Three pieces of war reporting, but the context here is of spiritual battle.
So we hear reports taken from the heat of the battle.
In chapter 13, we're taken inside the enemy camp to learn something of our enemy's strategies.
And then in chapter 14, we're taken to the final outcome
to see the victory of the king and the peace that he brings.
I think there's a growing awareness in our culture of the reality of the spiritual realm,
of the reality of good and evil, that evil is real and we need real hope
and we need real goodness as the antidote.
And that's why these chapters come to us as good news.
You know, they have something of the qualities of a graphic novel.
They can be quite hard for us to grasp some of the images.
There's really vivid pictures.
But the basic idea is that there is this war going on between the forces of good and evil,
but it's not a battle of equals.
Good will triumph in the end.
That Satan will fight against God and his purposes and his people,
but he is defeated.
That the victory belongs to Christ Jesus.
That victory which we see begin at the cross and finishes when he returns.
So as we get into these battlefield reports and as we think about the big picture,
and there's some details that we'll grapple with as well,
let's ask ourselves the question,
why does Jesus give them to the first century church and to us today?
And hopefully that as we ask that question,
as we think about the details,
it would help us to understand that these are given to us so that as Christians,
if we're Christians here today,
we would keep trusting our God and our Savior.
And if you're not a Christian,
you would understand the importance of joining Jesus in order to share his victory.
So turn with me in your Bibles to Revelation 12.
We come to the first battlefield report,
and the headline is that God protects Jesus and protects his church.
So we're introduced to the story of a woman and a son and a dragon,
and there's tension and there's threat.
And it actually reads,
there's lots of ancient stories and ancient myths that sound a bit like this.
So in the Roman Empire,
there was the story of the goddess Leto,
who was pregnant with the god Apollo,
and there was the threat of the snake,
the serpent,
the python,
and Poseidon came to the rescue.
And so,
oh,
it's like that.
But actually,
there's a huge difference in what we have in the book of Revelation.
Because while there are these sort of graphic pictures,
it's not myth.
These events take place in history.
And the great hero of the story is none other than Jesus.
And Jesus is the one who is presented as offering hope to all peoples,
from all cultures,
in all times and places.
He is the one who defeats the forces of evil.
He defeats the dragon.
He is the one through whom good triumphs.
He is the one through whom we can have the true happily ever after.
But let's get into these verses.
Recognize,
first of all,
the opposing forces that we have.
And we see,
first of all,
there is the woman,
clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and a crown of twelve stars.
This woman represents the people of God.
The church in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
And wonderfully,
clothed with the glory and the majesty of God.
Psalm 104,
God wraps Himself in light.
Now God wraps His church in glory and majesty.
So there's the woman and the sun.
You know,
she's pregnant and about to give birth.
And in verse 5,
she gives birth to a son,
a male child,
who would rule all the nations with an iron scepter.
This is talking to us about the promise in the Bible of a coming king and savior.
This child represents the true king,
God's king,
who represents the shepherd who will rule over and who will defend His people,
and who will defeat His people's enemies.
This iron scepter is the same rod that we meet,
held in the hand of the good shepherd of Psalm 23.
This is speaking to us of Jesus,
the shepherd and the savior.
But then on the other side,
there is the dragon,
the red dragon.
And the dragon in the Bible,
and I guess through all ancient stories,
is a symbol of chaos and evil and death.
And we're told in verse 9 that the dragon is representative of Satan.
And we meet this dragon in verse 4,
poised to kill the son when the son's about to be born.
And perhaps if we go to the beginning of the Gospels,
we think about King Herod,
so eager,
bent on evil,
to kill King Jesus.
And we see the dragon in verse 6,
pursuing the woman,
pursuing the church.
And so we're reminded
that there is the devil
who would seek to destroy
and to harm
the church of God.
And think about brutal opposition
that there has been to the church
from the first century
until now,
making it clear
that in this battle,
people need a savior.
God's people need a savior.
And so we're presented as well
with the protection
of God.
First of all,
notice how God protects
the son.
In verse 5,
the child was snatched up to God
and to his throne.
It's almost as if
the whole events of the life of Jesus
are captured in a sentence.
So Jesus is born,
the devil tries to kill him
through King Herod,
but he's kept safe.
And then Jesus lives this perfect life,
and then he dies
on the cross,
and it looks like defeat,
but it's actually victory.
And then he's risen,
and then he ascends
back up to heaven
where he now sits
on the throne of glory.
Now he sits today
as king.
So God protects Jesus,
the one who came to be savior.
How does God protect the church?
Notice verse 6,
the woman fled into the wilderness
to a place prepared for her by God.
The wilderness
is this place in the Bible
where God meets with his people,
where he provides for his people,
where he offers protection
to his people.
You can think about
the book of Exodus.
You can think about
the shepherd of Psalm 23,
guiding and providing
green pastures
even in the wilderness.
Well, as the story continues
in chapter 12,
we're then invited to see
that war breaks out in heaven.
So the report changes focus.
So now it's thinking about
what's happening
in the spiritual dimension.
Verse 7 and 8,
we're told war broke out in heaven,
and you've got Michael
and the angels of God
fighting against the dragon.
And what we discover
is that Adam and Eve,
they were not the first
to try to be like God.
They were not the first
to rebel against God
and to reject his authority.
Actually, that happened first
with the devil
leading some angels astray
to try and rebel
and remove God
from the throne.
But what we see
is that God's angels
defeat the devil
and he's cast down.
We're told in verse 9
something of the description
of Satan.
He's the great dragon,
he's the snake,
he's the devil,
he's the Satan
who leads the whole world astray.
We're going to think about that
in a few minutes.
The biggest con man of all
is the devil.
He knows in verse 12
his time is short,
he is full of fury against God,
so he's full of fury
against God's church.
And so he fights in opposition,
wanting to drag people
away from God.
But the wonderful truth
that we have in Revelation 12
is that Satan
has been defeated.
That when God
and the devil
are locked
in spiritual battle,
this is not
a battle of equals.
God is greater.
The outcome
is not in doubt.
So listen to the song
that we have
in heaven.
Now has come
the salvation,
the power,
the kingdom
of our God
and the authority
of his Messiah
for the accuser
has been hurled down.
Hurled down
in defeat.
Really interesting
when Jesus sent
his 72 disciples
out on mission
and they came back
reporting
that people
had become followers
of Jesus.
Jesus said,
I saw Satan fall.
Whenever someone turns
to put their faith
in Jesus,
it's like there's
another defeat
of Satan
beyond that
original defeat.
There is defeat
because the kingdom
of God
is established.
established.
And it's established,
verse 11,
they triumphed
over him
by the blood
of the Lamb
and by the word
of their testimony.
So God is greater
and has the victory
and the church
in Christ
has the victory,
wins victory
over Satan.
Not in our own strength,
but as we trust
in what Jesus
has done for us,
there is victory
for us
in the sacrifice
of Jesus.
and as we hold
on to the testimony,
to the gospel word,
to the good news.
And so there is joy.
Rejoice,
you heavens,
and you who dwell
in them.
For those who are
associated with Jesus,
there is joy.
There's joy now
and there's joy
that will last forever.
But there is woe
for the enemies,
according to verse 12.
So war breaks out
in heaven.
And then we also need
to see in verse 13 to 17
that this war
breaks out on earth.
When the dragon saw
that he'd been hurled
to the earth,
here's his response.
He pursued the woman
who'd given birth
to the male child.
So he failed
to dethrone God.
He's hurled down
in defeat.
Now he turns his guns,
his weapons,
on the church,
the people on the earth.
And the scene
that we have here,
it's pictured a little bit
like the book of Exodus.
In the book of Exodus,
we have an evil king,
Pharaoh,
who is chasing down
the people of God,
looking to destroy them.
And again,
in that context,
hear God's protection.
So the devil is pursuing,
but verse 14,
the woman was given
the two wings
of a great eagle
so that she might fly
to the place prepared
for her in the wilderness
where she'd be taken care of.
Book of Exodus,
chapter 19,
God has taken his people
all the way
to meet with him
at Mount Sinai
and he puts it like this.
He said,
I rescued you
and brought you
on eagle's wings.
God uplifts,
protects,
guides his church.
Safety on the eagle's wings.
And again,
brought into the wilderness,
brought to meet with God,
to enjoy God's presence
and protection.
And even here,
there's this image
where the snake
trying to destroy the church
spews out a torrent of water.
But God's people
are kept safe from the flood.
Again,
Book of Exodus,
kept safe through the Red Sea.
God protects his church.
So we are reminded
of two things in this.
We're reminded
that Satan will keep attacking.
Verse 17,
the dragon was enraged
and went off to wage war
against the rest
of her offspring.
So if you want
to stay faithful,
if you want to keep
obeying God,
if you want to be
a follower of Jesus,
there is the reality
of spiritual battle.
But there's also
the greater reality
that Jesus has won
the victory.
And so our call
is to hold fast,
to live with faith
in Jesus
and obedience
to God's Word.
Just to help us
to think about this,
two things
that we can take
from this first
battlefield report.
I think the first thing
is to stay awake
because spiritual battle
is real.
I don't know
how many of you
have read C.S. Lewis'
wonderful book,
The Screwtape Letters.
It imagines
a senior devil
writing to a junior devil
and it's really
instructive
for the number
of different strategies
that the devil
will use
to try and fight
against God
and His purposes.
practices.
So,
this senior devil
will speak about
practices
of trying to
conceal themselves
and their evil intent.
Sometimes he will
encourage this junior devil
to,
here's what you need
to do,
you need to distract
a Christian
by all the different
good things
of this world.
It's a reminder
that the devil
will use
various temptations
to lead us astray.
The devil
might appeal
to our pride
to say,
I don't need
God,
I don't need
to trust His Word,
I'm strong enough
by myself.
The devil
might choose
to use
personality clashes,
quarrels
and conflicts.
conflicts.
He might choose
a culture
of flippancy
where everything
seems like
no big deal.
Sin is no big deal,
eternity is no big deal.
There are all
kinds of ways
in which the devil
is at work
and so we need
to stay awake
because the spiritual
battle is real.
We need to be
on guard
by spending time
in His Word
and in prayer
and in worship
and in fellowship
and remembering
the good news
of the Gospel
because we need
to stay awake
but we also need
to stay close
to Jesus
because His
victory
is certain.
So this is a
spiritual battlefield
report.
Sometimes in
spiritual battles
and we find this
in the Bible,
it's a battle
between two champions.
Think about David
and Goliath.
And the way
that that battle
went was
as it went
for the champion,
so it went
for the whole people.
So if David wins
and he did,
that meant victory
for all the followers
of David.
As it goes
for Jesus,
so it goes
for the church
of Jesus
and Jesus
has won
the victory
through His death
and resurrection
which means
if we're in Christ
we're on
the winning side.
We share
in His triumph
and our responsibility
is to keep
faith alive
by keeping close
to Jesus
in the grace
that He provides.
So that's the first
spiritual battlefield
report that reminds
us that God
protects Jesus
and protects the church.
Now we move
to the second one
which really
zooms in
on this fact,
Satan's strategy
of deception.
To help us
think about this,
a little story
from the American
Civil War.
So back in 1862
there was a battle
called the Battle
of Antietam
or the Battle
of Sharpsburg
and the Union
soldiers
who were really
struggling against
the Confederacy
at this stage,
as this battle
was looming
they were walking
through a farmer's
field
and they found
three cigars
with a piece
of paper
wrapped around it
and that piece
of paper
was the Confederate
battle plans
and so all of a sudden
this army
that's been struggling
they've got
their enemies
plans
and with that
intelligence
it changed
everything
for the short term
and ultimately
in the course
of the Civil War.
Now they have
the capacity
to halt
the advances
of General Lee
they've got
this key advantage
in the battle.
Now think about
what Jesus
gives us here
in chapter 13.
He gives us
insight
and details
about
Satan's
battle plan
his strategy
against the church
which is all
about
deception.
We see it
as we look
through the pages
of the Bible
started with Adam
and Eve
deceived to think
life was better
without God
to have the forbidden
fruit.
Think about deception
as it happened
in the story
of Judas
the disciple
so he was
deceived to betray
Jesus.
Think about
that deception
that happens
whenever we are
persuaded that
choosing sin
over obedience
is better.
Or when a person
says that life
without Jesus
is better than
life with Jesus.
Deception is how
the devil operates.
And so Jesus
gives us this report
to highlight the fact
that our enemy
acts by deception.
And this chapter
tells us how he
deceived.
So the vision
has some crazy
images
but the vision
reveals
that the dragon
the Satan
the devil
he takes his
limited authority
and remember
God is ultimate
authority
but he takes
his limited
authority
and he uses
that to try
and imitate
the power
and the promises
of God
in order
to draw people
away from
true worship
of the true God
in order to
give their love
and their loyalty
and their worship
to other things
because the devil
wants to destroy
people made
in the image
of God.
He wants to spoil
our ultimate joy.
Let me just show you
scattered through
this text
how there are
these examples
of deception
so that we get
the sense
of the strategy.
Verse 3
Here is this
beast being described
this horrendous
beast with ten horns
seven heads
and ten crowns.
One of the heads
of the beast
seemed to have
a fatal wound
but the fatal wound
had been healed.
What's the devil
doing there?
He's deceiving
that there is
a power here
that is equal
to the power
of Jesus
in his death
and resurrection.
There is this
false claim
that there is
one who can
give true life
who is not
Jesus.
The whole pattern
of the chapter
sees the dragon
and two beasts
setting themselves
up as this
unholy trinity
of evil
mimicking
the Father
and the Son
and the Holy Spirit
looking to deceive
so that the worship
would be directed
away from the
one true God.
Verse 13
and 14
This beast
the second beast
performs great signs
and because of the signs
it was given power
to perform
it deceived
the inhabitants
of the earth.
Jesus had miraculous
power used
for good
to draw people
to see the glory
of God
and be saved.
The devil
and the beasts
will use a different
form of power
in order to drag
people away
to false worship.
We have read
in recent chapters
about God
marking his people
as belonging
to him.
Verse 16
and 17
the beast
forced all people
to receive a mark
so they could not
buy or sell
unless they had
the mark.
And the goal
deception
dragging people
away from true
worship.
Verse 12
It exercised
all the authority
of the first beast
and made
the earth
and its inhabitants
worship
the first beast.
Verse 14
It deceived
the inhabitants
of the earth
so they set up
an image
to worship.
And then in verse
16 and 17
if a person
is not willing
to identify
and have that mark
there is exclusion
and the threat
of death.
Perhaps
we think in our minds
about
that Old Testament
story of Daniel
and King Nebuchadnezzar
setting up
that giant statue
and the command
worship or die.
Perhaps if you
know your history
you can think
about the
sort of
the worst
excesses
of the Roman
emperors
calling themselves
sons of gods
and saying
if you don't
worship
then there's
the threat
of exclusion
or even death.
Perhaps we
think about
the brutal
one religion
systems that
we see
in our world
today.
If you
do not
worship
in our way
then you
risk death
and persecution.
We see
the power
of
deception
that Satan
can do
his work
through
regimes
through governments
to try and stamp
out to destroy
the Christian
church
to draw people
away from
true worship.
Jesus gives
us
these visions
to remind
us and to
help us
to know
our enemy
to understand
that Satan
always sells
a lie
but sometimes
that lie
can seem
very
appealing.
If we
think about
how he
worked
back
at the
beginning
if we
go back
to how
the devil
operated
in the
garden
of Eden
think about
some of
the lies
that he
sells
persuading
Adam and
Eve
deceiving
us
perhaps
God
limits
your
joy
God
holds
back
his
best
there's
more
fun
to be
had
more
fullness
to be
had
outside
of
God's
commands
choose
to live
your best
life
now
don't
think
about
eternity
don't
think
about
life
in
relation
to
God
his
deception
includes
that
denial
of
God's
authority
no one
can tell
you
what
to
do
listen
to do
what
God
forbids
that
mean
you
become
like
God
you
can
have
true
life
when
God
is
replaced
on
the
throne
be
your
authentic
self
don't
let
anyone
tell
you
otherwise
the devil
would deceive
us to
reject
God
in
to
favor
our
own
desires
this
looks
good
this is
going to
be
pleasing
and the
devil
would
persuade
us
there's
freedom
break
faith
with
your
creator
in
order
to
really
live
don't
live
according
to
those
ancient
restrictions
and
when we
believe
the
lie
the
reality
is
so
much
better
promises
much
but
offers
only
death
to
go
against
the
design
of
our
creator
to
go
against
the
way
that
we
were
made
to
say
no
to
the
wisdom
of
his
God
ordained
limits
to
say
no
to
healthy
good
life
giving
relationship
with
God
to
try
and
build
the
foundation
for
our
life
and
our
joy
on
something
that
is
small
and
temporary
and
doesn't
last
is
the
path
of
defeat
and
disaster
and
so we
need
to
know
our
enemy
because
he
would
tell
us
otherwise
but
as much
as we
must
know
our
enemy
we
must
also
know
the
path
to
victory
you know
so we've
read about
Satan's
strategy
that Jesus
has
delivered
to us
here
but we
also need
to know
about
God's
battle
plan
and about
God's
victory
and so we
need to
know
the
wonderful
truth
of
Revelation
13
and
verse
8
there
are
people
who
don't
worship
the
beast
there
are
people
who
do
enjoy
life
with
God
those
whose
names
are
written
in the
Lamb's
book
of
life
the
Lamb
who
was
slain
from
the
creation
of
the
world
the
Lamb
who
was
slain
before
the
world
was
made
think
about
what
Jesus
is
telling
us
here
through
John
before
there
was
anything
there
was
God
Father
Son
and
Holy
Spirit
and
there
was
God's
plan
to
save
sinners
who
would
rebel
who
would
choose
to
reject
him
who
would
run
from
him
who
would
turn
to
worship
other
things
and
that
plan
would
involve
the
Father
sending
the
Son
to
come
and
die
on
a
cross
the
Lamb
who
was
slain
and
that
in
his
death
there
would
be
this
amazing
reversal
and
victory
so what
looked like
death
and shame
and humiliation
actually
becomes the
place where
Jesus is
lifted up
in glory
where his
victory
is known
where his
salvation
is
experienced
as he
is raised
on the
third
day
and so
the path
of victory
for us
is a
path
of
trusting
Jesus
and his
death
for our
sin
that
by grace
we would
have our
names
written in
the Lamb's
book of
life
and to
have our
names
there
is to
have
eternal
security
is to
be kept
safe
through
every
spiritual
battle
is to
understand
that as
Jesus has
won the
victory
so we
as his
people
share
that
victory
and so
we are
called
as we're
told in
verse 10
to
patient
endurance
and
faithfulness
trusting
Jesus
and his
promises
and living
by faith
that Satan
tries to
deceive
but Jesus
has come
and he's
come to
open blind
eyes
and there's
life
in him
and that
really takes
us to the
third
battlefield
report
which
remind us
that Jesus
King
Jesus
brings
redemption
so if
this was
live
reporting
if this
was
you know
if the
cameras
were rolling
and this
was being
portrayed
the guns
would now
be silent
the bombs
would no
longer be
falling
the troops
wouldn't be
charging
the fog
of war
would be
lifting
and clearing
and as we
look up
to the
hillside
we would
see a
king
standing
in victory
and we
would see
his troops
gathered
around him
and across
the battlefield
we would
hear a
great song
of victory
being sung
because chapter
14 is the
promise
after the
battle
that the
lamb
wins
that Jesus
has
the
eternal
victory
that the
outcome
is
never
in doubt
that the
lamb
who was
slain
in loving
sacrifice
now stands
on the
centre of
the throne
now stands
in the midst
of his
people
receiving
glory and
honour
because he's
saved
takes place
we're told
in verse 1
on Mount
Zion
Mount
Zion
is God's
hill
the place
of God's
presence
and glory
and it's
here that
the saviour
gathers his
people to
enjoy life
with him
the eternal
reality for
the church
is a life
of peace
in the
presence of
God
where God
is
where Jesus
is
God
those
who are
gathered
are the
144,000
who have
the name
and the
father's
name
written
on their
forehead
so remember
that 144,000
that symbolic
language
here is the
church in all
times and places
Old Testament
and New Testament
gathered together
to praise
Jesus
the redeemer
they have the
name of
Jesus
and the
father's
name
on their
foreheads
stamped as
belonging to
God
and the
redeemed
sing a new
song
because they've
experienced the
final act
of God's
salvation
the final
defeat of
Satan and
sin and
death
the beginning
of God's
eternal
kingdom
here on
earth
and so
there is joy
and there is
peace
for those who
follow
Jesus
the king
so as we
consider the
reality that we
are in
spiritual
battle
the thing
that Jesus
would say
to us
is this
keep
his
final
victory
in
view
when
people
today
are
caught
up
in
conflict
think
about
a
war
zone
there's
really
no way
to know
how that
will end
we don't
have the
ability to
see into
the future
but when
we open
a history
book
and we
read about
a war
from the
past
that's
different
isn't
it
because
we've
got the
full
story
we know
which
side
wins
Jesus
gift
to you
and to
me
today
is to
present
from the
standpoint
of
eternity
the
ultimate
outcome
of the
spiritual
battle
that takes
place
so that
if we're
here today
and life
as a
Christian
is hard
and we're
wondering
is it
worth it
where's it
all heading
perhaps
you're not
a Christian
and you're
thinking
well what
side
should I
choose
Jesus
invites
us
to
recognize
his
victory
is
sure
and
certain
and so
he says
to us
trust
me
my
battle
is won
you can
look back
to the
cross
to see
the certain
victory
established
and we're
invited to
look ahead
with hope
to his
return
when that
victory
is
secure
so that
when we
find
ourselves
in the
spiritual
battle
in the
fog
of war
when we're
being tempted
when we're
being opposed
maybe even
just when we're
being distracted
we look to
the king
on the hill
the king
who died
for us
on Mount
Calvary
the king
who stands
and reigns
for us
on Mount
Zion
because the
battle
is his
and the
battle is
won
and because
of that
the blessing
can be
ours
let's pray
together
briefly
哪裡