Cosmic Conflict, Part 1 | Rev 12:1-6

Big Idea: The Conquering King is Opposed by Satan, But Prevails and Protects His People

Be Aware: Satan has Always Opposed the Work of God

Be Alert: Satan, even now, opposes the Work of God in You

Be Assured: God will Preserve and Protect His People, both now and in the tribulation

Intro

Something that the world of streaming has largely stripped from us are all the bonus features that used to come on DVDs.

You remember DVDs right? those little discs you used to put inside machines to play movies?

DVDs often came not just with the movie, but also the blooper reels, which were my favorite, and a variety of other special features that some studios liked to include.

Often there were interviews with the actors and actresses, the director talking about how the story came together, or the sound tech explaining how he got the sound effects for the alien’s footsteps.

All these things are the behind the scenes look to show you how the movie itself came together. We enjoy watching the movie, the drama unfolds, the movie plays out, but sometimes it’s helpful to take a look behind the scenes to see how it all came together.

Even with those peeks behind the curtain, however, we are really only seeing the tip of the iceberg. The amount of things that take place behind the scenes of a movie or a play might blow your minds if you were aware of all of it. Some of you have participated in theater and know a little of what I speak.

While the movie or play that is shown to the public is impressive, it is all the behind the scenes work that makes everything work. You don’t often get to see behind the scenes, but that activity is taking place and it gives shape to everything you see.

Today in Revelation 12, we are entering a section of Revelation that pulls back the curtain a little for us to see some things that have happened throughout history behind the scenes. Things that explain some of why things are as they are in the world around us, both history and looking ahead to the future.

Rev 12-14 provides another of these interludes in the unfolding narrative, these zooming out, and in this case, a look behind the scenes.

But Rev 12, really down through the second coming of Christ in chapter 19, also represents a bit of a shift in the focus of the narrative. Up until now, the emphasis has been on those who dwell upon the earth.

From this point forward, it is clear that there are cosmic characters at play that influence everything that takes place on the earth during the 7 year tribulation on the earth. Even when the focus returns back to the 7 bowl judgments and the return of Christ, it is now going to be set into the backdrop of the cosmic conflict that exists between the forces of darkness and the light.

We are only going to look at 6 verses today, but these 6 verses really set us up for the rest of Revelation by giving us understanding of the working of the Devil and how we ought to respond.

I’d like to give us three responses that we should have in light of this text.

First is informational. We need to be aware of something.

Second is situational. We need to be alert to present realities.

third is transformational. We need to be assured of outcomes.

Let’s read the text.

Revelation 12:1–6 LSB

And 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. And she was with child, and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. 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. 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. 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. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for 1,260 days.

Setting the context:

Recall chapter 11: “The kingdom of the world has [become] the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”

Joyous Victory! The Rebellious People have judged.

But wait! What of the Devil?

Christ must not only conquer rebellious humans, but the devil himself.

Again, up until now, the primary focus of Revelation has been upon those who dwell on the earth. Revelation begins to go in a new direction with Rev 12-19.

The Devil and is schemes come into view.

Explanation of the details:

Allow me to offer a brief explanation of the imagery of the passage, and then we will work back through and consider the significance of this passage.

Sign: a clue that these details are to be taken as symbolic images of things that are literally true.

The woman is Ethnic Israel. She is clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and the twelve stars. This is reminiscent of Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37, where Jacob is the sun, Rachel is the moon, and the twelve stars are the twelve sons who eventually make up the twelve tribes.

She is about to give birth, and the details make it clear that this child is Jesus Christ.

The Dragon is, of course, the Devil and those through whom he works. Note the horns and how other prophecies that speak of horned beasts refers to kingdoms of the earth. He has seven diadems.

Two words for crown. One is a victors crown. The other is a diadem, a crown for someone who has power and authority.

Satan operates with real power and authority on the earth.

The Stars of heaven are hard to determine, but it seems likely that this refers to Satan taking one third of the angels with him in his rebellion.

Satan sought to devour the child, which refers to his work to prevent Christ from fulfilling his purpose.

vs 5 speaks of the eventual place of Christ as the one to rule the nations with a rod of Iron, recalling Psalm 2, but then it moves from birth to ascension as He is caught up to God.

Some people take this as a reference to the rapture of the church, because the greek word is harpadzo, which is the underlying word in 1 thess 4 to speak of the catching up of the church. However, the context makes it clear that Christ’s ascension is in view.

Finally, the woman fleas into the wilderness for 1260 days, or three and half years. This flight has greater focus down in vs 13ff.

Let’s begin to think through what this text is teaching us and our response to it.

Be Aware: Satan has always opposed the work of God

This text describes how Satan has sought to oppose the work of God in sending Christ into the world.

Satan has always opposed the work of God, going back to the very beginning.

Satan rebelled in heaven by declaring “I will make myself like the most High”

Satan tempted Eve in the Garden, and yet there was a promise that the seed of the woman would crush the seed of the serpent. The battle has wages ever since, with Satan seeking a way to prevent the seed of the woman from ever coming.

He sought to pollute the human gene pool through demonic co-habitation in Gen 6. I realize there are a variety of interpretations of that text, but no matter what your interpretation, the results were negative and directly led to God flooding the world because of the sin.

Look at all the Hebrew Genocides throughout the Old Testament. The killing of baby boys in Egypt. The attempted slaughter at the hands of Haman in Esther. You better believe there was satanic influence at play there.

Consider how Satan worked to corrupt the Jewish Monarchy. Evil spirits torment Saul. David was incited to take a census that brought judgment on the people.

At one point in 2 Kings 11, Athaliah sought to kill all members of David’s family, seemingly threatening the Davidic line.

When Jesus was born, Herod killed all the baby boys in Bethlehem.

Satan has tried to devour this child at every turn, seeking to prevent the coming seed of the woman from doing his head-crushing work.

Even during the life of Christ, the devil sought to tempt Jesus. Eventually he worked in Judas to betray the Lord and have him executed.

Satan has always opposed the work of God, and he has done so through violent, murderous, and destructive means.

Anything he can do to prevent the seed of the woman from fulfilled his purpose of ruling with that rod of iron, he will do it!

This text looks back to the birth of Christ and the opposition of the devil, and it looks forward to the opposition that is going to take place during the tribulation, but what about right now?

See, what this text wants you to feel is that Satan has always opposed the work of God, and what that means is that Satan, even now, opposes the work of God in you.

Be Alert: Satan, even now, opposes the Work of God in You

This is what Satan does.

2 Cor 2:2 says he blinds unbelievers preventing them from seeing truth

Acts 5 warns us that he temps believers to act with self-serving motives.

1 Peter 5 speaks his work as a prowling lion seeking to someone to devour.

1 Tim 4 speaks of lies and deception that lead people to embrace what Paul calls the doctrine of demons.

Eph 6 warns us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this present darkness.

James 3 tells us that when there are divisions in the church, when there are factions that arise from envy, jealousy, and selfish ambition, that it is due to demonic influence.

Satan opposes the work of God at every turn, he has opposed it throughout history and he opposes it in you even now.

Satan does not want you in church. Satan does not want you to be a doer of the word and not a mere hearer. Perhaps even now he desires to distract you from the word as it is being preached in this moment!

We have three primary enemies in the life. The world. The systems of the world, its allurements, often under demonic influence.

The flesh. Our own sinful hearts.

The devil, the one who uses our sinful proclivities and the temptations of the world around us to seek to cause us to fall into sin and apostacy.

We are called to resist the devil in James 4 and 1 Pet 5, to not give him a foothold in Eph 4, to be aware of his workings and schemes so that we may be better armed against his tactics in 1 Peter 5, 2 Cor 2, and Eph 6.

We have an enemy and he opposes the work of God in you!

As we think about the trajectory of the book of revelation, we have to realize that it is not just rebellious sinners that Christ must overcome and conquer, but Satan himself must be subdued!

Up until now, we have seen judgment on those who dwell on the earth, but with chapter 12, we have the behind the scene peek at the opposition of the devil.

Chapter 11 declared victory!

But The Kingdom of this World cannot become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ unless and until Satan and his pawns are defeated and bound

Spoiler alert. That’s coming. And this is where all of Revelation is going.

We know that we face an enemy. Even now he works to oppose the work of God in you. He works to snatch away the seed of the Word so that it does not produce fruit.

If every human being in rebellion is destroyed but the devil remains free to roam, we would feel a sense of great injustice. This passage helps us see the cosmic conflict that rages behind the scenes and to know that God will be victorious.

Be Assured: God will preserve His People

This male child to be born is born to rule.

Psalm 2 speaks of the son ruling with a rod of Iron. All the nations will be given to Christ as his inheretence.

Even though Satan vehemently opposes the work of God, he will not prevail. He will do everything in his power to destroy God’s people, everything he can to snuff out the witness, but God will preserve his people.

In context, this speaks of God’ providential work to preseve the people of Israel through the great tribulation, through the final 3.5 years of hell on earth. Later in the chapter we will get more details about that.

God will not abandon his people, God will not allow Satan to have the final triumph. Though his fury be unleashed, though hell wages war on earth, though it seem as though all hope is lost for those who dwell on the earth, those who belong to God, even though severely persecuted, will be preserved according to God’s sovreign design.

This does not mean that there won’t be martyrs. We know there will be. This does not mean it will be easy. We know it won’t be.

But it does mean that Satan does not win.

The rest of chapter twelve and then into 13 and 14 is going to speak of more of the behind the scenes work of the devil in history and during the tribulation.

But we know the trajectory. We know that the kingdom of this world is becoming the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and that means that Satan too must be defeated.

As we look at the world around us, it is easy for us to forget that history itself is theological.

Satan opposes the work of God. He does so through governments. He does so through media. He does so through false teachers.

Sometimes we look at the world and we are tempted to believe that eveything is just the product of our own human hearts. And make no mistake. The human heart is plenty wicked.

But when we see sin celebrated and even funded by our government, when we see Israel threatened by surrounding nations who desire her destruction, when we see news reports of Christian persecuted in various places in the world, when we see churches torn apart by selfish ambition, false teaching, and sheer arrogance, you better believe there is satanic influence at play.

History is theological. Though we don’t always see what lies behind the scene, there is a cosmic conflict taking place between the forces of darkness and God’s holy angels.

We feel it now. We need to be alert for it now.

But we can rest assured knowing that it will all come to end with Christ being victorious. Satan’s designs will fail. And one day all of redeemed humanity will be free from his influence and opposition. Forever.

Be aware.

Be alert.

Be assured.