The Dragon Wars
Rev. 12
I suppose it’s not unusual for monsters to come up in conversation on Halloween night, but you probably didn’t expect to hear about them at church. Nevertheless, that’s just what we’re going to talk about—a monster, more specifically, a dragon.
Dragons are mythical creatures that haunt the culture of almost every civilization, from the Babylonians to the Chinese to the Europeans. Long ago, when much of the world was still undiscovered, mapmakers when they reached the edge of their knowledge, would insert the ominous lines—“here be dragons.” Today most of us leave dragons for fairy tales, or books or movies. But the dragon I want to talk about is no fairy tale. He is real. He’s been around a long time, and he’s just as deadly and diabolical as he’s ever been. He is the monster behind all other monsters, the bogeyman who really is there, the ultimate horror of the universe. And this monster, this dragon wages war right now against the church of Jesus Christ, against the very God of the universe, and against you and me. Tonight we’ll take a look at 3 aspects of the dragon wars, and look at how you and I can win against this ancient monster. Let’s begin in Rev. 12:1-6., where we read about the first war of the dragon.
John begins by clarifying the nature of his vision. He describes a great and wondrous sign…another sign…John’s vision is expressed in symbols, but don’t forget these symbols represent reality, not fantasy.
The first symbol in vs. 1-2 is a woman in labor, about to give birth. Her clothes shine like the sun, the moon is at her feet, and on her head is a crown of 12 stars---all of which remind us of Joseph’s dream back in
Ge 37:9 “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
Any Jew reading this for the first time associated this woman with the nation of Israel—an image used by the OT prophets many times.
Is 54:5 For your Maker is your husband— the LORD Almighty is his name…
As these birth pangs keep coming, another image comes into John’s view: a huge, red, seven-headed dragon. On each head is a crown, symbolizing great authority, and ten horns, symbolizing great strength. The dragon’s tail sweeps 1/3 of the stars from heaven. Again, the first readers would immediately associate this image with the serpent of Gen. 3, Satan, the devil, who led a third of the angels in revolt against God. Peter describes it this way:
2 Pe 2:4 …God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
This dragon stands in front of the woman, waiting greedily to devour the child as soon as He is born. Suddenly the pains increase, and the Child enters the world---a Son, whom John describes in vs. 5 …who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. Aha—here is another OT reference, referring to the Messiah described in
Ps 2:9 You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.
Before the dragon can destroy the Child, He is snatched up and taken to heaven, to God’s throne, and the woman flees into the desert to a refuge prepared by God for 1260 days.
What does it all mean? Some of it is pretty easy to figure out. It seems obvious the woman is the nation of Israel—God’s people. The dragon is obviously Satan. The Child is obviously Jesus Christ, born an Israelite baby. We all remember the Christmas story of how Herod tried to kill Jesus after He was born—apparently under the influence of Satan himself.
But there are some loose ends that aren’t so easy to tie up here. This vision bypasses all of Jesus’ life—including the Cross---and moves straight from His birth to His ascension. What is the significance of the woman fleeing into the desert?
We really don’t know the answers to these questions for certain. But the main point is the dragon is at war with the Child. Whatever the details, this vision reminds us that Satan is at war with Christ. He fought against Jesus not only through Herod, but also in the wilderness, when he tempted the Lord, and later on when Peter tries to talk Jesus out of going to the Cross. Satan used every weapon at his disposal to defeat the Lord---even death on the Cross. That is the main point of this vision.
That’s the point you and I must grasp---the dragon is still at war with the Son. He is still fighting with everything he’s got to try and defeat Christ’s purpose and plan. He is blinding the eyes of unbelievers, using whatever he can—including the media, science, philosophy, history---all in an attempt to destroy the influence of Jesus Christ in this world. He cannot ultimately defeat the Lord but he can lead people to ignore, mock, or hate the Name of Jesus Christ.
You and I need to recognize this war is going on. Why do so many people find even the mention of Jesus’ Name offensive? Why do they want to remove Christ from Christmas or Easter? Is all of this just a “freedom of religion” issue---or is there something more? Is it possible that the dragon is still trying to devour this Child---to silence His Name, to remove His influence, to be sure that as many people as possible never hear the Name of Jesus?
One of the reasons the church has been under renewed attack in Communist China is because of the role of the church there in bringing down the Iron Curtain.In 1992, the Chinese state-run press noted that “the church played an important role in the change” in Eastern Europe and warned, “If China does not want such a scene to be repeated in its land, it must strangle the baby while it is still in the manger.”*
The second war of the dragon is described in vs. 7-12.
John does not put this vision into a time frame. It’s hard to know for sure whether this war was fought in the past or will be fought in the future. But one thing is clear: this describes the dragon’s war against heaven.
The battle is between Michael and his angels and the dragons and his angels. It’s interesting to me to picture angels fighting. What kinds of weapons do they use? Can an angel be wounded, or die?
Michael and his soldiers win, the dragon and his side loses, and the losers are kicked out of heaven. Here John clearly identifies the dragon in vs. 9 as that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.
As the vision of Michael’s victory over the devil fades, John hears a loud voice declaring heaven’s victory over the devil. John doesn’t mention whose voice this is, but I think it makes sense to hear it as the saints of God Who share in heaven’s victory over the dragon. Their words tell us how Michael’s victory is played out in the lives of believers.
Note the dragon is called the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night. Satan= accuser. This calls to mind Satan’s accusations of Job in
Job 1:9-11 9“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
Before he is cast out, Satan is always challenging the faith of God’s people, challenging the idea that God deserves to be loved and glorified by His people. His accusations are not only a challenge to us, but to God’s right to rule the universe. How can God’s people overcome the accusations of the dragon? Vs. 11 tells us : by their faith. This faith is expressed in 3 ways:
• By the blood of the Lamb Their faith is not in themselves, but in Christ Who died for
them. They have no defense against the devil’s accusations except Christ’s death on the Cross, through which they are forgiven and cleansed.
• By the word of their testimony They aren’t afraid to speak up about their faith in Christ,
or in the words of Jesus, to confess Him before others. Though the devil tries to silence them, they don’t have a lot to say about themselves, but they cannot stop talking about their Savior.
• By laying down their lives for Christ. These folks’ faith is so great, they are willing to die
for Jesus and the Gospel. The greatest threat Satan can pose is killing them, but these people have already died to themselves, and are willing to be killed for Jesus’ sake. How can you win a war against people who are willing to die?
This is how citizens of heaven defeat the dragon. Their victory is a pattern for how you and I can win our war against the dragon:
First, remember that we have to fight the battle. God had the power to defeat the devil
and his demons without Michael and his angels, but He chose to fight through His servants. God doesn’t always fight the battle for us, though He does give us the strength to fight Satan.
Eph 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Secondly, remember faith in Christ is the key to overcoming the devil. Faith that His death on the Cross has cleansed you, has saved you and will keep you---faith enough to confess Christ, to boldly speak for Him and about Him before others--faith that is strong enough to be willing to die for Christ rather than deny Him—these are the weapons of faith that will send the devil running. This is the key for defeating the dragon in our lives.
The dragon is at war with Christ, and at war with heaven, but finally, vs. 15-17 tell us he is at war with the church.
The scene shifts back to earth, where the dragon has hit the ground with all of his angels. He can no longer wage war in heaven, so he looks for a target on earth. He zeros in on the woman of vs. 1-6 who symbolizes the nation of Israel. But God delivers His people and they flee to a safe place in the wilderness where she is nourished= had all her needs taken care of for a periods of time.
But the dragon isn’t ready to give up on his prey. He spews out a flood to drown the woman, but the earth (representing creation) opens up and swallows up the water, protecting the woman. So the devil aims at a new target: the rest of the woman’s offspring---described in vs. 17 as those who keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Now let’s work on interpreting these verses. If the woman is Israel, then these verses describe the hardships of the Jews throughout history. If ever there were a people who have been hounded and hated, it is Israel. Satan has done all he can, from the genocide of ancient tyrants to Adolph Hitler’s final solution. These are no historical accidents, but the result of Satan’s intense hatred of God’s chosen people. One of the real outrages is how Satan has even used Christians to persecute the Jewish people. Yet God has preserved them through all of their suffering, and even brought them back to their homeland.
But after the day of Pentecost the dragon expands his war toward the rest of the woman’s offspring---those who obey God and confess Christ---the church of Jesus Christ.
Satan hates the church because Jesus loves the church so much.
Eph 5:25-27 25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Throughout the first centuries after Pentecost, he tried to destroy the church through persecution. Later on he worked to destroy the church through compromise. Today he hates the church as much as ever, and uses every weapon at his disposal---deceit, heresy, compromise—to try and destroy the church Christ founded. Yet just as Israel survives, so also the church survives, because as Jesus told Peter in
Mt 16:18 …I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
You and I need to understand that Satan is at war with the church. His goal is to shut down the church, to destroy it either from without or within, either through persecution or through compromise. He love church fights, church splits, and church scandals. He loves it when the church lives just like the world. He celebrates when churches close their doors or ignore their God-given purpose and mission.
On the other hand, Satan is defeated when the church unites in love, when the church lives separated, holy lives, when the church focuses on worshipping God in Spirit and truth and in winning the world for Christ. The dragon is at war with the church, but the church can and will triumph through the power of its Head, Jesus Christ.
No man should be alone when he opposes Satan. The church and the ministry of the Word were instituted for this purpose, that hands may be joined together and one may help another. If the prayer of one doesn’t help, the prayer of another will.- Martin Luther
The dragon is real, and the war is real, and you and I need to be ready to fight for our lives.
Los Angeles Times carried the true story of Jay Raphman, hunting deer in the Tehema Wildlife Reserve climbed to a ledge on the slope of a rocky gorge and raised his head to look upon the ledge above. Then, he says, “I caught a movement to the right of my face. I instinctively pushed myself back and the rattler struck, missing my right ear.” The four-foot snake’s fangs got snagged in the neck of Raphman’s wool turtleneck sweater, and the force of the snake’s strike caused the snake to land on his left shoulder. It then coiled around his neck. He grabbed it around the neck, with his left hand and could feel the warm venom running down the skin of his neck. He fell backward, slid headfirst down the steep slope, through brush and lava rocks, his rifle and binoculars bouncing beside him. “As luck would have it,” he said, describing the incident, “I ended up wedged between some rocks, with my feet caught up hill, from my head. I could barely move.” He got his right hand on his rifle and used it to disengage the fangs from his sweater. But the snake had enough leverage to strike again.
“He made about eight attempts and managed to hit me with his nose just below my eye about four times. I kept my face turned so he couldn’t get a good angle with his fangs, but it was very close.
This chap and I were eyeball to eyeball. And I found out that snakes really don’t blink. He had fangs like a darning needle. I had to choke him to death with my own hands. It was the only way out. I was afraid with all the blood rushing to my head I might pass out.” But when Raphman tried to toss the dead snake aside he said, “I could not let go. I had to pry my fingers from its neck.”
It took some extreme measures to kill that snake before the snake killed Jay. It will take some extreme measures to fight the dragon wars.
It will take admitting this monster is real, that he is working overtime to steal, kill and destroy.
It will take faith in the Cross of Christ, faith that confesses Christ and fights the good fight.
It will take working with the church, the army of God, to defeat the enemies of God.
But if you and I are willing to fight the good fight, Christ has assured us He will give us victory. You and I don’t have to be defeated by the dragon; we can win this war with God’s help. Are you ready to fight the dragon wars?
