There Be Dragons (Part 1)
Disclaimer: There is a lot in this passage. I’m going to walk through it fairly briskly. As in the past, I’m linking some helpful resources for further study to fill in the gaps.
GIST: Spiritual warfare is real and will effect your life, but the war is already won.
SCRIPTURE: Revelation 12
Chapters 12-14 weave together one central story. Essentially, we’re given a two-part vision in chapter 12. Then, the some of the details of how the vision is worked out are explained in chapters 13-14. I considered covering all of this in one lesson, but given my track record, I felt it would be more digestible (and realistic) to divide this into two parts.
Let’s walk through what’s going on in this passage, and then get some takeaways.
And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.
The Woman: Drawing heavily on one of Joseph’s dreams of seeing his family bowing down to him, the picture of the woman is a picture of the people of God. The clearest portrayal of this is the twelve stars which symbolize both the twelve tribes (OT) and twelve apostles (NT).
The Dragon: Satan. Check out verse 9: “9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world…” (You have to love those passages!) The reference to him taking out ⅓ of the stars likely refers to his destructive power, especially against the people of God (Remember the ⅓ references from earlier in the vision? Symbolically, this refers to ‘many, but not all’). His horns and crowns point to his earthly authority and power, which he is allowed to have (never forget that part) for a time.
The Child: The child is Jesus. We have his life in a nutshell. Born to reign. Pursued by Satan. Murderously sought after by many. Ascended into Heaven. Reigning on His throne.
The Events: So, why does this matter? We’ll see this developed more in the next vision, but we’re given a picture of why life is the way that it is. Spiritual warfare. Satan wanted to destroy Jesus, but didn’t. Jesus ascended to heaven, and His people were taken into the desert or wilderness. This is where we are now. Remember that 1,260 days thing we talked about last week? This is the time between Christ’s ascension and return (now). And during this time, God’s people are said to be nourished in a prepared wilderness. In the Old Testament, the wilderness is always a place of both trials and provision. It is not easy, but it is blessed. So is the life we will live in Christ on earth. It will be hard, but it is here we will be nourished. Furthermore, we cannot miss out on the fact that the wilderness is the place where God’s people were just before entering the promised land. We have the same hope!
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
Another Perspective/Defeated and Raging: There is, of course, some debate on chronology here. I would say this is not a new scene, but another perspective on the same. We see a picture of Satan being cast from Heaven. He is defeated by the blood of Lamb, by Jesus’ sacrificial death, and is now roaming the earth enraged. He’s been beaten, but has not yet been cast into Hell. He is furious, and determined not to squander his short time.
We’ll dive more into this in the application, but this is simultaneously an encouragement and a warning. Jesus has defeated Satan, and we conqueror him by clinging to and witnessing about the blood of the Lamb. Nonetheless, Satan is still actively working on earth against God and His people.
13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
Pursued and Protected Saints: Lots of imagery here. The message? Satan is attacking God’s people. He is flooding them with his onslaught, but God raises them up on eagle’s wings. Man this makes me think of Isaiah 40:29-31 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Yet, the war continues, and it will continue until Jesus returns (time, times, and ½ a time=3 ½ years=42 months=1,260 days=now). Then, however, it will be over forever.
TAKEWAYS:
1. Spiritual warfare is real The worst thing we can do is not take this point seriously. Satan is real. Demons are real. Yes, we are impacted first and foremost by the effects of sin because it rests within our own nature. On top of that, however, there is a spiritual battle taking place all around us. We can look at the problems of this world and attribute them to many earthly causes. On a deeper more profound level, though, they all have spiritual causes. We cannot forget this. D.A. Carson put it something like this: ‘If we focus on the earthly causes for our problems, we will try to solve them primarily by earthly means. Recognizing the more fundamental spiritual side gives us a better perspective.’ (Not anywhere near a direct quote, but the gist of what he said. See the link at the bottom to hear it put more eloquently :D.)
2. And will effect your life. We’ve addressed this many times lately. Yet, it’s one of the central themes in revelation--and we have to be reminded of this. Our lives will not always be peachy. There is a very real spiritual battle, and Satan is devoted to destroying God’s people. He wants to see us fall. He wants the Church discredited because we are just like the world--or worse. Turn on the news. Nearly every day some Christian (real or nominal) is being dragged out in a negative light. If they fall into sin, it is a public spectacle. If they stand on the word of God, it is called evil by the world. Until Jesus returns, this will continue to intensify. Satan knows his time is limited, and he is not wasting it.
3. Yet, the war is already won. Be encouraged. If you are in Christ, Satan can no longer accuse you. Though the battle is real, the war is won. If we are in Christ, we have this assurance that : “...37b we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-38) And James put it better that I could, “7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:7-8) This is not a message that tells us to go and slay Satan. We cannot, but God already has. We fight this spiritual battle by drawing near to God, clinging to Him. Look at what the passage says: 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Our victory is won by clinging to Jesus and sharing that hope with the world. It also requires perspective on our parts. We must come to value Jesus above all else...even our own lives.
We see this all throughout the Bible, but let’s close by looking at what Paul calls the “armor of God”. 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, (Ephesians 6:10-18 emphasis added). Oh, we could camp out here for a long time, but let’s just point this out in closing. Our spiritual armor is nearly all defensive. Our only weapon is… GOD’s Word. Get into it. Know it. Use it. Spiritual warfare is real and will effect your life, but the war is already won. How well do you know that Champion?
Helpful Resources for Further Study:
- I looked over these first two after preparing this lesson. They are a very thorough treatment of the passages, and worth a discerning read.
- Carson is a wonderful teacher. His sermon is long, and admittedly, I listen to him at 2x speed to process through more of his material faster. Nonetheless, this is a really helpful exposition.
- These last two are very practical messages drawn from chapter 12. Ferguson and DeYoung have pastors’ hearts. These are worth your time.
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