so that she could fly into the desert to her
appointed place; there she is to be nourished for a cycle of time, for cycles
of time, and for half a cycle of time, far from the face of the serpent.
And the serpent opened his mouth and spewed out a river of water after the woman so she would be swept off her feet by the river. But then the earth came to the woman's assistance; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon spewed from his mouth. And the dragon burned with fury against the woman. He stormed away to make war on the rest of the woman's seed, people who keep to the divine world aims and who are united with the destiny and witnessing of Jesus. As I saw this, I was standing on the sandy shore of the sea.
3rd Michaelmas
October 17, 2021
Revelations 12:1-17
We have before the eye of the soul two great images. One is
the cosmic eternal feminine, the soul of humanity, laboring to give birth to
the Son, the God of Love, who will shepherd nations. And the other is a
destructive, devouring red Dragon, full of rage, who tries to prevent this.
And we are told that the hosts of the Archangel Michael have
thrust this
Norman Cloister
destructive Dragon and his minions onto the earth. Michael has done
so in order to cleanse the heavenly realms so that Christ’s healing and
transforming power, his power to spiritualize, can work unhindered from the
heavens.
But woe to us. The Dragon has come down to us, seething in
measureless fury. Recent events can prompt us to ask: why does God allow war
and massacre; why does He allow such tragedies to happen to innocent people?
But that is the wrong question. Given the fact that it was necessary for the
Dragon to be sent down to earth, the question now comes toward us, from
Michael’s heavenly hosts: How can human beings allow such tragedies to happen?
The beings who oppose our human development are making war
upon us. We have the armor of God, the armor of truth, trust, and peaceful
intentions to protect us. It is now the task of the human world to keep the
Dragon in check, to keep the Dragon’s fury and destruction from infecting our
souls and destroying the earth. Should we choose to accept the task, Michael,
the strong leader of Christ’s heavenly forces on earth, will come to our aid. In
the words of Adam Bittleston,
Amid the storm of the world,
In which our souls share
We seek the leader of the Angel-host,
Michael, who casts down the Dragon.
Into our thoughts may come through him
The sense of gentle awe,
Of patient reverence for the hidden wisdom
That is in all things.
And in our acts his courage
Will overcome the cramping fear
Which makes a slave of man.
Michael calls, when autumn darkens earth;
He leads to Christ, and fights for Christ, for ever;
So may we follow him, and fight beside him
Against the Dragon with enduring fire.*
