Revelation Sermon - 29

Revelation: The Cosmic War

Revelation 12:1-6

1. Introduction – Good news! We’ve reached the centre of the letter. We’ve studied 11 chapters and we have 11 chapters to go.

a. But not only is chapter 12 the literary centre of this letter, it is also the theological centre.

i. Chapter 12 is the axis on which the rest of the letter spins.

1. It tells us that all we’ve looked at before, and all we will look at happens relative to a war. The Cosmic War.

b. And as we embark on this journey through the second half of this letter, it’s important for us to remember that chapters 12-22 don’t present to us different events –

i. But rather these chapters provide us with deeper details of events and themes previously seen in chapters 1-11.

1. The Seven Letters to the churches speak of the pressures on Christians to compromise – pressures coming from inside and outside the church.

a. The Seven Seals reveal that the spiritual forces of evil are unleashed on believer and unbeliever alike.

i. The Seven Trumpets demonstrate God’s judgment on hardened humanity.

1. But through it all, there are interspersed throughout, pockets of hope for God’s people. They will be protected spiritually throughout all of these events.

c. Chapters 12-22 tell the same story as 1-11, but explain in greater detail what the first chapters only introduce or imply.

i. Why is there pressure to compromise? Why are evil forces at work? Why are peoples’ hearts hardened?

1. Why? Because there is a war behind it all. And chapter 12 details that war for us.

a. Let’s read this chapter.

2. The Passage – Now, there’s a lot of information there, too much information to handle in one sermon. So, I’m not even going to try.

a. This morning, I’m going to walk us through, the overall flow of the vision very quickly – then specifically this morning we are going to focus on vv.1-6.

i. What makes chapter 12 difficult to grasp is that it presents images and events in rapid fire succession.

1. We’re looking here, and John says, “Look over there!”

a. We see a magnificent woman, and then all of a sudden, we’re looking at a red dragon.

i. We’re in the past then suddenly we’re in the future.

ii. But what we must keep in mind, is that all is being opened up for in this vision are the unseen realities of the present.

1. All that is happening in the text, in history, in your history, in my history, in our present – everything happens relative to a war – the war – between God and his enemies.

b. There are 4 main characters in this vision: The woman, the dragon, the male child and the other offspring.

i. We’ll study the first 3 characters of this vision in just a bit, the 4th next week.

1. But here’s how I see this scene playing out.

c. This scene is all about the dragon’s war against God. Notice the progression.

i. The dragon sets his sights on God – he fails but he brings 1/3 of the heavenly host with him.

1. So instead of going after God – he instead goes after the male child – doesn’t work.

a. So instead the dragon turns his attention to the woman – but she too is protected.

d. And finally, he goes after the woman’s other offspring.

i. Maybe that’s an overly simplistic outline – but it’s a way for us to quickly understand the whole, so we can better grasp the different parts.

1. Understand that this vision is fluid – lots of characters, different scenes – jumping from the past to the future – but it all affects the present.

a. And while may be a difficult vision to grasp, one thing we do know is this scene is very important. How do we know this? John tells us…twice.

b. Verse 1 – I saw in heaven and event of great significance.

i. Verse 3 – I saw another significant event.

1. This is the first time John has used this word in this letter – so we better pay attention to what’s happening here – and it is imperative we get this right.

3. The Male Child – We’re looking at verse 1-6 in detail this morning – and 3 main characters are introduced.

a. Our task this morning is to figure out who these characters are and what is going on in this scene.

i. We’re going to look at these characters in order of importance.

b. First, who is this son who is born to the woman? Well, I think it is pretty obvious who the male child is – it is Jesus, the Christ – the Messiah.

i. But how do we know this? Verse 5 gives us the clues.

1. A Son who was to rule the nations with an iron rod. This verse is a quote from Psalm 2.

a. Psalm 2 is what is called a messianic Psalm – a psalm that speaks about the life and work of the Messiah – of Jesus.

i. Psalm 2 is about the One whom God installs as the King of Kings. In this Psalm, God says to this One that he will rule with an iron rod. And we know that this King of Kings is Jesus.

c. But this male child is also caught up to God and to his throne.

i. And we know that after his post-resurrection work, Jesus ascended back up to heaven and he is currently sitting on his throne at God’s right hand, and he is there making intercession for us.

d. Something I want to point out to you. John doesn’t say that this male child is a sign.

i. We’re told in verse 1 that John saw a great sign – and event of great significance. And again, in verse 3, another sign – another significant event.

1. But this male child, not a sign. All along through this series I have been saying that signs in Revelation point to a reality beyond themselves.

a. And we’ll see this in just a bit.

ii. But this male child – doesn’t point to a reality beyond himself. He is reality.

1. We’re not going to find a literal woman clothed in the sun, or a literal dragon with seven heads and ten horns – those are signs – pointing us to something more.

a. But we can find, or better yet…we can be found by this male child.

i. Who is this male child? Not a sign. Not point to something beyond itself.

1. Who is this male child? He is Jesus…our Saviour.

4. The Woman – Next, let’s figure out who the woman is. A brilliant and magnificent sight. She described using words that have previously been given to God and the Lamb.

a. Clothed with the sun – in Psalm 104, the Psalmist says that God “wraps himself in light.’ This woman has the moon at her feet – a crown of 12 stars on her head.

i. Who is she? What is she? Well, again, the answer to that question is fairly obvious.

1. If the child born is Jesus – then the woman who gave birth to him is Mary.

a. But remember what I just said, signs point to a reality beyond itself.

b. So, I believe this sign represents Mary the Mother of Jesus, but it is also something deeper. It also represents the people of God.

i. The woman – clothed with the sun, moon at her feet, 12 stars on her head – where else in the Bible do we have these images? Remember Joseph???

1. When he was a youth he had a dream that the sun, moon, and 11 stars bowed down to his star.

a. In the interpretation of that dream – it turns out the sun was Joseph’s father, Jacob, the moon was his mother Rachel, and the 12 represented Joseph and his 11 brothers.

c. A woman, clothed with the sun, moon at her feet 12 stars on her head – this sign points to Israel – or more specifically – it points to a faithful remnant of Israel. Those who didn’t compromise.

i. And Luke’s Gospel tells us that Mary was a devout girl – she was part of this faithful remnant – and she gave birth to the Messiah.

1. The Woman is Mary, but it also points beyond itself to represent the true people of God – from whom the Messiah came.

5. The Dragon – And who is the dragon? Well, again this is easy to figure out – because John tells us.

a. The dragon is the archenemy of God. The ancient serpent, the devil…Satan.

i. He is the one who led a revolt in heaven, took down 1/3 of the heavenly host, and has sought to destroy God and his people ever since.

1. We’re going to study the dragon’s actions and character in detail next week, so stay tuned for that.

a. For now, focus on vv.1-6, what’s going on here?

6. The Scene – When we stop and analyze what’s going on in this scene, it becomes evidently apparently that what is happening is horrific and grotesque.

a. The scene is one of a woman giving birth. Should be a beautiful vision, but it quickly turns horrific.

i. The woman is ready to deliver, but instead of a doctor aiding in the delivery, ready to help the child in a humane way – we’re told that the red dragon is waiting in front of the woman in to devour the baby as soon as he is born.

1. Seriously horrific and grotesque stuff here – how could this happen? Well, what if I told you that this has already happened?

a. Because the events described here in Revelation 12 happened… at the very first Christmas.

b. Mary gave birth to Jesus, the promised Messiah. Yes, angels sang about his birth, shepherds rushed to Bethlehem to see for themselves. But what else happened?

i. The magi came to Herod inquiring about the birth of the King of the Jews – and what did Herod do?

1. He tried to have Jesus killed. All the baby boys two years old and under were killed in Bethlehem.

a. But Jesus was snatched away from the horror by a trip to Egypt.

c. And what Revelation 12 tells us that underneath Herod’s decree was a satanic initiator who was trying to stop God’s plan before it even started.

i. Yes, Herod himself made the decree – but he was working in cahoots with Satan.

1. What we read this morning is a Christmas passage – but a Christmas passage we grew up with.

d. Author Eugene Petersen writes that “John adds this account of the nativity story to Matthew and Luke’s so that Christmas cannot be sentimentalized into coziness or domesticated into worldliness.

i. Russel Moore wrote in a blog post from a few years ago – Jesus wasn’t born into a gauzy winter wonderland – he was born into a warzone. Because his birth meant the beginning of the end for evil.

1. And that is why, even at his birth – evil reacted against Jesus. And really, we see it throughout Jesus earthly life and ministry.

a. At his birth – Herod tried, and failed. Satan tried by tempting Jesus for 40 days – but he failed.

i. After Jesus’ first public sermon, the crowd tried to throw him off a cliff – but they failed.

1. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day plotted numerous times to have him arrested and killed – but they too failed.

ii. And even when it looked like evil had won on Good Friday – it still failed because Jesus conquered death through his resurrection.

1. But what we see is the relentless attack of the dragon – God, Jesus, the woman, her offspring – but more on that next week.

e. The picture seems bleak and grim. The persistent attack of relentless enemy – a satanic initiator.

i. But in spite of the dragon’s persistence, in spite of Satan’s advances – I want you to see that God still protects his own.

f. The child was snatched to safety. Jesus was protected his entire earthly life and ministry until he willingly gave himself up so he could die for our sins.

i. And we see in 12:6 that the woman fled into the wilderness.

1. But know this about the wilderness – it is a place of protection.

g. Think about all of the wilderness experiences in the Bible.

i. The people Israel – yes it was a place of grumbling and complaining and sinning and judgment – but God also protected them and provided for them for 40 years.

1. Think of David, who fled from Saul into the wilderness – and was protected.

a. Think of Elijah, who multiple times fled into the wilderness, only to be fed, provided for and protected.

i. Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days and while he was tempted, he was also protected and ministered to.

h. So too, the woman, the people of God will spend time in the wilderness. We will spend time in the wilderness – perhaps we are right now.

i. But that doesn’t mean the absence of God’s presence – it means God’s protection.

1. The wilderness is a place where God feeds his people even in the midst of terrible opposition.

a. And again, I’ll remind you that God’s protection isn’t necessarily physical, but it is most definitely spiritual.

i. God nourishes and strengthens his people while they are in the wilderness, so they will have the strength to press on and go through life without compromising.

i. Revelation reveals to us the satanic initiator behind the evil in this world.

i. But what it also reveals is that Satan has already been defeated. He was tossed out of heaven, he unsuccessfully tried to thwart God’s plan – and he has ultimately been defeated at the cross and resurrection.

1. The evil we experience now are the violent death throws of an already defeated enemy.

7. Next Week – Next week, we are going to dive deeper into this cosmic war.

a. We’ll study the nature of our enemy, but we’ll also see practical ways in which we can overcome him.

i. The word ‘overcome’ has been used through the entire letter, but in the last half of chapter 12, we finally see practical ways that will allow us to stay strong and overcome the devil’s accusations.

1. For next Sunday, re-read chapter 12 in light of what we’ve studied this morning, and when we gather together next week we’ll study vv7-18 together.