Where Do I Find Jesus?
God’s Vision For Israel – Part 1 (Zechariah 8:1-3)
God’s Vision For Israel – Part 1
Zechariah 8:1-3
January 8, 2017
I know it’s been a few weeks since we last studied together here in the book of Zechariah, but I’m confident we can get back in the flow.
At this point we are 2 years away from the completion of the temple.
As it was being rebuilt we saw in chapter 7 an event that prompted this most recent sermon by Zechariah.
• A group of delegates traveled from Bethel to Jerusalem to seek the favor of the LORD.
• Their question had to do with a ritualistic fast they had been keeping in memory of the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar.
Continuing in this fast seemed strange for them for a couple of reasons.
1) It seemed strange to continue fasting for losing the temple when the temple was very close to being rebuilt.
2) It didn’t appear that this fast was working anyway since they couldn’t see that they were reaping much benefit from their faithfulness to keep it.
And you will remember that this reality
Sparked a sermon from Zechariah about seeking God’s favor.
We saw the LORD confront this group of delegates
(and really the entire land of Israel)
With three very important truths involved in seeking God’s favor.
1) Consider Your Real Purpose
Why do you do it? Is it for God’s glory or for your benefit?
2) Consider Scriptures Reiterated Prophecies
If you want to please God, then you should start by reading the word and seeing what things He has clearly revealed as pleasing to Him. Don’t invent some new uncommanded ritual and then assume that God will honor it if you remain faithful to it.
3) Consider God’s Revealed Passion
That is to say, you should look at the past and see how God has responded to various behaviors throughout history and there you will learn a great deal about what things are important to Him.
And that is good advice for any believer
In search of living a life that is pleasing to God.
But in all of that there is something else you should know, and it is this:
THE FAVOR OF GOD IS ULTIMATELY NOT A RESPONSE TO YOUR BEHAVIOR, BUT IS IN REALITY A CONSEQUENCE OF HIS SOVEREIGNTY.
In short, God shows favor to His children not because they deserve it,
But because He has chosen to show them favor.
If we were to put it another way, we could say that
God’s favor is a consequence of grace, not works.
So, while God did answer the question as to how to seek His favor (which we should all do)
Now God is going to reveal that His favor on Israel
Has always been a certainty based upon His grace.
And regarding Israel, I think I can prove this rather quickly.
There is no doubt to us who is considered the father of Israel.
It is Abraham. (actually the grandfather of the man God named Israel)
Remember what God said to Abraham?
Genesis 12:1-3 “Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
I hope you remember this from our study of Genesis, but what did this Abram ever do to deserve such tremendous blessing from God?
-Nothing
Abram was a greedy slave owner, whose only objective was to make a buck.
He wasn’t a particularly devoted man or even a moral man.
And yet we have there the God of the universe deciding, by grace alone,
To take this Abram and make him a tremendous object of blessing.
Now some would quickly say that this blessing
Was contingent upon Abram’s obedience.
After all God did tell him to first leave his country and his relatives
And go this special land before God would bless him.
Let’s consider that:
• Abram did leave his own land, but if you’ll remember, he didn’t leave his
relatives. He actually took his nephew Lot with him which proved to be a
problem God had to solve.
• He did go to the land, but if you’ll recall he only stayed until it became difficult,
for in the first famine Abram bolted.
• And these mistakes were only followed by others such as an adulterous
affair and even a debate with God regarding the source of his descendants.
The point is that the only reason God showed favor to Abraham
Was because God wanted to show favor to Abraham.
And even Abraham’s mistakes could not nullify this decision.
Now that is NOT TO SAY that Abraham’s mistakes did not come with discipline or even difficulty, they surely did.
There is a lot of hardship and difficulty throughout the patriarchal family
And it is all a result of sin and bad decisions,
But none of that sin, and none of those bad decisions
Ever changed God’s mind about His decision to bless this family.
That blessing flowed from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob
And all throughout the generations.
And for these refugees it should still be clearly in view.
Think about their situation.
• Against all odds, after 70 years being absent from their land, and living in a foreign nation…
• Not only have they returned to Israel, but they are also rebuilding their temple with the blessing of the king who formerly ruled over them.
There is no reason this should have happened and no explanation
Except that God was choosing to show favor to these undeserving people
To make sure that these refugees understand this
They are given this remarkable chapter here in the book of Zechariah.
Zechariah 8 outlines 10 remarkable revelations from God
Regarding His plan for Israel.
So let’s begin to work our way through it tonight.
#1 GOD REVEALS HIS PASSION
Zechariah 8:1-2
You’ll find it is rather simple to identify each of these revelations
Since they all begin the same way, “Thus says the LORD”
In most cases “Thus says the LORD of hosts”
And the first one is vitally important to our understanding.
God says, “I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.”
I love this statement.
I love the emotion.
I love the implication.
God says that He is “exceedingly jealous for Zion”
Thank about that for a second.
We do have other passages of Scripture which reveal God’s “jealousy”
Exodus 20:4-6 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”
Exodus 34:12-17 “Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. “But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim — for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God — otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods. “You shall make for yourself no molten gods.”
Joshua 24:19-20 “Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. “If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.”
God puts His jealousy on clear display there.
We might say that “He is jealous regarding His glory.”
That is to say, He does not share His glory.
Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”
God is jealous regarding His glory.
Would we say that God has proven that throughout the ages?
Yes, I think we can say He has more than proven that.
• We saw what God did to the false gods of Egypt through the humiliation of
the plagues.
• We saw how God punished Israel with their neighboring nations every time
they stepped into idolatry during the times of the Judges.
• We saw how God eventually kicked Israel out of the Promised Land
throughout the period of the Kings for their willingness to give God’s glory
to false gods.
Scripture makes it abundantly clear that you should not cross God there.
It is an areas where He is jealous about something.
Well here God takes that exact same language and instead of applying it to His own glory, HE APPLIES IT TO ZION.
“I am exceedingly jealous for Zion”
God has the same kind of passion for His people
That He has for His own glory.
In fact, He says, “with great wrath I am jealous for her.”
That is to say, I get angry when anyone messes with Zion.
I get very angry when anyone touches My people.
Did we not already read in this book..?
Zechariah 1:14-15 “So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. “But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.”
Zechariah 2:8 “For thus says the LORD of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.”
We saw this jealousy on display throughout those night visions.
• We saw Him talk of destroying those nations which plundered Israel.
• We saw Him rebuke Satan for accusing Joshua.
• We saw Him coming to the aid of Zerubbabel to finish this temple.
• We saw His promise to purify His people.
Those delegates came from Bethel to seek the favor of the LORD.
What they failed to realize was they clearly already had it.
You’d have to be blind to not be able to see how much God cares for her.
In fact, there is a word in the Hebrew that I really love.
I first came across it when we were studying Genesis.
The word is not used in this passage,
But I definitely see the evidence of it all over the chapter.
That word is CHESED in the Hebrew.
Most commonly it is translated “lovingkindness” or “kindness”
But it is more than just God being nice to someone.
I tend to think a better use of it is “loyalty” or “faithfulness”
I think you could even call it “preference”
In fact, in Hosea 6 it is translated “loyalty”
Hosea 6:6 “For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”
God didn’t just want His people to be kind to Him,
God wanted loyalty or faithfulness from His people.
I first became acquainted with that word in our study of Genesis
Because it became evident that whatever it actually meant,
It was obvious that Abraham had it.
Abraham clearly had the CHESED of God on His life.
And whether or not Abraham recognized it,
What is evident is that those around him certainly spotted it.
Let me show you.
It became evident on the day when Abraham began to look for a wife for Isaac and Abraham sent his servant back to Mesopotamia with strict orders not to take a wife from among the Canaanites.
It was quite a mission to be on.
Go to a foreign country and find a woman who will marry your master’s son sight unseen and who will then accompany you back to this foreign land to be with him.
Because of the difficulty of this task Abraham’s servant prayed to God,
And I want you to see what this servant prayed.
Genesis 24:10-14 “Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and set out with a variety of good things of his master’s in his hand; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. He said, “O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. “Behold, I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’ — may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.”
Abraham’s servant prayed that God would show “lovingkindness” (CHESSED)
To Abraham by revealing a wife for Isaac.
You know the story. At that time Rebecca showed up
And did exactly what the servant had prayed for.
After it was over the servant prayed again:
Genesis 24:26-27 “Then the man bowed low and worshiped the LORD. He said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, the LORD has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”
He reiterated that God “has not forsaken His lovingkindness”
I don’t know if it was obvious to Abraham,
But it was certainly obvious to everyone around him
That God was faithful to him; that God was loyal to him.
This servant even banked on the fact
That God always seemed to be loyal to Abraham.
And again I remind you that this was not based upon Abraham’s works,
But upon God’s sovereign grace.
Now the reality is that this loyalty always stuck with Israel.
See Jacob:
Genesis 32:10 “I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.”
See Joseph:
Genesis 39:21 “But the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.”
Listen to Moses sing after God led Israel through the Red Sea:
Exodus 15:13 “In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation.”
Perhaps the most famous place this is used in Psalm 136
TURN TO: PSALMS 136
Do you see what the Psalmist is doing?
He is recounting every aspect of Israel’s history the fact that God has never ceased to be faithful.
And I think this gives us a better understanding of when God says, “I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes with great wrath I am jealous for her.”
• We could say, that He is so jealous in fact that He would drown the Egyptians after crushing them with plagues.
• We could say that He is so jealous in fact that He would uproot the Canaanites and give their land to Israel.
• We could say that He is so jealous in fact that He would thoroughly punish any and every nation that ever laid a finger on Israel.
DO YOU SEE THAT?
NOW LET ME TAKE IT ONE STEP FARTHER.
• No one in here has the slightest difficulty recognizing God’s faithfulness to Israel.
• No one in here has the slightest difficulty recognizing that God is in fact jealous for Israel.
• We could go on and on and on and on about all the supernatural ways that He has cared for them and delivered them and worked for them.
• Even today the fact that they are back in their land is an unfathomable miracle.
We can see it, it’s obvious.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE HAVE TROUBLE SEEING?
God’s faithfulness to us…
God’s jealousy for us…
That was the problem of this delegation that came from Bethel.
They were seeking God’s favor as though they didn’t have it.
• Could they not recognize that God had liberated them from exile in Babylon?
• Could they not see that God had given them back their land?
• Could they not see that God was protecting them from the enemy?
• Could they not see that God was helping them rebuild the temple?
God’s jealousy for them and faithfulness to them was all over the place,
And yet it appears they had difficulty spotting it.
I think we do the same sometimes.
We see God’s favor on others
And seem to have a much greater difficulty seeing it in our own lives.
But rest assured:
“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thy changest not, Thy compassions; they fail not. As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be. Great is They faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed, They hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, LORD unto me.”
And that is the first thing God reveals here in His vision for Israel.
IT ALL STARTS WITH HIS JEALOUSY FOR HER.
God has a passionate love for His people.
A love not born out of merit, but grace,
And not only is evident, but it is also absolutely unchanging.
And of course we can carry this out as far as we absolutely want to.
• We actually have the benefit of seeing God incarnate coming to earth and
dying upon a cross simply so that He might redeem these people whom
God so dearly loves.
• We can fast-forward into the book of the Revelation and study chapters like
the one we studied this morning (Revelation 12) and see God’s faithful
protection of the woman Satan so desperately wants to destroy.
It is obvious.
• God loves her
• God cares for her
• God is faithful to her
• God is jealous for her
You’d have to be blind to miss it
So, God reveals His passion.
#2 GOD REVEALS HIS PLAN
Zechariah 8:3
Because God is so jealous and passionate for this people,
We next get into the revelation of His plan for them.
“Thus says the LORD, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’”
You see God’s plan there outlined in three steps.
1) I WILL RETURN
“I will return to Zion”
2) I WILL REMAIN
“and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem”
3) I WILL RENOVATE
“Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”
The simple point being that Israel
Is at the very center of all of God’s plans going forward.
And to them this must have been a great piece of information.
Go back to the book of Ezekiel
• See Ezekiel fascinated with the glory of the LORD.
• Then go to chapters 10 and 11 and see God’s glory depart from Israel.
It is absolutely heart breaking and gut wrenching.
It gives the picture of absolute abandonment.
And certainly it must have felt this way since after God left,
Babylon entered and Israel was exiled.
God’s commitment to Israel must have been questioned
By more than one person over the next 70 years.
And of course it was not that God had “unchosen” Israel,
It is merely that she needed to be disciplined for her sin
And purified through that discipline.
God punished Israel, but He never forsook her.
• Watch Him protect Daniel and those other Hebrew boys time after time.
• Watch Him use Esther to protect them from Haman.
God hadn’t forsaken them, even though it must have felt that way.
The beauty here is that God has now promised to:
• “return to Zion”
• And “dwell in the midst of Jerusalem”
• And turn that city into “the City of Truth”
What is He referring to?
JESUS
I would imagine that when God said He would return to Zion,
That most of the Jews probably expected another cloud.
You remember the glory cloud that filled Solomon’s temple and forced everyone out…
I would imagine that this is what these Jews probably expected.
They probably figured another cloud was coming.
But God has something much better in mind than a cloud.
God wrapped His glory in human flesh.
John said:
John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
The glory did come, not in a cloud, but in the form of a bond-servant.
God did return, and He returned to renovate Israel
And redeem Israel into the nation for God’s own glory.
Of course you know how the story unfolded…
• Israel rejected their Messiah just as they had rejected God’s glory in the Old Testament.
• And Israel nailed Jesus to a cross and killed Him, thus delaying the fulfillment of this promise.
And many have said that because of this God is now finished with Israel.
It is called Amillennialism.
But those who hold that view seem to have forgotten that
God’s favor to Israel has never been performance based.
In fact shortly after Jesus rose and ascended to heaven we have Peter preaching in Jerusalem and he says:
Acts 3:17-26 “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. “Moses said, ‘THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you. ‘And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ “And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’ “For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
• Peter reminds these Jews in Jerusalem that Jesus had done everything necessary to fulfill the prophecies regarding His suffering and atoning death.
• The only thing now delaying the promise is the repentance and faith of Israel.
• But once they repent and turn to Christ God will again send Him from heaven to do in Jerusalem exactly what He is promising here in the book of Zechariah.
WHY WOULD GOD STILL DO THAT FOR THEM?
Well listen to what Peter said:
(25-26) “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’ “For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
It is because God is passionate about you.
God is jealous for you.
He made promises regarding you
He is loyal to you and those promises.
Paul said the same thing:
Romans 11:25-29 “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
God’s plan for Israel hasn’t changed, because God is jealous for her.
• He promised to return to her and He will.
• He promised to dwell with her and He will.
• He promised to purify her and He will.
This is all part of the plan because God is faithful, God is loyal.
And, according to the theme of Zechariah, THE LORD REMEMBERS
Now we’ll stop here for tonight,
But I think some great points are made here for you and me.
• No, we are not Israel.
• We are Gentiles.
• We are a wild olive shoot that has been grafted in.
But we are, just as they, great recipients of God’s amazing grace.
We also are recipients of God’s favor, God’s loyalty, God’s jealousy.
And like Israel we receive those things not based upon our own works
But because the sovereign God of heaven chose to be gracious to us.
And just as God is seeking to quiet the anxiety of these refugees
Who are living in an unsettling time,
We can take great comfort in exactly the same way.
GOD IS FOR US,
And if you’d open your eyes you’d see that His favor is obvious.
That may not mean the absence of hardship (it didn’t for these refugees) but it certainly does mean the presence of grace.
• God was watching them as He is watching you.
• God was defending them as He is defending you.
• God was atoning them as He is atoning you.
• God was aiding them as He is aiding you.
They came questioning God’s favor and in reality
That is the last thing they should have ever questioned.
And it is the last thing you should ever question too.
God has been nothing but faithful, our entire lives are a testimony to it.
He is at work on our behalf continually.
It is not to say that we do not seek God’s favor, or seek to do the things that please Him; we most certainly do.
What you must understand however,
Is that His favor is not conditional upon our faithfulness.
Rather He shows us favor because He is faithful.
Rest in that for a little while.
Romans 8:28-31 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
The Battle Satan Couldn’t Win (Revelation 12:7-12)
The Battle Satan Couldn’t Win
Revelation 12:7-12
January 8, 2017
As you know we are studying through the book of the Revelation and last Sunday morning we began our third parenthetical section of the book.
In chapter 11, after the 7th trumpet sounded all of heaven rejoiced at the now evident reign of Christ.
Revelation 11:15-18 “Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. “And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
We learned from heaven that Christ reigns.
And He does so despite the rage and rebellion of the enemy.
This most recent parenthetical section illustrates that reality.
Chapters 12-14 reveal to us how Christ reigns despite the rage and rebellion of Satan.
I told you last week that this section reveals 4 major events.
1) THE CHILD SATAN COULDN’T STOP
2) THE BATTLE SATAN COULDN’T WIN
3) THE WOMAN SATAN COULDN’T KILL
4) THE THRONE SATAN COULDN’T KEEP
WE SAW THE FIRST LAST WEEK
Way back in the garden God revealed to the serpent
That the seed of the woman would crush his head.
That woman is Israel and that child is Jesus. So Satan did everything he could to try and kill that woman before she could give birth to the child.
• He tried to use Pharaoh to annihilate them
• He tried to use Sennacherib and Tiglath Pileser of Assyria
• He tried to use Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
• He tried to use Haman of Persia
• He tried to use Antiochus Epiphanes of Greece
And each time God delivered the woman from his grasp.
Satan then resolved to wait for the child to be born and then kill him.
• This plan began early as Herod ordered all the babies of Bethlehem to be slaughtered, but again God delivered.
Satan did finally succeed in killing this child, but God simply raised Him up again and then successfully seated that child on His throne.
And we learned that despite Satan’s rage and efforts
He was unable to stop this child from coming or from reigning.
HOWEVER we know that despite the crushing blow rendered to Satan
HE DID NOT GIVE UP ON HIS BATTLE.
We know that he rages on, even today.
• Today his rebellion is seen through the accusation and the temptation of the
saints.
• Today his rage is revealed through deception and the instigating of sin and
rebellion against God.
Having failed in stopping the child, his goal is now
To turn sinners against God and to turn God against His children.
IT IS A BATTLE TO CONDEMN GOD’S ELECT
Now, to some extent this battle is absolutely necessary.
• Similar to the days of Job; Satan incited God against Job and God was willing to afflict Job at Satan’s request, but only to prove that the power God had to save Job was greater than the power Satan had to destroy him.
The rage of Satan today against Christ’s work of redemption
Only accomplishes that same end.
Satan’s battle only illustrates how great the work of Christ really is,
Since Satan has not been able to “undo” or even “prevent”
The salvation of one single person who are among God’s elect.
Despite Satan’s efforts God is saving every single one of them.
John 6:37-40 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
That passage reminds us that, despite his efforts, Satan isn’t winning. The cross is greater still.
Romans 5:18-21 “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
And again:
Romans 8:28-39 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Despite Satan’s rage and rebellion, the work of the cross;
The work of the child remains totally effective.
Satan is losing and he will lose forever.
Romans 16:20 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
This morning we see the day when
He will permanently lose this current battle he is fighting.
He already permanently lost the battle to stop the child.
This morning we look forward to the day when
He will permanently lose the battle to condemn God’s elect.
We’ve seen the child he couldn’t stop.
Now let’s look at the battle he couldn’t win.
There are three main points
#1 THE DRAGON EXPELLED
Revelation 12:7-9
When you read those three verses, regardless of the detail,
THE MAIN OBSERVATION IS CLEAR.
SATAN IS KICKED OUT OF HEAVEN PERMANENTLY.
This reality has caused confusion for some. I actually remember a 2 hour debate about this in one of my seminary classes.
So in case you have any confusion regarding what is going on,
I want to take a moment to see if I can clarify it for you.
LET’S JUST TALK ABOUT WHAT WE KNOW IS TRUE.
1) We know that Satan is a created angel, and therefore he must have been created perfect.
• When we read God’s creation account in Genesis, we see that God did not create anything that wasn’t perfect. It was all good. Satan certainly fit this bill.
• Beyond that Satan was in heaven with God, and this would not have been permitted if Satan were not one of the holy angels.
2) We know that Satan fell sometime before Genesis 3.
• Obviously something occurred because in Genesis 3 Satan shows up in the form of a serpent and he is a liar and a deceiver and a slanderer of God.
• This can only indicate that at some point in history this holy angel indeed fell into sin and rebellion against God.
In fact, we read about that event last week.
Revelation 12:4 “And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.”
This would be his demonic army, who are also fallen angels.
And they have been present on earth throughout history, which again gives us indication that Satan fell long ago and has been at war with God ever since.
(Incidentally, as a side note, there are many people today who do not believe in the security of the believer. There are many who claim that a saved person on this earth can in fact lose their salvation.
But I don’t know a single one of those people who does not believe that this salvation can be lost after a person enters heaven. In short, they believe security of the believer begins in heaven.
And yet we find here that their theology is flawed. If salvation can be lost then even heaven cannot secure it since even the devil and his angels fell from heaven.
The reality is that salvation is only secure in heaven
Because our security is not based upon our location
But rather upon the finished work of Christ.
This makes us secure not only in heaven but also on earth.
But we know that Satan fell long ago
And has been at war on the earth with his demonic army.
I believe that fall is specifically spoken of by the Old Testament prophets.
Isaiah 14:12-14 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”
Ezekiel 28:11-16 “Again the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. “You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared. “You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. “You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you. “By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire.”
So we know that Satan fell and is now at work with demonic armies
Who are clearly seen throughout the New Testament
And who continue even to this very day.
3) We also know that despite his fall Satan currently maintains some sort of strange access to God.
We see this in the book of Job.
Job 1:6-7 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”
Even in our test today down in verse 10 we read that Satan is “he who accuses them before our God day and night.”
So he currently has some sort of strange access
Whereby he continually accuses us before God.
4) Along with his work of accusation he is also engage in warfare continually with us on the earth.
Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
Not only does Satan accuse us before God,
He is also at work accusing God before us.
We call this TEMPTATION
Remember the wilderness when Satan tempted Jesus?
• He did so by accusing God of being a bad provider, “If You are the Son of God command these stones to become bread…”
• He accused God of being a bad protector, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself from this temple…”
• He accused God of having a selfish plan, “If You bow and worship me I will give you all the kingdoms of the earth…”
Like what Satan did with Even in the garden he did with Jesus in the wilderness, seeking to drive a wedge between Christ and the Father.
Beyond his work of temptation we also know him to be a liar,
Continually distorting truth to secure the destruction of sinners.
But you get the point: HE IS CURRENTLY AT WAR
He fell from heaven; he fell from holiness;
And he has been at war with God and God’s people ever since.
THE EVENT WE READ OF HERE IS THE END OF THAT WAR.
Here we read of him again falling from heaven.
This was not his original fall, this is his final fall.
This is the day when his access to God is forever revoked
And he can no longer continue in his work of accusation.
(READ 7-9)
• This type of warfare is not uncommon, it is also alluded to in Daniel 10.
• But here we find that Michael has had enough.
• Satan went on an all-out attack to regain his status in heaven and Michael thumped him.
“there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.”
• That is not just “heaven” but the heavens.
• We read in Ephesians that he is “the prince of the power of the air”, but on this day that access is revoked.
He is removed from the heavens and is relegated solely to the earth.
No longer will he ever be able to accuse God’s children before God.
We also learn a great deal about his warfare
Through the names he is given here.
“the serpent of old” is a reference to the garden and no doubt refers to his work of deception and blasphemy against God.
He lies about God in order to tempt and deceive people into sin.
“who is called the devil”
This is a word that means “accuser” which, as we have seen, is what he does relentlessly.
“Satan” is a word that means “adversary” and that probably sums him up better than any other since his only objective is to oppose whatever God is doing.
NOW WE ARE READING ABOUT THE DAY WHEN HE IS THROWN DOWN.
(He will still be a tempter and a liar, but his opportunity to be an accuser is over)
The timing of this event is also made clear to us.
Revelation 12:13-15 “And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.”
This final fall of Satan occurs at the half-way point of the tribulation.
This is simultaneous with the timing of the opening of the second seal.
• Remember the first seal is 3 ½ years of deception and false peace.
• Halfway through comes the abomination of desolation and world war
Here we see part of the reason for that world war.
Satan is kicked to the earth and so he begins a revolt on earth
Like has never been seen before in all of human history.
The Dragon is Expelled
#2 THE VICTORY EXPLAINED
Revelation 12:10-11
This event is NOT YET THE FINAL DESTRUCTION of Satan,
That will occur after the 1,000 year millennial reign of Christ.
But this event does sort of seal the deal.
• It’s like that touchdown to go ahead by 21 with 2 minutes to play.
• All of heaven (and Satan too) knows it’s over.
Jesus wins!
And that reality is what causes the celebration to begin.
“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come…”
Everything we’ve been waiting for.
• The judgment of Satan
• The removal of the curse
• The glorification of all believers
• The full demonstration of the power of God
• The total reign of Christ
All of God’s children whom he has been accusing are totally secure.
WHY?
“for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.”
Satan no longer has access to God
Whereby to accuse the brethren any longer.
If you are football fan, it’s like when your team is losing and there is two minutes left, but you don’t have any timeouts and the other team is just taking a knee.
The game is not technically over yet, there is still time on the clock, but there’s nothing you can do about it because you don’t even have the ball.
That is the predicament Satan is in.
He can accuse no longer.
Ever since the ascension of Jesus, when Satan lost that battle,
His main objective has been to condemn God’s elect
By accusing them before God.
It didn’t work, and on this day he’ll never be allowed to do it again.
But that is not all that is revealed to John,
THE MEANS OF THE VICTORY OF THE SAINTS is also revealed to John.
It is as though heaven wants John to know
How these saints managed to survive the battle
That was waged against them.
And I think this is very important and very relevant information.
Spiritual warfare is a popular topic among some circles of Christian life,
But I run across very few who have any clue how to wage it.
Many think it has something to do with rebuking the devil or commanding him to flee.
• You know, you’ve got to raise your hands in the air and command him in the name of Jesus to flee.
• I even had one pastor tell me about how in one of his services a man came down to the front of the church and started doing karate moves during the singing service. When the pastor asked him what he was doing, he said he was engaging in spiritual warfare.
But you don’t overcome Satan by karate kicking the air. You don’t overcome the enemy by giving him orders.
• Paul taught us to “put on the full armor of God”. Things like truth, righteousness, faith, assurance, readiness, and the word of God.
• Peter taught us to “resist” the devil.
Here the loud voice in heaven
Reveals how these saints defeated the enemy.
(11) “And they overcome him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”
This is how you fight spiritual warfare.
Let me explain it a little more.
There were 3 reasons given here as to
Why these saints were able to overcome the enemy.
1) THE WORK OF CHRIST
“the blood of the Lamb”
This is nothing short of the sacrificial atonement of Christ on our behalf.
Do your best live right and live good, and all of that stuff,
But the good you do will not outweigh the bad.
I don’t care how many dollars you give, or how many hours you pray,
God does not judge on the “good enough” system.
God judges by the standard of perfect holiness.
• One sin is enough to condemn you for all eternity and no amount of good deeds will ever undo that.
• Someone who commits a murder goes to prison regardless of how much money they’ve given to the Salvation Army.
• Guilt is guilt
And since Satan’s objective is to accuse the brethren before God,
You should know that there is not the slightest chance
That one of your sins will ever go unnoticed.
He is the ultimate tattle tale. He points out your flaws
And demands that God punish your sins just as God punished his.
So how do we overcome the “devil”; the “accuser”?
“the blood of the Lamb”
Romans 8:33-34 “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”
When we sin and Satan points out to God,
Jesus steps in and intercedes on our behalf.
He does not intercede based upon His fondness of us,
He intercedes based on the fact that He already paid the debt for His elect.
(Go read Zechariah 3)
His blood was shed as payment for our sin.
If you don’t have “the blood of the Lamb” you don’t have a chance.
• You will not be saved
• You could not stay saved
• And you couldn’t lead anyone else to salvation either
Without “the blood of the Lamb” there is no defeating Satan.
THESE SAINTS OVERCAME THE ENEMY
BECAUSE JESUS HAD REDEEMED THEM WITH HIS OWN BLOOD.
2) THE WORD OF CHRIST
“and because of the word of their testimony”
I hear this verse quoted all time as some sort of proof that
The power to overcome Satan is found
In you sharing your own personal testimony.
Now look, I’m certainly fine with people sharing what Christ has done in their life through His work of redemption.
• You can read Paul’s testimony in several places in Scripture.
But here WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT the power of a personal testimony as the secret to overcoming Satan.
What are we talking about?
Well, throughout the Revelation
We are told what “the word of their testimony” actually is.
Revelation 1:1-2 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.”
Revelation 1:9 “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”
Revelation 6:9 “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;”
The testimony being referred to here was not their personal testimony,
It is “the testimony of Jesus”
John 15:26-27 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”
That’s why I showed you that video to begin today.
• “We Preach Christ”
• “We Preach the Gospel”
That is how you overcome Satan.
The gospel is the power of God for salvation,
Not your own personal testimony.
• Is your testimony useful? Certainly
• Should you give an account of the hope that is in you? Without a doubt
But more than that, preach the gospel.
Preach Christ
This is the message that leads sinners to salvation.
This is the message that cuts through the lies of the deceiver
And brings about redemption.
• You don’t waive your hands in the air and rebuke the devil.
• You don’t karate kick the air in some sort of frenzy.
• You don’t command or declare or break or any of that nonsense.
If you want to overcome the devil then you preach Christ.
You tell sinners about the finished work of the One
Who can set them free from the snare of the devil.
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
If Satan is going to be overcome it will require the work of Christ, the word of Christ
3) THE WORTH OF CHRIST
“and they did not love their lives even when faced with death.”
What does that mean?
It means they loved Christ more.
They valued Christ more.
What did Jesus say?
Matthew 10:37-39 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 16:24-25 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Luke 14:26-27 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
Jesus could not have been clearer in His preaching.
There is only one way to come to Him
And that is with absolute devotion.
• You don’t come to Jesus half-way.
• You don’t come to Jesus half-hearted.
• You don’t come to Jesus with rocky soil that will only follow when it is easy.
• You don’t come to Jesus with weedy soil that wants Jesus amidst all your idols.
You have to love Jesus more than life.
If you don’t, you will not overcome the enemy.
WHY?
Because his weapon is one of temptation.
And his target is the desires of your flesh.
If your goal is to gratify the flesh and love the flesh and love yourself
Then Satan will topple you every time.
That is why Peter said:
1 Peter 4:1-2 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”
When you determine to love Christ more
When you determine to value Christ more
That is when Satan loses his grip.
These Saints were victorious over Satan…
• Because of what Jesus did on the cross
• Because of the gospel they preached
• Because they chose Christ over the world
That is the victory explained.
And it’s the same for your life.
The Dragon Expelled, The Victory Explained
#3 THE BATTLE EXPECTED
Revelation 12:12
Satan battled for years to stop that child,
But when he lost he began a new battle in the heavenlies accusing the saints.
Here he lost that battle too,
But that doesn’t keep him from starting a new one.
Once Satan is permanently removed from heaven,
He will start a new war on earth.
Now certainly heaven should rejoice at this.
“For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them.”
Absolutely, the accuser is gone, that is cause for rejoicing.
We win.
“Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
He’s going to wage all-out war on the earth,
But even he knows the cause is lost.
He knows his time is short.
And the point we are making is that SATAN IS THE ULTIMATE LOSER
Since the day he first fell from heaven
He has scratched and clawed and worked and manipulated
To kill Israel, or kill the Christ, or destroy the redeemed
And he hasn’t succeeded yet.
And he never will.
OUR GOD REIGNS
That means we take the truths learned here
Regarding how to overcome him and we apply them to our lives
Knowing that victory is certainly ours as well.
Romans 16:20 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
The Child Satan Couldn’t Stop (Revelation 12:1-6)
The Child Satan Couldn’t Stop
Revelation 12:1-6
January 1, 2017
This morning we return to our study of the book of the Revelation,
And we return with yet another parenthetical section.
(I realize our return to the chronological flow was short-lived, lasting only 6 verses)
After the 6th seal was broken we heard the sinners of earth crying out, “Who is able to stand?”
That question was answered in our first parenthetical section of chapter 7.
Those whom God causes to stand by the atonement of Christ
And the preaching of the gospel.
After the 6th trumpet was sounded we saw that humanity still wouldn’t repent.
Faced with this reality we saw the second parenthetical section of 10:1 – 14:13 which taught us to “prophesy again” whether they listen or not
Because we don’t want their blood on our hands
And because we may not realize how God is going to use our preaching.
Most recently we heard the blasting of the 7th trumpet,
But BEFORE ANY DETAILS of that trumpet were given,
We heard a loud declaration in heaven.
(15b) “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”
• We learned that at this point there is a great transfer of power. The world will fall and Christ will reign.
• Furthermore we learned that Christ will reign in spite of the great wrath of His enemies.
(17-18) “We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. “And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
And this is where we left off.
There was a heavenly announcement that Christ wins and reigns upon the earth despite the great wrath and rage of His enemies.
Certainly that is good news;
No matter how hostile this world or that devil becomes toward Christ,
Nothing will stop Him from taking His throne and ruling the world.
IT IS A GREAT TRUTH.
And it is a truth that is illustrated in this next parenthetical section.
In fact, that is the purpose of this next section;
To reveal how Christ reigns
Despite the wrath and efforts of the enemy.
This section runs from chapter 12 all the way through chapter 14.
When chapter 15 begins we actually see
The effects of what happened at the sounding of that seventh trumpet.
But here we are given 3 chapters
To reveal the victory of Christ despite Satan’s opposition.
From a time standpoint,
• The section begins with the birth of Christ in 12:2
• And it ends with the return of Christ in 14:1
• And ultimately the battle of Armageddon in 14:17-20
So we are looking at that time period
From when Messiah arrived on earth, until He returns again,
And specifically we are seeing the failed efforts of Satan to stop His reign.
This section illustrates that glorious claim of chapter 11.
What I also want to do is allow you to see this SECTION AS A WHOLE,
In order that you better understand the parts.
In this 3 chapter parenthetical section there are FOUR MAJOR EVENTS that are highlighted.
And I want to give you them right off the bat.
They are all major defeats that Satan has suffered and will suffer.
1) THE CHILD HE COULDN’T STOP (12:1-6)
• We are looking at this event this morning as we remember Satan’s foiled plans
at stopping Jesus when He came to earth.
2) THE BATTLE HE COULDN’T WIN (12:7-12)
• This event is yet future for us, but it deals with Satan’s final attempt to
overthrow heaven, which will end in his being totally removed from the
heavens and relegated only to earth.
3) THE WOMAN HE COULDN’T KILL (12:13-17)
• This of course deals with Satan’s attempts to destroy Israel (God’s chosen
people) and his miserable failure in that regard.
4) THE THRONE HE COULDN’T KEEP (13:1-14:20)
• The last two chapters deal with Satan’s attempt to establish his throne on the
earth, only to see that throne utterly destroyed with the return of Christ.
I just give you that ahead of time
So you can see the purpose and the point to this section.
We are talking about the absolute and guaranteed defeat of the enemy
And reign of Jesus Christ.
And by now you realize that this is one of the major events of Scripture.
Throughout the Old Testament we are continually looking for the Messiah
And His promised reign upon the earth.
So it is only fitting that we enter a section
Which gives great detail to the fulfillment of this promise.
It is the event which is loudly proclaimed at the end of chapter 11
And the event which is clearly illustrated in chapters 12-14.
For us this is still great news!
Our God Reigns!
Our God wins!
And Satan is the ultimate loser!
Well, let’s begin with that first of the four major events, which is:
THE CHILD SATAN COULDN’T STOP
There are 4 main points here
#1 A WOMAN IN LABOR
Revelation 12:1-2
“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;”
Let’s address who this is.
Many assume that this woman is the Virgin Mary. (IT IS NOT)
This woman is actually not a woman at all.
John said she is a “sign”.
She is a symbol, she is a picture.
And she is representative of the NATION OF ISRAEL.
Perhaps you will remember Joseph’s dream before his brothers.
Genesis 37:9-11 “Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, “Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.”
• Jacob = the sun
• Rachel = the moon
• 12 sons = 12 stars
This woman is Israel.
(2) “and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.”
This woman is “with child”
That means that this woman has A VALID EXPECTATION
That someday a child will be born to her. She is “expecting”.
Correctly understood then, we know that Israel
Is eagerly looking to the arrival of a very important child.
We are talking about the “seed”, the Messiah.
The FIRST TIME this “seed” was mentioned was in the garden.
After Eve sinned, God responded to her:
Genesis 3:14-15 “The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
It was obviously someone born of a virgin,
For women don’t have “seed”, and whoever this “seed” would be,
He would cause major problems for Satan.
He would be the One who would crush Satan’s head.
That prophecy obviously pointed to the virgin birth,
BUT IT WAS ALSO A PICTURE OF ISRAEL.
Israel had many promises in her past
That someday the “seed” would come.
Perhaps the most famous:
Isaiah 9:1-7 “But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
So this woman has an expectation of a coming child
To deliver and reign upon the earth.
And we see that this has become AN URGENT CRY.
“and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.”
The tense here is actually in THE HISTORICAL PRESENT
Which better reads, “and she is crying out, being in labor…”
This was not a one time cry, but a continual cry for relief.
She is in turmoil and is desperately begging for the deliverer to arrive.
It is the cry often sang about at Christmas time.
“Oh come, Oh come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel; who mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appears.”
“Come, Though long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free. From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in Thee. Israel’s strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art; Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.”
Incidentally this is why the angels told the shepherds at the birth of Christ:
Luke 2:10 “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;”
• That doesn’t mean that all people everywhere would have joy in their hearts regarding Christ’s birth (Herod certainly didn’t), but joy would be the response of every heart in turmoil who had been longing for in labor and heavy burden.
This was most specifically Israel who was in constant turmoil
And constant labor eagerly waiting for their deliverer.
And her cry is heard many times in Scripture.
Psalms 89:46 “How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire?”
Psalms 80:4-6 “O LORD God of hosts, How long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears, And You have made them to drink tears in large measure. You make us an object of contention to our neighbors, And our enemies laugh among themselves.”
Psalms 90:13-17 “Do return, O LORD; how long will it be? And be sorry for Your servants. O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us, And the years we have seen evil. Let Your work appear to Your servants And Your majesty to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.”
Psalms 94:1-7 “O LORD, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, O Judge of the earth, Render recompense to the proud. How long shall the wicked, O LORD, How long shall the wicked exult? They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly; All who do wickedness vaunt themselves. They crush Your people, O LORD, And afflict Your heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger And murder the orphans. They have said, “The LORD does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”
The cry for Israel was continual for God to send the one they expected.
They were waiting for “the seed”.
And we understand her turmoil.
The writer of Hebrews had this to say:
Hebrews 2:5-8 “For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, “WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM? “YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.”
When God created this world, He did not give angels rule over it,
He gave rule over the world to man. Man was given dominion.
“He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.”
Man was supposed to be in control, but it is obvious that he is not.
In fact, in the garden, our control was usurped by an angel,
And he now is the god of this world.
And so Israel is crying out, she is in turmoil, she is in despair.
Things are not the way they are supposed to be.
Adrian Rogers once said:
“The world is in such a mess today because things are out of place. The King (Jesus) belongs on His throne. The bride (the church) belongs with the groom. The criminal (Satan) belongs in prison. One of these days, when the King is on the throne, the bride is with her groom, and the criminal is in prison, we will understand the way things are meant to be.” (Adrian Rogers, Unveiling the End Times in Our Time [Nashville, TN.: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004] pg. 7)
That is precisely why this woman is crying out.
So we see A Woman in Labor
#2 A DRAGON IN REBELLION
Revelation 12:3-4
Now, it was not a literal woman, this is not a literal dragon.
He is painted as a “great red dragon” to reveal his cruelty and brutality.
This dragon is none other than the serpent in the garden,
He is Satan himself, who is of course a fallen angel of God.
And we are given some important descriptors about him.
FIRST WE ARE FACED WITH HIS CONSTANT CONSPIRACY
(John wants you to see who this dragon is, and what he’s been up to)
(He wants you to understand the continual battle that has been going on.)
“having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.”
If you read further into the book of the Revelation we learn:
Revelation 17:9-13 “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.”
These horns are symbolic of the kingdoms Satan has controlled. Five are over, one is presently in charge, and one is coming.
The seven kingdoms referred to are the seven kingdoms
That have specifically targeted the destruction of Israel.
THE FIRST FIVE (which are over) ARE:
EGYPT under the reign of Satan’s puppet – Pharaoh
Exodus 1:22 “Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”
ASSYRIA under the reign of Satan’s puppet – Shalmaneser
2 Kings 17:5-6 “Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.”
BABYLON under the reign of Satan’s puppet – Nebuchadnezzar
2 Kings 25:8-11 “Now on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the LORD, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Then the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile.”
MEDO-PERSIA under the influence of Satan’s puppet – Haman
Esther 3:8-9 “Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people and they do not observe the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain. “If it is pleasing to the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who carry on the king’s business, to put into the king’s treasuries.”
GREECE under the control of Satan’s puppet – Antiochus Epiphenes
Daniel 11:31-33 “Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation. “By smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action. “Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days.”
All five of those did their best to completely annihilate the Jews.
But they were not merely human empires.
They were empires controlled by Satan himself.
The final two kingdoms represent Rome and the kingdom of Antichrist.
The “ten horns” is the European confederation which will give their authority to the Antichrist.
But the point is that all of those nations that had continually oppressed Israel and caused her to suffer
Did so because they were under the control of Satan.
Satan knew about that prophesy that the seed of the woman
Would one day crush his head and he was doing everything he could
To annihilate the woman so that she never bore that child.
We also read:
(4) “and his tail swept away a third of the starts of heaven and threw them to the earth.”
Here we learn that the dragon’s animosity for Israel
Really began as animosity for God.
He hates God’s people namely because he hates God.
(Incidentally this is also why the world, which is under the power of Satan, also hates God’s people)
BUT FIRST SATAN HATED GOD
The Bible teaches that Satan was an anointed cherub
Who was cast out of heaven.
Isaiah 14:12-15 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.”
And when Satan fell, he took a third of the angels with him,
With them, he has manipulated 5 kingdoms to try and annihilate the Jews.
THE MAIN GOAL WAS TO ANNIHILATE THE JEWS
SO THAT THE “SEED” WOULD NEVER BE BORN.
However, Satan was not able to accomplish his goal.
Moses delivered Israel from Egypt
Cyrus set God’s people free from exile.
Esther delivered God’s people from Persia
Judas Maccabeus delivered God’s people from Greece
Despite his hatred for the woman and her seed,
Satan was not able to prevent the birth of the promised child
That moves to the 6th kingdom,
This kingdom did not seek to prevent the birth, but rather to kill the child.
ROME under the Satanic controlled Herod
Matthew 2:16 “Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.”
All that Herod did was the scheme of Satan.
(4) “And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.”
Satan couldn’t stop the “seed” from coming
So his plan was to kill Him instantly.
But of course that plan failed.
A Woman in Labor, A Dragon in Rebellion
#3 A CHILD IN VICTORY
Revelation 12:5
In this verse we find the shortest gospel account in all of Scripture.
In one verse we go from birth to ascension.
Obviously the verse leaves out a lot of information.
• Nothing about the miracles of the child
• Nothing about the preaching of the child
• Nothing about the death of the child
• Nothing about the resurrection of the child
BECAUSE THE FOCUS HERE IS SIMPLY ON THE FACT THAT
THE CHILD WHOM GOD SENT, DID SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE HIS MISSION AND RETURN TO GOD UNFAZED BY THE ENEMY.
Despite all the attempts of Satan
“And she gave birth to a son, a male child”
After years of suffering under the curse, the “seed” finally arrived.
The destroyer of Satan had come.
It is in fact the miraculous incarnation of God.
John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Colossians 2:9 “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,”
And then John shows us in one short statement
Why Satan (and the world) oppose Him so much.
“who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron;”
Satan doesn’t hate Him simply for being a Savior.
Satan hates Him for taking back what is rightfully His.
THE WORLD DOESN’T HATE THE BABY IN THE MANGER.
THE WORLD HATES THE KING ON THE THRONE.
THIS CHILD CAME TO RULE THE WORLD.
The world will let Christ be Savior, they just don’t want Him as Lord.
But He did not just come to be Savior, HE CAME TO BE LORD.
Listen to the Old Testament prophecies about Him.
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
Micah 5:2-5 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” Therefore He will give them up until the time When she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren Will return to the sons of Israel. And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth. This One will be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land, When he tramples on our citadels, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.”
No wonder Satan and the world today wants Him dead.
And yet even after successfully killing the “seed”, we read.
Acts 2:22-24 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know — this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
Satan succeeded in killing Him, he just couldn’t keep Him dead.
The “seed” arose from the dead.
And the verse 5 says:
“and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.”
After God delivered Him, God accepted Him.
Not just to His presence, but also to “His throne.”
It was determined that this seed would crush Satan and rule the world, and that is precisely what He will do.
Acts 2:32-36 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”‘ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Psalms 2:1-9 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'”
Satan did everything He could to stop this child, but he failed.
This is the child Satan couldn’t stop.
This reality brings about a major shift in Satan’s rebellion
A woman in labor, a dragon in rebellion, a child in victory
#4 A WORLD IN TRIBULATION
Revelation 12:6
Here we have fast-forwarded from the ascension of Christ
To the final 3 ½ years of the tribulation.
You will see in the following text why this time is significant.
• Namely because currently Satan is attacking by accusing the brethren before
God, but half way through the tribulation Satan will be kicked to the earth and his only objective will be to destroy Israel.
Revelation 12:12 “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
Once Satan is confined to the earth,
His plan will be worldwide persecution of the woman.
WE KNOW THAT THE TRIBULATION IS GOD’S WRATH ON THE EARTH,
And yet, it is ALSO A TIME when God accomplishes that wrath
By allowing Satan to torment and attack.
• We’ve already seen the working of Antichrist with his false peace, world war,
famine, and death.
• We’ve already seen the torment of that demonic locust army.
• We’ve already seen the death of that 200 million strong demonic army.
Yes it is God’s wrath, but it is also Satan’s attempt to destroy Israel.
His goal is to destroy her so that the child has no reason to return for her.
The problem for Satan is that God will not allow that to happen.
The woman is supernaturally cared for by God.
Revelation 12:13-17 “And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
What we find is that despite Satan’s efforts throughout the ages
• He was unable to prevent the child from coming.
• He was unable to stop the child when He did come
• He was unable to corrupt the child when He came
• And even after killing the child, he was unable to keep Him dead
Revelation 11:17-18 “We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. “And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
Heaven declared that Christ reigns despite the wrath of the enemy,
And that is certainly holding true.
Here we learned about the Child he couldn’t stop.
Next time we’ll talk about: The Battle he couldn’t win.
This morning I encourage you again that our God reigns.
I encourage you again that Christ is King!
Worship Him, Honor Him, Obey Him, Serve Him, Trust Him
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