Holy War

One quality of a well-told or well-written epic is that it has both the ability to zoom in focus tightly and be very descriptive, and also to zoom out to the larger, grand plot that is present.

The last 2 weeks we have looked at John’s words that are very sequential and detailed. 7 Seals have been opened, then the 7th seal was broken down into 7 trumpet blasts. While the focus in the last 6 chapters has been quite focused, in today’s text John reestablished the grand plot.

Before the creation of earth, God’s holiness was challenged and a cosmic conflict began with a rebellion among the angels. When mankind was created, each side of that conflict tried to entice man to align with either the righteousness of God or evil of the deceiver.

In today’s text John acknowledges the struggle between the purpose of God and His enemies. John exposes some of the players and tactics used by the Devil but concludes with a reminder that the outcome has already been determined with Satan losing and Christ judging the ancient and repeated rebellion.

The coming conflict described in Revelation will not be a new war. It will be more battles in the War that has been raging since before the Dawn of time, currently rages today, and will cause greater turmoil in the future until the enemy is finally defeated.

The serpent who tempted Eve, reappears as a dragon in today’s chapters. The battles of today’s 3 chapters are already seen today in

Ephesians 6:12 ESV:2016

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Or

2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV:2016

5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

We are neck-deep in this conflict in our society as we argue about which “rights” are endowed by a Creator and which behaviors are more accurately defined as offerings to the idols of power or pleasure.

Transition: The conflict that was, is, and is to come at its root is…

Opposition to God (Rev. 12)

A Woman (12:1-2)

1. The source of the Messiah.

2. Several commentators who try to downplay the role of Judaism in God’s plan simple call the woman the people of God. However, the Gentiles don’t get grafted into the people of God until AFTER Christ came.

3. I believe it is most appropriate to see this woman as representative of the Jewish heritage from Eve to Mary.

4. This woman cannot be the Church because in no sense did Christ come from the Church. This woman is not Mary specifically, because the red dragon (that we will read about in a moment) fell from heaven long before Mary was born and opposed the plan of God for hundreds of years before the Nativity.

5. Dr. Dan Green points out that the sun, moon & stars connects to Joseph’s dreams of Gen 37. “these luminaries identify the woman as symbolic of Israel. This interpretation fits well with the symbols in Joseph’s dream in Gn 37:9–10. The sun and the moon stood for Joseph’s parents, Jacob and Rachel (Gn 37:10), and the eleven stars (Joseph was the twelfth) were Joseph’s brothers, here representing the 12 tribes of Israel”[i]

A Dragon (12:3-16)

Similar stories in Ugaritic Baal cycle, Babylonian Marduk, Persian Ahura vs. Azhi Dahaka, Egyptian Hathor vs. Typhon, Greek Apollo vs. Python, etc.

The heads and diadems represent kings and empires that align with Satan’s purposes as identified later in Rev. 17 that describes 5 empires that were before John’s time, 1 that was during his time, and 1 yet to come.

This dragon leads a revolt. The revolt was not ever a threat to God, He didn’t even have to get involved Himself. According to John’s vision, Michael and his team of messengers were adequate to squash this uprising.

Sidenote: It is not germane to the flow of the text, but a simple application to keep in mind. Skirmishes over character are usually won by those who fight in your behalf. 1 Cor 6:7 reveals the foolishness of aggressively defending yourself. If the Lord is our Shepherd, we can trust him to take care of His sheep, even from attacks by other sheep!

4. V.9 connects this red dragon with horns (v.3) and a tail (v.4) which is the basis for much artwork depicting Satan today.

Those who claim Satan does not wear red pajamas with horns, a tail, and a pitchfork apparently have not read these verses. Now, to be truthful, Satan doesn’t always appear like this! Sometimes he is a roaring lion, sometimes he is an angel of light, and sometimes he is a serpent.

5. Vv.11-12 sets this account apart from all other mythologies: His Christ and blood of the Lamb.

Her Son (12:5, 10)

A male child who will rule, but is temporarily in the presence of God.

Described in v. 10 as the anointed one, Messiah, or Christ of God.

Transition: Contrary to the thinking of a narcissistic generation, not everything is about you. We are soldiers in a war that opposes God that began before our birth and will continue after our death. If opposition to God were not bad enough, the next chapter continues to describe…

Impersonation of God (Rev. 13)

The Unholy Trinity

1. The Dragon/Satan (ch. 12) pretends to be God

2. The Beast/Anti-Christ from the sea (13:1-8)

a. The messiah of Satan

b. A blasphemous (vv.5-6) political leader. The authority of v.7is what makes me think this is a political ruler of some sort rather than an economic or media powerhouse.

c. Seemed (like/as) (v.3) to have a mortal wound that healed. This is just a weak impersonation of the True Christ of God.

d. Makes war against the earthly saints (v.7-10)

3. The Beast/False Prophet from the earth (13:11-14a)

a. A religious leader (v.12) forces worship.

The red dragon’s heads, horns and diadems connect with political powers (12:3); the anti-Christ is associated with heads, horns and diadems (13:1). Now the False Prophet (2nd Beast) is directing worship toward the 1st Beast (13:12b) and we’ll see in a minute its image.

b. Performs false signs (v.13-14)

I see a political-spin job at work. What seemed to be a fatal wound in v.3, now in v.12 & v.14 has become a mortal wound.

c. Just as the Spirit points to the Son, the 2nd Beast points to the First.

Image of the Beast (vv.14b-15)

Just as Jesus (in flesh) could only be one place at a time, this anti-Christ can only be one place at a time, so a statue is made to represent him.

The statue is given Human-like qualities.

As technology moves forward and we experience new forms of Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and now something called a Metaverse, is it hard to imagine some inanimate image being given breath and voice?

3. Slayed those who didn’t bow (like Nebuchadnezzar)

Mark of the Beast (vv.16-18)

Placement – hand or forehead

Purpose – control economy

I’m not as concerned about what the mark actually is (a tattoo? A subdermal microchip?) as I am concerned with the allegiance it represents.

Masks and vaccine-cards/negative Covid results were used in this manner during the pandemic. Businesses/Schools/ airlines/Employers were prohibiting access unless a person complied with the expectation. Even this week our KC Royals had healthy players who were not permitted to play in Montreal based upon vaccination status.

4. 6 < 7

5. Many ancient languages did not have figures for numbers but used instead the letters of the alphabet (a = 1, b = 2, c = 3 and so on). This made it possible for a name to be represented by the number obtained through adding the numerical values of the letters of the name. For example, there is a piece of graffiti on a wall in Pompeii which reads, ‘I love her whose name is 545’. Doubtless the young lady knew whose name that was! So also despite the many possibilities that the number 666 yields, it is virtually certain that the individual thereby indicated was known in all the churches addressed by John, and probably far wider. The name Nero Caesar transliterated into Hebrew from Greek yields the number 666.

Beasley-Murray goes on to write: “For Christians, 666 was an eminently suitable figure for the antichrist; it represents a consistent falling short of the divine perfection suggested by 777, whereas the name Jesus in Greek totals 888!”[ii]

Transition: Attempts to oppose or imitate God always come up short and eventually lead to…

Separation by God (Rev. 14)

Reigning (1-5)

This section is meant to encourage believers in the midst of hardship.

The ones who were sealed by earlier are now pictured worshipping with Christ, and later will come ruling with Him.

This progression encourages us that we have aligned with the right side even if circumstances don’t look like it currently.

Judging (6-13)

Judgment has come (v.7)

Immorality flows (v.8)

Unbridled passions and sexual immorality are the signs of the duly deserved wrath and torment that is about to be poured out.

3. Wrath upon enemies means eternal torment (vv.10-11)

4. V.11 warns about the consequences of a “politically expedient” choice.

There is a phrase I heard growing up, “go along to get along”. It is the idea that sometimes we should swallow our principles for the sake of “unity, peace or cooperation”. It can look like joining the union or party that stands for things you disagree with, simply because it means you can avoid some uncomfortably situations with co-workers. My friend Ron had several tires slashed at the GM Janesville, WI plant because he chose to re-direct his union dues to charities other that what the Union chose. Some would say he could avoid the expense and inconvenience of replacing tires if he would just “go along to get along”.

V.11 says that it is not just the Dragon, the Anti-Christ, and the False Prophet who are forced into torment, but Everyone who worshipped or received their mark.

Reaping (14-20)

The time has arrived to execute judgment on the wicked.

The reaping of the wheat and gathering of the grape harvest then represent one inclusive act of judgment, as in Joel 3:13, on which these two oracles are based[iii]

2. The harvest is represented by extreme bloodshed.

Conclusion:

Allegiance matters. I do not equate honor, submission or obedience with worship. It is possible to be allegiant to one’s country without worshipping its leaders.

But I know many people who purchased a jersey with a certain player’s number or name, just to become ashamed when that player did something unwholesome.

The only numbered jersey I have is for a player who is now deceased so I don’t have to worry about something he could become connected with in the future.

Brands I have purchased in the past, I no longer give a cent because of causes they have adopted or personalities they have promoted.

If we truly do not wrestle against flesh and blood and if there are arguments intentionally set up against God, we must be extra vigilant about our allegiances and our support. Because in the end those who set themselves up against God will endure torment.

[i] Daniel D. Green, “Revelation,” in The Moody Bible Commentary, ed. Michael A. Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014), 2015. [ii] George R. Beasley-Murray, “Revelation,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1443. [iii]Ibid., 1444.