Taking Our Enemy Seriously
May 25, 2014
Pastor Stan Lubeck
The LIFEhouse Church
Revelation 12:1-17
Introduction: Revelation 12 begins with symbolism. The
symbolism is all pointed to one character who is literal and real,
Satan himself, the one who hates you. When we talk about a topic
like this, some will go overboard, and see a demon behind
everything that happens. The Devil made me do it, and they blame
Satan for their own lack of discipline or giving in to their own
flesh, to sin. These people dwell on Satan and think about him
more than they think about God. We should know that it is not
good to dwell on Satan or his demons, thinking that there is a
demon behind every bush waiting to jump out at you and make you
eat a donut or sleep through the alarm clock.
On the other extreme are those who ignore Satan completely and
deny that he even exists. They think he is a made up character with
a red suit a pitchfork, a tail and some horns who likes dressing up
for Halloween.
In his classic work The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis writes,
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can
fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The
other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest
in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and
hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”i
Satan is a defeated foe, but he is not a powerless foe.
The Bible tells us that he is real… and how we should be alert to
him. Currently, Satan’s ability to unleash his terror is limited.
One day he will be allowed to release it full force, before Christ
conquers him at Christ’s coming.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the
devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to
devour.
Satan is our adversary! He is our enemy. He is trying to separate us
from our Heavenly Father, to get us to doubt that God really loves
us and has our best interest in mind.
You have to know that there are two powers in this world. There
is the power of God, righteous and holy. Then there is the evil
empire of Satan, who comes to kill steal and destroy. Can you
really explain the horrors and corruption and evil in this world as
being dreamed up by ordinary men and women? Why do people
do such horrible things to one another? There is a power behind
their diabolical actions!
Just as we are preaching truth, there are those who are preaching
the message of the satanic beliefs and values.
In Africa, atheism is a new concept. For thousands of years, there
has been a choice between God or Satan. Often people sold their
soul to the one who they thought would give them what they
wanted… Whoever offered the better deal… Pastor James Tiera is
a wonderful pastor that we support in Uganda, and scattered
throughout his community are witchcraft huts with modern day
witchdoctors.
Even last week, while I was in Brazil, in the slums, we walked by
a home that was practicing witchcraft and I took a picture of the
sacrifice they made on an altar outside of the home, just yards from
where we would be gathering children together to tell them about
Jesus.
Just as there are Christians spreading the good news, Satan has his
henchmen spreading their agenda of immorality, rebellion,
corruption and anarchy. Some of the most effective evangelists for
evil are in the music industry. If you went into a school, and asked
to teach what is being taught through the music industry, you
would likely be arrested!
Here in the US, we tend to discount satanic influences analytically,
but they are real and we need to be aware. Don’t be ignorant of the
Devils schemes, so that you are be prepared and avoid being
deceived. Even in the US, satanic palm readers are everywhere.
1 John 5:19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world
lies in the power of the evil one.
When sin came into the world, God has allowed Satan to rule on
this earth. Revelation is all about God reclaiming what is His!
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God is on his throne in heaven, but Satan, for this time, is the
“prince of the power of the air.”
Satan is pushing his agenda in our world. You see the music
industry continuing to push immorality to the limit of what can be
shown to the TV audience… Miley Cyrus is just the latest in the
music industry who arrogantly cross the lines of decency.
The Satanic Bible preaches rebellion and anarchy and “do what
ever you will.” “Whatever sounds fun is open season. If you
haven’t tried drugs, you are missing out. If you haven’t had an
affair, you are missing out on the spice of life.”
If you put this message to music, everyone accepts it as cool…
why? As long as it has a good beat, we listen to the worst
messages in the world!
John Lennon said, “They wouldn’t accept my political agenda, so
I dipped it in honey.” He put his message to music, and everyone
listens. In his famous song, “Imagine,” Lennon is saying, if we can
just get rid of all religion and governments and capitalism, we will
all live in peace… he is a dreamer! Because there is something
called sin and evil in our world that messes everything up.
 Satan is the master at using music as part of his deception.
There are five “symbols” in this chapter, that are introduced with
“a great sign.” The Greek word semeion (“sign”) is an indication
that there is something beyond the symbol itself. What this is a
sign of, is real people and real events in history, in the past and the
future.
The first two signs are easy to decipher, and once you know those
two, the third one is quite unmistakable.
I.
THE WOMAN
Revelation 12:1 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 twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and
was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.
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This woman clothed with the sun, moon at her feed and crown
with twelve stars? Roman Catholics believe that this is Mary, the
mother of Jesus.
But it cannot be Mary because of verse 6.
Revelation 12:6 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 never happened to Mary and it never will. This woman is a
symbol, a sign of the nation of Israel… what are the clues in the
context of this chapter?
This symbol of “sun, moon and stars” is linked to Genesis 37,
when Joseph had a dream when he was a young boy. The sun,
moon and 11 stars all bowed down to him. Jacob, his father, rightly
interpreted that Joseph would be exalted and the entire family
would bow down before him. This all happened as Joseph became
the second in command, ruling all Egypt and his father, mother and
11 brothers… Joseph is the twelfth star… referring to the Twelve
Tribes of Israel.
So this is clearly a sign of the nation of Israel. Joseph’s father,
Jacob was given the name Israel. So this is clearly communicating
that the woman giving birth is Israel giving birth to the Messiah, to
Jesus.
Paul the Apostle speaks of Jesus coming for Israel,
Romans 9:5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race,
according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all,
blessed forever. Amen.
It was Israel who humanly brought forth Jesus.
The woman at the well of Samaria spoke…
John 4:22 “salvation is from the Jews.”
Jesus came from the lineage of Israel.
II.
THE DRAGON
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Revelation 12:3-4 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a
great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his
heads seven diadems. 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.
There is a dragon in this chapter, and verse 9 tells us exactly who
this is…
Revelation 12:9 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 his angels were thrown down with him.
Satan is the “great red dragon.” – this is where people conclude
that Satan has a red suit. He is appearing with seven heads and ten
horns and seven crowns on his heads.
A dragon is simply a super-serpent – and most cultures around the
world identify him as a serpent, a snake, as we found him in the
Garden of Eden at the beginning, tempting Adam and Eve – a
“snake in the grass,” who is a deceiver!
John is writing down what he sees in this vision of a woman
preparing to give birth and he sees this dragon, who is standing by
the woman, waiting for her to give birth so he can devour the child.
Satan doesn’t reveal himself as he really is… he disguises
himself… as an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises
himself as an angel of light.
Why seven heads? (we will talk more about his next week)
These represent seven successive world empires in history. Satan is
the power behind these world empires. Next week we will study a
world empire that is still to come, that controls the entire world. It
is an empire that is composed of ten different kingdoms, led by the
anti-Christ. That is what the tens horns represent here, a
confederacy that impacts the entire world.
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The dragon’s tail “swept a third of the stars of heaven and cast
them to earth.” What does this mean?
You have to go back to the fall of Satan, way back in history.
You can read about this in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. Satan’s name
was Lucifer, the angel of light, who was beautiful and had great
authority as one of the anointed cherubs. Satan refused to submit to
God and rebelled against God’s authority.
So God banished him from heaven and God created hell for Satan
and his demons. But God hasn’t assigned Satan to hell quite yet!
Satan knows that he has a place prepared for him one day, but right
now he is not living in Hell and he won’t reign in hell either.
Somehow, Satan convinced one third of the angels to rebel with
him. This is the symbol of the dragon’s tail sweeping 1/3rd of the
stars, with refer to angels from heaven. These are what we call
“fallen angels.”
 So if Satan knows that he is defeated, why does he continue to
fight?
Does he think that he can win? Satan isn’t known for his logic…
Imagine picking a fight with someone who is all knowing, all
powerful and can be everywhere at once… and thinking that you
can win the fight… that is what Satan has done.
It could be that Satan is that angry being… like an angry soldier,
who is surrounded by the enemy, knowing that he cannot win, but
as the enemy comes for him, he is trying to take out every
opposing soldier he can… Desperate people do desperate things.
Satan is a defeated foe, but he is not a powerless foe. He would
love to see as many go to hell as he can take with him. He knows
that he can hurt God the most by talking as many with him as
possible.
Satan is leading the world to rebel against God and to downplay
sin… It’s a new world, “that is not a sin anymore. You are going to
get married anyway, you are just sleeping together. Hedonism is
fun. God wouldn’t judge you for committing an abortion… sexual
perversion isn’t so bad.
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Our culture is getting further and further from God. Satan deceived
1/3 of the angels and now he is deceiving the world.
He is on a campaign to lure everyone away from God. He wants to
take down Christians – turning them into hypocrites.
So this dragon, who is symbolic of Satan himself is seeking to
devour the child.
Matthew 2 – King Herod was inspired by Satan to devour all the
newborn male babies in the area. Where did that thought come
from?
Matthew 4 – Satan goes to the desert to tempt Jesus to rebel! He
goes after Jesus himself! What arrogance!
Esther 3, we are introduced to Haman, inspired by Satan to
annihilate the Jews.
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”
Who is the thief? Satan!
III. THE MALE CHILD
Revelation 12:5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule
all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught
up to God and to his throne,”
Once Jesus gets to the throne of God, Satan cannot get to him
anymore.
This is clearly Jesus, who will rule with a “rod of iron.” This
speaks of Jesus as he rules with strict justice and righteousness as
he reigns on the earth, but, because of sin, he is the enforcer.
The Psalmist speaks of this time when God establishes his rule
through Jesus.
Psalms 2:6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
Psalms 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them
in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
When we get to the New Heavens and New Earth later in this book,
Jesus will no longer reign with a rod of iron, because sin will be
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conquered along with death. There will be no sin, so he will appear
as the tender, loving Shepherd.
He cannot tempt Jesus and have access to him, so he goes after the
next dearest thing, God’s people, the nation of Israel.
Revelation 12:6 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.
So Israel flees to the desert for 3 ½ years. This could be a place
like Masada, where Jews fled to during the Roman persecution in
AD 70. This was a stronghold that King Herod built as a place to
retreat, under attack. He never used it, but the Jews did.
It could be Masada or another place like Petra in the desert. It is a
place of protection.
So this is what is taking place on earth, while other stuff is going
on in heaven…
IV.
MICHAEL THE ANGEL
Revelation 12:7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels
fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels
fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer
any place for them in heaven. 9 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 his angels were thrown down with
him.
This is an end time event. Most likely this takes place right in the
middle of the tribulation period, as the beginning of what we call
“The Great Tribulation.”
Satan makes his attempt to get his place back in heaven. Currently
Satan has access to heaven, but it will not always be the case.
If you remember the story of Job and how Satan came into the
presence of God to accuse Job and say that Job would not worship
God if he didn’t have it so good. But one day he will be booted out,
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having no access to heaven anymore. God will one day say,
“enough of you Satan, you are out of here!”
Then Satan declares war in the heavenlies, God sends Michael and
his team of angels to fight against Satan and his fallen angels.
You can read about this in Daniel 12, where we are told that
Michael the Archangel will defend the people of Israel.
Satan loses this war to Michael and his angels, and Satan is hurled
to earth. He is expelled from having access to heaven from this
point on.
Not surprisingly, the heavens rejoice.
Revelation 12:10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our
God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the
accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses
them day and night before our God. 11 And they have
conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word
of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto
death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell
in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has
come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that
his time is short!”
Finally the long awaited reign of God is put into place on earth.
The accuser is defeated!
Look at verse 11 carefully, if you want to win the battle against he
deceiver of your soul… this verse gives us the tools that believers
have used in every age to defeat the attacks of our diabolical foe.
Satan is a liar and he is accusing us day and night! We hear the
voices… “you are no good. God doesn’t really love you. You are
damaged goods, no one wants you. What kind of Christian area
you? Look at what you did! What makes you think that God can
use you?
How do you handle those crippling accusations? Here is the
Biblical formula! We all mess up! We all hurt others, we all fall
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into selfishness, we all are thoughtless and self seeking. So we all
should be taking notes…
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus.
How did they overcome?
1.
The blood of the lamb
This is the antidote for the accusations, the guilt and the shame that
Satan hurls at us, trying to get us to give up. Because of the blood
of Jesus and what he did on that cross, I can be forgiven. I’m a new
creature! The blood of Jesus is sufficient!
People everywhere today are trying other pain medications of
choice, and they don’t work. They try drugs and pleasure and
alcohol, sex, fame and fortune and power, but they are still lonely
and guilty and filled with shame… they need the blood of the lamb
to wash and cleanse them so that they can get past their past!
2.
The word of their testimony
When you verbalize that you are a Christ follower, others expect
you to act like a Christian and they will point it out when you don’t.
Being baptized is a way of saying, “I’m not ashamed of being a
Christ follower, and I want everyone to know.”
That testimony is used powerfully to let others know that they can
find forgiveness and freedom too in Christ. This is how we all
came to Christ.
3.
They did not love their lives even unto
death.
They would give up anything for Christ. They care more about
Jesus’ honor than anything in the world. They would rather die,
than do something that would dishonor the Lord.
This is how you overcome Satan. Know that he is trying to take
you down, and you have nothing to prove and nothing to lose. You
are a child of the king and he cannot touch that!
We don’t have to lose to a loser… but notice the last part of verse
12, as Satan is thrown down to earth…
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“But woe to you…” Satan is very angry, and he is desperate,
knowing that his time is limited… at most he has 3 ½ years left at
this time… before he will be bound and thrown into the bottomless
pit.
In desperation, he begins to attack the woman (Israel) who gave
birth to the child.
V.
THE OFFSPRING
Revelation 12:13 And
when the dragon saw that he had been thrown
down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to
the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the
great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the
wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time,
and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river
out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood.
16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth
opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had
poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon became furious with
the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her
offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold
to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
This events seem to pick up speed on the eternal clock. Satan
moves quickly to attack Israel, but God protects the woman (Israel)
who had given birth to the child (the Messiah)… she flies away
with eagle wings to be protected for 3 ½ years.
This is not talking about all of Israel, but the faithful remnant of
believers in Jesus as the Messiah.
Satan sends a river of water after her in the desert…this is most
likely troops and a wave of soldiers. God protects her by opening
up the earth like God did to Achan when God opened up the earth
and swallowed him and his family.
So finally, in frustration, Satan makes was with the offpring of the
woman.
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Who are these people? These are the people who love God with all
their heart, soul, mind and strength. This is the faithful remnant of
Israel. The rebel apostates have all been removed. God is caring
for his faithful people. God always protects his own, Christ’s
commandos, a special band of 144,000 Jews, who are faithful unto
death.
Satan attacks these dear followers of Christ.
Next week we learn about 666 and come face to face with two
great antichristian powers.
Prayer: Lord, we want to be overcomers! Thank you for your
promise that “greater is he who is in you, than he who is in the
world.” Lord, I pray for those this morning who are battling with
sin, and wrestling with the temptations that the evil one is putting
in front of them. I pray that they will cry out to you. I pray that
they will grab one of our prayer team after the service, so we can
provide some prayer support.
Lord, we want to overcome, but the blood of the lamb, by the word
of our bold testimony and that we would love You more than life
itself. Nothing is more important to us Lord, than to accomplish
the work that you have given us to do, for your pleasure and glory.
Amen!
Action Points:
•
I invite Jesus to be my Lord and Savior
•
I am in a battle, pray for me.
•
Pray that the word of my testimony would be more bold.
i
C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (New York: Macmillan,
1961), 3.
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