The Christmas Story for: Fantasy Lovers (or the dragon that wanted to eat the baby)

Father, we ask that your word written would enter deep into our hearts.

Father, you know even this morning,

Father, you know even this morning the problems we face.

You know, Father, the things that we face that seem insurmountable.

Father, you know those of us who are waking up in the middle of the night

and it just seems, Father, as if there are snakes and dragons

that are just eating us up and don't allow us to sleep.

And Father, you know the dark places in many of our lives.

And we thank and praise you, Father, that you know us perfectly and completely,

that you know us better than we know ourselves,

that, Father, you even know every dream we have at night

that we do not remember when we wake up.

And knowing us so perfectly, still you loved us and love us

and sent your Son to die upon the cross

to be our Savior and our Redeemer.

So, Father, you know us perfectly.

We invite you to pour out your Holy Spirit upon us this morning

in the point of our deepest need

and that you might, we ask that you might bring your word deep into our lives

so that we, Father, might be freed up to serve you and bring you glory

and to bear fruit for your great glory in our daily lives.

And this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Please be seated.

So, I grew up in a very conservative Baptist-type church

that regularly had prophecy conferences.

And I don't know if any of you have,

maybe there's still probably churches like this,

but at least once a year we would have a prophecy conference

and the visiting evangelist or whatever,

he would stand there and he would talk about

how these things going on in the world,

you know, if you go to Revelation chapter 18 verse 5,

Revelation 18:5

that's what's talked about here.

And go to Ezekiel and you go to Daniel

and it would be all these very elaborate things

that were going on in the world

and these elaborate interpretations

that were going on, you know, from the Bible.

And I have to confess,

and I don't mean to put anybody down here,

but I have to confess that I found it very confusing

as a child and as a teenager.

Part of the reason I found it so confusing

as a child and a teenager

was because when I read the verse,

it didn't seem to match up with what Russia was doing

or something like that.

And one of the consequences of this,

but I just sort of listened to it,

you know, I'd be a bit spellbound,

a bit skeptical,

but a bit overwhelmed by it.

I was also a bit curious

by the fact that books that people all seem to like,

that when they didn't happen the way they'd written,

that nobody would ever say,

I'm really sorry,

I guess I misunderstood the Bible.

And so it's all very confusing.

And one of the consequences of this for me

was that when I became ordained,

I was afraid to preach on the book of Revelation.

Because I'd just be honest with you,

I'd think, good grief,

there's no way I can try to figure out

all of this stuff

and sort of stand up to the congregation

and have my Bible in one hand,

so to speak,

and have the National Post

and the Citizen in the other hand

and be able to say,

you see this part over here

and then you close it

and then you say,

that's what this piece here is.

And I was just too,

I just didn't think I could do it.

And then about four or five years ago,

I don't want to sound overly mystical,

but it was as if God gave me a bit of a smack down

and said you have to start facing

some of your fears in preaching.

Those of you who go to churches,

every one of your clergy

have things they're afraid to speak about.

And if they tell you they don't,

they're probably not telling you the truth.

And so one of the things that you can do

as a gift to your pastor

is that pray that they will have courage

to confront their fears in preaching.

And so I realized

that it was God sort of saying,

George, you have to deal with

some of your fears of preaching.

So in fact, to be honest,

some of the books in the Bible,

I knew instantly

some of the things

that I was afraid to preach on.

I was afraid to preach on Ecclesiastes

because it just seemed

like on one hand I really liked it,

but I'm prone to depression, you know,

because it's like everything's bad,

everything's going to get worse,

and you're going to die.

Like that's the sort of book.

Like John Maxwell doesn't write books

on happy thoughts from Ecclesiastes for leaders,

although he should.

It would really probably help leaders

if they spent more time in Ecclesiastes.

And I realized I was afraid to preach on

1 and 2 Timothy

because I'd have to talk about

the ordination of women,

and I was afraid that I would

lose people over that.

And one of the other books

that I was afraid to preach on

was the book of Revelation.

And so I've preached through Ecclesiastes,

and I've preached through 1 and 2 Timothy,

and I've preached through Revelation.

And a big surprise to me

when I finally started to preach

through the book of Revelation

is that in the center of the book

of Revelation,

I found out that there was

a Christmas story.

And I discovered this in March,

which is when I preached it.

But to my great surprise,

I discovered that there is

a Christmas story.

And so in fact,

here's the title for the Christmas story.

Andrew, if you could put it up.

The Baby That the Dragon Wanted to Eat.

I don't know why

there's not storybooks about this.

You know, just think of all the dialogue.

You could have the dragon saying,

I hate that baby,

but my, it looks tasty.

And, sorry, I'm not allowed to say that.

Did I just say that?

I'll be on the tape, right?

You know, there's all these things

you could play with,

but it's actually,

there's a story in the Bible,

in the book of Revelation,

and you really should call it

The Baby That the Dragon Wanted to Eat.

And, you know,

maybe some of you folks

that are gifted in art,

like, here's a children's book

that nobody's exploited.

And maybe the dance troupe,

after hearing this sermon,

will say,

next year,

our Christmas ballet

will be about the baby

that the dragon wanted to eat.

They could have, you know,

the larger girls,

all linking arms,

and the tiniest little girl.

In fact, maybe they could bring in

a little two-year-old

to cower while they danced over her

and imitated trying to eat her.

And, I mean,

there's all sorts of potential.

But there actually is,

in the book of Revelation,

a Christmas story,

and it really is about a dragon

that wants to eat a baby.

Now, before I read this,

some of you are going to say,

whoa, George.

Before you even say that,

you might say to your wife

or your friend, Martha,

I knew we shouldn't come

to an Anglican church.

They're just going to ruin

the Bible for people.

They're completely disrespectful

to the Bible.

I knew we shouldn't come here.

Everybody knows

that the book of Revelation

is primarily about the way

they talk about it

at prophecy conferences.

But here's the thing.

I'm not going to prove it to you.

If you want,

you can go through my sermon archives

and hear my first sermon

on the book of Revelation

and some little videos about it.

But here's the thing

I discovered

about the book of Revelation.

If you could put up

the next point, Andrew,

that would be great.

Revelation is a book

about Jesus,

who he is,

what he has done,

is doing,

and will do.

That's what Revelation 1

tells you,

amongst other things,

that the book of Revelation

is actually a book

about Jesus.

And it talks about

who he is,

what he has done,

what he is doing today,

and what he will do.

So in other words,

people who do talk

about Jesus coming back,

I'm not,

I,

listen folks,

I'll stand before you

right now,

and I have absolutely

no embarrassment

or shame about it.

Jesus really lived,

he really existed,

he really died on the cross,

he really entered into death

and tasted everything

there is to taste of death

with nothing left over,

and on the third day

he really did

rise from the dead,

he wasn't resuscitated,

he defeated death,

he defeated that

which causes death,

which is sin,

he defeated every hostile

spiritual power,

he defeated hell itself,

he stands triumphant

on the other side of death,

he rose to heaven,

and he will come back again,

and I have no hesitation

about saying that,

that's what the Bible teaches.

And we should know

the blessed hope

that God is sovereign

over our world,

and that Jesus will return,

and he will bring

all things to their proper end,

and their proper conclusion,

and then he will judge

the living and the dead,

and then there will be

a new heaven

and a new earth,

where those who have put

their faith and trust in Jesus

will live forever with him.

That is the blessed

Christian hope.

And so for people

who talk about things

at the end of the world,

I'm not disagreeing

with them at all.

What I am saying

is that the book of Revelation,

if you read it,

knowing that it's a book

about Jesus,

about who he is,

what he has done,

which is why it can have

a Christmas story in it,

why it can talk about

the crucifixion,

what he is doing

and will do,

that's why the book

of Revelation,

all the way through,

at the beginning and the end,

it says you've got to keep

the words of this book.

You can't keep words

that are only talking

about the future,

but you can keep the words

if it's talking about Jesus,

helping you to remember

and understand

what he did in the past,

what he's doing around you today

and what he's going to do

in the future.

So that's what the book

of Revelation is all about.

So let's just read the story

and so if you have your Bibles,

it's Revelation chapter 12

Revelation 12:1–6

verses 1 to 6.

If you don't have your Bibles,

there's a couple of extra Bibles

over there

and I think maybe Neil

can get you some extra Bibles

and you're welcome

to follow along.

Revelation 12, 1 to 6.

Here's the Christmas story

or the baby

that the dragon wanted to eat

and it goes like this.

I'm going to read it through

and then we'll sort of

just sort of process it

and camp there for a while

and try to sort of puzzle over it

because it's a bit of a,

well, you'll hear.

Revelation 12, 1 to 6.

And a great sign

appeared in heaven,

a woman clothed with the sun,

with the moon under her feet

and on her head

a crown of 12 stars.

She was pregnant and crying.

She was crying out in birth pains

and the agony of giving birth.

And another sign appeared in heaven.

Behold, a great red dragon

with seven heads and ten horns

and on his heads seven diadems.

His tail swept down

a third of the stars of heaven

and cast them to the earth.

And the dragon stood before the woman

who was about to give birth

so that when she bore her child,

he might devour it.

She gave birth to a male child,

one who was to rule all the nations

with a rod of iron.

But her child was caught up to God

and to his throne.

And the woman fled into the wilderness

where she has a place prepared by God

in which she is to be nourished

for 1,260 days.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

So some of you are going to say,

whoa, okay, George,

that's really crazy.

That's a crazy story.

And, you know, frankly, George,

it bothers me that God

would speak in these ways.

Like, why can't God

just get to the point?

Like, why can't he just speak plainly?

Like, you know, I can sort of see why

George, you were afraid

of preaching about this

because, you know, frankly,

like Luke, you know,

the baby in the stable

and the shepherds

and the three wise men.

Some of those things

didn't actually happen in the Bible.

But, you know,

that's a very comforting type of story.

Like, why doesn't,

like, why does,

like, this just can't even be in the Bible.

It's just sort of,

it's all crazy imagery,

like dragons and just,

why on earth,

why can't God just speak plainly?

Just like a plain,

why can't he be as clear

and plain as a bank machine?

You know, press this button

and this button

and just nice and simple and clear.

Well, here's the thing.

Andrew, if you could put up the point.

The true and living God

truly speaks

and he is not stuck

on one genre.

The true and living God

truly speaks

and he is not stuck

on one genre.

So, you know,

here's the thing.

If you were to say,

you know,

why can't God be,

like, a bit clearer

and like,

and simple

and stuff like that?

Well, that sort of works for you.

But, you know,

frankly,

we got to get over ourselves.

You know,

I don't want to depress you,

but you're not the center

of the universe.

And God doesn't have to organize

all of his communication,

every word he says,

just to please you.

Like,

why would God

have to do that for you?

But, you see,

here's the thing is

that God understands

that people hear

in different ways.

That's why,

if you look in the Bible,

there's like laws.

Because some people,

they start to understand laws.

I know a person,

this is true,

and she was a lawyer.

She came to faith

by hearing Jim Packer

speak a sermon

on the book of Leviticus

about laws.

But that shouldn't be

a surprise.

She's a lawyer.

And all of a sudden,

she said,

all these things

in her head clicked,

you know?

And some of you

are more philosophically inclined,

and so, you know,

you like things like

the book of Romans.

And some of you

are more mystically inclined,

and so you like 1 John.

And some of you

like talking in riddles,

so you like the book of Proverbs,

or you like, you know,

you like the book of James.

And some people like

just simple narrative stories,

so there's things

in the Old Testament,

the Gospels,

and you really like them.

And that's fine.

And some people,

you know,

walking to London

doesn't do anything.

They sort of go,

snore.

Snore.

But one foot up,

one foot down,

that's the way

to London town.

They go,

whoa,

better rhythm.

Some imagery.

That sounds better

than I walked to London.

One foot up,

one foot down,

that's the way

to London town.

And for some people,

they don't want

to come out

and say it,

but frankly,

pastoral scenes

from the book of Luke

with shepherds

and, you know,

the baby,

and they don't want

to tell their friends

that they find it

a bit boring.

But then you say,

there be dragons.

And some people,

their ears

and eyes light up.

There be dragons?

Yes,

and angels

in battle.

And dragons

that are real dragons

like smog,

not like

I want to train

a dragon cartoons.

Big,

scary,

hulking dragons

that eat

people.

and all of a sudden,

they get interested

and they get excited.

And that's the fact

the matter is,

is that we got

to get over ourselves,

is that God's really,

I believe that

the true and living God

truly speaks,

but he's not stuck

on one genre.

And so for those

who,

there be dragons,

wake up.

Revelation 12,

1 to 6,

is your version

of the Christmas story

that helps you

to see

the dark

side

of the whole

story

of the book

of the birth

of Jesus.

I mean,

if you think about it

for a second,

if you,

like lots of people

read Matthew 1,

but very,

very few churches

spend very much time

on Matthew 2

because it's a little

bit awkward

preaching about

the slaughter

of the innocents.

It's like when you

preach the Psalms

and you stop

at the,

a little bit

towards before

the end of Psalm

137

because smashing

the heads of babies,

it's just a little bit,

well, frankly,

not very devotional

and uplifting

and we want to try

to lift people up.

But,

the slaughter

of the innocents

after the birth

of Jesus,

as soon as the powers

find that the baby

is born,

they want to kill

the baby

and every baby

just to make sure

they got that baby.

And as soon as Jesus

begins his public ministry,

the first thing

that happens

is he's tempted

by the devil

in the wilderness.

And Judas,

Satan enters

into Judas

to betray Jesus

so that Jesus

will die upon the cross.

And Pilate

and the others,

they know,

God speaks to Pilate

in a dream,

but Pilate

is going to,

he's going to allow

Jesus to be,

die a horrible death

and there is

in fact evil

in the midst

of this story

of the birth

of the baby

in Bethlehem

and John

in his book

of Revelation

is our God.

And for some people

who think in images,

this is the other

thing about it,

the way for them

to understand

this baby

and maybe to understand

the birth of this baby

and maybe start

to begin to understand

their life

is to picture

some people

would have been

shorter back then.

And I think

the average lifespan

for commoners

like Mary and Joseph

would have been 30.

And so picture

some young woman

about this tall

and very slight

because people

would have been

very skinny back then

and by our standards,

this tall

and slight

and maybe just 14

and heavy

with child.

And there is,

even a two-year-old

is more nimble

and better able

to protect themselves

than a heavily

pregnant woman

going into labor.

Two-year-old

can scamper

under the bed

to hide.

You're like this

with child

in labor pains.

You're not going to

scamper under any bed.

And picture the woman

heavy with child

going into labor

and smog

the dragon,

if you've seen

the hobbit,

standing in front

towering

over

the tiny little girl

with his mouth open,

their mouths open

because there's

seven heads

and they're snapping

at each other

because every head

wants to eat the baby.

And yet that dragon

is defeated by God.

For some of us

we think in images.

Some of us

in the beginning

was the Word

and the Word

was with God

and the Word

was God.

He was in the beginning

with God.

All things were made

through him

and without him

nothing was made

that was made.

That lights our fire.

For others

the image,

the visible,

visceral image

is what gets us

through life.

And this story

is for you

and for me.

So let's look

at this story.

The power

of the image.

Let's look

at verse 1 and 2.

And it begins again

with the young woman.

And it goes like this.

And a great sign

appeared in heaven.

A woman

clothed with the sun

with the moon

under her feet

and on her head

a crown of 12 stars.

Just pause there

for a second.

One of the things

I discovered

when I actually

overcame my fear.

I trusted God

that I could preach

through the book

of Revelation.

Is there is no book

in the New Testament

that is more saturated

with the Old Testament.

Some of you

have read scholars

like Elaine Pagels.

She's all wrong.

She's all wrong.

I mean,

I think John

played with pagan imagery.

I mean,

he wasn't an idiot

and he would have been

surrounded by images

from Rome

and Greek images

and fearsome gods

and goddesses

but to understand him

you have to understand

that his mind,

that God uses a mind

that is completely

and utterly saturated

with the Old,

what we call

the Old Testament.

And that one of the problems

when we read

the book of Revelation

is that all the way

through it

he's taking a part

of a verse from Isaiah

and a part of a verse

from this

and a part of a verse

from that

and a part of a verse

from here

and a part of a verse

from that

and he takes these

little bits and pieces

of verses

scattered all throughout

the Old Testament

and it's as if God

as the Holy Spirit

comes upon him

he takes them all

and he puts them

in his hand

and he sort of does

like this

like a conjurer

he throws it up

and out of it

comes a woman

with the crown

and dragons

and all of that

and it's scattered

from when we talked

about the dragon

he's talking about

images from a whole

pile of different psalms

and he's talking

about the book of Job

and he's talking

about Daniel

he's talking about Ezekiel

and he's taking

all of these little bits

and pieces

of verses

and whoa

there's a dragon

and when you read

and hear this

there was

verse 1

and a great sign

appeared in heaven

a woman clothed

with the sun

with the moon

under her feet

and on her head

a crown of 12 stars

the first thing

you think of

is Genesis 37

and then there's

a whole pile

of other imagery

which has mingled

in with this

the woman

is Israel

the woman

is the Jewish people

that's who

the woman is

it's not all

going to be

a one-on-one

correspondence

and in fact

as we're going

to see

the image

of the woman

here is going

to be one

of those images

that John

like a poet

he takes the image

and he keeps the image

but in every time

the image

is reintroduced

he changes the focus

just a little bit

he turns it slightly

to give something

very multifaceted

and very powerful

but if you read

Genesis 37

and you launch off

take a good commentary

the woman

is Israel

how odd of God

to choose the Jews

you read the Old Testament

he didn't choose

the greatest people

the strongest people

the wisest people

when he called

Abraham

he called a man

who worshipped

the moon

he called a man

who worshipped

the moon

and God

right from

Genesis chapter 3

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

has promised

that through

his people

a people

that he calls

out by his

great power

for his great glory

that out of this

one people

on the whole planet

a Messiah

will come

and so the woman

is Israel

verse 2

and she was pregnant

and was crying out

in birth pains

and the agony

of giving birth

now the images

of a woman

in pain

and giving birth

longing for the Messiah

to come

and now the fearsome

image

of the dragon

verse 3

and another sign

appeared in heaven

behold

a great

red

dragon

with 7 heads

and 10 horns

and on his heads

7 diadems

as I said

John has taken

bits and pieces

of Daniel

Ezekiel

Job

Isaiah

and a whole

parts of Isaiah

and a whole

pile of songs

taken bits and pieces

and fragments

of verses

and he wants

his Christian readers

and his Jewish readers

who would become

Christians

to see

and have a sense

about how he's

taken all of these

bits and pieces

of verses

and he's put them

together

in this powerful story

I mean not him

by his creativity

because it's God

the Holy Spirit

that's speaking

through John

and causing this

to be written

and the hope

is that

as you start

oh gosh

that's Genesis 3

and that's that

part of Isaiah

and that's that

part of Daniel 7

and that's that

part of Job

and then you see

the story

so that when you

go back and read

Genesis and Job

and Isaiah

and the Psalms

and Daniel

you don't just

it's like a powerful

conjurer

that the images

help you to understand

Revelation 12

and then Revelation 12

you go back

and you help you

to understand the Bible

in a whole fresh

new way

all these passages

as you read them

in your devotions

you're coming along

and whoa

Revelation 12

that's an image

that's connected

to that

and this isn't

just like a tiny

little dragon

if you have seen

the movie

the Hobbit movies

think of smog

that's what John

wants you to think of

only smog

with seven heads

towering

over this

and then in verse 4

his tail swept down

a third of the stars

of heaven

and cast them

to the earth

and the dragon

stood before the woman

who was about to give birth

so that when she

bore her child

he might

devour

it

and if

if John

is going back

to Israel

talking about the woman

here he's going back

to Isaiah 14

and other parts

in the Old Testament

and he's describing

the dragon

as the devil

and he's describing

Lucifer's fall

from heaven

and taking a third

of the angels

with him

because in the book

of Revelation

generally stars

refer to angels

so Mary is ancient

he is now

pointing to something

primordial

before Genesis 3

the fall of Lucifer

and one third

of the angels

leaving heaven

in rebellion

against God

and becoming

what we now know

of as demons

and the prince

of the demons

is the dragon

standing

over

Israel

about to give birth

to

this

baby

and it's

just before we get

anything

any further

in this

here's the thing

some of you

are saying

George

that's

you can't

really believe

that the devil

is real

like you're just

talking about

psychological processes

no no no no

and if you could

put up the next

point

even though

John is using

very very powerful

poetic imagery

he wants us

to understand

that the devil

is real

and he is evil

and he affects

real things

but he is

really

and truly

doomed

even though

John is using

this

fanciful imagery

if we walk

away from this

thinking that

they're just

metaphors

and stories

of inner struggle

against temptation

or that it's

like in the

Soviet Union

when poets

talked about

and playwrights

talked about

communism

and used

a veiled language

and that John

is talking about

imperial power

if you walk

away from that

you haven't

heard

John believes

and knows

that the dragon

is real

the devil

is real

and he is

evil

and he affects

real things

but he is

really and

truly doomed

and the other

thing Andrew

if you could

put up the

next point

is that the

dragon hates

all earthly

and heavenly

life

the devil

hates

all earthly

and heavenly

life

that's what

he wants us

to understand

go back

in your devotions

and read

Ephesians 6

and the fact

of the matter

is that for

many of us

who are in

the Christian

church

we're like

a drunk

falling off

a horse

first we try

to get on

the horse

and we fall

off on one

side

and then we

try to get

on the horse

and we fall

off the other

side

and the

Christians

habitually

we either

end up

acting as if

we're rationalists

and empiricists

as if all

there is

are things

that you can

count and

touch and

think through

and manipulate

with your

power

and we

completely

and utterly

act as if

God is

distant

and demons

don't exist

and there are

no angels

and prayer

doesn't work

and then in

reaction to that

like a drunk

falling off a

horse

all of a sudden

Christians

start to act

like pagans

and they

see everything

is filled

with demons

there's demons

everywhere

they can't

even take a

step on the

sidewalk

without seeing

a demon

and everything

is caused

by a demon

and we become

just like pagans

who think that

there's a God

or a God

in every living

type of thing

and then in

reaction to that

like a drunk

getting on a

horse we fall

off the other

side and we

become like

rationalists

and empiricists

and the Bible

believes in

reason

and believes

in evidence

and the Bible

believes in

minds and

thinking

but the Bible

also teaches

that there are

devils

and there are

demons

and to ignore

them is to

live an

impractical

life

because if in

fact there are

demons

then to deal

with them

is practical

and to ignore

them is foolish

and impractical

and so the

point of the

image is to

clarify to us

that there is

evil

intelligences

which affect

things and

make a difference

and we're not

to brood about

them and not

to live in fear

of them because

they're doomed

but we are to

deal with them

when we become

aware of the

fact that they

are there

just as a

bit of an

aside

during the

first thing I

do during the

song set

if you see me

praying

is I

I pray that

God will bind

the demons

that are present

I don't do a

worship service

without praying

that

please pray that

too

you should do

it in your

small groups

you should do

it with your

youth groups

not necessarily

out loud but

just privately

the devil never

misses church

and he never

misses a bible

study

so deal with

it

and then use

your mind and

all to try to

understand the

word but pray

that the demons

are bound and

cast out and

that Jesus be

present and that

the Holy Spirit

fall and that

God would be

honored and that

he will be

glorified and that

people will be

freed and that

they will be

delivered and that

the word will

bear fruit in

our lives

pray like that

because God is

not dead and he

is not distant

he hears

he listens

and he can act

and Jesus has

defeated the

dragon

have I gotten a

little bit ahead of

the story

sorry

where am I in my

notes

look back to

verse 4 again

or 5

sorry now we're

up to 5

she gave birth to

a male child

one who was to

rule all the

nations with a

rod of iron

but her child was

caught up to God

and to his throne

and the woman

fled into the

wilderness where

she has a place

prepared by God

in which she is

to be nourished

for three and a

half years

1260 days

now go back to

5

remember I told

you that

see I have to

confess that

I'm a

like my

personal favorite

I mean I can

handle philosophical

types of things

I have to say

I like things like

John in the

beginning was the

word and the

word was with

God and the

word was God

he was with God

in the beginning

all things were

made through him

and without him

nothing was made

that was made

I like things

like that but I

love stories

fundamentally

that's what I

enjoy and I

love finding a

really good novel

that I can just

get immersed in

and I can be

one of those

people that stays

up an hour or

two after their

bedtime because they

get gripped by a

narrative or a

story like a

story but in

Apocalypse

in John you

have to read it

slowly and what

happens here with

the image if you

think about it the

image is originally

that of the woman

of Israel and

Israel is going to

give birth to the

Messiah but a

nation can't do

that so John

takes the image and

twists it just

slightly I don't

know how many of

you have seen the

movie the series

Band of Brothers

this isn't a

spoiler alert I

don't think but in

the Band of

Brothers at the

very towards the

very very end of

the movie the

surviving soldiers

they're doing an

activity because I

don't want to spoil

the end if you

haven't seen it but

all of a sudden it's

a very moving thing

that happens you see

the actors you know

doing whatever they're

doing and all of a

sudden it focuses on

each actor at a time

and it's a surprise

the first time then

you're prepared for it

and the actor's face

changes and you see

the soldier whose

life they told he

lives today it's very

movie actually the

same face and all

of a sudden it's a

different face and

it's the real person

and so what John

does here in this

in this part with

the woman is a

nation on one

hand can't give

birth to a child a

woman gives birth to

a child and so all

of a sudden here in

verse 5 it's Mary

it's Matthew 1

it's Luke 2

Luke 1 and 2

it's Mary

faithful Israel

has come down to

this one young

Jewish girl

who does what God

has wished that his

chosen people would

always do

that when she is

asked to do

something that will

bring salvation to

the human race

and bring God

great glory

she says

be it unto me

according to

your will

the cry that God

desires

his faithful

people

to call out

to him

is voiced

by a young

Jewish girl

in the corner

of the Roman

Empire

and from

her

the long

promised

Jewish

Messiah

who is

the Savior

not only

of the

Jewish

people

but of

the whole

world

is born

and here

in verse 5

God

through John

puts together

the entire

story of Jesus

in these few

words

and the point

of the story

is that

here's the

here's smog

with seven

heads

and he's

bigger than

this building

if he was

here

the only way

he could

enter into

this building

is by

smashing

the roof

and smashing

the walls

and there's

this slight

Jewish woman

here

and she's

heavy with

birth

and she's

giving birth

to this

child

and the

seven heads

are over

this young

woman

now lying

down

and the

heads

are snapping

at each

other

because each

wants to be

the one

to eat

the baby

and the

baby

that's born

Psalm 2

it's all

of the

prophecies

of the

Messiah

the one

who will

rule

the nations

and more

than rule

the nations

because he

will be

the one

who saves

the people

from every

nation

and every

people group

and the

baby

is

and all

of a

sudden

it's

speeded

up

that's the

way

John

writes it

it's

speeded

up

he's

going

to be

born

he's

going

to live

he's

going

to have

his

public

ministry

he's

going

to perform

miracles

he's

going

to teach

brilliant

things

he's

going

to die

upon

the

cross

he's

going

to

taste

all

there

is

to

taste

of

death

he's

going

to rise

triumphant

on the

third

day

he's

going

to prove

that he

is

alive

to his

disciples

he's

going

to

ascend

into

heaven

it's

all

in

one

big

thing

and

Smog

the

dragon

is

confounded

he doesn't

eat the

baby

the baby

is with

the

father

and he

will

return

and with

the

dragon's

inability

to

defeat

a

small

pregnant

woman

and a

small

tiny

baby

the

dragon

is

doomed

the

dragon

is

doomed

and

then we

show up

in the

story

did you

know

that we

show up

in the

story

John

in

particular

in the

book of

revelation

has us

now show

up in

the

story

look at

verse

six

and the

woman

fled

into

the

wilderness

where

she

has

a

place

prepared

by

God

in

which

she

is

to

be

nourished

for

1260

days

remember

I said

how

John

takes

this

image

of

the

woman

and the

woman

is

Israel

Genesis

37

and a

whole

pile

of

other

imagery

and then

it's

not

just

Israel

in

general

as an

abstraction

it comes

down

to one

young

woman

the same

woman

and now

we see

God's

faithful

people

but

God's

faithful

people

are

changed

Andrew

if you

could

put up

the next

point

the next

woman

we

followers

of

Jesus

are

remnant

Israel

and

grafted

in

pagans

I'm not

doing

replacement

theology

here

folks

but

just

work

with

me

with

my

points

okay

that's

who

this

new

woman

is

God's

faithful

people

and

God's

faithful

people

are

Jewish

believers

in our

midst