← Back to sermon library

Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Revelation 12. Revelation 12. A passage that Ralph Davis calls 
the drama behind Christmas. You'll see that as we open up 
the passage before us. The drama behind Christmas. Revelation 
12. I'll just pick up reading in 
verse 1. Now a great sign appeared in heaven. A woman clothed with 
the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland 
of twelve stars. Then, being with child, she cried 
out in labor and in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared 
in heaven. 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 this price 
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 land 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 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. God, thank you for this passage 
of scripture. We pray now for understanding. 
We pray for encouragement and strengthening. Help us to appreciate 
what the apostle is saying in this passage. And we ask in the 
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, here, chapter 12 
is a behind-the-scenes look at what went on with reference to 
Christ's incarnation and ascension. Sometimes we get that. Sometimes 
we get a behind-the-scenes look. I mean, that milk that's in your 
refrigerator came from somewhere. You might take a tour of a dairy 
farm. You might see the inner workings, 
see how or what goes on behind the scenes so that when you reach 
into your refrigerator, you can pour out a glass of milk. I was 
going to use the example of a slaughterhouse, but I don't want to offend anybody's 
delicate sensitivities. I think we're all okay with milk. 
Slaughterhouses, on the other hand, are a bit brutal for some 
of us, me included. I like to just think that the 
meat is there and that no poor animal had to go through any 
suffering so that I may enjoy it. Or you might have heard, 
you know, you all appreciate the sausage, but you don't always 
see how it's made. Well, Revelation 12 is sort of 
like that. It shows us behind the scenes. It gives us a heaven's perspective 
or heaven's perspective on the events concerning the incarnation 
of Christ. and the rage of the devil with 
reference to his arch enemy and our great savior, the Lord Jesus. 
Well, I want to just split up this chapter into three main 
parts. It's a big chapter. There's a lot of details that 
we will not get to. I think just to get the big picture 
is very helpful, especially when we come to the book of Revelation. 
We'll notice, first of all, the players involved, the woman, 
the child and the dragon. For the woman, rather, the dragon 
and the child. Secondly, we'll look at the defeat 
of the dragon, verses 7 to 12. And then finally, the persecution 
of the woman in verses 13 to 17. Well, as we get to chapter 
12, verse 1, the first player is this woman. 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 
12 stars. Now, at first glance, we may think that refers to Mary, 
the mother of Jesus. But I think better it is to understand 
it's the Church of Christ, specifically its Old Covenant manifestation. 
The woman of Revelation 12 is the true Israel, specifically 
the faithful remnants of those in the Old Covenant who believed 
on Jesus Christ and who formed the first fruits of the Church. Christ came as a result of that 
covenant body of believers. David S. Clark has a little commentary 
called The Message from Patmos. He writes, The twelve stars may 
have reference to the twelve tribes of Israel. The true Israel, 
the Zion of God, gives us the incarnate Christ. Out of the 
bosom of the church comes Jesus Christ into the world as the 
promised Messiah who was to be the seed of the woman. So what 
we have here is the church, the people of God, the faithful, 
those who believe, and Christ comes through them. The second 
player is this dragon, and he is described in a manner that 
is quite scary, quite terrifying. What the author does is he uses 
imagery. And he's reaching back into the 
prophet Daniel as he describes the dragon here. Notice in verse 
three, another sign appeared in heaven. Behold, a great fiery 
red dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems 
on his head. So all of this bespeaks of great 
power. It speaks of this evil, malevolent, 
vicious sort of a being. He is described as a dragon. Later on in verses 9 and 12 we 
learn that of course this is the devil. Kind of an interesting 
juxtaposition. Here you have this mighty looking 
dragon, great and fiery as the text describes him. And then 
on the other hand, you have a child. You have a child born. Already 
it almost looks like the deck is stacked. It almost looks as 
if the child is going to be defeated by this great fiery dragon. The conflict between the dragon 
and the male child is certainly the application of Genesis 3.15. 
You remember back in Genesis 3, when God pronounces a curse 
upon the serpent, he also makes a promise concerning salvation. 
He says, 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. One man says this conflict between 
Christ and Satan was announced in Genesis 315, the war between 
the two seeds, the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. 
So what is going on at the incarnation specifically inherits the destruction 
of the innocent children actually is driven by satanic power. The devil is a murderer from 
the beginning. When we see these things fleshed 
out in this world, we know that there is an evil power behind 
it. Paul says we do not wrestle against 
flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. We 
wrestle against unseen forces. However, those unseen forces 
operate and work through, at times, wicked and vicious political 
regimes. And so we are being let in on 
what is going on in this particular section. Notice in verse four, 
the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to 
devour her child as soon as it was born. Now, throughout redemptive 
history, throughout the Bible, we see various attempts by the 
devil to stop the seed of the woman. There's an instance in 
Second Kings, chapter 11, where Athaliah destroys all of the 
heirs to the throne. But a woman in Jehoshabah sees 
this one baby boy named Jehoash and she takes him and she hides 
him from the viciousness of Adaliah. And then we see her cry out treason, 
treason when it's revealed that this young heir to the throne 
is alive. Here's a woman who killed all 
of her progeny so that she could engage in keeping the throne. 
But it was due to the fact of that one woman who spared Jehoash 
and kept the seed of David intact. We see that sort of thing throughout. 
But what the apostle is doing here specifically is pointing 
out the warfare at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ. You 
see that there in verse 4. Notice, the dragon stood before 
the woman who was ready to give birth. Again, it seems as if 
the deck is stacked. I can't imagine that any of you 
ladies in that time when you're about to give birth are ready 
to fight. You're not ready to throw down. 
You're not ready to engage in any sort of a physical confrontation 
or warfare. The whole point behind this is 
to show us how God responds to enemy attacks, how God deals 
with those vicious opposers of his kingdom. If you go back for 
just a moment to Matthew 2, we see the historical application 
of this. Again, what goes on in history, 
what goes on through the wickedness of political regimes is being 
orchestrated by the Prince of Darkness himself. Notice in Matthew 
chapter 2 verse 16, then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived 
by the wise man, was exceedingly angry and he sent forth and put 
to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in 
all its districts from two years old and under, according to the 
time which he had determined from the wise man. Then was fulfilled 
what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, A voice was 
heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, 
Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because 
they are no more. So you see there, Herod got bum 
information. He didn't know how to track down 
the Lord Jesus. So what does he do but issue 
this decree that all children, all males under the age of two 
should be executed, should be terminated, should be wiped out. because of his murderous rage. 
This is what John is indicating in Revelation chapter 12. This 
is the behind the scenes. It is a spiritual conflict. It 
is spiritual warfare. So we learn from this brief excursion 
thus far that the devil is behind the murderous rage against Christ 
and against his people, which oftentimes comes through political 
powers. We need to remember that. Secondly, 
we need to remember that the dragon may rage, but God is in 
sovereign control and brings about his decree according to 
his plan. Though Herod threatened, he was 
not successful in exterminating the Lord Jesus. Though the dragon 
was poised to catch this child and to devour him, God most high 
saw to it that the little one be born, that the little one 
ultimately grow, that he continue in subjection to his parents, 
that he fulfill all the law, that he die at Calvary, and that 
he rise again. God most high is in control, 
and that brings us to consider the child. Notice verse five. She bore a male child who was 
to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Psalm 2, verse 9, lay 
behind this. Ask of me and I will give you 
the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth 
for your possession. You shall rule them with what? 
With a rod of iron. This is speaking about Jesus 
Christ. The devil is enraged against 
Christ. And then notice the next reference 
in verse 5. And her child was caught up to 
God and his throne. That refers to the ascension 
of Christ. Is John just bypassing all the 
other stuff? No, it's sort of like a snapshot. 
When he focuses on the ascension, it presupposes his life. It presupposes 
the ministry. It presupposes the death and 
the resurrection. It is a snapshot. It is a quick 
picture of all that Jesus Christ came to do. He refers to the 
ascension. G.K. Beale says this 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 is His ascent to God's heavenly 
throne after His post-resurrection ministry. This is given in one 
line. So, in verse 5, she bore a male 
child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and her child 
was caught up to God and His throne. That passage right there 
should invoke in your minds the Ascension. Acts chapter 2 refers 
to the Ascension. Therefore, let all the house 
of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Christ, whom 
you persecuted, or this Jesus, whom you persecuted, both Lord 
and Christ. The Old Testament reference is 
in Daniel chapter 7. You may turn there. I suspect 
that at night when we're getting tired, it's good to turn in our 
Bibles so that we don't engage in a yawn fest. what every preacher wants to 
hear. Yeah, that sermon was a real yawn fest. Daniel 7, a passage that unfortunately 
has been misunderstood. It's often taken or interpreted 
as a second coming text, that it's Jesus coming in glory at 
the end of the age to judge and to usher in the eternal state. 
But Daniel 7, 13 and 14 is a reference to the ascension. After Jesus 
died, he rose again. Jesus spent some time on earth 
and then, according to Acts chapter one, he ascended into heaven. When he ascended into heaven, 
he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Notice 
Daniel 713. I was watching in the night visions 
and behold, one like the son of man coming with the clouds 
of heaven. Notice he came to the ancient 
of days. He's not coming from the ancient 
of days, but rather he comes to the ancient of days. This 
is God the father. And they brought him near before 
him. Now notice. Then to him was given 
dominion and glory and the kingdom that all peoples, nations and 
languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting 
dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom the one 
which shall not be destroyed. So Revelation 12, 5 is a reference 
to that blessed event when Jesus ascends on high and is seated 
at the right hand of God the Father. When Jesus is seated 
at the right hand of the Father, the kingdom is given to him. 
Universal dominion, universal empire, universal reign, glory, 
majesty, and honor. And so, all of this summarizes 
in one space the life, the death, the ministry, resurrection, and 
ascension of our Lord. Now, notice what happens. Verse 
6. Kind of an interesting thing 
here. 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 after the ascension, the woman 
then flees. Why? Because there's still persecution. Just because Jesus is seated 
at the right hand of the majesty of the throne on high doesn't 
mean he delivers us from all issues and all difficulties and 
all trials. Rather, what we have is because 
he's at the right hand of the Father and we go through these 
persecutions and issues and trials, he grants us the grace in order 
to do so. Christ is faithful to provide 
for the needs of His church. Christ's ascension on high did 
not mean absolute deliverance for His church from all troubles 
in this world. In fact, John will revisit this 
theme in verse 13. If anything, Christ's decisive 
victory over the dragon causes His fury to go even more so against 
the church. He cannot kill Christ. He cannot 
stop Jesus, he could not thwart the plan of redemption, so the 
next best thing is he'll try to attack the people of God. Persecution is decreed by God, 
is consistent with the entirety of the Bible, and is a result, 
or an effect rather, of Christ's victory over the dragon. Kind 
of an interesting way that we kind of an interesting thing 
as to what goes on here. But before he visits this rage 
of the serpent or the dragon rather against the woman, notice 
verses 7 to 12. Verses 7 to 12. Now he's really 
going to go up into the heavenly places to show us what happened. 
Isn't this great? Isn't this wonderful? Isn't this 
a great book? He's filling us in. That's what 
Revelation means. It's to reveal. A lot of people, 
a lot of Christians even, treat the book of Revelation as one 
big fat mystery. They don't go near it, they don't 
touch it, they don't want to have anything to do with it. 
And yet the whole point of the book is to reveal Jesus Christ 
to us. Seems to me that if we're thinking 
biblically, we'll be often in this book, and especially as 
we appreciate that it sets forth Christ in his victory and glory 
over his enemies. So verses 7 to 12 show us something 
about what happened in heaven. 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, the 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. So this section explains 
the dragon's ejection from heaven and his subsequent rage directed 
toward the church. That's what we need to take from 
this. You know, we hear about persecution 
in other parts of the world. I sent an email out the other 
night about a man in Pakistan. And the head of VOM in the U.S. 
says that Christianity is taking off so much in the Middle East 
that it is angering and outraging those Muslims so that they attack 
the church. Now, I imagine those numbers 
are exaggerated. I imagine those numbers are not 
as consistent as we might like them. Not all the Christian profession 
there is as reformed and as Baptist as we might prefer. You know, 
there is something going on there. In the Orissa state in India, 
they're targeting Christians. Why? Because Christ is exercising 
his sway in that place. It is inevitable. When the gospel 
flourishes, the devil seeks to fight. When the gospel thrives 
or when it begins to take root, the devil is outraged. That's 
the whole point of this passage. He's been cast out. He's a defeated 
foe. But he is going to try in his 
last ditch attempt to try and mess with the church of Jesus 
Christ. He couldn't mess with her head. 
Little does he realize he can't mess with the genuine article 
because the head protects them, watches over them, defends them, 
keeps them. In this section, John provides 
a theological explanation for the casting out of Satan from 
heaven, which is associated with the events concerning Jesus' 
first coming. Notice his victory. Notice the 
initiative taken by Michael and his angels. They fought with 
the dragon. They were on the offensive, not 
the defensive. Michael is mentioned in Daniel 
as a fighter angel, as a strong angel. He throws down with the 
devil. They want to get them out of 
there. I know there's a whole host of questions. What's the 
devil doing there? Why are these bad angels there? 
I'll leave all that for another time. Remember, we're getting 
the big events here. Remember the book of Job? Job 
is before God, speaking with the Father. Kind of an interesting 
thing. A lot of questions, at least 
in this little head, about what the devil does, how he rules, 
how he operates. But what we're to take from this 
is the decisive victory of Christ over the devil. The war was initiated 
by Christ. Notice the devil and his angels 
fought, but were not strong enough to prevail against the lamb and 
against his army. Notice that the rest of the New 
Testament associates this casting out, not with Jesus' second coming, 
but with his first coming. It is the death of Christ. It 
is Calvary. It is those events associated 
with his blood shedding that dealt the death blow to the devil. 
John 12, we'll notice that in just a moment. But look at Colossians 
2. Just look at this. These few passages to see that 
we're not waiting for the devil to be defeated. The devil is 
defeated. Colossians 2, 15, having speaking 
of Jesus, disarm principalities and powers. He made a public 
spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. Hebrews chapter 
two. Hebrews chapter two. You really 
need to get this, this understanding of what the devil is with reference 
to Christ, with what the devil is, with reference to the Church 
of Christ. Notice in Hebrews 2.14, inasmuch 
that as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself 
likewise shared in the same, that through death, not through 
his second coming, not through the physical return. See, a lot 
of people are waiting for the kingdom to be established when 
Jesus returns again. The King is in. He's enthroned, 
he's at the right hand. He defeated the devil at his 
first coming. This is what the text says, that 
through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, 
that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death 
were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Notice over in 1 
John chapter 3. 1 John chapter 3, a very similar 
statement concerning the first coming of our Lord Jesus. 1 John 
chapter 3, verse 7. Little children, let no one deceive 
you. He who practices righteousness 
is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, 
for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, 
the Son of God was manifested. Notice that he might destroy 
the works of the devil. He's been crushed. Isn't that 
what Genesis 3,15 said? That the seed of the woman would 
crush the head of the seed of the serpent. He is defeated. He's been ejected. He's been 
cast out. He has been sent packing. He 
has been given his eviction notice. D.A. Carson commenting on John 
12, verse 31. John 12, verse 31 says, Now is 
the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will 
be cast out. Jesus is referring to his crucifixion. And I, he says, if I be lifted 
up, I will draw all men to myself. Carson says, Although the cross 
might seem like Satan's triumph, It is, in fact, his defeat. In 
one sense, Satan was defeated by the outbreaking power of the 
kingdom of God, even in the ministry of Jesus. But the fundamental 
smashing of his reign of tyranny takes place in the death and 
exaltation of Jesus. He crushed the head of the seed 
of the serpent. He didn't just mess him up a 
little bit. He didn't just injure him. He didn't just damage him 
a little. He crushed his head. He stomped 
him into the ground. This at the cross. Notice, as 
a result of this, there is a shout of victory in verse 10. 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 passed down. That's cause for celebration. It's cause for rejoicing. It's 
cause for delighting. It's cause for you on a Monday 
or a Tuesday or a Wednesday when you pray to rejoice that the 
devil has been cast out, to rejoice that Jesus has defeated him, 
to rejoice that God has saved your guilty soul and has washed 
you in the precious blood of the Lamb. That is what he then 
alludes to the decisive act in this victory found in verse eleven. Notice they overcame him by the 
blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. And 
they did not love their lives to the death. Isn't that a beautiful 
statement? They overcame him by the blood 
of the lamb. How do we overcome the accusation 
of the devil? It's the blood. How do we overcome 
him in our fighting against sin and temptation? It's the blood. 
And then there's that song, there is power, power, power, power, 
wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb. The song's a little 
bit on the cheesy end for me. However, the truth is there. 
We have the blood of Christ. He cleanses us from all sin. 
Remember that scene in Zechariah three. I know we appeal to it 
a lot. Zechariah or Joshua, the high priest and all his fell 
standing before God. And what's the devil doing? He's 
standing there to accuse him. He's standing there to accuse 
him. Isn't that the same picture that we have here? Isn't it good 
news that God doesn't need to sit and listen to the devil? Oh, really, devil? Tell me about 
how wicked they are. Tell me about how wretched they 
are. Devil, I need you to give me understanding. He knows this. 
God understands our depravity. He understands our filth. He 
understands our putridity. That's why he sent the son of 
his love. That's why the blood frees us 
from the accusations of the devil and protects us from his continual 
rage against the church. So we find then in verse 12, 
therefore, rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. But 
then comes this warning. Woe to the inhabitants of the 
earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you having great 
wrath because he knows that he has a short time. Again, the 
idea is that Jesus has defeated him. He can't get Jesus. He can't 
destroy God. He can't dethrone Christ. So 
he turns his attention to the church. That's why the caution, 
the warning is given. Woe to the inhabitants of the 
earth and sea. Notice that in Revelation chapter 
13, two beasts rise up. One comes from the earth, one 
comes from the sea. Revelation 12 is preparing the 
people of God for their onslaught or for the onslaught of the beastly 
enemies of Revelation 13. Keep this stuff in your head. 
Keep this stuff in your mind. Remember the blood of Jesus. 
Remember that the devil has been cast out. And you will see these 
beastly persecutors simply for what they are. They're blowhards. They got no ability. They may 
threaten. They may rage. But God has defanged 
them. God has ripped from them the 
venom and the ability to destroy you and keep you out of heaven. 
That's the whole point in this passage. And then he goes back 
to the persecution of the woman versus 13 to 17, the outrage 
of the dragon. Chilton says the dragon persecutes 
the church precisely because Christ defeated him. So I maintain, 
brethren, when we get these reports about all of this persecution 
upon the people of God, it makes me believe the people of God 
are doing something right. It's when we are never opposed. It's when we are never persecuted. It's when we are only ever enjoying 
blessing and peace and comfort. That's when I believe we ought 
to worry. Because if the church is doing what she's supposed 
to do, the devil will be trying to destroy. The devil will be 
trying to uproot. In fact, in seasons of peace 
and unity, you can almost expect some sort of the rage of the 
serpent, some sort of fury, some sort of an attack, lest we continue 
to glorify and honor the Lord God Most High. This is not an 
uncommon theme in the scripture. How does Ephesians start off? 
Ephesians says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who has blessed us, not with a few, but with every spiritual 
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. In Ephesians 
chapter 2, verse 6, it says that God made us sit together with 
Christ in the heavenly places. You think, well, it's a done 
deal then. Everything's great. All we gotta do now is lay down 
on our bed, put up our feet, sip an iced tea, and off we go 
into heaven. What happens in Ephesians 6, 
verse 10? Finally, my brethren, be strong 
in the Lord. Put on the whole armor of God. 
Just because you've received every spiritual blessing in the 
heavenly places in Christ, just because you are in union with 
Christ, just because you have been blessed immeasurably, that 
does not mean you don't have work to do on earth. and doing 
that work on earth, you will find satanic opposition in order 
to guard against that satanic satanic opposition. You better 
put on the whole armor of God. You better take up that sort 
of the spirit. The same thought is evident and 
prevalent here. Just because Jesus has cast out 
the devil, just because he has taken out his fangs doesn't mean 
he's not going to try to wrap around our legs, try to wrap 
around our necks. Try to choke us out in any way 
that he can. So the Christian must still be 
on guard. He must still be alert. The devil 
is outraged. Notice how the language tells 
us. Now, when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the 
earth, verse 13, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the 
male child. You see that he can't get to 
Christ, so he'll get the church. He can't destroy our head, so 
he goes after the body. Look at the language. 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. This picks up a biblical image. 
This picks up something of the Old Testament. In fact, when 
you read the book of Revelation, as I encourage you to do, think 
Old Testament. It doesn't have the most in terms 
of direct quotation, but it has the most in terms of allusion 
and quotation. In other words, the book of Revelation 
is the most Old Testament-ish book in the New Testament. John 
writes understanding Old Testament theology. John writes using language. This whole idea of the eagles 
taking her to a place of safety is reminiscent of God's care 
for Israel. At Sinai, God says, you have 
seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's 
wings and brought you to myself. God cares for the church. God 
is like an eagle to his church. The plains of Moab prior to the 
entrance into the promised land, Deuteronomy 32, rehearsing God's 
history. God says He found him in a desert 
land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness. He encircled him. 
He instructed him. He kept him as the apple of his 
eye as an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, 
spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its 
wings. So the Lord alone led him. And 
there was no foreign God with him. I think I heard one time 
that within the eagle family, the father eagle is especially 
compassionate. Not typically the case in the 
in the animal kingdom, usually, you know, the father does the 
deed and then off he goes and does whatever he does. But apparently, 
this is what I've heard, that when the mother eagle is trying 
to teach the young eagle how to fly, I guess they push him 
out of the nest and off he goes. Well, if it doesn't look like 
he's going to take flight, father eagle will swoop down and catch 
him. He doesn't just say, oh, it's too bad for him. He'll learn. He'll learn his lesson. The eagle 
is a sign of compassion, a sign of protection, a sign of deliverance. So instead of deducing from this 
that God sends the devil to the earth and now says to the church, 
now you all got to deal with it. God is right there carrying 
her, providing for her, tending to her. His design is that we 
function in this world as his people, dealing with the trial, 
dealing with the persecution, resting always on his grace and 
on his help. That is what's in view here. And then notice 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. Again, Old Testament imagery. One commentator says the woman 
is treated as the congregation of Israel saved from Egypt, lifted 
by the Lord on eagle's wings and brought to Sinai. The dragon's 
pursuit of her by throwing a water flood after her is a generalized 
image for the action of Pharaoh, who commands Israelite children 
and especially Moses to be washed down the Nile, comes out after 
escaping Israel with a hose, and counts on the Red Sea to 
shut Israel in. God uses the earth itself to 
protect His blessed church. And then it ends. 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 he has tried with the child 
and he has failed. He tries to fight Michael in 
heaven. And what happens? He fails. He goes after the church. And 
what happens? You ready? He fails. What does 
John want you to understand? That the book of Revelation is 
not a manual of victory for the devil. It is a picture of his 
defeat. It's a victory manual for Christ. Revelation chapter 12. You know 
how you see those pictures sometime a guy thinks he's kicking a ball 
and it's a rock and then it says fail, you know, or a guy is doing 
something that should just work. And it looks like he's going 
to meet with great calamity. And it says fail. You've never 
seen those pictures. Nobody's ever emailed you one 
of those fail. That's what Revelation 12 has 
right over the heading fail for the devil. This is an email picture 
of the devil failing, failing, failing and failing. So why do 
Christians take this book and are so afraid of it? Because 
it teaches us about how horrific our enemy is. So it displays 
that he's horrific. It displays that he has rage 
and fury. But it always underscores the 
victory of Jesus. Do not avoid revelation. You are cheating yourself. You 
are gypping yourself. This book shows us Jesus on the 
throne more than any other book in the New Testament. Throne 
is mentioned several times over in this particular book. It wants 
to encourage the Christian church that Jesus is in charge, that 
the devil has failed, and that God's people are to be faithful. So we learn from Revelation 12 
the utter defeat of the devil. We learn from Revelation 12 the 
triumph of the Lamb. specifically through His blood, 
specifically through those events connected to His first coming, 
His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension 
on high, the fact that He rules over the nations with a rod of 
iron. Jesus is the King of kings. Jesus 
is the Lord of lords. Jesus is the conqueror. We learn as well, thirdly, that 
there is persecution for the church. This ought not to surprise 
us. Even though there's victory, 
even though there's triumph, God uses this for the good of 
his people. You might wonder how that possibly 
works. But if you look at the history 
of the church, generally speaking, the church grows best when the 
blood of the martyrs has covered the sea of gospel preaching. 
And then finally, I want us to consider the identifying characteristic 
of the church. Verse 17 is an interesting statement. 
The dragon was enraged with the woman and he went to make war 
with the rest of her offspring. Who's the offspring? They keep 
the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 
In other words, they believe the gospel, they believe the 
truth, they have the testimony of Jesus Christ, they are believers. What is true of a believer? They 
obey. They don't whine about the law. 
They don't grumble about the law. They don't say, oh, how 
I hate the law. No, they love the law. It's a 
delight to them. They hear their Savior say in 
John 14, 50, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments. 
They hear their apostles say in Romans 13, oh, no one, anything 
but to love. How do we know love? Well, we 
look at the Decalogue. Don't murder. Don't commit adultery. 
Don't steal. Don't lie. Don't cheat. Don't 
covet. Brethren, law-keeping is not a bad thing. It is when we try to gain salvation, 
but when we're justified freely by His grace through faith in 
Jesus Christ, the natural result will be, oh, how I love your 
law. That is to characterize the church. That is to typify the church. Her offspring are those who keep 
the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Well, let us pray. Father, how 
we thank you for this section of scripture, how we thank you 
for this behind the scenes look at what Jesus did in defeating 
the devil. We praise you, God, that you 
have blessed us richly. We praise you, God, for the fact 
that you have shown us the glory of Christ. And we pray that we 
would not avoid this book or stay away from this book, but 
we would read it and be encouraged and be blessed. John pronounces 
a blessing upon those who even read the book of Revelation. 
God, I pray that we would love it and that we would study it 
and that it would be food for our souls. And I ask now, God, 
that you would go with your people here, that you would watch over 
us in this coming week. Bless those who are not able 
to be with us this evening. Bring us together again that 
we may worship you in spirit and in truth. And we pray through 
Christ the Lord. Amen.