As we continue our series in Revelation chapter
12, if you recall, we introduced the topic and
the subject two weeks ago, and we just talked
about the content and the material of Revelation
12, its flow and how it progresses and builds,
and we talked about how it's apocalyptic literature.
Last week... We considered this first great sign
that appeared in heaven. We learned about this
woman who's on the brink of having a child. We
read in verses 1 through 2, a great sign appeared
in heaven. A woman clothed with the sun and the
moon under her feet, and on her head a crown
of twelve stars. and she was with child, and
she cried out, being in labor and in pain, to
give birth. We recognize that this is the church
throughout the ages, that this is the redemptive
groanings of God's people leading up to the birth
and the incarnation of God himself and taking
on flesh. We recognize... That this was the people
of God longing for a Messiah and looking for
the messianic hope which had been promised to
them. Today, we come to the second sign that
appears in the sky, in the heaven. We read about
another sign which appears in heaven, a great
red dragon. We'll consider today the enemy of
the incarnation, the enemy of Christmas in a
very real sense, brothers and sisters, the enemy
of the Christian church, the enemy of Christ,
the enemy of the people of God, the enemy of
your soul. That's who we will consider today.
If we think about the... nature of history, secular
and church history, and we think about the orientation
of the world and society and cultures in the
middle of all of that. We think about the Christian
church, the church of the living God. Time and
time again, the culture, the world, and society
have opposed the church. heightened in intensity
and degree, but then it goes down and it fluctuates
and it goes up and it goes down. We think about
the threats and the dangers that come against
the Christian church. We think about the false
doctrine and the error that is so rampant in
the world. We think about Islam in our day, a
real true threat to the church of Jesus Christ
today in our world and in the future. Brothers
and sisters, we think about... political governments.
We think about kings and kingdoms all around
the world and how they have come against the
church and how they will throughout the rest
of this age. We have a tendency to think about
these groups or these aspects or these specific
people and to focus on those individuals, recognizing
and thinking that this is my real enemy. This
is where the malice and the hatred comes from.
This is why the church is opposed. But what we
find is that there is something very, very fundamental
to that opposition. There's something very, very
foundational. There's something hidden and unseen
behind that opposition, There's a very real enemy
behind that conflict. The devil. The enemy of
Christ and his church. This is who we will consider
today. We'll consider the great red dragon. We'll
consider the dragon's disposition towards the
woman and her child. And we will consider the
dragon's failure. and God's victory in this text.
So first, the great dragon. Notice in verse 3
that it says, Then another sign appeared. So
immediately, when we think about the great red
dragon, we're not talking about a literal, physical
dragon. We're talking about a sign. or a symbol,
something that represents something else. It's
expressing meaning in a symbolic way. So we have
to ask, who is this great red dragon? Well, we
come to an understanding of that by looking at
the description and looking at the rest of this
text. How is the great red dragon described?
How is he characterized in this text? Well, we
read further in verse 3. Then another sign appeared
in heaven, and behold, a great red dragon, having
seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were
seven diadems, or jewels, almost like crowns.
And so, who is this dragon? What is he like?
Well, his seven heads and his ten horns and his
diadems stand for his authority, his power, his
influence in the world and among the kingdoms
and especially in governments and places of power.
We read in Revelation chapter 17 verses 9 through
14 this. Here is the mind which... Here is the
mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven
mountains on which the woman sits. And they are
seven kings. Five have fallen. One is. The other
has not yet come. And when he comes, he must
remain a little while. The beast, which was and
is not, is himself also an eighth and is one
of the seven. And he goes to destruction. The
ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have
not yet received a kingdom, but they receive
authority as kings with the beast for one hour.
These have one purpose, and they give their power
and authority to the beast. Now, we know that
the beast, and we know that the monster out of
the sea and the monster from the earth, the false
prophet, the harlot, and the false teacher, and
the false prophet, and the harlot, and immorality,
or Babylon, and the king we find in Revelation
12, that is the government that the devil works
through. We find that the devil, gives them authority.
The devil gives them power to operate and exert
influence in the world and to function as he
sees fit. They're his helpers in a very real
sense. So this speaks of the devil, his authority
and influence in the world. It speaks of his
power to work in the midst of societies, cultures,
and places around the world, in the earth, and
the hearts and minds of unbelieving men. And
this language of the dragon is rooted in Old
Testament literature. So some would link this
to mythology. would be associated with the first
century and so forth. But I think it finds its
roots, and it's alluding to Old Testament literature,
and specifically Old Testament literature that
has to do with the Leviathan, or the great dragon
of the sea, the beast, the most powerful of sea
creatures that could never be stopped. We read
in Job chapter 41, Of this beast. Job 41. Verses
1 through 5. We read this. How blessed is he.
Who considers the helpless. I apologize that
was song. Job 41. As I said. Job 41. Verses 1
through 5. We read this. Can you draw out Leviathan.
With a fishhook. Or press down his tongue with
a cord? Can you put a rope in his nose? Or pierce
his jaw with a hook? Will he make many supplications
to you? Or will he speak to you soft words? Will
he make a covenant with you? Will you take him
for a servant forever? Will you play with him
as with a bird? Or will you bind him for your
maidens? It's a rhetorical question that automatically
leads to the answer of no. Why? Because it's
a powerful beast. It's a powerful monster that's
uncontrollable. It's a powerful sea creature,
an animal which is fierce, which is dangerous.
We read in Psalm chapter 74. Similarly. specifically
in verses 13 through 14. You divided the sea
by your strength. You broke the heads of the
sea, monsters in the waters. You crushed the
heads of the Leviathan, of Leviathan. You gave
him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
In this text, brothers and sisters, the author
of the psalm, is taking this idea of the Leviathan
and applying it to Egypt and applying it to those
who are pursuing Israel into the wilderness and
God brought the water down upon their heads and
destroyed them and crushed them. They were the
enemy of God's people. So here we find the author
of this psalm, Asaph, applying this idea of the
Leviathan to the enemies of God's people which
God himself destroyed and crushed. And brought
the Red Sea to bear down full in its weight.
To remove them from their threat from the people
of God. So we find that this idea of this dragon,
this Leviathan. Is associated with being an enemy
of God's people. We read in Isaiah chapter 27
verse 1. These words. In that day. The Lord will
punish Leviathan, the fleeing serpent, with his
fierce and great and mighty sword. Even Leviathan,
the twisted serpent, and he will kill the dragon
who lives in the sea. God will overcome and destroy
the enemies of God's people. The most powerful,
the strongest opposers, those who bring the greatest
conflict against the church of Jesus Christ and
do the most harm to his name and slander his
name, God will deal with. And how does he refer
to them in this text? The Leviathan, the fleeing
serpent, the dragon who lives in the sea. I believe
that this imagery is drawn from the Old Testament.
The dragon, this great monster, this great enemy
of God's people. So who is the great red dragon
representing or symbolizing the devil? Satan,
the great arch enemy of God's people. And John
clarifies this for us in verse 9 when he says,
The great dragon was thrown down. and the serpent
of old who is called the devil and Satan. So
he's not talking about a literal dragon, brothers
and sisters. He's talking about the devil who
hates God's people. He has opposed God's people
from the earliest days and will oppose God's
people throughout the gospel age. This is who
he speaks of. The Lord Jesus called the devil
the prince of... This world. And 1 John 5 .19.
Speaks of how he has authority. And he has deceived.
This world. John goes on and says. Who deceives
the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth.
And his angels were thrown down. With him. It's
popular. In our day and our age. Brothers and
sisters. To not think about the devil. To not
think about Satan. And to either relativize him
away, to allegorize him away, or to just make
him insignificant, almost as though he doesn't
exist. We have a very real enemy. One that really,
genuinely opposes the soul of every true believer.
One that hates God and hates Christ's people.
It would be foolish and ignorant of us, brothers
and sisters, to ignore this reality or to make
light of this truth that we have a real true
enemy that is unseen that really strategizes
and schemes to oppose the church of Jesus Christ
in this world. 2 Corinthians 2, 8 -11 speaks
of how if we are ignorant of the devil's schemes,
we will surely be taken advantage of. If we overlook
or ignore the fact that we don't have an enemy,
do you think we will be taken advantage of by
that enemy, brothers and sisters? Absolutely.
This church and every other faithful church has
a real opposer, the devil. And he will do anything
he can to get his foot in the door, to rip it
apart, and to bring it and to shred it apart.
To hurt it. Now this is who the great red dragon
is. Satan, the serpent of old. But we also find
in this text the dragon's disposition toward
the woman and her child. Notice in this text
we read this. And his tail swept away a third
of the stars of heaven and threw them to the
earth. And the dragon stood before the woman
who was about to give birth, so that when she
gave birth, he might devour her child. Now, last
week we considered this image of the woman in
the night sky. And how John wants us to be aware
and to be conscious of the fact that she is literally
on the brink. Of having a child. She cries out
in travail. In pain. In birth pains. She's almost
to give birth. She's almost to have a child.
And on the other side of her. Another great sign
appears. But it's not a good sign. It's this
red dragon. And does he have. Good intentions.
With regards to the woman in the sky. This woman.
That's about to give birth. No. He has murderous,
malicious intent. That is what John wants to
communicate. What is the dragon doing in the
symbol? He's standing, crouching, waiting for
the woman to give birth. Why? So that he can
kill the child. So that he can destroy the Messiah.
So we find in this text, That John communicates
to us in this language, in this symbolic language,
Satan's malice towards the church and towards
Christ. His murderous intent and hatred and actions
against the people of God and the Messianic community.
So what is the source of this malice? Why does
the devil hate the church and hate Christ to
such a degree? Why does this conflict that John
is speaking of exist in the first place? Why
is the human race caught up in this conflict?
Why are we even involved in this cosmic quarrel
between the devil and Christ? Why? Are we in
the midst of it? Well, it goes back to the book
of Genesis and even before, brothers and sisters.
The Bible teaches that the devil sought out power.
He was prideful and arrogant and he sought out
authority for himself. And as a result, he persuaded
a portion of the other angels. to follow him
and to rebel against God. Listen to what the
text says. And his tail swept away a third of
the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.
The other angelic figures and bodies, what took
place? At least a third of them, a portion of
them, followed the devil in his rebellious and
unsubmissive. Actions toward the God of the universe
who made him. Likely the devil was one of a few
archangels. He was glorious and powerful. An
angel of light. There were none like him. But
he challenged the living God. We don't know all
the details. We can speculate certain things.
But we know that the angel fell before men fell.
The fall of the devil came before the fall of
Adam. So the devil opposes God and his people.
This is the backdrop. This is the context. And
this is the setting. Of Adam's fall, brothers
and sisters, who is it that tempts the woman?
Who is it that deceives the woman? Who is it
that comes to the woman and invites her and persuades
her to join him in his rebellion against the
living God? It's the serpent of old. We think
about the fall of man. And one of the things
that's so terrible about Adam's failure to appropriately
represent God's people and men and women throughout
the ages as their federal head is that he chose
to side with the devil. He chose to join in the
demonic rebellion against the living God. He
chose sin and unbelief and the demonic before
he chose the holy, good character and law and
promises of God himself. Adam willingly broke
the covenant that God had made with him when
the devil tempted Eve and Eve brought the fruit
to him. He willingly transgressed God's Prohibition
in God's command. And he willingly locked arms
with this dragon. As did every other sinner who
was found and represented in Adam. All those
Adam represented chose to lock arms and to hold
hands with the devil. himself and his rebellion.
Now quickly after the fall, quickly after that
the sin came into the world, what takes place
in Genesis 3 .15? God himself mounts the pulpit
and preaches the first gospel. God himself mounts
the pulpit and proclaims the gospel and the coming
Messiah and the fact that the... the serpent
would be crushed with a fatal blow. Now, here's
what I want you to think about in that, who is
God speaking to when he first proclaims the gospel?
Who is he addressing? The devil. He's not speaking
to Adam and Eve, they overhear it. He's speaking,
he's communicating, he's addressing the devil
himself. You know what God is doing in Genesis
3 .15? He is declaring the destruction, the defeat,
and the fact that he would be conquered by the
Messiah himself. That the offspring of the woman
would rise up one day and that he would crush
his head, but the serpent would lay an unfatal
blow on the heel of the Messiah. God was proclaiming
the gospel to the devil, and he's declaring his...
His destruction, brothers and sisters. And ever
since that point in time, ever since that moment,
a great conflict has ensued all throughout the
Old Covenant. All throughout the Old Testament,
we see this conflict playing itself out. The
seed, the serpent, and the seed of the serpent,
and the offspring of the woman, and the descendants
of the woman who believe in the promise. There's
this conflict and this divine quarrel that's
taking place. There's this hostility. There's
this enmity between these two where the devil
is constantly seeking to swipe. The devil is
constantly seeking to destroy and hurt and bring
the cessation of that lineage to an end. Or to
bring that lineage to cessation. To stop it.
We see it immediately after the garden, don't
we? Cain and Abel. What about all the corruption
in the world before the flood? What did that
have the potential to do? What was the problem
in her marriage? Corruption of the divine seed.
What about if we go forward and we think about
Ishmael? and Jacob. Or we think about Isaac and
Ishmael. I apologize. The hostility, the enmity
between the two, the conflict. We think about
Jacob and Esau. We think about Rachel and Leah.
There's all this conflict, brothers and sisters.
And then we get to Egypt. And what takes place
is the people of God are getting close to leave.
Pharaoh seeks to destroy the offspring of the
Jews. To kill off the lineage. And what do we
find as we move throughout the Bible and the
redemptive narrative? What happened with Saul
and David? Do you remember how many times Saul
drew his spear and tried to stick David with
his spear to kill him? Where does the Messiah
come forth from? David. Over and over and over.
What about the book of Esther, brothers and sisters?
Haman wanted to completely bring about a full
-blown genocide in the life of God's people so
that the seed would be no more. What about Queen
Athaliah? In 2 Kings chapter 11, I believe. Do
you remember what she did? She sought to destroy
the royal lineage of David and just completely
wipe it out. Over and over and over and over,
we find the dragon trying to devour the woman's
child, to destroy the Messiah, to consume the
seed so that his defeat would not come about
in... There was one final attempt at the close
of the Old Testament and the start of the New
Testament. That final attempt is found in Matthew
chapter 2. I'd like us to turn there. We all
know this story. If you remember, the Magi from
the East recognized the arrival of a king, a
great king. And they come and they seek out this
king. They go to Herod. Herod goes, yes, yes,
go search methodically and find him. And when
he comes back, when you find him, make sure to
let me know so that I can go and worship him
too. It sounds like there's good pure motives
there with Herod, don't you think, brothers and
sisters? So the Magi go and they follow the star
and they find the Messiah. but God intervenes.
And then what takes place? Herod is enraged.
He goes off the rails. And here's what we read.
Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked
by the Magi, he became very enraged and he sent
and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem
and all its vicinity from two years old and under
according to the time. which he had determined
from the Magi. What's at work in Herod to influence
and manipulate and bring about the slaughtering
of these baby boys? Is it Herod wanting to stop
another king? Or is there something behind the
scenes, something unseen? Is there someone that
is working to devour the woman's child? The devil
makes one final attempt before Christ could accomplish
his work to destroy the Messiah, the hope of
the world. He tries this and fails throughout
the life of Christ. Many, many times. We could
think about the wilderness, brothers and sisters.
You remember where the devil comes to Jesus and
he tempts him? And it's very similar to the garden.
Where Adam and Eve are tempted. But in the wilderness,
Jesus has... No food in his belly. He has no
help. He doesn't have a companion. He's not eaten
for a long time. He's fasting. He's weak. He's
by himself. He's not in a lush green garden that
has all the food and all the provision and all
the nourishment that exists. He's in a barren
wilderness with nothing to aid him on a starving
stomach and he's weak as you can get out. And
what happens when the devil comes to him, brothers
and sisters? He conquers the devil. He overcomes
the devil. He does not succumb to the temptation.
He overcomes the trial. The devil fails. What
happens when the devil works through Peter, the
disciple of Jesus Christ, to try and keep him
from the cross? Christ rebukes him to his face.
And what happens later on in his ministry, brothers
and sisters, when he enters into Judas and he
betrays the Son of God? The very thing that he
wants to happen, the death of Christ, brings
about the redemption and the victory which God
had promised in the garden. Time and time again.
The devil tries to consume the offspring or the
child of the woman that Revelation 12 Speaks
of. But this is important for us to understand.
Time and time again. Perpetually. Repeatedly.
Over and over. The devil fails. To accomplish.
His work. He never succeeds. In thwarting. The
promised lineage. And the promised Messiah. Not.
a single time. Behind the nativity, behind the
incarnation and the birth of Christ, brothers
and sisters, we find this great conflict taking
place. It ought to remind us that there is an
enemy. That there are forces at work beyond that
which the naked eye can see. That can only be
seen and understood by faith in what the word
of God says. But we have to keep a balanced perspective
of this as well. The nativity and Christmas and
this holiday season where we remember the birth
of Christ. We also have to remember the dragon's
failure and God's success in all of redemption.
Because we read in verse 5, And she gave birth
to a son, a male child who was to rule all the
nations with a rod of iron. And her child was
caught up to God and to his throne. He never
devoured the woman's child in the figurative
words of Revelation 12, did he? He never succeeded.
The woman gave birth, and the child accomplished
his purposes, and he's caught up away from the
devil to the throne of God. He succeeds, and
he accomplishes that which he's set out to accomplish.
Christ is never successfully opposed by the devil.
He accomplishes the gospel. The devil could not
stop his birth. The devil could not stop his
holy life unto the law. The devil could not stop
his atoning death on the cross. The devil could
not stop his powerful and mighty resurrection.
The devil could not stop his ascension to the
throne of God, brothers and sisters. Could he?
The devil failed at every corner in Christ and
God in his sovereignty to bring about the redemption
of mankind. Succeeds and is victorious at every
single corner, at every stage in the redemptive
story and throughout redemptive history. Christmas
is not just about the conflict behind the scenes.
Christmas is a reminder, brothers and sisters,
of Christ the victor. Christ the conqueror. Christ
the mighty king. You see, brothers and sisters,
the nativity teaches us. That it's not just the
devil opposing Christ. The nativity and the incarnation,
the life, death, the resurrection and the work
of Christ reminds us, brothers and sisters, that
God has successfully made war on the works of
the devil. That he sent his son to be born of
a woman. That he sent his son. to live a holy
and a righteous life, to obtain righteousness,
that He sent His Son to die on the cross for
the sins of God's people, to appease and satisfy
the wrath of God for sinners, to raise from the
dead, and to return to His throne. This was an
act of war. This was a squashing of the rebellion,
and it was successful. Perfectly and completely.
In the gospel. Christ is defeating the devil.
He is establishing his king. And his rule. And
he is claiming that which is his. The captives.
The devil has taken. He is taking back. Those.
that the devil stole from God, in a sense, in
Genesis chapter 3. It's a divine act of war against
the devil and his works. This is why we read
in 1 John chapter 3, verse 8, the Son of God
appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works
of... The devil. That was his purpose. For coming.
We read in the book of Hebrews. Chapter 2. Therefore
since the children share in flesh and blood.
He himself. Speaking of Christ. Likewise also
partook of the same. That through death. He might
render powerless him. Who had the power of death.
That is the devil. And might free those. Who
through fear of death. Were subject to slavery
all their lives. That's why we read. In the book
of Colossians. Chapter 2. Verses 13 through 14.
These words. When you are dead in your transgressions.
And the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made
you alive together with him, having forgiven
us all our transgressions. Having canceled out
the certificate of debt consisting of decrees
against us, which was hostile to us, and he has
taken it out of the way, having nailed it to
the cross. When he had disarmed the rulers and
authorities, he made a public display of them,
having triumphed over them through him. through
Christ on the cross. Brothers and sisters, as
we near this time of the year and we enjoy this
time of the year, let us not forget what Christmas
is all about. It's about conflict, but it's about
conquering in Christ and what he has accomplished
and brought about. The wonderful reality of all
of this, brothers and sisters, is that by the
grace of God, according to the mercy of God,
those in Christ are the recipients and the benefactors
of this glorious redemption which God has accomplished
that he triumphs over the devil in. That's us
as sinners who don't deserve any of it. As those
who sided with the devil, we ought to have the
devil's fate. But brothers and sisters, even
though we have sinned against God, he in his
mercy and his grace saves sinners through the
work of the gospel. Through the life, death,
resurrection of Christ, he gives men new hearts.
He makes them new and he changes them. He grants
them faith and repentance. He renews them. He
sanctifies them. He transforms them. And brothers
and sisters, He brings them to glory. And He
will give them the new heavens and the new earth.
All because He's merciful and gracious. And Christ
came to conquer the devil. We are the recipients
of that as those in Christ. All by the grace
of God. We don't deserve an iota of it. The smallest
amount. We've never earned any of it. Christ
himself obtained every aspect, every piece, and
every part. And not only that, not only are we
removed from the kingdom of darkness, from the
devil's grasp, from the devil's rule in our hearts
and our minds, the devil's influence, but brothers
and sisters, we've been made children of God.
We've been adopted into the family of God. We've
been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places in Christ. He treats us as he treats Christ
Jesus. But that's not true of all men. That's
not true of all women. That's not true of all
young people. Some remain under the power and
the authority and the rule of the devil. Some
remain in the kingdom of darkness. They never
forsake their sin. They love their sin. And the
devil actually uses that to keep them under his
thumb. They've never known the goodness of God
in salvation. They've never tasted of what it
means to have the Spirit of God dwell within
you and give you a never -ending hunger and thirst
for righteousness and holiness, to know God more,
know they live and they revel in their sin, whether
it's blatant immorality or whether it's self
-righteous pride. You are either in Christ and
free of the devil, or you are under the rule
and the authority of Satan himself. And the only
way out from this and getting over to this is
by trusting in Jesus Christ and turning from
your sins. Seeing the reality that you are a
desperate sinner and forsaking that sin and looking
to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, trusting in
Him for salvation, for eternal life. Those in
Christ... Are actually made. Christian soldiers.
In this battle. And they are given. One weapon.
One weapon to fight with. The word of God. The
word of God brothers and sisters. Is how we fight.
In this battle. And it must be wielded. With
much prayer. And intercession. as Paul teaches
us. So, be encouraged as you think about the
nativity, the cross, and Christmas. But brothers
and sisters, let it also encourage you to wield
the sword and to stand firm this part of the
season.