Spiritual Battlefield Reports

Three pieces of war reporting, but the context here is of spiritual battle.

So we hear reports taken from the heat of the battle.

In chapter 13, we're taken inside the enemy camp to learn something of our enemy's strategies.

And then in chapter 14, we're taken to the final outcome

to see the victory of the king and the peace that he brings.

I think there's a growing awareness in our culture of the reality of the spiritual realm,

of the reality of good and evil, that evil is real and we need real hope

and we need real goodness as the antidote.

And that's why these chapters come to us as good news.

You know, they have something of the qualities of a graphic novel.

They can be quite hard for us to grasp some of the images.

There's really vivid pictures.

But the basic idea is that there is this war going on between the forces of good and evil,

but it's not a battle of equals.

Good will triumph in the end.

That Satan will fight against God and his purposes and his people,

but he is defeated.

That the victory belongs to Christ Jesus.

That victory which we see begin at the cross and finishes when he returns.

So as we get into these battlefield reports and as we think about the big picture,

and there's some details that we'll grapple with as well,

let's ask ourselves the question,

why does Jesus give them to the first century church and to us today?

And hopefully that as we ask that question,

as we think about the details,

it would help us to understand that these are given to us so that as Christians,

if we're Christians here today,

we would keep trusting our God and our Savior.

And if you're not a Christian,

you would understand the importance of joining Jesus in order to share his victory.

So turn with me in your Bibles to Revelation 12.

We come to the first battlefield report,

and the headline is that God protects Jesus and protects his church.

So we're introduced to the story of a woman and a son and a dragon,

and there's tension and there's threat.

And it actually reads,

there's lots of ancient stories and ancient myths that sound a bit like this.

So in the Roman Empire,

there was the story of the goddess Leto,

who was pregnant with the god Apollo,

and there was the threat of the snake,

the serpent,

the python,

and Poseidon came to the rescue.

And so,

oh,

it's like that.

But actually,

there's a huge difference in what we have in the book of Revelation.

Because while there are these sort of graphic pictures,

it's not myth.

These events take place in history.

And the great hero of the story is none other than Jesus.

And Jesus is the one who is presented as offering hope to all peoples,

from all cultures,

in all times and places.

He is the one who defeats the forces of evil.

He defeats the dragon.

He is the one through whom good triumphs.

He is the one through whom we can have the true happily ever after.

But let's get into these verses.

Recognize,

first of all,

the opposing forces that we have.

And we see,

first of all,

there is the woman,

clothed with the sun,

with the moon under her feet,

and a crown of twelve stars.

This woman represents the people of God.

The church in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

And wonderfully,

clothed with the glory and the majesty of God.

Psalm 104,

God wraps Himself in light.

Now God wraps His church in glory and majesty.

So there's the woman and the sun.

You know,

she's pregnant and about to give birth.

And in verse 5,

she gives birth to a son,

a male child,

who would rule all the nations with an iron scepter.

This is talking to us about the promise in the Bible of a coming king and savior.

This child represents the true king,

God's king,

who represents the shepherd who will rule over and who will defend His people,

and who will defeat His people's enemies.

This iron scepter is the same rod that we meet,

held in the hand of the good shepherd of Psalm 23.

This is speaking to us of Jesus,

the shepherd and the savior.

But then on the other side,

there is the dragon,

the red dragon.

And the dragon in the Bible,

and I guess through all ancient stories,

is a symbol of chaos and evil and death.

And we're told in verse 9 that the dragon is representative of Satan.

And we meet this dragon in verse 4,

poised to kill the son when the son's about to be born.

And perhaps if we go to the beginning of the Gospels,

we think about King Herod,

so eager,

bent on evil,

to kill King Jesus.

And we see the dragon in verse 6,

pursuing the woman,

pursuing the church.

And so we're reminded

that there is the devil

who would seek to destroy

and to harm

the church of God.

And think about brutal opposition

that there has been to the church

from the first century

until now,

making it clear

that in this battle,

people need a savior.

God's people need a savior.

And so we're presented as well

with the protection

of God.

First of all,

notice how God protects

the son.

In verse 5,

the child was snatched up to God

and to his throne.

It's almost as if

the whole events of the life of Jesus

are captured in a sentence.

So Jesus is born,

the devil tries to kill him

through King Herod,

but he's kept safe.

And then Jesus lives this perfect life,

and then he dies

on the cross,

and it looks like defeat,

but it's actually victory.

And then he's risen,

and then he ascends

back up to heaven

where he now sits

on the throne of glory.

Now he sits today

as king.

So God protects Jesus,

the one who came to be savior.

How does God protect the church?

Notice verse 6,

the woman fled into the wilderness

to a place prepared for her by God.

The wilderness

is this place in the Bible

where God meets with his people,

where he provides for his people,

where he offers protection

to his people.

You can think about

the book of Exodus.

You can think about

the shepherd of Psalm 23,

guiding and providing

green pastures

even in the wilderness.

Well, as the story continues

in chapter 12,

we're then invited to see

that war breaks out in heaven.

So the report changes focus.

So now it's thinking about

what's happening

in the spiritual dimension.

Verse 7 and 8,

we're told war broke out in heaven,

and you've got Michael

and the angels of God

fighting against the dragon.

And what we discover

is that Adam and Eve,

they were not the first

to try to be like God.

They were not the first

to rebel against God

and to reject his authority.

Actually, that happened first

with the devil

leading some angels astray

to try and rebel

and remove God

from the throne.

But what we see

is that God's angels

defeat the devil

and he's cast down.

We're told in verse 9

something of the description

of Satan.

He's the great dragon,

he's the snake,

he's the devil,

he's the Satan

who leads the whole world astray.

We're going to think about that

in a few minutes.

The biggest con man of all

is the devil.

He knows in verse 12

his time is short,

he is full of fury against God,

so he's full of fury

against God's church.

And so he fights in opposition,

wanting to drag people

away from God.

But the wonderful truth

that we have in Revelation 12

is that Satan

has been defeated.

That when God

and the devil

are locked

in spiritual battle,

this is not

a battle of equals.

God is greater.

The outcome

is not in doubt.

So listen to the song

that we have

in heaven.

Now has come

the salvation,

the power,

the kingdom

of our God

and the authority

of his Messiah

for the accuser

has been hurled down.

Hurled down

in defeat.

Really interesting

when Jesus sent

his 72 disciples

out on mission

and they came back

reporting

that people

had become followers

of Jesus.

Jesus said,

I saw Satan fall.

Whenever someone turns

to put their faith

in Jesus,

it's like there's

another defeat

of Satan

beyond that

original defeat.

There is defeat

because the kingdom

of God

is established.

established.

And it's established,

verse 11,

they triumphed

over him

by the blood

of the Lamb

and by the word

of their testimony.

So God is greater

and has the victory

and the church

in Christ

has the victory,

wins victory

over Satan.

Not in our own strength,

but as we trust

in what Jesus

has done for us,

there is victory

for us

in the sacrifice

of Jesus.

and as we hold

on to the testimony,

to the gospel word,

to the good news.

And so there is joy.

Rejoice,

you heavens,

and you who dwell

in them.

For those who are

associated with Jesus,

there is joy.

There's joy now

and there's joy

that will last forever.

But there is woe

for the enemies,

according to verse 12.

So war breaks out

in heaven.

And then we also need

to see in verse 13 to 17

that this war

breaks out on earth.

When the dragon saw

that he'd been hurled

to the earth,

here's his response.

He pursued the woman

who'd given birth

to the male child.

So he failed

to dethrone God.

He's hurled down

in defeat.

Now he turns his guns,

his weapons,

on the church,

the people on the earth.

And the scene

that we have here,

it's pictured a little bit

like the book of Exodus.

In the book of Exodus,

we have an evil king,

Pharaoh,

who is chasing down

the people of God,

looking to destroy them.

And again,

in that context,

hear God's protection.

So the devil is pursuing,

but verse 14,

the woman was given

the two wings

of a great eagle

so that she might fly

to the place prepared

for her in the wilderness

where she'd be taken care of.

Book of Exodus,

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19,

God has taken his people

all the way

to meet with him

at Mount Sinai

and he puts it like this.

He said,

I rescued you

and brought you

on eagle's wings.

God uplifts,

protects,

guides his church.

Safety on the eagle's wings.

And again,

brought into the wilderness,

brought to meet with God,

to enjoy God's presence

and protection.

And even here,

there's this image

where the snake

trying to destroy the church

spews out a torrent of water.

But God's people

are kept safe from the flood.

Again,

Book of Exodus,

kept safe through the Red Sea.

God protects his church.

So we are reminded

of two things in this.

We're reminded

that Satan will keep attacking.

Verse 17,

the dragon was enraged

and went off to wage war

against the rest

of her offspring.

So if you want

to stay faithful,

if you want to keep

obeying God,

if you want to be

a follower of Jesus,

there is the reality

of spiritual battle.

But there's also

the greater reality

that Jesus has won

the victory.

And so our call

is to hold fast,

to live with faith

in Jesus

and obedience

to God's Word.

Just to help us

to think about this,

two things

that we can take

from this first

battlefield report.

I think the first thing

is to stay awake

because spiritual battle

is real.

I don't know

how many of you

have read C.S. Lewis'

wonderful book,

The Screwtape Letters.

It imagines

a senior devil

writing to a junior devil

and it's really

instructive

for the number

of different strategies

that the devil

will use

to try and fight

against God

and His purposes.

practices.

So,

this senior devil

will speak about

practices

of trying to

conceal themselves

and their evil intent.

Sometimes he will

encourage this junior devil

to,

here's what you need

to do,

you need to distract

a Christian

by all the different

good things

of this world.

It's a reminder

that the devil

will use

various temptations

to lead us astray.

The devil

might appeal

to our pride

to say,

I don't need

God,

I don't need

to trust His Word,

I'm strong enough

by myself.

The devil

might choose

to use

personality clashes,

quarrels

and conflicts.

conflicts.

He might choose

a culture

of flippancy

where everything

seems like

no big deal.

Sin is no big deal,

eternity is no big deal.

There are all

kinds of ways

in which the devil

is at work

and so we need

to stay awake

because the spiritual

battle is real.

We need to be

on guard

by spending time

in His Word

and in prayer

and in worship

and in fellowship

and remembering

the good news

of the Gospel

because we need

to stay awake

but we also need

to stay close

to Jesus

because His

victory

is certain.

So this is a

spiritual battlefield

report.

Sometimes in

spiritual battles

and we find this

in the Bible,

it's a battle

between two champions.

Think about David

and Goliath.

And the way

that that battle

went was

as it went

for the champion,

so it went

for the whole people.

So if David wins

and he did,

that meant victory

for all the followers

of David.

As it goes

for Jesus,

so it goes

for the church

of Jesus

and Jesus

has won

the victory

through His death

and resurrection

which means

if we're in Christ

we're on

the winning side.

We share

in His triumph

and our responsibility

is to keep

faith alive

by keeping close

to Jesus

in the grace

that He provides.

So that's the first

spiritual battlefield

report that reminds

us that God

protects Jesus

and protects the church.

Now we move

to the second one

which really

zooms in

on this fact,

Satan's strategy

of deception.

To help us

think about this,

a little story

from the American

Civil War.

So back in 1862

there was a battle

called the Battle

of Antietam

or the Battle

of Sharpsburg

and the Union

soldiers

who were really

struggling against

the Confederacy

at this stage,

as this battle

was looming

they were walking

through a farmer's

field

and they found

three cigars

with a piece

of paper

wrapped around it

and that piece

of paper

was the Confederate

battle plans

and so all of a sudden

this army

that's been struggling

they've got

their enemies

plans

and with that

intelligence

it changed

everything

for the short term

and ultimately

in the course

of the Civil War.

Now they have

the capacity

to halt

the advances

of General Lee

they've got

this key advantage

in the battle.

Now think about

what Jesus

gives us here

in chapter 13.

He gives us

insight

and details

about

Satan's

battle plan

his strategy

against the church

which is all

about

deception.

We see it

as we look

through the pages

of the Bible

started with Adam

and Eve

deceived to think

life was better

without God

to have the forbidden

fruit.

Think about deception

as it happened

in the story

of Judas

the disciple

so he was

deceived to betray

Jesus.

Think about

that deception

that happens

whenever we are

persuaded that

choosing sin

over obedience

is better.

Or when a person

says that life

without Jesus

is better than

life with Jesus.

Deception is how

the devil operates.

And so Jesus

gives us this report

to highlight the fact

that our enemy

acts by deception.

And this chapter

tells us how he

deceived.

So the vision

has some crazy

images

but the vision

reveals

that the dragon

the Satan

the devil

he takes his

limited authority

and remember

God is ultimate

authority

but he takes

his limited

authority

and he uses

that to try

and imitate

the power

and the promises

of God

in order

to draw people

away from

true worship

of the true God

in order to

give their love

and their loyalty

and their worship

to other things

because the devil

wants to destroy

people made

in the image

of God.

He wants to spoil

our ultimate joy.

Let me just show you

scattered through

this text

how there are

these examples

of deception

so that we get

the sense

of the strategy.

Verse 3

Here is this

beast being described

this horrendous

beast with ten horns

seven heads

and ten crowns.

One of the heads

of the beast

seemed to have

a fatal wound

but the fatal wound

had been healed.

What's the devil

doing there?

He's deceiving

that there is

a power here

that is equal

to the power

of Jesus

in his death

and resurrection.

There is this

false claim

that there is

one who can

give true life

who is not

Jesus.

The whole pattern

of the chapter

sees the dragon

and two beasts

setting themselves

up as this

unholy trinity

of evil

mimicking

the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit

looking to deceive

so that the worship

would be directed

away from the

one true God.

Verse 13

and 14

This beast

the second beast

performs great signs

and because of the signs

it was given power

to perform

it deceived

the inhabitants

of the earth.

Jesus had miraculous

power used

for good

to draw people

to see the glory

of God

and be saved.

The devil

and the beasts

will use a different

form of power

in order to drag

people away

to false worship.

We have read

in recent chapters

about God

marking his people

as belonging

to him.

Verse 16

and 17

the beast

forced all people

to receive a mark

so they could not

buy or sell

unless they had

the mark.

And the goal

deception

dragging people

away from true

worship.

Verse 12

It exercised

all the authority

of the first beast

and made

the earth

and its inhabitants

worship

the first beast.

Verse 14

It deceived

the inhabitants

of the earth

so they set up

an image

to worship.

And then in verse

16 and 17

if a person

is not willing

to identify

and have that mark

there is exclusion

and the threat

of death.

Perhaps

we think in our minds

about

that Old Testament

story of Daniel

and King Nebuchadnezzar

setting up

that giant statue

and the command

worship or die.

Perhaps if you

know your history

you can think

about the

sort of

the worst

excesses

of the Roman

emperors

calling themselves

sons of gods

and saying

if you don't

worship

then there's

the threat

of exclusion

or even death.

Perhaps we

think about

the brutal

one religion

systems that

we see

in our world

today.

If you

do not

worship

in our way

then you

risk death

and persecution.

We see

the power

of

deception

that Satan

can do

his work

through

regimes

through governments

to try and stamp

out to destroy

the Christian

church

to draw people

away from

true worship.

Jesus gives

us

these visions

to remind

us and to

help us

to know

our enemy

to understand

that Satan

always sells

a lie

but sometimes

that lie

can seem

very

very

appealing.

If we

think about

how he

worked

back

at the

beginning

if we

go back

to how

the devil

operated

in the

garden

of Eden

think about

some of

the lies

that he

sells

persuading

Adam and

Eve

deceiving

us

perhaps

God

limits

your

joy

God

holds

back

his

best

there's

more

fun

to be

had

more

fullness

to be

had

outside

of

God's

commands

choose

to live

your best

life

now

don't

think

about

eternity

don't

think

about

life

in

relation

to

God

his

deception

includes

that

denial

of

God's

authority

no one

can tell

you

what

to

do

listen

to do

what

God

forbids

that

mean

you

become

like

God

you

can

have

true

life

when

God

is

replaced

on

the

throne

be

your

authentic

self

don't

let

anyone

tell

you

otherwise

the devil

would deceive

us to

reject

God

in

to

favor

our

own

desires

this

looks

good

this is

going to

be

pleasing

and the

devil

would

persuade

us

there's

freedom

break

faith

with

your

creator

in

order

to

really

live

don't

live

according

to

those

ancient

restrictions

and

when we

believe

the

lie

the

reality

is

so

much

better

promises

much

but

offers

only

death

to

go

against

the

design

of

our

creator

to

go

against

the

way

that

we

were

made

to

say

no

to

the

wisdom

of

his

God

ordained

limits

to

say

no

to

healthy

good

life

giving

relationship

with

God

to

try

and

build

the

foundation

for

our

life

and

our

joy

on

something

that

is

small

and

temporary

and

doesn't

last

is

the

path

of

defeat

and

disaster

and

so we

need

to

know

our

enemy

because

he

would

tell

us

otherwise

but

as much

as we

must

know

our

enemy

we

must

also

know

the

path

to

victory

you know

so we've

read about

Satan's

strategy

that Jesus

has

delivered

to us

here

but we

also need

to know

about

God's

battle

plan

and about

God's

victory

and so we

need to

know

the

wonderful

truth

of

Revelation

13

and

verse

8

there

are

people

who

don't

worship

the

beast

there

are

people

who

do

enjoy

life

with

God

those

whose

names

are

written

in the

Lamb's

book

of

life

the

Lamb

who

was

slain

from

the

creation

of

the

world

the

Lamb

who

was

slain

before

the

world

was

made

think

about

what

Jesus

is

telling

us

here

through

John

before

there

was

anything

there

was

God

Father

Son

and

Holy

Spirit

and

there

was

God's

plan

to

save

sinners

who

would

rebel

who

would

choose

to

reject

him

who

would

run

from

him

who

would

turn

to

worship

other

things

and

that

plan

would

involve

the

Father

sending

the

Son

to

come

and

die

on

a

cross

the

Lamb

who

was

slain

and

that

in

his

death

there

would

be

this

amazing

reversal

and

victory

so what

looked like

death

and shame

and humiliation

actually

becomes the

place where

Jesus is

lifted up

in glory

where his

victory

is known

where his

salvation

is

experienced

as he

is raised

on the

third

day

and so

the path

of victory

for us

is a

path

of

trusting

Jesus

and his

death

for our

sin

that

by grace

we would

have our

names

written in

the Lamb's

book of

life

and to

have our

names

there

is to

have

eternal

security

is to

be kept

safe

through

every

spiritual

battle

is to

understand

that as

Jesus has

won the

victory

so we

as his

people

share

that

victory

and so

we are

called

as we're

told in

verse 10

to

patient

endurance

and

faithfulness

trusting

Jesus

and his

promises

and living

by faith

that Satan

tries to

deceive

but Jesus

has come

and he's

come to

open blind

eyes

and there's

life

in him

and that

really takes

us to the

third

battlefield

report

which

remind us

that Jesus

King

Jesus

brings

redemption

so if

this was

live

reporting

if this

was

you know

if the

cameras

were rolling

and this

was being

portrayed

the guns

would now

be silent

the bombs

would no

longer be

falling

the troops

wouldn't be

charging

the fog

of war

would be

lifting

and clearing

and as we

look up

to the

hillside

we would

see a

king

standing

in victory

and we

would see

his troops

gathered

around him

and across

the battlefield

we would

hear a

great song

of victory

being sung

because chapter

14 is the

promise

after the

battle

that the

lamb

wins

that Jesus

has

the

eternal

victory

that the

outcome

is

never

in doubt

that the

lamb

who was

slain

in loving

sacrifice

now stands

on the

centre of

the throne

now stands

in the midst

of his

people

receiving

glory and

honour

because he's

saved

takes place

we're told

in verse 1

on Mount

Zion

Mount

Zion

is God's

hill

the place

of God's

presence

and glory

and it's

here that

the saviour

gathers his

people to

enjoy life

with him

the eternal

reality for

the church

is a life

of peace

in the

presence of

God

where God

is

where Jesus

is

God

those

who are

gathered

are the

144,000

who have

the name

and the

father's

name

written

on their

forehead

so remember

that 144,000

that symbolic

language

here is the

church in all

times and places

Old Testament

and New Testament

gathered together

to praise

Jesus

the redeemer

they have the

name of

Jesus

and the

father's

name

on their

foreheads

stamped as

belonging to

God

and the

redeemed

sing a new

song

because they've

experienced the

final act

of God's

salvation

the final

defeat of

Satan and

sin and

death

the beginning

of God's

eternal

kingdom

here on

earth

and so

there is joy

and there is

peace

for those who

follow

Jesus

the king

so as we

consider the

reality that we

are in

spiritual

battle

the thing

that Jesus

would say

to us

is this

keep

his

final

victory

in

view

when

people

today

are

caught

up

in

conflict

think

about

a

war

zone

there's

really

no way

to know

how that

will end

we don't

have the

ability to

see into

the future

but when

we open

a history

book

and we

read about

a war

from the

past

that's

different

isn't

it

because

we've

got the

full

story

we know

which

side

wins

Jesus

gift

to you

and to

me

today

is to

present

from the

standpoint

of

eternity

the

ultimate

outcome

of the

spiritual

battle

that takes

place

so that

if we're

here today

and life

as a

Christian

is hard

and we're

wondering

is it

worth it

where's it

all heading

perhaps

you're not

a Christian

and you're

thinking

well what

side

should I

choose

Jesus

invites

us

to

recognize

his

victory

is

sure

and

certain

and so

he says

to us

trust

me

my

battle

is won

you can

look back

to the

cross

to see

the certain

victory

established

and we're

invited to

look ahead

with hope

to his

return

when that

victory

is

secure

so that

when we

find

ourselves

in the

spiritual

battle

in the

fog

of war

when we're

being tempted

when we're

being opposed

maybe even

just when we're

being distracted

we look to

the king

on the hill

the king

who died

for us

on Mount

Calvary

the king

who stands

and reigns

for us

on Mount

Zion

because the

battle

is his

and the

battle is

won

and because

of that

the blessing

can be

ours

let's pray

together

briefly

哪裡