Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Scripture Reading Revelation 12 This series follows the outline and material provided by Darrell Johnson in his book, Discipleship on the Edge

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Last time we read: ‘The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.” Rev. 11:15

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle The question you may be asking: “If Jesus is on the throne right now, why are things still messed up?

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle If you think that you have reason to ask that question, imagine the 1 st century Christians, won’t they have asked that same question?

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Immediately after the sounding of the seventh trumpet, Jesus gives John and the churches this weird vision. I believe it is to answer that very question, “If Jesus is on the throne, why are things still messed up.”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Let’s look at the vision more closely. Let’s see if we can’t hear it with the ears of first century Christians? What looks bizarre to us would have made more sense to them.

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Let’s meet the characters: “A great and wondrous 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. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.” vv.1-2

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “A great and wondrous 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. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.” vv.1-2 Who is the woman a sign of? Mary?Israel? God’s people?

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “A great and wondrous 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. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.” vv.1-2 Let’s look at Genesis 37:9: Then he [Joseph] had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle The woman represents the people of God waiting expectantly for the coming Messiah, Mary, and as we will see later, followers of Jesus.

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His 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 he might devour her child the moment it was born.” vv.3-4

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His 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 he might devour her child the moment it was born.” vv.3-4 Who is the dragon a sign of? Satan In the Old Testament dragons [Leviathan & Behemoth] represented chaos and evil.

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His 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 he might devour her child the moment it was born.” vv.3-4 “Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His 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 he might devour her child the moment it was born.” vv.3-4 And for those of Greek background this story would remind them of the Greek Myth about the birth of Apollo.

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Near John’s island prison is the island of Delos where Leto fled to escape the dragon Python who wanted to kill the newborn son of Zeus. Instead of being killed, Apollo returns to Delphi and kills the dragon. Eugene Boring, Revelation, p. 151

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle It’s the same story that George Lucas tells in the movies “Star Wars.” The dark side of the Force seeks to eradicate the Light side. The gospel story always competes with other “stories”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Who is the dragon? Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity [war] between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heal.”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle And that brings us to “her offspring.” Rev. 12:5: “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.”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “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.” Rev. 12:5 Notice that the woman was a sign or symbol of something else. The dragon was a sign of something else. But the son is not a sign. He is the reality.

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “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.” Rev. 12:5 From Psalm 2, a Messianic Psalm, most quoted passage of the OT: ” ”You will rule them with an iron scepter” Psalm 2:9

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “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.” Rev. 12:5 “Rod of Iron” = shepherd’s rod = shepherd’s rod [Ps.23:4 “Your rod and your staff they comfort me.”] [Ps.23:4 “Your rod and your staff they comfort me.”] “Rule” = shepherd “Rule” = shepherd

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “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.” Rev. 12:5 When did what John saw in Revelation 12 happen? It took place when Jesus was born; it takes place today; it will take place until Jesus returns.

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “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.” Rev. 12:5 This is an other version of the Christmas story. Matthew 2:16-18: King Herod ordering all the boys 2 and under to be killed

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “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.” Rev. 12:5 Why born and then snatched up to God and to his throne? Jesus’ reply to Pilate’s implied question “You are a king then!” "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born,…” John 18:37

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Christmas Carol “Joy to the World”: “Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King;”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Satan is defeated in heaven by what Jesus did on earth. Revelation 12 repeats 5 times, that Satan is “hurled down.”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “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. 10Then 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 Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11They overcame 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. 12Therefore 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." 13When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, …”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle But if Satan is thrown down and defeated, why are things still so bad? It is because as John writes in verse 12, Satan knows that “he has only a short time.”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “The devil believes the New Testament proclamation that Jesus Christ is coming and that time is short. The devil believes better than most Christians! That is why he is so active; he is going to get as much dirty work done as he can. If we really believed that Jesus is coming and can break through in all his glory any time, would we not also be more eager to do the work of the kingdom? The dragon is a better student of the gospel than the church.” Darrell Johnson, Discipleship on the Edge, pp,

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Satan is ticked! He is defeated but hasn’t surrendered. He wants to take down as many as possible.

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “The suffering of the church in the world is not a sign of Satan’s victory. It is a sign of his realization of defeat.” Darrell Johnson, Discipleship on the Edge, pp, 225

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Revelation 12, the theological centre of the book of Revelation, proclaims the truth that there is a cosmic battle going on, a battle between the kingdom of Light and the kingdom of Darkness.

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Satan goes after the woman [12:13], after the people of God [12:17], & after the woman’s offspring [12:17], who “keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Satan goes after God’s people in 3 ways: 1.As Accuser Vs. 10: “For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, …” - Satan [Hebrew] = accuser - reminding us of our quilt - “you don’t deserve God’s love”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Satan goes after God’s people in 3 ways: 2.As Deceiver Vs. 9: “that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.” - John 8:44 Jesus called him the “father of all lies.” - he deceives people about himself and about ourselves. - “you can’t resist me and my temptations”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Satan goes after God’s people in 3 ways: 3.As Killer Vs. 3: “ an enormous red dragon…. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born..” - Hebrews 2:14-15: ”Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Gerhard Krodel: “The flood of water, spit out by the dragon, is the counter-image to ‘the river of water of life’ that flows from the throne of God and from the Lamb through the city of God…” Krodel, Revelation, p. 245

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle How do God’s people stand against Satan and his torrent of accusations, lies and threats? Rev. 12:11: “They overcame 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.”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “They overcame 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.” Rev. 12:11 1. We overcome the Accuser - by the blood of the Lamb - yes, we are sinners not deserving God’s love - but Jesus’ blood cleanses us

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “They overcame 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.” Rev. 12:11 2. We overcome the Deceiver - by the word of their testimony - “we overcome by seeking with our whole being to know the truth, to speak the truth, to walk in the truth.” Johnson, p John 8:32: “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle “They overcame 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.” Rev. 12:11 3. We overcome the Threats - by knowing our lives are in God’s hands - by trusting that death is no longer the victor, but that Jesus has won the victory over the grave - So we can say to Satan, kill me if you want but that makes me a winner because I will be with Jesus.

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Look! Be awake to the fact that a defeated but still strong dragon is thrown down from heaven. You can overcome him, by the blood of the Lamb, by the power of truth, and by not being afraid to lose your life.

Things are Not as They Seem – Cosmic Battle Martin Luther: “And though this world with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His Truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, We tremble not for him – His rage we can endure, For lo, his doom is sure: One little word will fell him.”