Father, we ask that your word written would enter deep into our hearts.
Father, you know even this morning,
Father, you know even this morning the problems we face.
You know, Father, the things that we face that seem insurmountable.
Father, you know those of us who are waking up in the middle of the night
and it just seems, Father, as if there are snakes and dragons
that are just eating us up and don't allow us to sleep.
And Father, you know the dark places in many of our lives.
And we thank and praise you, Father, that you know us perfectly and completely,
that you know us better than we know ourselves,
that, Father, you even know every dream we have at night
that we do not remember when we wake up.
And knowing us so perfectly, still you loved us and love us
and sent your Son to die upon the cross
to be our Savior and our Redeemer.
So, Father, you know us perfectly.
We invite you to pour out your Holy Spirit upon us this morning
in the point of our deepest need
and that you might, we ask that you might bring your word deep into our lives
so that we, Father, might be freed up to serve you and bring you glory
and to bear fruit for your great glory in our daily lives.
And this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
Please be seated.
So, I grew up in a very conservative Baptist-type church
that regularly had prophecy conferences.
And I don't know if any of you have,
maybe there's still probably churches like this,
but at least once a year we would have a prophecy conference
and the visiting evangelist or whatever,
he would stand there and he would talk about
how these things going on in the world,
you know, if you go to Revelation chapter 18 verse 5,
that's what's talked about here.
And go to Ezekiel and you go to Daniel
and it would be all these very elaborate things
that were going on in the world
and these elaborate interpretations
that were going on, you know, from the Bible.
And I have to confess,
and I don't mean to put anybody down here,
but I have to confess that I found it very confusing
as a child and as a teenager.
Part of the reason I found it so confusing
as a child and a teenager
was because when I read the verse,
it didn't seem to match up with what Russia was doing
or something like that.
And one of the consequences of this,
but I just sort of listened to it,
you know, I'd be a bit spellbound,
a bit skeptical,
but a bit overwhelmed by it.
I was also a bit curious
by the fact that books that people all seem to like,
that when they didn't happen the way they'd written,
that nobody would ever say,
I'm really sorry,
I guess I misunderstood the Bible.
And so it's all very confusing.
And one of the consequences of this for me
was that when I became ordained,
I was afraid to preach on the book of Revelation.
Because I'd just be honest with you,
I'd think, good grief,
there's no way I can try to figure out
all of this stuff
and sort of stand up to the congregation
and have my Bible in one hand,
so to speak,
and have the National Post
and the Citizen in the other hand
and be able to say,
you see this part over here
and then you close it
and then you say,
that's what this piece here is.
And I was just too,
I just didn't think I could do it.
And then about four or five years ago,
I don't want to sound overly mystical,
but it was as if God gave me a bit of a smack down
and said you have to start facing
some of your fears in preaching.
Those of you who go to churches,
every one of your clergy
have things they're afraid to speak about.
And if they tell you they don't,
they're probably not telling you the truth.
And so one of the things that you can do
as a gift to your pastor
is that pray that they will have courage
to confront their fears in preaching.
And so I realized
that it was God sort of saying,
George, you have to deal with
some of your fears of preaching.
So in fact, to be honest,
some of the books in the Bible,
I knew instantly
some of the things
that I was afraid to preach on.
I was afraid to preach on Ecclesiastes
because it just seemed
like on one hand I really liked it,
but I'm prone to depression, you know,
because it's like everything's bad,
everything's going to get worse,
and you're going to die.
Like that's the sort of book.
Like John Maxwell doesn't write books
on happy thoughts from Ecclesiastes for leaders,
although he should.
It would really probably help leaders
if they spent more time in Ecclesiastes.
And I realized I was afraid to preach on
1 and 2 Timothy
because I'd have to talk about
the ordination of women,
and I was afraid that I would
lose people over that.
And one of the other books
that I was afraid to preach on
was the book of Revelation.
And so I've preached through Ecclesiastes,
and I've preached through 1 and 2 Timothy,
and I've preached through Revelation.
And a big surprise to me
when I finally started to preach
through the book of Revelation
is that in the center of the book
of Revelation,
I found out that there was
a Christmas story.
And I discovered this in March,
which is when I preached it.
But to my great surprise,
I discovered that there is
a Christmas story.
And so in fact,
here's the title for the Christmas story.
Andrew, if you could put it up.
The Baby That the Dragon Wanted to Eat.
I don't know why
there's not storybooks about this.
You know, just think of all the dialogue.
You could have the dragon saying,
I hate that baby,
but my, it looks tasty.
And, sorry, I'm not allowed to say that.
Did I just say that?
I'll be on the tape, right?
You know, there's all these things
you could play with,
but it's actually,
there's a story in the Bible,
in the book of Revelation,
and you really should call it
The Baby That the Dragon Wanted to Eat.
And, you know,
maybe some of you folks
that are gifted in art,
like, here's a children's book
that nobody's exploited.
And maybe the dance troupe,
after hearing this sermon,
will say,
next year,
our Christmas ballet
will be about the baby
that the dragon wanted to eat.
They could have, you know,
the larger girls,
all linking arms,
and the tiniest little girl.
In fact, maybe they could bring in
a little two-year-old
to cower while they danced over her
and imitated trying to eat her.
And, I mean,
there's all sorts of potential.
But there actually is,
in the book of Revelation,
a Christmas story,
and it really is about a dragon
that wants to eat a baby.
Now, before I read this,
some of you are going to say,
whoa, George.
Before you even say that,
you might say to your wife
or your friend, Martha,
I knew we shouldn't come
to an Anglican church.
They're just going to ruin
the Bible for people.
They're completely disrespectful
to the Bible.
I knew we shouldn't come here.
Everybody knows
that the book of Revelation
is primarily about the way
they talk about it
at prophecy conferences.
But here's the thing.
I'm not going to prove it to you.
If you want,
you can go through my sermon archives
and hear my first sermon
on the book of Revelation
and some little videos about it.
But here's the thing
I discovered
about the book of Revelation.
If you could put up
the next point, Andrew,
that would be great.
Revelation is a book
about Jesus,
who he is,
what he has done,
is doing,
and will do.
That's what Revelation 1
tells you,
amongst other things,
that the book of Revelation
is actually a book
about Jesus.
And it talks about
who he is,
what he has done,
what he is doing today,
and what he will do.
So in other words,
people who do talk
about Jesus coming back,
I'm not,
I,
listen folks,
I'll stand before you
right now,
and I have absolutely
no embarrassment
or shame about it.
Jesus really lived,
he really existed,
he really died on the cross,
he really entered into death
and tasted everything
there is to taste of death
with nothing left over,
and on the third day
he really did
rise from the dead,
he wasn't resuscitated,
he defeated death,
he defeated that
which causes death,
which is sin,
he defeated every hostile
spiritual power,
he defeated hell itself,
he stands triumphant
on the other side of death,
he rose to heaven,
and he will come back again,
and I have no hesitation
about saying that,
that's what the Bible teaches.
And we should know
the blessed hope
that God is sovereign
over our world,
and that Jesus will return,
and he will bring
all things to their proper end,
and their proper conclusion,
and then he will judge
the living and the dead,
and then there will be
a new heaven
and a new earth,
where those who have put
their faith and trust in Jesus
will live forever with him.
That is the blessed
Christian hope.
And so for people
who talk about things
at the end of the world,
I'm not disagreeing
with them at all.
What I am saying
is that the book of Revelation,
if you read it,
knowing that it's a book
about Jesus,
about who he is,
what he has done,
which is why it can have
a Christmas story in it,
why it can talk about
the crucifixion,
what he is doing
and will do,
that's why the book
of Revelation,
all the way through,
at the beginning and the end,
it says you've got to keep
the words of this book.
You can't keep words
that are only talking
about the future,
but you can keep the words
if it's talking about Jesus,
helping you to remember
and understand
what he did in the past,
what he's doing around you today
and what he's going to do
in the future.
So that's what the book
of Revelation is all about.
So let's just read the story
and so if you have your Bibles,
it's Revelation chapter 12
verses 1 to 6.
If you don't have your Bibles,
there's a couple of extra Bibles
over there
and I think maybe Neil
can get you some extra Bibles
and you're welcome
to follow along.
Revelation 12, 1 to 6.
Here's the Christmas story
or the baby
that the dragon wanted to eat
and it goes like this.
I'm going to read it through
and then we'll sort of
just sort of process it
and camp there for a while
and try to sort of puzzle over it
because it's a bit of a,
well, you'll hear.
Revelation 12, 1 to 6.
And a great sign
appeared in heaven,
a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet
and on her head
a crown of 12 stars.
She was pregnant and crying.
She was crying out in birth pains
and the agony of giving birth.
And another sign appeared in heaven.
Behold, a great red dragon
with seven heads and ten horns
and on his heads seven diadems.
His tail swept down
a third of the stars of heaven
and cast them to the earth.
And the dragon stood before the woman
who was about to give birth
so that when she bore her child,
he might devour it.
She gave birth to a male child,
one who was to rule all the nations
with a rod of iron.
But her child was caught up to God
and to his throne.
And the woman fled into the wilderness
where she has a place prepared by God
in which she is to be nourished
for 1,260 days.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
So some of you are going to say,
whoa, okay, George,
that's really crazy.
That's a crazy story.
And, you know, frankly, George,
it bothers me that God
would speak in these ways.
Like, why can't God
just get to the point?
Like, why can't he just speak plainly?
Like, you know, I can sort of see why
George, you were afraid
of preaching about this
because, you know, frankly,
like Luke, you know,
the baby in the stable
and the shepherds
and the three wise men.
Some of those things
didn't actually happen in the Bible.
But, you know,
that's a very comforting type of story.
Like, why doesn't,
like, why does,
like, this just can't even be in the Bible.
It's just sort of,
it's all crazy imagery,
like dragons and just,
why on earth,
why can't God just speak plainly?
Just like a plain,
why can't he be as clear
and plain as a bank machine?
You know, press this button
and this button
and just nice and simple and clear.
Well, here's the thing.
Andrew, if you could put up the point.
The true and living God
truly speaks
and he is not stuck
on one genre.
The true and living God
truly speaks
and he is not stuck
on one genre.
So, you know,
here's the thing.
If you were to say,
you know,
why can't God be,
like, a bit clearer
and like,
and simple
and stuff like that?
Well, that sort of works for you.
But, you know,
frankly,
we got to get over ourselves.
You know,
I don't want to depress you,
but you're not the center
of the universe.
And God doesn't have to organize
all of his communication,
every word he says,
just to please you.
Like,
why would God
have to do that for you?
But, you see,
here's the thing is
that God understands
that people hear
in different ways.
That's why,
if you look in the Bible,
there's like laws.
Because some people,
they start to understand laws.
I know a person,
this is true,
and she was a lawyer.
She came to faith
by hearing Jim Packer
speak a sermon
on the book of Leviticus
about laws.
But that shouldn't be
a surprise.
She's a lawyer.
And all of a sudden,
she said,
all these things
in her head clicked,
you know?
And some of you
are more philosophically inclined,
and so, you know,
you like things like
the book of Romans.
And some of you
are more mystically inclined,
and so you like 1 John.
And some of you
like talking in riddles,
so you like the book of Proverbs,
or you like, you know,
you like the book of James.
And some people like
just simple narrative stories,
so there's things
in the Old Testament,
the Gospels,
and you really like them.
And that's fine.
And some people,
you know,
walking to London
doesn't do anything.
They sort of go,
snore.
Snore.
But one foot up,
one foot down,
that's the way
to London town.
They go,
whoa,
better rhythm.
Some imagery.
That sounds better
than I walked to London.
One foot up,
one foot down,
that's the way
to London town.
And for some people,
they don't want
to come out
and say it,
but frankly,
pastoral scenes
from the book of Luke
with shepherds
and, you know,
the baby,
and they don't want
to tell their friends
that they find it
a bit boring.
But then you say,
there be dragons.
And some people,
their ears
and eyes light up.
There be dragons?
Yes,
and angels
in battle.
And dragons
that are real dragons
like smog,
not like
I want to train
a dragon cartoons.
Big,
scary,
hulking dragons
that eat
people.
and all of a sudden,
they get interested
and they get excited.
And that's the fact
the matter is,
is that we got
to get over ourselves,
is that God's really,
I believe that
the true and living God
truly speaks,
but he's not stuck
on one genre.
And so for those
who,
there be dragons,
wake up.
Revelation 12,
1 to 6,
is your version
of the Christmas story
that helps you
to see
the dark
side
of the whole
story
of the book
of the birth
of Jesus.
I mean,
if you think about it
for a second,
if you,
like lots of people
read Matthew 1,
but very,
very few churches
spend very much time
on Matthew 2
because it's a little
bit awkward
preaching about
the slaughter
of the innocents.
It's like when you
preach the Psalms
and you stop
at the,
a little bit
towards before
the end of Psalm
137
because smashing
the heads of babies,
it's just a little bit,
well, frankly,
not very devotional
and uplifting
and we want to try
to lift people up.
But,
the slaughter
of the innocents
after the birth
of Jesus,
as soon as the powers
find that the baby
is born,
they want to kill
the baby
and every baby
just to make sure
they got that baby.
And as soon as Jesus
begins his public ministry,
the first thing
that happens
is he's tempted
by the devil
in the wilderness.
And Judas,
Satan enters
into Judas
to betray Jesus
so that Jesus
will die upon the cross.
And Pilate
and the others,
they know,
God speaks to Pilate
in a dream,
but Pilate
is going to,
he's going to allow
Jesus to be,
die a horrible death
and there is
in fact evil
in the midst
of this story
of the birth
of the baby
in Bethlehem
and John
in his book
of Revelation
is our God.
And for some people
who think in images,
this is the other
thing about it,
the way for them
to understand
this baby
and maybe to understand
the birth of this baby
and maybe start
to begin to understand
their life
is to picture
some people
would have been
shorter back then.
And I think
the average lifespan
for commoners
like Mary and Joseph
would have been 30.
And so picture
some young woman
about this tall
and very slight
because people
would have been
very skinny back then
and by our standards,
this tall
and slight
and maybe just 14
and heavy
with child.
And there is,
even a two-year-old
is more nimble
and better able
to protect themselves
than a heavily
pregnant woman
going into labor.
Two-year-old
can scamper
under the bed
to hide.
You're like this
with child
in labor pains.
You're not going to
scamper under any bed.
And picture the woman
heavy with child
going into labor
and smog
the dragon,
if you've seen
the hobbit,
standing in front
towering
over
the tiny little girl
with his mouth open,
their mouths open
because there's
seven heads
and they're snapping
at each other
because every head
wants to eat the baby.
And yet that dragon
is defeated by God.
For some of us
we think in images.
Some of us
in the beginning
was the Word
and the Word
was with God
and the Word
was God.
He was in the beginning
with God.
All things were made
through him
and without him
nothing was made
that was made.
That lights our fire.
For others
the image,
the visible,
visceral image
is what gets us
through life.
And this story
is for you
and for me.
So let's look
at this story.
The power
of the image.
Let's look
at verse 1 and 2.
And it begins again
with the young woman.
And it goes like this.
And a great sign
appeared in heaven.
A woman
clothed with the sun
with the moon
under her feet
and on her head
a crown of 12 stars.
Just pause there
for a second.
One of the things
I discovered
when I actually
overcame my fear.
I trusted God
that I could preach
through the book
of Revelation.
Is there is no book
in the New Testament
that is more saturated
with the Old Testament.
Some of you
have read scholars
like Elaine Pagels.
She's all wrong.
I mean,
I think John
played with pagan imagery.
I mean,
he wasn't an idiot
and he would have been
surrounded by images
from Rome
and Greek images
and fearsome gods
and goddesses
but to understand him
you have to understand
that his mind,
that God uses a mind
that is completely
and utterly saturated
with the Old,
what we call
the Old Testament.
And that one of the problems
when we read
the book of Revelation
is that all the way
through it
he's taking a part
of a verse from Isaiah
and a part of a verse
from this
and a part of a verse
from that
and a part of a verse
from here
and a part of a verse
from that
and he takes these
little bits and pieces
of verses
scattered all throughout
the Old Testament
and it's as if God
as the Holy Spirit
comes upon him
he takes them all
and he puts them
in his hand
and he sort of does
like this
like a conjurer
he throws it up
and out of it
comes a woman
with the crown
and dragons
and all of that
and it's scattered
from when we talked
about the dragon
he's talking about
images from a whole
pile of different psalms
and he's talking
about the book of Job
and he's talking
about Daniel
he's talking about Ezekiel
and he's taking
all of these little bits
and pieces
of verses
and whoa
there's a dragon
and when you read
and hear this
there was
verse 1
and a great sign
appeared in heaven
a woman clothed
with the sun
with the moon
under her feet
and on her head
a crown of 12 stars
the first thing
you think of
is Genesis 37
and then there's
a whole pile
of other imagery
which has mingled
in with this
the woman
is Israel
the woman
is the Jewish people
that's who
the woman is
it's not all
going to be
a one-on-one
correspondence
and in fact
as we're going
to see
the image
of the woman
here is going
to be one
of those images
that John
like a poet
he takes the image
and he keeps the image
but in every time
the image
is reintroduced
he changes the focus
just a little bit
he turns it slightly
to give something
very multifaceted
and very powerful
but if you read
Genesis 37
and you launch off
take a good commentary
the woman
is Israel
how odd of God
to choose the Jews
you read the Old Testament
he didn't choose
the greatest people
the strongest people
the wisest people
when he called
Abraham
he called a man
who worshipped
the moon
he called a man
who worshipped
the moon
and God
right from
Genesis chapter 3
has promised
that through
his people
a people
that he calls
out by his
great power
for his great glory
that out of this
one people
on the whole planet
a Messiah
will come
and so the woman
is Israel
verse 2
and she was pregnant
and was crying out
in birth pains
and the agony
of giving birth
now the images
of a woman
in pain
and giving birth
longing for the Messiah
to come
and now the fearsome
image
of the dragon
verse 3
and another sign
appeared in heaven
behold
a great
red
dragon
with 7 heads
and 10 horns
and on his heads
7 diadems
as I said
John has taken
bits and pieces
of Daniel
Ezekiel
Job
Isaiah
and a whole
parts of Isaiah
and a whole
pile of songs
taken bits and pieces
and fragments
of verses
and he wants
his Christian readers
and his Jewish readers
who would become
Christians
to see
and have a sense
about how he's
taken all of these
bits and pieces
of verses
and he's put them
together
in this powerful story
I mean not him
by his creativity
because it's God
the Holy Spirit
that's speaking
through John
and causing this
to be written
and the hope
is that
as you start
oh gosh
that's Genesis 3
and that's that
part of Isaiah
and that's that
part of Daniel 7
and that's that
part of Job
and then you see
the story
so that when you
go back and read
Genesis and Job
and Isaiah
and the Psalms
and Daniel
you don't just
it's like a powerful
conjurer
that the images
help you to understand
Revelation 12
and then Revelation 12
you go back
and you help you
to understand the Bible
in a whole fresh
new way
all these passages
as you read them
in your devotions
you're coming along
and whoa
Revelation 12
that's an image
that's connected
to that
and this isn't
just like a tiny
little dragon
if you have seen
the movie
the Hobbit movies
think of smog
that's what John
wants you to think of
only smog
with seven heads
towering
over this
and then in verse 4
his tail swept down
a third of the stars
of heaven
and cast them
to the earth
and the dragon
stood before the woman
who was about to give birth
so that when she
bore her child
he might
devour
it
and if
if John
is going back
to Israel
talking about the woman
here he's going back
to Isaiah 14
and other parts
in the Old Testament
and he's describing
the dragon
as the devil
and he's describing
Lucifer's fall
from heaven
and taking a third
of the angels
with him
because in the book
of Revelation
generally stars
refer to angels
so Mary is ancient
he is now
pointing to something
primordial
before Genesis 3
the fall of Lucifer
and one third
of the angels
leaving heaven
in rebellion
against God
and becoming
what we now know
of as demons
and the prince
of the demons
is the dragon
standing
over
Israel
about to give birth
to
this
baby
and it's
just before we get
anything
any further
in this
here's the thing
some of you
are saying
George
that's
you can't
really believe
that the devil
is real
like you're just
talking about
psychological processes
no no no no
and if you could
put up the next
point
even though
John is using
very very powerful
poetic imagery
he wants us
to understand
that the devil
is real
and he is evil
and he affects
real things
but he is
really
and truly
doomed
even though
John is using
this
fanciful imagery
if we walk
away from this
thinking that
they're just
metaphors
and stories
of inner struggle
against temptation
or that it's
like in the
Soviet Union
when poets
talked about
and playwrights
talked about
communism
and used
a veiled language
and that John
is talking about
imperial power
if you walk
away from that
you haven't
heard
John believes
and knows
that the dragon
is real
the devil
is real
and he is
evil
and he affects
real things
but he is
really and
truly doomed
and the other
thing Andrew
if you could
put up the
next point
is that the
dragon hates
all earthly
and heavenly
life
the devil
hates
all earthly
and heavenly
life
that's what
he wants us
to understand
go back
in your devotions
and read
Ephesians 6
and the fact
of the matter
is that for
many of us
who are in
the Christian
church
we're like
a drunk
falling off
a horse
first we try
to get on
the horse
and we fall
off on one
side
and then we
try to get
on the horse
and we fall
off the other
side
and the
Christians
habitually
we either
end up
acting as if
we're rationalists
and empiricists
as if all
there is
are things
that you can
count and
touch and
think through
and manipulate
with your
power
and we
completely
and utterly
act as if
God is
distant
and demons
don't exist
and there are
no angels
and prayer
doesn't work
and then in
reaction to that
like a drunk
falling off a
horse
all of a sudden
Christians
start to act
like pagans
and they
see everything
is filled
with demons
there's demons
everywhere
they can't
even take a
step on the
sidewalk
without seeing
a demon
and everything
is caused
by a demon
and we become
just like pagans
who think that
there's a God
or a God
in every living
type of thing
and then in
reaction to that
like a drunk
getting on a
horse we fall
off the other
side and we
become like
rationalists
and empiricists
and the Bible
believes in
reason
and believes
in evidence
and the Bible
believes in
minds and
thinking
but the Bible
also teaches
that there are
devils
and there are
demons
and to ignore
them is to
live an
impractical
life
because if in
fact there are
demons
then to deal
with them
is practical
and to ignore
them is foolish
and impractical
and so the
point of the
image is to
clarify to us
that there is
evil
intelligences
which affect
things and
make a difference
and we're not
to brood about
them and not
to live in fear
of them because
they're doomed
but we are to
deal with them
when we become
aware of the
fact that they
are there
just as a
bit of an
aside
during the
first thing I
do during the
song set
if you see me
praying
is I
I pray that
God will bind
the demons
that are present
I don't do a
worship service
without praying
that
please pray that
too
you should do
it in your
small groups
you should do
it with your
youth groups
not necessarily
out loud but
just privately
the devil never
misses church
and he never
misses a bible
study
so deal with
it
and then use
your mind and
all to try to
understand the
word but pray
that the demons
are bound and
cast out and
that Jesus be
present and that
the Holy Spirit
fall and that
God would be
honored and that
he will be
glorified and that
people will be
freed and that
they will be
delivered and that
the word will
bear fruit in
our lives
pray like that
because God is
not dead and he
is not distant
he hears
he listens
and he can act
and Jesus has
defeated the
dragon
have I gotten a
little bit ahead of
the story
sorry
where am I in my
notes
look back to
verse 4 again
or 5
sorry now we're
up to 5
she gave birth to
a male child
one who was to
rule all the
nations with a
rod of iron
but her child was
caught up to God
and to his throne
and the woman
fled into the
wilderness where
she has a place
prepared by God
in which she is
to be nourished
for three and a
half years
1260 days
now go back to
5
remember I told
you that
see I have to
confess that
I'm a
like my
personal favorite
I mean I can
handle philosophical
types of things
I have to say
I like things like
John in the
beginning was the
word and the
word was with
God and the
word was God
he was with God
in the beginning
all things were
made through him
and without him
nothing was made
that was made
I like things
like that but I
love stories
fundamentally
that's what I
enjoy and I
love finding a
really good novel
that I can just
get immersed in
and I can be
one of those
people that stays
up an hour or
two after their
bedtime because they
get gripped by a
narrative or a
story like a
story but in
Apocalypse
in John you
have to read it
slowly and what
happens here with
the image if you
think about it the
image is originally
that of the woman
of Israel and
Israel is going to
give birth to the
Messiah but a
nation can't do
that so John
takes the image and
twists it just
slightly I don't
know how many of
you have seen the
movie the series
Band of Brothers
this isn't a
spoiler alert I
don't think but in
the Band of
Brothers at the
very towards the
very very end of
the movie the
surviving soldiers
they're doing an
activity because I
don't want to spoil
the end if you
haven't seen it but
all of a sudden it's
a very moving thing
that happens you see
the actors you know
doing whatever they're
doing and all of a
sudden it focuses on
each actor at a time
and it's a surprise
the first time then
you're prepared for it
and the actor's face
changes and you see
the soldier whose
life they told he
lives today it's very
movie actually the
same face and all
of a sudden it's a
different face and
it's the real person
and so what John
does here in this
in this part with
the woman is a
nation on one
hand can't give
birth to a child a
woman gives birth to
a child and so all
of a sudden here in
verse 5 it's Mary
it's Matthew 1
it's Luke 2
Luke 1 and 2
it's Mary
faithful Israel
has come down to
this one young
Jewish girl
who does what God
has wished that his
chosen people would
always do
that when she is
asked to do
something that will
bring salvation to
the human race
and bring God
great glory
she says
be it unto me
according to
your will
the cry that God
desires
his faithful
people
to call out
to him
is voiced
by a young
Jewish girl
in the corner
of the Roman
Empire
and from
her
the long
promised
Jewish
Messiah
who is
the Savior
not only
of the
Jewish
people
but of
the whole
world
is born
and here
in verse 5
God
through John
puts together
the entire
story of Jesus
in these few
words
and the point
of the story
is that
here's the
here's smog
with seven
heads
and he's
bigger than
this building
if he was
here
the only way
he could
enter into
this building
is by
smashing
the roof
and smashing
the walls
and there's
this slight
Jewish woman
here
and she's
heavy with
birth
and she's
giving birth
to this
child
and the
seven heads
are over
this young
woman
now lying
down
and the
heads
are snapping
at each
other
because each
wants to be
the one
to eat
the baby
and the
baby
that's born
Psalm 2
it's all
of the
prophecies
of the
Messiah
the one
who will
rule
the nations
and more
than rule
the nations
because he
will be
the one
who saves
the people
from every
nation
and every
people group
and the
baby
is
and all
of a
sudden
it's
speeded
up
that's the
way
John
writes it
it's
speeded
up
he's
going
to be
born
he's
going
to live
he's
going
to have
his
public
ministry
he's
going
to perform
miracles
he's
going
to teach
brilliant
things
he's
going
to die
upon
the
cross
he's
going
to
taste
all
there
is
to
taste
of
death
he's
going
to rise
triumphant
on the
third
day
he's
going
to prove
that he
is
alive
to his
disciples
he's
going
to
ascend
into
heaven
it's
all
in
one
big
thing
and
Smog
the
dragon
is
confounded
he doesn't
eat the
baby
the baby
is with
the
father
and he
will
return
and with
the
dragon's
inability
to
defeat
a
small
pregnant
woman
and a
small
tiny
baby
the
dragon
is
doomed
the
dragon
is
doomed
and
then we
show up
in the
story
did you
know
that we
show up
in the
story
John
in
particular
in the
book of
revelation
has us
now show
up in
the
story
look at
verse
six
and the
woman
fled
into
the
wilderness
where
she
has
a
place
prepared
by
God
in
which
she
is
to
be
nourished
for
1260
days
remember
I said
how
John
takes
this
image
of
the
woman
and the
woman
is
Israel
Genesis
37
and a
whole
pile
of
other
imagery
and then
it's
not
just
Israel
in
general
as an
abstraction
it comes
down
to one
young
woman
the same
woman
and now
we see
God's
faithful
people
but
God's
faithful
people
are
changed
Andrew
if you
could
put up
the next
point
the next
woman
we
followers
of
Jesus
are
remnant
Israel
and
grafted
in
pagans
I'm not
doing
replacement
theology
here
folks
but
just
work
with
me
with
my
points
okay
that's
who
this
new
woman
is
God's
faithful
people
and
God's
faithful
people
are
Jewish
believers
in our
midst
and the
rest
of us
my
Jewish
brothers
and
sisters
their
ancestors
were
with
Moses
and
with
David
mine
stripped
ourselves
naked
painted
ourselves
blue
and
danced
like
fools
before
the
Romans
sorry
it's
not
quite
equal
but
somehow
or
another
God
takes
us
stripped
naked
painted
blue
pagan
taunting
pagans
and
grafts
us
into
Israel
and
we
are
that
woman
after
the
death
and
birth
and
death
and
resurrection
of
Jesus
and
his
ascension
who
are
waiting
for
his
return
we
are
that
woman
and
we
go
to
the
wilderness
where
God
has
prepared
a
place
for
us
to
be
nourished
if
you
could
put up
the
final
point
Andrew
we
the
followers
of
Jesus
dwell
in
God's
sanctuary
in
the
wilderness
to
bear
witness
until
he
returns
we
followers
of
Jesus
dwell
in
God's
sanctuary
in
the
wilderness
to
bear
witness
until
he
returns
you
see
the
word
here
which
is
translated
as
place
it's
the
exact
same
word
that's
in
John
14
let
not
your
hearts
be
troubled
I
go
to
prepare
in
my
father's
house
are
many
mansions
I
go
to
prepare
a
place
for
you
that
word
place
is
the
same
word
here
it's
a
word
of
sanctuary
where
God
is
and
where
you
are
gods
and
we
today
live
in a
wilderness
where
we
cannot
in a
sense
provide
our
own
resources
but
in
a
place
where
we
cannot
prepare
our
own
resources
we
who
are
followers
of
Jesus
don't
live
without
resources
we
live
in
a
sanctuary
with
the
living
God
himself
who
nourishes
us
and
in
this
place
of
sanctuary
where
we
are
nourished
if
you
go
on
and
read
the
rest
of
revelation
12
the
dragon
is
still
trying
to
devour
us
but
in
the
face
of
the
dragon
who
tries
to
devour
us
in
the
wilderness
we
are
in
the
sanctuary
with
God
where
he
nourishes
us
and
we
are
called
in
the
face
of
the
dragon's
roar
and
with
his
breath
upon
us
to
know
that
the
breath
of
the
Father
the
Holy
Spirit
dwells
within
us
and
we
bear
witness
to
Jesus
in
a
place
even
like
our
country
which
is
increasingly
given
over
to
a
culture
of
death
we
are
to
be
a
sanctuary
of
life
of
deliverance
from
demons
and
a
sanctuary
of
life
where
we
are
nourished
by
God
just
in
closing
some
of
you
might
say
George
if
you
knew
how
dragonish
I
am
all
I
can
do
is
look
at
that
story
and
think
I'm
outside
of
that
story
I'm
not
nourished
by
God
George
if
you
knew
the
dark
dragonish
things
which
I
do
and
I
enjoy
the
taste
of
the
evil
some
of
you
are
saying
George
if
you
knew
the
dragons
that
I
have
from
my
past
and
I'm
living
with
right
now
if
you
knew
how
I
cannot
even
sleep
at
night
because
there
are
these
dragons
and
things
that
wake
me
up
and
tear
me
up
and
eat
me
up
and
beat
me
up
if
you
knew
those
things
you
would
know
that
I
only
hear
these
things
and
all
I
think
is
I
just
wish
I
could
be
like
other
people
and
have
that
place
of
sanctuary
and
if
you
are
like
that
here
today
that
means
you
understand
your
need
for
the
gospel
you
are
ready
to
be
taken
in
the
arms
of
the
baby
of
Bethlehem
of
the
savior
who
died
for
you
are
ready
to
be
taken
by
him
because
you
can't
defeat
those
demons
I
can't
defeat
the
dragons
I
have
no
power
to
defeat
my
dragons
but
I
have
a
savior
and
so
do
you
who
will
take
you
in
your
arms
and
those
dragons
look
really
big
within
and
without
and
the
savior
will
put
you
on
his
shoulders
and
he's
way
bigger
than
that
dragon
he
can
defeat
it
and
will
not
because
you're
strong
or
I'm
strong
because
you
just
know
you
need
the
savior
I
didn't
think
I was
going
to
cry
you
know
you
need
the
savior
so
there's
no
better
time
than
right
now
today
to
say
Jesus
I
need
you
to
hold
me
in
your
arms
I
need
you
to
put
me
on
your
shoulders
and
I
need
you
to
defeat
these
dragons
and
demons
in
my
life
and
I
need
you
to
never
let
me
go
because
I'm
just
worried
these
dragons
will
devour
me
from
without
or
within
and
Jesus
turns
no
one
away
there
is
no
dragon
within
and
no
dragon
without
that
will
make
our
savior
turn
his
eyes
from
you
he
saw
every
dragon
he
knows
every
dragon
in
your
life
and
everyone
is
defeated
and
everyone
is
doomed
and
he
died
because
he
loves
you
we
can
live
here
knowing
that
Jesus
is
greater
than
every
dragon
I
have
ever
faced
am
facing
or
will
face
call
out
to
him
and
we
can
know
that
Jesus
is
with
me
as
I
face
my
internal
and
external
dragons
call
out
to
him
and
in
the
face
of
every
dragon
we
can
think
on
Jesus
and
keep
his
commandments
and
bear
witness
to
him
and
it
might
be
faltering
and
it
might
be
hard
but
there's
no
dragon
afflicted
person
here
that
God
cannot
use
in
Jesus
to
bring
him
glory
absolutely
no
one
please
stand
and
I'm
not
going
to
lead
you
in
a
sinner's
prayer
because
that'll
just
end
up
making
you
think
that
there's
some
magic
formula
that
you
have
to
remember
if
you
are
here
today
and
you've
never
given
your
life
to
Jesus
just
say
Jesus
take
me
and
I
want
to
be
yours
I
want
to
be
Revelation
12
6
I
want
to
be
Revelation
12
6
Jesus
just
take
me
I
want
to
be
yours
and
just
your
own
words
the
cry
of
your
own
heart
and
those
of
us
who
are
followers
of
Jesus
but
we're
listening
to
the
dragons
and
we're
letting
them
eat
us
up
there's
no
time
better
than
right
now
just
to
call
out
to
Jesus
and
ask
him
to
help
you
to
face
the
dragons
and
bear
witness
to
Jesus
there's
no
better
time
than
right
now
to
do
it
won't
be
better
tomorrow
won't
be
better
next
week
no
better
time
than
now
just
closing
bow
our heads
in
prayer
dear
Lord
this
is
a
prayer
that's
in
your
bulletin
you
can
take
it
home
and
read
it
yourself
but
I'm
going to
pray
it
out
for
all
of
us
right
now
dear
Lord
I
thank
you
that
you
know
the
name
and
power
of
every
dragon
I
face
within
and
without
I
thank
you
for
Jesus
I
thank
you
that
by
his
death
and
resurrection
sin
and
death
and
every
dragon
have
been
defeated
I
thank
you
that
by
faith
in
Jesus
I
can
share
his
victory
help
me
to
trustingly
and
obediently
walk
with
Jesus
in
the
dying
days
of
the
doomed
dragon
and
its
followers
in
Jesus
name
we
all
pray
and
say
Amen