The Angry Dying Dragon

Revelation 12:1-17 - Riley Boggs

Halloween is right around the corner and that means two things. First, it means that Reformation Day is right around the corner, and for that, we celebrate. Second, it means that little kids dressed up as the devil will be knocking on your door asking for candy. It’s a bit strange, isn’t? Not the trick-or-treating thing. The kids dressed like satan thing. Really, the whole notion that we would make light of the devil and evil spiritually forces goes to show just how detached our culture has become to the real spiritual warfare that is taking place.

In C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, this idea is actually encouraged. If you are unfamiliar with this book, it is fictional book written from the perspective of a senior demon writing to his apprentice demon. The whole book is compilation of letters written by the senior demon telling the apprentice demon how to afflict this new christian. Their goal, of course, is to get the man to deny the faith and fall entirely into their hands. Later in the book, as the senior demon continues to advise the apprentice on what to do, he writes this…

“I wonder you should ask me whether it is essential to keep the patient in ignorance of your own existence. That question, at least for the present phase of the struggle, has been answered for us by the High Command. Our policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves. Of course this has not always been so. We are really faced with a cruel dilemma. When the humans disbelieve in our existence we lose all the pleasing results of direct terrorism and we make no magicians. On the other hand, when they believe in us, we cannot make them materialists and sceptics. At least, not yet. I have great hopes that we shall learn in due time how to emotionalise and mythologise their science to such an extent that what is, in effect, belief in us, (though not under that name) will creep in while the human mind remains closed to belief in the Enemy. The ‘Life Force’, the worship of sex, and some aspects of Psychoanalysis, may here prove useful. If once we can produce our perfect work — the Materialist Magician, the man, not using, but veritably worshipping, what he vaguely calls ‘Forces’ while denying the existence of ‘spirits’ — then the end of the war will be in sight. But in the meantime we must obey our orders. I do not think you will have much difficulty in keeping the patient in the dark. The fact that ‘devils’ are predominantly comic figures in the modern imagination will help you. If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights, and persuade him that since he cannot believe in that (it is an old textbook method of confusing them) he therefore cannot believe in you.”

One of the greatest strategies of the enemy, in our time and place, is to convince people that he isn’t really there. The devil is just a character to be played, but not a true spiritual reality. There is no spiritual war taking place. The only things that are real are the things that you can touch and see. The vast majority of people in our culture have done exactly what John Lennon encouraged them to do years ago. “Imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try. No hell below us. Above us, only sky.” Not only have many imagined it, but they have entirely believed it. They have become materialist through and through. Our passage this morning shows us just how far from the truth this really is.

So, we find ourselves at the beginning of the 4th cycle of the book of Revelation. Specifically, a passage that shows us the spiritual realities that have been taking place since the beginning of time. The curtain pulled back and we are shown behind the scenes of what has been happening during all of the previous cycles. During the first 3 cycles, we saw Earthly sufferings from all kinds of perspectives. From wars and natural disaster, all the way to Christian persecution, we have seen it. This morning, we see the same realities once more, but it is from a perspective we have yet to see. We are brought into the unseen spiritual realities that are behind all of the things we have, and do, see. Revelation 12 puts imagery to the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6. He says, “...be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For 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. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” What are these cosmic powers? What is this present darkness? What are the evil spiritual forces in the heavenly places? How do we stand firm against them? Revelation 12 answers these questions for us.

Now the way that these questions are answered is through the telling of a story concerning a woman and a dragon. Before we get into the details of the story and attempt to understand the symbolism taking place, I want to retell this story for us. If we miss the story, then we likely miss the intended symbolism, and that will likely lead us to miss the point being conveyed. So, read along with me as I try to retell the story for us.

The story begins from an earthly perspective, and we read that there is a woman who is described in quiet amazing an amazing way. She is clothed with the sun, has the moon under her feet, and she has a crown of 12 stars. Clearly this woman is of high regard. Then, in verse 2, we read that this woman is also pregnant. And not only pregnant, but is in labor. She’s crying out as the baby is nearing it’s delivery. But then, before we read what happens next, in verse 3, we are introduced to another character, a great red dragon. This dragon is described as having seven heads, ten horns, and seven diadems on his head. Then in verse 4 we read that his tail sweeps down a third of the stars from heaven and cast them upon then earth. Not only that, but then the dragon stands before the woman who is about to give birth. And we aren’t left wondering why this is the case, the intentions are spelled out clearly. The dragon intends to devour the baby as soon as he is born. But then something happens. The woman gives birth to a son who is not like other sons. Verse 5, the woman gives birth, and before this son is devoured, he is called up to the throne of God. Then it says the woman flees into the wilderness to a place where God prepared for her to be nourished. Kind of a bizarre story, right? Maybe you are already beginning to see the symbolism’s aim.

Well the story continues, but now from a heavenly perspective. It seems that this ascending of this son has caused quite the ordeal in the heavens. We read that a war arose between Michael and his angels, and the dragon and his angels. And verse 8 tells us that the dragon is defeated and kicked out of heaven. In verse 9 he and his angels are thrown down onto the Earth. In verse 9 we also get the identity of this dragon. John tells us directly who this dragon is symbolically pointing us to. This dragon is the devil. He is satan, the deceiver of the world. So you have this war in heaven, the dragon and his angels defeated, thrown down to the Earth, and then a loud voice speaks in heaven starting in verse 10. Actually what happens is that in verses 10-12 this voice retells the story of what has just happened. But, I want to hold off on this section for a moment because it reveals some details that I want to spend extra time looking at. I want us to keep looking at the story starting in verse 13, where we see the dragon’s response to being defeated in heaven and thrown down to the Earth.

It says that the dragon falls down to the Earth and begins to pursue the woman who had given birth to the child. But as he pursues her, the woman is given the wings of an Eagle so that she might fly from the dragon, who is now described as the serpent. She flies again into the wilderness where she might be nourished by God. And now the serpent, who is angry, begins to pour water out of his mouth so that he might sweep her away in a flood. But in verse 16 we read that the Earth itself came to the help of the woman and swallowed the waters that the serpent sent. This enraged the serpent all the more against the woman, and so he set off to make war on the rest of the woman’s offspring. And look how this woman’s offspring are described at the end of verse 17. They are those who keep the commandments of God and who hold to the testimony of Jesus. What a story, right? Maybe makes you think of Lord of the Rings a bit?

Well, unlike Lord of the Rings, this story is not make believe. It is the story we are all in, right at this moment. See this woman is symbolic representation of God’s people. Specifically, she is a representative of true spiritual Israel. This is why she is described in verse 1 as having a crown of 12 stars, which is pointing us to the 12 tribes of Israel. And it’s from this woman, from Israel, that son is born. Who could that be? Well hopefully it’s clear now. This Son is Jesus, who is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David.

See this story being told in Revelation 12 is the story of Jesus’ birth. It’s the story of His death, burial, and resurrection. It’s the story of His ascension and the story of the church today. Remember, what is the book of Revelation about? What’s the time period being described? The first coming of Christ to the second coming of Christ. This chapter makes that abundantly clear for us. What we have here in this passage is this whole time period being essentially retold from a birds eye view. Not every detail is here, and since it is the beginning of the cycle, we are not shown the very end. Nonetheless, we are getting this amazing summary of the spiritual realities that are play since the day Christ has come and persist into the day that we live.

And so what I’d like to do is draw out 3 points from this story. 3 realties that we are being reminded of from this story of the Gospel. The first point is this...

1.) Jesus has already dealt a fatal wound to the enemy

I think this is where we have to begin when we stand where we stand in the story of redemption. There is an enemy who is still currently seeking your demise, that is true. We will look at that in a minute. But we need to start this whole conversation at the cross. Because at the cross, everything changed. The death, burial, and resurrection not only atoned for sins that we could never atone for on our own, but it is also where Jesus dealt a fatal blow to the enemy. The kind of wound that you cannot heal from, but can only try and buy a little time more time as your death draws nearer and nearer. This is what happened when Jesus resurrected from the dead.

Actually look with me in verses 10-12, the section we skipped over. In that section the whole story is briefly retold by this voice in heaven. Look at what is said. “10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!’”

Salvation and power and the kingdom and authority has all come because of Christ. He threw down the enemy. By His blood, the enemy has been conquered. There is reason for rejoicing because of this. And again, this isn’t to say the enemy is totally gone, he’s not. But he has been defeated and his end is certain. And the enemy himself knows this, which you can see at the very end of that section where it says that he has has great wrath because he knows that his time is short. In other words, when Jesus resurrected and defeated death and sin, the enemy’s fate was sealed. There is no scenario where the enemy is victorious. The battle was decisively won when Christ emerged victoriously from the tomb.

In Colossians 2 Paul writes about this same reality. He says, “13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” That’s the forgiveness of sins. That’s the debt paid. But then he goes further and says, “15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” He disarmed them. He triumphed over them.

For a moment, as Jesus’ body lied in the tomb, the enemy might have thought he had won. He had failed tempting Jesus to sin His whole life. Jesus never once faltered, He remained sinless. The enemy left every encounter with Jesus licking his wounds. His demons were cast out. His dominion was being shrunk. But then, when Jesus hung there on the cross, for the first time the enemy might have thought victory was near. If only Jesus were to die, then all would be mine he thought. Hope would finally vanish. And then, Jesus breathed His last breath. Surely this meant it was over, right? For a moment, as Jesus’ body lied in the tomb, the enemy might have thought he had won. But then, 3 days later, when Jesus resurrected from the tomb, everything changed. It was not that the enemy could regather his troops and begin to fight again. No, when Jesus resurrected the enemy was fatally wounded. The victory was won.

This is where we all stand in redemptive history. Not as a people who hope that good defeats evil, but as a people who know that Christ has won and the fullness of that victory is coming. In time, as Jesus sees fit, He will bring a close to all things. Until then, we persist as what my previous pastor Aaron called “joyful warriors”. We don’t endure with uncertainty, but with joy. Why? Well because we do not fight for victory, but from victory.

But make no mistake, there is still a fight. The enemy, though dying, is still seeking to destroy you. That’s the second point I have for us this morning...

2.) The angry dying enemy is seeking to destroy the church

One of the more dangerous animals you can encounter is an injured animal. When an animal is injured, they no longer are able to defend themselves like they once could. Maybe they can’t run fast enough or hide quick enough anymore, so instead they have to do something else. And often times what that means is they become very aggressive. They seek to instill fear in whatever is near it, so that you won’t come closer and take advantage of it’s weakened state. Not only that, but when an animal is inured, they are in pain. And pain, often times, leads to just outright anger.

Our enemy has been dealt a fatal wound. Like an injured animal, our enemy is reeling in pain and knows that he does not have the capabilities he once had. And as such, he is angry and aggressive in his attacks. You can see this all throughout our story. In verse 12 it says he has come with great wrath. In verse 17 it says that the dragon becomes furious because his plans are thwarted, and so he goes to make war. This is the state of our enemy. Furious, full of wrath, seeking to devour like a lion.

But, the way in which the enemy does this is not mainly through violent physical attacks. That isn’t to say that the enemy doesn’t torment and afflict pain on people, he does. But the main way that the enemy seeks to destroy is through his words. In fact that is the theme of the enemy’s works all through this chapter. In verse 9 he is called the deceiver and in verse 10 he is called the accuser. That’s the primary way that the enemy will attack you. Through deception and through accusations. We need to know that and be prepared for it. You cannot think of the enemy as out of sight out of mind. He’s real and he is actively trying to convince you of things that are not true.

God doesn’t love you. God doesn’t care about you. God doesn’t listen to you. You aren’t worthy of anymore forgiveness. You failed too many times and the Lord is tired of dealing with you. The church is no place for you, you’re too broken. The church is too broken, you need to just retreat from the community of faith and do things on your own. There’s a seemingly infinite list of lies that the enemy wants to convince you of.

Actually look at verse 15. How does the enemy try to sweep away the woman, which are God’s people? By the waters that come from what? His mouth. What’s in view here is that the enemy is literally trying to drown you in a sea of lies. He wants the lies and deceptions and accusations to fill your homes and rise to the ceiling so that you cannot breathe. He wants truth to be vanquished from your hearts and minds. In John 8 Jesus Himself calls the enemy the father of lies. He says that is he has no truth within him. That is who our enemy is. Our enemy is not flesh and blood. It is not these people or that people. Our enemy is satan. And he does not wage war on you with swords, but with lies. We must remember this.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that those late night thoughts of choosing to sin or not sin are always of yourself. That’s the enemy trying to destroy your marriage so that you might believe that God isn’t all that good. Don’t be fooled into thinking that your doubts about forgiveness or your ability to grow in the faith are always of yourself. That’s the enemy trying trying to convince you that holiness isn’t worth it, that forgiveness has run out, so that you might give up this whole following Jesus thing altogether. Don’t believe the lies. Believe the truth, the Word of Christ. Remember that the accusations being hurled at you by the enemy are unfounded accusations.

In fact, that’s actually what I think is meant by this image of the dragon being thrown down to the Earth. Look with me starting in verse 9. After this heavenly battle ensues and the enemy is defeated, it says that he and his angels are thrown down to the Earth. Now it’s a bit confusing as to what exactly is meant by that on it’s own, but if you keep reading, the words of the one speaking in heaven actually lays out what this means. The voice actually explains this symbolism here. He says, “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.” In other words, the accuser has been stripped of a certain power because Christ has come. And then we read exactly what kind of power was lost in verse 11. “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” In other words, because Jesus died, buried, and was resurrected. And because He bought forgiveness for us, once and for all, all the accusations of the enemy have been made completely obsolete. They are totally unfounded.

No longer can he point to all the ways you’ve fallen short in regards to the law. No longer can he point to your failings as the reason why you are guilty before God. Because of what Christ has done, these accusations have lost their sting. They have become silly lies. Our standing before God is not based upon what we have done. Our righteousness has not been wrought by our own hands. But instead, we declare and proclaim, by the word of our testimony, that we have conquered by the blood of the Lamb. And because of this, we can stand firm against the enemy. That’s the final point I have for us this morning.

3.) In Christ we can stand firm against the enemy

All throughout the New Testament the reminder for Christians is to stand firm. Over and over again we are encouraged to steady ourselves so that we might stand firm against the enemy. And the clear message is that the only way we can do that is by standing in who Christ is and what He has done on our behalf. By standing on His Word and His promises. I could go to all kinds of places to show us this, but I’ll just take us to the one I mentioned at the beginning of the sermon, Ephesians 6. Right after Paul tells us that we do indeed wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the evil demonic forces, he says this. “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” There’s that charge. And the he tells us how to do this. He says, “14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”

See if we were fighting a war against flesh and blood, we would need real swords and shields. But we’re not. And that’s why Paul says what you need is not a physical sword, but a spiritual sword. And then he tells us that we have been given one in the Word of God. We’ve been given a shield of faith, why? As a defense against the enemies lies. Notice that every single one of these pieces of armor are pointing to who God is, what He has done, and what He has said. That is because our defense against the enemy is Christ Himself. It is in Him, and in Him alone, that we stand firm against the enemy.

God wants us to stand firm and He has made provision for us so that we would. You can see that in our passage today. In verse 6 the woman flees from the enemy to where? To the place God prepared for her to be nourished. Again, in verse 14, the Lord swiftly brings her away from the enemy, to where? To the place God prepared for her to be nourished. Time and time again in this chapter we are being told that God is providing for us in this fight. He’s won the fight decisively and Has prepared us to stand firm against the enemy until He returns to finally triumph over the enemy.

This passage is not about some future time where things become intense and there is a dragon on the Earth making war. This is a passage about the current time, right now, where there is indeed a dragon, satan, who is making war on those in Christ. Those who, verse 17, are keeping the commandments of God and are holding to the testimony of Jesus. Don’t dismiss the spiritual realities at play in your life right now. If you do that, then you might be tempted to use your own strength to fight against the flood of lies that the enemy hurls at you. And the truth is, your own strength will not be strong enough.

But the good news of the Gospel and the sweet reminder of this passage is that we do not have to stand in our own strength. Actually, doing so is a form of pride and lack of faith. Jesus conquered sin and death and the enemy when He rose from the grave. It’s there, in who Christ has made you to be, that you stand. You stand in His righteousness. You cling to His Words. You trust in His promises. For it is there where you’ll find strength, in the risen reigning Son of God.

In one of the greatest hymns ever written, Martin Luther details this very reality. This is what he wrote...

“A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing;

Our shelter He, amid the flood Of mortal ills prevailing.

For still our ancient foe Doth seek to work us woe;

His craft and pow’r are great, And, armed with cruel hate,

On earth is not his equal.”

“Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing;

Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing.

Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;

Lord Sabaoth is His name, From age to age the same,

And He must win the battle.”

“And tho’ this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us;

We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us.

The prince of darkness grim — We tremble not for him;

His rage we can endure, For lo! his doom is sure,

One little word shall fell him.”

“That word above all earthly pow’rs — No thanks to them — abideth:

The Spirit and the gifts are ours Thro’ Him who with us sideth.

Let goods and kindred go, This mortal life also;

The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,

His kingdom is forever.”

This morning we have the privilege of coming to the table to remember how that victory was won. A meal that reminds us that on the third day, Jesus was no longer in the tomb, for He had defeated sin and death once and for all. And because of that, we rejoice and give thanks, especially in coming to the table.