← Back to sermon library

Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Revelation chapter 12. Revelation chapter 12 will take 
a couple of weeks off from our exposition in the Gospel. According 
to Matthew, God willing, we'll return to that exposition, I 
believe it will be the 5th of January. I want to read Revelation 
chapter 12, verses 1 to 17. 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. She bore a male child who was 
to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught 
up to God in 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 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 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. Our 
gracious Father and our Holy Lord, we thank you for the written 
word, and we pray now for the ministry of your Spirit. We pray 
that He would guide us and lead us and instruct us from your 
Scripture. We pray that you would encourage 
our hearts, that you would present before us this glorious picture 
of Jesus Christ, having accomplished the work the Father gave Him, 
and rendering victory, having victory over the devil himself. 
We pray, Father, that you would just be well pleased bless and 
encourage your people. We pray for those who are not 
believers. We pray that the Gospel would 
be proclaimed. We pray the Spirit would attend. 
And we pray that today would be the day of salvation, the 
day of rejoicing in heaven over sinners who repent. And as well, 
Father, we pray that You would forgive us for all of our sins 
and transgressions. We know, God, that Jesus said, 
apart from Him we can do nothing. Certainly, the reception of Your 
Word in a proper way requires forgiveness. For sin darkens 
our understanding, it darkens our minds, our hearts. We pray 
that you would wash us afresh in that blood. We ask this through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, this morning we're 
going to look at Revelation chapter 12, which sets forth the incarnation, 
the ascension, and the victory of our Lord Jesus, specifically 
over the devil himself. Now, for those of you who have 
read the book of Revelation, you will know that it's a very 
encouraging word. It is a book that presents before 
us the Lord Christ in His glory, in His majesty, and in His excellence. Over and over and over again 
we're given this view of Christ on the throne. It is the crown 
that predominates in this book. It is unfortunate that people 
come to Revelation and they only see doom and gloom and misery 
and hardship and woe. It is just the opposite. It is 
a book given for the encouragement of God's people, for their strengthening, 
for their conformity unto their head, even the Lord Jesus Christ 
Himself. As well, the book of Revelation 
is a very Old Testament book. In other words, there is a lot 
of allusion to the Old Testament Scriptures. If there's not direct 
quotation, you can rest assured that John is alluding to or using 
images that come from the Old Testament in contexts very similar 
to what it is he is doing. For instance, Daniel is in the 
backdrop of this particular section, as is the 2nd Psalm. As well, 
the book of Exodus and the book of Deuteronomy and probably the 
book of Numbers. In other words, John the Apostle 
writes as one who knows the Old Covenant Scriptures. And he uses 
those Old Covenant Scriptures, he uses the imagery to set before 
the Church the glory of the Son of God Himself. We're going to 
take up our exposition this morning under three considerations, I 
think. you will see how it breaks down naturally this way. First, 
the woman, the dragon, and the child identifying these particular 
parties in verses 1 to 6. Secondly, the defeat of the dragon 
in verses 7 to 12, and then the persecution of the woman in verses 
13 to 17. We will not seek to deal with 
every detail in this chapter for the first part, primarily 
because I don't think I understand every detail in this particular 
chapter. but as well it's not essential 
to an exposition of this passage, and as well whatever your eschatology 
may happen to be, I hope we'll all find common ground as we 
consider here the glory of our Lord Jesus. With reference to 
the details in the book of Revelation, I'm inclined to agree with Spurgeon. 
Spurgeon says, a man says to me, can you explain the seven 
trumpets of the Revelation? No, but I can blow one in your 
ear and warn you to escape from the wrath to come. That is an 
accurate way to approach this book. Do not get lost in the 
details, do not get lost in the particular images, but get what 
John is doing in this section specifically. He is showing us 
the defeat of the devil. We ought not to come to Revelation 
and be discouraged. We ought to come to Revelation 
and be encouraged, because that is precisely why the Apostle 
is writing. In the outset, in the introduction, 
he says, Blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy. There is a blessing associated 
with this book, and I want to encourage you to read it. to 
delight in it, to prayerfully go through it, and to understand 
the big picture, that Christ Almighty has established His 
Kingdom. The Messianic King is enthroned, 
and He rules and reigns over all things for the good of His 
Church. That, I think, in sum and substance, 
is the message of the book. Well, let's look first at the 
woman, the dragon, and the child. Notice in verses 1 and 2, and 
how 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 12 stars. I neglected to point out that 
Genesis is in this section as well. Probably this has reference 
to the vision or to the dream that Jacob had that sounded very 
similar to this. And in verse 2 it says, then 
being with child she cried out in labor and in pain to give 
birth. Now a lot assume that that refers specifically to Mary, 
the mother of Jesus. I do not think that is how we 
are to interpret it. Notice you have a woman mentioned 
in verse 1, you have a woman mentioned again in verse 6, and 
you have a woman again mentioned in verse 13. I think what we're 
supposed to understand concerning this woman is that she is the 
covenant community of God's people. Now certainly in the Old Covenant 
community, it was that community that did in fact join Mary, the 
mother of Jesus, but he is dealing in terms of the church with reference 
to this statement concerning the woman. That is how I believe 
we are to understand this particular vision. And then notice the dragon, 
verses 3 and 4. It's not difficult to know who 
this is, because John identifies him for us in the very book itself, 
or in the chapter. In fact, you'll find that often 
as you read the book of Revelation. It will give an image, it will 
give a metaphor, it will give a vision, and then he'll go on 
to explain it. It is a revealing, it is an uncovering, 
it is showing forth. It's not a hiding of these great 
truths, but rather it is an attempt by the author to reveal unto 
us certain truths concerning our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. 
Notice, the dragon described in verse 3, a sign, 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." Again, the prophet 
Daniel is in the backdrop with that same sort of a thing, persecution 
targeting the people of God. And then when we go down to verse 
9, as I said, you get identification. So the great dragon was cast 
out, that serpent of old called the devil and Satan. And then 
again, verse 12, woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea For 
the devil has come down to you." One of John's purposes here is 
to show us the truth of Ephesians 6. Ephesians 6 tells us we do 
not wrestle against flesh and blood. We wrestle against principalities. We wrestle against unseen forces. 
They manifest themselves, or they evidence themselves, or 
they demonstrate themselves through flesh and blood, but our primary 
enemy, the primary enemy of our soul and of our bodies, as the 
book goes on to show, is the devil. And we see that in the 
context here. When the devil is cast out, the 
inhabitants of earth and sea are told to be on their guard. 
There's a woe pronounced. Well, in chapter 13, we see this 
beast rise up from the sea, we see a beast rise up from the 
land, and it's the devil or the dragon that's empowering them. 
So while they see these beasts, while they see these men, while 
they see these malevolent figures, John is telling us that the devil 
is behind them. It is the devil who is operating. 
The devil couldn't have his way in heaven, he's been cast down 
to earth, and as a result he now targets the people of God. So John wants you to appreciate 
the reality of spiritual warfare. That there are issues that we 
don't always see. I mean that's the only way I 
think we can logistically or logically ponder and consider 
something like abortion. Why is it that women would kill 
the babies in their wombs? Why is it that a man would do 
that? There is a spiritual force at work. There is something dark 
and bent and malevolent that actuates and works out through 
the hardened hearts and the wicked hearts of men. John tells us 
this for our benefit. Notice the plan of the dragon. The end of verse 4, the dragon 
stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour 
her child as soon as it was born. The image is shocking, isn't 
it? Some of you ladies, some of you sisters may have had your 
babies in a difficult position or in a difficult place. You 
know, you read sometimes where a woman on the way to the hospital 
or a woman on the way to the birthing room, the baby comes 
out. Sure, there's difficult places to have a child, but the 
image that John sets forth before us is that this dragon is poised 
and waiting so that when this baby enters into the world, he 
can snatch it, he can devour it, and he can destroy it. Now, 
this is consistent with biblical theology throughout. I mean, 
you read some of the old covenant narratives, and you see that 
the seed, at times, was threatened. You see, for instance, Adalia, 
that wicked woman, that usurper of the throne. She wanted to 
destroy all of the royal heirs. Why? Because she was functioning 
in accordance with the devil's plan, to stop God's plan in bringing 
the seed of the woman forth to crush the head of the serpent 
himself. Thankfully Jehoshaphat took one 
baby, one heir to the throne, and she hid him away. And he 
did assume the throne according to the plan of God. But there 
you see an attempt by the devil to devour the male child. You 
get to the New Testament scriptures and what do you find in Matthew 
chapter 2? You find Herod's massacre of the innocents. Now it's Herod 
who's a wicked man, he's an evil wretch, he's a God-hating rebel, 
but you see what John is telling us is that behind the scenes, 
something that we don't always appreciate is that there is forces 
or there are forces at work to try and stop the spread of God's 
holy plan. And so while Herod may be carrying 
out this particular deed, according to John the Apostle, As he's 
exiled on the island of Patmos for the Word of God and the testimony 
of Jesus, he says it was the devil himself who was seeking 
to thwart and seeking to stop this plan that originated in 
the garden. God said that the seed of the 
woman would crush the head of the serpent. Certainly the devil 
wants to stop that. The devil wants to destroy the 
plan of Almighty God. Beal says the second part of 
verse 4 explains that the dragon wants to complete his persecution 
of the covenant community by readying himself to exterminate 
the Messiah at the time of his birth. You see it throughout 
history. You see it manifested at the 
time of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. And you see the 
explanation here theologically from the Apostle John. We looked 
at the woman, the dragon, now notice the child, 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. Well, we all know who that is. 
Most commentators from all eschatological camps agree there is a bit of 
variation with some particular persons, but for the most part, 
I think we appreciate here, he's speaking about the Messiah, speaking 
about the Christ, it's speaking about the Lord Jesus. While the 
devil attempted, while the devil sought, while the devil was poised 
to devour the male child that was born, God Almighty triumphs! You have to appreciate that. 
Every instance where it looked like the seed might not make 
it in the Old Testament, it triumphs. Why is that? Did God get lucky? Did things just happen to align 
all right for Him? No, it's because He's absolutely, 
comprehensively, and positively sovereign. As the Confession 
of the Shorter Catechism says, He governs all His creatures 
and all their actions according to His holy, wise, and powerful 
preserving. Our God is in the heavens and 
He does whatever He pleases. If He promises in Genesis 3.15 
that the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent, 
it will come to pass. It will most surely take place. 
And the birth of the Lord Christ takes place according to verse 
5. She bore a male child who was to rule all nations with 
a rod of iron. This is David's son. This is 
the Psalm 2-9 man. This is who David wrote about 
in Psalm 2 specifically. You shall break them with a rod 
of iron. You shall dash them to pieces 
like a potter's vessel. Already mentioned in Revelation 
2. Mentioned later in Revelation itself. You see what the New 
Testament authors understood? They understood that in the person 
and in the work of the Lord Jesus, what they had witnessed and what 
they had seen was the fulfillment of God's covenantal promises. 
Paul the Apostle, our dear brother, alluded to this in his prayer, 
or at least earlier in the prayer meeting. In the fullness of the 
times, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman and born under 
the law, to do what? To redeem those under the law. And this is what we need to appreciate 
here. She bore a male child who was 
to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and then notice, from 
incarnation to ascension. And her child was caught up to 
God and His throne. He doesn't spend time developing 
all of the particulars of the life, death and resurrection 
of our Lord Jesus. He speaks of the blood in verse 
11. He speaks of the cross in verse 
11 to be sure. But this is a bit of a snapshot, 
the incarnation of Christ, the ascension of Christ. Of course, 
everything in between is involved in all of this. But again, Beal 
says that temporal telescoping is involved in verse 4, is suggested 
by verse 5. He says now a snapshot of Christ's 
entire life, His birth, His destiny of kingship, and His fulfillment 
of that destiny is His ascent to God's heavenly throne after 
His post-resurrection ministry. In other words, Daniel again. 
Daniel 7, 13 and 14. Let me just read that for you. 
Then to Him, Christ, 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. This is precisely 
what Peter refers to in the book of Acts, in Acts chapter 2. In 
Acts 2, he speaks of the resurrection. On the heels of the resurrection 
comes the ascension. Acts 2.30, the Apostle says, 
Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with 
an oath to him, that of the fruit of his body, according to the 
flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 
he foreseeing this spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, 
that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see 
corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, 
of which we are all witnesses. Listen to what he says. I have 
an agenda here this morning. This time of the year isn't about 
a helpless babe in the womb. You study the birth narratives. 
You see references to the incarnation. You know what is most closely 
associated to that event? The kingly rule and reign of 
David's greater son. I suspect men like a baby in 
the manger because they can control him. The King of kings and Lord 
of lords, however, terrifies men, and well he should, well 
he should. Peter says, therefore being exalted 
to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father 
the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out this which you 
now see and hear. For David did not ascend into 
the heavens, but he says himself, the Lord said to my Lord, sit 
at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool. 
Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that 
God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and 
Christ." John gives us this snapshot, incarnation, ascension. Certainly 
life, certainly ministry, certainly cross falls in there, but the 
two grand events that the author focuses upon here is the devil's 
attempt to thwart this plan. because he knows that when Christ 
assumes, well, I don't know how well he knows everything. It 
seems at times he's quite foolish. Well, he is foolish. But there 
is a threat to this David's greater son assuming the throne at the 
right hand of God most high. And then notice, with reference 
to the identification of Christ, the implication in verse 6 for 
the church. You see, John is not only setting 
before us the glory of Christ, but he draws out implications 
for the life of 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. So at the end of the life, 
the ministry, the resurrection, the ascension of Christ, what 
happens? Does all the world get converted? Does everybody bow 
down to Jesus? Does everybody say, what a wonderful 
King, what a wonderful Lord, what a wonderful Savior? No! 
They oppose the Church. They target the Church for destruction. You'll see that more when we 
proceed to verse 13. The implication is clear, that 
in bringing many sons to glory, God perfected the captain of 
their salvation. And the pattern is, that in this 
lower world, in the trials that we face, God is conforming us 
more and more onto the image of His Son. The absolute victory, 
power and supremacy of Jesus Christ secures our place in heaven. It secures our place in the New 
Jerusalem. It secures for us eternal bliss 
and eternal joy. It doesn't mean we're immediately 
wafted from the face of the earth. It doesn't mean we won't have 
trials. Read Revelation chapters 2 and 3. What do you see there 
with those churches in Asia Minor? They're suffering, they're tried, 
there's difficulty. What's the recurring emphasis 
in each one of the letters? How does the Lord Jesus Christ 
end them? He who overcomes. The point of 
Revelation, or one of the points of Revelation, is that the church 
must overcome. The Christian must persevere. 
Though he is ascended on high, though he has led captivity captive, 
though he does give gifts to men, though the devil himself 
is bound, according to Revelation chapter 20, there is a sense 
in which, until the new Jerusalem descends out of heaven, prepared 
as a bride adorned for her husband, we're going to have difficulties 
in this world. That's why the whole health, 
wealth and prosperity gospel is no gospel. It's a lie. It's a fake. It's a sham. It's 
false. God has never purposed or never 
designed that in this particular lower world we'll get all the 
benefits of the New Jerusalem right now. You will search long 
and hard in your scriptures to find such a promise given. In fact, if you take that mindset 
to the book of Revelation, you will be sorely perplexed. Notice 
that John doesn't just say, well, you just need more faith, and 
then the beasts will disappear, the dragon will be no more, and 
then everything will be hunky-dory. No, it is the Lord Christ who 
ushers in the new Jerusalem. It is the Lord Christ who brings 
it to pass in the consummate glory. Suffering, trial, tribulation, 
difficulty, problems, woe, hardship, those are part and parcel of 
living in a cursed world. Isn't it? You just wander down 
the street singing all the time? It's a good thing if you can 
do that, but for the most part, we have issues, we have trials, 
we have difficulties, and John is theologically explaining why 
that is the case. Notice the defeat of the dragon, 
verses 7 to 12. 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 you see, John is giving 
us a bird's-eye view of what's happening. Not only on earth 
in terms of the incarnation and ascension of our Lord Jesus, 
but what's happening in heaven? What's taking place on that grand 
scheme? What's happening in that invisible 
realm, invisible to us in this lower world? Well, John describes 
it for us. Again, Michael makes his appearance 
in the book of Daniel in a similar context, in a similar situation. We see that Michael and his angels 
fought with the dragon. It was they who initiated. It 
is they who cast out. It is they who take charge of 
the situation. It is they who defeat the devil. 
This is what John tells us. 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." Many 
of you have heard of Gordon Clark. He's a Christian apologist and 
philosopher. He's gone to be with the Lord. 
Well, Gordon Clark had a father named David. And David wrote 
a little commentary on the book of Revelation called The Message 
from Patmos. And he describes that at the 
Ascension, the devil was handed his eviction notice. The devil 
was told to scram. The devil was told to get lost. The devil was cast out of heaven. The power of Christ in His ascension, 
the power of Christ in having accomplished what He's done, 
there is no room anymore for the devil in heaven. Now I realize 
that opens up a lot of questions. What was the devil doing in heaven? You remember the book of Job. 
You remember the book of Zechariah. You'll see the devil having access 
to the Lord, to the throne of the Lord. Again, that's one of 
those details, I'll blow the trumpet here and tell you, you 
know, flee from the wrath of God. Some difficult things in 
that particular area of thought, but this thing is clear. That 
when Jesus ascends on high, the devil is cast out. Now this shouldn't 
surprise anybody if you've been listening in Matthew. What does 
Jesus talk about in His first coming? He talks about binding 
the strong man. He talks about plundering His 
goods. He talks about the erection, 
the establishment, the inauguration of God's kingdom. That's what 
John is telling us. He'll make it clear in verse 
10, and that's what we ought to look at here. 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. Now again, does that promote 
gloominess in your heart? Have you met those people? I 
don't want to read the book of Revelation. It's scary. It's 
terrible. There's beasts, there's dragons, 
there's woes. There is the establishment of 
God's kingdom, the messianic reign of our Lord Jesus. What 
could be more comforting and more encouraging and more helpful 
both to individual Christians and churches than Revelation 
chapter 12 and verse 10? What empowers missions? What 
empowers evangelism? What gives you the desire to 
rise up every single day out of your bed? What causes you 
to want to persevere? Now, I know the Spirit, I know 
the other means that God's ordained, but this one thing you know is 
true, that because of Christ's incarnation, because of his death 
at Calvary, because of his resurrection, and his ascension into glory, 
the reality is that he's bringing many sons to glory as a result 
of that. And that when he engaged in this 
activity, Satan was given his eviction notice, he was cast 
out, and as a result, this loud voice says 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." This is the time for a holy jig. 
This is the time for the happiness to infiltrate our hearts. This 
is good news! This is encouragement! This is 
blessing! This is bliss! Based on the incarnation, 
based on the ascension, based on the casting out of Satan, 
this declaration is made, God's kingdom has come! This is why 
John introduces the book with a three-fold description of our 
Lord Jesus that I think he fetches right out of Psalm 89, which 
is the covenant psalm. He describes Jesus as the faithful 
witness, and he describes Jesus as the ruler over the kings of 
the earth. What better position for such 
a statement to be found than in a book that's going to deal 
with beastly men, that's going to deal with beasts from the 
sea, and beasts from the land, and false prophets, and the great 
whore, and all these things are going to be ushered before the 
eyes of the reader. And this one thing we need to 
remember is true. Christ is King of Kings and Lord 
of Lords. That's what the Incarnation's 
about. It's interesting, in John's Gospel, there's two references 
to Incarnation. It's Matthew and Luke and Mark 
that have birth narratives, or Matthew and Luke have birth narratives. You know what John says? John 
moves from the eternal logos in John 1-1 to the Word became 
flesh and dwelt among us, John 1-14. The only other place the 
Incarnation is referred to in John's Gospel is when Jesus is 
standing before Pontius Pilate. In John 18.37, Pilate says to 
him, Are you then a king? And what does Jesus say? You 
say rightly that I am a king, for this cause I was born. Isn't that the point in Luke's 
birth narrative? He will sit on the throne of 
David, his son, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Isn't this 
the point in Matthew's birth narrative? Is to link for us 
Jesus as the son of Abraham, covenant, faith, all those sorts 
of things, and Jesus as son of David, king, royalty, ruler, 
reigning one. You see, at this time of the 
year, our thoughts, I think, can't help but think in terms 
of the incarnation. But we ought to think of the 
incarnation biblically, rightly, scripturally, concerning the 
offices of our Savior. This is what John wants us to 
get in Revelation chapter 12. And notice the decisive act in 
this entire event. He goes from incarnation to ascension, 
but he doesn't bypass the cross. For as much as Jesus' crown is 
referred to in the book of Revelation, so is Jesus as the Lamb. I don't 
know if the ratio is exact, He's often referred to with the crown, 
He's often referred to as the Lamb, the Lamb who was slain. What's the decisive act in this 
victory, in this establishment of the Kingdom of God, in this 
establishment of the messianic reign, in this expulsion from 
heaven of the devil himself? What was it that secured this 
victory? In Genesis 3.15 garden language, 
what was it where the Son of God took His foot and crushed 
the head of the serpent Himself? It was at Calvary. It was at 
the cross. Notice in verse 11, 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. It is about Christ's 
atoning work. That is the linchpin. That is 
the decisive factor. That is everything. That is what 
keeps us together. That is what holds us fast. That is what serves the eviction 
notice from heaven for the devil. And it is that by which we derive 
daily strength and encouragement and help. You know, before we 
proceed, look at how the devil is referred to there. He's the 
accuser of the brethren. Again, isn't this his function 
in Job? Isn't that what he does in Job? Have you ever read Job? Job 1? Devils roaming about the 
world, comes and presents himself with the sons of God before God. 
He says, your servant Job only serves you because you bless 
him. That's an accusation. Your servant Job's only a mercenary. It's only because you give him 
good things. It's only because he's got a 
big fancy house and he's got big fancy cars and he's got physically 
well children. It's only because he's got a 
big bank account. I mean, have you ever considered 
the wickedness of this complaint? The accusation? The wretchedness 
spewing forth from this beast? And then you look over at Zechariah, 
Zechariah chapter 3. There's Joshua, the high priest, 
standing before the Lord of hosts, and he's filthy. And the devil 
is standing there at his right hand, ready to accuse him, ready 
to level accusation. Before he can open his big dumb 
mouth, the Lord God says, the Lord rebuke you. What is it that 
suffices for Joshua, the high priest? What is it that suffices 
for Job? What is it that suffices for 
you and I when the devil accuses before the throne of God? Not 
that he's physically there, according to this particular passage, but 
there is still that accusation that haunts us, isn't there? 
There is still that nagging in our lives. Sometimes it's from 
our own corrupt hearts. But sometimes it seems as if 
there is a malevolent suggester there. How do you think you could 
ever be a Christian? How do you think you could ever 
gain favor with God? How do you think that you could 
be heaven-bound looking at your life and the way that you live 
it? You know how you silence the accuser? It isn't, well, 
I read my Bible this morning. I went to the Lord's table last 
week. I sang the hymns really loudly. 
No, the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans chapter 8, it is Christ 
who died and is risen again. That's how you shut his mouth. 
It's the blood. It's the cross. It's the atonement. It is everything for the Christian. 
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. Verse 12, therefore, rejoice, 
O heavens. It's good news, isn't it? The 
devil's cast out of heaven. Heaven ought to rejoice. But 
woe to earth and sea. Why? Because the devil has wrath. He knows his time is short, but 
he wants to try and destroy as many people as he can. Again, 
he's a murderer from the beginning. He's the father of lies. He doesn't 
operate like you and I might. We might get defeated and say, 
well, you know, I gave it my best shot. Now I'll go home and 
hide my head under my pillow and cry myself to sleep. He doesn't 
do that. In fact, I think in some ways 
John is showing us here, in a very heightened way, just how foolish 
the devil really is. As I was considering this passage, 
it reminded me, not on the same scale, but of a Gary Larson cartoon 
that I've always liked. Some of you may know that by 
the far side. There's a picture of a school, and it says, Midvale 
School for the Gifted. And the sign on the door clearly 
says, pull. And this kid is pushing on the 
door to get in. Midvale School for the Gifted, 
the kid can't read Paul, and he's trying to push his way in. You have to realize what an abject 
failure Satan is, according to Revelation 12. What happens when 
he tries to oppose the birth of Christ? He fails. What happens with this war in 
heaven with Michael and his angels? He fails. We'll see in verse 
13 what happens when he chases this woman and seeks to destroy 
her, the church. He fails. Verse 17, he rages 
against all of her offspring. And in chapter 13, he dispatches 
the beast from the sea and the beast from the land. According 
to Revelation 14, he fails. What's John telling us? John, with Peter, is saying, 
beware, be cautious, be mindful, be alert. Your adversary, the 
devil, roams about like a lion seeking who he may devour, but 
he's failing. Luther says he's like a dog on 
a leash. Have you ever seen a big, vicious, 
mean dog? You want to walk way around that 
particular dog, and then it chases after you, and you fear for your 
life, but then the leash snaps and he stops. It's the way Luther 
describes the devil with reference to the believer. He can only 
go so far. Do you know what James and Peter 
tell us ought to be our strategy, our tactical maneuvers in our 
dealings with the devil? Do we have to go to a Bob Larson 
conference? Do we have to buy his box DVD 
set? Do we have to read the latest 
book on spiritual warfare? Do you know what James and Peter 
tell us in terms of the devil? Resist him and he will flee from 
you. That doesn't sell books, doesn't 
sell DVD box sets. It's too simple, isn't it? What 
does John tell us in his first epistle? Greater is He that is 
in you than he that is in the world. Why be immobilized? Why be paralyzed? Why be hindered? Why be crippled? Revelation 12 
tells the church to get out there and fight! The foe has been defeated. The war is over. There's some 
mop-up battles along the way, but Christ has supplied His Spirit, 
and He supplied His Word, and He supplied His Church, and He 
has supplied all of these good things for you, so that you may 
fight onward. Revelation 12 is a call to the 
Church of Christ to dig in, to be faithful, to persevere. Notice, 
verses 13 to 17, quickly, the outrage of the dragon, verse 
13. Now, when the dragon saw that 
he had been cast out of the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave 
birth to the male child. You know, we read these reports, 
I think, just about every Wednesday night concerning martyrdom in 
the world today. Not every Wednesday night, but 
a good number of Wednesday nights. We read these reports concerning 
martyrdom, and it's grieving, and it's difficult, and it's 
sometimes very trying to hear of young children being bombed 
in their school because they identify with Christianity. I mean, the problems we have 
here, yeah, what type of burrito am I going to have for dinner? 
Their little kids may not come home from school because they 
got bombed. Simply for being a part of a Christian family. 
Who bombs a school? That's a special kind of wicked. 
Bombing a school? Non-combatants have become combatants 
now? Shame on these people. But you 
know, as trying as it is, as difficult as it is, as perplexing 
as it may be, it evidences this one thing. Christ is building 
his church. The devil doesn't like it, the 
devil is seeking to stop it, the devil is seeking to destroy 
it, but it's marching forward. You see, you don't persecute 
and bomb schools of people that rally around unicorns as their 
deity. There's no validity to that. I mean, somebody out there 
might. Again, we live in a sinful, sickened 
world. You target and you persecute 
those associated with Christ. Right? You won't find any sort of political, 
any sort of economic, any sort of societal resistance if you 
want to celebrate Kwanzaa, or Dollywall, or whatever it may 
be, or Festivus. And I'm not here advocating the 
celebration of seasons and festivals to begin with. Identify with 
Christ, and what happens in this world? Oh, that's great! It's wonderful! Now look, the 
devil turns his wrath against the church on earth. The devil 
is filled with rage and enmity, and this is what we see in verse 
13. The incarnation and the ascension 
of our Lord Jesus does not mean the absence of trial and turmoil 
in the world. In fact, it means just the opposite. 
It's interesting that King David lived a pretty uneventful life 
until the Spirit came upon him. You ever realize that? That when 
the Spirit comes upon David, he's a man on the run. What happens 
with our Lord Jesus? Pretty uneventful for the first 
30 years. Yes, we see him at the temple 
complex in Luke chapter 2, discoursing with the doctors of theology 
there. We see that he grows in wisdom and stature among God 
and men. But pretty uneventful living 
as a carpenter, working as a carpenter rather, with his father. It's 
at his baptism, when the Holy Spirit comes upon him to uniquely 
fit him for public ministry, that he is then driven out in 
the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. You see, the issue 
is not, well, I'm a Christian, why are bad things happening 
to me? Generally speaking, it's because you're a Christian that 
bad things are happening to you. If you seek to live godly in 
Christ Jesus, you will suffer persecution. 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. This is Exodus and Deuteronomy. 
God tells His covenant community, I bore you up with the wings 
of an eagle. The imagery is rich, it's beautiful, 
it's glorious. That she might fly into the wilderness 
to her place. What was the wilderness for Israel? 
They didn't like it. They grumbled, they complained, 
they thought God took them out there to destroy them. But God 
highlights something interesting for us in Deuteronomy chapter 
1 concerning the wilderness, concerning their time out there. God had delivered them, He redeemed 
them from the bondage in Israel, and then they're in the wilderness. 
You see a pattern here. Through the redeeming, powerful 
work of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are then in a wilderness situation. It is both a time of protection 
and a time of testing, as it was for Old Covenant Israel. Deuteronomy 1.29, Then I said 
to you, Do not be terrified or afraid of them. The Lord your 
God who goes before you, He will fight for you according to all 
He did for you in Egypt before their eyes. And in the wilderness 
where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, This in the 
context where they're grumbling about having been in the wilderness. 
You see how bad we can be? We interpret things like, oh 
God, you did this and it was mean. God, you did this and I 
didn't like it. God, you did this and it wasn't 
cool. This is what they're doing. They've grumbled. God reminds 
them of their grumbling. Remember they would say to Moses, 
has the Lord brought us out here so he can kill us? So we can 
die? What was the tendency of their 
heart? We want to go back to Egypt. We want to go back to 
slavery. At least in slavery we had leeks, 
and we had onions, and we had garlic, and we had all sorts 
of good things that we liked to eat. See, mankind would rather 
be a slave, as long as he got those basic things, than a free 
man serving his God. And the Lord reminds them that. 
And in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried 
you as a man carries his son in all the way that you went 
until you came to this place. You see, the wilderness was a 
time of protection. The wilderness was a time of 
communion. The wilderness was a time of 
blessing for old covenant Israel and for new covenant Israel. 
We may always struggle. We may always have difficulty. 
We may always have trial. We may never be looked upon favorably 
by the world, by academia, by anybody. But our God is with 
us. Isn't that what matters? Isn't 
that what counts? According to the apostle, that's 
what matters and that's what counts. The devil turns his rage 
upon the people of God. He even spews water out of his 
mouth according to verse 15. Again, an image that suggests 
the pursuit of God's enemies toward his people. And the Lord 
God ordains, the earth helps the woman. The earth opens its 
mouth and swallows up the flood which the dragon had spewed out 
of his mouth. And the dragon was enraged with a woman. You 
see, every step of the way, every defeat that is leveled to him, 
he keeps on going. The devil perseveres. Remember 
that. I think it was Packer. Someone 
said, you know, you take a Sabbath day to rest. The devil never 
took a Sabbath. He says, well, I'm not the devil. 
The devil doesn't take Sabbaths. You would think that on the Sabbath, 
when we come in here to worship God, that would be the time our 
thoughts, our minds, our hearts would most rally around the throne. 
Is that your experience? Is that what happens? Do you 
just enter the threshold and get wafted up into the presence 
of God? If you do, you're probably a minority. You have to fight 
wandering thoughts. A Puritan, Richard Steele, wrote 
a treatise on that. Fighting wandering thoughts in 
the worship of God. You see, it's here that we can 
think about that business deal. It's here that we can think about 
that meal. It's here that we can think about what we're going 
to do in a few weeks. Or it's here that we can... No, no. It's 
here that we come to meet with God. Pay attention. Listen. Fight the tendency. 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. Enter chapter 13. The beast from 
the sea, the beast from the land, and who is it that empowers them? It's the dragon. It's the devil. It is Satan. And then chapter 
14, we see the Lamb with His fair army standing on Mount Zion. Well, that's exposition. A couple 
of thoughts and then we close. Hopefully, first of all, you 
appreciate the triumph of the Lamb in this passage. I hope 
and I pray that you will indeed focus upon this reality. Christ 
is prophet, Christ is priest, Christ is king. The catechism sets forth why 
we need him in these offices. We need him as a prophet because 
we're ignorant and we need to be instructed. We need him as 
a priest, obviously, because we're sinners. We need a sacrifice. We need a righteousness that 
he provides. We need him as a king to protect us, to defend us, 
and to rule over us. And John is saying that this 
king is in. He's enthroned. He's at the right 
hand. The Incarnation led 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 is the reality of verse 10 in 
Revelation 12. Salvation, 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." So with reference to the triumph 
of Christ, conversely, we see the defeat of the devil. I've 
already painted that for you. You say, well, what happens to 
the beasts? What happens to the false prophet? Chapter 19, beast 
and false prophet are cast into the lake of fire. What happens 
to the dragon? What happens to the devil? Revelation 
20. He is bound. You see, from 12 
on, everything that we see is the defeat of the devil. We see 
that apparently bright kid pushing on a door that says, pull. Why 
would anybody serve Satan? Why would anybody want to follow 
this dark lord? Why would anybody want to be 
subject to this master? He's a fool. He's a loser. Davis 
summarizes the chapter this way. He says, chapter 12 is the good 
news of Satan's abject failure. And that failure, brethren, as 
we've already seen in Matthew 12, is connected to the cross. We're not waiting for this. We're 
not hoping for this. We're not living in light of 
this potentiality. But the king has installed himself 
at the right hand of the throne of glory, the devil has been 
expelled, and everything he attempts to do, he fails. Abject failure. The third observation we need 
to appreciate is that the presence of Christ's kingdom does not 
mean the absence of difficulty. Beal says it this way, and I 
think he's right on. He says, Christians can be assured 
that the serpent begins to battle against their bodies only after 
he has lost the battle over their souls. You see, you have this 
shifting momentum. He's in heaven where he's an 
accuser of the brethren. Well, because of the blood blotting 
out their transgressions, there's no more accusation he can render. 
His mouth is stopped, his mouth is silenced, his mouth is shot. 
So where does he turn his attention? To beasts that will make your 
life beastly. When he can't destroy the soul, 
he'll come after the body. Again, through flesh and blood, 
through godless government, through godless organization, through 
wicked people. He says this expresses one of 
the major themes of the book. The suffering of Christians is 
a sign, I like this, not of Satan's victory, but of the saints' victory 
over Satan because of their belief in the triumph of the cross with 
which their suffering identifies them. In other words, if you 
traverse this earth with never an opposition, never a problem, 
never a trial, never a difficulty, never a hardship, and I'm not 
quantifying what it has to look like. You have to be beaten up, 
you have to be spat on, you have to be shot. I don't know about 
all that, but all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus 
will suffer persecution. It may be high level, it may 
be low level. It may be your friend saying, 
you're weird. Like that's a real threat. Who 
cares if your friends think you're weird? Who cares if you've got 
the smile of God? What matters? What makes us happy? What causes us to get up out 
of bed every morning? Is it that all our friends think 
we're cool? Or is it the smile of the triune God upon our lives? 
This is consistent with what Jesus said in the upper room, 
and this brother who wrote Revelation heard it. These things I have 
spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world 
you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have 
overcome the world. I alluded to Ephesians 6, verse 
10. Finally, my brethren, be strong 
in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole 
armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles 
of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but 
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of 
the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness 
in the heavenly places." People say, what is it? What do you 
mean we gotta wrestle against these? Wrestling is good. Wrestling 
is evidence that you're alive. If you're not wrestling against 
these things, you're dead in your trespasses and sins. But 
isn't this an interesting statement in Ephesians chapter 6 at verse 
10, telling us how we are to do battle with these spiritual 
forces. But I thought Paul already wrote Ephesians 1. Didn't He 
already tell us that Jesus has been exalted to the right hand 
of the Father? That Jesus has been given a name which is above 
every name? That Jesus has universal, comprehensive, absolute and unrivaled 
sovereignty? Hasn't He already said, but God 
who is rich in His grace and with His mercy made us alive 
together and has seated us in the heavenly places in Christ? 
He has stated that in chapters 1 and 2, but that does not remove 
the reality of Ephesians 6, 10 and following. It's the foundation 
for it. If we didn't have Ephesians 1 
and 2, there'd be no wrestle against these principalities. 
We would willingly and happily submit to them and do whatever 
it is they want for us. The presence of trial, the presence 
of difficulty, the presence of opposition evidences the reality 
that God has been good to your soul. That's the perspective 
that you and I need to adopt. And then the last observation 
we ought to make before we leave this chapter. Actually, that was a mean last. I got two last things. Let's 
go back to the defeat of the devil for a moment. We looked 
at something intriguing on Wednesday night in the Bible study. tells us in Joshua chapter 21, 
43 to 45. It's the summary of the entire 
book. Verse 44 in Joshua 21 tells us 
this, And not a man of all their enemies stood against them. The 
Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. Isn't that beautiful? The presence of peace never fully 
comes until the enemies of God are gone. We could summarize 
Revelation that way, couldn't we? There's opposition, there's 
trial, there's difficulty, there's problems, there's hardship, there's 
economic woe, there's difficulties in your life. But understand 
this, Revelation 19 and Revelation 20, God the Lord disposes of 
His enemies once and for all. Revelation 21 and 22, the New 
Jerusalem descends out of heaven. Do you realize that in the Eschaton, 
do you realize that in the Age to Come, do you realize that 
in that New Jerusalem all of the ungodly will be excluded? 
There will not be an admixture of good and bad. It will only 
be good in the presence of God and of the Lamb who sits upon 
the throne. That's why the Apostle can say, there will be no more 
sorrow, there will be no more tears, there will be no more 
hunger, there will be no more thirst, there will be no more 
difficulty. Why? Because you're in the presence 
of God and the Lamb. That's what's in our horizon. That's what's in our future. 
That's what our hope is. May it indeed cause us to live 
like it. We ought to smile more. We ought 
to be happier. We ought to fill our lives with 
song and with rejoicing and with praising because of what God 
has done in the person and in the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
The last thing I will say is note the description of the church 
at the end of verse 17. This is an antinomian nightmare. 
It's something consistent with biblical truth. 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." They're not saved because they 
keep the commandments of God. They keep the commandments of 
God because they're saved. But that's an identifier. That's 
the way you describe the Church of God. not as that big place 
with the great band, not as that big place with the comedic preacher, 
not that big place where everything's moving and shaking and everything's 
happening. When you boil it all down, I 
think what John is telling us here is what really matters in 
terms of church life is the testimony of Jesus Christ, the finished 
work of our Redeemer, belief in the gospel of the Lord, and 
a life consistent with that. That's what a Christian is. A 
Christian believes the gospel, a Christian lets his conduct 
be worthy of the gospel. That's what John tells us. And 
if you're not a Christian this morning, the way to salvation 
is belief. The way to salvation is faith 
in Christ and repentance unto life. The way to salvation is 
to look and live, to come to Christ, as he says in Matthew 
11, come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest. That's the imperative. That is 
the demand. That is what God calls on you 
today. May the Spirit come. May the 
Spirit empower. May the Spirit give the twin 
graces of faith and repentance so that you can close with the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for this, Your Word. We thank You for the triumph 
of our Lord Jesus Christ and the defeat of the devil. Our 
Father, may we live in light of these truths and may we realize 
that we are in a wilderness setting and realize that You carry us 
and You commune with us and You build us up and You strengthen 
us and You protect us. We ask God in heaven that we 
would see this as a blessed place to be and help us to bring honor 
and praise and glory unto You those who have the testimony 
of Christ, those who keep the commandments of God. Fill us 
with your Spirit, show us your holy truth, and give us the zeal 
and the desire to live in light of it. And we ask through Christ 
our Lord. Amen.