Series: Victorious!
“See Evil Clearly”
Revelation 12-14
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We’re moving forward this morning in our study of the book of Revelation. As we get started, take your Bibles and turn to Revelation 12-14.
What is the scariest thing that you can think of? For some Christians, that question might be answered by saying: “Trying to read and understand the book of ‘Revelation.” And for some people, the book of Revelation is something to avoid read or studying if there’s any way not to do so.
Today, we’re still in our study of this very same book of the Bile – the book of Revelation. The passages we’re going to look at today have been some of the most misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misapplied sections of Scripture - especially over the last 100-150 years. So before we move forward, let’s review some of our guidelines for interpreting this book.
The first thing we have to consider is the setting into which the book was written. Remember, if it didn’t mean anything important to its original audience, it can’t mean anything to us today. The book of Revelation was originally written to Christians in seven churches in the Roman province of Asia at the end of the first century AD who were undergoing severe persecution and pressure to conform to the ways of the world.
Second, we have to consider the style of writing used in this book. The book of Revelation was written according to a specific style of writing in the ancient world known as the apocalyptic style. – hence in some translations you will see this book called the Apocalypse of John. The word “apocalyptic” is used in our language today to refer to something catastrophic or what might be termed “end of the world” stuff. The word as originally used meant “an uncovering; a revealing.” It meant to pull back the curtain and look behind the scenes. 1ohn does that by pulling back the curtain and lets those of us on the earthly side of things see more clearly into the heavenly side of things.
Third, we have to keep in mind the symbols of this book. The book of Revelation uses word pictures and numbers to communicate its message instead of the normal narrative style to which we are accustomed. Therefore, we can’t try to put the events described in the book of Revelation in chronological order. It paints sweeping pictures that portray not just what is going to happen but in many cases what always happens.
So we move forward this morning in our study. Chapter 11 of Revelation concludes with references to judging the dead, rewarding the servants of God, and the opening of the temple of God in heaven. It could have been a fitting end to this book but John has much more to show us.
Rev. 11:15 – The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”
When this letter from John was read to the churches, the people walked out of the door having to deal with the kingdom of Rome that hadn’t “become” anything. What does John say about that? John warns them that evil is all around them. Be alert! Keep your eyes and ears open. The world wants to tear you down. It seeks to destroy tour faith. Face all of life with this in mind.
A Woman, A Dragon, A Child and More Children
Rev. 12:1-12 – A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
Who is this woman? She is portrayed as being beautiful and stunning. The crown with the twelve stars is our clue. She is the nation of Israel. Her pregnancy is the anticipation of Israel for her promised Messiah.
Who is this dragon? We’re told in vs. 9 . . . that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan who leads the whole world astray.
Last night we hosted trunk and treat. We know we had at least 343 kids come through and we know we missed some. That number doesn’t include the adults so we had at least around 700 people come through our doors last night and maybe more. I’d say that we had a very successful community outreach program last night.
We worked hard last night not to spread fear but to spread love. Halloween focuses on the frightful and the deceptive. Those celebrating wear masks to hide their identities and the Bible tells us that Satan does the same thing. 2 Cor. 11:14 tells us … for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
Here in Revelation 12, John says that the masquerade is over! The devil wants to keep you from seeing him. But if he can’t keep you from seeing him at all, he will work so as to disguise who and what he really is. Satan knows that if we can see him unmasked, then we will recoil at the horror of true evil.
The dragon is huge. He’s colored blood-red and is grotesque - malice dripping from his jagged teeth; his breath has the strong scent of sulfur. The dragon is as ugly as the woman is beautiful. So the devil reasons that if open assault doesn’t work, he will then run an undercover operation.
Who is the child born to the woman? He’s the Christ child. This is not the Nativity story we’re used to but it is the Nativity story nonetheless. Johns peels back the curtain and we see the Christmas story from the spiritual side.
The conflict between Christ and Satan is depicted here as a great war in heaven. Satan and his angels lose – a third of them cast out of heaven to earth. Is. 14:12 – How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
Satan’s problem was that he wanted to be God. Is. 14:13-14 – You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
What we learn here is that the birth of Jesus was not meant to inspire a cozy evening singing Christmas carols while sipping hot chocolate or apple cider. It inspired a great war in the heavens and now we are part of that battle.
The dragon’s eagerness to devour the child explains the violent opposition that Jesus met during his earthly ministry. It began with the slaughter of the male children in Bethlehem and culminated when he was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem. The child snatched away to God and his throne is a reference to Christ’s ascension following his resurrection. The gospel story is surprisingly condensed but enough is said to accomplish John’s purpose.
Rev. 12:13-20 - When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 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 would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.
16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
Who are the other offspring of the woman? It’s us! It’s the church! The nation of Israel produced the Christ and the Christ produced the church. We are now part of the new Israel – the complete collection of all of God’s people. The dragon has turned all of his wrath on the church.
When we ask the question, “Where does all of the evil in our world come from?” we see the answer in Rev. 12:12b – “But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” He only has a little bit of time left before his time will be no more. He’s trying to inflict as much damage as he can before his time is up.
Two Beasts and a Prostitute
What we see here is that no matter how powerful he may seem, the dragon is defeated. He fails. He fails in his attempt to devour the baby. He fails in his war against Michael and Gabriel. He fails against the woman. He is defeated. He has lost.
The problem? Turn out that dragons aren’t gracious losers. He is furious over being defeated and is hell-bent to bring as much death and destruction as possible before Christ returns
It’s very important for us to understand that Satan is not the evil, equal opposite of God. He’s not the “dark side of the force” with all the powers of the light side. He is formidably powerful but he’s not omnipotent (all-powerful) like God. He is not omniscient (all-knowing)like God, and he isn’t omnipresent (ever present). He has, however, devised a cunning strategy to leverage his influence for the largest maximum impact worldwide.
Rev. 13:1-10 – The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?” 5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear. 10 “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.” This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.
The devil has three tools that he uses to inflict maximum damage. The first tool is described here as the beast from the sea. This beast represents godless government. Its goal is physical persecution
Notice this beast resembles the dragon in some aspects – seven heads, ten horns. We look at this beast and say, “Like father, like son.”
This beast has fatal head wound to one of its heads. This is most likely a reference to Nero who died from a self-inflicted head wound. There was a Nero Redivivus myth during this time that he would someday come back to life. This reference may have to do with similarities between the persecutions under Nero and now during Domitian although Domitian’s much worse. The early Christians probably thought, “We thought the terrible persecution under Nero was done but now it comes back even worse under Domitian. It’s like Nero has come back to life and seeks to persecute us with a vengeance greater than before.”
The beast demands worship and utters blasphemies. Domitian declared himself to be “Lord and God” and when believers do not participate in the worship of the emperor, the beast then “makes war against the saints.” (13:7)
While 1st century saints endured the bloody persecution by Rome, this beast represents any government that pits itself against Christ Jesus – be it one of the Muslim countries or China or even India where radical Hindus attack and kill Christian missionaries.
I want to say a word about our nation – the United States of America. I’m grateful for our freedoms, cherish our heritage, and love our rich history. My father is a navy veteran from WWII. I support our military. The Star-Spangled Banner still produces a tear in my eye.
John’s warning here is “Open your eyes!” Roman citizens – even some Christian ones – were proud of their country. They were the premier power in the world. They had an unmatched military, unprecedented freedoms in comparison to most other societies that preceded them, and unparalleled economic opportunities. But John says, because this government opposes Christ, it is a grotesque beast.
That means that I cannot blindly give America my loyalty. We live in a nation that censors the Bible in school, passes out condoms to children in s, and kills more unborn babies every year than American lives lost in all our wars combined. We live in a nation where marriage is no longer between one man and woman; a nation that seems increasingly hostile to our faith.
I will still pledge allegiance to the flag but never before I pledge allegiance to the cross.
The second tool is the beast from the earth. This beast represents false religion. Its goal is intellectual deception.
Rev. 13:11-18 – 11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
Godless government was Rome the persecutor. False religion is Rome the deceiver. The Romans worshipped both pagan gods and the emperor. The religion of Roman was in complete opposition to the Gospel.
This beast has two horns like a lamb – trying to imitate the true Lamb of God. He performs miraculous signs, and promotes worship of the first beast. Rev. 13:4 – deceives people of the earth. Later in Rev. 19:20 – the false prophet.
Satan uses false religion to enslave people all over the world through deceptive systems like Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Mormonism, animism, the occult and secular humanism. Any false philosophy is his tool.
He is the father of lies. Instead of physical persecution, he wages a war of propaganda. They are his if he can just get them to believe falsehood: “You can earn your way to heaven.” “All religions lead to heaven.” “There is no God.” “God doesn’t love you and could never forgive you.” “God just wants you to be happy.”
Let’s talk for a few minutes about the number of the beast. People have worked so hard to figure it out but John tells us to be wise. The earliest consideration was Nero – which is most likely John’s reference here since he’s already talked about the spirit of Nero being alive in Domitian.
But people get foolish here. Some have said that the beast was Hitler or even some of the presidents of our nation. It’s gotten so silly that there’s even a website that claims Barney the purple dinosaur is the beast.
Here’s the best explanation I can give. Most numbers in the book of Revelation that point to a deeper meaning. 3 number of completion. 7 number of perfection. 3 sevens together number of God. 6 is almost 7 but it’s not 7. 3 sixes would then be completely incomplete.
Satan’s third tool is a harlot, a prostitute, a whore. Some of you cringed when I said that word but it most accurately describes this image. She is not pretty. She is a cheap street walker who seeks to seduce by any means necessary. The prostitute represents hedonistic culture. Her goal is moral deception. Rev. 14:8 – “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”
She is only introduced here in our passage but much more time is spent on her in Revelation 17-18. She uses temptation to morally corrupt. Her tools are sexual pleasure, wealth and prosperity, power and fame
Our culture – our collective habits education, art, music, economic activities entertainment, and social interactions – unconsciously shape us every day. Through the prostitute, Satan seeks to seduce us into increasingly selfish, pleasure-seeking, goodness-corrupting habits. Right now, in our culture, the score is in the dragon’s favor. If greed and sexual promiscuity and lack of courtesy and crude humor become the cultural norms, he wins.
We didn’t go from A to Z overnight. The culture guardians incrementally lowered the bar over time, seducing us with slightly more risqué laughs at each step. C.S. Lewis wrote: “The safest road to hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”
That’s the way the prostitute works. She looks attractive, and she painlessly seduces bit by bit until we find ourselves doing things we never would have done before. John throws back the curtain on evil. The culture that looks so attractive is actually a cheap, diseased streetwalker, and the devil is her pimp.
The Lamb, The People of God, Three Angels, and the Harvest
Rev. 14:1-20 - Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
8 A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
The book of Revelation is all about victory through the Lamb. This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Lamb is also the Lion of Judah. He is the warrior of warriors, the King of kings and the Lord of Lords.
He will return and judgment will follow. The people of God will spend eternity in heaven and those who refuse God’s Son will spend eternity in hell. When it speaks of the virgins, it’s reference to the Old Testament concept of following false religions as “adultery” or fornication.” Fire and brimstone are traditional symbols for the fate of those who persistently reject God. Brimstone is an Old English word for sulfur, which is not only difficult to extinguish, but also burns with peculiarly acrid and noxious fumes.
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Two weapons: Rev. 12:11 – They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
The first is the blood of the Lamb – Christ defeated Satan through his death and resurrection.
The second is the word of our testimony. We give our blood for Christ. We must be willing to lay down our lives for him.
Here is what the devil can’t stand: His greatest threat is killing us, But our greatest power is dying. If he kills us, our testimony sealed in blood becomes unforgettable. Our greatest power always trumps his.
(This series is developed from a variety of resources. The primary resource is “Victorious – A Devotional Study of Revelation” by Matt Proctor. Other resources include “Revelation for Everyone’ by N.T. Wright, “Breaking the Code” by Bruce Metzger, “The Book of Revelation – An Introduction and Commentary” by Homer Hailey, “Worthy is the lamb” by Ray Summers, and “Reversed Thunder” by Eugene Peterson.)
