Revelation 12:1-17
Notes
Transcript
Handout
READER
Karen Gruss
TEXT
REV 12.
PRAYER
Almighty God in Heaven we praise your Holy name. For you are over all things and will not share your glory with another. It was his pride that caused Satan to fall for he desired to be equal with you. You oh God rightly cast him from your Holy presence but he is now here on this earth. Father we thank you that you have sent your Son, born of a virgin, fully man and yet fully divine that He might be our redeemer and our ransom from this foe. LORD Jesus you are victorious. It is in you that we too are victorious. Keep us and protect us from the enemies deceit as he seeks to war against your people. It is in the Holy name of Jesus the Christ we do ask. Amen.
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever felt beaten down and broken?
Have you ever felt defeated and deflated?
Have you ever felt helpless and hopeless?
Perhaps you have felt that victory was vanishing
Perhaps you have felt that fatigue and failure were the only fruit of your fighting !!
Well listen up friend because today I have a word for you…
MESSAGE
1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.
Exposition…
Our Enemy is Vicious
Our Enemy is Vicious
Do not under-estimate him !!
Revelation 12:9 “9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”
3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back,
13 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.
15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood.
17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
How he fought in Heaven
disrespect
destruction
deception
devision
How he fights on earth
His Power
temptation / lies / principalities … god of this age
His Plan
to kill / steal / destroy
separate / isolate / subjugate
His Personality
crafty / ferocious
His Persistence
Oh our enemy is vicious and we dare not under-estimate him… But,
Do not over-estimate him!
Our Saviour is Superior
Our Saviour is Superior
5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.
8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And 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 brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.
16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.
Satan’s plans were thwarted
Romans 8:31 “31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Romans 8:33 “33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.”
Romans 8:38–39 “38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
God is Omniscient / Omnipotent
This is not a ying/yang kinda thing!!
There is one God !!
Satan’s pals were thrown out
Luke 8:31 “31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.”
Rev 12.8-9… God did not even have to fight him Himself…
Satan’s power is temporary
Rev 12.12… He knows his time is short !!
Matthew 28:18 “18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Hebrews 10:12–14 “12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
Victory Is Attainable
Victory Is Attainable
11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! 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!”
Through the Work of the Lamb
Romans 8:30 “30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 “21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Isaiah 1:18 “18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
Through the Word of the Lamb
John 12:44–50 “44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.””
Through the Worship of the Lamb
John 14:15 “15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
John 15:10 “10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”
Exodus 19:5 “5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;”
Close
Group Questions
How does Revelation 12 provide a summary of the grand narrative of the Bible?
Read the covenants God makes with Adam (Gen 3), Abraham (Gen 12), and David (2 Sam 7). What are the similarities? What are the differences? Are there other similar promises God makes to His people?
This passage shows that God is faithful to fulfill His promises. What word of promise from God do you need to trust today?
Satan was cast down because he coveted a place of authority and honor. How are you tempted to covet places of honor, and how can you work to humble yourself in those areas?
Consider each of the descriptors for Satan in 12:9. What do these tell us about his character and his goals for humanity?
This passage shows that our salvation is secure and our enemy is defeated. How do Christians sometimes fail to rest in these realities? How can we learn to rest in them?
How can believers practically walk in the victory as described in Rev 12:11, given the truth of Rev 12:12?
Why does Satan want to destroy the people of God?
This passage shows God’s provision of means for the woman’s escape. Read 1 Corinthians 10:13 and discuss how these passages relate to one another.
What parallels does this passage have to the traditional Christmas story found in the Gospels?