Week 28 "The Woman, The Child And The Dragon" Series

WEEK 28

“The Woman, the Child and the Dragon”

Date: February 12, 2003

Place: Allendale Baptist

Text: Revelation 12:1-6

Introduction

Chapters 12 & 13 introduce us to the 3 key characters in the unfolding of the last half of the Tribulation. They are:

The dragon- Satan

The false Christ

The false prophet

 These 3 are as someone once said an evil trinity.

 They are in direct opposition to the true God and His people on earth.

 These events will be of special significance to God’s people at that time, the message of these 2 chapters can encourage us as suffering saints today.

The devil is the great enemy of the church, and continues to fight against God & His people by accusing the saints in heaven and attacking them here on earth.

 But we should always be reminded that Jesus has overcome old slew foot, when He defeated him by overcoming death and the grave. He gives victory today.

Let’s begin in

Verse 1

 John’s vision opens with 2 wonders or signs in heaven

 A sign is a symbol pointing to something else.

 Here we see the 1st of 7 signs in the last half of Revelation.

 The 1st is a woman giving birth to a son.

 Some will tell us that this is the Roman Catholic Church because this represents the Virgin Mary.

 Some protestant churches interpret this as the church of all ages.

 * But I need to tell you the church did not give birth to Jesus.

 There have been several women founders of cults over the past 2 centuries who could not resist the temptation of seeing themselves pictured as this woman.

 Joanna Southcott said that she was the woman and that on Oct.1814 she would have the man child. SHE DID NOT…

 Israel is often pictured as a woman or the wife of God in the OT.

 3 other symbolic women appear in Revelation. 1). Jezebel, who represents paganism 2:20; 2). The scarlet women 17:3-6 symbolizing the apostate church and 3). The wife of the Lamb 19:7; symbolizing the church.

 Since the child is identified in verse 5 (which we will look at in just a moment) as Jesus Christ, this symbolic woman can only be the nation of Israel.

 It was through Israel not the church, which Jesus came into the world.

 Romans 1:3; “Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,”

 Romans 9:4-5; “who are Israelites, to who pertain adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ cams, who is over all, the eternally blessed God.”

Verse 2

“She cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.”

 Again, Israel is often pictured as a mother giving birth in Scripture.

 The nation of Israel had agonized and suffered many centuries, longing for the Messiah to come and destroy Satan, sin and death.

 The nation of Israel has suffered greatly at the hands of many enemies for thousands of years.

Verse 3

“A great fiery red dragon”

 This is the 2nd sign.

 We see this description as a dragon some 13 times in the book of Revelation.

 Revelation 12:9 makes it very clear that this is referring to Satan or the devil.

 The color red is associated with death as we saw in the 4 horsemen in 6:4.

 What is the one way many of the commercials depict the devil?

 We know that Satan is a murderer. John 8:44 tells us “he was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth.”

 He has no regard for human life.

 Why is it that alcohol, tobacco, narcotics not to mention abortion kills so many is because Satan is behind

“Seven heads… ten horns… seven diadems…”

 Seven heads speaks of perfection of wisdom.

 Ezekiel 28:12 tells of how Satan was at his beginning; “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.”

 This reveals 2 of the fallacies that many have concerning the devil.

 First that he is ugly.

 If he were to be seen by us it would not be as the foul creature we think.

 Many times he is pictured as having horns, cloven feet and a forked tail. This is a picture of the Greek and roman god Pan.

 Second, many believe Satan is not smart, that he is dumb. Not so he is smart, he is clever, and he is wise.

 We are no match for him in our own power.