Dragon Sleighing

Revelation is a book of apocalyptic literature. This is it’s own genre of literature. It is not just prophesy of the future. Apocalyptic literature uses Powerful imagery, sometimes representative, always conveying powerful emotion, always pointing at deeper truth.

John, in the book of Revelation, he gets these visions, windows, covering past, present and future, always pointing at deeper truth… and writing to encourage churches he loves who are in the midst of decades of mounting persecution.

Now, people go rounds on exactly what Revelation means… and you might have your favorite interpretation. Like the prophesies we saw last week in Isaiah, those had a “near” interpretation and a “far” interpretation… apocalyptic literature can be multi-referent.

But if you’re in the Bible and your answer to “what does it mean?” is Jesus? I think you’re on a good track.

So, I’m going to make the claim, and a lot of scholars agree, I’m going to read to you the Christmas story. Cosmic Christmas. Powerful imagery that points at the deeper spiritual realities going on.

Revelation 12:1–6 (ESV)

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.

Who is this woman? It’s Mary, as we will see in a minute… but John uses imagery familiar to his readers, imagery familiar from the Old Testament. Probably reminiscent of Joseph’s dream with the sun and moon and the stars bowing… so this woman is not just Mary but Israel, spiritual Israel including the Church.

She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.

And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.

WHHAAAAATTTT?????!!! Dragons in the Bible. Yes, please! Awesome. But it’s the bad guy, remember that. Like the woman, not a new symbol. A symbol again and again of the adversary of Satan. Heads are associated elsewhere, and later in Revelation, with authority, with kings and kingdoms, horns with power.

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.

So wait. This is the Christmas story???

There’s a dragon sweeping stars out of heaven? A third? That sounds like Lucifer leading a third of the angels in rebellion against the throne of God, doesn’t it? And Satan is trying to eat baby Jesus?

That’s a different picture of Christmas morning than “silent night.” And it’s AWESOME!!!

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,

Sound like Jesus? Christmas morning…

This is Revelation. Apocalypse. apokalypsis (where we get “apocalypse” means this: revealed). Revelation. And this is God himself revealed to us.

except there’s a DRAGON there waiting to devour Jesus.

The child was caught up to God and to his throne, the death and resurrection of Jesus and his ascension to sit at the right hand of God the Father.

Now in the imagery there is possibly some time lapse things happening. Is the “devouring of Jesus” enacted through Herod attempting to murder Jesus to preserve his own political power?

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.

That’s a bit more than three years, roughly the time Jesus and his family fled to Egypt. But the desert or wilderness is also a symbol of how and where God preserves his people. Jesus retreats to the wilderness over and over again during his ministry, also about three years.

Satan thrown down

Revelation 12:7–17 (ESV)

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back,

Yes, this is epic stuff. Who wants to watch a fight between Michael and his angels verse a dragon and his angels! Yes, please. Make that HBO show!

Not the first time this happened, either, read Jude 9. Michael the archangel and the devil fought over Moses’ body. This is awesome…

but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

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.

Boom! Ripped his wings off, thrown down to the earth, and all the angels.

The events are cinematic, apocalyptic, but I think these are all accomplished events. In the birth, death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus, the devil and all his angels in rebellion are cast down to earth.

And without argument, all are in agreement, the Dragon loses, Jesus, Michael and the angels are victorious.

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.

What is the devil’s power? The accuser. How do we fight the accuser?

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.

“By the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

Praise God.

We are in here, friends. That’s us.

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 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.

Remember the woman is spiritual Israel, all the Church, not “just” Mary.

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.

The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood.

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.

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.

SO much going on there. The wings of eagles is a symbol over and over again of God delivering his people. Often armies are waters and political powers, and the earth can be common people supporting.

I don’t know. Here’s what I know for sure, we are in here again.

Satan, the dragon, is making war on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

That’s you and me. We are at war!

How do we triumph? By the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. By living and loving and testifying sacrificially. By singing with the angels in the face of Dragon.

No wonder the wise men saw something in the heavens, sensed something in the spiritual realm. They were just people who were paying attention!!! Eyes on the spiritual realm. Eyes on spiritual forces.

Could they see the dragon waiting to devour the child? They knew something momentous was going on.

Could they see the battle to follow, heavens battling against heavens, Michael and posse vs. Dragon and posse.

Fighting Dragons

You remember why I fall into too much escapism? Reading novels with imaginary battles and victories?

Because life is either

boring

or too hard and scary

And I want to escape.

The extent to which I fall into that is the extent to which I am blind to and am blinding myself to the spiritual realms.

Let me go read about dragons because I’m bored… are you kidding me? there’s one right there! Ahh. It’s wings are ripped off… it’s cast down to heaven, but it’s backed up by demons and it wants to fight me!!!

Oh no, life is too hard and scary and oppressive and now you’ve added dragons. That’s the other side.

NO. For the dragon is defeated by the blood of the lamb and the word of his testimony. We sing in the enemy’s face. We sing victory over his pathetic accusations, knowing our God has and is and will deliver us.

We are already in the story where we know the hero has won, is winning, will win the victory! And he has invited us to be a part of the dragon sleighing.

Christmas is beautiful and celebratory... but it isn't boring. It is a call to arms, battle and triumph and all out war. It is dragons and angels and a glorious King.

In that, we sing with the angels:

Christmas is this epic victory in heaven! It’s so much cooler with names. Not just “angels”… Michael and his posse of angels.

While Gabriel is delivering messages to Zachariah and to Mary and to Joseph… friend Michael is waging war!!!

And when all the heavenly hosts are singing...

Now picture this. Either they just fought or they’re about to fight. Getting pumped up before taking the dragon and his angels on. The armies, the heavenly hosts, the angels of God in all their multitudes sing their battle song, their victory song.

Luke 2:13–14 ESV

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Christmas is coming.

God landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form, he won the victory. And by the blood of the Lamb and the word of his testimony, we sing the victory.

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