Revelation 12:7-17

Revelation chapter 12, verses 1 to 17. I looked at the first part of the chapter last week, the first six verses. We want to look at verses 7 through 17 this morning, but let me read the passage from Revelation 12, beginning with verse 1. and there appeared a great wonder in having a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet upon her head a crown of twelve stars, and she being with child cry, traveling in birth and pain to be delivered, there appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, seven crowns upon his head. His tale drew the third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman, which was ready to be delivered, for to devire her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man-child that was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and her child was caught up unto God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God. They should feed her there a thousand, two hundred and three-score days. And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought, and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not. Neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out. that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. It was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb, by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death. Therefore rejoice ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them, woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea, the devil is come down upon you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon, saw that he was cast under the earth. He persecuted the woman which brought forth the man-child. And the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flound. after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman. The earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood, which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wrothed with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony. of Jesus Christ. May God bless to us, His sacred and holy word. This morning. By way of review, let me say that the book of Revelation, we said, was divided into two series of symbols. There are symbols that are related to the Lamb of God and give us the heavenly perspective of things in verses, our chapters. 4 through 11. And then there are symbols that are related to the Lamb’s bride, the church, give us more of an earthly perspective on things and verses 12 through 22. Or chapters 12 through 22. Now what you have then is the very same history, but it’s viewed from a different perspective. So there are some overlapping events rather than chapter 21st. 12 chronologically moving us forward. We’re still dealing with the sort of the same events, but we’re looking at them from a different perspective. The second half of Revelation covers the Great Tribulation, the 1260 days, or time, times, and a half of time, the three and half years period of the great tribulation, the Jewish Roman War from 66 to 70 AD in particular. mostly from the perspective of the bride of Christ on earth. Now last week, as we looked at chapter 12, 1 to 6, we talked about the woman and the man child. The woman in Trevail in verses 1 and 2, this vision is in heaven, which means we’re getting a spiritual perspective on things. And so we shouldn’t see this as national Israel, but spiritual Israel, that is portrayed here. The woman is the bride of Christ or the Israel of God. The focus in particular is on the original Jewish Christian element of the church. Zion is expressly said here to bear children. Isaiah 66-8 is the passage that seems to be referenced. The 12 stars represent the faithful Jews, which follow the Lamb from wherever he goes, wherever he goes, from the 12 tribes. So we saw that in Revelation 7 or 12 tribes, and I think that’s what’s referenced here. The flight into the wilderness in verse 6. This speaks of the Jewish Christians of the early church, Heeding Christ’s command in Matthew 24, that when they say, see the abomination of desolation or when they see the enemy army invading the land, they are to flee Jerusalem and get out to the place in the mountains where God has preserved for them to survive this. The sun and the moon and the stars here give us a portrayal of Joseph’s stream in Genesis chapter 37. Here, if you recall that, referred to Jacob, Leah, and the 12 children. They were the 12 tribes. So it’s the Israel of God, if you would, being portrayed. And the idea is the church, of course, is the light of the world. All of these are light-bearing or light-reflecting things. So the woman in Treveil. Then we looked at the Great Red Dragon in verses 3 and 4. Now, the dragon we said, is a formidable monster. It’s like Leviathan in Job 41. Just impossible to stand up against. And of course, verse 9 tells us that the dragon is the devil. And we see that he is portrayed as a very powerful, fierce, formidable being. He’s a red dragon. We compared to the red horse in chapter 6 and verse 4. The red horse spoke of bloodshed, and that suggests to us that he’s red in the sense that he is the shatter of blood. He is the one who is seeking whom he may devire. Jesus called him a murderer from the beginning. He’s in heaven. He’s dealing with the spiritual realm here. We speak of the spiritual wickedness in high places in Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 6. 12. He has seven heads and ten horns. Now we referenced this and connected this up with Revelation chapter 13, verse 1. When the Roman Empire is spoken of as having the seven heads and the ten horns and the crowns on the heads and so forth. The idea I think is that Satan is behind the persecution we’re going to read about in chapter 13. by the beast against the church. He’s behind it. He’s the one who is involved in it. And his tale drew the third part of the stars of heaven. We suggested that this has a reference to verse 7 and the fallen angels that rebelled with Satan and were cast out. The Great Red Drek. Then we talked about the man child in verses 5 and 6. The man child, we said, was the Lord. Jesus Christ. God’s established king who rules the nations with a rod of iron. We saw that in Revelation chapter 19, verse 15. You can see that he is the one on the white horse who was referenced as doing that. And in Psalm 2 in particular, this is mentioned that he would crush the nations with a rod of iron. He ascended to heaven to sit on God’s throne. Here we have Revelation 5 where we said that he saw a lamb as it had been slain, newly slain. The idea of as Christ has ascended now, comes to the throne, sits on the throne, begins to reign on the throne and have the power. Acts 2, Peter’s sermon, preaches about Christ, being raised up to sit on the throne. Same thing. This references Daniel 7, verses 13 and 14. where one like the son of man comes to the ancient of days and is given a kingdom and rules over all nations. Then we mentioned that Satan attempted to kill Christ as soon as he was born. This reference is, of course, Herod, that Satan was using. He is an official of the Roman Empire. He is used to try to put to death Christ as soon as he is born. in Matthew 2.16. Then we have the birth of the man child by Zion that we talked about from Isaiah 66 verses 6 through 8. We read that passage and went over that. Zion gives birth to multiple children. You’ll notice that there’s a remnant of her seed in verse 17 it’s mentioned. But the manchild is given the main focus here in the first few verses of this chapter. And so we have the manchild, Jesus. Jesus, Christ, but there is also a remnant of her city. There’s other children that she gives birth to. And that speaks about Pentecost and beyond. And also Paul’s work and his missionary efforts to bring people into the kingdom of God. Now, the purpose of the vision of the man-child is to reveal how the exalted Christ will protect his church during the Great Tribulation of verse 6. And that’s where we left off last week. Now, we have the second part of this chapter is War in Heaven in verse 7 through 12. Let’s focus on that at this point. In verse in 7 and 8, we have the victory of Michael and his angels. Now, this scene provides light, I think, on the preceding section. Spiritual warfare accompanies Christ’s ascension to the throne of God. And we have the judgment here against the devil. Well, some equate Michael with the angel of the Lord and therefore with the Lord Jesus Christ, and an argument can be made for that. Others just equate him with a very powerful archangel who is carrying out the orders of Christ. Michael’s name means chief of the angels. And we read in the book of Daniel chapter 12, verse 1, The great prince which standeth for the children of thy people. That’s who Michael is. The consequence of the battle here is that the great dragon is cast out. He loses his power or his grip over the kingdoms of the world. It is impossible, or excuse me, it is possible to connect this with Satan’s access to heaven and his ability to accuse the people of God that he’s going to lose that ability to bring accusation. I don’t know if you remember Job 1 and 2 but he comes before God he makes accusations. Zachariah chapter 3, the devil makes accusations against the high priest Joshua there. And so, The idea maybe he loses this ability. Now that Christ has died and has triumphed. The victory of this heavenly battle was the direct result of Christ’s death and resurrection. And he sits upon the throne now. As he says in Jesus says in John 12 verses 31 and 32, now is the judgment of this world. Now is the judgment of this world. Now, shall the prince of this world be cast out. And if I be lifted up from the earth, we’ll draw all men unto me. So he sees Christ before his death. This is the hour victory. He’s going to die, but it’s going to be victorious. And then he’s going to draw all men. He’s going to start invading Satan’s kingdom with earnestness. And we’ll see that occurring. So this is the victory of Michael and his angels. Any questions about the first few verses here, verses 7 through 9. In verses 10 to 12 here of this, we have the joy in heaven. The resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ was a staggering blow of Satan’s kingdom. Forecasting the ultimate overthrow of Satan in his power. Hebrews 214 tells us that he died that he might destroy the works of the devil. and that’s what he’s doing by his death. Colossians 215 also gives us the same idea so does 1 John 3.8. This is not unfamiliar territory, so I won’t drag us through a lot of verses on this. We read here about, in this passage, in verse 10, now has come salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God and the power of Christ. salvation has been achieved for God’s people. It is finished. Strength. Well, it’s been demonstrated against Satan because his angels and the human agents employed by the prince of darkness are now going to be defeated by Christ and, of course, Michael and his angels who are under Christ. The kingdom of God has arrived. It’s being expanded. and the expansion is beginning. The power of Christ. He’s now king over the nations. He is over all principalities and all powers. Ruling. So we have all these things mentioned. The accuser of the brother and is cast down. We read here also in verse 10. Satan has persisted in accusing the people of God all along. However, with Christ’s death and ascension, The voice of the accusation has been silenced. You remember what Paul wrote in the book of Romans 8, verses 33 and 34. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies. Who is He that condemeth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again. Who is even at the right hand of God who makeeth intercession for us. Who can bringeth intercession for us? charges when Christ’s death imposes itself. And his blood is, of course, the protection that we have. And indeed, Christ is our advocate in heaven, interceding for us. So the triumph of the saints is due to, according to verse 11, the blood of the lamb, which we just talked about, the word of their testimony, I think the fact that they held to the testimony of Christ or proclaimed the testimony of Christ, we could either one, and their willingness to die for the faith of Christ. They didn’t love their lives under death. They’re willing to be martyrs for the faith. In verse 12, we have the heavens rejoice, but the earth experiences woe. There’s a contrast here. Heavens rejoice because vision. Victory is being gained by Christ here. The devil has been thwarted, and now he is a limited range of activity. And he’s going to vent his wrath upon the people of God, upon the nation of Israel in particular. His intention will be the stamp out the growing church. Remember, the woman is having more than one child. There’s more than the man-child. there’s children being born. He wants to stomp them out before it becomes larger and continues to conquer his territory. Now, Satan is said to only have a short time here because he’s soon going to be bound and he will not be able to deceive the nations like he has previously done, as Revelation 20 indicates to us. And then the gospel is really going to expand throughout all the world. So his ability to deceive the nations has been done for a long time is going to be lost. And thus those in heaven have good cause to rejoice and sing praises the God and the land. Victory is coming over Satan and his agents here. So there’s war in heaven. The victory of Michael and his angels and there’s joy. And have any questions about this? Am I going too fast? I’m trying to. cover all this ground here, but is that any questions? Yes. Can you comment on that? Yes. In other words, some things are in the spiritual realm. And so, as I said, we’re not talking, when we’re looking at this, you could say, well, the woman seems to portray Israel. But it’s not natural Israel. It’s spiritual Israel. So we’re in a spiritual realm. It’s sort of like Ephesians 1. when we are blessed in Christ in Christ. in heavenly places. You know, how is it? How is it that we’re in heavenly place? Because it’s in this spiritual realm that we have these blessings that come to us. Ephesians 1 and 2 both speak about this heavenly aspect that we are connected with Christ. And I think that’s what’s being portrayed here. I don’t know if that clarifies things better for you or not. But that’s, I think what there’s, sometimes it speaks about heaven and it talks about the people they’re rejoicing. But in this case, it seems to be the woman’s on earth because she has to flee and she has to hide, you know, hide away, and God protects her and things like. She’s not up in the third heaven with the Lord. So that’s why I mentioned it that way. Right. And so when Satan is… Well, he’s going to be limited in what he can do, and God’s going to protect the woman. But he’s going to try and gets the… the children of the Jewish church and that perhaps the main church at Jerusalem and then the satellite churches in Judea, they’re going to get out. They’re going to flee. You know, they’re going to get out of the out of there. But the remnant of her seed, as we shall see, the Gentiles are the ones that are going to bear the brunt of the Roman Empire attacking, Nero attacking. And he makes war with the saints. and so we see that occurring. So he’s going to try to do some harm one way or the other against the church. But the Jewish element of it is seeming the original Jewish element is going to get away. And that’s, I think, what’s portrayed here. Okay? And that’s what we’re going to look at. In verses 13 to 17, we have the woman preserved. Satan’s defeat at the hands of Christ enrages him. He can’t win in heaven, but he hopes. the wind on earth. The object of his wrath is the woman. This is, we said, the Christ’s bride, the church. He attacks it with a vengeance. He persecutes the woman. Verse 13. Now, in particular, the Mother Church in Jerusalem and the Jewish satellite assemblies in Judea are the ones, I think, are being persecuted originally by, say, verse 13 sort of picks up the narrative from verse 6. If you can you just jump from 6 to 13. It continues the line here of thinking. This is in accordance with Christ’s command, and all of it discordance. When they see the Roman invasion, they’re to get out, leave, flee to the mountain, Petra, those areas up in the mountains where they could be protected. And this is what God has. The speed at which God moves his people out of harm’s ways compared here to Eagle’s wings. Now, does anybody remember where this phrase is used elsewhere in the Bible? These eagle wings? That sound familiar, Russell? Okay. I was thinking further back, I was thinking about the Exodus. If you look at Exodus 19-4, when God takes them out of Egypt, he gives them like eagle’s wings to carry them and spare them and get them out of harm’s way. And so I think that’s sort of the same concept here. This presents you, this presents you with a the idea of a supernatural intervention by God to preserve his people. He’s given us an indication he is doing it. He’s the one that’s preserving his people. God has a place to keep them safe for the three and a half years or the time, times, and half a time, or the 1,200 60 days. They’re all the same thing. The serpent sends out a flood from his mouth to destroy the woman. Verse 15. Interesting phraseology here. The serpent casts out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. Anybody have any thoughts about what you think, that flood? might represent. Let’s look at it. Okay, Keith. The Roman armies? Yes, that’s I think exactly what he’s talking about here. And he puts it in this kind of language. But let’s look at Jeremiah 46, verses 7 to 9. Notice how this language is used in scripture. Now, you can come to this passage, and you could see where people could make this, anything they wanted to make it. But when you start looking at how the Bible uses the language, then it becomes, I think, obvious what’s being talked about here. Chapter 46 of Jeremiah verses 7 to 9. Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers? Egypt riseth up like a flood. And his waters are moved like the rivers. And he says, I will go up. I will cover the earth. I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof. Come up, ye horses, and rage ye chariots. Let the mighty men come forth. The Ethiopians and the Libyans that handle the shield and the Lydians that handle the and bend the bow. And so we see here Egypt, and I think in particular, they’re going to come up against Babylon, if I’m not mistaken here and he will be defeated. But they come up like a flood. You see the language. Look at chapter 47 in verses 2 and 3. Thus say if the Lord behold waters rise up out of the north and shall be an overflowing flood and shall overflow the land and all that is therein, the city, and then the dwell therein, and then the dwell therein, and the men shall cry and all the inhabitants of the land shall how and the noise of their stomping of the hooves of his strong horses at the rushing of his chariots and the rumbling of his wheels the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands. There’s other passages that we can look at, but I think these two give us the idea of it. It’s sort of like an army just overflows the land, like a flood. And so this This is what I think the Roman Empire is portrayed, is overflowing the land, but it’s coming from Satan. Satan is the one that’s being instigating. So it’s said to come out of his mouth. So here the floodwaters represent the Roman armies in their wave of utter destruction of everything in their path. In this manner, Satan hopes to destroy the church, even though National Israel also is involved in this. interestingly enough, when you read the 70 weeks prophecy in Daniel chapter 9, how does that end? Ends with a flood. Look with me at Daniel chapter 9, verses 25 and 26. Here we have the 70 weeks. It refers to the time of the coming of the Messiah, and the aftermath of that will be the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem. Notice verse 25, Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem under Messiah the prince shall be seven weeks and three score and two weeks. The street shall be built again in the wall even in troubleless times. And after the three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off. Here we have the death of Christ. And not for himself, because he’s not, he’s going to die for his people. And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And the end thereof shall be with a flood. And under the end of the war, desolations are determined. Now notice he talks about a flood, but he connects it with a war. And it will result in the devastation and desolation of the land in Jerusalem and so forth. and the destruction of the temple and city. Any questions about this aspect of the water and the flood? Yes. That’s right. That’s right. I think that’s absolutely correct. And you see it repeatedly throughout the book. And this is another example of it. That could be developed. You know, if someone could spend more time, even develop. that further. But I think you can see where it’s shining through the storyline here. You wonder why they called Egypt? Well, you see, as you see all these events, the people of God have to flee. The people of God are carried out by the Lord and protected. And they get destroyed, just like Pharaoh and his army, and they get destroyed by a flood. Only this flood is not water, and literal water, this flood is an army that comes in and destroys them. similar idea. Okay, the earth helps the woman. Verse 16. Back in Revelation. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood, which the dragon cast out of his mouth. I suggest to you the earth here is the land, as it often is, in this chapter, or this book. So the idea is the land of Israel drinks up. absorbs, if you would, the wrath of the Roman armies while the people of God escape. So that we have the idea that Romans engaged in hostilities with the Jewish rebels, and they weren’t immediately concerned about the refugees that were running out of the country. And so the people of God escape and the Jewish nation is destroyed. This was especially true early. in the war as the Christian church slips away and is hurdly removed, frustrating Satan’s real purpose, at least is one of the main purposes he had. And then we have Satan’s war with the remnant of her seed in verse 17. And the dragon was wrothed with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which kept the commandments of God and had the testimony of Jesus Christ. He can’t get the woman. The original Jewish group is protected, so he turns attention to the Gentile converts of the woman and attacks. God has sealed and has protected the Jewish remnant, hasn’t he? We saw that in Revelation chapter 7, at least for a season they’re protected. And so Satan now, he’s going to turn his efforts against the Gentile element of the church. It is at this time that great persecution breaks out in the Roman Empire against the Christians. And we’ll look more at this at chapter 13, when we have the beast making war with the saints. That phrase actually is taken from Daniel chapter 7, verses 21 and 22. And that’s where he’s referencing, or at least drawing from in chapter 13. The church’s children are described as those who keep God’s commandments, of course. Well, how First John describes the people of God as those who keep the commandments of God, right? I mean, John’s writing here, and under the inspiration of the Spirit, he says the very same thing he says in his epistle. Those who believe on Christ, they have spiritual knowledge and, saving experience, and they proclaim the truth about Jesus Christ. Any questions about the war with the remnant of her seat? I’m rolling along here pretty quick. I was trying to finish this section off so I could do it in two weeks. Okay, so Revelation 12 backs up chronologically, goes over some of the same ground, but with a new perspective. The focus is on the Lamb’s Bride, the Church. Especially the Jewish element of it here. The mother church in Jerusalem is the present woman that we’re talking about here. God protects it from the Satan-inspired persecution after Zion brought forth the long-awated man-child, the Lord Jesus Christ. And while the Jewish believers escape, the Roman armies are occupied with the land of Israel, conquering the rebellious Jews. and Satan will now turn his attention against the Gentile element of the Church of Christ. Any question about that? Let me make a couple practical observations on the chapter. One important purpose of the church is to bring forth spiritual children. And that’s what we read about here. Through the proclamation of the gospel, God is pleased to save those who believe. It’s why the power. of the gospel being preached. The church is to teach your disciple all nations with the purpose of bringing the gospel to bear upon all the world. You know, frequently Paul and John refer to the disciples as my little children, or little children, or my children. And so we can see this phraseology used in the epistles, and so it’s not unusual. And you remember in, what is it, second and third John, he talks about the lady and her children. I heard of some of your children walking in the truth and so forth. So it’s not an unusual type of language in the New Testament. This is laborous work. So it’s compared to giving birth. And so we have the idea it’s not easy. This is a laborous job for the church. to undergo. I read in Galatians 419, my little children of whom I travail in birth again the second time until Christ be formed in you. He had brought forth children and then he asked the question, the Galatians because they had turned away from the gospel of pure grace to a works plus grace type of salvation that the Judaizers had brought in. and he says, now I have to sort of go over to the same area. I have to labor. I have to lay again to make sure that you are indeed the true children of God. So let us, therefore, faithfully witness that by God’s grace, we may bring forth children because that’s part of the church’s, I think, duty. One important purpose of the church is bring forth spiritual children. The second thing here, I suggest, is the church is engaged in an invisible war against Satan. You do not see Satan. But you can be able to be. assured that he is this red dragon or he is the lion who goes about seeking whom he may devour he is busy and active and thus you need to be sober and a sober-minded and vigilant the church is a very powerful adversary seeking to destroy it and you’ll notice that Satan will use rulers and he will use governments and their military against the church if he can to destroy the church and persecute the woman. Be prepared then as the people of God to realize we may have to suffer for Christ’s name. The battle may be quite heated. It can be intense. So the church is engaged in an invisible war against Satan. The third thought is that God always preserves his church. so that the gates of hell do not prevail against it. When the enemy comes in with a flood, the Lord lifts up his hand and stops it, according to Isaiah. And so Christ always seems to make a way of escape for his people when it appears all is going to be lost. He thwarts Satan. He hides his people from his great wrath. And let us take comfort in the fact that God’s people are the apple of his eye, they are precious in his sight. Christ is not unmindful of our sufferings. And he pities the plight of his children. So let us by faith trust in Christ’s protective care in the darkest of times, ever mindful of this passage here in Revelation 12 as an example of how he protects his people. Finally, Satan is defeated foe. When you get to the end of this chapter, he is. frustrated. He is a being who knows he’s losing. And you find here the crushing defeat inflicted upon the dragon, Satan, by our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Expulsion from heaven. His power is broken by Christ’s death and resurrection. He’s deprived of his ability to be accuser of the brethren like he used to be. You can therefore overcome Satan. Verse 11, based upon Christ victory. I like what 1 John 2.13 says, I write unto you young men because you have overcome the wicked one. We too can overcome in the same manner as we see here in verse 11. Victory is assured by the blood of the lamb, by the word of your testimony, by the will and of your person to die for Christ if necessary and not cast off the faith. Let us rejoice here that our great adversary has his power curtailed. You can resist the devil and he will flee from you. Any other thoughts on this as we close this this this morning.