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Well, you can turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 12. Revelation, chapter 12, a passage we have looked at before with reference to the incarnation of our blessed Savior. There's a lot going on in Revelation 12, 1 to 17. We will not look at every jot and tittle or every detail, but just to give sort of an overarching look at the chapter and the implications of it.

So beginning in chapter 12 of the book of Revelation at verse 1, now a great sign appeared in heaven. A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then, being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared in heaven. Behold, a great fiery red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born. 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. The earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Well, let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, that it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. And we thank you for this wonderful passage. We thank you for the glory of the incarnate Lord. We thank you for his ascension on high, his current session now at the right hand of God Almighty, and we look forward to his return again in glory to judge the living and the dead. We pray that all of us would be forgiven of our sins and clothed in his righteousness, that on that day we meet we would hear, by grace, well done, good and faithful servant. We ask God that you would forgive us now for all of our sins and unrighteousness, cleanse us in the precious blood of the Lamb, and be glorified by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, illuminating our minds and our hearts, opening the hearts of dead sinners to believe on Jesus, and sanctifying and encouraging and building up your people in our most holy faith. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 

Well, as far as contextually, the book of Revelation here in chapter 12, we see lots of connections with what has preceded and with what will follow. Specifically, though, what we have is a behind-the-scenes look at God's victory in Christ over the enemies of the Most High. So it's a behind-the-scenes look. As well, chapter 12 connects with chapter 13, because in chapter 13 you have two beasts One from the sea and one from the land, and you see it's the dragon of chapter 12, the devil, who gives those beasts their power. 

And I think as well, another very important lesson that we should appreciate today in Revelation chapter 12 is that Christ's triumph and Christ's victory and Christ's enthronement at the right hand of God Almighty doesn't mean no suffering for the church. In fact, because Jesus has defeated the devil, the devil then turns his enmity toward the church. So Jesus says in Matthew 16, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. When he makes that promise, he acknowledges that the gates of Hades are going to try to withstand the further increase of God's holy kingdom. So, the reality that Christ is enthroned, that Christ is ascended on high, does not remove the reality of a persecuted church. And so, we want to look at that this morning. 

I think the chapter breaks down into three sections. First, we have the incarnation of the Son in verses 1 to 6. I think, technically, it functions to introduce to us the three parties involved in this battle. But we'll just call it the incarnation of the Son in verses 1 to 6. Secondly, the destruction of the dragon in verses 7 to 12. And then finally, the persecution of the woman in verses 13 to 17. 

I would suggest that contextually, Revelation 12, as said, was and is connected to Revelation chapters 1 to 11, and that it's certainly connected to chapters 13 to 22, but there's a lot of theology going on in Revelation chapter 12. I think what we're seeing is the fulfillment of and the application of Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, and the promise of the seed of the woman that crushes the head of the serpent himself. I think that's the point in Revelation chapter 12. Also, you'll see allusions in Revelation chapter 12 to that only begotten son of the Father who rules on high according to Psalm 2 with a rod of iron over the nations of the earth. So Revelation 12 does do some theology also that we will notice along the way. 

But first, notice in verses 1 to 6, you have three parties involved in the battle. We have a woman in verses 1 and 2, a dragon in verses 3 and 4, and then a child according to verses 5 and 6. Note first with reference to the woman. Now, a great sign, verse one, appeared in heaven. A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of 12 stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. Now, the obvious interpretation is typically Mary, the mother of Jesus. And I'm not excluding her. I think that's specifically what we see in verse five. She bore a male child. But I think inclusively, it's Mary and the covenant people of God. It's Mary and Old Covenant Israel, the faithful remnant. It's from that body, it's from that line, it's from that Davidic line that Messiah would come.

And I think the backdrop of her description in verse 1 is in Genesis chapter 37 and Jacob's dream, or Joseph's dream rather, in terms of what he saw. So verses 1 and 2 describe specifically the true Israel of God, the faithful remnant of the old covenant that looked forward to the coming of the Messiah promised by the Father in the Old Testament scriptures.

The reference in verses 6 and 13 indicates that the woman is the people of God. It's the church of God. Again, notice in verse 6, then the woman fled into the wilderness. This isn't a reference simply to Mary, the mother of Jesus, but it's the covenant community. We'll call it the church, and the same thing in verse 13. Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. Again, that's not just Mary, the mother of Jesus, but that's the church of the covenant people of the Lord God Most High.

David 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. That's the emphasis in verses 1 and 2.

And then notice then the dragon in verses 3 and 4. And again, backdrop prophecies of Daniel and other prophets are woven into John's narrative in such a way that, as one has said, the book of Revelation is the most Old Testament-ish book that we have in the New Testament. If not direct quotations, imagery and symbols and themes and concepts from the Old Testament brought into this new covenant setting, and John the seer writes from that vantage point. So the description in verses 3 and 4 of this dragon again speak concerning what we see in Old Testament passages.

But notice in verse 3, 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 I believe that what we're looking at is further identified in verse 9 as the devil. This is Satan. Again, Genesis 3, 15. We have a cosmic battle between Satan and the Lord Jesus Christ.

And note the nature of that battle 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. Genesis 3.15 is the announcement of that enmity. Genesis 3.15 is the announcement of what you see in redemptive history between these two warring factions, the devil and God Most High and His Christ. Genesis 3.15 announces that there is going to be an attempt by the devil to usurp the purpose and plan of the Most High to send the Son of His love in order to save His people from their sins.

And when you start moving through the Old Testament, you'll see specifically that. You'll see this dragon trying to devour this male child before he ever comes on the scene. You see it in Genesis chapter 38 with Judah and Tamar. Judah had promised his son Shelah to Tamar and he reneged on that. So what does Tamar do? It's an unsavory story, but what she does is she preserves the promised line. She has relations with Judah such that there is a seed and such that that seed continues.

You move to 2 Kings 11, at the time of Athaliah. She was a usurper to the crown. And Athaliah attempted to destroy all the legitimate heirs to the throne. But her granddaughter Jehoshabah kept aside one of those sons, and his name was Joash.

So Athaliah, the usurper, was utilized by the devil to try to devour the male child promised by God in Genesis 3.15 that would crush the serpent.

You've got the time of the New Testament with Matthew's gospel, Matthew chapter 2. What does Herod do when he hears the promise of Messiah? What does Herod do when he hears about this one that the Magi are going to visit? What is it that happens with reference to the innocents? There's a massacre of the innocents such that this devil can devour the male child.

We've got the devil in Matthew chapter 4. The spirit leads Jesus out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. So you see, what we have here in chapter 12, verse 5, is basically redemptive history. Or rather, verse 4 is redemptive history. The dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born.

Brethren, that was what we see in the Old Covenant. That was what we see in the attempt to sideline the covenant promises of God, which are yea and amen in our Lord Jesus. The devil, for all of his malevolence, the devil for all of his wretchedness and lawlessness and rebelliousness and evil and godlessness, nevertheless understood at least this much, I've got to destroy this seed promise that's going to crush my head. And that's what redemptive history illustrates.

And that then moves us to the child in verses 5 and 6. You've got the woman who brings forth the child. You've got the dragon who opposes that child. Now let's look at this child, our Lord Jesus Christ.

First He speaks of the incarnation. Notice in verse 5. She bore a male child. She bore a male child. That's the beauty of the Christmas message, is that Mary bore a male child. And that male child was promised by the prophets to come to save His people from their sins. This is a clear reference to the incarnation of the Son of God. The prophecies concerning this Son of God are fulfilled in His coming.

Isaiah 9, our brother read that specifically in verses 6 and 7, a description of the king and a description of his kingdom in verses 6 and 7, respectively. But as well, Micah chapter 5 and verse 2. And I just want to read a quote from John Owen when he comments on Isaiah 9, and then I'm going to just modify that quote a little bit to show us something in light of our studies in the Psalter as well.

John Owen comments on Isaiah 9, 6, and 7. Remember, Jesus is called a son born or a son given, a child born. He's also called mighty God. You ever kind of wondered how that can be? The mighty God is a child born? How is it that the only begotten son of the Father was a man born by the Virgin Mary? So Owen says that the same person should be the mighty God and a child born is neither conceivable or possible nor can be true but by the union of the divine and human natures in the same person. In other words, the hypostatic union, the glory of the one person of Christ, two natures, human and divine. I would suggest that the same person or that the same person should be born of a woman and eternally begotten of the Father is neither conceivable or possible nor can be true but by the union of the divine and human natures in the same person.

So this child born is that one, according to Psalm 2.7, who's the only begotten of the Father. That only begotten of John 1.14. This blessed, holy one, promised by the Father to save His people from their sins, that's the one that is given us here in Revelation chapter 12.

Notice it not only speaks of His being given, but of His rule and His reign. Verse 5, She bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Again, that's Psalm 2, 7. Psalm 2, 7 and 9 language. It's Ephesians 1, that's Philippians 2, that's the language of supreme exaltation at the right hand of the Father for Jesus having accomplished all that the Father had given Him.

The Father was well pleased with what Christ had done and seated Him at His right hand, far above every principality and power and every name that is named, both in this age and that which is to come. And then he moves on to speak concerning the ascension of our Lord Jesus.

Notice at the end of 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. We call that the ascension. After Jesus goes into the tomb, He's raised again the third day, He spends some time with His disciples, and then He ascends on high.

So, notice, a reference to incarnation and then a reference to ascension, which is comprehensive and includes every jot and tittle concerning the life and ministry or mission of the Son of God. He doesn't have to say His life of obedience to the Father, His suffering, His death, His passion, His resurrection. All of that is encompassed by this reference. He's incarnate and He's ascended on high.

G.K. Beal says that temporal telescoping is involved in verse 4 is suggested by verse 5. Now a snapshot of Christ's entire life, His birth, His destiny of kingship and His incipient fulfillment of that destiny in His ascent to God's heavenly throne after His post-resurrection ministry is given in one line. Again, John, using, you know, sort of an economy of words here, points to the incarnation of the Savior and the ascension of the Savior.

If you look at verse 11, it speaks concerning the blood of the Lamb, which I think confirms what we have in verse 5 is a reference to everything involved in that first advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was born of a woman. He lived a life of perfect obedience. He always did what was pleasing to the Father. He said, my meat is to do the will of Him who sent me. He suffered for us. He died for us. He was raised again for us and then ascended on high to the right hand of the majesty on high for us, for us men and for our salvation.

So John is telling us that the woman brings forth this child, that the devil seeks to destroy this child. But in the power and in the providence and in the goodness of God Most High, this child is preserved. This child does exactly what it was intended to do and this child is enthroned at the right hand of the majesty on high.

And then notice, it speaks of his church in 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. Now this and the fleeing that you see later in chapter 12 verses 13 to 17 does show the church at a position of threat. Again, the fact that Christ came, the fact that Christ lived, the fact that Christ died, the fact that Christ was raised again and now sits enthroned at the right hand of the Most High God doesn't mean no suffering. It really doesn't. It doesn't mean no persecution. That's health, wealth, prosperity garbage. Well, Jesus is the king, so all we ever get is steak and lobster. Jesus is the king, so all we get is summer holidays in Italy. I don't know why Italy, but choose your poison.

Brethren, the idea that because Christ is victorious, that means we'll never have trouble on the face of this earth is patently false. Remember in the upper room, our Lord Jesus says, in this world, you will have tribulation. In this world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.

Notice they didn't say, well, what does that mean? You've overcome the world, but we're still going to have tribulation. They understood it to mean that what God has intended in this present evil age is triumph, is power, is glory, but it's not the eternal state. It's not the eschaton wherein there's no more sin, no more sorrow, no more sadness, no more hunger, no more thirst, no more pain. That awaits the age to come, brethren.

And until that age to come, don't you mistake it, the devil, who's been defeated, still is outraged and still is enraged. And as Peter says in 1 Peter 5, he roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He's been defeated, but that doesn't mean he's going to just go lie down. He's going to try and destroy the church.

And this fleeing specifically, as Pastor Cam mentioned there in Luke 17, and it'll be repeated in Luke 21, Jesus is talking about the coming destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. And history tells us when Roman armies surrounded the city in order to sack it, there was a band of Christians or a band of people that heard Jesus' words and they fled the city and went to a region or another city called Pella. They fleed for safety. That's what's in view here. That's what's going on.

When the devil who's been frustrated in his attempt to destroy Messiah, and the devil who's been frustrated in his attempt to stop Messiah, when Messiah is victorious and enthroned on high, the devil then turns his attention to the church. That's exactly the emphasis in Revelation 12.

In fact, let's move now to what we see here in the destruction of the dragon in verses 7 to 12. Notice the function. The function of verses 7 to 12 is to explain the dragon's ejection from heaven and his subsequent rage directed to the church. In fact, it's the counterpart to what goes on on earth in verses 1 to 6.

So in verses 1 to 6, we have the incarnation. We have the life, ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord, and then His ascension to the right hand of the Father. What does that mean in terms of the heavenly places? Well, that's what verses 7 to 12 indicate.

Now there's some, you know, curious things here, brethren. I'm not going to suggest otherwise, just like in the book of Job. Where do we find the devil in the book of Job? Standing right there before the throne of Yahweh, accusing Job. Where have you been? Well, I'm roaming to and fro throughout the earth and I want to bring to you a charge against your servant Job. The only reason Job is for you is because he's a fair weather fan. As long as you keep the money flowing, as long as you keep the wife happy, as long as the kids are in order, then Job is going to serve you. Isn't that how Job starts off? Isn't that curious that the devil has access to the very throne of Yahweh? You see something similar in the prophet Zechariah in chapter 3. Where's the devil? Right there before the throne of God to accuse Joshua, the high priest. And so we see here in verses 7 to 12 that at that time the devil had access to the very throne room of God Most High. Again, I'm not sure how that all works out, but that it did work out is what 7 to 12 indicates.

Now notice this war in heaven in verses 7 and 9. Again, a lot of prophetic imagery going on. We don't have a lot of time to go examine all that stuff, but notice in verse 7. In the book of Daniel, some suggest that Jesus is Michael and before you lose your mind, well, the Jehovah's Witnesses say that. Yes, so does John Calvin and other interpreters in the Reformed tradition. It's not outlandish. Michael is the battle warrior that is going to defeat the devil. Who does that? Jesus does that. So whichever way you want to go, 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.

Again, the prophetic imagery is the prophet Daniel in the background, this reference to Michael. This is the heavenly counterpart to what takes place according to verses 1 to 6. It's got a behind-the-scenes in verses 1 to 6 in terms of the overall thrust of Messiah's ministry at His first advent, but then you have a behind-the-scenes in 7 to 12 to show you kind of what's going on in the heavenly places as we see what happens on the earth according to verses 1 to 6. As well, the failure of the devil and his angels. I've mentioned probably twice now, we'll probably mention it twice, maybe three more times. I'm not keeping track by the way, I don't have it in here. Make sure you mention this four times. I've mentioned the persecution. I've mentioned the hardships that befall the woman, even in light of the victory of the child.

But brethren, you have to appreciate the abject failure of the devil in every statement in Revelation chapter 12. Everything he tries, fail. He tries to devour the child before it's born, fail. He's cast out of heaven, another fail. He targets the church in verses 13 to 17. Guess what? He fails. Not just the church in that first century context, but the church in every subsequent context. He fails over and over and over again. So the concept of persecution, the concept of a devil who roams about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, should never paralyze the people of God. It should never hinder the people of God. It should never cause the people of God to cower, to bite their fingernails feverishly at the thought that they'll never win.

Christ has won. Christ has decisively won. We're forgiven of our sins. We're clothed in his righteousness. We're heaven bound. Oh yeah, there's battles in this present world. There's skirmishes, there's hardships, there's setbacks. There's times when it looks like, you know, man, it's a mess. But you know what, brethren, he fails. Incessant failure. I was trying to think about this. Have you ever, you know, I don't want to say, have you ever been an employee that only ever failed? I hope not. Maybe you've hired that person. They just can't conceptualize how to do their job. 

I honestly thought about conservative politicians in the United States. They get nothing done ever. Ever. Tweeting mean tweets isn't getting something done. For whatever reason, the 21st century has underscored abject failure on the part of the conservative movement there. 

That's the devil in revelation. I'm not saying that's the devil the way you might suspect I'm saying that. But that's the point. Everything he sets his hand to, devour the male child before he's born, fail. Cast out of heaven, he's failed. Turns his aggression to the church, he fails. How do we know that? Because his church is still here. 

Do you get that? It may not be in all of its vibrant, powerful glory that we might like to think it should be, but it's here. How is it here? Because of the promise of the one who said, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 

that Christ did what he did in his first advent confirms the reality that Christ will come to collect us in his second advent. It's beautiful and blessed. So yeah, persecution is preached in Revelation 12. But so is a miserable fail on the part of the devil. Over and over and over again he fails. 

So with reference to this war in the heavenly places, I think the casting out of the devil and his angels is not what we've grown to sort of accustomed to at the creation of the world by God. The devil was cast out along with his angels. I think this is what Jesus was referring to in John 12. Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 

It's at the new creation. The devil is cast out from the presence of the throne room of God Most High. And as we trace through the particular statement, we see this shout of victory on the heels of that. So, the devil's cast out, verse 9. Then notice in verse 10, You get that, right? The peoples in the heavenly places that witness this, they're privy to this, they see this casting out of the devil. What does it evoke from them? Praise to God, worship of God. Celebration in the presence of God when the whore and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire in Revelation chapter 18 and 19. 

What do you think the response of heaven is in Revelation 19? Oh, we shouldn't take delight in the punishment of the enemies of God. It's a four-fold hallelujah. It's a four-fold praise to God Most High. This effeminate Christianity that somehow fails to celebrate the judgment of God Most High is not biblical. 

The people of God in any situations, the Huguenot, they'd sing Psalm 68 into battle. The Covenanters singing psalms into battle. Not today, we're apologizing to the enemies because they were hurt by God. That's not it at all, brethren. We rejoice in the justice and in the vindication of God of His elect. And this is what we see here in this casting out of the devil. 

Now salvation and strength in 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 notice this, the presence of Christ's kingdom is connected with His first advent. It's not awaiting the second advent. It's not, we can't wait until he comes again in glory to establish his kingdom. No, they connect the kingdom with the incarnation and ascension. This is bad interpretation as well, that's waiting for Jesus to establish his kingdom. I've got news for you, brothers and sisters, his kingdom is established. That's why in Revelation 1, he's called the ruler over the kings of the earth. That's why when you get to Revelation chapter 13, you're not supposed to be paralyzed by the beast that comes from the sea or the beast that comes from the land. You're not supposed to say, oh, they're going to destroy us. No, we've got the ascended Lord on high. He's reigning from the right hand. He's got a rod of iron with which he dashes the nations as so much pottery itself.

The Lord Christ established his kingdom in his first coming. Again, it's a kingdom over this present evil age in which he hasn't just snapped his holy fingers and caused all the evil to end. We're waiting for that. We call it the not yet, an eschatology. We've already received the benefits of being in the kingdom, but it's not yet been fully realized what is coming our way.

And in this particular time frame, the persecution of the church has very healthy benefit upon the church. If Jesus, according to Hebrews 5.8, learned obedience through suffering, you got to bank on the fact that Jesus' people are going to learn obedience through suffering as well. If the grand scheme of God in Romans chapter 8 is that we've been predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, the conformity to the image of his son more often than not comes through what? hardship, affliction, trial, and difficulty. I wish it wasn't so, brethren. I wish we all got to schedule a two-week vacation to Hawaii and we could lay on the beach and be further conformed to the image of our Savior. That'd be great, wouldn't it? Just lay on that beach, go under the water a bit, and you're being conformed on the image of, no.

The conformity to the image of the Son of God comes in the manner in which the Son of God conducted himself in his earthly ministry. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. There was no form, no comeliness, there was nothing about him in which we were enticed or drawn to him. He came to his own and his own received him not. The idea that there's no suffering, no hardship, no persecution, no trial, no affliction. Brethren, when we do the voice of the martyrs, I don't usually jump up and scream out a hallelujah, but when you see the kind of persecution that's happening in various nations of the earth, at some level there should be a hallelujah.

Why? Because the children of God Most High are shining as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. And they are holding forth the word of truth. And those crooked and perverse generations don't like that. So what do they do? They target them for destruction. They oppose them. They put them in prison. They hurt them. They kill them. They brutalize them. They hurt their families. They do everything they can to extinguish the light of the gospel.

So on the one hand, it's bad. We read Voice of the Martyrs. We hear about the suffering of the saints. But on the other hand, it's good. Because the strong man is plundering the devil's kingdom. We are seeing sinners transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of God's love. It's coming through the preaching of the gospel. It's coming through the proclamation of the truth and the power of the Holy Spirit. And so how do the nations respond to that? Just like they do in Psalm 2, against Yahweh and against His Christ. And when Christ is at the right hand of the Father after that first Advent, what does the devil do? He turns his attention to the church. Can't get Jesus, so I'm gonna go after what is precious to Jesus. So that's what verse 12 then comments on.

Blessing, well 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. So again, they're connecting this kingdom, present reality, to the blood of the lamb, his first advent. So verse 12 is an encouragement to the people of God in heaven to rejoice. But verse 12b is a warning to the people of God on earth to be mindful, okay? You're not in heaven yet, brethren.

But if you were, notice in 12a, therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. Why? The devil's been cast out. Devil and his mighty angels are cast out, cause for celebration. It's great. It's rejoicing. But notice what the text goes on to say. You see that? Christ is victorious. Christ is enthroned. Christ has vanquished the devil's presence from that heavenly place. The church in that heavenly place is bid to rejoice. Why? Because he's been cast out.

By the way, church on earth realized there's going to be some struggle. He does roam about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And brethren, remember, with reference to the devil, as Luther said, he's always on God's leash. He's always on God's leash. Have you ever walked by a house that had a big nasty dog, and that big nasty dog has been on a leash? It's great, unless the leash breaks and the dog gets, your little dog, in its mouth and shakes it violently to death. That's not so great. But when you're walking by a vicious dog and he runs at you and then he stops because he's on a leash. That was Luther's conception of what we have with the devil. I think he's right. Thus, far, and no further.

We see that in Job. Go ahead, devil, throw it at him. Let him have it. What happened? God restrains the devil. God restrains the wicked one. Even in chapter 20, which doesn't speak of a completely immobilized devil in the binding of Satan in Revelation 20. The specific referent is so that he may not deceive the nations anymore. That's what's going on in Revelation 20. So the idea that what we are promised in Revelation 20 is no devil presently on earth. That's not it at all. It's that the nations are not to be deceived any longer.

So with reference to what we then go on to in the persecution of the church, or rather the persecution of the woman in verses 13 to 17. Notice the outrage of the devil. Verse 13. Again, we would expect this, right? Being a big dumb failure? That's got to be a tough one to swallow. And in verse 13, again that covenant people, the people of God from whence Messiah comes, specifically through the agency of Mary. to be sure, but the woman here in verse 13 is the covenant community. It's the church of the Lord Jesus. And so what does the devil do when he realizes that he has failed miserably in trying to devour the male child before he's born, being cast out of heaven by Michael and his angels? What does the devil do? He comes after the church.

Again, I'm not pro-devil here, but there's a tenacity about the devil that I don't want to say is admirable, but it's what it is. Notice the outrage of the dragon and then the wings of an eagle. Notice in verse 14, 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.

I think this refers to what we see in the Old Testament. Exodus 19.4, you have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. The wilderness was a place of safety for the children of God according to the book of Deuteronomy, according to the book of Hosea. They left the bondage of Egypt. They went out into the wilderness where they were carried by God the way that a father carries his son, Deuteronomy 1.31.

So the language evoked here has Old Testament backdrop, but it shows the protection of God in the midst of their persecution. In the midst of the trial, God doesn't abandon. In the midst of the hardship, God doesn't turn His back. In the midst of the hardship, it's God who sustains. It's God who gives grace. It's God who gives perseverance. It's God who gives us the endurance to be able to hold up in the midst of the affliction. It's beautiful.

Sometimes you read these martyr stories and you wonder how is it that a Thomas Hawks could be melting under the flame of persecution and martyrdom and then, you know, bang his stumps together and say, Christ is Lord of the fire. I don't think I could do that. If God puts you in the fire and your stumps are melting away and he wants you to say Christ is Lord of the fire, he'll give you the grace to say it.

We need to believe the God who calls us into the fires of affliction is the God who sustains us in the midst of the affliction. Remember when Daniel's friends went into that fiery furnace? There were four people in there. There were four people in there. Why is that? Because David was right.

Brethren, probably one of the hardest lessons for us to learn as the people of God is the reality of affliction, heartache, suffering, trial. And I'm not just speaking at the macro level of a persecuting state, a beastly state that wants to render us inoperative. We prayed for that in the last hour with reference to that Bill C-9. Voice of the Martyrs is including Canada now on their sort of watch list for countries to pray for. Why? Because Bill C-9, if it's ratified, will effectively defang the church from ever speaking of any of those unsavory parts of the Holy Scripture. As if godless rebel sinners get to determine what are the unsavory parts of Scripture.

But with reference to the trials, it's not just at the macro level, civil state persecuting the people of God. It's the struggles and the trials of just trying to be faithful in a faithless age. Trying to hobble along decently as a Christian husband or a Christian father, a Christian wife, a Christian mother, trying to be faithful in your workplace, faithful to shine as a light in this crooked and perverse generation. It's not always easy, brethren. It's not always easy at all.

But we always have God who has covenanted blessing and covenanted graces and covenanted help to us in the midst of the flame. In this world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution, 2 Timothy 3. 12. Notice, though, that the Apostle Paul, who had suffered his fair share of persecution and difficulty, only ever rejoiced in the kind provision of his God to sustain him in and through and out of those hardships that he faced. This idea that being in the church, being a son or daughter of the king means no problems ever, that's the effect of bad, bad exegesis and bad theology.

The true people of God have always suffered. Can you imagine trying to impose the health, wealth, prosperity mindset that has developed in North America and taking that back to the 1400s, the 1200s, the 700s, taking that back to the first century? I can't believe you guys are suffering for the cause of Christ, because all we ever get is steak and lobster in summer homes. I don't know what's happening with you all. It's wretched. It's godless, it's vile, and it's certainly not scriptural, and it's not theologically sound.

Brethren, the church suffers. If you don't like that concept, I'm sorry, but the church suffers.

So the backdrop, Old Testament. Notice one of the means, we'll look at this in just a minute, we're almost done. Verse 15, so the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. But the earth helped the woman and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.

Now brethren, the earth just doesn't function on its own. Well, I'm gonna come to bat for the church there as she suffers persecution. God does this. God delivers. God protects. God relieves.

Verse 17, 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. So it's the present context. I think Revelation deals specifically with AD 70. We can disagree on that. That's fine. But it's whatever context which John is writing to in this particular book, but subsequent to that, all of the faithful that keep the testimony of Jesus Christ and seek, by God's grace, to obey His commandments.

Well, just a bit of summary. The persecution of the church. G.K. Beale again says, Christians can be assured that the serpent begins to battle against their bodies only after he has lost the battle over their souls. This expresses one of the major themes of the book. The suffering of Christians is a sign, 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.

Again, that's a counterintuitive way, you know, in a health, wealth, prosperity mindset to read the book of Revelation. But that's how we're supposed to read it.

I would just show you how the devil works. Notice how the devil works according to Revelation 12, 9. He works through deceit. He deceives the world. He works through accusation, verse 10. and he works through heresy, verse 15. And he's spewing out from his mouth, all of that garbage, what is it? It's heresy.

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. So again, I think we ought to be in tune with the reality that one of the tactics of a devil who roams about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, you know how he tries to do that? Deceit, verse nine. It's the best way to resist the devil when it comes to deceit. Here's your obligatory read your Bibles and pray and show up at church. How do you avoid the deception of the devil? By knowing the truth of God. How do we resist his accusations? Well, justification by faith alone. Zechariah chapter 3, Romans 8, 31 to 39. And how do we resist his heresy? Again, by knowing the truth, by knowing theology, by rehearsing the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, by knowing something of the early Trinity debates in the life of the church and Christological debates in the life of the church, knowing something of that confession that as a church that's Reformed Baptist subscribes to.

So the devil hasn't changed it up. He still works through deceit, accusation, and heresy.

Secondly, having mentioned the persecution of the church and the way that the devil works against us, be mindful of the defeat of the devil. He fails in his attempt to destroy the child, verses 1 to 5. He fails in heaven, verses 7 to 12. He fails with the woman in verses 13 to 16. And he fails with the rest of the woman's seed, according to verse 17. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring. So if the woman is the first century church, the rest of her offspring is the second and onward century churches. So the devil continues, but he fails over and over again.

And 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. He's going to bruise the head. That's what happens at the first advent of our Lord Jesus.

And I would suggest, thirdly, notice the nature of the church. The nature of the church. In other words, what makes up the church? What is churchly about the church? What are sort of the identifying characteristics of the church? If you ask somebody today, what do you think identifies the church? Well, it's a bunch of people that show up at a particular time in a parking lot and they walk in and they usually dress up, they comb their hair, they brush their teeth, they put on a pretty decent front. That's the identification of the church. That's the nature of the church. saying that's wrong. I hope you do brush your hair and teeth and you know try to maintain some degree of ability to interact and mingle.

But Revelation 12 indicates two particular things. Notice the identifying characteristic of The identifying characteristic is 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. This idea by the word of their testimony, I don't think the emphasis is on them. The word of their testimony is their confession of faith in Jesus. In other words, an identifying characteristic of the people of God is that they believe the gospel. The identifying characteristic of God's people is that they believe God's gospel, that they, by grace, have looked unto the Lord Jesus Christ, they have been forgiven of their sins, and they have received the imputed righteousness of Christ, received by faith alone. So their identifying mark or characteristic is that they're looking to the blood of the Lamb.

But then notice as well their assurance of victory. 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. Their assurance of victory is seen not in their power, not in their ability to testify, not in their ability to confess, but in the Christ that's confessed, the Christ that is testified unto, the Christ who has covenanted to bless them with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Jesus Christ. 

And when the church identified by trusting, believing, looking to Jesus in faith, and the church identified as well by having an assurance of victory, what's the end game according to verse 11? What's the end game when those things are inculcated in the hearts of God's people? They don't love their lives to the death. In other words, they have courage. They have boldness. 

when they get to Revelation 13 and this beast rises from the sea and this beast rises from the land. They don't get paralyzed with fear at the thought that there's no way we can function in a society that is governed by two beasts. I take the beast from the sea as a political power and the beast from the land as a religious power. See, the people that don't love their lives to the death, according to verse 11, they did not love their lives to the death. Why? Because they're looking unto Jesus. The fact that they know that Jesus will conquer, they're able to face the beasts. They're able to face the hardships. They're able to face the difficulties and the challenges. They're able to deal. 

So guess what I'm trying to say. The people of God as the blood-bought children of God who have the spirit of God ought to be able to deal in the face of a civil and religious power who is seeking to crush them or in the face of the day-to-day challenges that we have in our homes. in our workplaces, in society, in our church, with one another. The people of God deal. Why? Because Christ is victorious. 

And if you have not believed the gospel, I would encourage you to look unto this child born, this one ascended to the right hand of God most high, and this one who promises to give rest to all the weary and heavy laden ones who come to him in faith. It is a most blessed promise. Those of us who by God's grace have tasted and seen it can testify to you. It's great. It's glorious. There's nothing better than knowing the altogether lovely and the chief among 10,000. There is nothing better than being found in him, not having our own righteousness, which is from the law, but that righteousness, which is from God, received by faith in Jesus. 

Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this passage in Revelation 12 that gives us a behind the scenes look at what has happened that first advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. We look forward to his second coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead. And again, I pray that all of us would be found in him and that you would bless us richly. And we ask this in the name and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.