Have you ever seen one of those movies or TV shows that open with a scene of something happening, and then you realize that what is happening is the result of a series of past events but those events have not yet been revealed in the movie or show? Oftentimes, you’ll see the future scene, then words will appear on the screen that say something like, “24 hours earlier,” or “One year earlier,” or something like that.
In our passage today, we see this description of God’s victorious rule at the end of Revelation 11, then we move into Chapter 12 to learn of a review of events that happened before what’s described in Chapter 11.
What’s wild about these events is that, as with much of Revelation, the events are largely symbolic. In fact, in these descriptions, we hear about a woman, a dragon, and a child.
So, what does all this mean? What is God up to in these chapters?
Well, we’re going to attempt to learn that this morning in a sermon entitled “The Dragon’s Pursuit and the King’s Plan.”
Before we go any further, let’s go to God in prayer.
(prayer)
Ok, you may remember that we’re in the midst of hearing about a series of judgments and miracles that God is pouring out on the world through the opening of the seven seals and the blowing of the seven trumpets.
Thus far, we’ve heard about all the seals being opened and six of the seven trumpets being blown.
So, let’s pick it up with this first point:
I. The trumpet, the voices, and the temple.
Look at Revelation 11:15-19:
11:15 The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying,
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom
of our Lord and of his Christ,
and he will reign forever and ever.
16 The twenty-four elders, who were seated before God on their thrones, fell facedown and worshiped God, 17 saying,
We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty,
who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
18 The nations were angry,
but your wrath has come.
The time has come
for the dead to be judged
and to give the reward
to your servants the prophets,
to the saints, and to those who fear your name,
both small and great,
and the time has come to destroy
those who destroy the earth.
19 Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and severe hail.
Ok, there are three things I said we would see here: the trumpet, the voices, and the temple.
Notice, first, the trumpet.
Verse 15 starts off right away by saying, “The seventh angel blew his trumpet . . . ”
Now, the seventh trumpet blast is unique from the others in that it doesn’t only cover a few verses or a chapter. Rather, the blowing of the seventh trumpet ushers in all the events that will take place throughout the remainder of the Book of Revelation.
In fact, what we’re seeing described in Chapter 11 refers to future events that have not yet happened in Revelation.
They refer to a specific time when Jesus will rule as King in a fuller way than how He is ruling now.
Pay attention to these statements:
Verse 15 says, “has become”
Verse 17 says, “have begun”
Verse 18 says, “has come”
Verse 18 says, “the time has come”
Verse 18 says a second time, “the time has come”
In these verses, we’re continually pointed to the reality of a kingdom, which has not yet fully come, when Jesus will reign vividly as King.
Though this time has not yet begun, it will begin. Though this time has not yet come, it will come. This seventh trumpet blow will include (among other things) the coming of God’s kingdom, the reign of Jesus, the wrath of God towards sin, the judgment of the dead, and the rewarding of God’s servants.
Second, notice the voices.
Verse 15 mentions these voices.
We’ve heard of so many heavenly characters in Revelation thus far that it’s difficult to keep track of which voices these are.
We know that they at least include the twenty-four elders whom we first learned about in Revelation 4.
What are these loud voices doing? They are declaring the coming of Christ’s kingdom, and they are worshiping God.
Verse 16 says that the elders “fell facedown and worshiped God.”
In their worship of God, they are declaring what He will do: He will judge sin. He will reward His people. He will reign as King.
Church, we also ought to worship God, in part, by declaring who He is and what He will do!
Let us use our voices to join with the voices of the heavenly beings to worship the one true God.
Notice, third, the temple.
Let me point out that this temple clearly is a heavenly temple.
How do we know that? Well, verse 19 says, “Then the temple of God in heaven was opened . . . ”
That’s pretty clear, right?
The temple of God is opened so that God’s people can come in.
Not only that, but the ark of the covenant was also there.
The ark was a beautiful and sacred box of sorts, which represented the presence and promises of God.
The ark reminded God’s people that He had been with them, He was with them, and He will be with them.
Brothers and sisters, listen for a moment: God is with us! He has been with us! He will be with us!
His presence and His promises have been secured for us by the work of Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.
God not only has a heavenly home prepared for us, but as verse 19 tells us, He has a heavenly temple prepared for us where we can enjoy His presence and raise our voices in worship of Him.
What a day, glorious day, that will be!
Chapter 11 tells us about the trumpet, the voices, and the temple.
Next, we learn about . . .
II. The woman, the child, and the dragon.
Look at Chapter 12, verses 1-17:
12:1 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 labor and agony as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven crowns. 4 Its tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth it might devour her child. 5 She gave birth to a Son, a male who is going to rule all nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, to be nourished there for 1,260 days.
7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, 8 but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,
The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ
have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them
before our God day and night,
has been thrown down.
11 They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
for they did not love their lives
to the point of death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you
with great fury,
because he knows his time is short.
13 When the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, times, and half a time. 15 From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17 So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus.
Now, one small note here: I didn’t forget about verse 18; we’ll include that in the next sermon.
However, notice three personalities here: the woman, the child, and the dragon. Let’s talk about who these are.
Let’s start with the most obvious first, and that’s the dragon.
The dragon’s identity is obvious because verse 9 says that the dragon is “the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan.”
So, there you go, the dragon is Satan.
Second, is the child.
The child is clearly Jesus.
We know this because Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament as a child who would come as King and Savior.
Further, verse 5 says that the child will “rule all nations with an iron rod.” Well, Jesus is described as ruling this way multiple times in the Bible.
So, the child is Jesus.
Third, who is the woman?
Some may be tempted to think that the woman is Mary or Eve, but that doesn’t fit the full description of what happens to the woman.
Notice a few realities about the woman:
She’s clothed with the sun, moon, and stars.
She cries out in labor pains.
She gives birth to a Son.
She flees into the wilderness.
She is persecuted by the dragon.
She flies away from the presence of the dragon. She is nourished in the wilderness.
She is helped by the earth.
She has more offspring against whom the dragon wages war.
So, the woman is not likely Eve or Mary. Rather, the woman likely represents the collective chosen people of God, often referred to as Israel.
Now, listen, I’m not saying that this is the political nation of Israel that exists today.
What I’m talking about are the collective people of God, including those descended from Abraham who trusted God.
Further, this may include those who came from outside of Abraham into the family of God by trusting in Jesus Christ.
So, the woman likely represents God’s chosen people.
We’ll dig into this more on Wednesday night at Digging Deeper.
So, that’s a bit about who these characters are. Let’s talk a bit about what this passage means.
Let me just give you three simple truths for today:
First, know that the dragon is trying to cause harm.
Ever since sin came into the world in Genesis 3, Satan has been trying to cause harm to the plan of God and the people of God.
When Jesus was preparing for His earthly ministry, Satan tried to harm Him.
The dragon has continued to try to harm God’s people, and he will continue to try to harm God’s people.
Second, know that the people of God are in for a battle.
Look again at verse 17. It says:
So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus.
Listen, brothers and sisters: The Christian life is not easy. When you are faithful to God, the devil will come for you.
However, don’t miss this third point:
Third, know that the Son brings victory.
Look at verses 10-12:
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,
The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ
have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them
before our God day and night,
has been thrown down.
11 They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
for they did not love their lives
to the point of death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you
with great fury,
because he knows his time is short.
The dragon’s time is short. There is victory in and through the child. There is victory in Jesus.
So, we see an overview of the grand picture of redemptive history where the child, Jesus, is born as a human, and He comes from the people of God; and the dragon, Satan, will seek to destroy Him and His people.
However, the dragon will not succeed.
That takes us to our bottom line:
Bottom Line: The dragon cannot stop the power and plans of the King.
If we go back to Chapter 11, we can recall that the voices in heaven were declaring that the time for Jesus to reign as King was coming.
The dragon is pursuing God’s people to harm them, but that will not last forever. He can fight against God’s people all He wants, but God has a plan and purpose that will succeed.
God will judge sin!
God will defeat the dragon!
Jesus will reign as King!
God will rescue His people!
God will usher in a new heaven and new earth, opening His temple to His people, and they will reign in paradise forever!
The dragon cannot stop the power and plans of the King.
Challenge yourself this week in this one way:
Weekly Challenge: Conquer by the blood of the Lamb.
Verse 11 says, “They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb.”
Church, the blood of Jesus brings victory over sin and victory over the dragon. Cling to Jesus and His ways.
In just a moment we’re going to take the Lord’s Supper, as we do so, remember that we conquer by the blood of the Lamb.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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