A great war in Heaven - Revelation chapter 12

Sermon notes from Sunday 25 November 2018

Revelation 12

When we turn to chapter 12 I believe we are turning to an interesting chapter indeed.  In chapter 12 we see the conflict and conquest and confrontation that exists here.  From Satan`s downfall in heaven until his demise in the bottomless pit.  This most talented, gifted, created being - don`t forget he was like that.  The chief choir master in heaven, given the lead of praise around the throne of grace.  He fell from that position to where we find him.  Look here today and take comfort and encouragement from this passage.  The worse was to come during these 7 years. Get that into your mind.  The words Jesus said were - there was never a time like it before nor will there be again.  This is a slot of time.  There are a lot of souls blinded by the god of this world.  We need to tell them about the things of God, the things that matter most in life, need to tell them to escape from this way of life.  God gave divine protection for his people.  God will bring you out of that tribultation today.  As we look back on the passages of history remember it is his story.  This is a story of God today. 

In chapter 12 there is a panoramic view given by God.  It is the picture of the persons that are involved in this conquest and conflict going on.  Verse 1 "great wonder" or sign in heaven.  Imagine John on the Isle of Patmos, God is giving him this panoramic view of what will take place.  He sees as it were the heavens open and sees this great wonder.  "A woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she being with child cried travaling in birth and pain to be delivered."  The first thought comes to mind is who is this woman?  There was a woman called Mary Eady in the late 1800`s who started up a work in America known as Christian Science.  Mary Eady claimed to be the woman in Revelation chapter 12 and the child she would bring forth would be the child of Christian Scientism.  Roman Catholics believe this woman to be the Virgin Mary.  Others say the woman represents the church but that cannot be so because Jesus Christ brought forth the church not the other way around.  So who is this woman?  This to me is a picture of Israel.  If we went back to Genesis 37 and the story of Joseph we remember the dream he had on one occasion.  He saw the sun and moon and 11 stars bowing down before him.  The sun represented his father, the moon his mother and the 11 stars his brothers.  We find this same picture here in chapter 12 verse 1.  We find this woman clothed with the sun and the moon.  Joseph`s dream of the very nation of Israel itself.  God has great plans for Israel and he will take them up again here in chapter 12.  "He came to his own and his own received him not."  God will deal with Israel once more and his plans will be fulfilled.  It is through the nation of Israel we have received the Messiah, Christ himself.  In verses 3 and 4 we are introduced to "a great red dragon".  The world and its followers tell us today that there is no such a thing as the devil.  He is not a real person.  God`s word tells us in verse 9 "and the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him."  People tell us today that there is an evil influence in the world but there is no such a thing as the devil.  They say that the idea of a devil was invented in the 16th Century to keep people in fear but today we are a more educated society and there is no such person as the devil.  The red term is very significant as it shows the viciousness and pain caused to the nation Israel.  This dragon has 7 heads.  In scripture the head speaks of wisdom and the number 7 is the number of perfection.  The head is symbolic of wisdom.  How clever this devil is.  He has perfect wisdom.  Ezekiel 28 verse 15 "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee."  One day the devil will gather the nations to Armageddon.  The dragon has also 10 horns.  Horns speak of power.  There were also 7 crowns on his head.  Crowns represent dominion and authority.  The devil is perfect in his wisdom, has great authority and power.  He is not almighty though.  God is almighty.  The devil is mighty but not almighty.  He has a tail which speaks of strength.  It was not in his teeth or mouth.  "And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to the earth."  When Satan fell he tried to get above God, to get onto God`s throne and to get the angels to worship him.  He was cast out of heaven into heavenly throne and he took one third of heaven`s angels on that downward fall.  In verse 9 we see the red dragon is the devil himself, Satan.  These are the persons pictured here - the woman represents Israel and the red dragon represents Satan.

A picture of the programme.  Who is the child we see described in verse 4?  He is none other that Jesus Christ.  The devil was there in the Garden of Eden when he was first promised - Genesis 3 verse 15.  The promise of the Messiah was given.  He would one day be sent into the world, that he would live and die to destroy the works of Satan.  From that day Satan got his eyes on the Lord to prevent the Lord entering into this world.  He set about persecuting and bringing monarchs and regimes against Israel.  He did it with Cain and Abel but God brought forth Seth to redeem the family, to carry on the royal line.  Esau promised to kill Jacob but God protected Jacob and brought him back into his home land again.  He stirred up the heart of Pharaoh so that he might destroy the people of Israel living in the land of Egypt.  God raised up Moses and even had him brought up in Pharaoh`s palace.  In 2 Kings we read of Joash who had an evil grandmother.  She put to death all the royal seed for her own cause.  Joash`s aunt went in so quickly and picked him up before his grandmother put him to death.  She hid the child and cared for him.  He was the last link to the royal line.  If he had been put to death the Lord would never have come.  God used her to protect and raise up Joash to the throne again.  The devil with all his powers came against the woman even at the birth of Christ.  God stirred up the evil heart of Herod.  Remember when they came looking for Jesus when he was born.  Herod was so bitter and angry when he found out there was a new born king somewhere.  He sent out an order that all the babies should be put to death.  That was the devil`s hand.  The Lord raised up these people to do his task.  The apostle Paul writing to the Ephesians said "we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities."  The devil can raise up people to say things against us, to discourage us.  Maybe this morning you are being discouraged about someone.  The devil is taking up that person.  He is the real enemy behind it all though.

Satan`s penalty - verse 7.  There was a war going on in heaven.  What we need to understand is that somewhere in the first 2 chapters of Genesis, there was a conflict and Satan was cast out of heaven, cast into the dark.  He is the prince of the power of the air.  We can feel his effects.  He has the power to infiltrate our minds, to bring us down and discourage us.  Then we read here in verse 7 of a war.  This is the war where Satan was cast out.  They are reigning at the moment in the atmosphere.  We are at the middle point of the 7 years of witness on this earth.  The devil is cast out onto the earth.  Think of that for a moment.  The devil is reigning and his angels are reigning too.  One day cast down onto earth - what a day that will be.

The persecution - verse 13.  There never has been a nation as persecuted as much as the nation of Israel.  Remember back in Exodus when they had been given the best of the land when they first went down into Egypt.  Pharaoh began to persecute the nation of Israel, they were used as slaves until Moses brought them out.  Then later they were under the Assyrian regime.  The Assyrians came right to the door of Jerusalem and carried them away for miles under Nebuchadnezzar`s reign in Babylon.  Under the Medes and Persians one man Haaman had a letter signed by the king that all Jews should be put to death.  God used Mordecai to bring Haaman down and he was eventually hanged on the gallows he himself had built.  God was in control.  Under the Roman empire and Caesar the Israelites were persecuted.  Sadaam Hussein declared that he would once more carry the Israelites into bondage before his death.

The protection this nation will have - verse 15.  The devil is going to influence the nations of the world against Israel.  The words used here for water is the same word used for the nations and peoples of the world.  The devil will raise up nations to come against the nation of Israel.  In verse 14 we see the woman was given 2 wings that she might flee into her place.  God has a place for her.  God will not forsake his people.  He has redeemed us and he will keep us.