SESSION #9: REVELATION #12 – WAR WITH THE DRAGON:
“Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.” (Rev. 12:1-2).
• A woman clothed with the sun...moon...twelve stars – who is this woman?
• “Then Joseph dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, "Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” (Genesis 37:9).
• Joseph, son of Jacob (Israel), dreamed a dream about the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down to his star (see Genesis 37:5-11) - this women represents ISRAEL.
“And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.” (Rev. 12:3-4).
• Stars = angels – one third of the fallen angels followed Satan in his rebellion
• The devil was ready to devour her Child – who is this Child? Jesus!
• The devil tried to kill Jesus as soon as He was born:
• “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under…” (Matt. 2:16).
“She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.” (Rev. 12:5-6).
• A male Child to rule all nations with an iron rod – this is Jesus:
• “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance…You shall break them with a rod of iron.” (Ps. 2:7-9).
• He was caught up to God and His throne – “Jesus has gone into Heaven.” (1 Peter 3:22).
“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.” (Rev. 12:7-8).
• Great war in Heaven – the archangel Michael led the angels to fight Satan
• Note: It was God who initiated the war – NOT the devil.
• The devil and his fallen angels were on the defensive.
• The devil lost the battle (obviously) and was forced out of heaven
• This is what Jesus prophesied about His militant church: “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades (hell) shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18).
“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Rev. 12:9).
WHO IS OUR ENEMY?
• the ancient serpent - who tempted Eve in the beginning (Gen. 3:1-15)
• the Devil - “the Slanderer” - the father of lies (John 8:44)
• Satan - “the adversary” - or accuser (v.10)
• who deceives the whole world - as the father of lies
“Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” (Rev. 12:10-12).
• This battle was fought and won in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus – past tense.
• Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand!” (Mark 1:15)
• They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb – symbolic of Jesus’ death
• We overcome the enemy today through the Cross and the word of our testimonies
• This fight is not a portrayal of the final battle of history!
“Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.* Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:17-20).
• Satan’s fall occurred during the ministry of Jesus.
• Jesus said: “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” (John 12:31). Now was during Jesus’ lifetime!
“Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.” (Rev. 12:13-16).
• Jesus has defeated Satan, and now Satan seeks to persecute the woman
• Who is this woman? The church (remember – church & Israel are ONE people of God)
• Just like Israel in the wilderness: “He found him in a desert land, and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him. He kept him as the apple of His eye. As an eagle stirs up its nest; hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the Lord alone led him.” (Deut. 32:10-12).
APPLICATION: God will always bring deliverance for His people.
• “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Rev. 12:17). The devil wants revenge against the church (see 1 Peter 5:8).
REVELATION #13 – THE TWO BEASTS:
WHAT IS THE SEA BEAST?
“Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.” (Revelation 13:1-2).
Where does this imagery of this sea beast come from? The OT prophet Daniel:
• “Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by night… And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. The first was like a lion… And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear… After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard… After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong… It…had ten horns.” (Daniel 7:2-7).
“3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" 5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” (Rev. 13:3-10).
• The dragon (Satan) gives this ‘beast’ its power, throne and authority (v.2).
• The Sea Beast represents worldly political powers that persecute the church (v.7).
• The Roman Empire spoke blasphemies (v.5) demanding people declare, “Caesar is Lord.”
• This beast could possibly be the Roman Empire in the first century:
TEXT: “Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief.” (Revelation 17:10).
The Caesars of the Roman Empire:
• five have fallen:
1. Julius - before 31 BC
2. Augustus - 31 BC - 14 AD
3. Tiberius - 14 AD - 37 AD
4. Caligula - 37 AD - 41 AD
5. Claudius - 41 AD - 54 AD
• sixth now reigns
6. Nero - 54 AD - 68 AD (on the throne)
• seventh yet to come
7. Galba - 68 AD (reigned for 7 months)
NOTE: In Daniel’s vision, he saw four separate beasts that represented four successive empires (Babylon, Medi-Persia, Greece and Rome). However, in John’s vision, he saw one beast with that combined all of the characteristics of Daniel’s four beasts. This is a good indication that this beast represents all antichristian political persecution, and not just one particular government.
WHAT IS THE LAND BEAST?
“11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.” (Rev. 13:1-15).
• The Land Beast represents the false religions and philosophies of the world.
• This beast is also called the ‘false prophet’ (see Revelation 19:20).
• See the parallel passage in Matthew 24: “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved… For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (v.9-13,24).
• Jesus said there would be MANY false prophets – not just one.
• How should we respond to this reality? “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.” (1 John 4:1-3).
• Jesus said there would be MANY antichrists as well: “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18).
WHO ARE THESE BEASTS? (A Look at some of the Different Interpretations)
POSITION: TIME PERIOD SEA BEAST LAND BEAST
PRETERIST First Century AD (past) Roman Empire – Nero Jewish Religious System (persecuted the church)
HISTORICIST Between First & Second Comings (historical) Roman Empire Roman Catholic Church – The Pope; Possibly Islam
FUTURIST Future The Antichrist (future) The Final False Prophet (future)
IDEALIST Not Applicable World’s Political Powers Persecuting the Church False Religions
/ Worldly Philosophies
Beausejour Community Church Website: www.beausejourchurch.ca
Pastor Chris Jordan’s Blog: http://thelandofpromise.blogspot.com/
