If its not worth doing, then don't do it!
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If its not worth doing, then don't do it! |
    
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By the Blood of the Lamb Revelation 12: 1-17
Our passage today actually starts clear back at the beginning of the Bible. The passage is Genesis 3: 15 where the Lord curses the serpent: "I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." It is this passage that we should keep in mind as we move into this fourth of the seven minor sections. Once again we are taken back to the beginning of our present millennic era. Verses one through five refer to Christ's birth and ascension. This particular vision does not end until Revelation 14: 14 where Christ is shown coming on the clouds to harvest the earth. There is pictured the final day of judgment. We should also note that with this chapter we move into the second major division of John's Revelation. In this half are introduced the main characters that arise in opposition to Christ and His Church. The visions that follow show us what happens to each of these antichristian forces: In Chapters 15 & 16 the fate of those having the mark of the beast is described. In chapters 17 to 19 the fate of the harlot and the two beasts is revealed. And finally in chapters 20-22 the dragon, behind all these others wicked forces is thrown in the the eternal lake of fire! This scenario is in keeping with the central theme of the first half of the book. And that theme has continually been the assured victory of Christ and of His Church over the dragon and his helpers. In that first half is pictured the outward struggle between the Church and the world. This second part of Revelation reveals the deeper background. For those of you who have been reading two popular books: This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness this division will be clear. For those of you who have not read these works of Christian fiction the scenes bounce back and forth between the daily struggles of Christians with the world and the spiritual struggles between demons and angels. Now that is about as far as I am personally willing to take the fictional images of this particular author. Yes, there are two levels to the conflict there and there are two levels to the real conflict as well! However, let us listen and learn from the far more dramatic and perfect vision given in this Chapter to the Apostle John. There are three scenes in this chapter.
There are three characters in this chapter.
The main thought of this chapter is a summation of the entire story of the Old Testament which is the conflict between the seed of the woman and the dragon, between Christ and Satan. In this conflict Christ is, of course, victorious. And we know this from what the Old Testament records! Let us review the record. We begin at that verse in Genesis we heard at the beginning. There, to Adam and Eve was announced the conflict described in Chapter twelve. The story of the conflict moves on to the period from Seth to the Flood. We know that Cain murdered Abel. Then Seth was born. Seth's sons decide that they must marry the daughters of Cain. This is the devil's work, we have to remember that he always seeks to disrupt the work of the Church throughout all time by any means possible. But does the dragon succeed in annihilating the promise the Churchly line leading up to the coming of Christ? Given the wickedness of the pre-flood generation it looks like it! But, wait, among the families descended from Seth, there is one that fears the Lord! It is Noah who is saved from the death of a wicked and perverse generation. Again the dragon stands in front of the Church to destroy the child. From the time of the Flood to Jacob the survival of the Church is protected by God's providence. Abraham hears the promise, but he and Sarah are old or barren. The dragon has almost triumphed, but then the miracle happens and Isaac is born, but almost sacrificed. God intervenes and Isaac marries Rebecca. But she too is barren. But again, our mighty God of His promise performs a miracle and Jacob is born and protected from his brother's wrath. Again the dragon waits for His opportunity. He attacks Jacob's descendants the Jews. This time it appears that he is going to be successful. Even though the Lord in His tender mercy has led His people out of Egypt, they reject Him and are dancing around a golden calf. They have rejected the spiritual for the material. Boy does that sound familiar in our age. Moses, by the guiding power of Christ's Spirit intercedes to beg the survival of God's own Church. How close the people had come to destruction, they do not know. Again history moves on. Out of the tribe of Judah God chooses one family, that of David. The devil now aims his arrow at David, the devil finds a willing subject in Saul who seeks to smite David to the wall with Satan's spear in hand. Did the dragon succeed? No, for David escaped! The precious line toward the coming Messiah continues. Again, Satan sends an agent to destroy the seed of David. The wicked daughter of Ahab and Jezebel was Athaliah who was reigning. She sought to destroy all the seed of David to gain absolute power. All but one of the descendants are killed. Little Joash is saved by God's agents and the baby is hidden away to later be crowned King in David's royal city. Years later the Devil plots again. The combined forces of Israel and Syria gather against Judah to blot out the house of David. Isaiah is sent to encourage King Ahaz of Judah. But the King disdainfully refuses to ask for a sign of God's aid. Satan, surely laughs, but too soon because Isaiah prophecies "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." God's purpose must stand. Immanual must be born, from the family of David. The blessed story moves on: Now, it is the fifth century before Christ. Haman, a powerful servant of the pagan King Ahasuerus issues a decree that all the Jews should be put to death. The decree is irreversible, but God has providentially infiltrated the King's family with his servant Esther, the queen! The line and the story lead now to Bethlehem. This is the final act in the mighty drama. The babe is lying in a manger, the King who hears of His birth from wise men seeks to do the bidding of Satan. The infants of Bethlehem and the surrounding district are slain. But Herod failed. The Christ-child was safe in Egypt. God's purpose can never be frustrated! The Devil and his agents try again with a cross. But, this plan also fails because Jesus is snatched away and taken up to the very throne of God. Christ is risen and ascended! God's eternal plan and promise have succeeded beyond all expectations! This leads to a war in heaven. Michael and his angels attack Satan and his kind, who are thrown down. In frustration, Satan, who has failed to destroy the Christ, continues his attack upon the Church but fails. But, the Devil is determined, he turns his attention to the seed of the woman who are the individual Christians. This is where our thoughts must shift their attention today in this hour and in this minute. The fact that we have a great and powerful enemy of our souls is an abiding theme in Scripture. Peter expresses it very vividly when he writes: "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." One Puritan author comprehensively details 38 devices of the devil to destroy us. We are the focus of the conflict now. One of my commentators Richard Brooks shares several of these devices. We should take them seriously. First: the Devil may seek to draw us back into sin, especially those sins which affected us in our pre-conversion life. Alcoholics and former drub abusers know how this can affect them. Alcoholics usually have to make a complete break with their past habit and avoid all consumption completely! Some of the drug abusers of the sixties and seventies still suffer from long term emotional trauma which can be triggered during times of stress, and all of a sudden, there is that dreadful personality staring them in the face once again. Second, the Devil may try to overwhelm us with the idea that our past and present sins are not forgiven. He will imply that our sins are too big to be forgiven. Third, the Devil will remind us of our frequent relapse into sins and imply that we are not making any progress in the Christian life. Fourth, the Devil will encourage us to think that repentance is an easy matter. Sin, confess, be forgiven. Sin again, confess again, be forgiven. And on and on and so forth. The first time we had communion I insisted that we have a prepatory service before we came to the Lord's table. I discovered that you all were willing to put up with that for that first time. But, I sensed your desire to focus more upon what God has accomplished then upon the situation that we find ourselves in. But, what is that situation? Isn't it summed up there in the last part of verse seventeen. "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." This is where we are today in the midst of God's millennic era! We are the focus of spiritual conflict, of which we will learn more in later chapters. Okay, let's see if we have this right? Satan sought to prevent the birth of Christ. Satan sought to destroy the Church. Both of these endeavor's he failed in. Now, he is after us? What hope have we? Let us return to verses ten to twelve. READ: Revelation 12: 10-12. The key verse there is eleven. Triumph and hope are not to be placed in what we know, believe or can accomplish in a secular world. No! This world is infected with the devil's delights. Our hope is to be focused on the very blood of the Lamb. What the Lamb has done avails for the Lamb's followers. This is to be our testimony. All is accomplished for us "by the blood of the Lamb." He must be our focus, He must lead us, and whether we are willing to admit it or not we must learn to obey Him and to testify about Him. Today, we gather to give testimony to the hope that is in us. In a few minutes we will eat of the bread and drink of the cup. We will celebrate again the Covenant of sovereign grace revealed in Jesus Christ.
Christ Covenant REFORMED (Presbyterian Church in America) Box 13926 -- Columbus, OH 43213 Rev 12a 03 March 90
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