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Turn with me in your Bibles to 
Revelation chapter 12. Revelation chapter 12. Revelation 12, I'll begin reading 
in 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, and 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. 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. 
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 may 
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. Excuse me. Well, let us pray. Our God and 
our Father, we come before you on this Sabbath day. We come 
to praise and to honor and to glorify you. We bless you, Father. We come through your Son, the 
Lord Jesus, who is our great High Priest, who always lives 
to make intercession for us. We come by the power of the Holy 
Spirit, that God may be all in all. in this place. We pray that 
you would rend the heavens today, that you would come down, that 
you would be found among your people here, encouraging your 
saints, encouraging all of us who struggle daily with sin and 
temptation and the devil himself. And as well, God, we pray that 
today would be the day of salvation for all those who are outside 
of Christ. We know that you are sovereign. We know that you are 
powerful to save. We know that your gospel is glorious. It is the power of God unto salvation. For everyone who believes, we 
would ask today that the Holy Spirit would attend the preaching, 
that you would open hearts and eyes and ears and cause us all 
to behold wondrous things that your law has for us. Do forgive 
us now for our sins and our transgressions. Grant us grace, God, to receive 
with thanksgiving your word, and give us grace, Almighty God, 
to glorify you. I pray for my brother Joe Ditto 
today. I know his grandfather just passed 
away. We just ask that you would comfort 
their family, God, in this time of loss, that you would give 
strength to all those who survive. We pray, Father, that even in 
these circumstances, you would draw sinners unto yourself. And 
we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, this is a particular 
vision that John the Apostle has on the island of Patmos, 
where he is exiled for the Word of God and for the testimony 
of our Lord Jesus. You see that in Revelation 1, 
verse 9. And John, as he writes this particular 
book, tells us it's going to be symbolic. He tells us that 
it's not going to be just a literal account of the events in history, 
but rather, specifically, in verse 1 of chapter 1, he says, 
the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his 
servants things which must shortly take place, and he sent and signified 
it by his angel to his servant John. So, from the outset of 
the book of Revelation, we are taught to expect symbols. We are taught to expect signs. We are taught to expect vision. And that is precisely what we 
have in chapter 12. Now, much that is behind the 
scenes in chapter 12 is a lot of the prophets. In fact, the 
prophet Daniel fares much in Revelation 12. We won't have 
time to investigate all of those things this morning, but I just 
want to give sort of the broad strokes of Revelation chapter 
12 and what it instructs us concerning our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. The chapter, I think, breaks 
down naturally into three sections. In the first place, we'll note 
the incarnation of the son in verses 1 to 6. Secondly, we'll 
note the defeat of the dragon in verses 7 to 12. And then thirdly, 
we'll note the persecution of the woman in verses 13 to 17. But as we begin in verse 1, we 
see that there are three primary parties or players in this particular 
vision. Notice in 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. Now, the narrative goes on to 
highlight the birth of Jesus Christ. He is the male child 
referred to specifically in verses 4 and 5. So many commentators, 
many Bible readers assume here that this woman must be Mary, 
the mother of Jesus. Now certainly Mary was indeed 
the mother of Jesus according to his humanity. Mary was the 
vessel chosen by God to bring forth the son of God in time 
under the law so that he could redeem those who were under the 
law. But as the woman fares later in this particular chapter, we 
see that a better identification might be the church. or the messianic 
community, the faithful of God in all ages, the old covenant 
people of God had a hope, they had promises, they had prophets, 
they had all these things that were pointing forward to the 
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We might call that the messianic 
community, the people of God, the remnant, the believers, the 
faithful of the Old Testament, Of course, after the life and 
the death and the resurrection of Christ, we call that people 
the church of Jesus Christ, and it is that church, the woman, 
who is being persecuted according to verses 6 and 13 and following. So the woman here does not refer 
in the first place to Mary, the mother of Jesus, but as 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 that I think is a good 
way to get at who this woman is. Now note as well the dragon 
identified in verses 3 and 4. Again, kids. I want you to pay 
attention to this. John writes in a way, it's very 
vivid, it's very lively, it's very engaging, it's very soul-stirring, 
as you appreciate what's happening in Revelation chapter 12. It's 
not the victory of the devil, it's the victory of Jesus Christ, 
Your heart hopefully will leap as you see this one promised 
in Genesis 3.15, this seed of the woman that crushes the head 
of the serpent. This is the player involved in 
this particular instance. Notice, as he is described, notice 
his identification. Another sign appeared in heaven, 
verse three, behold a great fiery red dragon having seven heads 
and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads. So what we are 
seeing there is this beastly, ghastly, wretched, monstrous 
figure set over and against this male child that is born. On the 
one hand, you've got perversity, wickedness and evil. On the other 
hand, you have blessedness, joy, holiness, and Christ. The author 
draws in sharp lines so that we will appreciate not the power 
of the devil, but the supremacy of our Lord Jesus Christ. In 
fact, I sometimes think that people stay away from the book 
of Revelation because they think it's about Antichrist. They think 
it's about the beast. They think it's about nothing 
but evil and mayhem and bad things and doom and gloom. Do you realize 
the focal point of The book of Revelation is that Christ is 
on his throne. It's the crown of Christ that 
is preeminent in the book of Revelation, no matter what interpretative 
view you bring to the table with reference to Revelation. You 
cannot miss the fact. You cannot avoid the reality 
that Christ supreme, Christ triumphant, Christ enthroned is the point 
of the book of Revelation. But readers today just assume 
that it means only bad things. Well, if as we end today, you 
see only bad things in Revelation 12, I have certainly failed. 
But notice, this is a reference to the devil. The great dragon, 
the serpent of old, he is called the devil and Satan. Notice he's further identified 
that way in verse 12. 9. 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. Again, I think this is a 
clear reference to Genesis 3.15, that first promise in the Bible 
concerning salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 
Remember the scene, Adam and Eve rebel against God. Adam specifically, 
as the federal head of his race, plunges the race into sin, plunges 
all of his posterity into sin. God comes, God sets forth a curse 
upon the devil in the first instance. He then deals with Eve and then 
he deals with Adam. But with reference to the devil, 
God the Lord Most High says to him, Genesis 3.15, that there 
will be enmity, that there will be this, I will put enmity between 
you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall 
bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. So when John 
refers to the devil here as the serpent. It ought to make us 
think of Genesis 3.15. It ought to make us think that 
what we are finding in Revelation 12 is the answer to the situation 
introduced to us in Genesis 3. These two seeds, the seed of 
the woman and the seed of the serpent, or the serpent himself. 
Revelation 12 is the record of Christ's accomplishment of victory 
over the devil in accordance with that proto-gospel. Now note what the devil does. 
In verse 4b, again, we're not going to deal with all the particulars. 
I would suggest a close reading of the prophet Daniel to see 
some of the imagery that is used here. But notice at the end of 
verse 4, and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready 
to give birth, to devour her child as soon as it was born. 
See, that's the devil's purpose as reviewed in this section. 
The devil wants to stop Jesus. The devil wants to stop Christ. 
The devil wants to stop this Messiah that is promised by God 
to crush his head. There's some self-interest there, 
isn't there, in the devil. He's not contrary or unaware 
of the promise in Genesis 3.15. He knew that God purposed to 
have his head crushed. And he sees this Jesus as being 
the seed of the woman, or he sees this promise concerning 
the seed of the woman as meaning his demise. And so the devil 
in his self-interest tries to stop this. And there are several 
instances in the Old Testament. I mean, probably we could already 
suggest Cain, wicked Cain, murdering Abel. Now he wasn't the seed 
according to Genesis 3.15, but Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel 
did not know that. You have Pharaoh's murderous 
rampage against the Israelites in the book of Exodus. You have 
that situation in 2 Kings chapter 11. Ralph Davis calls Jehoshaphat 
the lady that saved Christmas. That instance where Adaliah attempts 
to destroy the royal heirs and Jehoshaphat takes Joash and hides 
him away. so that the royal heir, Joash, 
will be available to reign and to rule and to crush this Adeliah. You see, all throughout the history 
of Old Covenant Israel and into the history of New Testament 
people of God, you see this murderous rage and attempt by the devil 
to try and stop the seed. Again, a very vivid illustration 
is in Matthew chapter 2. What happens when Herod hears 
about the birth of Israel's king? He wants the wise men to tell 
him where he is so he can go and see him. The wise men are 
divinely warned in a dream not to go back and report to Herod. 
So what does Herod do? Herod destroys children. Herod massacres the innocents. Herod can't get the specific 
location of the seed, so he'll kill all the seed in order to 
try and rid himself of this particular menace. You see, this is the 
devil working in and through his agents. And again, I think 
this is the point in Revelation 12. When you get to Revelation 
13, who do we meet? We meet this beast from the sea 
and we meet this beast from the land. Well, what's John telling 
us? The beast from the sea and the 
beast from the land get their power, they get their authority, 
limitedly, from the devil that was introduced to us in Revelation 
chapter 12. He is the power behind the scenes 
with reference to the earthly machinations that are given to 
attempt to destroy the people of God. You see, all throughout 
history, this birth of Christ was trying to be prevented. What does it show us? Just by 
way of a practical illustration, a practical application, it shows 
us something about the tenacity of God, doesn't it? Now tenacity 
probably is to be understood in the manner of men. Tenaciousness 
means that you need to work at something. We might better suggest 
that it shows us the faithfulness of God. God promises in Genesis 
3.15, and all comers who try to prevent that, all comers who 
try to oppose that, all comers who try to thwart that, will 
be crushed. Because our faithful God has 
promised that the seed of the woman would indeed rise up, and 
that He would lower that holy foot upon the head of the serpent, 
crushing it, destroying it, rendering it null and void. And that is 
what we find in this chapter. It's an amazing thing. Over the 
last several years, something that I don't think the history 
of the church has witnessed the way we do. You know, sometimes 
people say, do you think the world is getting worse and worse? 
I usually answer, no, I just think there's more sinners. You 
have more sinners, it just seems exponentially worse, right? You 
put one sinner in a house, it's bad. Put a couple in there, it's 
worse. Put a few more in there, it just becomes mayhem. Well, 
when you have a world that's populated with billions and billions 
of sinners, it's a bad place. But you know, over the last few 
years, there have been these satanic groups that build these 
statues of Satan, and they want to display them in public places. 
I don't know if I've heard of this in Canada, but I've certainly 
seen it in the United States. I mean, if anything bad is gonna 
originate, it's probably gonna happen below us there in the 
U.S., not to say that Canada is a bastion of holiness, joy, 
and goodness. However, statues to Satan. Do you realize that John tells 
us in this chapter that Satan fails four times? He fails with 
the incarnation, he fails in this battle with Michael, he 
fails with reference to his persecution of the woman in the first century, 
and he fails with reference to the persecution of all of God's 
people throughout whatever century vis-a-vis verse 17. In other 
words, they are making a monument and an idol to a loser. Now, realize that in our day 
and age, everybody gets a trophy who participates. You come in 
second, you get a trophy. Now, I'm not minimizing your 
efforts. If you're a second-place person, praise God, you've obviously 
worked hard. But just listen to the analogy 
for a moment. Everybody gets a participation 
award. I like what the U.S. Navy SEALs 
say. They say, second place means first-place loser. that may want 
to send some of us into our safe places if we are second or third 
placers, but you get what they're saying. Second place is a first 
place loser. That's how we ought to look at 
the devil. Why would you put a monument up to a loser? He's 
failed four times. That's the emphasis in the book 
of Revelation. That's the emphasis specifically 
here in verse 12. He fails at the incarnation. 
He fails in heaven with his battle with Michael the archangel. He 
fails with the persecution of the first century church. And 
he fails with the persecution of every century of the church. 
He fails. This is why the mandate in Scripture 
for us as the people of God is when the devil haunts us as he 
does, he roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. 
You know what God's Word says we are to do with him? Go to 
conferences and learn 15 steps on how to outsmart the devil. 
Go to prophecy conferences or demonology conferences and learn 
all about your enemy and identify that demonic spirit and rebuke 
him and reprove him and this, that, and the other. No. You 
know what James says? Resist him and he will what? Flee from you. If you're giving 
in to the devil, do not say, well, I just can't. I've shared 
with many of you before that comedian in America, his name 
was Flip Wilson. And old Flip used to say, the 
devil made me do it. No Christian can say that. For 
greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. 
He is a real foe. He roams about like a roaring 
lion, seeking whom he may devour. But if you've got a problem with 
pornography, you can't blame the devil. If you've got a problem 
with drugs, you can't blame the devil. If you've got a problem 
with anything in terms of sin and rebellion against the word 
of the living God, you cannot blame the devil because the word 
of God says, resist him and he will flee from you. No, I don't 
dispute, I do not debate, and I will certainly try and help 
you deal with those attacks because they are real. You've got that 
old story of Martin Luther who the devil came to him and he 
took that inkwell and he threw it at him to repel it. Martin 
Luther said flatulence was one of the means by which he used 
to resist and repel the devil. He's probably a great guy to 
hang around with, wouldn't you think? So he is a real foe, brethren, 
but he is not omnipotent. He is not sovereign. There is 
one omnipotent. There is one sovereign. There 
is one Lord God Most High, Father, Son, and Spirit. And the Son 
of God came into this world not to make men savable, not to render 
the devil a limping foe, but to crush his head. And He does 
it at the first coming. We're not waiting for this to 
happen. Revelation 12 tracks the defeat of the devil, not 
to the second coming, but to the first. You know, this time 
of the year, everybody gets warm and fuzzy feelings about this 
little babe in the womb. That was one time. When he returns, 
it says, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It's not some helpless 
little babe in the womb. I think the world likes a helpless 
babe in the manger. Why? Because he's something tameable. We can pick him up. We can hold 
him. We can stop him. We can subdue 
him. But he's that once in time, space, 
and history to affect the application of Genesis 3.15. When he comes 
again, brethren, you're not going to be able to subdue him. You're 
not going to be able to say, oh no, I don't want what you're 
putting down. I want to do what I want to do. No, he's the King of kings and 
Lord of lords. The devil has tried and the devil 
has failed. Now note the child is referred 
to in verse 5. So, verse 4 tells us, "...the 
dragon stood before the woman, who was ready to give birth, 
to devour her child as soon as it was born." Now notice in verse 
5, "...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." It's a very intriguing statement that we find here in 
Revelation 12.5. John summarizes the entire complex 
of events associated with the life and ministry of Jesus to 
two, incarnation and ascension. The incarnation means the enfleshment 
of the Son of God. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't 
begin to be however many years ago. You know, we talk about 
a birthday for Jesus. We must distinguish. It's according 
to his humanity he was born. As the second person of God Most 
High, he's always been. From everlasting to everlasting, 
thou art God. We just sang, veiled in flesh, 
the Godhead see. Hail the incarnate deity. You realize deity isn't born. Deity doesn't have a birth date. 
Deity doesn't have an expiration date. There's no birth certificates 
or death certificates applied to deity. The incarnation is 
when the Son of God came into this world as the Son of Man. He took on our nature. with all the essential properties 
and the common infirmities thereof, yet except sin. And this is what's 
referred to, notice in verse 5. 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. I take that as a reference 
to the ascension. The ascension took place after 
Jesus' life, His death, His resurrection, and then He ascended on high. 
The book of Acts speaks to this in Acts chapter 1. You might 
ask the question, why incarnation and why ascension? I think there's 
several reasons for this. In the first place, you don't 
get one part of Christ without the rest. In other words, incarnation 
and ascension certainly imply the life, the ministry, the death. and the resurrection. We know 
specifically the death is in view because in verse 11, the 
reference is to the blood of the Lamb. John's not trying to 
slight life and death and resurrection. He is summarizing it for us. He's giving us a snapshot of 
the whole ministry of Christ. And if you understand this, you 
get rid of incarnation, you've got problems with life, death, 
resurrection, and ascension. You get rid of resurrection, 
you got problems with incarnate, you see how it all fits together? One man recently, a popular Bible 
speaker, Bible teacher, doesn't really matter what the Bible 
says about the birth of Jesus Christ. Well, if it really doesn't 
matter what the Bible says about the birth of Jesus Christ, then 
it really doesn't matter what the Bible says about his life. 
about his death and about his resurrection, because you see 
it just devolves into the realm of faith and mystery and fable 
and myth, and it really doesn't matter what is objectively true. 
It's what it produces in me. No, it matters what is objectively 
true. You see, Christianity is not 
a blind leap of faith. You may hear this in your university 
settings, it's a blind leap. Blind leap of faith? We have 
2,000 years of, how many thousands of years of recorded history, 
prophecies that come down to the wire in terms of their application. It's objective. Our faith in 
the Lord God Most High isn't a blind leap. It's about the 
person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ such that John can 
snapshot the entirety of Christ's ministry by referring to His 
birth and His being caught up, His ascension on high. This isn't 
the only place the Bible does that. Psalm 2, which is behind 
this particular reference. Notice in verse 5 what it says. She bore a male child who was 
to rule all nations with a rod of iron. That's Psalm 2 language, 
brethren. That is Psalm 2 language. You've 
got to remember about the book of Revelation. It's the most 
Old Testament-ish book in the New Testament. the most Old Testament-like book 
in the New Testament. You say, well, I don't have as 
many quotes in the book of Revelation as St. Matthew does. If there 
are not direct quotations, there's indirect, or there's what's called 
allusion. That's where the language of 
Old Testament is so ingrained in the man John that when he 
writes these visions out under the inspiration of the Spirit, 
who incidentally gave us the Old Testament as well, John writes 
in such a way as to bring Daniel and to bring David and to bring 
the Psalms and the prophets alive in these glimpses of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. But Psalm 2 speaks of the eternal 
generation of the Son. It goes from decree, eternal 
generation, and the rule in the reign of Christ. Now, the Apostle 
Paul in Acts 13 applies or refers to that generation in Psalm 2 
as the resurrection. So in Psalm 2, the psalmist moves 
from the begetting or the begottenness of Christ, resurrection, and 
then to His reign. And it's intriguing as well. 
When you read the narratives, the Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 
John. who records the birth narratives of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's 
Matthew and Luke, isn't it? John's not silent. There is a 
reference to Jesus in John, specifically 18, standing before Pilate. When 
Pilate says, are you a king? Jesus says, you say rightly, 
I am a king. For this cause, I was born. You see, Jesus doesn't diminish 
his life, his death, his resurrection, but he snapshots it or summarizes 
it under these two headings, incarnation and ascension. For this cause I was born. I've 
always loved that passage in John 18. Do we think about that 
today? Are turkeys and gifts and smells 
and family trumping the reality that King Jesus is on his throne? 
And as we move our way through this passage, what is most emphasized? The means by which anyone ever 
overcomes the devil and his machinations. Just an old Puritan word that 
means his evil attempts to try and do something bad. His nasty 
attempts to try and do something bad. It's through the blood of 
the Lamb. It's what we ought to be concerned 
about today. I don't mean blood in a cup, 
you know, that red liquid. What it signifies, Christ's life, 
Christ's death, Christ's substitutionary atonement. Christ worked for 
sinners, such that any and all who look to Him in faith will 
have everlasting life. See what John is doing, he tells 
us about this woman, he tells us about this dragon or about 
this devil, and then he tells us about this blessed Christ. 
So the devil is poised or the dragon stood before the woman 
who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it 
was born. 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. So he's poised there to receive 
this child so that he can destroy and bring destruction like the 
devil does. But John moves from incarnation 
to ascension. Maybe we're to appreciate in 
there too that with reference to his life, Every, you know, 
toe-to-toe act of combat by the devil toward Christ failed. Think about Matthew's gospel 
in Matthew chapter 4 after the baptism of Jesus. What happens? Jesus is driven by the Spirit 
into the wilderness to be tempted, to be tested by the devil. And 
what does the devil do? The devil comes to him and plies 
him with very difficult things. Again, we need to appreciate 
Christ is the second person of the Trinity, but he took on our 
nature. with all the essential properties 
and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin. You see Christ 
battling toe-to-toe with the devil in the wilderness and not 
giving in. You see, through his life he 
had to deal with these sorts of things. So perhaps John, by 
moving from incarnation to ascension, is simply highlighting the reality 
of the dismal failure of the devil once again. He stood there 
poised, he wanted to capture that seed and he wanted to destroy 
that seed. But not only did he not stop 
it, this seed, this male child is caught up to the very throne 
of God, where he rules and he reigns and he exercises sovereignty 
over the entire world. Now know what this means concerning 
the church. This is developed further in 
verses 13 and following. But notice in verse 6, then the 
woman, that's the woman identified as the messianic community, the 
church, the people of God, the faithful from whom Messiah comes. Then the woman fled into the 
wilderness where she has a place prepared by God that they should 
feed her there 1,260 days. Again, It's going to be developed 
in more detail in verses 13 to 17. But before we move on, we 
ought to appreciate this reality. The ascension of Jesus Christ 
did not mean the absence of trial in your life. I don't know how 
easier or simple to make that, but the ascension of Christ does 
not mean the absence of trial in your life. Note the progression. Christ is incarnate. Christ is 
ascended on high. Christ is ruling and reigning 
at the right hand of God Most High. What happens to the woman? What happens to the church? She 
has to flee to the wilderness. This is the whole point of the 
warning in verse 12. Woe to the inhabitants of the 
earth and sea. After the devil is cast out of 
heaven, he turns his aggression upon the woman. You see, you 
need to appreciate something. Christ has never promised you 
deliverance from trials. But Christ has always afforded 
strength to endure through those trials. Isn't this the point 
of John 16.33? Isn't this what he says? In this 
world, you will have trouble. How's that for a marketing ploy? 
Jesus, tell us why we ought to be your followers. Well, the 
Benny Hinn's and the Joel Osteen's of our day put words in Jesus' 
mouth. Well, come to me and you'll get 
big mansions. Come to me and your life will 
be peachy king. Come to me and everything will 
be rosy and everything will be sweet and everything will smell 
like, you know, beautiful things. Christ says in this world you 
will have trouble. I love the word there, it's tribulation, 
flipsus, this idea of pressing. You ever say that? I really feel 
pressed in on all sides. Well, you're using the word properly 
because that's what it means. I get the idea of the vice grips 
on a workbench. You put your tool in there, you 
put whatever you're working on, and you just sort of crank that 
baby. We thank the Lord for the utility 
of that device, giving little concern for what's clamped in 
between. It's like when a cat plays with 
a mouse. The mouse doesn't interpret it 
that way. We get pressed upon. You see, what are the points 
of the book of Revelation? People of God, life on earth 
is hard. People of God, life on earth 
is filled with trial and tribulation and difficulty. John reinforces 
what Christ says in John 16, 33. In this world, you will have 
tribulation. But John also reinforces what 
Christ continues to say in John 16, 33. But be of good cheer. Why? For I have overcome the 
world. This woman, after the ascension 
of Christ, does not just build great big buildings, drive great 
big cars, and have great big summer homes. After the ascension 
of Christ, recorded in Acts chapter 1, what do you find in the rest 
of the book of Acts? What do you see there? You see 
apostles beaten. for preaching the gospel of the 
Lord Jesus. You see apostles threatened to 
not preach the Lord Jesus. You see the Apostle Paul, one 
of the most holy and righteous men that ever lived after his 
conversion, being persecuted. Read about his exploits in 2 
Corinthians chapter 11. The man suffered for the cause 
of Christ, a God in truth, and that's the point here. The ascension 
of Christ does not mean the absence of trials in your life. Think 
back to the illustration when Jesus is on the boat with his 
disciples and there's storms and there's winds and there's 
waves. I mean, do we not get the obvious? Christ in the boat 
with us does not mean there's not gonna be winds and waves 
and storms, but Christ in the boat with us means that we're 
gonna be okay. When all is said and done, we're 
gonna be okay, right? That's the point. That's what 
John wants you to get. Yes, he's using visions. Yes, 
he's using symbols. Yes, he's using the prophets. 
He's using the Psalms. But he's weaving this together 
in such a way that the people of God can identify with this 
woman who is persecuted and say, yes, the wilderness is a good 
place because that's where God cares for us. That's his point. Now, notice the defeat of the 
dragon. It's almost as if Verses, well, 
it's not almost as if, it is precisely. Verses 1 to 6, tell 
us what happened on the earthly level. Verses 7 to 12 illustrate 
what's going on behind the scenes. There's a lot of behind the scenes 
in this particular section. As I've mentioned, we get to 
Revelation 13, you see the beast from the sea and the beast from 
the land. Well, John wants you to remember chapter 12, because 
behind the scenes of the beast of the sea and the beast of the 
land, it's the devil who is working through these powers. Well, here 
the same thing is true. We've got what can be viewed 
on earth, the incarnation and the ascension. Well, 7 to 12 
gives us sort of a behind-the-scenes view. What's this look like in 
the heavenly realm? What's this look like in terms 
of the things going on in heaven? The function of Revelation 12, 
7 to 12, is to explain the dragon's rejection from heaven and his 
subsequent rage toward the church. Now there's a lot of questions 
and probably those who have read Job have the same sorts of questions. 
You remember that Satan presents himself before God and asks about 
Job and you probably scratch your noodle and say, why is Satan 
there to talk to God about Job? And readers might find the same 
thing here. What wasn't the devil already cast out of heaven? This 
isn't talking about that first fall. It's talking about the 
new creation in Christ Jesus. This particular fall and all 
the ins and outs and all the particular details are probably 
not going to be answered for you satisfactorily this morning. But I think what John wants us 
to see is because of the incarnation, because of the ascension, because 
of the events associated with the Lord Jesus Christ, namely 
His doing, His dying, His rising, and His reigning, Based on that 
complex or series of events, the devil has been served an 
eviction notice. He has been cast out. He has been cast down. Notice, very specifically, the 
victory of Christ is indicated. Verses 7 to 11. 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. Don't you love that? I think 
we always envision the kingdom of God as this sort of nancy, 
namby-pamby, effeminate, soft sort of a reality. Well, the 
kingdom of God would never launch an onslaught against the enemies 
of God. You hear that sometimes. I think 
it was C.S. Lewis who said that David was 
wrong to tell us the prayers of David in terms of the imprecations 
in the Psalms. No covenant Christians ought 
not to pray those sorts of things. Well, it is intriguing because 
those imprecatory Psalms are quoted by New Testament authors 
and they never give us sort of a qualification to say, well, 
don't pray those verses. We have this namby-pamby effeminate 
view of the kingdom of God that just marches around and does 
nothing in terms of offense. Notice, Michael and his angels 
fought with the dragon. They initiate. They give the 
eviction notice. They render God's judgment upon 
the devil and his angels. The same is true with Matthew 
16. I will build my church and the gates of Haiti shall not 
prevail against it. Again, how many times do we understand 
that particular verse teaching us this? The church has this 
fence around her and the kingdom of darkness is battling against 
her. That's not what the text says. 
I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it. What does that mean? It means 
that the church of Jesus Christ, the visible expression of the 
kingdom of God, is on a triumphant march. And every time a sinner 
is translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom 
of the son of his love, that is, in effect, the gates of hell 
being assaulted by the kingdom of God. See, sometimes I think we just 
get this backwards view, and I think that's what readers bring 
to the book of Revelation. We see the devil and the Antichrist 
and the beast and this and that. We go, wow, it's a scary book. 
It's not a scary book when you understand that Jesus wins. Jesus 
has won. Jesus always wins. You don't 
have to make a monument to the first place loser. You don't 
have to bow down to some idol that cannot save you. He has 
ears that cannot hear. He has eyes that cannot see. 
He has a mouth, but he cannot speak. That's not our God. Our 
God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases. 
It is 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. Now notice, very specifically, 
this, well, before we get into verse 10, a few passages that 
highlight the devil's destruction at Christ's first coming. Colossians 
2. These are passages everybody 
should have in their mind. Colossians chapter 2. I hope 
you don't take that sort of thing. Everybody should have that in 
their mind as guilt manipulation. Oh, I feel bad. Pastor Butler 
said I should have this in my mind and I don't. No, it's an 
encouragement, brethren. There's some fanatics out there 
that actually think the devil's winning. You say, well, this 
world's a mess. Yeah, but the Bible tells us 
the world's still gonna be a mess, even with Christ ascended at 
the right hand of the Father. You see, maybe that mess nature 
of the world has a purpose under God. We know it does. But one 
of those purposes is formative for the people of God. You see, 
the absence of trials would probably produce a whole lot of madmen. Proud, arrogant, wretched people. Trials humble us, don't they? 
Trials keep us dependent upon Yahweh and His grace. Trials 
put us in the proper perspective. You see, if there were no trials, 
I can't even imagine what we would look like. Isn't this what 
the proverb says? Give me neither poverty nor riches. 
If I'm poor, I'll go out and steal and I'll dishonor God. 
But if I'm rich, what will I do? I'll forget God. Wasn't this 
a continual admonition to the children of Israel as they entered 
into the promised land? Isn't this what God, through 
Moses on the plains of Moab, repeatedly exhorted the people 
of God? Do not go into the land and forget God. What did they 
do? They went into the land and forgot 
God. You see, trials have a way of 
helping us not to forget God. Think back in your life. Probably 
some of the most earnest praying was when you were going through 
trials. Now the lesson might be you need to pray more when 
you're not going through trials. But these trials have a blessed 
and remedial effect under the hand of God for his people, don't 
they? That's Hebrews 12. God chastens us. Why? Because 
He loves us. In this book of Revelation, the 
Lord Jesus Christ says to the worst of the seven churches, 
He says to the Laodiceans, as many as I love, I reprove. The 
Laodiceans are told that? These people that were neither 
hot nor cold? These people that Jesus threatened to vomit out 
of his mouth? Yeah, as many as I love, I reprove. You see, these trials and these 
difficulties and these hardships and what the church finds herself 
in, in terms of wilderness. You see, the wilderness in the 
Old Covenant, the image is used here in Revelation 12, it was 
a time of trial to be sure, but it was a time of protection. 
Who can forget Deuteronomy 1.31 where God refers to the time 
of trial in the wilderness as a father carrying his firstborn 
in his arms? I don't think we're going to 
get through the whole chapter, so I'm just giving you some of it now. 
The language of eagles. Eagles' wings that we find later 
on with reference to the woman in Revelation 12, 13-17. These 
eagle wings. This is Exodus 19. God bore up 
His children with eagle wings. This is Deuteronomy 32, rehearsing 
God's faithfulness. In the midst of the wilderness, 
God bore them up on eagles' wings. You see, brethren, the devil 
has been defeated. He has lost the war. But like 
a cornered rat, he is not going to simply go away. He's still 
going to roll about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 
But the armament given to the Christians by God Most High is, 
resist him. Isn't that great? I don't have 
to go to a conference and learn 10 lessons on how to deal with 
the devil. I've been to one of those conferences 
many, many years ago. I was just struck with what a 
waste of time it was. Because James says, resist him 
and he will flee from you. Why do I need your DVDs? Maybe 
it was VHS tapes back then, but why do I need for, you know, 
$39.99 your program or your plan or your plot on how to deal with 
the devil, when James tells me in very simple words, resist 
him and he will flee from you? Well, how can James say that? 
Because of the realities of what occurred at the cross. Notice 
in Colossians 2.15, Well, beginning in verse 13, 
and you being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your 
flesh, he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you 
all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements 
that was against us, which was contrary to us. And he has taken 
it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. See, we don't 
wait for victory with reference to the second coming of the Lord 
Jesus. We have victory with reference 
to the first coming of the Lord Jesus. Verse 15, having disarmed 
principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, 
triumphing over them in it. Hebrews 2.14. Hebrews 2.14. This might be good dinner table 
talk if you're with unconverted people today. The question comes 
up, why did Jesus come into this world? Did he come into this 
world so we could have one day out of the year where people 
are semi-civil to one another? Where people eat turkey and they 
get gifts and they have nice things? Is that why Jesus came 
into the world? I hope that's not why we think 
Jesus came into the world. The Bible informs us why. Notice 
in Hebrews 2.14, inasmuch then as the children have partaken 
of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same. 
What? Flesh and blood? The second person of the triune 
God came into this world, assumed our nature. took our humanity 
upon him. He himself likewise shared in 
the same that through death he might destroy him who had the 
power of death, that is the devil." You see, the New Testament authors 
do not say that Christ's victory is with his second coming. Now 
certainly it is, but it's connected to his first advent. That gentle 
Jesus, meek and mild, crushed the head of the dragon. That 
gentle Jesus, meek and mild, crushed the head of the dragon 
of our sin. That gentle Jesus, meek and mild, 
through his cross work on our behalf, is in the process of 
building a comprehensive church made up of every tribe and tongue 
and people and nation. And then one final passage in 
1 John chapter 3, 1 John chapter 3, again answering the question, 
why did Jesus come into this world? Again, there are several 
answers that one could give to such a thing. Well, it was God's 
plan, it was according to His eternal decree, certainly. In 
the fullness of the time, God sent forth His Son, born of a 
woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law. Certainly 
one of the aspects of Christ's coming in the flesh in that first 
advent was to crush the head of the serpent. Notice in 1 John 
1, verse 3, I'm sorry, 1 John 3, verse 8. He who sins is of 
the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For 
this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might 
destroy the works of the devil. You see, brethren, that's our 
reality. That's our present benefit. That's our present blessing. 
That's true for us in Christ Jesus. If we, by God's grace, 
have believed the gospel, if we, by God's grace, have looked 
and lived, if we, by God's grace, have come out of darkness into 
marvelous light, our reality is that in terms of the devil's 
works, the devil's hold over us, it's broken. It's broken 
by the bloodshed of Jesus Christ the Lord. Again, this ought to 
be an encouragement, but it ought to be an exhortation. Don't blame 
your sin on the devil. You're not Flip Wilson. The devil 
didn't make you do it. There's greater resources in 
him that is in you than he that is in the world. Maybe it's laziness. Maybe it's blame shifting. Maybe 
it's a lack of accepting responsibility. I guess it's easier to blame 
the devil for those things that we have done than to say, I have 
sinned against my God. You see, David sets forth the 
example, against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this 
evil in your sight. Let's be more like David than 
the blame shifting, safe space seeking snowflakes of our day. The people of God are to be manly, 
and I don't mean women, you know, have Adam's apples and grow beards. 
I love that translation in the King James Version in Corinthians, 
quit ye like. The NAS renders it, be brave 
like men. He's talking to women as well. In other words, Christianity 
isn't effeminate. It is not limp-wristed. The church 
militant is the church militant, or she will never be the church 
triumphant. The day we imbibe the sorts of 
cultural relativism that is all around us and we start being 
the same sorts that we see in this world, it's gone. We need to man up and be the 
kinds of people that God has called us to be and saved us 
to be. end by not capturing verse 10. Notice what happens here. 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. Isn't that a beautiful 
expression of the messianic kingdom? It is come. It is with Christ. It is the power of God and is 
Christ. Notice, the accuser of our brethren 
who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down. 
Isn't that a beautiful reminder? It's not the sort of tension 
that we find in the prophet Zechariah. Zechariah chapter 3, Joshua the 
high priest standing before Yahweh. Joshua the high priest is covered 
in filth. He didn't spill peanut butter 
on his shirt. He's full of excrement. He's full of vomit. It's the 
language that the text uses. Joshua the high priest is in 
his filth before a holy God, and Satan is right there, ready 
to accuse. Satan is right there, ready to 
proffer up his wickedness before Yahweh. God doesn't even listen 
to the devil. He says, the Lord rebuke you, 
Satan. God knows what Joshua's about. God knows what the covenant community's 
about. That's why God says, take the 
filthy garments off of them and clothe them with these beautiful 
garments. God knows our situation. He knows 
our unrighteousness. He knows our wickedness. Hence 
the gospel. If you have come here this morning, 
if you're part of the C&E crowd, Christmas and Easter, you only 
come on those two holidays, you need to understand this. The 
rest of us don't come weekly because we're better. The rest 
of us don't come weekly because we think somehow we're going 
to earn our way into God's favor. It's by grace alone, through 
faith alone, in Christ alone. We're all Joshua the High Priest. 
We're all that filthy covenant community. Our problem isn't 
a speck of peanut butter on the shirt. It is vomit, it is excrement, 
it is every violation of God's holy law. If the Lord Most High 
had not sent His Son, we would all die in hell. That's the purpose 
for Christ. It's His life of perfect obedience. It's His death at Calvary Street. 
It's His resurrection from the dead. You see, we not only need 
forgiveness, cleansing through His blood, which the cross provides, 
but we need that righteousness. We need to be clothed with a 
righteousness not our own. We need to be able to stand before 
God and the gospel answers to that. In Christ we have both 
forgiveness and we have the imputation of righteousness. That just means 
God takes Christ's righteousness and He gives it to us. Just like 
Joshua, that filthy high priest in Zechariah 3. Take the clothes 
off of him. They strip him of his sinfulness, 
and then they put these beautiful garments upon him, and he stands 
before God. But you see what the devil's 
doing. He's right there, isn't he? He's right there, oh yeah, 
this guy's a wretch. He may whisper these things in 
your ears when you come to pray. Again, I'm not personifying him 
in the sense that he's standing there at your corner with a pitchfork 
and a cape, and he has these horns, but you get that sometimes, 
don't you? Perhaps it's your own remaining 
corruption, perhaps it's your own laziness and you don't want 
to pray, but perhaps it is the devil. Why would you go to God? 
You're a wretch. Why would you go to God? You're 
filthy. Why would you go to God? You're a miserable specimen of 
a human being. If you're thinking biblically, 
you ought to say, that's precisely why I'm going to God, because 
all those things are true. But isn't this what the devil 
does? Romans 8 calls, you know, pion of praise to God most high. You can turn there. So I think 
it illustrates this particular point. I promise we're not going 
to go long. Don't look at your watch and 
say, there's four more verses. He's not going to make it. Notice 
in Romans 8.31, what then shall we say to these things? If God 
is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his 
own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall we not 
with him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a 
charge against God's elect? The devil tries, doesn't he? Who do you think you are? I saw 
what you did. Who do you think you are living 
that way? Who do you think you are, doing 
those sorts of things and yet thinking you can go before God? 
This is Paul's point. Who shall bring a charge against 
God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who 
is He who condemns? It is Christ who died and furthermore 
is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also 
makes intercession for us. You see what Paul's point is? 
When the devil brings a charge against God's elect, God's elect 
are not supposed to answer, well, you know, I'm trying. I only 
did it 15 times this week and not the 35 of last week. He doesn't point to us. He doesn't 
look at the transformative. He doesn't look at the subjective. He looks at the objective. When 
that fiend of hell comes to accuse, who is he? It's God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is 
Christ who died. You see, your hope is built on 
nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. You dare not 
trust sweetest frames, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. You see, 
that is one of the functions that the devil occupies, and 
he has been evicted. He has been cast out. They overcame 
him, verse 11, Revelation 12, by the blood of the Lamb and 
by the word of their testimony. And that word of their testimony 
comes as a result of the blood of the Lamb. And they did not 
love their lives to the death. Isn't this how Jesus describes 
a believer? He who loves his life will lose 
it, but he who hates his life for my sake shall keep it. Isn't 
this an identifying mark of the people of God? We're not selfish, 
narcissistic wretches. We may battle with it, we may 
struggle with it, but we don't give in to it. We try to fight 
it, we try to resist it. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, 
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. Again, the 
woman persecuted is because of the ascension of Christ. So this 
is an interesting observation. The presence of trial and tribulation 
in your life may just argue the presence and the power of God 
in your life. So I don't think we think this 
way. We're more of the Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen sort of ilk. As long as everything is going 
my way, God's happy with me, right? My wife likes me, my kids 
tolerate me, I got a decent job, God's favor is upon me. I lose 
the job, my wife abandons me, my kids can't stand the sight 
of me, and somehow I conclude that God has departed from me. You're not supposed to do that. God doesn't depart from his children. Trials and tribulations and difficulties 
and hardships may just prove the existence of the reality 
of God's presence in your life. Paul, who I think wrote Hebrews 
12, says you're a bastard if you are not reproved by the Most 
High. You're illegitimate. I have far 
more concerns for the Benny Hens and the Joel Osteens than you 
dear brothers and sisters that are struggling with trials. The 
presence of trials was not something absent to our Lord. He was a 
man of sorrows and he was acquainted with grief. You see, when the 
devil is served his eviction notice from heaven, the language 
is David S. Clark's by the way, he's served his eviction notice 
from heaven, he comes and as a cornered rat he now turns his 
attention against the church. Michael and the angels fought 
against him through the life, the death, and the resurrection 
of Christ, encapsulated by incarnation and ascension, the devil is cast 
out. So what does he do? He turns 
his attention to the church. He persecutes the people of God. 
But in verses 13 to 17, we see that God preserves his people. 
When he tries to overwhelm them with this flood of waters, the 
earth steps in and saves the church. It's a reference to the 
Red Sea parting at the time where God preserves his people as they 
escape the clutches of Pharaoh. God's always been in this business 
of preserving and taking care of his people. It's not something 
new for him. Oh, I've got to look after the 
church now. He looked after Israel pretty successfully in the Old 
Covenant, didn't he? If that Yahweh who sustained 
His people there is the same Yahweh of our blessed salvation 
now, doesn't He know a thing or two about preserving us? See, 
this passage is so full of hope, so full of encouragement, so 
full of joy, and so full of blessedness, but unfortunately we look at, 
wow, the church is persecuted. Yeah, because the church needs 
it. under God, in his decree, according 
to his purpose and his plan, he has seen that the way to conform 
us onto the image of Jesus Christ isn't with kid gloves. I've shared with you before, 
way back when we rented a house. It was when Josh, I think, was 
very little. Micah might have just been a baby. And we had 
these rose bushes in the backyard. And I'm not a gardener. You probably know that. Never 
wanted to be a gardener, but we had these rose bushes and 
they were taking over. It was menacing. Two ways to 
approach that. Get a bonnet and some of those 
lady shears and go out there and do a little clipping. Or 
take a chainsaw and let fly. Brethren, sometimes God deals 
with us with these little shears, these little things, these convictions, 
this text that sort of sticks in our minds or in our hearts, 
and we know that we need to repent or get things in order. There's 
other times it seems as if he comes with a chainsaw, doesn't 
it? Job knew something of this, didn't 
he? But Job said, though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Job 
knew there were remedial purposes in God's dealings with his children. 
Today's jobs need to understand the same things. God has his 
purposes. Conformity unto Christ for persons 
such as us most likely isn't going to come through those shears. 
It's going to come through time with a chainsaw. It doesn't mean 
he's going to gut us and rip us apart and throw our pieces 
up against the wall like I did with that rose bush. But you 
get the point. We want God to put a bonnet on 
and deal with us gently. We like God. When he does that, 
we need to be at the point with Job where we say, and we've lost 
everything. Never forget the man who said, 
though he slay me, yet will I trust him. What did Job lose up to 
that point? What did he lose up to that point, 
brethren? Everything except God. You see, the Lord has his purposes 
in our trials, and that's the point, Revelation 12. The devil 
doesn't just vanish, he's vanquished, he's plundered, he's destroyed, 
he cannot deceive the nations any longer, Revelation 20. But 
he does roam about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, 
but trust in the God who upbore Israel upon eagles' wings, he'll 
do the very same thing with the true Israel of God, the people 
of God, who is the church of God. This passage teaches the 
triumph of the Lamb. The incarnation leads to his 
life and ministry, which led to his death and resurrection, 
which resulted in his ascension to the right hand of God Most 
High. The message of the incarnation, brethren, It's not increased 
sales in the retail world. The message of the incarnation 
isn't turkeys. It isn't gifts. It's Christ and 
His blood. It's the gospel. It's the joy 
of the Lord, which is our salvation. The message of the incarnation 
is salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the 
power of this Christ. That's what we need to rejoice 
in. we need to appreciate with reference 
to the identifying mark of the church. Before we move on, we 
got a couple minutes, we're gonna close this out. We didn't expound 
13 to 17, but I gave you the main point. 13 to 16, I think, 
probably refers to the first century church. Notice in verse 
17, and the dragon was enraged with the woman and he went to 
make war with the rest of her offspring. This probably details 
the rest of the church post first century. See, it didn't end at, you know, 
80, 99. Clock flips over and then the 
devil says, oh, that's it. I'm done. He keeps going, doesn't 
he? He is a relentless one, I'll 
give him that. He does roam about like a roaring lion, seeking 
whom he may devour. See, verses 13 to 16, if they 
involve or if they include specifically the first century church and 
the various assaults she faced by unbelieving Israel and the 
Roman Empire, it doesn't stop when unbelieving Israel and the 
Roman Empire have been dealt with. In other words, this verse, 
verse 17, does help us understand Planned Parenthood. Helps us 
understand the realities of evil political leaders. It helps us 
to understand, you know, the movement in Ephesians as a book. Pastor Porter would have continued 
to read. We would have read at the end of chapter one about 
the enthronement of Christ. God exalted Christ to his right 
hand. He gave him a name which is above 
every name. His overall principalities and powers and dominions. This 
is all stated in Ephesians 1. We get to Ephesians 6 and what 
happens? We don't wrestle against flesh 
and blood, but against principalities and powers of darkness and evil 
forces. You see, enthronement of Christ 
in Ephesians 1 does not remove Ephesians 6 and the battlements 
that the people of God must face on this earth. It's just not 
reality. Benny Hinn and Joel Osteen are 
wrong. Not only are they wrong, they 
are heretical. It's a direct violation of what 
Christ and the scriptures teach. And if we have somehow got that 
in our hearts, that the Christian life should only be rosy, should 
only be peachy, and if anything bad happens to come my way, well, 
then that can't be God, and God doesn't love me anymore, and 
he's not treating me fairly. We need to repent. But if verse 
17 refers to the remainder of the church, Notice what we can 
say about the people of God. Notice what we can say about 
the church of Jesus Christ. They're persons who have an interest 
in the blood. Right? In other words, you're not in the church without 
an interest in the blood. You are not a believer in Jesus 
Christ if you have not believed on Jesus Christ. If the blood 
of Jesus Christ offends you, if you think it's macabre to 
even speak of such things, if you think it's weird or it's 
odd, then you don't know the gospel. This cup is the new covenant 
in my blood, Christ says. For what? For everybody to be 
healthy, happy, and holy on earth? No, for the remission of sins. 
It's because you're vile. It's because you're wretched. 
It's because you're sinful. It's because you have offended God. 
That's why he shed his blood. So Christians, as the people 
of God and churches, are those who believe on Jesus with a special 
and peculiar interest, as Owen says to the priestly office of 
Christ. But notice, secondly, in verse 
17, they obey God. And the dragon was enraged with 
the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, 
who do what? They keep the commandments of 
God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. The Bible doesn't 
know an antinomian Christianity. You've been justified freely 
by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Guess what you're 
going to want to do? You're going to want to follow 
the Lamb. It's a beautiful identifier in Revelation chapter 14. The 
people, the lamb standing with his fair army, these persons 
are identified as those who follow the lamb wherever he goes. They 
don't say, I'll follow you, Lamb, in seven of the 10 commandments, 
because I really like to violate three of them. I'll follow you, 
Lamb, when it comes to those things that benefit me or don't 
cause persecution to come my way. That's not the way the Christian 
church is supposed to operate or behave. We believe, by the 
grace of God, in the Lord Jesus Christ, who lived and died and 
rose again so that we might have eternal life and we are saved 
in order to do what God says. We're not saved because we've 
done what God says, we are saved in order to do. Pastor Porter 
did read Ephesians 1, 3 and 4. Who chose us in him before the 
foundation of the world, why? that we should be holy and without 
blame. Notice he doesn't say he chose 
us because we were holy and without blame. You see, brethren, that 
is something that confronts the church today is antinomianism 
and anti-lawism. Oh, we're under grace. We can 
do whatever we want. No, you can't. Your gracious 
master says in John, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. So the church is identifiable 
in these two ways. They have faith in Christ and 
they follow him. In other words, they have justification 
and sanctification. And if you're not a believer 
here this morning, verse 11 ought to be your hope. Verse 11 ought 
to be your confidence. Verse 11 ought to be something 
that you look to. They overcame him by the blood 
of the Lamb. Or consider chapter 5 in the 
book of Revelation, specifically verse 9. You are worthy to take 
the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and have redeemed 
us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people 
and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God, 
and we shall reign on the earth. Or Revelation chapter 7, specifically 
in verse 14. So he said to me, these are the 
ones who come out of the great tribulation and washed their 
robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Look at 
the language there. They made their dirty robes white 
in the blood of the Lamb. It's a paradox, isn't it? No, 
it's the gospel. It's the blood of the Lamb that 
brings cleansing to sinners. It's the blood of the Lamb that 
can set you aright. It's the blood of the Lamb that 
can ultimately deal with your issues today. Your issues aren't 
difficulties in life. They're not trials in life. There's 
not a You know, hardships in life, I didn't have enough money 
to buy my kids presents. Your hardship, your issue, if 
you are not a believer today, is that the wrath of God is over 
you now. And if you do not look to Jesus 
Christ and the blood of the Lamb, If you do not close with Christ, 
if you do not believe the Gospel, I don't care how old you are 
today, I don't care how young you are today, if you remain 
in your sins, if you continue to reject, if you continue to 
rebel, you continue to break those commandments, You continue 
to throw off the law of God. You continually resist the Lord 
Jesus Christ as he is preached in the gospel. If you do not 
believe, any problem, any hardship, any difficulty that you can conjure 
up in your mind concerning this world is nothing compared to 
the wrath and the fury and the judgment of God Most High. You need to flee, you need to 
look, you need to live, you need to believe on Him in whom there 
is salvation. Let us pray. Our God and our 
Father, we thank you for the Word of God. We thank you for 
Revelation 12. We thank you that it not only 
tells us that Christ is victor, but the devil himself is a loser. He lost at the incarnation, he 
lost with Michael and his angels, he lost with reference to the 
first century church, and we are assured from this passage 
he will lose with the church in all ages. God grant us grace 
to see these things appropriately, help us to appreciate the incarnation, 
not just as warm sentimentality, but to see it as biblical truth 
concerning the second person of the triune God. who took on 
our humanity so that he might deal with our sins, that he might 
deal with Satan himself, and ultimately that he might deal 
with the wrath and fury of God. We ask that you would go with 
us now, bring us together tonight, that we may worship you, and 
we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.