If you aren't already there in your Bibles, if you go ahead and turn to Revelation chapter 12.
Revelation chapter 12.
In the iconic 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, the main character, Dorothy, is told to follow the yellow brick road.
To go to the what city?
Emerald City.
Someone's seen it.
That's good.
And there, she meets with the great and powerful Wizard of Oz.
And she asks him for help to get back to Kansas, which is where she's from.
He's a very mysterious and intimidating wizard.
He's got this green head that floats in midair.
And his voice is loud and intimidating.
His very presence calls forth fire and smoke.
But after defeating the Wicked Witch of the West at his request, Dorothy and her friends return to the Wizard a second time.
And this time, he is not going to help her still.
Dorothy's little dog, Toto, wanders off to the side of the throne room of the Wizard and pulls back a curtain and reveals a little old man who is behind the Wizard.
He is the guy pulling all the Wizard of Oz.
He's the guy pulling all the levers and pushing the buttons.
He's the person who is behind all the intimidation and impressive display.
The real identity of the Wizard is unmasked.
The curtain is pulled back and we know where the source of all the intimidation and fire and smoke comes from.
We're right in the middle of the book of Revelation.
We're in chapter 12, literally the middle of the book.
It's 22 chapters long and we just got done with chapter 11.
And in the middle of the book, it's like we've been penetrating all the craziness that's going to happen at the close of the age.
And we are getting greater and greater insight the more we get into the very heart of this book as to what reality is really like.
And that's the strength of the apocalyptic literature that Revelation is written in.
All the symbols and the pictures, it kind of gives us a different picture of reality.
And the picture we're going to get right here in the very middle of the book.
After we've gone through these judgment cycles and we've seen these little interludes happen that tell us about who the church is in the middle of these judgment cycles.
Right now, at the end of the second judgment cycle and there's one more to come.
Right now, we get to the very heart of reality.
The curtain is pulled back.
And we see what is going on behind the scenes of human history.
So, what we're going to do this morning is we're going to look at this vision in chapter 12 that Nancy read for us just a moment ago.
And we're going to see it unfold in three scenes.
We're going to spend most of our time just trying to get a handle of what's going on in these three scenes.
And I'll walk us through each one.
At the end, I'm just going to try to, we're going to kind of wait for the main point of this vision until the very end.
And then when I state it, it'll be like, oh, yeah, of course, I see it now.
And after we kind of get that main point, like figured out, okay, this is what it's all about, I'm going to give us three reflections to kind of bring it home so we can walk it out in faith and obedience.
You guys good with that?
Okay, good.
Let's jump in.
Let's look at the first scene.
I'm going to call the first scene, The Conflict and the Triumph Part 1.
The Conflict and the Triumph Part 1.
So right at the beginning of this vision, verse 1 of chapter 12, two signs appear.
The first is a woman.
And what a woman she is.
She's clothed with the sun.
Her feet are on the moon.
And she's got a 12-star crown on her head.
Now, by now, we're veterans in Revelation.
And we know like, okay, she's not literally clothed with the sun.
She's not literally standing on the moon.
She doesn't literally have 12 stars on her head.
But these are symbols.
They're pointing at something.
And even the word of sign shows us that she's a sign.
She's pointing to a reality that's not herself.
Okay?
So this is meant to get our eyes on a reality.
So this is some woman.
And on top of this, she's pregnant.
And not just pregnant, but she is in labor.
She is in the turmoil of labor.
She's crying out with birth pains, verse 2.
Agony of giving birth.
But who is this woman?
I'm guessing you're already thinking, okay, it could be this person.
It could be this person.
Well, let's ask another question before we try to pinpoint somebody.
Are there other women that show up in the book of Revelation?
And if so, how do they show up?
That might give us a little clue to interpret who this woman is.
And yes, the answer to the question is yes.
Other women do show up in this book.
In chapter 17, we see one.
And in chapter 19, we see one.
In chapter 17, we meet the great prostitute.
She's called Babylon the Great.
And in chapter 19, we are introduced to a very different woman, the bride.
The bride of the Lamb.
These women represent big groups of people.
One is corrupted and opposed to God and to his people.
And the other is God's faithful saints.
His pure, holy people who belong to him by faith.
Okay?
So, all right.
If God's using, or if God, John, through John, is using these women as symbols of different groups of people,
then we got a little further down the path of understanding who this is.
But the whole sun, moon, and 12 stars thing, that kind of makes us, well, what's that all about?
Well, the whole pregnancy thing, well, what's that all about?
Back in Genesis 37, Joseph, one of the patriarchs of Israel,
he had a dream that the sun, the moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to his star.
It was a picture of his family, the covenant family of Israel, Jacob, Jacob's wife, the 12 sons of Jacob.
And that was the origin of the people of God in the Old Testament, the people of Israel.
And, so not just all that Old Testament kind of people imagery, but she's also pregnant.
And in verse 5, we see that she gives birth to a very special child,
who sounds very much like what Brian read about earlier at the start of our service in Psalm 2,
Jesus, the Messiah, the one who was born to rule with an iron rod.
Okay, so who is this woman?
Well, I think all these clues are pointing to this.
I think it makes most sense that this woman represents the faithful, covenant people of God throughout all of history.
Both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
But in this first scene, her Old Testament roots are showing pretty clearly.
The whole sun, moon, and stars thing, as well as she's getting ready to give birth to the Messiah.
My wife is eight months pregnant.
And this past week, she shared with me, I'm starting to feel it.
I'm starting to feel the reality of the late stages of pregnancy.
The longing for it to be over, to have the baby.
The discomfort that accompanies that last stage of pregnancy.
And the expectation of, man, I just can't wait to see this kid.
In a similar way, the Old Testament people of God were also kind of in the agonies of labor.
They were longing to see the birth of the Messiah, the deliverer of Israel.
And one day, after a long and difficult pregnancy with great labor pains,
the faithful Old Testament people of God delivered their deliverer in the birth of the Messiah.
Mary was one of that faithful covenant people.
The faithful covenant people of God were the kind of surrounding context into which the Messiah was birthed.
So in that sense, we have this woman representing the people of God throughout the ages,
but particularly here in this first scene, the Old Testament people of God.
And she's gasping for breath.
And she's pushing through waves of labor.
And God's faithful community is ready to deliver the Messiah.
That's the picture.
But, enter the second sign.
Look at verse 3.
Woman in labor, dragon.
You got to love apocalyptic literature, right?
I mean, it's so graphic.
It just kind of startles you.
It shocks you.
It's this utterly weak, vulnerable woman screaming with labor pains.
And then there's this dragon.
Not just a wolf or a snake or a lion.
A dragon.
I mean, you can't picture anything more sinister, cruel, powerful.
And what's up with these seven heads and these ten horns and these seven crowns?
Well, the numbers, the seven and the ten, they symbolize completeness.
And the heads and crowns and horns, they all symbolize strength, authority, power.
So this dragon is not just a dragon, which would be scary enough.
But he's a dragon with complete power and authority.
Now, it's given to him.
It's not inherent in himself.
But he's a dragon, nonetheless, with complete power and authority.
I'm guessing you probably have figured out who this dragon is by now.
He's the real enemy behind the curtain.
The ultimate arch nemesis of God and God's people.
The bad guy of all bad guys.
Remember, the book of Revelation is written to a group of churches in Asia around A.D. 90.
About 50 years after Jesus rose from the dead.
And they're experiencing persecution and hostility and opposition from all sorts of different groups of people.
And John is wanting to get their eyes on saying,
Okay, yeah, you are facing that.
But the real enemy behind all that is the dragon.
And in case you're in any doubt who this dragon is,
he's named in verse 9.
The ancient serpent.
The devil.
Satan.
But what's this dragon doing?
Look at verse 4.
It's grotesque.
The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth
so that when she bore her child, he might devour it.
I mean, as soon as it gets in our imagination, we're like,
Ugh.
This poor woman about to deliver a baby and he's just there, ready to eat it up.
It's grotesque.
Instead of a doctor standing there, we've got a dragon.
And that's just what happened, right?
Remember the Christmas story?
Beyond the warmth and the sentimentality of birth of Jesus,
dozens of baby boys are slaughtered in Bethlehem by King Herod
because he's trying to take Jesus out.
As soon as he is born, he's born into the dragon's opposition and hostility.
Satan's trying to snatch him up.
He opposes and tempts Jesus in the wilderness when he grows up.
He fills Judas with the desire to betray Jesus.
This dragon is opposed to God.
He is opposed to God's people and he is especially opposed to God's purposes
to deliver his people through his Messiah, Jesus.
Okay, well, what happens?
Well, this male child is born.
Verse 5, she gave birth to a male child,
one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.
It's the one that Brian read about at the beginning of the service.
He's the great king who would deliver and shepherd God's people forever.
He's born.
But interestingly, we don't get any description of his life or his ministry
or his death or his resurrection, anything.
We just get this little phrase,
he was caught up to God on his throne.
So his birth, his life, his ministry, his death, resurrection
is all squashed into he's caught up to God on the throne.
Bam.
Now, in one sense, Satan devoured the child
in that Satan was instrumental in getting Jesus crucified.
But he did not devour the Messiah.
He did not eliminate the Messiah.
Jesus, up, thrown on it.
He is above the dragon now.
So the idea here is that this child, Jesus, the Messiah,
was born to rule.
Isn't that what Gabriel told Mary back in Luke chapter 1?
The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.
He was born to be king, to rule,
to share the throne of his father.
So do you see the conflict, and do you see the triumph?
Eh, not really, right?
It's kind of a weird battle.
Weak, pregnant, vulnerable woman in labor, nasty dragon.
Child.
Not much of a conflict and a triumph.
Billy, why'd you name the scene the conflict and the triumph?
Not much of an epic battle.
Well, there's a connection we need to make before we move on.
Let's think about the main characters of the story so far.
Woman.
Woman's reptilian enemy.
Woman's child.
Maybe the word offspring will help.
Woman.
Woman's reptilian enemy.
Offspring.
Woman.
What John is trying to get our attention on
is the conflict
that has been going
since the beginning of time.
Keep your place in Revelation 12,
but go back to Genesis 3,
the very beginning of your Bible.
Flip back in your Bibles to Genesis 3.
It's all the way in the beginning.
It's pretty easy to find.
We need to make this connection
if we're going to understand
what just happened in this scene.
There was a day,
a very dark and sad day,
that got lit up by a promise of hope.
Adam and Eve are human parents
whose sin we share
have just rebelled against God
and His goodness.
And Satan was the one
who was embodied as a serpent
and he tempted them,
enticed the woman in particular
into the rebellion
with crafty words.
And God, in verse 15,
14 and 15,
is speaking words to the serpent,
words of curse to the serpent,
but they were words of promise
and life to Adam and Eve
and to us.
Listen to Genesis 3, 15.
I will put enmity,
this is God speaking to the serpent,
I will put enmity
between you and the woman
in between your offspring
and her offspring,
and he shall bruise your head
and you shall bruise his heel.
Did you notice that word enmity?
It means conflict,
hostility,
opposition,
fighting.
God,
at this very dark day,
the rebellion of Adam and Eve,
God would begin a work
of resistance against Satan.
He might have won the day
and the garden,
but God is saying,
you're not going to win the war.
There's this work of resistance
that God is going to bring about
through Eve's offspring.
There would be conflict
and opposition,
and the offspring of Satan
and the offspring of the woman
would be going at it.
And not an endless conflict,
did you notice?
A conflict that would end
in costly yet decisive victory.
The serpent would bruise the heel
of the woman's offspring.
It would cost the woman's offspring,
but the woman's offspring
would crush the serpent's head.
And throughout the entire story
of the Old Testament,
God's people longed
for that offspring to come,
who would bring a decisive end
to the work of Satan.
Their hopes would rise
at the birth of a Noah
or an Abraham
or a Moses
or a Samson
or a Samuel
or a David.
But these heroes of the faith,
however good they were,
at some point they would succumb
to the influence of the serpent
and prove themselves
not to be the offspring,
the one who would crush
the serpent's head.
And the conflict continued
for ages,
the woman opposing the serpent,
the serpent opposing the woman,
until the long-awaited offspring,
singular,
was finally born,
snatched up to God's throne,
and established as king,
and the age-long conflict was won.
The offspring of the woman triumphed.
So that's the conflict
and the triumph
from an earthly perspective.
Part one.
Now let's move to the second scene,
the conflict and the triumph
from a heavenly perspective.
Part two.
All of a sudden,
in verse seven,
we get a shift of scene.
War arose in heaven.
Suddenly,
we're no longer on earth.
We are no longer
looking at the events
of human history.
However symbolic they were,
they were earthbound events
of human history.
The offspring of the woman
being born.
Satan opposing
the offspring of the woman.
Jesus living,
dying,
rising again,
ascending to his father's throne.
All events within human history
in time and space.
And now,
we're going to see
how
the spiritual realm
was affected
by that
human history
earthbound event.
In the Bible,
heaven and earth
are not mutually exclusive spheres.
From a biblical perspective,
they are interrelated.
What happens
on earth
affects heaven.
What happens in heaven
affects earth.
And John is not just
shifting the scenery
just for fun.
This is not random.
No,
he is giving us
a heavenly perspective
on the conflict
that was waged
and won
in the first scene
with the birth
of the male child.
So,
verses seven and eight,
we see how
the earthly events
of Jesus' birth,
life,
death,
resurrection,
ascension,
monumentally affected
the heavenly sphere.
Michael,
the archangel,
and his angels,
they make war
with the dragon
and his angels,
but Satan is defeated
and there's no place
for him
in heaven.
And then,
comes this
decisive statement
of triumph
for heaven
in verse nine.
Notice the repetition
of what happens
to the dragon
in verse nine.
And the great dragon
was thrown down.
That ancient serpent
who is called
the devil and Satan,
the deceiver
of the whole world,
he was thrown down
to the earth
and the angels
were thrown down
with him.
Thrown down.
That language
shows up again
in verse 10,
in verse 12,
verse 13,
again and again,
six times in this chapter.
Satan is thrown down.
He's out.
But maybe that makes
you ask the question,
wait a minute,
I thought that
happened earlier.
Didn't Satan get kicked out
like at the beginning
in the garden?
Well,
if we read
our Old Testament closely,
we can see that
before the Messiah came,
Satan was permitted
to be in God's presence.
He used this privilege
unjustly
to accuse God's people.
Remember the story
of Job?
The whole thing
started with poor Job
when Satan
is in the heavenly
council of the angels
before God
and he begins
accusing Job.
He's like,
Job's only faithful
because you're blessing him.
So,
stop blessing him
and he won't do it.
He won't be faithful to you.
But now,
he's thrown down.
Well,
what was it
that threw him down?
Did Michael have
some ingenious
angelic warfare tactics
that kind of
confounded the old dragon?
Nope.
Look at verse 10.
Now,
now,
the salvation
and the power
and the kingdom
of our God
and the authority
of his Christ
have come.
Now,
what is this now
all about?
What has just happened
in the heavenly sphere?
Or,
sorry,
the earthly sphere.
The male child
who was born
to rule the nations
with a rod of iron
was born
and ascended
to his father's throne.
The resurrected Lord Jesus
is on his throne
now
and therefore
say it is booted out.
In John 12,
just days before
Jesus' crucifixion,
he said these words,
now
is the judgment
of this world.
Now
will the ruler
of this world
be cast out
and I,
when I am lifted up
from the earth
referring to his crucifixion,
will draw all people
to myself.
Jesus knew
that his sacrificial death
and his triumphant
resurrection
would not only be
the turning point
of human history
but also of heavenly history.
From that point on,
Satan would be thrown down
and cast out
and his doom
would be sealed.
But,
why is that important?
What significance
does that have?
Look at verse 10.
Here,
God's saints
are making this announcement
who are,
they're already in heaven
and they're excited
that Satan is thrown down.
This is why.
Did you notice that?
The accuser
of our brothers
has been thrown down
who accuses them
day and night
before our God.
So,
because God the Son
became a human,
lived righteously
for 30 plus years,
died a sacrificial death
for sinners,
rose again triumphantly
from death
and sits now
on his father's throne,
there is now
no prosecuting attorney
gunning for a guilty verdict
for God's people
in God's courtroom anymore.
He's out.
He's banished.
He's gone.
And notice another thing
in verse 11.
They have conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word
of their testimony.
We know that Jesus
won the conflict.
He's the conqueror,
the one who triumphs
over the dragon.
But in verse 11,
it says that
we also conquer.
It says that God's people
conquered the accuser
of the brothers.
We,
as Jesus' people,
share in his triumphant
victory over the dragon.
Because he conquered,
we also conquer.
Paul later states
this crazy thing
in Romans 16, 20.
Well,
he's speaking to Christians
and he says,
the God of peace
will soon crush Satan
underneath
your feet,
the church's feet,
your feet,
my feet.
We get to share
in the defeat
of Satan
and the victory
of Jesus.
We,
the offspring of Eve,
the singular,
the promised male child
to rule with a rod of iron,
he crushes the serpent's head
through his triumphant
death and resurrection.
But the remaining offspring,
plural,
of the people of faith,
we share in his serpent crushing.
But how?
By the blood of the Lamb
and by the word
of their testimony.
We conquer
because he conquered
on the cross
on our behalf.
We conquer
by the blood of the Lamb.
We celebrate it this morning
right here at this table.
But we also conquer
as we,
in our daily lives,
we live out
that truth
in faith
and obedience.
It's the word
of our testimony.
Not perfectly,
but really,
truly.
We start to grasp
that that's true
and we start
to live out of it.
And every little bit
of that spirit-inspired,
spirit-given
faith and obedience
is tramping
on the serpent's head.
In short,
we get to share
the triumph of the Lamb
by resting in
and faithfully living out
what he has already done
on our behalf.
So,
the birth,
the life,
the death,
resurrection,
ascension of the woman's
offspring,
Jesus,
in the first scene
on earth,
it brings about
a simultaneous
and decisive defeat
of the dragon
in the heavenly sphere.
And if we look
at the last verse
of this scene,
verse 12,
the heavenly places
are rejoicing
because the dragon's gone.
You can't bring accusation
against God's people anymore.
But with an ominous note,
we also see
that the conflict,
although it's decisively won,
it's not over.
Woe to the earth,
verse 12 says,
because the dragon
has been thrown down there
and he is not happy.
Which brings us
to the third
and final scene
of this vision
we'll call this scene
God's care
and the dragon's rage.
God's care
and the dragon's rage.
Oscar Coleman,
a theologian
of the last century,
once used this analogy
to illustrate the truth
that we find
in verses 12 and 13.
When the Allies
invaded Europe
on D-Day,
June 6, 1944,
everybody,
except for a deluded Hitler,
knew that the war was over.
The Allies had established
a beachhead
in France
and there's mounting pressure
on the eastern front
in Russia.
The German forces
were just stretched too thin.
They couldn't win the war.
It was over.
But,
Hitler,
though defeated,
was not going
to go quietly.
He raged.
Thousands
upon thousands
more
would die
over the next year
before the Allies
finally reached Berlin
and Germany
capitulated.
D-Day
ensured
Hitler's
imminent defeat,
but V-E Day,
Victory in Europe Day,
was still
a ways away.
And the conflict
in between them
would be fiercer
and bloodier
than previously
because of Hitler's
blind rage.
When Jesus
accomplished
our D-Day
on the cross,
in the resurrection,
in his ascension
to his father's throne,
Satan was done.
War's over.
No way
Satan can win.
And he knows it.
And he hates it.
He plans to go down
raging,
fighting tooth
and nail,
causing as much
havoc as he possibly
can because he knows
his time is short.
You see that
in verse 12?
In great wrath
he's coming
because he knows
his time
is short.
So what does he do?
Look at verse 13.
He pursues
the woman.
He can't defeat God.
He can't defeat
God's Messiah.
So who does he go after?
The ones
whom God
loves the most.
The ones
for whom
the Messiah
shed his own blood.
But,
look what happens
in verse 14.
Satan's going after
the woman,
the church.
But,
the same thing
happens in verse 14
that verse 6
foreshadows
that we kind of
skipped over
a little bit
before.
The woman,
which is God's
people,
flees to the
wilderness
where she is
to be nourished
for a specific
amount of time.
In verse 6,
it's 1,260 days.
In verse 14,
it's time,
times,
and half a time.
But as we saw
a few weeks ago
in chapter 11,
whether it's 42 months,
it's used in chapter 11,
or 1,260 days,
or time,
times,
and half a time,
those are all
different ways
of referring
to the same
amount of time,
the same period
of time,
three and a half years,
which is half
of seven.
And what does seven
symbolize in the
book of Revelation?
Completeness,
fullness.
So,
in other words,
it's not a fullness
of a time period.
It's cut short.
In chapter 11,
the church is
a faithful witness
to Jesus
in the world
that's the picture.
She's going to be
faithfully witnessing
to Jesus
and suffering
for Jesus
for a limited
amount of time.
Not the full seven,
three and a half.
It's cut short
for mercy.
And then she'll
be called home.
The church is going
to be in the wilderness,
what it describes
here in the wilderness,
for a relatively
short amount of time.
In other words,
God's not just going
to forget us here.
Our suffering
for bearing witness
to Jesus
will be relatively
and mercifully
short.
But,
what's with this
wilderness thing?
Why are we talking
about wilderness?
Well,
notice the passive
voice of the verbs
in verse 14.
She was given
the two wings
of the great eagle
so that she might
be nourished
in the wilderness.
So,
what should be
popping in your mind
is,
okay,
who gave her the wings
and who's going
to be nourishing her?
Verse 6
makes it really clear.
She flees to a place
where it is prepared
for her
by God.
The dragon,
her powerful enemy,
might be raging,
but she has a place
of security
and nourishment,
the wilderness.
And God
is there,
eager to be with her
and to care for her.
So,
that language
of eagle's wings
in wilderness
was designed
to prick
John's listeners' ears
with the memory
of the Exodus
back in the Old Testament.
God's people
were freshly delivered
from a dragon-ish enemy,
the Pharaoh,
who pursued them
into the wilderness.
God brought his people
into a place
of safety
and focused fellowship
with himself
as if snatched up
by a great eagle
and flown out
of the reach
of harm.
But,
that wily dragon,
he won't give up
very easily,
will he?
Look at verse
15.
The serpent
poured water
like a river
out of his mouth
after the woman
to sweep her away
after a flood.
He opens his mouth
and a flood
comes after her.
The focus here
is not so much
on what the water
symbolizes
as it is that
the dragon
opens his mouth.
What verbs
have we already seen
in this chapter
that are associated
with the dragon
opening his mouth?
Look back up
at verse 9
and 10.
The deceiver
of the whole world
verse 9
and verse 10
the accuser
of our brothers.
What comes out
of Satan's mouth?
Deception
and accusation
and slander.
Lies.
He is a master deceiver.
He is a relentless
accuser
and all that junk
comes out of his mouth
and that's what he's
throwing out of his mouth
at the church
to sweep her away
like a flood.
And yet
look at verse 16.
The earth
comes to the help
of the woman.
The earth
swallows the flood
of lies and slander.
God yet again
comes to the rescue
this time
telling the earth
itself to swallow
the dragon's flood.
God's care
for his people
in the wilderness
in the middle
of being raged at
by Satan.
Verse 17
shows us again
the dragon's rage
is dreadful.
He's being frustrated
by God at every turn
and he keeps on
making war
with the rest
of the woman's
offspring.
All those who have
trusted in the Messiah
all of those
who are part
of a faithful
community in Christ.
These are the folks
who keep God's commandments
as we see in verse 17
and they hold
to the testimony
of who Jesus is
and what he has done
for them.
And this verse
ends with the dragon
standing on the sand
of the sea.
It's rather ominous.
And it's a signal
that the dragon's
not done.
In fact,
we learn in chapter 13
how exactly
the dragon
is going to
try to make war
on the offspring
of the woman.
He's going to use
the unholy
anti-trinity.
He,
the dragon,
the beast
that comes out
of the sea
and the beast
from the land
who is the false prophet.
See that all
in coming weeks
in chapter 13.
It's going to unpack
what that flood
of lies
and slander
is going to look like
and how it will
really,
truly
affect the church
but not ultimately.
So as this third
scene closes,
it's clear
that the dragon
rages
against the church
but God's care
will sustain her
during her short time
in the wilderness
of the world
before she is called home.
So what's this
whole thing about?
We've looked at
the three scenes,
what's this all about?
Let's just summarize
it this way.
I think as we pull
back the curtain
on the whole story
of redemption
that chapter 12
is doing for us,
we see this.
Through the triumph
of the promised offspring,
God shelters
and gives victory
to his faithful people
over their raging enemy.
through the promise
of the,
through the triumph
of the promised offspring,
the Messiah,
Jesus,
God shelters
and gives victory
to his faithful people
over their raging enemy.
Folks,
D-Day
has come
2,000 years ago.
The war is over.
It's won.
Through great cost,
the God,
the Son,
entered human history.
He crushed
the head of the serpent
and he sits triumphantly
on his father's throne.
And yet,
our time
on the battlefield
is not done.
Our enemy's wrath
still has to be endured
until the day
that his doom comes.
And we shouldn't
be surprised by that.
Bullets are whizzing
by our heads,
bombs are exploding,
and the carnage
of deception
and accusation
and opposition
will only get worse.
But,
our God
has not just won.
He is with us.
He's on the battlefield.
He is sheltering
and nourishing
and giving us victory
as we fight
our adversary
by trusting
in the blood
of the Lamb
and living out
the word
of our testimony.
So,
let's make three
brief reflections
on this
emboldening vision
that we see here
and to seek
to respond well
with faith
and obedience.
First is this.
This vision
gives us,
God's people,
a cosmic perspective
on our current struggle.
It gives us
a cosmic perspective
on our current
struggle.
I'm guessing
that many of you
are feeling
the difficulty
of living
in between D-Day
and V-E-Day,
between Christ's
triumph on the cross
and His final return.
Perhaps it's
just simply living
in a universe
that is suffering
from the corruption
and decay
that started
on that first day
in the garden.
The day that the serpent
deceived our ancestors
into rebelling
against our good
creator
and our king.
Perhaps you're
suffering
from physical
hardship,
illness,
chronic pain,
a dysfunctional body.
Perhaps you're
struggling with
the clear
and tragic effects
of sin
maybe in your life
or in the lives
of those you care about.
You are grieved
with your own sin
and guilt
or with relationships
marred by selfishness
or bitterness.
You bear the scars
of being sinned
against by others
or you feel the shame
of having inflicted
those scars
on others.
Perhaps you feel
helpless and sad
as you watch
others succumb
to the deception
of the dragon.
But behind
this curtain
that we get
a little peek
into in this chapter
we see a panoramic
cosmic view
of history.
It's a cosmic
war that began
when the universe
was fresh
and good
and young
and has led
to incalculable
suffering
and loss
and evil.
There is an evil
force,
an adversary
who seeks
to set himself
up as God's rival
and to ruin
and corrupt
what God
has made
to be good.
It kind of
helps us,
doesn't it?
It helps us
see things
from a good
perspective.
That cosmic
perspective
puts our
current struggles
in a helpful
light.
Every couple
of years
I find myself
rereading
J.R.R. Tolkien's
Lord of the Rings
trilogy.
My wife always
kind of laughs at me
like,
are you reading
that again?
I love entering
into that world
because every time
I pick it up
and I read about
little,
helpless,
comfort-loving
hobbits.
I feel like
one most of
the time.
Emphasis on
little and small
and comfort-loving.
They're entering
this massive
conflict that
feels way too
big for them.
And I'm reminded
that my little
life is a part
of something
really big
and far
greater than
me.
and yet
there is
something
far greater
than the
far greater
something
good
that is
for me
as I'm
walking
through the
journey.
When we
step back
and we see
this ancient
conflict from
the perspective
of Revolution
12 it reminds
us that our
current struggles
are par for the
course.
Jesus promised
us no less.
It's part of the
package and if
we are trusting
in ourselves
it's not going
to be pretty.
But if we
commend our
bodies and
our souls
to the one
who has
and finally
will triumph
over the
enemy
we have hope
in the middle
of the current
struggle
and
1260
days
time
times
and half
a time
it's cut
short
it's not
forever
we're not
home yet.
Second thing
our adversary
is both
decisively
defeated
and still
very dangerous
our adversary
is both
decisively
defeated
and still
very dangerous
D-Day
has come
and we're
somewhere
in the
middle of
France
pressing
forward
by faith
in the
Lamb
and by
the word
of our
testimony
bullets
are flying
the enemies
counterattacking
it's
dangerous
our current
struggle
as Ephesians
6 puts it
is not
against
flesh and
blood
it is
against
the
fiendish
schemes
of our
ultimate
adversary
who is
behind
the
curtain
of all
this
he's
been up
to this
since the
beginning
and he's
still up
to it
and he's
dangerous
yet
don't
forget
he has
been thrown
down
his
accusing
voice
is no
longer
heard
before
your
God
who is
also
your
savior
and your
father
so if
you are
hearing
the
accusing
voice
of
Satan
reminding
you of
past
regrets
or of
current
failures
or fears
of the
future
call
this
to mind
your
accuser
has been
thrown
down
decisively
defeated
the
prosecuting
attorney
has been
disbarred
and thrown
out of
God's
courtroom
you have
forever
and finally
been
pronounced
not only
not guilty
but
righteous
God's
son
God's
daughter
because
of the
blood
of the
lamb
shed
for you
or maybe
the voice
of Satan
is not
accusing
you
he is
seeking
to deceive
you
he is
enticing
you
and you
know it
you've
been
listening
to his
lies
you've
been
attracted
by his
empty
promises
that
true
happiness
is not
found
in listening
to the
good
words
of God
but it's
on that
attractive
highway
over there
your enemy
is still
after you
but the
lamb
has triumphed
remember
what Jesus
has accomplished
for you
how faithful
and true
he is
for you
and how
sweet
and good
his
words
of life
are
to you
so cling
to him
listen
to him
do not
follow the
voice
of the
dragon
listen
to the
voice
of your
savior
lastly
thirdly
God's
presence
and God's
word
are sufficient
for our
spiritual
well-being
in the
wilderness
of the
world
God's
presence
and God's
word
are sufficient
for our
spiritual
well-being
in the
wilderness
of the
world
all that
wilderness
language
in the
third
scene
do you
remember
that
remember
verse
six
God is
a place
prepared
for the
woman
to flee
to
and be
nourished
for the
time
she continues
in the
world
while the
dragon
pursues
her
what did
Israel
have
when they
were in
the
wilderness
they were
delivered
from their
pursuing
dragon
what did
they have
they had
God's
abiding
presence
the pillar
of fiery
cloud
went with
them
guided
them
protected
them
and later
on that
presence
dwelled
in the
ark of
the
covenant
in the
tabernacle
so God's
presence
upheld
and sustained
and protected
and comforted
his people
on the
dangerous
and dusty
road
to the
promised
land
and his
presence
also
nourished
them
every day
bread
from heaven
he fed
them
with bread
from heaven
and water
from rocks
he nourished
and cared
for them
like a
mother
in the
midst
of the
dangerous
wilderness
but not
only did
they have
his
presence
but they
had his
speaking
presence
his word
to them
he spoke
to them
there
he gave
them
his good
words
in the
law
he instructed
them
and promised
them
and led
them
by his
word
it is
the same
what he
promises
for us
his presence
is with us
not in a
tent
but his
very spirit
abiding
within our
tent
wherever we
go he's
with us
he nourishes
our spirits
with his
true and
abiding
words
which we
amazingly
have in
our own
language
right here
to treasure
and to
cherish
and to
savor
and to
consume
nourishes
us
so yes
we are
in a
battlefield
but we're
not just
in the
battlefield
like David
said in
Psalm 23
you prepare
a table
before me
in the
presence
of my
enemies
you anoint
my head
with oil
my cup
overflows
our God
in the
middle of
the battlefield
pitches a
tent right
where we're
at
and he
sets his
table
with his
banquet
feast
of his
presence
and his
words
his very
person
relating
to and
abiding
with us
in the
middle
of the
battle
isn't that
what we
just did
a few
minutes
ago
we
nourished
ourselves
with his
grace
at the
table
and he
meets us
right in
the middle
of our
real life
struggles
we're going
to walk
out this
door
in just
a little
bit
we walk
back
into the
wars
and remember
that his
presence
and his
words are
totally
sufficient
to sustain
you
and to
uphold
you
and to
shelter
you
in the
middle
of the
battle
in the
wilderness
if you're
feeling this
and particularly
you're feeling
in the
battle
go to
Ephesians
6
this afternoon
start in
verse 10
and just
start meditating
on the
spiritual conflict
you're in
and the
armor
that God
not only
gives to
you
but is
for you
as you
fight the
warfare
of faith
this week
and remember
Revelation 12
isn't just
about you
you're in
there
but it's
not just
about you
it's
about us
the church
we are
in this
together
sharing in
the victory
that Christ
has won
for us
in the
wilderness
you are
not alone
and I
encourage you
if you are
struggling
in the
battle
and you
are aware
of your
enemy
this morning
go to
somebody
service is
over
and ask
for help
ask for
prayer
share
we need
each
other
the
curtain
is pulled
back
conflict
is
revealed
the
victory
is
ours
in the
Lord
Jesus
even
if the
battle
isn't
over
yet
let's
share
in his
victory
by faith
together
church
let's
pray
oh
God
thank you
that you
are sufficient
for us
thank you
that our
accuser
is
silenced
thank you
that he
is thrown
down
through the
victory
of the
lamb
help us
to live
in that
victory
this week
guard us
from his
wily
ways
thank you
that we
can endure
his rage
because you
are with
us
in Jesus
name
amen
the
we
happy