Revelation 12:1-17b - Withstanding the Enemy

There’s an old story about a man who celebrated his 100th birthday. A news reporter interviewed him and asked what he had learned in his 100 years and what were the most amazing things that he had seen over his century of life.

Then the reporter asked, “Sir, what are you most proud of?” The old man began to smile. He said, "Well, I can honestly say I don't have an enemy in the world.” The reporter was astonished. He said, “What a beautiful thought! What an inspiration!” And the old man replied “Yep. I’ve outlived every last one of ‘em!”

Even if you live to be 100 and you manage to outlive every enemy in this world, Scripture teaches that until the day you die you will have a spiritual enemy. The apostle Peter told the early churches, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Perhaps that’s hard for you to believe or imagine. If so, consider this: if you believe that evil exists in the physical world, then why couldn’t evil exist also in the spiritual world?

God’s Word describes two realms: spiritual and physical. And Scripture stresses this point: that we are susceptible to the attacks of our spiritual enemy in this life. We are prone to sin, Satan is trying to make us sin, and sometimes he succeeds.

However, Scripture also tells us that Christ was attacked by the enemy, but He resisted. Jesus withstood the enemy’s schemes on behalf of His people and He did not sin. And so He imputes or credits a righteous human life to those who trust in Him. If you’re in Christ, He has enabled you to withstand the enemy.

But the attacks will keep coming. And so we need the guidance and encouragement of God. Revelation 12 supplies this. Notice the outline on page 6 in the WG. This chapter reveals that in the last days, as the enemy attacks, God’s church will be nourished in the wilderness, blameless in the courtroom, and secure in the bombardment. So let’s look closer at Revelation 12, beginning with verse 1.

“And a great sign appeared in heaven.” A wondrous and unusual sight. Just before this, John saw a vision of the ark of the covenant. This is another vision.

Timewise, the book of Revelation is not purely linear. So, for example, in world history, what happens in ch. 12 does not come right after what happens in ch. 11. John’s visions show various angles or perspectives of the same events.

John sees “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head
a crown of twelve stars.” This is symbolic. This woman possesses both beauty (clothed with the sun) and authority (moon under her feet). But what are the twelve stars?

We’ve seen the number 12 multiple times already. 12 OT tribes, 12 NT apostles. OC Israel. NC church. There is tremendous continuity from OC to NC. All the apostles were Jews – they were Israelites – descendants of Israel. And through their ministry, Gentiles came into the church. So the OC people of God and the NC people of God are one people. These 12 stars seem to symbolize the whole group – OC and NC, especially as we read further.

Verse [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.” This could also be translated as “a great red serpent.” And with that image, coupled with the image of a mother and child, OT history comes to mind.

After Adam and Eve sinned, God confronted their tempter – the serpent. Genesis 3 recounts how God said to the serpent, “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.”

Historically, theologians recognize Genesis 3:15 as the first glimpse of the gospel of Christ. It foretells the hostility of Satan toward the people of God and toward our Savior – a theme that runs throughout Scripture commonly called “seed theology.”

The seed of the serpent against the seed of the woman.

The offspring of Satan trying to destroy the offspring of God.

This begins to play out immediately in Gen. 4. Abel honored God in worship; Cain did not. And in jealousy, Cain kills Abel. These were two brothers from the same mother’s womb, and yet they were different. There was enmity – hostility – between them.

This conflict repeats again and again as redemptive history moves forward. It is God’s man vs. Satan’s man. God’s people vs. Satan’s people.

For example, the Egyptian Pharaoh ordered the death of all Hebrew baby boys, and yet in God’s providence, Moses was saved. Later, the Philistine warrior Goliath rises up against the weaker Israelite David, and yet in God’s providence, David is given the victory. Much later, the phony king Herod commanded the deaths of the male Hebrew baby boys because he feared the Christ child who would be Israel’s true king. And yet – in God’s providence – Jesus survived.

Even now, until Christ returns, Satan is attacking and attempting to destroy God’s people. Revelation 12 is a symbolic illustration of this ongoing hostility.

Notice the rest of verse 3. The great serpent has “seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems” (or crowns). This serpent is a grotesque future, and with a complete number of heads and crowns, so he’s complete and kingly in his own way. He’s the completely evil king of the damned – lord of those opposed to the ways and the will of the one true God. Verse [4] His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. These stars are different from the stars on the woman’s crown. These “stars of heaven” are the angels who fell with Satan – who along with Him rejected the sovereignty of God and who now serve Satan’s evil purposes.

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. [5] She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.” Doesn’t this sound like something that has happened many times in Biblical history, the greatest being the virgin Mary giving birth to the Lord Jesus Christ? But as this vision unfolds, it's clear that more than just Mary is in view.

Now, this is a child “who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.” “Rule” here can also mean “shepherd” or “feed.” The rod of iron brings to mind Psalm 2, which described the reign of God’s anointed King. Christ is a shepherd ruler who gathers His sheep and strikes down their enemies.

See the rest of verse 5, “but her child was caught up to God and to his throne.” This statement is shorthand. It’s an abbreviated reference to the whole work of Christ – from His birth to His ascension. His perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection – in all of it, Christ was preserved and He returned to His Father in heaven when He completed His work on earth.

Verse [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.” Obviously this isn’t talking about Mary. But we’ve seen this number of days before. The 1260 days is the gospel age. It’s the time between Christ’s ascension and His return on the Last Day.

And the wilderness is another than runs through both OT and NT. Israel journeyed in the wilderness and God tested them and provided for them. Jesus endured temptation in the wilderness and relied on God.

The “woman” in this vision is not Mary. She is the true church. This woman symbolizes the people of God into which Christ was born and over whom He reigns as Lord. The church is His bride. And she must journey in the wilderness.

When you hear “wilderness,” you might picture a forest with trees and vines and streams. But in Scripture, “wilderness” refers to desert. It’s always a desolate place. Survival expert Bear Grylls tells a story of his trip to the Australian desert where he was briefed by a search and rescue crew. He says they told him “If you get dropped into this heat – it’s like 130 plus – with no water and no survival skills, you’ll be dead in six hours.”

Bear Grylls could probably survive forever in the mountains with all the vegetation and creeks and insects. But the woman in John’s vision flees to a place with none of that. And yet God has prepared a place for her in the barren desert and will nourish her there.

When Christ was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, He fasted forty days and nights, and when he grew hungry, Satan came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

But Jesus answered by quoting the OT – the words of God to the Israelites – and Jesus said, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” This world is a spiritually barren wilderness, but as the enemy attacks, God’s church will be nourished in the wilderness. We will be fed and sustained by God’s Word and His Spirit. Jesus has obtained this for us. And so this part of the vision is one angle of Christ’s victory over sin.

This next section is another angle of that same victory. Beginning with verse 7, John views a different vision – a battle unseen by human eyes. Again, not something that takes place chronologically after what came right before. Verse [7] Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back.

The serpent’s angels are those stars he swept from heaven. But who is Michael?

He’s mentioned in both the OT and NT. He’s described as the commander of the holy angels. He’s featured in the OT book of Daniel and the NT book of Jude, where he is called an “archangel.” But what is this war taking place between these two armies? Notice verse [8], “he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.” The serpent loses the battle, and verse [9] “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.”

Now interestingly, this doesn’t seem to refer to Satan’s initial fall. That had already taken place, and Satan had his army. So when was this battle? Has it already happened, or is it still in the future?

We should use Scripture to interpret Scripture. There is no need to speculate. In John, after His triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, shortly before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. [32] And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

When Jesus was dying on the cross in the physical realm, there was a great battle being fought in the spiritual realm. John sees a dramatic replay of that battle in this symbolic vision supplied to him by Christ. And look at verse [10], after Satan’s defeat, John says, “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.”

The work of Christ broke the power of Satan over those whom Jesus has redeemed. We who are in Christ have had all of our sins paid for – past, present, and future – and the perfect righteousness of Jesus has been credited to us in full.

Therefore, if you are in Christ, you are a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come. And as a result, as much as Satan wishes to turn God against you, as much as he desires to disrupt God’s peace agreement with you, and as much as Satan would like for God to find you guilty, like a criminal in a court of law, the devil has no grounds for doing so. And this is why: because of the finished work of Christ, the ancient serpent has no evidence against you. You might think, “But what about my sin?”

In Colossians 3, the apostle Paul writes that if you have trusted in Christ, “You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” In Romans, Paul says we died to sin because we died with Christ. Does it do any good to bring charges in a court of law against a dead person? Of course not – because they’re dead! There is no case to be made. A judge won’t hear it.

Satan has no case against the members of the invisible and true church because, verse [11],  “they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” In other words, by their profession of true faith. There will be evidence of trust in His blood.

Notice the rest of the verse: “for they loved not their lives even unto death.” Some Christians in history have had to give their very lives to follow Jesus. And you must lay down your old life to follow Him. You must “lose” your life, but know this – you cannot lose the battle, because Jesus Christ and the army of God have won.

Verse [12] “Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them!” All those saved by grace who have gone on to be with God in eternity are glad to see the work is complete. “But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath.” This is speaking to believers whose lives on earth are not done yet. Satan can’t accuse us before God, so he attacks us. He’s filled with fury but he knows his work is ultimately futile. And see the rest of vs. 12, “because he knows that his time is short!” He only has until Christ returns again in glory.

In Romans, Paul explains the gospel, and he makes a statement that relates to these verses in Revelation. He writes, “[33] Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. [34] Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? …neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things  to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This world is like a courthouse. Every day we are faced with our moral failures. We’re ashamed of our mistakes and haunted by our regrets. And Satan loves to use these things against us. But as the enemy attacks, God’s church is blameless in the courtroom.

We have a righteousness apart from works of the law. It is unearned, undeserved, and supplied wholly by God through Christ. Why can Satan make no accusation of guilt against us before God? Christ took our guilt! God sees only the perfect righteousness of Christ, and Satan hates this.

Look what John sees next. Verse [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.” That is another way of describing the 1260 days – the gospel age.

In Exodus 19, God tells the Israelites, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.” John is seeing a vision of the church’s deliverance to the nourishment of God’s Word and Spirit.

Verse [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. In Isaiah 43, the LORD says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.” The seed of the serpent wages war, but to no avail. God preserves the true church.

Verse [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.” The woman and her offspring are the whole people of God, Jews and Gentiles alike, who trust in Jesus, who rest in His grace, and who respond to God’s love by keeping His moral law. God protects us.

Ephesians 6 says, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” The church, however, has the whole armor of God, that “may be able to withstand in the evil day.” We have His truth and we have faith “with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one,” and we have salvation, and “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” and we have prayer.

And as the enemy attacks, God’s church will be secure in the bombardment. We will be preserved as Satan heaves his bombs and fires his missiles.

If Christ, we have all we need. If you are in Christ, you have what you need to withstand the enemy. In Christ, we will be nourished, and blameless, and secure.

But if you are not in Christ, you will not be able to withstand the enemy, because in fact, you have a different enemy. Without Jesus, God is your enemy. There is hostility between you and God because of your sin.

But you can admit your sin and trust in Jesus today. And you can have peace with God. And then you can follow Him and enjoy that peace. Trust in Christ today.

Let’s bow in prayer.