Date: August 10th, 2008
Speaker: Kevin Snyder
Title: The Last Word on the Spiritual Battle
Series: Revelation
Introduction
Revelation makes it clear that we are in a war. And in Rev. 12 - 14 we see our 3 dominant enemies. They are an unholy trinity made up of
- Dragon
- Beast of the Sea
- Beast of the earth
They are ugly, powerful and purely evil.
Let’s look at these 3 enemies:
A. Dragon
We are taken behind the scenes to get a view of the spiritual war and how the dragon has operated in salvation history.
Let’s read it and identify the characters:
A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.6 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
Character #1: A Radiant Woman
- She has the semblance of royalty and significance.
- She represents the people of God, ((Gal 4:26 – Israel referred to as mother). It is out of Israel that Christ is born.
- She is pregnant and about to give birth to a boy.
Character # 2: Male-child
- v.5 – will rule the nations with an iron rod
- -caught up to God
- Who?
- Boy = Jesus
- John doesn’t give details of life & ministry, crucifixion , but fast forwards for the purpose of his story to the ascension.
Character #3 = Dragon
- v. 9 identifies this dragon as the Devil, Satan, the Deceiver, and Accuser
- Ugly - 7 heads & 10 horns, 7 crowns on his heads
Commentator:
Rome built on 7 hills, has 10 provinces ; has 7 kings as referred to later in Rev.
- Tail – dragged down a1/3 of the stars
- References Jewish tradition whereby Satan was believed to have taken 1/3 of the angels with him in his rebellion against God
- Cruel & purely evil – stands before woman with sole desire to destroy her child when he is born.
John 8:44 says:
44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies
The attempts to kill Jesus happened as soon as he was born
- Herod tried to kill Jesus in killing all the babies of Bethlehem.
- At the cross again seeking to destroy the Christ.
Character #4 – Michael & the angels
- This attempt to destroy the Christ-child is also an assault on heaven.
- Both attempts are fruitless. He fails to do away with the son, the woman, and is also defeated in heaven.
- There is a turning point in history here. It speaks of the victory of Christ at the cross and resurrection. As Jesus said to his disciples “I saw Satan fall like lightning.” Song from v. 10 12 describes the victory of Christ and his overcoming.
And the dragon refocuses his battle.
- First, It was against Christ
- It was against heaven
3. When those failed, he turns his fury at the church and at Christians.
v.17 - Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
You & I have target on our backs. Satan is out to get you.
There is a spiritual battle going on for your soul.
But that is not the only enemy we have.
John introduces 2 more:
B. Beast of the Sea
Revelation 13
And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
The Beast out of the Sea
And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?”
The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
He who has an ear, let him hear.
If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword he will be killed.
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.
Biblical Correlation: Daniel 7
Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
“The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.
“And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’
“After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
“After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ‘The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth. But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’
Characteristics:
- Likened to political kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece, & Rome….fact 4 animals tied into one symbolizes a perhaps a more general characteristic
- Has power and force
- Given authority by the dragon
- Speaks blasphemies
- Recovers miraculously from injury
Often we ask: “WHO is this beast?”
- Over the centuries many have speculated:
- Roman emperor ( declared themselves divine, demanded emperor worship, and called themselves “Lord”)
- Others have a more modern perspective: Leader of a European Federation, Russia, UN, One world government,
- But perhaps the question is not so much “Who?” but “What?”
The what is clear = political power
- Has the power to persecute.
- Throughout history we have seen political powers be the vehicle for Satan’s destructive onslaught.
- Biblical – Herod – destroy babies
- Pilate – crucify Christ
- Nero – blamed Cns for fire in Rome and persecuted them
- Domitian – persecuted them even more severely
- Communist Russia – Cns were persecuted, imprisoned and killed
- China today –
- Sudan – government has been attacking Cns
- In fact, according to Voice of the Martyrs” there are more Cns being persecuted and killed for their faith than any other time in history.
And so, one of the enemies Cns face around the world is not only spiritual attack, but political persecution. They suffer at the hands of governments.
C. Enemy # 3 : Beast of the Earth
Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.
Again this beast has similarities and connection to the dragon.
- This beasts power is primarily not force but deception. It has the power to deceive.
- It’s aim is seduce people to support and affirm the state, not to act as its conscience. The vehicle of seduction is primarily that of religion. This is a religious figure – it does miraculous things, it sets up statues of the first beast to be worshipped. Adherence has social benefit, and disloyalty has social and economic costs.
And again the major focus of many writers is:
“Who is this beast? Who is it that has the mark – 666?”
Again we have a symbolic number. A coded number. And probably no verse in Revelation gets more attention than this one. And many have speculated as to who it is:
In my quick study here is a few:
- Nero, - numeric equivalent
- Domitian
- Pope
- Gorbachev
- Hitler
- Some person yet to come
I’m not sure who it is. But again for our purposes let us not so much focus on identifying the “who” , but the what.
What is the 2nd beast?
= religion
Wages war not through persecution as much as through seduction.
I find it interesting. 3 beasts, 3 –“6’s”. This evil and unholy trinity falls short. It is not 777, but 666. It is the trinity of imperfection and failure.
This beast can represent religion that ….
A. Crawls into bed with the state
- 2nd world war there was a whole segment of the church who supported Hitler’s ideas. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the pastors who refused to sign on and was later imprisoned for his opposition.
- In China there is an officially authorized church but its pastors are trained by the state, and its beliefs and activities are controlled by the state. It is a vehicle of the state.
- One of my concerns in the U.S. is the evangelical church’s involvement in politics. We put a flag at the front. We like Bush’s domestic moral policy of fighting abortion, and turn a blind eye to his cutting of spending on social programs that help the poor or on it’s foreign policy. Some people in the US would be mad for me even saying those things because it is critical of a “Christian” president.
- In Canada, we as Christians seem to be as singularly focused on our governments economic policy that we don’t even raise the question as to their justice issues. If they put more dollars in my pocket and keep the economy moving that’s all that matters. And we can be so right wing economically that we don’t even challenge our government on social or justice issues.
And so the danger of seduction is…
that the church loses it’s power as the conscience of the state and crawls into bed with it. We become aligned politically as a church with a certain political ideology.
The church was never called to be an arm of the state. It is to be the conscience of the state and also promote the values without which a state can’t run.
b. Acquiesces to the intimidation of the state
For the New Testament Christians they were told: “Will you declare “Ceaser is Lord.”
They said “No” The basic creed of the church is “Jesus is Lord.”
Because they wouldn’t offer this emperor worship they were accused of promoting insurrection, treasonist. They were cut out of the trade guilds, unable to buy and sell, to hold employment. They were imprisoned and persecuted because of their refusal to declare Caesar as Lord. They were seen as “intolerant’ because they wouldn’t acknowledge the variety of Roman gods but declared God alone.(Sound familiar?)
Today:
What would we do if the government said we would lose our charitable status unless we approve and practise the marrying of same-sex couples, and required that churches be open to ordaining practising homosexuals as pastors?
- What would we do?
- Would we be intimidated and acquiesce?
Would you give the same even if you didn’t get a tax receipt ?
Basic issue:
Would we compromise our beliefs and values in order to have friendly relations with the government and society?
And so we can face the seduction that comes from intimidation.
c. Religion that sells out to values of the day
This is the biggest enemy we face in North America. And to be honest we are losing this war.
i.e.
Pierre Berton in the 60’s wrote a book called “The Comfortable Pew”. In that book he stated: “In terms of morality and values, the church is not different than society, just 15 – 20 years behind.”
Is that true?
We would like to say no but….
- Have we softened the standards of Scripture to make the church more attractive….more comfortable…more accommodating…more “seeker-friendly”?
Are we guilty of reducing the claims of the gospel to a bland, milquetoasts,culturally acceptable gospel?
Church, our theme this year is “Shaped By God’s Heart”
Why did we choose that?
Because in North America we aren’t doing very good on that front. We are being shaped all too much by our culture and society. Often our goals, ambitions, lifestyles, reflect more of our society than they do of Christ.
Friends, let me put it blunt
- If the mark 777 reflects a heart shaped by God’s heart,
- And 666 reflects a heart shaped by our culture….
- What mark would our community put on us as East Siders?
Summary
Friends, the battle of the Christians is on 3 fronts:
- We wage war against the dragon who seeks to rob us of faith, oppress us spiritually, and take us captive to all kinds of vices and addictions
- We wage war at times against the beast of the sea who seeks to get us to compromise, to give up, through persecution
- And we wage war against the beast of the earth who seeks to seduce us to support and buy into the values and political leaders of the day.
How do we battle these Enemies?
A. Dragon
v. 11 – “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
We declare Jesus defeated Satan at the cross.
In 1 John 3:8 we read “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy (“render powerless”) the devil’s work.”
We are called to have faith in the victorious work of Christ on the cross. We are called to believe that Jesus blood covered my sin, that he broke the bondage of sin and the law, that he broke the chains that kept us captive to sin and the devil. Because of his blood accepted and applied personally Satan’s accusations have no weight.
And so much of our journey to spiritual victory from spiritual defeat comes in a growing faith in the victory of Christ. It was because of their overwhelming faith, even to the point of giving up their lives, that these Christians defeated the terrible dragon. He was toothless.
Question
- Do you trust Christ’s blood was sufficient to forgive your past ? Period!
- Do you trust Christ’s power is sufficient to free you from bondage to sins, habits, addictions?
- Do you trust Christ enough that you woulsd be willing to stake your life on it?
That is the victory of faith. We place all our trust not in our efforts, not in ourselves but in the power of Christ’s blood on that cross to render the dragon powerless and enable us to be victorious.
B. Beast of the Sea
How do we overcome persecution?
13:9 –“This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.”
John reminds us that we don’t defeat persecution by resorting to violence and the power of this world. But rather we trust that love will overcome hate, non-violence will stop the cycle of violence, that holding to our convictions even to the point of death will arrest people with something real. I mean there are so many testimonies of oppressors coming to Christ because they could not get away from the voice of God’s spirit seeing the conviction and faith of people.
i.e.
Paul on road to Damascus – did the martyrdom of Stephen stick in his conscience?
C Beast of the Earth
How do we overcome seduction?
13:18 gives us one truth
“This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast…”
It calls for wisdom and discernment.
We need to be discerning. We need to be watchful.
D. General Keys to Overcoming (ch 14 )
1. Keep your Eyes Focused on the Reward
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
One of the things that can keep us in the battle is seeing the end, and the reward for the faithful. Satan tries to get us to lose sight of that. He tries to make us think, “Is it worth it?” He focuses our eyes on the pain and problems now.
Apply
That’s the value of worship. That’s the value of making it a regular habit to attend worship frequently and regularly. It gives you a moment of transcendence. A glimpse into the realm of the eternal.
Worship helps us by experiencing the authentic to distinguish and reject the inauthentic.
Bank – train tellers to distinguish counterfeit – spent the whole time working with the authentic. Talking about the paper, the ink, the intricate designs, the water spots, the texture, the pictures, the signatures etc. Philosophy: If they knew the real inside out they would easily be able to distinguish the counterfeit.
Friends, the longer we go, not engaging Christ in worship, not engaging him in his Word, the more susceptible we are to being deceived and seduced by the inauthentic.
2. We need the Word of God
Rev. 14: 6 – 13 goes on to describe 3 angels who go out proclaiming the Word of God. Each has a different nuance to their message.
- The first angel gives an invitation to turn to God, give him glory, and worship him. It is the invitation to receive the gospel and follow God not the dragon.
- The 2nd angel proclaims a message of truth. He declares the fallenness and failure of the world’s systems to save and help. He declares the futility and disappointment of putting your trust in world’s values and systems. It’s failing and will fall.
- The 3rd angel gives a message of warning and reveals the consequences of following the beast. There are eternal consequences to refusing to follow Christ.
Friends, we need to embrace all aspects of the Word of God for our health.
We like to hear the nice things.
The invitations and those are good.
But we also need to hear how building on sand will lead to a crash. We need to hear that this life is not just playtime. Our destinies are at stake. There are some life course decisions we need to make.
And to stand in a world of oppression, persecution, and seduction we need to embrace all 3 aspects of preaching and of the Word of God.
3. Remember The Time Is Coming When God Will Set Everything Right
It is not a question “If” there will be justice. The question is “When.”
14: 14 – 20 speaks about God’s judgement on the earth. We begin the final act of Revelation. The time when God will deal with the dragons, and beasts, and boastful arrogant nations and leaders. Knowing that can help us to endure.
Conclusion
The personal question today is:
What battle are you in right now?
Give an opportunity to pray for you.
- Are you in a spiritual battle wrestling with doubt, accusations, feeling oppressed, attacked/
- Are you facing pressure of persecution? Pressure to conform? Feeling ridicule, rejection…
A lot of students know about this one. Face social martyrdom – if say no to drug scene, to party scene, to sex, to social system at school. Feel pressure to conform or will be ostracized and rejected.
Are you facing the battle of seduction?
- Your mission in life being diluted and distracted by the ambitions of this world,
- You’re your love for Christ is being seduced away by stuff.
- You feel tempted to just give in and go more with the flow of society…”everybody is doing it.”
We are being targeted and sometimes the grind of the battle can get to you…get tired. This morning to be like a refuelling station.
Opportunity for you to be replenished to enter into the battle with more strength, more resolve, more support,
I want this to be a time where we can be bolstered and strengthened in the battle.
Plan:
- Worship Team is going to come and lead us in a couple of songs.
- The deacons are also going to come and they are going to be here in the front row , to pray for you.
- Invite you to if you are battling to come and receive strength and prayer for your battle.
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