Revelation 12
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Tonight we are going to be in Revelation 12, but we need to begin in Genesis.
Genesis 1:31 says…
31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Everything was very good because there was no sin.
But then we read in Genesis 3:6…
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
Sin entered the world as that ancient serpent, Satan, convinced Adam and Eve to rebel against God by disobeying His command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
But immediately after sin entered the world, God promised deliverance through the seed of a woman. Genesis 3:15 says…
15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Through labor pains the seed of the woman is brought forth in Jesus of Nazareth who—through His death and resurrection—mortally wounded Satan and undid the curse of sin and death that has plagued man since Genesis 3.
But as everyone knows a snake is still dangerous even when dead—even when it knows it’s dying, it can still strike—it still writhes on the ground in one final fit of fury.
[CIT] That’s what we see in Revelation 12. Jesus has triumphed by way of the cross, Satan is defeated and thrown down, but that ancient serpent is still dangerous—still writhing in one final attempt to destroy all he can while he can.
[PROP] In Revelation 12—in a unique Christmas passage—we find the promise of God is that we will be protected by God from Satan’s onslaught.
Because Jesus has come and defeated Satan, there is no need for us to fear. Satan for he has been defanged by the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.
Satan cannot harm those of us who are hidden in Christ.
[TS] In order to see this, we’ll talk about three CONFLICTS…
MAJOR IDEAS
Conflict #1: The Seed and the Serpent (vv. 1-6).
Conflict #1: The Seed and the Serpent (vv. 1-6).
1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2 and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
[EXP] The woman in v. 1 depicted as “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, crowned with a crown of twelve stars” is a symbolic representation of Israel.
This is how Joseph saw his father, Jacob (whose other name was Israel), and his mother and brothers in a dream. In Genesis 37:9-10 the Scripture says…
9 Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, “Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?”
In Revelation 12, the woman which represents Israel is in the agony of giving birth to the promised seed of Genesis 3:15—the seed that will end Satan.
That seed narrative was picked up in Genesis 4 with the birth of Seth, Adam and Eve’s third son, and the rest of Genesis followed the line of Seth from which came that promised seed of the Messiah.
Over and over again in Genesis the seed is threatened by one thing or another, but over and over again God provides a way.
Eventually, that promised seed ended up in the womb of a virgin named Mary who gave birth to the Savior whose name is Jesus.
But when Jesus was born, Satan, the great red dragon in Revelation 12:4 was ready to pounce. With great power and great influence he stood watch ready to destroy the promised seed at the very moment of His birth.
It was Satan that ultimately stood behind Herod’s futile attempt to kill Jesus in Matthew 2. Matthew 2:16 says…
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.
Despite this satanic, murderous attack, Jesus was born; and He was born to rule the nations with a rod iron as it says in Revelation 12:5.
That language alludes to Psalm 2, in which God the Father says to God the Son…
9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’ ”
Jesus was born of a Jewish virgin, lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death on the cross, rose from the dead on the third day, and then ascended to heaven, taking His place at the Father’s right hand.
All of this is summed with this one line at the end of Revelation 12:5…
5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
After Jesus’ ascension the woman (representing Israel) flees to the wilderness for 1,260 days. There are many interpretive possibilities here.
Some take the wilderness and the 1,260 days to be absolutely literal.
Thus, some people believe that this refers to Jews fleeing from Jerusalem as it was besieged by Antiochus Epiphanes (167-168 B.C.) or by Titus (A.D. 70).
Some others who hold to an absolutely literal interpretation think this is a reference to the second half of the great tribulation. As they see it, this is the last three-and-one-half years of turmoil on earth after the church has been raptured and before Christ returns.
Others hold that the wilderness and the 1,260 days are symbols representing God’s sustaining and protecting power over His people as they experience hardship.
During Israel’s wilderness wanderings God protected and provided for His people, and He will always protect and provide for His people as they endure Satan’s attacks.
Ever since Antiochus Epiphanes laid siege to Jerusalem for 3-and-a-half years and the Jewish people hid in the wilderness during that time, the number 1, 260, (which is also referred to as three and a half years—time, times, and half a time,—or 42 months) that number has stood as a symbol of God’s deliverance of His people.
As D. A. Carson says, that number is “a symbol in Jewish consciousness of a period of time when one faces great suffering and struggle, but with the assurance that God will triumph in the end,” (The Last Days, 27).
[APP] In any event, no matter what we may conclude about the literalness or symbolic nature of Revelation 12:6, one thing’s for certain:
Satan could not and cannot stop the redemptive plan of God in Jesus Christ and God will always protect the people He has redeemed.
[TS] We will see this in more detail as we look at vv. 7-12.
Look at the second CONFLICT…
Conflict #2: The Cross and the Cast Down (vv. 7-12).
Conflict #2: The Cross and the Cast Down (vv. 7-12).
7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. 12 “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
[EXP] Revelation 12 really divides into two visions: the first vision was in vv. 1-6 and the second vision begins in v. 7.
What we saw in the first vision is the foundation for what we begin to see here in the second.
In other words, if Jesus isn’t born—if He doesn’t live a perfect life—if He doesn’t sacrifice Himself on the cross—if He doesn’t rise from the dead—if He doesn’t ascend to heaven—then what we see in this second vision never happens.
So, what does happen in this second vision?
[EXP/APP] In vv. 7-9 we are told that in light of all that Christ has done that Michael and his angels fight against Satan, defeat them, and cast them out of Heaven.
In the book of Daniel, Michael is the guardian of God’s people (cf., Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1). In Jude he is the archangel who rebukes Satan.
Think about how Satan is described in this passage: he is a deceiver an an accuser; he is a cast down, twice defeated loser who is running out of time.
As deceiver and accuser, Satan deceived Adam and Eve into sin because he hoped to stir up God’s wrath against them with his accusations.
God’s holiness does demand that sin be punished but God’s grace has made a way for God’s holiness to be satisfied and for the people of God to be saved—that way of course being the sacrifice of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Based on Jesus’ sacrifice Satan the deceiver no longer deceives us, and Satan the accuser no longer stands before God to accuse us.
He has been cast down by the cross.
He has been defeated by Michael and his angels in Rev. 12:8 and he has been defeated by the people of God in Rev. 12:11.
They have defeated Satan by the blood of the lamb.
They have defeated Satan by their testimony.
They have defeated Satan by not loving their lives so much that they were afraid to die to remain faithful to Jesus.
Satan has been thrown down and conquered! He can no longer accuse us before God! This is cause for rejoicing…
12 “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
But this is also cause for warning because even a defeated snake is still dangerous. As it says at the end of v. 12b…
12 “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
[TS] This brings us to our third conflict...
Conflict #3: The Protected and the Pursuer (vv. 13-17).
Conflict #3: The Protected and the Pursuer (vv. 13-17).
13 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. 17 So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
[EXP] Satan, realizing that he has been defeated, wants to destroy the people of God (i.e., Israel), so he pursues them but God’s protects His people just as He always has.
The phrase “the two wings of the great eagle” reminds us of Exodus 19.
There God is reminding Israel that He has delivered them from slavery in Egypt and will protect them from this point forward so long as they obey Him. In Exodus 19:4 God says to His people…
4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.
It also reminds us of Isaiah 40:30-31…
30 Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, 31 Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.
And then we read in Revelation 12:15-16…
15 And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.
The flooding river reminds of the way that Satan attempted to get rid of Moses. The satanically-inspired Pharaoh of Egypt said in Exodus 1:22…
22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”
The earth opening up like a mouth reminds us of the punishment that came upon the satanically-inspired Korah and his people as they too tried to get rid of Moses in Numbers 16. In Numbers 16:32-33…
32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
Both of these references call to mind the ongoing them of struggle and aid in Revelation 12.
As Isaiah 43:2 says…
2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.
It may be that Satan tries to destroy the people of God with all the lies and false teachings that come from his mouth or it might be that he more immediately tries to destroy them with a literal flood.
But no matter what, God will protect His people.
He will not allow them to be swept away.
He has and will swallow up all of Satan’s attack in Jesus.
The deliverance of God’s people—the Jewish people—infuriates Satan and so he turns his attention to “the rest of her offspring,” which I take to refer to those of us who have been grafted into the chosen people of God through faith in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, as Savior and Lord.
We are those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
[APP] First Peter 5:8-10 reminds us…
8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
The message of 1 Peter 5:8-10 is the message of Revelation 12.
[TS] {see below}
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
[CIT] Jesus has triumphed by way of the cross. Satan is defeated and thrown down, but that ancient serpent is still dangerous—still writhing in one final attempt to destroy all he can while he can.
[PROP] However, there is no need for us to fear Satan for he has been defanged by the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.
He cannot harm those of us who are hidden in Christ.
Although we may not think about Revelation 12 as a Christmas passage, it is indeed what Christmas is all about.
