Revelation 12
Notes
Transcript
The Lady and the Dragon
The Lady and the Dragon
Good morning my friends!
I hope you have had a good week, we have had some wonderful weather this week and we give the Lord thanks for each day, Amen.
Over the past couple months we have been walking through the Book of Revelation.
We’ve see the Lord speak to the church, encouraging the whole church to live faithfully in front of Him, especially as we draw toward the end of ages.
The message reminds us that God is faithful in all things, He is in control, nothing escapes His sight and we know He is the victor, the victor of all things.
We will see this as we walk though the second half of the book.
So this morning lets return and look at Revelation 12. As we consider the Lady and the Dragon...
When we look at the testimony of Scripture, we see that in the very beginning Satan sought to destroy God’s work.
Satan revealed himself to Adam and Eve and it wasn’t a friendly visit, it was a visit meant to twist and deceive them into doing wrong. The entire plan was to disrupt God’s work.
But Satan is not omniscient, he does not know the will of God nor what God will do tomorrow let along today. But he has tried to know and stop God.
So lets begin and look at the first point today.
1. A Faithful Sign....
As God walked with men, he called them to follow him. We can see that in the life of Abraham, Isaac, and later on with Jacob. And it was with Jacob, that God showed up and met him in a night of crisis and changed his name to Israel.
And it was God’s plan, That Israel would become a nation, and from those people a Son would come...
Lets look at verses 1-3 Rev 12:1-3
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. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.
John says a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and a crown with 12 stars was on her head.
What a picture to see....So what does all this mean?
The radiant woman , well her identity is really two fold… We could say it is one woman, Mary.... But, do not elevate her, she is special but not to the point that we should direct our prayers toward Mary, that we venerate her and treat her as holy, something to be worshiped..no. She is the one who brings forth a child that has the devil’s attention.
But the meaning and identity of the lady is really much larger than a person, Mary, the poor girl from Nazareth.
The women represents a nation, and it is from the nation of Israel that the Messiah would come forth. So the identity of the lady, a radiant women must be the Jewish nation as a whole.
In verse 2, she is pregnant, and in the throws of labor about to give birth. At the right time she would bring forth a son, one of my favorite verses is Gal 4:4
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
From Israel, from the nation and people of God would come forth a child that would change the world and its people.
But look here, there is another sign, a Red Dragon is see as well with the woman.
The Greek word “Drakon” is seen 12 times in the book of Revelation and it refers only to one person, it refers to Satan himself.
So Satan is there, the Red Dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns and 7 diadems or crowns upon the 7 heads.
The 7 heads and the 10 horns are the same ones mentioned in Daniel chapter 7. Those 7 heads speak to the 7 world wide empires in history and the 10 horns are thought to represent modern day world governments. These 10 are said to form a united trust, or union where the Anti Christ will have dominion and rule over people. Listen to Rev 17:12
12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.
So for John’s day, these 10 kingdoms or nations where not yet present.… but I would tell you they are here today.
Who are they? Well we do not know exactly which ones they are, but some have said that perhaps the European Union might be part of the answer.
But make no mistake, Satan wanted to destroy the child, we will talk about this more in a moment, but remember Daniel prophesied in Dan 2, that His Kingdom would know no end..it would reign forever.
A faithful sign was fulfilled, Jesus came into the world and His kingdom reigns...
Secondly this morning, we have a enemy my friends, a forever enemy.
2. A Forever Enemy....
My friends every since Satan fell from heaven, he has been a enemy of God and a enemy of God’s people and that is not changing.
Lets look at verses 4-6
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. 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.
Now as we look at verse 4 we are told about a past event, this is the fall of Satan and a third of the angels with him.
Satan, Lucifer was a great angel, a beautiful one who lifted his mind in pride against God, was cast out of heaven because of His sin and it wasn’t only him, He had a following of angels, but they are all cast out.
Jude 6 tells us.......Jude 6
6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—
And we could also look at 2 Peter 2:4
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;
In judgement they were cast out.... and in due time all will be judged according to their actions.
Now verse 4 tells us that the Red Dragon stood waiting to devour the child that the lady would give birth too.
Listen my friends, Satan started in the garden trying to hinder the plans of God by deceiving Adam and eve.
Look to the nation of Egypt, as Satan directed Pharoah to kill all the male children being born to the Israelites in the land of Goshen. But yet, Moses mother set him afloat to be taken in by Pharaoh's own daughter.
Look at King David, as the spirit of the Lord had left Saul as king and God was preparing David, Saul attempted on several occasions to kill David. 1 Samuel 18:10-11
10 The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. 11 And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.
Then as we enter the New Testament, Herod the Great, influenced by jealously and fear when he heard that child born king had entered the world, ordered that all the male children 2 yrs old and younger be killed Matt 2:16
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
But the Lord delivered them, speaking to Joseph in a dream telling him to take Mary his wife and the baby Jesus to the land of Egypt until Herod’s death.
Satan influenced Judas heart to betray the Savior, selling him out for 30 pieces of silver. But as one pastor said, “What Satan meant for evil God used for good.
But Jesus came and died, laying down his life as an atonement for sin, being buried and rising from the dead on the 3rd day forever giving all those who call upon the name of the Lord life!
And guess what, Satan may war, he may push and threaten but he cannot stop the fact that all who call upon the name of the Lord is saved and he certainly cannot do any thing about the fact that Jesus is coming again.
Oh Jesus is coming again and soon we will meet him… The devil might make things rough in our life, He might separate and divide, but he cannot stop the Lord our God...
He is clearly our enemy, oh but Jesus is our friend.
Now look again at verses 5-6 Rev 12:5-6
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.
The nation brought forth a male child, Jesus. One who will rule the nations with a rod of iron. Remember back in Rev 2:27
27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.
But look at this, before Satan can harm the child, he is caught up to heaven. It says “her child was caught up....” the Greek word there for caught up in “Harpazo”, meaning “to take up…” it is interesting enough it is the same word used in I Thes 4:17 for what will one day happen to all those in Christ Jesus
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
And the Dragon before he can wage war on Israel, well the woman, Israel fled into the wilderness to a place prepared by God and was taken care of for 1260 days...
These 1260 days are the same length as the ministry of the two prophets in chapter 11, 1260 days, 42 months or 3.5 years.
These are the final years of the Tribulation and it clearly tells us that God will take care of His people Israel during those days.
There is hope in this picture my friends, if God will take care of his people Israel, how much more will he take care of you His children. It will be perfect without a doubt.
Now moving on, thirdly we see a great war in heaven.
3. War In Heaven....
As we move forward in the text, we find that that John the revelator sees a war taking place in heaven.
Look with me at verses 7-9 Rev 12:7-9
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 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.
Looking at that text we see two groups at war.
Michael and his angels, fighting against the Red Dragon and his angels.
Michael is the great angel, the Arch angel of God. He is the commander of God’s army. We find him mentioned in the Book of Daniel, in Dan 10:13 he is called one of the “Chief princes.” He is also called the “Protector of Israel” in Dan 10:21.
Now remember Satan has had access to heaven in all the times past. Revelation 12:10
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.
He was there in front of God when He accused Job, the Lord’s servant.
But as the war rages, Satan is defeated, he had his minions are cast out of heaven to the earth. They no longer have any place in heaven.
Let me share just a little thought, verse 9 Satan is called the dragon, the ancient serpent, devil and deceiver.
Satan means adversary, Dragon refers to his monstrous character, Ancient serpent - speaks to the time of Adam and Eve, full of cunning and deceit and finally the Devil which means accuser.
Jesus told us in John 8:44 that he was a murderer from the beginning and the father of lies
As a older pastor once said Satan is pure evil....
But we have the One who is good, the Lord Jesus Christ, hang on to Jesus my friends.
Now just one last thought my friends as we close out this text today...
4. Jesus is our Victor...
Jesus is the victorious one my friends, God declares this beyond a shadow of doubt.
John tells us that a voice from heaven spoke, most likely one of the angels speaking....
Look at verses 10-11 Rev 12:10-11
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. 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.
We could stop right there and say “Amen”
John says “...Salvation, power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of Christ as come....
Satan has been defeated, He just doesn't realize his days are numbered...and soon he and those others who fell with him will be placed in the pit… But as for right now He is cast out of heaven, He has been thrown down…
Remember, up until this point, the devil had access to heaven to accuse the children of God. We see a prime example of this in the Book of Job in chapter 1.
But now the One who accuses us, day and night before God has been thrown out of heaven…
Hang on to that thought my friend… the word accuse means to point out the faults and sins of believers, day and night, before God.
My friends, I am not giving you any excuses, we are not perfect, we fail… Do not allow the devil to defeat you based on those accusations.
Instead remember you have been redeemed and in Christ you can strive toward perfection, you no longer belong to the world but you belong to God.
And you do not have to allow the devil to harass and hurt you life...
Instead we can resist him and win the victor over him? How is Satan defeated in our lives.. Rev 12:11
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.
So those accusations are ineffective because the brothers and sisters have what they need to overcome. to conqueror the accuser.
The blood of the Lamb is the means to redemption, He has purchased us, bought us out of sin and its penalty through the sacrifice of his own life. His blood shed to redeem us from the curse of the law.
The our testimony is the one voice of just what that Atonement did in our lives. I came to Jesus realizing my sin, knowing I was dead but He has made me alive in Christ through the blood of the lamb.
It makes no difference what charges Satan brings, I am His, He paid my debt setting me free. No matter what comes our way, we are His and we are thankful.
Verse 12 Rev 12:12
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!”
And look at verse 12, Therefore rejoice, o heavens and you in them. We can rejoice for all that Jesus has done for us.
You are fearfully and wonderfully made..rejoice
Jesus died for you…rejoice,
You were dead but now you have been made alive ....rejoice
He will never leave us and forsake us…rejoice
Jesus is coming again…rejoice
We will rule and reign with Jesus ....rejoice
We will be with him forever in heaven…rejoice
Praise God we can rejoice in the least to the greatest works of God on our behalf.
Now look at verses 13-17 as we close this chapter… Rev 12:13-17
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. 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. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 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. 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.
The devil, now kicked out of heaven is unable to bring any harm to the Christ child, so he turns his wrath toward the woman, Israel herself.
Even today, Satan who is the prince and ruler of this age has put it into peoples hearts to hate the nation of Israel.
A small piece of land that has limited value or worth as far a minerals, and resources. But what is special is that they are the children of the living God.
Even today they are the people whom God called Abraham to trust him and He would make him into a great nation.
God has chosen Israel just as He has chosen us to be the object of his love and as such Satan hates them and wants to harm them and us.
But God has made away of escape for her, having given her wings to fly off and will protect and nourish her while Satan tries to harm her.
And angry when he cannot harm her, tries to harm her other children. Those who have believed during the days of the tribulation.
(Those who have the testimony and have been redeemed by the blood of the lamb)
And the devil waits there on the seashore of the ocean, waiting for what is about to come forth.
My brothers and sisters I would encourage you to never forget who you are in Christ Jesus.
You are the redeemed of the Lord. He gave his life so that you can have life.
Live your life in the confidence of Christ, being certain to abstain from sin and wickedness
If we can do that, Jesus will take care of the rest..
Lets pray.
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.