Alpha and Omega, Part 36, Revelation Part 13
The Woman, The Dragon, and The Child
Revelation 12:1-9
Introduction
- Been studying Revelation together, to understand God’s plan for creation
-- This is the conclusion of our Alpha and Omega series since January
-- REM: Redemption of sin has been provided through Jesus; we have a choice
- Last week, we discussed the two witnesses and their testimony FOR God
-- We also got a sneak peak of the next 10 chapters (through Heaven’s praise)
-- This was revealed to us to emphasize that yes, victory is coming!
- Today we’ll begin to examine one of the most exciting chapters of Revelation
-- It pulls back the curtain to show the struggle between good and evil
-- FACT: There IS a conflict ongoing since the beginning of time
-- This chapter begins to show the undoing of that to set things right
- Read Revelation 12:1-9 / Pray for wisdom
- TR: Want us to know there are three characters to explore today
-- They are: a woman with a child, a great red dragon, and a child
-- Exploring these sets up (and clarifies) the eternal players in this struggle
-- Let’s unpack our first character ...
Point 1 – A woman with a child in her womb
- She is said to be a great sign in the Heavens - GR: sémeion; a miracle; a sign
-- Some versions even identify or relate to her as a great wonder
- The woman is not specifically identified, but it becomes clear who she is
-- Two things I want us to zero in on as we unpack this truth
1. She is clothed with the sun, the moon is under her feet, and on her head is a crown with 12 stars on top of it
- In the OT, Joseph had a dream that portrays this very analogy for us
-- Genesis 37:9-11, “Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!” This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?” But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.”
- Jacob understood exactly what was meant when the dream was described
• The sun was represented as the father, Jacob
• KEY: Jacob's name WAS changed to Israel by God!
• The moon is the mother, and the 12 stars are the children
• The dream was a picture of Israel, the founding of the nation of believers
-- Joseph’s dream was that Israel would be saved from destruction through him
2. The woman is pregnant (which leads to a child being born) (v2, 5)
- The child is without a doubt, the prophesied Messiah, Jesus Christ
-- How do we know this? He and He alone will rule all the nations (See v5)
-- His rule will be with an iron rod; meaning He will be "just" in His decisions
-- Psalm 2:9, “You will break them with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.”
-- REM: It is Jesus who is exalted to the Throne of God; refer to Ch 4 and 5
- Yet, the "religious discussion" always focuses on who the woman is ...
-- So, let's unpack this together for clarity and wisdom today
- There are various theories: First is perhaps this is a revelation of Mary
-- However, Mary was human - and there are too many supernatural qualities
-- She is also not to be honored or worshiped, she was simply a willing vessel
- Second theory is the woman is the picture of the Church
-- But know this: the church did not give birth to the Messiah (vice-versa)
- Some say that the woman is a living representation of the nation of Israel
• Paul told us clearly that Jesus came out of Israel
-- Romans 9:5, “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.”
• Isaiah prophesied that Israel would labor in pain and bring forth a child
-- Isaiah 66:7-8, “Before the birth pains even begin, Jerusalem gives birth to a son.
Who has ever seen anything as strange as this? Who ever heard of such a thing?
Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? But by the time Jerusalem’s birth pains begin, her children will be born.”
-- So much to unpack in those two verses, but let me summarize:
• A son will come from Jerusalem (this is the promised Messiah)
• We know these prophesies about Jesus (line of David, tribe of Judah, etc.)
• And yes, a nation can be born in a single day! May 14, 1948
• We'll come back to this story at a later date but ... the woman IS Israel!
-- She is a literal, figurative, display of how God feels about that great nation
- TR: The second character in our story is …
Point 2 – The Great Dragon (also known as Satan)
- The great red dragon, or Satan, has always been the enemy of God
- When people think of the devil, they may have a picture of him in mind
-- However, when he is portrayed as a dragon, it refers to his works
-- It is less about his appearance and 100% focused on how he behaves, motives
-- There are 3 things to see about this portrayal of Satan's actions
- First, Scripture tells us that Satan was a glorified creation, angel of beauty
-- He is so magnificent that he actually shines like the sun
-- He possesses the glory of God because he came directly from God
- He has seven heads: 7 is the number of completeness and fullness of God
-- He is complete in intelligence, and has the full knowledge of the heavenly realm
-- He is not omniscient, but his knowledge is complete in that he is from God
- He has seven crowns: this symbolizes his authority, his rule, and his dominion
-- FACT: He is a crowned ruler who has his own kingdom that he is in charge of
-- His authority far surpasses anything that you and I might have today
- He has 10 horns: this symbolizes great power: power that pierces, rips, & shreds
-- Think of what a raging bull can do to you if you were ever speared by it
-- His demeanor is ferocious, and he uses his head (power) with evil intentions
- Satan is the "god of this world" who blinds mankind with his works - 2 Col 4:4, "Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God."
- He is the prince of this world - John 16:11, "Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged."
- He also has a grip on this entire world - 1 John 5:19, "We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one."
-- Second, we see his origin - that is, his origin as the dragon being cast down
-- His tail draws (GR: oura; tail) a third part of heaven
-- APP: A third of the stars (GR: astér; star) angels fell and followed him
-- He was cast down (GR: balló: cast down) and took them with him ... WHY?
- Satan was literally given authority in Heaven, had rule over 1/3 of God's angels
- He and they were stars in Heaven, and they were cast down from Heaven
-- His known name is Lucifer - which means star of the morning
-- He was an anointed cherub who covered God's throne, part of God's glory
- But something happened: He began to covet what was not his
-- He wanted the throne for himself, and succumbed to his own desires
-- Isaiah 14:12-15, " How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, 'I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’ Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths."
- Third, we see his mission (before, today, and always)
-- Satan's aim is to destroy the woman, to destroy Israel and what comes from it
-- He is out to get back at God for daring to judge him, (for casting him out)
-- Even though his own actions are what led him to this position!
-- Consider: When God judges, our response must NOT be to shake our first!
- When God promised to send a redeemer into this world, it infuriated Satan
-- Satan knew what was coming, he knew his deception of Eve could be undone
-- How? Because Jesus would be the one who would redeem all of creation
- Satan only wants us to be separated from God, to never know Heaven fully
-- So, here's the plan: if he could get us to sin, we would be separated from God
-- When God promised to send a redeemer, preventing it became his mission
-- Remember what we saw back in January (where this began): Genesis 3:15, "And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel."
- So, when he heard it, he set out to do whatever he could to stop it!
-- Even to the point of killing the Savior: Re-read verse 4b
-- Greek: katesthió; devour, squander, injure
-- Satan has been waging war against God, through humanity, since Gen 3
- Why? Because God cast him out ... get this and get this well today:
-- Satan does NOT care about you; all he wants is to hurt/afflict/wound God
-- How does he do this? By attacking the very image of God (called "very good")
-- This is the eternal battle, and the reason we needed a Savior
- TR: So to that I say thank God, this leads us to the third character today ...
Point 3 – The child to be born, the Messiah, Jesus Christ
- With this setup, we can see the child, is undoubtedly, Jesus Christ
-- He was sent into the world to rule it with an iron rod - to bring judgment
-- The judgement is for sin - because all authority is given to Him
- Why? Because He is the only one who was able to take our sin
-- He is the only one who is found worthy in Heaven (rem: lamb at the throne)
-- 1 John 3:8, "But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil."
- He will rule against all the ungodly and evil of this world - settling the battle
-- RE: It is Christ who ascended to Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God
-- Philippians 2:9-11, " Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
- And when all this is in place, and the time is right, a great battle takes place
-- The woman will flee for her life (v6), in prep for a terrible slaughter to occur
- This will last for 1,260 days - or 3.5 years (it's called the great tribulation)
-- FACT: The woman, Israel, will be severely persecuted during this time
-- The Jews will have to flee to a place that God has prepared for them
- It will be a place of safety, provisioned for them by God, to be rescued
-- However, the Gentiles will also be persecuted during these same times
-- May ask yourself, why are Gentiles persecuted? Because they accept Jesus!
-- APP: The great tribulation is against all of humanity; all God's creation
-- All believers and Israelites must flee for safety of the wrath of the Antichrist
-- And what is his goal? To destroy what he can ... God's people!
- But look at how wonderful our God is ... it is HE who provides safety (v6)
-- Antichrist (or Satan's) desire is to afflict all of God's creation; lash out
-- To afflict each in a way that ruins them - and yet God provides rescue
- BIG: RE: He provided our rescue in Jesus - then later for His people
-- Romans 11:25-26, "I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, "The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness."
-- What Paul speaks of is the incredible promise that once Gentiles are saved ...
-- The end will come and God's promise to protect His own will take effect
BIG IDEA
- Know this, the great battle and war over Israel will be fought in Heaven
-- The struggle for all souls occurs in the spiritual realm (saw this earlier)
-- And the intense fight for the soul of Israel is one that God is willing to fight
-- He has provided a place of safety - found in Christ, the Messiah
- This is where we pause for today
-- But for now, you and I all have a choice to make for ourselves
-- Offer salvation, safety, and security - we've seen the enemy's battle plan!
- Let’s pray together …
