THEY LOVED NOT THEIR LIVES:
The Woman, the Dragon, & the Child
Revelation: Every Eye Will See Him
Revelation 12
THE TEXT:
The text for the sermon today is Revelation 12. Our text can be found on page 1035. These are the words of God:
15 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.
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!”
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.
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
Revelation is a book of cycles. The cycle of 7 churches, seals, trumpets. Revelation 12-14 is the fourth cycle in the book, wedged between the 7 trumpets and 7 bowls of wrath. Each cycle follows the arc of history from Christ’s first advent, and conclude with the second coming. So, chapter 12 today tells us about the birth of Christ, and chapter 14 will end with the judgement of Christ at the end.
Revelation 1-11 give a surface picture of the suffering of the saints; the trial and tribulations of this world. Revelation 12 is the true halfway point in the book, and now chapters 12-22 pull back the curtain to show us what is going on behind the scenes.
At the top of the chapter we’re told that these are two signs. The woman and the dragon; they’re symbolic. But what are they symbolizing. Rather than walk verse by verse through this chapter, let’s take it character by character. The woman, the dragon, and the child.
But, before we look at the characters, you might have realized that so much of Revelation is about battle, or wars, or fighting. That’s because John wants us to realize that even if we cannot see it with our eyes, every day of this life we are engaged in a cosmic conflict. So, this vivid sign of this woman and this dragon, and a war in heaven, are written in this way in order to shake spiritually anesthetized Christians into reality.
First, the Woman.
Is it Mary? (v.5) No, In fact, she is not any particular woman in history. We’re told in v. 1 that the woman is a “sign,” or “great wonder.” She is symbolic.
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.
Reminiscent of Genesis 37:9-10 – Joseph’s Dream
9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”
So, Jacob understands who the sun, moon and stars are, him and his 12 sons. So, the woman of Rev. 12 who is clothed with the sun, moon, and crown of 12 stars first of all symbolizes believers in the Old Testament – Israel.
Then, in verse 5 we read:
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.
Now, this time in the wilderness is symbolic of the church age. After Christ ascended to his Father, all of this age is an age of tribulations. And look down at v. 17:
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.
So, this woman is the saints of the Old Testament, she is the faithful line of believer through whom the Messiah comes into the world, and her offspring are all those who keep the commands of God. So, this woman is symbolic of God’s people in all ages.
Second, the Dragon
It doesn’t take much investigation to figure out that the Dragon is the devil.
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.
It’s also important to note that the OT often characterizes evil nations as dragons—specifically because behind every evil ruler, every evil empire is one malevolent being, the devil.
For the rest of the book of Revelation John is going to contrast the work of Christ with the work of Satan. And most of the time, the work of Satan will be shown as a parody of Christ, a mockery of Christ.
For instance, instead of the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Spirit, John will show us an unholy trinity of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. Instead of a perfect trinity of 777, we will see the trinity of imperfection symbolized as 666.
So, we’re being introduced to Satan here. If we go back up to v. 3 the dragon is red, which is the symbol of bloodshed in Revelation. He has seven heads and seven crowns—his authority appears to be almost godlike. His ten horns represent incredible strength.
- 4 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth.
This is a reference to Satan’s rebellion against God in the beginning, when one third of the angels followed him and were cast out of heaven.
And then look at the activity of this dragon. And, stick with me because the chapter jumps around chronologically.
- 7 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.
- 4 And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
- 13 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.
- 17 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
Here’s the big picture: from the beginning, shortly after his creation, Satan has been at war with God and all those who love him.
One last character:
Third, the Child
Flip all the way back to the beginning of your Bible to Genesis 3. The serpent, the dragon had already rebelled, and he’s in the garden of Eden, and he deceives Eve, who takes fruit, eats it, and gives it to her husband. The serpent provokes the first human sin. God comes to give his judgment, he curses the human race, and he also curses the serpent.
- 15 –
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
This is the first promise of the gospel. Right out of the gate, God has already established the way in which he will conquer the serpent. He isn’t going to conquer him in that moment, for doing so would require that he also destroy the human race. Instead, he promises a child to be born who will defeat the serpent.
Back to Revelation 12:
2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.
These birth pangs represent all of the troubles and difficulties of God’s people in the Old Covenant, waiting on this child to come and crush the dragon’s head. This is Noah, rescuing his family from the flood. This is Moses, delivering God’s people from Egypt. This is David, stoning the Philistine Goliath and cutting off his head. Each time, the people wonder, “Could this finally be deliverer, the rescuer, the one who will bring us comfort and rest?”
Second half of verse 4:
And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
Just as the saints of the Old Testament we constantly looking for this child who would crush the serpent’s head, so was Satan. And, in every OT story, the heroes almost always reveal their sinfulness in failure to temptation. Every time a hero comes, and the people think, “This could be the one,” ultimately all of the OT heroes fail.
But when you come to Matt. 4, we’re told that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Let’s turn to that passage:
3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“ ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’ ”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
What is the question? Are you the Son of God? You know what Satan is asking? Are you the child? Are you the offspring of Eve; the Deliverer?
And unlike Noah, who got drunk, unlike Moses who disobeyed God’s commands, unlike David who committed adultery and murder, Jesus Christ perfectly resisted Satan’s temptation. And from that moment on, Satan knew that Jesus Christ would not fail in his mission through the temptation of sin, and therefore, the only way to stop him would be to kill him.
Revelation 12:5
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,
In a few words, John sums up the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Though Satan worked for the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, God the Father raised him on the 3rd day, and he ascended into heaven.
And from that point on, Satan’s primary target has been the church.
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.
Two applications:
- OUR SALVATION
Revelation 12 is the story of our salvation in a succession of steps. The word salvation in the Bible is an umbrella term.
- Sometimes we use the term “saved” to refer to the initial moment when God forgives our sins and adopts us into his family.
- Sometimes we use the term “saved” to refer to our final salvation when Christ returns.
A great example of this is Hebrews 9:28
28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
So, we can speak of the term “saved” in several tenses.
- We have been saved from the penalty of our sins.
- We are being saved, presently and progressively from the power of sin.
- We will be saved, ultimately from the presence of sin.
And we see this in Revelation 12. All of history, from the garden to the return of Christ is the story of God sending a deliver who will save, is saving, and has saved his people from their sins. That’s the story of the Bible.
- SATAN’S DEFEAT
If the history of the world is the story of our salvation, it’s also the story of Satan’s defeat. In much the same way as our salvation, this passage shows us that the defeat of Satan happens in a succession of steps.
So, in one sense, Satan has been defeated. For he was thrown down to earth.
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.
And in another sense, Satan has been defeated because he failed to destroy Christ. (v. 5)
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,
And in another sense, Satan is currently suffering defeat as the church spreads into all the earth. He is called the accuser of the brothers in v. 10. If you are a Christian, you are his primary target. And, his chief tactic against you is accusation. He means for you to doubt that you are truly forgiven. He means for you to doubt that God will truly remember your sins no more. He brings them back up. He daily accuses you to yourself.
Thankfully, this is why we make a habit of confessing our sins to God. Watson:
In our confessions we tax ourselves with pride, infidelity, and passion, so that when Satan, who is called “the accuser of the brethren,” lays these things to our charge, God will say, “They have accused themselves already; therefore, Satan, your lawsuit is dismissed; your accusations come too late.” The humble sinner does more than accuse himself; as it were, he sits in judgment and passes sentence upon himself. He confesses that he deserves to be bound over to the wrath of God. And hear what the apostle Paul says: “if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1Cor 11.31).
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.
We do not conquer through force of will, but through the blood of the Lamb. We do not conclude our time of confession with a mantra of self-improvement, but of God’s cleansing through Christ.
Ever since the ministry of Christ, Satan has been unable to stop the advance of the church. The gates of hell cannot hold back the incoming tide of the gospel. Why? Because in his earthly ministry, his death and his resurrection, Jesus Christ has bound Satan. (Mk 3:27)
The rest of this age is the story of Jesus Christ, through his church, plundering the house of Satan. Despoiling Satan’s former realm. This will not be easy.
In the coming weeks, we will see that though Satan cannot stop the church, he can oppose her with incredible power: through beastly governments, through temptations to false worship.
One final thought: Scottish Puritan, Samuel Rutherford said this:
“The devils war is better than the devil’s peace.”