Revelation Sermon - 30

Revelation: Down Goes the Dragon

Revelation 12:7-18

1. Introduction – Last week we were introduced to the character of this vision.

a. There’s a male child – who represents Jesus. There’s a woman who gives birth to the male child – who is Mary, but also represents the faithful people of God from whom the Messiah came.

i. And there is a red dragon who is relentless in his attack on God and his people.

1. Last week we studied vv.1-6 of this vision – it’s the opening scene that introduced to the characters but also gave us a brief introduction into the holy war that’s playing out.

b. This morning we have a big task ahead of us. We are going to cover a lot of ground, but it’s important ground.

i. Given the seriousness of the topic, this morning I’m going to start with some encouragement.

1. We’ll being by looking at the fact that the dragon is already defeated. Given what we’ll study in just a bit, we need this reminder.

a. Next, we’ll see that even though he is already defeated, we’ll see that the war still continues.

i. Third, we’ll look at the character and nature of the dragon. We need to know our enemy.

1. And finally, we’ll look at how Revelation 12 gives us practical advice on how we can defeat the enemy when he comes against us.

2. Defeated Enemy – First off, this morning – be absolutely confident that the great red dragon has already been defeated. When? How? As we’ll see, he has experienced a number of defeats.

a. Most scholars believe that verse 4 and verses 7-9 are speaking of the pre-creation fall of Satan and his followers.

i. The reference to ‘stars’ in verse 4 most likely refer to angels who fell with him, since that’s what stars in Revelation represent.

1. And they believe that the war that was waged between Michael and his army and the dragon and his army, was waged before God even said “Let there be light.”

a. So, the dragon was defeated before the creation of the world.

b. But there’s more to it. Because Revelation 12 tells us that the dragon is defeated by the Child – the child being Jesus.

i. The dragon tried to snatch the child away as soon as he was born – and failed.

1. Herod tried to have Jesus killed because he was born king of the Jews.

a. But Jesus was kept safe through that, and he went on the live on earth – and accomplish what he set out to do.

ii. The dragon was defeated by the birth of the child. The dragon was defeated by the life of the child.

1. He was defeated by the teachings, the healing and the miracles of the Child.

a. The dragon was defeated by the death of the child, by the resurrection of the child, by the ascension of the Child and by the enthronement of the Child.

i. The dragon was defeated by the child.

c. But there’s more! Not only does Revelation 12 tell us about the defeat of Satan, the Gospel of Luke does also.

i. Remember in Luke 10 when Jesus sent out 72 disciples? They came back amazed by what they saw and what they were able to do through God’s power.

1. And this is what Jesus said in response, “I saw Satan fall like lightning…”

ii. Now, was Jesus referring to a past event? Was Jesus referring to the event he witnessed before the creation of the world?

1. OR was Jesus looking forward to a future event?

a. Or, when the 72 were working in Jesus’ name, was Satan’s grip on the world loosened as the good news was proclaimed?

i. Was Jesus referring to the Christian’s work as a means of defeating Satan?

1. No matter which way we look at it – whether it was a past, present or future event – know this…the devil is defeated through the work of Christians going out in Jesus’ name. More on that later.

3. War Goes On – The enemy has been defeated. That is why the loud voice in heaven can shout praises in verse 10.

a. In most English translations, this spontaneous song beings with the word, “Now!”

i. Now, salvation and power and the kingdom of God have come at least….

b. But maybe when you hear that word “now” a cynical side of us questions it. Now? Really?

i. If salvation and power and the kingdom of God have now come already – why are things so bad in the world?

1. Well, here’s the simple answer, things are so bad in our world precisely because the enemy has already been defeated.

c. If you’re a student of history, you know that when the Allied Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy in June of 1944, WWII was as good as over.

i. German generals begged Hitler to negotiate an end to it all.

1. So, what did Hitler do? Surrender? No, he launched a crazy missile assault on London.

a. In his mad rage against his enemies, he did all he could do to hurt them.

i. It was a last gaps effort by a desperate leader – a desperate act by a man who knew his time was short.

d. Well, Revelation 12 tells us the same thing about the devil. He is defeated. The phrase ‘thrown down’ is used repeatedly in this passage.

i. But he is yet to surrender or experience his ultimate defeat…that comes later.

1. The war continues. He is doing as much as he possibly can to undo much of what Jesus has done.

a. The dragon will do his diabolical best to wrestle us away from Jesus.

e. He does this because he knows his time is short. Did you catch that??? The devil knows he is defeated.

i. He knows he has little time, so he is ferociously working to dissuade and discourage God’s people.

1. If the devil knows his time is short…if the devil knows the time of Jesu’s coming could happen at any time…

a. If the devil is working feverishly to accomplish his diabolical plan…

i. Shouldn’t we also be working feverishly to accomplish God’s plan?

f. If time is short for the devil, time is also short for us to work on this earth for God.

i. Time for witness and evangelism is short because the second coming of Jesus could happen at any time.

1. The war is still raging. Revelation assures us or our ultimate victory and Satan’s ultimate defeat.

a. What we experience today are the violent death throes of an already defeated enemy.

4. Nature – For the next few minutes I want us to look at how Revelation 12 describes the character of the dragon.

a. If we know how he attacks we can properly equip ourselves with tools to defend ourselves.

i. We’ll look at these character traits quickly so we can spend more time looking at tools to overcome.

b. First, John calls the dragon an accuser. He calls the dragon, the ancient serpent – the devil or Satan.

i. The word “satan’ means adversary or accuser. The word ‘devil’ means slanderer.

1. How does the devil work – through accusations and slander.

ii. If you have been a Christians for long you may know what its like for Satan to suggest evil thoughts to your mind –

1. And then turn around and afflict you with the accusation that a person with such thoughts cannot possibly be a Christian.

a. The dragon wreaks his havoc by going around accusing and slandering.

c. There’s a warning in there for us – to get caught up in accusations and slander – to gossip or speak ill of another people – that is to get caught up in the devil’s work and it plays the dragon’s game.

i. Slander and accusations are the work of the dragon, not the work of Christ.

d. Secondly, John describes the dragon as a deceiver. He desires to deceive. It is a character issue for the dragon.

i. He is fundamentally deceived and deceiving.

1. He is deceived about his place in the universe – he wants to be God and he deceives humans who want to be God. He plays games with the truth.

a. Again, this warns us that to get caught up in deception of any kind is to get caught up in the dragon’s game and do the dragon’s work for him.

e. Third – John tells us that the dragon seeks to kill. He is red, the colour of blood.

i. If not actual physical violence, the threat of physical violence is sometimes good enough.

1. Don’t follow Jesus, he might say…the world will come against you. You’ll die.

f. Accusations, deceit, slander, lies, murder. What flows out of the dragon’s mouth is the exact opposite of what comes from Jesus.

5. Overcome – So if the devil comes at us in this way – if he is an accuser, a deceiver and seeks to kill – how can we defend ourselves?

a. Well, Revelation 12 gives us practical tools that we can use to defeat the attacks of the dragon.

i. The whole point of the letter of Revelation is teaching Christians how to overcome in this lifetime so we can experience the blessings of God in the next life.

1. The word ‘overcome’ has been used through this letter, but here in chapter 12, we finally see some practical tools we can use in order to overcome.

b. First – we overcome by the blood of the Lamb. When the devil accuses us of being a filthy rotten sinner, we can point him to our Saviour.

i. You see, the devil is right. You have sinned; we are sinners. But he is also wrong because we have a Saviour who has dealt with our sins.

1. We can say to the devil, “No condemnation now I dread!”

a. We can quote Romans 8:34… “Who is in a position to condemn us? Only Jesus – and he died for my sin. He rose for my sin, he reigns for me and he prays for me.”

ii. So, when the devil comes accusing you – know that, if you believe in the saving death and resurrection of Jesus – you have been washed by the blood and Calvary covers it all. How many more hymns can I quote?

1. Tell him to scram.

c. Secondly, Revelation 12 tells us we overcome the devil by our testimony.

i. Satan wants the news of his defeat to be kept as quiet as possible. But when Christians spread the good news of forgiveness in Christ – Satan’s power is diminished.

1. Think about it, by not witnessing to others, you are keeping news of Satan’s defeat quiet, thus doing his work for him.

ii. Don Carson writes – the host of darkness are pushed back by the Christian bearing witness.

1. Giving testimony to who god is and what has been done in Jesus.

a. How else can we push back Satan’s forces? This is how he is defeated, by the word of our testimony.

i. We overcome when we witness – we defeat the devil when we spread the news of his defeat and the good news of Christ’s victory.

d. Finally, this morning, we overcome when we aren’t afraid to die for Jesus’ sake. They didn’t love their lives so much that they were afraid to lose it.

i. We overcome when we don’t let the threat of death intimidate us.

1. Maybe in our part of the world we don’t face death for our faith – not yet anyways.

a. For us, I believe the devil works by making us embarrassed about our faith. The devil works by threatening us with social ostracism.

i. The devil says, “Don’t speak up about Jesus, people will look at you funny. You keep that message to yourself.”

ii. But that is a trick of the devil, and we overcome this deceit by counting the cost and not being afraid of embarrassment of ostracism.

1. We overcome when we don’t let the threat of embarrassment intimidate us.

a. Revelation teaches us that when we lose our lives for the Lamb’s sake – when we experience persecution for Jesus’ sake – we win…just like Jesus did.

e. We overcome when we realize that embarrassment, criticism or social ostracism or death is not the worst thing that can happen to us.

i. Turning our back on Jesus…that’s the worst thing that could happen to us.

1. But we overcome when we realize that all of those things don’t have the final say – they only have the second to last say.

a. We win when we cling to the hope of the gospel – even in the face of opposition.

6. Conclusion – Incredible verses, an incredible passage, incredible truth and hope.

a. Is it any wonder that Charles Wesley was able to write – Amazing Love how can it be, that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

i. And the final verse of that great hymns sums up beautiful all that we looked at this morning.

1. No condemnation now I dread, Jesus and all in him is mine.

a. Alive in him, my living head, and clothed in righteousness divine.

i. Bold I approach the eternal throne, and claim the crown through Christ my own.

1. Amazing love! How can it be! That thou, my God, shouldst die for me?