How to Overcome the Red Dragon
Notes
Transcript
If I were to ask you what is the REAL problem or threat our church is facing, what would you say?
or if you want to expand it, what is the REAL problem THE CHURCH in America is facing, what would you say?
certainly you could say all sorts of thing:
distracted; too busy
focused on material possessions
divided or too political
we focus on the minors and not on the major things...
we don’t pray and fast enough
we are more focused on #’s than the Holy Spirit’s power and the supernatural power of the Gospel
let’s get more personal—if I were to ask you what is the real problem or threat in your life, what would you say? certainly that depends on what you are facing…what keeps you personally from REALLY following God and doing what He wants you to do...
you could give all sorts of reasons, maybe excuses, or challenges...
Here in Revelation 12—the apostle John is writing to a suffering, persecuted church in the Roman Empire, telling them to endure. and it would be easy for the church to blame the government for their problems, or Caesar, or false teachers and bad people---but God shows them who is really the enemy
and you and I need this too—if we are going to see real progress, spiritual progress in our lives and the church, we need to know the dynamic in chapter 12.
Please stand—as the vision from God continues:
1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.
4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.
5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.
6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
let me go just a little longer.
7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.
9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
let’s pause there a moment.
go back to verse 1—which mentions a woman...
1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
who is this woman?
some people think it is Mary because in verse 5—she gives birth to a child (that’s a reference to Jesus)
but I don’t think it’s Mary b/c she flees to the wilderness in verse 6 where she is taken care of for a specific time.
and at the end — vs 17 says this:
17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
it’s can’t be Mary b/c the woman has more offspring—us.
Instead, the woman represents this: Community of Jesus Christ (as a whole) (both the OT and NT people of God)
From this Messianic Line—this community of the Messiah comes Jesus.
she is clothed with the sun—utterly beautiful. moon under her feet suggests power and dominion.
the 12 starts probably remind us of the 12 tribes in the OT and the 12 apostles in the NT
so this woman represents really the fullness of the people of God.
another interesting fact—all those references to sun, moon, and stars, reminds us of the story of Joseph where he had a dream where all those things were bowing down to him—this was the family that would become the 12 tribes of Israel
and she is pregnant about to give birth—to the Messiah—and it’s painful, because they were waiting in pain for the Messiah Jesus to come as they faced suffering waiting for Jesus.
and there is another sign—a red dragon—which we learn is Satan, the devil, that ancient serpent (reference to Genesis 3) when he deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden.
and this dragon is bent on destruction—we will explain more in a second—he is a determined presence bent on destruction...
so 2 parts...
OS: so what we do we learn about this Red Dragon or Satan, and how do we overcome Him.
What do we learn about the Red Dragon, or Satan… (now actually this is part of the way we do overcome him-by knowing the truth about him)
Satan is the REAL Enemy (or the Enemy is the Enemy)
I asked earlier what is the problem in the church, our church, the church in America? What is the problem in our lives? Part of the answer has to include—the dragon, Satan. No, he is not the only problem, we don’t give him more credit than he deserves, but he is a major enemy.
and the church in Revelation 2000 years ago needed this as they were being persecuted. They could have blamed Rome. They could blame the gov’t—or bad leadership—or people in their church—but God reminds them and us—that behind the scenes is the dragon, lurking, that ancient serpent.
do we think of this? when we have a major problem in life—do we even consider that the Dragon in some way might be behind it? when we have conflict in the church is it possible that the enemy is not our brother or sister we are mad it—but against the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms?
when you are mad at God or the church—is it possible that behind this is the Enemy?
or if you are deconstructing your faith—tearing it down and falling away—it is possible it is the Enemy?
imagine the difference it would make if we would even consider that the Red Dragon is still at work.
Satan is powerful (vs.3-4)
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.
these heads, horns, and crowns, show he is powerful and has a big reach - horns symbolize strength
4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.
Satan was focused on destroying Jesus (vs. 4-5)
4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.
it’s a gruesome picture—Satan wanting to devour Jesus.
certainly we think of the Christmas story—when Jesus was born—Satan used King Herod to try and devour Jesus as he ordered all the boys 2 and under killed in that area. but we see it other places in Scripture....
when Pharaoh gave orders for all the baby boys to be killed at the time of Moses.
I am currently reading Esther in the OT—and a guy Haman is trying to destroy all of God’s people.
this has been going on since Genesis 3:15 when Adam and Eve sinned and God tells the devil--
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
but verse 5--
5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.
Satan was not successful in destroying Jesus. in one verse we see Jesus’ birth, death, resurrection and his ascension to heaven. so despite Satan’s best efforts to impact and destroy Jesus—He fails.
and in verse 6--
6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
during Jesus’ time up in heaven now—we are the woman in the wilderness, God taking care of us for 1260—we have seen that # in Revelation (same as 42 months) or 3 and a half years, times, time, and half a time. that # when it shows up refers I believe to the entire period between Jesus’ 1st coming and his 2nd coming. as a time of suffering. because that time period in Israel’s history was significant—it’s the time when Elijah prayed that it wouldn’t rain for 3.5 years. It’s the time when Israel was persecuted immensely (as prophesied from Daniel 7 and 8 under the Syrian king)
that wilderness represents a place of testing and temptation in Scripture (the Israelites were; Jesus was) but also provision—God provides
Though Satan is powerful, He (Satan) has been initially defeated by Jesus (b/c of the cross and resurrection) (vs. 7-9)
after Jesus’ ascension into heaven—there is a war that broke out in heaven between Satan vs. Michael (the archangel and the angels)
that reference to the tail sweeping out a 1/3 of the stars..(vs. 4)
some think that is a reference to when Satan was an angel created by God in God’s service, and when he rebelled against God—God flung him to the earth along with 1/3 of the angels who are now demons.
that is possible.
but I have changed my mind...
why?
I think it refers to the time period right after when Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended...
that though that happened on earth—war broke out in heaven—that b/c Jesus is the ascended, resurrected, victorious king—Satan has been hurled down from heaven, and Satan is confined to this earth.
Jesus said this during his ministry:
31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
Jesus was talking about his coming death and resurrection--
and on the cross and resurrection, when Jesus declared it is finished---it was the initial defeat of Satan—b/c He fully paid for sin.
14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Nancy Guthrie says: Jesus’s atoning death put an end to Satan’s right to stand in the throne room of heaven and list out all of the reasons why you and I deserve to be punished for our sins. On that day the accuser was thrown out, ejected from heaven.
Now maybe the idea that Satan was ever in the throne room of heaven sounds strange to you. But think back to the book of Job. What happened there at the beginning of his story? We read that “there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them” (Job 1:6). What was Satan there to do? He was there to accuse. His accusation that day was essentially, “Your servant Job doesn’t really love you for you. He’s only using you to get all of the comforts you provide to him. If you take those away, he will curse you to your face.”
There’s a sense in which, if we’re honest, we realize that it makes perfect sense that someone would be before the throne of God pointing out the evil deeds of humanity. We know what humanity has done throughout the ages. More than that, we know what we have done throughout our lifetimes. The devil had a good argument and ground to stand on until Jesus dealt with the very real guilt of the elect at the cross. From then on, the accuser had no case. He’s been barred from any future appearances, thrown out of the courts of heaven.
Guthrie, N. (2022). Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation (p. 149). Crossway.
so Satan has been initially defeated...
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
and Satan is now focused on our destruction (vs. 12-17)
I will skip verse 11 for a moment
but look at verses 12-17 Revelation 12:12-17
Revelation 12:12–17 (NIV)
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. (same time as before!)
15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. (reminds us of when God parted the Red Sea and destroyed Pharoah)
16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
so even though he has been initially defeated, if you are a follower of Jesus—you are on his hit list. he goes around like a lion looking for someone to devour. he is like a wounded animal, going to die—he knows it; he is surrounded, so he is going out with a fight.
and in vs. 9—he does it by leading the world astray
he might try to distract you...
he might try to convince you that Christianity is dumb-why trust the Bible
—it seems inconvenient to trust in God’s Word, outdated, old-fashioned
—or you might just drift away
—vs. 10—he is the accuser of our brothers---and though he no longer does it before God—he still whispers and shouts in our ears…our guilt and condemnation and shame.
so what is the real reason, or one of them for our problems in life— it’s still the dragon Satan...
he destroys
we see that he deceives (father of lies)
and he is an accuser
I want to finish by looking
so how do we overcome?
How do we overcome?
remember that Satan is no match for God, or really the archangel (vs. 7-9)
sometimes we think good and evil are opposites powers—or God and Satan are—they are not. Satan is not even a match for a created being like Michael and the angels. if that is all you take away from today—Praise God—It’s like Satan is playing the pee week football team, and God is an all pro NFL player—there’s no match.
we overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb (vs. 11)
11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
we overcome against Satan for eternity and now—by remembering, or incorporating what Jesus has already done.
the blood of the Lamb—reminds us of the story in the OT-when God was leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. God sent 10 plagues to showcase his power—and the last one—God had the Israelites take a lamb, kill it, and spread the blood on the doorpost, so that when the angel of death came that night (sent by God), he would kill only the firstborn sons of the Egyptians and not the Israelites. The Israelites would be covered by the blood of the lamb as the angel of death passed by. they were covered by the blood of the Lamb.
and the amount of faith didn’t necessarily matter—one Biblical scholar says imagine 2 different Israelites at the time—back then, killing the Lamb, spreading it on the doorpost.
one is so excited— “Oh I am so pumped. God will finally deliver us from Egypt…we will no longer be slaves! Yes!”
one is terrified— “Oh I hope this works. I hope my son is spared and what God said really works...”
both put blood on their doorposts—and what happens—who is more saved? who is more covered?
the answer: BOTH are equally covered under the blood of the Lamb—it’s not the intensity of their faith—but whether they hid under the blood of the Lamb.
and today if you are a Christian, your ground of acceptance before God—the blood of the Lamb—whether you hide under it too—b/c if you do—if you trust in Jesus Christ’s work ALONE for your right standing and nothing else, not your works, last name, that you go to church—but Jesus alone—you are covered under the blood of the Lamb.
your forgiveness before God? the blood of the Lamb
if Satan roars in your ear “who are you…who do you think you are…you are no good...” you can say— “No—you have already been cast down—I am not good you are right—but I am redeemed, bought, secure before God—b/c of the blood of the Lamb.”
the Holy Spirit in your life? blood of the lamb
fellowship with other believers ? blood of the Lamb
spiritual gifts now? blood of the Lamb
we need to keep coming to the blood of Jesus—what he did on the cross again and again again, for that that is how we overcome the dragon. if you drift far from the cross, you are defeated. we overcome fear, lusts, temptations, accusations, bad tempers—the blood of the Lamb.
the cross is the abc’s but it is also the A to Z—remind yourself—you are a dear child of God by the blood of the Lamb. That’s how you overcome Satan
Milton Vincent—(Gospel Primer)
we overcome Satan by the word of our testimony (vs. 11)
11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
this is a simple reference to us going and declaring the good news of Jesus Christ. (mentioned last week)
it is tempting to think that when we think of what Christians need to do or the Church that we need to organize, gain power, gain political influence, do this, or that—but that is not what we mainly do--
God’s kingdom is spread not through the sword, or military power, or political power—by using sharing the word of our testimony—a reference to the good news of Jesus—that God sent his Son to live the life you and I could not live, and die the death we deserve on the cross, and raised him from the dead, so we could be with Jesus.
in God’s amazing wisdom (seems foolish) we overcome Satan and the kingdom of darkness—by spreading the Gospel—we advance into enemy territory by speaking and declaring and showing the good news of Jesus in all the places of life he has given us.
how are you doing in this? don’t let Satan convince you it doesn’t matter or it won’t do any good. that is a lie. we overcome against the enemy-- by the word of our testimony
we overcome Satan by loving Jesus more than life itself (vs. 11)
11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
vs. 11- says we did not love our lives so much as to shrink from death.
we overcome Satan, the dragon by loving Jesus more than our very lives—by even being willing to die
part of that is spiritual—we die to ourselves daily—we take up our cross joyfully like Jesus and surrender to him
BUT it even refers to physical death....
we can get so caught up in this life...
you know I have talked with several who are facing death before in ministry—almost no one says “I wish I would have had more possessions. I wished I would have spent more time at the office or jobsite.” those things can distract us--
if our passion is red hot for Jesus—we will not hold on to this life b/c our treasure is in heaven.
we overcome Satan by enduring patiently with Jesus (vs. 17)
17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
keeping Jesus’ commands and holding fast to his testimony
—pray boy
I WANT TO INVITE Tom Frye and worship team forward...
talk with Brad Buckingham after the service about 360 coach (after both services)
talk with Tom Frye after the service (both in the foyer) (after 2nd service)
I am giving a pastor tour if you are new to this church—meet in the coffee area
11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.