The Woman & the Dragon | Revelation 12:1-6 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Church, can we show our appreciation to the praise team? Can we do that? They blessed us even though it might have been a little awkward to see a few faces just kinda staring into the to the space, but, technology has its advantages, but it oftentimes betrays us. And that's why I am a huge advocate of physical things, like a physical bible. I never have to worry if this, bible's gonna die in terms of the battery.

I never have to worry if I'm gonna be interrupted by notification. And so I champion a real copy of God's word in your hands, and I would you can get excited about that too. Yeah. Sure. And so I I really hope, and I know we are a church that, loves the Bible and I pray that we would also hold to the tradition of keeping the physical copy of God's word accessible and at our disposal.

It's a gift from him. And so if you have a Bible with you, let's go together to Revelation chapter 12. Revelation chapter 12. The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. That is the message that the seventh trumpet in the book of Revelation announces, and we looked at that together at the end of Revelation chapter 11.

It really is a declaration of the coronation and the triumphant return of the lord Jesus Christ who will come back to rule and reign over all things. And that is something a true Christian believes in and more than just believes in, longs for. Now here's what's so interesting. What follows this electric electrifying vision in Revelation 11, surprisingly, are not the judgments that are connected to it. In other words, the final set of judgments which are known as the bowls of God's wrath will not be interacted with, will will not be something that we see right away.

Those set of judgments will be poured out to pave the way for the second coming of Christ, but they don't appear until Revelation chapter 15. Instead, what we have in Revelation 12 through 14 is a description of the struggle between the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of God, especially during the tribulation period. It's as though the Holy Spirit is reminding and informing us of crucial details related to this ancient battle. And as we come to this new chapter, God is going to give us a different perspective on it. One that centers on and relays relies heavenly upon, listen, Satan's experience.

And the purpose of this section when we come to the end of it is that despite all his efforts to thwart the promises of God, the evil one will fail, and Christ will win. That is the impression that we're going to be left with as we explore these verses in the coming weeks. And it will all begin with a very curious vision. I have to say that when I realized what we will be looking at this Sunday, I became even more excited, especially when we're considering the Christmas season that we're in. Revelation is not frequently referenced this time of the year in churches.

However, I think we're going to be pleasantly surprised to discover just how relevant John's vision here is to the truth many are being prepared to celebrate. And so I invite you to come to Revelation 12, look at verse one, and let's read down through verse six together. Revelation 12 verse one reads, 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 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 10 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 one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Let's pray together. Lord, we know that these truths already, just by reading them, declare your victory. Your victory over all things, including Satan. And we pray that as we look at these passages, you would be exalted in our hearts, that you would draw out of us greater affection and adoration.

And that, Lord, ultimately you would be blessed by the faithfulness of our obedience to your word. And as we come now, Lord, we pray that you would be our teacher and that you would help us understand everything that we will look at now. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Seems quite cryptic, doesn't it?

Planets, dragons, numbers. Well, the best thing that we can do to properly interpret this portrait of scripture is by underscoring what John says right from the beginning. John tells us that these are signs. Look again at verse one. And a great sign appeared in heaven.

Similar language is found in verse three, and another sign appeared in heaven. So it's clear that what we are presented in this section is not meant to be taken completely literally. Instead, there are many symbolic representations that point to literal realities. And so once that's established, then we can begin to identify certain things. And right away, what we can acknowledge is that there are at least two major signs.

Two major pictures here. The first is this woman, and the second is this dragon. Now there are other details that we will examine, but these are the main characters before us. And of the two, the most hotly debated is the woman. Who is she?

Who does she represent? Why is she being presented here? And the most prominent views that you will hear concerning this woman are that she might represent the Virgin Mary. That is a view that is proposed by the Roman Catholic church. Well, Mary gave birth to Jesus.

And not only that, it would go beyond such an observation and say, the fact that she is exalted in the cosmos speaks of her heavenly exaltation. And there are others who would say, no. This can't be the Virgin Mary. It it in fact speaks of the church of Jesus Christ who has been persecuted and harassed by the devil since her beginnings. Well, I I wanna take the time to address those two main alternative views and hopefully clarify how none of it holds water.

None of these actually make sense when we consider the context carefully. And so let me first, by, explaining the details here, show why this cannot number one be about the Virgin Mary or Mary. There's some observations here that are inconsistent with the Marian dogma of the Roman Catholic church. First, if you consider how the Roman Catholic church teaches about the immaculate conception of Mary, that Mary herself was born without a sin nature, then you run into a problem right away because it would seem strange for John here to describe Mary suffering pain in labor. Look again in verse three.

It says here what? That she was pregnant in verse two rather and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. Now why is that an issue? Well, because according to Genesis three sixteen, these kind of agonizing pains are considered a curse. A curse that comes from sin entering into the world.

And the Roman Catholics believe that even when Mary did give birth, there was no pain because she was immaculately conceived. And so, some Catholics would usually deny this referring to physical pain and would instead say that this is actually just a metaphor of spiritual struggles. The difficulties that Mary experienced before and leading up to the birth of Christ and even afterwards. However, this is just one of many interpretive challenges. A second observation that can be made is later in this chapter.

Scroll down to Revelation twelve seventeen. And it says here that the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring. Highlight that, the rest of her offspring. On those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus, and he stood on the sand of the sea. So even if you're vaguely familiar with the basic doctrines of the Roman Catholic church considering Mary, here's what you have to ask.

If Mary is a perpetual virgin, then why is she described as having other offspring in this verse? It's there, isn't it? She has other offspring. And usually the answer you'll receive is that this is not speaking of literal children, this is a spiritual seed. Mary being what?

The mother of all believers. That's what's often proposed. So you can see how there can be debates back and forth around these issues, but if you want to just not have any lengthy conversations, you can skip to the main thought that I believe dismisses Mary from being the candidate, at least the primary one in this vision. Look back at Revelation 12 verse five. She gave birth to a male child who was to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne.

Look at verse six now. And the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Verse five undeniably speaks of who? Christ. No debate.

How do you make sense of verse six though, when it comes to Mary's role in all of this? Even with the wide scope of beliefs from the Catholics about Mary, there is no way to accommodate this description in verse six with her. There is no hint historically. There is no vague impression biblically that Mary at some point fled into the wilderness for three and a half years. That did not happen after the birth of Christ.

That didn't happen at the ascension of Christ. This alone suffices to show that she cannot be considered a candidate for the interpretation of this woman. It just doesn't fit. And that's why some believe instead that this woman in Revelation 12 typifies the church. You'll find that opinion among church fathers and even a minority among a minority of modern interpreters today.

But there's one obvious detail that even disqualifies the church from being the woman here. Look again at verse five. She gave birth to a male child who was to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne. This woman gives birth to the child who is undeniably Christ. Scripture clearly teaches us that it is Christ who gives birth to the church and not the other way around.

The church doesn't give birth to Christ. Nowhere in the bible do we find the church bringing the incarnate son of God into the world and that alone should end the debate. And so if it's not Mary, and if it's not the church, then we're only really left with one credible answer, that the woman speaks of the nation of Israel. And I want to tell you why. There are two things that we have to highlight about this woman.

Number one, her clothing. And number two, her condition. Her clothing. Look at the raiment. It's exalted.

Right? The sun, moon, and stars. We see it in verse one. What what those pictures merged together is strongly alluded to in scripture. This motif of these celestial elements together are found in one other place in all of the Bible.

And John, by the spirit, expects us as we've come to the end of the Bible to remember since we've been faithful reading the rest of it, and say, okay, I've seen this before. And the only other place where you'll find sun, moon, and 12 stars mentioned together is back in Genesis. Genesis 37 verse nine to 10, where Joseph explains his second dream to his brothers. And he tells them, I saw the sun, and I saw the moon, and I saw 11 stars bowing before me. Now why 11 stars and not 12 like what we see here in Revelation 12?

Because Joseph would be counted as a twelfth. Now Jacob, the father of Joseph, upon hearing this is a little upset, and he interprets the dream himself. Jacob understands he represents the sun, his wife, Joseph's mother Rachel represents the moon, and his sons speak of the the stars and would later become the tribes of Israel. And he rebukes Joseph. And it's amazing how the Holy Spirit takes that image and brings it to this vision because he wants to make the connection.

If you read Genesis 37 and understood how Jacob interprets it, then you would know that those things together symbolize the early stages of the nation of Israel. Now it's resurfacing here because it's intended to convey the similar truth. What we have here with all of these things in the early stages of Revelation 12 is the history and the people of Israel pictured as a woman. It doesn't end there though. You have more here.

Israel as a nation is frequently brought to our attention in the scriptures depicted as a woman, as a woman. And I believe we are acquainted enough with the old testament to understand that, but where we might be unfamiliar is how the Bible even shows Israel as a woman in labor in some instances, especially in times of distress and discipline. So these are two scriptures worth turning to and writing down in your notes. Consider Isaiah 27 or 26, excuse me. Isaiah 26 verse 15.

But you have increased the nation, oh lord. You have increased the nation. You are glorified. You have enlarged all the borders of the land. Oh lord, in distress, they sought you.

They poured out a whispered prayer when your discipline was upon them, like a pregnant woman who rise and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth, so were we because of you, oh, Lord. You see it? Well, it doesn't end there. Consider Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter four, and look at verse 31.

Jeremiah four thirty one reads, for I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, anguish as one giving birth to her first child. The cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands, woe is me, I am fainting before murderers. So it shouldn't be strange to us then that John now is describing Israel in a familiar fashion. But what's the larger message? Why is that being presented here?

Well, again, look at the context. In Revelation 12, she's in pain for a reason. And the reason is because she's ready to give birth. She's ready to go into labor and bring into the world a male child. And so when you take all these features, all these ingredients and put them together, the message is undeniably clear.

What John is seeing here with the clothing of the woman and the condition of the woman speaks of the distress of the nation of Israel that they've known throughout the ages as they have been long, longly waiting and anticipating the arrival of the Messiah. All the sin, all the evil, all the wars, all the chastisement, all the promises as they become more and more clear throughout redemptive history yet not being realized contribute to the angst and the turmoil and the challenges? When will he come? When will he arrive? When will the son of David make everything right?

And as soon as we get acquainted or reacquainted with this picture, we are suddenly introduced to a new character and the second major one in this vision, the great red dragon. Now let's look at the great red dragon. It's not difficult to understand who he represents. But just in case there's any confusion, look at verse nine of Revelation 12. We are told exactly who the dragon is.

And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. This is Satan. And again, this is a symbolic picture, but we're given the description. We're given the interpretation of who he is. But where things get a little cloudy are the details about this great dragon.

What are they? Look again at verse three. Behold a great red dragon in the middle of the verse with seven heads and 10 horns, and on his heads seven diadems, which are crowns. Now if you're just left with this, we're in trouble. This can mean a thousand different things.

But what do we do? We interpret scripture with scripture. And so just like we did with the woman and the sun, moon, and stars, we have to try to investigate and evaluate the rest of the bible and ask where else have we seen these things mentioned together. And we don't actually have to go very far. We could go to the book of Daniel, but we just have to stay in Revelation actually, because clarity is provided later on.

Now, I don't want to overwhelm you, but we have to do this. Here's what's gonna happen. John in Revelation 17 is gonna see yet another vision. He's gonna see many of them. And in this vision though, he's going to see a beast, not a dragon.

And with this beast, he's going to find the same details given to him. Not the dragon, but a beast with these same number of horns and these same number of crowns and heads. And here's a short explanation. The reason why it's going to be found on the beast is because at some point, the dragon, who is Satan, is going to hand these things over to the beast. That's the simple explanation.

But as John is looking at this, he's actually given the understanding of these things. This is where we have to turn now. Look at Revelation 17 verse nine. Here's our answer. Revelation 17 verse nine.

This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads or seven mountains on which the woman is seated. There are also seven kings. Highlight that. Five of them whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come, he must remain only a little while.

As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth, but it belongs to the seven and goes to destruction. Verse 12. And the horns that you saw are 10 kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour together with the beast. A lot of detail. I know it's a mouthful.

Just take a breath with me. All you and I need to understand at this point is that these heads and these horns on this dragon refer and represent political leaders and their empires. That's all you need to know for now. And the reason why they are associated and even attached to this dragon is because we are to understand that Satan ultimately has dominion over these empires and leaders. He's the one who's really at work.

He's the puppet master. Over what? The whole world, really. And Satan's control of the whole earth has been a reality ever since the fall. And it will continue to remain so until the return of Christ.

And we learn how the evil one is able to govern this vast planet with such amazing influence. Go back to Revelation 12. What do we see here in verse four? After reading that he has these heads and these horns that speak of nations, that speak of confederacy of governments under his control. Look what we read here in verse four.

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. This tale, we're told, sweeps not something on the earth, but something in the heavenlies. Now is this speaking about Satan wishing down a third of the stars in in space as they come crashing to the the earth, that can't be. We've seen many stars, actual stars falling on the earth up to this point in Revelation, but the context doesn't suggest that. You know this very well that in certain passages, stars can can symbolize angels.

And that's what seems to be proposed here. Let me show you why. Look at verse seven of Revelation 12. Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. Look at verse nine.

And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who was called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, he was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him. This is fascinating. We're told that Satan has his own angels. How can that be when he himself is a created heavenly creature? Well, we're given the explanation of verse four.

That in his original rebellion, he took down with him a third of the angels. You see that? His tail swept down a third of the stars, which speak of these angels who joined them in his defiance against the true and living God. And they have been working for him ever since. Now some might be curious to to wonder, well, how many angels exactly followed Satan?

Well, we don't have an exact number, but we know if you remember our study of the trumpet judgments, that one of the final judgments in that set is that there will be hundreds of millions of demons who will assist four leading demons in destroying a third of the human population. So based on that insight, we know that there are at least hundreds of millions of demons who are working for the kingdom of darkness. And we're being reminded of that here. They have been tormenting and deceiving humanity since the beginning of time, and one of the strongest displays of Satan's dominance over this world was seen at the birth of Christ. You see how now this is going to tie into the Christmas message?

It's not the only Christmas message, so don't worry. What do we read in the rest of verse four? That after we heard about these stars that fall down with Satan, the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth. So that when she bore her child, he might devour it. We're just a few days away from Christmas.

Did you know that there's a dragon in the Christmas story? That's what Revelation says. And you might object and say, well, I I've read the gospel accounts, I haven't I haven't found a dragon anywhere. Actually, you have. You just didn't notice it.

Remember, if this dragon has seven heads and 10 horns that speak of governments and rulers and princes and politicians, then you know exactly what happened near the birth of Christ that relates this truth to that point. Did we see any rise of governmental powers at the birth of Christ? Of course. Herod. Herod, that evil man who commanded that children under the age of two, especially male children in Bethlehem and around the region, would be slaughtered in his attempt to snuff out this prophecy of the king of the Jews.

So you see a man with his ego trying to do something vile and despicable. And now you come to Revelation, you realize, oh, there's a spirit behind that operation. The Herod was just a human vessel, but there's a great dragon behind such efforts. And it's a reminder to all of us that there are evil spirits, evil forces that stand behind agendas and crimes at the highest levels. It didn't just happen when Christ came into this world.

It happens all the time even today and it's been happening since Genesis. But here's the encouraging truth. No matter what kind of sway Satan has, he failed to destroy the long expected Jesus. He was right there ready to devour the child, and he was hoping to extinguish God's faithfulness, and he failed. He failed.

That's what we find in verse five that she gave birth to a male child. And one who is to rule all the nations, that that's his destiny, but we also learned that he did what? He was caught up to God and to his throne. This speaks of what? The the ascension of Christ.

The exaltation of Christ. Satan couldn't vanquish it. Satan could not stop it. That's really one of the messages of Christmas. Satan was defeated.

He thought that he could succeed. He's so arrogant, so filled with pride and hatred that he actually thought that he can overcome God's redemption for the world, And he didn't. And we might think that this is a good place for the scene to end, but it doesn't. Something interesting happens between verse five and verse six. So in verse five, it's clear.

We have here a description of the birth of Christ. And not just the birth of Christ, but his ascension and his exaltation. He is now sitting at the right hand of God, and he is to come to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But then you look at verse six, and something something doesn't seem right, at least when you consider the timeline. Verse six says, and the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God, in which she used to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

What does that have to do with everything that we just heard up to this point? We've been hearing about Israel and the promised Messiah and Satan trying to stop the first advent and he failed. And now all of a sudden, we're we're back to the woman and her running into the wilderness where God's going to take care of her for three and a half years. God is so gracious to us because he has not left us in the dark. He's given us a very strong clue in verse six, and that is the timing.

That is the duration. That is that number there. Again, one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Have we seen that before? Yes.

You have. We have. Go back to chapter 11. Look at verse two. Revelation 11 verse two.

Do not measure the court outside the temple. Leave that out for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. Remember, Revelation eleven one to three describe and prophesy key events that are connected to the people of Israel. For forty two months, Jerusalem will be severely oppressed.

For that same amount of time, God will raise up two powerful prophets that will preach to them and to the rest of the world. So what we have here again is a description of what's to come in this particular period of time, which really describe the final years of the tribulation period. And clearly, God is not finished telling us more about what's to take place during that same time frame. Yes, the holy city will be trampled upon. Yes, there will be two preachers who will be preaching for that same duration of time.

And as we come to chapter 12, we realize there's more. This woman clearly, who speaks of Israel, will be fleeing into the wilderness. How do we make sense of this? Here's what it means. We see that this woman will be so oppressed that she will actually have to escape for a season.

And when we read the rest of Revelation 12, we'll see exactly who's the one oppressing her. It will be the dragon. He will actually chase her. So hold on. Let's step back for a moment.

How do we make sense? Oh, here's how we make sense of it. Since Satan failed in his attempt to thwart God's promises concerning the first coming of Christ, he will seek to stop the second. And one of the ways he will try to do this is by destroying the Jewish people. A people whom the Lord promised to pour out his spirit upon in the last days to be saved, living in a land that the Lord said he would physically rule from forever and ever upon his return.

And the devil and his great pride will do everything he can to make sure that none of that happens. And so history also has shown us that the great dragon has been trying to do exactly that for centuries but to no avail. So the great dragon turns his attention away from the child, the male child, and will now pursue the woman. And what's interesting is from verse five to verse six, we were talking about the birth and ministry of Christ and we skip over to the last days. Nothing in between.

Why? Because in our understanding of revelation and the rest of scripture concerning the end times, Israel plays a major role. And when we look at it from Satan's perspective, he understands what some people don't even believe. That there is a connection between the Jewish people and how Christ will come back again. And so this woman will flee into the wilderness for a period of time.

And this is where we're gonna end. We have to consider this final thought. It could very well be that some of these Jews who will flee at this point of the tribulation do so in obedience to the words of Jesus Christ. Do you remember what Christ taught in the Olivet Discourse? Let me remind you in our final passage this afternoon.

In Matthew twenty four fifteen to 21, we read Jesus saying, so when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, let the reader understand. Pause for a moment. Matthew twenty four fifteen, Jesus says, let the reader understand. You know what that tells me? Understanding the last days is possible.

Don't let other people tell you otherwise. There are some people who will never touch the book of Revelation because they think that it's not understandable. It's too cryptic. It's too mysterious. It's too overwhelming.

It's too symbolic. And yet here's my Jesus saying, let the reader understand. Understand what? This concept called the abomination of desolation. So it's knowable.

We just have to do the work. And that's what we've been doing. Flipping from passage to passage. This is what will make us mature Christians. What do we read later?

We saw it early in a passage of Revelation 17. This calls for wisdom. So there is an effort on our part to know these things. And I think the the one of the reasons why people don't know them is because they don't want to put in the work. We're gonna put in the work.

So Jesus says, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place Let me remind you, the abomination of desolation speaks of an individual who will come into the physical temple in Jerusalem and desecrate it. How will he desecrate it? He will claim himself to be God. He will demand worship. He will sit in that place and expect the world to honor him and to deify him.

And Jesus says, listen. When you see that, then he gives these instructions. Here what's fast here's what's fascinating. He localizes these instructions. Up to this point in Matthew 24, he's been giving insight to the whole world about the world, but then when you come to this, it's a turning point.

Listen to what he says in verse 16. Then let those who are where? In Chicago? In Judea. Let those who are in Judea do what?

Flee. Flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the house top not go down to take what is in his house. And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas, for women who are pregnant, for those who are nursing infants in those days, pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath for then there will be great tribulations since has not been from the beginning of the world until now.

No, and never will be. What you saw in Revelation 12 verse six, the woman fleeing into the wilderness, is an expansion of what Jesus taught here. And it could be, again, it could be that some of these Jews who will run remember Jesus's words, are doing so in accordance with what Christ commanded. Here's what this means. As you and I continue in Revelation, we are witnessing the Jewish people coming closer and closer to putting their trust in Messiah.

To putting their trust in Jesus of Nazareth as their savior. Now this woman fleeing into the wilderness for this period of time is going to be expanded on in the rest of Revelation 12. But for now I'll end here. Does this description of God supernaturally providing for his own in a wilderness for this same period of time sound familiar to you? It should.

Do you remember a man named Elijah? Elijah was one of the greatest prophets in Israel's history. And Elijah confronted an apostate nation. And he through his prayers caused a drought to take place in Israel. For how long again?

Three and a half years according to James. But what you read in first king 17 is that when Elijah pronounces this judgment, God tells him to do what? Flee. Flee to the Brook Kerith. And there I will take care of you.

I've commanded ravens to feed you. And by faith, God was taking care of his servant. And at the right time, he says now go to a widow. She's gonna take care of you. A widow?

Really? Yes, go. And he did and God took care of him. And at the right time, according to James again, after three and a half years, he appears once more and he continues his ministry. I was meditating on this last night and here's what I thought.

This God who governs the nations, this God who according to Revelation 12 will take special care of Israel. Why? Because he promised to save them. Is the same God who cares about the one. He took care of Elijah in the same way that he takes care of this entire country.

And I'm here to tell you today that he cares about you. This one who is supreme over all things, who will rule all the nations with a rod of iron, has his eye on you. You. Yes, you. You say, well I'm not a prophet.

I can understand God taking care of Elijah, but who am I? Well, let me remind you what else James said. Elijah was a man like us. He has the same nature. He had the same temptations, same discouragements.

Elijah actually barely made it in ministry. He submitted his resignation to God. He says, I'm I'm done Lord. And Lord said, nope. Not gonna accept it.

You still have some things for me to do through you. God looks at you. God looks at me. That's what I thought of. Oh Lord, you're taking care of this woman who is exalted in your sight, but you're also, as I remember the old testament, willing to shepherd the one.

Brothers and sisters, why is this important? Because how we interpret this ultimately determines how we view God. And here's the Christmas message at this point. Satan lost. Satan lost.

Christ came in. He's exalted. He's ready to return, but he is so foolish, he thinks he can still win. And here's what Revelation tells us. He's actually gonna lose again.

He's gonna lose again. We have already won. We're a victorious people. We're just waiting to see it happen. And so you and I can know.

We know the end of the story. We are going to be redeemed. Christ is going to conquer and we will be with him forever and ever and ever. Merry Christmas to you. Lord, we thank you how even Revelation 12 can actually speak to us at this time of the year.

It's amazing, Lord, how if we just go through your word, it's timely. And Lord, we just want to rejoice in your presence because you've given us that much more light that you've used this church family with the hunger for your word to bring us that much closer into our understanding of who you are and your ways. And so Lord, we just pray that you would always keep us in the truth. That no matter what popular opinions are out there, that we would always say, thus says the Lord. That no matter what kind of opposing views may come our way, we would say, but it is written.

So, Lord, we pray your blessing over Maranatha Bible Church to remain and every other church that's represented here, that we would be people of the book, that we would always go to scripture, that we would always understand your mind through these verses, and that we would always submit to what your word says. So, Lord, we do thank you today. We thank you that you've shown us in this text that Satan, even though he might have convinced hundreds of millions of angels to obey him, and though he has seven heads and though he has 10 horns, though he does hold sway over this entire world, he will never win. He lost two thousand years ago and he will lose again in the days to come. And for this, we say thank you because we belong to you and to you alone.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's stand church.