Revelation (Part 7) Series

(Part 7)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 11/12/2017

If you’ve been with us the last few weeks, you know we are about half way through the mysterious and melodramatic book of Revelation. I hope this series has been engaging, encouraging and enlightening for you. While Revelation is likely the most challenging book of the Bible, God promises that if you will immerse yourself in the truth of this, you will be blessed! I hope that’s been your experience so far.

Last week, in Revelation 11, John steps into his own vision when he’s told to measure the Temple symbolizing God’s plan to build a bigger and better Temple not made with human hands in the wake of Jerusalem’s destruction. He then sees two mysterious witnesses sharing their testimony in the face of violent opposition. When they finish their testimony, a violent tremor destroys a portion of the city and announces God’s arrival. Then all of heaven begins singing about Christ’s greatest triumph—establishing a kingdom over which he shall reign forever and ever.

As we reach chapter 12, the action and adventure intensify as the real villain of the story, the archenemy of all that is good, Satan himself roars into John’s vision. The primary purpose of this chapter is to give John and his readers a peak behind the scenes at the true source of evil, the one pulling the strings. It also answers questions that first-century Christians must have been wondering: Why? Why is this happening to us? Why does Rome hate us?

If you have a Bible or an app on your phone, please open it to Revelation 12. This chapter unfolds in three scenes. First, John sees the great wonders.

• THE GREAT WONDERS

In this first scene, John see’s two “wonders” appear in heaven—a mother and a monster. He writes, “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven” (Revelation 12:1 KJV). He continues, “I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, and she cried out because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth” (Revelation 12:1-2 NLT).

A clue to understanding the imagery here is the word wonder; it means a spectacular sign, a picture of something with deeper significance. Thus, the woman represents so much more than a woman. Portrayed as superhuman, she is clothed with the sun, rests her feet on the moon, and wears the stars in her crown.

The imagery of the sun, moon and stars is reminiscent of Joseph’s dream back in Genesis 37. In his dream, Joseph saw the sun, moon, and 11 stars—representing his father, mother, and 11 brothers—bowing down to his star. Similarly, the twelve stars in the mother’s crown likely represent the twelve tribes (or twelve sons) of Israel. In the Old Testament, Israel was often pictured as God’s wife.

However, throughout Revelation, Israel is the object of God’s wrath and judgment, while this mother is portrayed as innocent and even protected by God. Thus, rather than representing the entire nation of Israel, this mother symbolizes faithful or spiritual Israel; the faithful Jews in Israel—like Simeon and Anna (Luke 2)—who anxiously awaited, like a pregnant mother, the birth of the Messiah. They acknowledged and accepted Jesus when he came.

And, of course, the baby the mother carries represents Jesus, the child promised so long ago in Isaiah: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6 NIV). When Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem, the entire universe took notice, for this event held cosmic significance.

But hot on the heels of this beautiful mother comes a brutal monster. John writes, “And there appeared another wonder in heaven” (Revelation 12:3 KJV). Suddenly, John sees “an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 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” (Revelation 12:3-4 NIV).

Unlike the mother, we don’t have to deduce the identity of the monster. John identifies him as “the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan” (Revelation 12:9 NIV). While the dragon is a symbol for Satan, Satan himself is not a symbol or a fantasy; he is very real. Today, Satan is often pictured as a caricature with little red horns and a pointy tail. But that isn’t what John saw. John beheld a terrifying monster bent on devouring Christ and destroying Christians. Put simply, the Bible defines Satan as an angelic being who fell from his position in heaven due to pride and is now completely opposed to God, doing all in his power to thwart God's purposes. Satan has great power and persistence, but we should know that he is doomed to failure.