Christ has conquered Satan and has cast him out of heaven where he was the accuser of the brethren. In this message we discuss the three aspects of the Christian’s ability to overcome Satan: he trusts in the blood of the Lamb, he proclaims the gospel of Christ, and he doesn’t love his life when faced with death.
[powerpress]
The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon
Revelation 12
We saw last week in our study of Revelation 11 the consummation of all things. In Revelation 11, after the 2 witnesses had finished their work, Christ returns, the church is raptured, all the dead are raised, all men are judged, and rewards and punishments are given out.
So, really, that should be the end of the book of Revelation right? Yes, but of course we know it’s not. It’s not the end, because there is more of the story to tell. So, John sees new and fresh visions which take him back to the beginning again. The story recapitulates, and begins again with the birth of Christ.
It’s the same story, but told from a new and different perspective. In this regard it is a lot like the four different gospels in our Bible – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Why didn’t God give us just one gospel? Why did we need four? It is because each gospel tells the same story from a different perspective, a different vantage point. Together the four gospels give us a complete picture. So too with the book of Revelation. All of the visions combined together give us a full and complete picture of God’s dealings with this sinful world.
Revelation 12 tells the story of three different people: the woman, the child, and the dragon.
1. The Woman (12:1-2)
Who is this Woman? (12:1) I think we can rule out that this is a literal woman, because we are told that the woman is a sign. A sign points to a reality greater than itself. It is a symbol of something else. That would immediately eliminate Mary as the woman. Roman Catholics believe that this woman was Mary, and you can understand why. Verse 5 says she gave birth to a male child who is to rule all the nations, which is a clear reference to Jesus Christ. However, this woman can’t be Mary because the Old Testament identifies this woman as someone else.
In Genesis 37, Joseph had a dream in which the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. Jacob rebuked Joseph and said “Shall I and your mother and your brothers bow ourselves down before you to the ground?” Jacob understand immediately the meaning of the dream. Jacob was the sun, Rachel was the moon, and the 11 stars were Joseph’s 11 brothers. The sun, moon and 12 stars of Revelation 12, then, would be Jacob and his offspring. The alternate name for Jacob is Israel, and that’s who this woman represents. However, we need to make sure we don’t make a mistake here. The woman represents Israel, but not Israel after the flesh. Rather the woman represents Israel after the Spirit. This woman represents the True Israel, the Spiritual Israel, the believing remnant of Israel. That will become apparent as we move through the chapter.
This identification of the woman as the True People of God should not surprise us. In the Old Testament God identifies Israel as His wife, and in the New Testament the church is identified as the Bride of Christ.
She cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth (12:2). So, this woman is pictured as a pregnant woman. These labor pains may refer to the sufferings and persecutions of the faithful remnant of Israel leading up to the appearing of their Messiah. The faithful Jews suffered much persecution from the Assyrians and Babylonians, as well as from their own countrymen. Heb. 11:35-38 tells us that they were tortured, not accepting their release; were mocked, scourged, put in chains and imprisoned; stoned, sawn in two, put to death with the sword, went about in sheepskins, were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, and wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron (12:5). Now, who is this male child who is to rule all the nations? That’s an easy one, because tells us specifically who that is.
Psalm 2:7-9, “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord; He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.”
In Psalm 2 God is speaking to His Son, and says to Him “You shall break them with a rod of iron.”
Revelation 19:15 “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Scripture is very clear. Jesus is the One who will rule the nations with a rod of iron.
Now, that makes perfect sense, because Israel is the One that brought forth the Messiah. Jesus was a Jew, with a Jewish heritage. Romans 9:5 “From Israel is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever.”
The faithful remnant of Israel was that godly line through which Jesus Christ came into the world.
2. The Child (12:5)
A son, a male child (5). The vision does not describe the birth of a girl, but of a son, of course because this child symbolizes Christ.
The child was caught up to God and to His throne (5). This, of course, speaks of the ascension of Christ, and His enthronement at the right hand of God the Father. However, it does seem odd, doesn’t it, that we go directly from Christ’s birth to His ascension. His entire life, death, and resurrection are passed over. The reason is because those details are not important in the telling of this part of the story. However, it is assumed that the readers are aware of the death and resurrection of Christ.
The death, resurrection and ascension of Christ are going to play a vital role in the victory of Christ and His church over Satan.
3. The Dragon (12:3-4,9)
Another sign appeared in heaven (1). This dragon is not a literal dragon. He signifies something else.
Great red dragon (3). He is massive, ferocious and deadly. Try to picture in your mind a massive dragon, so great that he can sweep away 1/3 of the stars with his tail. Then picture next to him a little baby boy. That’s the picture God wants you to keep in your mind.
The serpent of old, who is called the devil and Satan (9). Now, we are left in no doubt about the identity of the dragon. The dragon is the devil. He is Satan. He is the serpent of old, the same serpent that deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems (3). We will see in chapter 13, that the first beast from the sea has seven heads and ten horns, clueing us into the fact that the Beast is inspired and empowered by Satan himself. As for the meaning of the seven heads and ten horns, I am going to wait until we get to chapter 13 to go into those details.
His tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth (4). Now, this has been usually understood as Satan drawing away a third of the angels when He fell from heaven. And that may be the correct interpretation. After all, sometimes stars are symbolic for angels. We find that to be true in Revelation 9:1,11. In that place we read that a star fell to the earth and a key to the bottomless pit was given to him. And his name is Apollyon, and is the angel of the abyss and is the king over the other demons. Therefore, this verse may teaching that Satan was able to draw away a third of the angels in his rebellion against God.
However, it is not all certain that this is the correct interpretation. Revelation 12:4 is alluding to Daniel 8:10, where it says that the “little horn”, which is a reference to Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 BC, caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down.” That is a reference to Antiochus Epiphanes trampling upon the righteous saints. Sometimes the righteous are referred to as stars, as well as angels. Daniel 12:3 likens those who lead many to righteousness to stars. So, Revelation 12:4 could be a reference to the destructive and trampling effects Satan has upon the righteous of the earth. This could refer to the Satanically inspired persecution of the righteous before the birth of Christ. It is not easy to discern which is the correct meaning in this place. I will leave that for you to decide.
He stood before the woman so that when she gave birth he might devour her child (4). He wanted to kill and eat the baby that this woman brought forth. Of course, this points to the desire of Satan to kill and destroy Jesus Christ. Herod the Great tried to do this to Christ when he was a small child. He had all the male babies under two years old in Bethlehem slaughtered. However, God had warned Joseph to flee to Egypt in a dream, so Jesus escaped death. Many other times, the religious leaders sought to kill Jesus, no doubt inspired by Satan. They tried to throw him over the brow of a cliff. They tried to stone him with stones. They plotted to do away with him again and again, but they could not because it was not His time. Satan couldn’t destroy Christ. When it was the time ordained by His Father, Jesus willingly laid down His life. Satan didn’t take it from Him.
There was war in heaven… the great dragon was thrown down.. he was thrown down to the earth (7-9). 12:7-9 tell us that Satan and his angels were thrown down out of heaven. Why? Because there was war in heaven and they lost. They were botted out of heaven. Now, what is this all about? 12:10 tells us that Satan is the accuser of the brethren. Actually, the word Satan means accuser. Apparently before the ascension of Christ, Satan constantly accused the brethren. We see that in the case of Job.
In Job 1:9-11, Satan accused Job of only serving God because God paid him well. He had put a hedge around him on every side and blessed the work of his hands. But if God would touch all that he has he would surely curse God to his face.
Later in Zechariah 3:1 “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.” Joshua was clothed with filthy garments. The Lord commanded that the filthy garments be removed from him and that he be clothed with festal robes and a clean turban on his head. All of this signifies that Satan is the accuser of the brethren. He loves to accuse us of our sins and guilt.
Prior to the coming of Christ, this was a major part of his malicious activity in the world. And the devil could make the claim that his accusations were legitimate, because there was no effective atonement for sin offered. Sure, there were bulls and goats offered continually, but they could never really take away sin. So, how could God be just and yet still justify the ungodly during Old Testament times.
Think of heaven as a courtroom and Satan as the prosecuting attorney. He would bring his strong accusations against the people of God, and accuse God of being unjust in forgiving their sins because no just penalty had been paid for them. But now in Revelation 12 we find Satan thrown out of court. Why? Because the guilt of God’s people has been paid for by the sacrifice of Christ. God can justly justify the wicked, because Christ paid for their sin. Satan has no grounds any longer to accuse the brethren before God.
Romans 8:33-34, “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” Satan can’t condemn or bring a charge against God’s people because Christ died for them, rose for them, and intercedes for them.
Remember Revelation 12:5 – “the child was caught up to God and to His throne.” The exaltation of Jesus into heaven brings about the expulsion of Satan from heaven.
Luke 10:17-18 “The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’ And He said to them, ‘I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.”
John 12:31 “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.”
Jesus was contemplating His own soon coming death for sin, and announced that as a result of that the ruler of this world (Satan) would be cast out.
Col. 2:15 “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” As a result of the cross, Satan has been defeated once and for all by Jesus Christ!
Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come… (10). Because of the cross and the resurrection and enthronement of Christ, NOW salvation has come! NOW the power has come! NOW the kingdom has come! All of that coincides with Christ’s victory over Satan at the cross.
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb (11). Satan has been kicked out of heaven. He has come down to earth where we live. He can no longer accuse us before God. But he hasn’t stopped accusing the brethren. That’s his nature. He accuses us to our own consciences. He seeks to fill our hearts with a sense of condemnation, guilt and alienation from God. Why? Because if he can alienate us from God, he has paralyzed us. If we become alienated from God, we cease going boldly before the throne of grace, we cease praying, we cease worshiping, we cease serving, and we cease evangelizing. He has won! So, what are the saints to do when they feel the sting of Satan’s accusations?
In a court of law the Judge will ask, “How do you plead?” He expects a “Guilty”, or “Not Guilty” response. However, we can’t give either response. We can’t say “Not Guilty” because many times we are guilty. And we can’t say “Guilty”, because Christ has borne our guilt. So we plead “the blood of the Lamb.” “Just as I am, without one plea, except that Your blood was shed for me.” When Satan accuses you of hypocrisy and lust and greed and prayerlessness, don’t argue with him. Agree with him. Tell him he’s right. In fact, he doesn’t know the half of it. BUT, I have a Savior who has died for my sin. He has removed my condemnation. He intercedes for me at the right hand of God.
There is a huge difference between conviction of sin and condemnation for sin. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, because He is urging us to repent and walk in holiness. The devil seeks to bring condemnation upon us because He wants to alienate us from God. But don’t let him! Remember, you are wearing the helmet of salvation, and the breastplate of righteousness!
And the word of their testimony (11). In Revelation 1:9, John refers to this as the testimony of Jesus. What is that? It’s the gospel. As we find refuge in the blood of the Lamb, we go on the defensive, shielding ourselves from Satan’s condemnation. But as we preach the gospel we go on the offensive, plundering the strong man’s house, and taking captive souls that he has held onto for many years. As we preach the gospel, we take back territory that Satan has held sway over for many years.
We gain victory over Satan by trusting in His blood, and preaching His gospel!
And they did not love their life even when faced with death (11). That is the third aspect of victory in spiritual warfare. We must love Christ more than life, and fear Christ more than we fear death. If we are fearless of death, trust in the blood, and preach the gospel, the church of Christ will go forth conquering and to conquer.
He persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child (13). If Satan could not get at Jesus, He will persecute His people. And that’s exactly what we see taking place after the ascension of Christ. We find Stephen being stoned, James being beheaded, Peter imprisoned, Saul sent out to arrest and execute Christians. Later in 70 AD he sought to attack the Jewish believers in Jerusalem, but they escaped by obeying Jesus’ teaching in Mt. 24:15-20. The Christians fled Jerusalem early on, and escaped over the Jordan River to Pella, south of the Sea of Galilee.
But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place (14). This imagery is taken from Exodus 19:4 “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.” Of course, these aren’t literal eagles’ wings. This symbolizes God’s care and protection of His people. But just as God cared for and protected Israel against their Egyptian enemies, so too God will care for and protect His people against their spiritual enemies.
Where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent (14). Just as Israel was nourished in the wilderness when God provided manna from heaven, so too the church will be nourished by His Word. How long? Time and times and half a time. The same time period the church will suffer persecution, and the same time period the church bears witness to Christ is the same time period she is nourished by God. In other words, it is not either persecution or being nourished. It is both persecution, witness, and nourishment.
The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood (15). What does this water like a river from the mouth of the serpent represent? Well, what do we see coming forth from the mouth of Jesus? A two-edged sword, the word of God. What comes from the mouth of Satan? Lies and deceptions. The devil uses two different approaches in seeking to destroy God’s people: Persecution (force) and Deception. If he can’t get to the church by persecuting it, then he will seek to introduce false teaching, heresy, and lies.
But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth (16). This is an allusion to Numbers 16 where the earth opened its mouth and swallowed those who rebelled against Moses and Aaron. It pictures God supernaturally preserving His people from their enemies, which is exactly what God will do for His New Covenant people. Also, when God brought the waters of the Red Sea down upon the Egyptians and drowned them, Moses responded in a song. In Exodus 15:12 Moses interprets this event as “You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them.” So too, when the NT church faces Satanic opposition, we can count on God’s faithfulness to preserve us.
The dragon was enraged with the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus (17). If the woman is the Jewish believing remnant, then the rest of her children would be the Gentile believers who were evangelized by the Jews. The dragon’s strategy is to make war on the people of God, and he does so throughout history.
Conclusion
Pastor Jerome has been teaching us about spiritual warfare recently. Well, in God’s providence, we are also learning about spiritual warfare from this passage today. What lessons should we take away from this chapter?
- The devil is a defeated foe! He was conquered by Christ at the cross and the empty tomb. He has been cast out of heaven. He can no longer accuse us before God. All he can do is accuse our own consciences, persecute us, and lie to us. But none of these tactics need to defeat us. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!
- Plead the blood of the Lamb! Trust in Christ’s finished work. Don’t argue with the devil. He may be telling the truth. Just point him to Jesus dying on the cross. That’s the end of discussion!
- Proclaim the testimony of Jesus! Be aggressive about proclaiming the gospel of Christ. That is how the church advances in the world.
- Refuse to love your life even when faced with death! Refuse to fear men or devils. Fear God only. “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul.”
- Trust God to care for, preserve, and nourish the church! This doesn’t mean the church won’t suffer or be persecuted. It does mean that God will never leave or forsake her, and she will triumph in the end.
______________________________
© The Bridge
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by The Bridge.
Follow Us!