May I turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 12? Revelation chapter 12. We're going to do more of an overview this evening than a detailed exposition. Several things are going on in this particular chapter.
I think if we get the main thrust, that is our hope for this evening's sermon. We need to remember that the book of Revelation, though lacking in direct quotations from the Old Testament, is nevertheless the most Old Testament book in the New Testament. And what I mean by that is that John, the writer, as he's on the island of Patmos for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus, he has the Old Testament scriptures in his mind and in his heart. And so he uses various images, he uses various word pictures, he uses various themes drawn from the Old Testament.
As I said, if it is not a direct quotation, there is certainly an abundance of allusion. where the Apostle is referencing things that had happened in Israel's history. I just want to read chapter 12 and then we'll look at three broad categories in Revelation 12. We'll notice first, the woman, the dragon, and the child. We'll identify those three parties in verses 1 to 6.
Secondly, we'll notice the defeat of the dragon in verses 7 to 12. And then thirdly, the persecution of the woman. in verses 13 to 17. Remember that John is writing to real, live Christians. He's writing to real, live churches.
Those who were suffering, those who were being persecuted, those who were knowing the difficulties associated with the Christian life. And so he is giving a theology of suffering. He is giving a theology of why it is that there is this antagonism directed against the church. Essentially, according to chapter 12, it's because Jesus defeated the devil that he then turns his rage against Jesus' bride.
As I mentioned earlier, Jesus uses these things for His glory and for the good of His people in this lower world. Let's just pick up reading in chapter 12 at verse 1. Now a great sign appeared in heaven. A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.
Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared in heaven. Behold, a great fiery red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.
And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her child as soon as it was born.
The Identity of the Male Child
She bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up to God and his throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there 1,260 days. And war broke out in heaven.
Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was cast to the earth and His angels were cast out with Him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.
The Persecution of the Woman
Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, we pray to you now for the illumination of your spirit.
We pray that he would guide our study, that he would instruct us from your word, and that we would receive things calculated to edify and strengthen us in the fight. We ask God in heaven that we would again marvel at the glory of Christ, at his person, at his work. at what he has accomplished on behalf of his church. How we thank you that you've included us in this plan, how we thank you that you have blessed us with every spiritual blessing, and how we praise you, Lord God Almighty, for this opportunity now to consider our Lord and Savior. And it's in his name that we pray.
Amen.
Introduction to Revelation 12
Well, as we read this particular chapter, as I said, it's full of imagery, it's full of vision, it's full of things that are calculated to stir up one's imagination as they read this particular account. If you go back to chapter 1 for just a moment, notice in chapter 1 at verse 2, it says, "...and he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John." I'm sorry, in verse 1. Right at the outset in the book of Revelation we are taught that it would be signified. There will be pictures, there will be image, there will be illusion, there will be vision.
It's not straight narrative prose, but rather there are symbols that are used. Thankfully, however, the book is the Revelation. of Jesus Christ. It is the revealing of Jesus Christ. And as things are given in vision form or things are given in symbol form, there is always an interpretation.
There is always an explanation so that we're not left wondering. And precisely what we find in chapter 12 is the power behind the beast. In chapter 13 we have this beast from the sea and this beast from the land. Well it is the devil, it is the dragon, it is this serpent of old that is the power behind these political and religious forces that are persecuting the church.
So Revelation 12 gives us a behind-the-scenes picture of what is going on. Revelation 13 shows us what happens in this world, in this life, in terms of the persecuting powers, both politically and religiously. And as we read through Revelation chapter 12, I don't want you to be puzzled. Basically, what is recorded in this chapter is that the devil is defeated.
The devil is defeated in four specific ways, which we'll look at in just a moment. But let's introduce the major players involved.
The Woman, the Dragon, and the Child
Note first, the woman. At first glance, this may appear to be Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is more probably a description of the people of God who would bring forth the Redeemer. David S.
Clark says the 12 stars may have reference to the 12 tribes of Israel. The true Israel, the Zion of God, gives us the incarnate Christ. Out of the bosom of the church comes Jesus Christ into the world as the promised Messiah who was to be the seed of the woman. So the woman of Revelation 12 is the true Israel of God.
After the devil is cast out of heaven, he then turns his rage against this woman. He persecutes the church. He seeks to destroy the church. He has been defeated by her master.
Now he turns his rage against them specifically. Specifically, this is the faithful remnant of those in the old covenant who believed on Jesus Christ in form, the first fruits of the church. So that's the woman. Secondly, we have this dragon.
Doesn't take a lot to figure out that this is the devil. In fact, the text is very specific. Notice the description given. He is a great, fiery, red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his head.
Again, we have Daniel in the background in terms of this particular description. John knows his Bible, and John is conveying this information via biblical imagery. In verse 9, we see that great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan. And then in verse 12, Rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in the earth, earn them.
Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you having great wrath." And then notice specifically the conflict in view. Before he gets to the church, he starts with the master.
The Dragon's Attack on the Child
He desires to destroy this one sent from God. This is precisely what we read in verse 4. It's a horrific image, isn't it? I'm not a woman.
Never been pregnant. Unless some miraculous feat of science occurs, I never will be. But I've got to imagine if I was a woman, and I was pregnant, I would want a sanitary environment to deliver the fruit of my womb. I would want to be attended by people that knew what they were doing.
I'd want to be surrounded by a loving husband, full of compassion and kindness, who is slipping ice chips into my mouth. I would want it to be an environment that was conducive to bringing this new life into the world. Look at the antagonism that John paints with reference to Genesis 3.15. The seed of the woman is meeting the seed of the serpent and it is all out war.
It is combat. It is battle to the death. It is warfare and it is typified or illustrated here in almost a vulgar way. The dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Chilton says this conflict between Christ and Satan was announced in Genesis 3.15, the war between the two seeds, the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. From the first book of the Bible to the last, this is the basic warfare of history. The dragon is at war with the woman and her seed, primarily Jesus Christ. He wants to devour this baby.
He wants to destroy the child of promise. He wants to rid the world of this one who has come to save his people from their sins and to transfer people out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the sun of his love. In sum and substance, the devil is a murderer from the beginning. He is a liar.
He wants to destroy that which has come to save mankind. That is the picture that is described for us. We see this in history. A couple of weeks ago I alluded to two biblical examples.
Jehoshabah in 2nd Kings chapter 11. There was a wicked woman who ascended the throne in Israel. Her name was Adaliah. Adaliah's purpose was to destroy all the seed of David.
She wanted to destroy every male in the Davidic line. She wanted to secure her spot on that throne and commit it to wickedness and ungodliness. Jehoshaphat, an unsung hero of the faith, took this baby Joash and hid him. Adaliyah did not find him.
Adaliyah is ultimately executed and ultimately Joash, the Davidic king, assumes his place on the royal throne. Do not make a mistake. That was the wicked activity of Adaliyah, but it was the dragon behind her. In Matthew chapter 2, when Herod gives the order to slaughter those innocent baby boys, yes, it was political, yes, it was wicked, yes, it was religious in nature, but as Paul tells us, we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but rather it is the devil behind these men that are activating them in their machinations against the Church of the Living God.
The devil wanted to destroy the rightful heir to the Davidic throne. The devil wanted to stop the progress of Christ's kingdom at the very inception of it. That is what verse 4 indicates. The dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born.
And then in verse 5 we have the description of the child himself, his identification. This is clearly the Lord Jesus Christ. She bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Hopefully you're thinking Psalm 2.
John has Psalm 2 in his mind as he refers to this reigning, ruling son who rules with the rod of iron. It is the Lord Jesus Christ that is in view in this particular scene. Notice in verse 5 the specific aspect of his ministry in view. She bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and her child was caught up to God and His throne.
If I asked you what biblical doctrine does that refer to, I hope that you would say the Ascension. The Ascension obviously presupposes the Resurrection. The Resurrection obviously presupposes the Crucifixion. The Crucifixion obviously presupposes His spotless life and ministry.
So when John says the ascension, or when he speaks here of the ascension, of this male child being caught up to God in his throne, when he highlights that one aspect, it does bring into the view all of the events associated with the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ. G.K. Beal says that this reference is a snapshot of the entirety of Christ's life. It is the ascension that is in view.
I already read Daniel 7, 13 and 14. We had a top 10 list of Bible texts that were misunderstood. I suspect that Daniel 7, 13 would probably make that particular list. If not in the top 10, in the top 20.
Very often we take Daniel 7, 13 as a second coming text. as a text when Jesus comes on the clouds again to judge the living and the dead. But that's not what Daniel's talking about. Daniel is talking about the ascension. Daniel says that this Son, this Son of Man, came to the Ancient of Days.
He didn't come from the Ancient of Days, but rather He came to the Ancient of Days to assume universal empire, to assume the messianic reign. Daniel 7, 13 and 14 provides the biblical background for the enthronement of Christ at the Ascension. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom. I think that's precisely what John wants us to understand.
The Ascension and Universal Reign
At the ascension of Christ, when he sits down at the right hand of the throne of God Most High, it is at that point that the kingdom is given to him. It is at that point that he exercises universal empire. It is at that point that he rules and reigns over all things. It is at that point, brethren, that we are to appreciate.
We're not looking forward to the reign of Christ. We are living in the reign of Christ. That is John's point in this section. It says, "...then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed." So you see, we've got these three parties now identified. We've got the church, we've got the dragon, the serpent, the devil himself, and we've got Christ. So when the devil is poised there, ready to devour this male child, does it happen that way? Absolutely not.
The male child grows. He continues in subjection to his earthly parents. He learns the carpentry trade. He lives a pretty common, ordinary life from between the ages of 12 and 30.
The age of about 30, he goes and he is baptized. He goes into the wilderness. He begins what has already been typified of Him in the Old Testament Scriptures concerning Israel. The Lord Jesus carries out the role that the Father gave Him.
He obeys the Father. He does what the Father says. For those of you who do not understand the message of the Gospel, it's very simple. God is a holy God.
Man is a sinful wretch that deserves God's judgment, condemnation, wrath, and fury. But Christ came, and as a substitute, and as a curse-bearer, He died for our sins. But also He lived, and He fulfilled all righteousness. Because as sinners, we not only need the pardon of our sins, but we need a righteousness that avails with God, and Christ satisfies that beautifully.
Christ does that perfectly, so that all who look to Christ in faith will have everlasting life. It's truly a beautiful thing. The gospel is, in fact, good news to weary sinners. So what we find in this particular section is that the devil wanted to destroy him, but he was unsuccessful.
He failed. My other son has an app on his phone. Talking about apps today, I don't even know why that has come up. Well, there's this little game, and every time you lose, it says, fail.
You don't carry out the little task, and it says, fail. It's not good for your self-esteem. These are simple games. You ought to be able to push the button in the appropriate spot, but it says, fail.
This is the first fail in Revelation 12. He tries to destroy Jesus and he fails. Isn't that good? Isn't that glorious?
Isn't that wondrous? Isn't that awesome? That our Lord Jesus is victorious. We see the triumph of the Lamb.
We see the glory of the King. We see universal empire exercised in the defeat of the devil himself. Note the implication of this defeat for the church. Verse 6, then the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God that they should feed her there 1,260 days.
You read the Old Testament and you see what goes on in the wilderness. It is a place of trial. It is a place of testing. It is a place where God sends difficulties to His people to chasten them, to reprove them and rebuke them for their sin.
But you know that the wilderness is also a place of safety? The wilderness is also a place where God cares for His people? Where the Lord is watching over Israel, that's what the wilderness signifies here in Revelation chapter 12.
The Defeat of the Dragon
So let's look secondly at the defeat of the dragon, verses 7 to 12. War broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon. Again, we've got Daniel in the backdrop here.
Not going to get into all of the ins and outs concerning Michael, but suffice it to say that the good guys initiate the warfare on the bad guys. It is Michael and the angels who fought with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail. What's this?
Fail number two. Michael and his angels undertake to dispense with the devil, to cast him out. Again, this isn't dealing with creation. It's dealing with the new creation.
It's dealing with those events associated with the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The function of this section is to explain the dragon's rejection from heaven and his subsequent rage directed toward the church. John is theologizing, John is explaining, John is commenting, and John is telling his readers why they suffer trials in this world. In fact, the message of Revelation 12 is quite simple.
When the church does what she is supposed to, she will suffer persecution. If we are never molested by the devil, if we never have trials, if we never have difficulties, if we never have tribulations, if everything is only sunshine and beaches and happy and bluebirds and joy in the church, we're probably not preaching the offense of the cross. You see, when the church of Christ does what she's supposed to, the devil turns his rage against them. And that is what John is explaining here.
Satan Ejected from Heaven
The victory of Christ is seen in the ejection of Satan from heaven itself. And I realize that creates a lot of questions. What was the devil doing there? What did it all look like?
All of that sort of thing. I refer you to G.K. Beal on that one. But this much we see.
War broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out.
That serpent of old called the devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world, he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. This is specifically connected to the work of Christ. Colossians 2.15, the crucifixion. Jesus has disarm principalities and powers.
Hebrews 2.14 specifies one of the works of Christ in his incarnation was to destroy the devil. 1 John chapter 3 verse 8, same idea. He was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus spoke of this in John 12 at verse 31 when he says, now is the judgment of this world, now the ruler of this world will be cast out. What was Christ speaking of in that passage?
He was speaking about himself being lifted up, drawing all men to himself at the crucifixion. What appeared to be defeat was victory, was triumph, was warfare being waged on the part of Messiah against the dragon himself. D.A. Carson says, although the cross might seem like Satan's triumph, it is in fact his defeat.
I hope you're all getting it. This is good stuff. Everybody kind of looks like they're kind of tired right now. I know that it's Sunday night.
I realize there's a warmth in here that can deaden the physicality. Spurgeon says the next best thing to grace in the heart is oxygen in the brain. Perhaps we ought to open the windows and let that blessed wind flow through here. What we are witnessing in Revelation 12 is the triumph of the Lamb.
If there isn't anything in this world that makes you happy, this ought to. And it is connected intimately to suffering in the church. It's no accident, brethren, that Revelation 13 is the exploits of the beast. The dragon uses meat.
The devil uses political empire. The devil uses Rome. The devil uses imperial cult. The devil uses unbelieving Israel to try and target and exterminate and wipe out the church.
But what Revelation 12 is teaching us is that the triumph of the Lamb overcomes those exploits by the devil. The triumph of the Lamb ensures the safety and protection of the church, not in terms of removal. You see, that's the way you and I would operate. Jesus save us, now remove us into this island community where we can all just sip tea and have fun.
No, Jesus gives us grace to persevere through the trial, through the difficulty, and through the hardship that we face. That's the point in the book of Revelation. If you want salvation from sin and salvation from hardship, you signed up in the wrong place. We are saved from our sin, and more often than not, we enter into a hardship that we knew nothing of prior to our salvation.
Again, the perfect embodiment of this is Pilgrim's Progress. Christian goes to the cross. He bows before the foot of the cross. And what happens?
He loses that burden of sin. And then from then on to the celestial city, he skips, he dances, and he sings his way into heaven. You ain't read the book if you believe that. You say, you lost your burden at the cross.
It sure seems like you've got another burden. Take my yoke upon you. There's a yoke associated with Christ. Yes, it's the yoke of discipleship.
Yes, it's the yoke of obedience. Yes, it's the yoke of submission. But it's also the yoke of suffering. If the Son learns obedience through suffering, we will learn obedience through suffering likewise.
I think John is doing the Church a great service. That's what bugs me about the wrong interpretation of Revelation. It makes no sense for the people in the context. If this was about Henry Kissinger, this was about Adolf Hitler, this was about Charlemagne, if this was about Barack Obama, these first century brethren would have no comfort.
I want to tell you something that's going to happen in 2,000 years from now, and I want you to be happy about that. What do you mean be happy about that? Yes, I'm happy about the victory and the triumph of the Lamb, even if it occurs in 2,000 years from now. But there were seven churches in Asia Minor that were being tried, that were suffering, that were being persecuted, that were knowing something about being economically ruined.
They saw, they tasted, they felt suffering. And so what John wants them to understand is the theology of it, and what is going on in terms of the devil. Carson says, although the cross might seem like Satan's triumph, it is in fact his defeat. In one sense, Satan was defeated by the outbreaking power of the kingdom of God, even in the ministry of Jesus.
But the fundamental smashing of his reign of tyranny takes place in the death and exaltation of Jesus. See, these promises of the exaltation of Christ and the power of His sway in His kingdom and His rule in His empire, we're not waiting for that. We're in that. happened at the first coming. David Clark, when Christ arose from the dead and ascended to the throne of God, it was an eviction notice served on Satan.
Verse 5 gave us the scene of ascension, and the following verses give us the victory and prelude of coming victories consequent upon that ascension. It is the aftermath of Christ's victory from the time of His ascension with which we are dealing with here.
The Victory Shout and Its Warning
Notice, as a result of the devil being cast out, there is a victory shout, verse 10. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ have come. For the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. Notice how verse 11 connects this to the bloodshedding of Christ.
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. So the scene is the devil is ejected, he's cast out of heaven. This is why there's the warning of verse 12. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them.
The devil is cast out, so heaven rejoices. But woe to you, inhabitants of the earth and sea." In other words, the devil, since he has been defeated by Christ, failed. Since he has been defeated by Michael and his angels, failed. He is now going to turn his attention to the woman.
And so that is why the cautionary word of verse 12, woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea. Is it any wonder that in Revelation 13 we have a beast from the sea and a beast from the earth? No, it's no wonder. Revelation may stretch the mind a little, but it ought not to confuse.
It's pretty cut and dry. It's pretty easy to comprehend. We've got this dragon who's lost and now he turns his aggression against the church. Revelation 13 shows us that via the beast from the sea, via the beast from the land.
But lest we get sad, Lest we begin to weep, lest we begin to get dismayed, Revelation 14 shows us again the Lamb is there with His fair army on Mount Zion. See, it never lets us lose sight of the triumph of the Lamb with reference to the distresses in this world. So there is a shout of victory in heaven, there is a warning to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, the devil has come down to you having great wrath because he knows that he has a short time. He wants to busy up that time, he wants to try as he may to destroy the church of Jesus Christ.
And that's what we then find in verses 13 to 17, the persecution of the woman. Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. You see, he's an opportunist. Tried to destroy the male child?
Fail. It's cast out of heaven by Michael and his angels? Fail. So now he's going to direct his energies and his attention to the woman.
Can't kill her son. He's already dealt with me. Can't kill his angels. They've already dealt with me.
So I'm going to go after this woman now and try and destroy her. You see the flow of the text. And in each instance, he fails. In each time, he loses.
He tries to persecute the woman, or he does persecute the woman who gave birth to the male child.
God's Protection in the Wilderness
Verse 14 is rich with Sinai, rich with wilderness, rich with Old Testament, Old Covenant language of God's care for his people. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time from the presence of the serpent. In Exodus 19.4, God says, You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. In rehearsing Israel's history, God through Moses said, "...he found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness.
He encircled him, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye, as an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings. So the Lord alone led him, and there was no foreign God with him." In Deuteronomy 32. So what John is doing, he's employing this Old Testament imagery and language to show us God's protection of his church from oppressors. Egypt tried to destroy Israel.
God bore her up as an eagle and brought them into a safe place. The beast will try to destroy the church. God will bear her up like an eagle and bring her to a place of safety. The Lord God is in control.
The Lord God is in charge. The Lord God will most certainly superintend His people's lives. His church is safe. in his gracious hand and in his gracious care. Verse 15 describes the attempt or the attack of the serpent.
Verse 15, so the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. But the earth helped the woman and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. So you see the dragon attempts, but God confounds. said the woman is treated as the congregation of Israel, saved from Egypt, lifted by the Lord on eagles' wings and brought to Sinai. The dragon's pursuit of her by throwing a water flood after her is a generalized image for the action of Pharaoh, who commands Israelite children, and especially Moses, to be washed down the Nile, comes out after escaping Israel with a host, and counts on the Red Sea to shut Israel in.
So in verse 15, when the serpent is spewing this water, it should suggest to us the attack of the enemy in Old Covenant Israel and God's protection of her. in the midst of the trial.
Four Defeats of the Dragon
So what happens when the devil turns his attention to the woman? He fails. Right? That's third time.
And then verse 17 gives us the fourth fail. And the dragon was enraged with the woman and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. What does the rest of the book of Revelation tell us? That those people overcome.
Those people end up in the New Jerusalem. Those people, by the grace of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, because of the blood of the Lamb, will indeed end in Emmanuel's land. So verse 17 tells us that the people of God in all ages, the people of God throughout history, are safe from the rage of the dragon. He attempts to destroy them, but in like manner, he fails.
Christ the Hero of Revelation
Isn't it perplexing that at times people read the book of Revelation and they get depressed? They get scared. They think it's filled with gloom and doom. It's filled with gloom and doom for the devil.
It's filled with gloom and doom for the enemies of Jesus. It's filled with gloom and doom and defeat and mayhem and destruction and all manner of horrible things for the devil and his people. Christ is the hero in the book of Revelation. May I suggest that you read it.
May I suggest that you meditate upon it. May I suggest that you reflect upon the underlying theme that Christ is the Lamb who sits upon the throne, who has overcome this world, who has dealt the death blow to the devil himself in his first coming. And though the devil may rage, and though the devil may seek to destroy the woman, And while the devil may seek to destroy those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ, he will always fail.
Application: Safety in Christ
You can rest assured that if you are in the hand of Christ, you are safe. If you are in the hand of Christ, you aren't going anywhere. Jesus doesn't fail. Jesus doesn't lose.
Jesus is not subject to decay. Jesus is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. This same male child that was born, that lived in obedience to the law, that resisted the devil in the wilderness, that went to the cross, that died this death, that rose again and exalted to the right hand of His Father. That Jesus is trustworthy.
That Jesus is one upon whom we can cast our soul and realize that He will take good care of us no matter what may happen, no matter what may come, no matter the hardships that we may face, no matter the struggles that we go through as church or as individuals. If we are those described herein, those who by the grace of God have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the grace of God are pursuing obedience to the commandments, those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ, hell itself cannot keep us out of heaven. God Most High has ordained His Son, Jesus Christ, as Lord, as Savior. Because of His Word, we are safe.
That's the message of the book of Revelation. That's the message that we ought to take encouragement from. That is the message we ought to head into a new week with and a new year with. Whatever may come, Christ is there for his people.
Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for the abject failure of the devil himself. We thank you for the perfect victory and the triumph of the Lamb. We thank you for our Lord Jesus, this male child, this one who ascended to the throne of God Most High, this one who has universal empire, this one who has absolute dominion and power and excellence in a kingdom. And we pray, Lord God in heaven, that we would live in light of passages such as these, that they would be a means of encouragement to us as individuals and as a local church, and grant us grace, Lord God Almighty, to live, to move, to preach, to minister, to witness, to pray in such a way that we will see some sort of opposition from the devil himself, and do protect us, do watch over us, continue to bear us up on eagle's wings.
And we pray through Christ Jesus, our Lord, amen. We'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed.