How the Book of Revelation refers to the 1st Advent of Jesus as spelling the defeat of Satan

Revelation 12:3-4 "Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child." 


We looked yesterday at how the truth of Jesus' incarnation is discussed in the Book of Revelation. It may surprise some to know that the Christmas story is touched upon throughout several places in the New Testament. Revelation 12 deals with the wide-sweep of Biblical history and includes Jesus' entry into time as being the decisive factor in the unraveling of Satan's ongoing war with God. Today's post continues on this study with a further look into Revelation 12 to see how this cosmic conflict came to a head the moment Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin's womb and how His life and death would spell the defeat of Satan.

Demons, Angels and the war in the heavenlies
John, the human author of the Book of Revelation (along with the Divine Author, God the Holy Spirit), takes us now into "Episode Two" of this grand vision of history leading up to and beyond that Christmas night.  It is here that we get a clear view of the origin of the demonic realm, the great fight in the heavenly realms leading up to Christ's birth, and the warfare that will continue until the end of time.

1. The Great Red Dragon. This is none other than Satan himself.  We see him appearing as a serpent in Genesis 3:1.  His nature as a Dragon, as "that serpent of old", is full and complete, as seen in the repetition of the number seven.  According to Old Testament passages such as Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, Satan was not always Satan. He was created as an angel, a chief Angel, perhaps the chief choir director of the angelic hosts.  He was "Lucifer", the "enlightened one", who in focusing upon his created beauty became prideful.

2. A third of the stars.  According to John, Lucifer rebelled and seduced 1/3 of the angelic host to follow him in a massive revolt in heaven.  This revolt might very well had occured either between days 1 and three of the creation days described in Genesis 1, Psalm 104 or perhaps shortly after the completion of the creation described in those same chapters.  We know that angels are described as "stars" since we see such description in Job 38:7. 

Some of these "fallen ones", these demons, had reblled so badly as to "lose their former estate" and were chained in the darkest regions until the time of the final judgment. (Jude 6)  Others of these fallen angels were permitted by God to roam over the earth and torment people, as seen in the eight or nine occassions where Jesus performed exorcisms in Matthew, Mark Luke and John. 

Lucifer Himself is currently "Prince of the power of the air" and "a god of this age".  (2 Corinthians 4:1-6).  He is roaming to and fro over the earth, along with his demonic hoards, seeing whom he may torment, destroy and blind to the truth of God. (1 Peter 5:8).

3. Stood in front of the woman.    John next writes that This Dragon stood in front of the woman, awaiting to devour her child.  Clearly Satan, though powerful, is still a creature, being that he did not know when exactly the day nor hour would occur for Jesus to enter into this world.  He is behind the persecutions of the Jews throughout the Old Testament.  Galatians 4:4 tells us that Jesus was born into this world in the fulness of time.  Despite the Old Serpent's best efforts, the Christ-child was born.  The Virgin Mary was that woman, who in the bloodline ordained from God from Eve, through Abraham, through David would bring to bear his purposes in her. 

4. The One born a king will rule as The King In Revelation 12:5-6, we see a summary statement from the moment of Christ's birth in Bethlehem to when He will return to earth to rule and reign as King.  Satan will attempt to destroy Israel in the days leading up to Christ's return.  God will have provision for protecting her in the last 31/2 years leading up to the second coming of Jesus Christ. 

5. Christmas reminds us that God finishes what He begins, He has defeated the enemy
Just as God would accomplish His purpose in the birth of Christ in His first coming, the purpose of God will reign supreme in the Second coming.  The outcome of the warfare is sure.  Christmas reminds us of the victory of God in Jesus Christ: His birth declared victory; His cross won victory; His resurrection and ascension confirmed victory; His word communicates victory and the Soon return will demonstrate to all that He alone is the victorious King of Kings and Lord of Lords.   

The victory of Christmas proclaimed in Revelation

Revelation 12:3-4 "Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 4. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child."


Demons, Angels and the war in the heavenlies
John, the human author of the Book of Revelation (along with the Divine Author, God the Holy Spirit), takes us now into "Episode Two" of this grand vision of history leading up to and beyond that first Christmas night. We saw yesterday the significance of Christmas in Revelation and began looking at Revelation 12. As we will see today, in-as-much-as Christ's 1st advent was a historical event - it also was a cosmic one. Jesus came in the virgin's womb through the virgin conception - resulting in His uniting of a truly human nature to His Person. He came to redeem fallen humanity. 

However, the Son's incarnation also affected the spiritual realms. It is here that we get a clear view of the origin of the demonic realm, the great fight in the heavenly realms leading up to Christ's birth, and the warfare that will continue until the end of time.

1. The Great Red Dragon. This is none other than Satan himself.  We see him appearing as a serpent in Genesis 3:1.  His nature as a Dragon, as "that serpent of old", is full and complete, as seen in the repetition of the number seven.  According to Old Testament passages such as Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, Satan was not always Satan. He was created as an angel, a chief Angel, perhaps the chief choir director of the angelic hosts.  He was "Lucifer", the "enlightened one", who in focusing upon his created beauty became prideful.

2. A third of the stars.  According to John, Lucifer rebelled and seduced 1/3 of the angelic host to follow him in a massive revolt in heaven.  This revolt might very well had occured either between days 1 and three of the creation days described in Genesis 1, Psalm 104 or perhaps shortly after the completion of the creation described in those same chapters.  We know that angels are described as "stars" since we see such description in Job 38:7. 

Some of these "fallen ones", these demons, had rebelled so badly as to "lose their former estate" and were chained in the darkest regions until the time of the final judgment. (Jude 6)  Others of these fallen angels were permitted by God to roam over the earth and torment people, as seen in the eight or nine occassions where Jesus performed exorcisms in Matthew, Mark Luke and John. 

Lucifer Himself is currently "Prince of the power of the air" and "a god of this age".  (2 Corinthians 4:1-6).  He is roaming to and fro over the earth, along with his demonic hoards, seeing whom he may torment, destroy and blind to the truth of God. (1 Peter 5:8).

3. Stood in front of the woman.    John next writes that This Dragon stood in front of the woman, awaiting to devour her child.  Clearly Satan, though powerful, is still a creature, being that he did not know when exactly the day nor hour would occur for Jesus to enter into this world.  He is behind the persecutions of the Jews throughout the Old Testament.  Galatians 4:4 tells us that Jesus was born into this world in the fulness of time.  Despite the Old Serpent's best efforts, the Christ-child was born.  

4. The One born a king will rule as The King In Revelation 12:5-6, we see a summary statement from the moment of Christ's birth in Bethlehem to when He will return to earth to rule and reign as King.  Satan will attempt to destroy Israel in the days leading up to Christ's return.  God will have provision for protecting her in the last 3 1/2 years leading up to the second coming of Jesus Christ. 

5. Christmas reminds us that God finishes what He begins, He has defeated the enemy
Just as God would accomplish His purpose in the birth of Christ in His first coming, the purpose of God will reign supreme in the Second coming.  The outcome of the warfare is sure.  Christmas reminds us of the victory of God in Jesus Christ: His birth declared victory; His cross won victory; His resurrection and ascension confirmed victory; His word communicates victory and the soon return will demonstrate to all that He alone is the victorious King of Kings and Lord of Lords.   

How the significance of Jesus' birth is explained in the book of Revelation

Revelation 12:1-2  "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2 and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth."

How Christmas is spoken of in the Book of Revelation
Where do people typically go in the Bible to read or study the accounts of Christ's birth? When you think of Christmas, your thoughts may turn to the accounts written at the beginning of Matthew and Luke. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke are primary sources from which we understand that first Christmas. Other sources for studying the first advent of Jesus can include the prophecies and promises of Christmas from the Old Testament. But what about the last book of the Bible?  The Book of Revelation? 

Amazingly we find not only what was going on in the angelic realm the night of Christ's birth, but we also get a front row seat to the whole of human history from creation until Christ's return.  In three episodes John relates the vision of what went on in the heavenly realms on the night of Christ's birth (Revelation 12:1-2); followed by a second episode detailing the rebellious career of Satan from creation  until Christ's return (Revelation 12:3-6).  The third episode is a more detailed revelation that helps the reader fit together the information from the first two episodes. (Revelation 12:7-16). 

How much was riding on the night Christ was born
In the opening verse John sees his first vision: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and twelve stars.  As we survey scripture, we quickly find out that these are various descriptions of the nation of Israel it has existed throughout history.  Being uniquely called by God through the bloodlines of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 12; 15; 17; Deuteronomy 7:7-8), Israel above all other nations was chosen to be the recipient of His law and promises. (Romans 9:1-3)  The idea of "a woman" is ultimately referring to Mary herself - since the prophecies concerning the virgin birth of the Messiah culminate in her. (Isaiah 7:14)

The twelve stars are in reference to the twelve tribes of Israel.  We see twelve stars referring to the twelve patriarchs from whence these twelve tribes would derive in the dream of Joseph about his brothers in Genesis 37.  The moon, being a reflector of light, shows us another apsect of Israel - she was to reflect the glory of God to the nations.  Clearly God is rehearsing to the readers of John's book that it was through Israel that He would bring forth the Savior.

So with the entire history of man and Israel pivoting upon the birth of the Savior that Christmas night, we see Mary crying out in the pain of labor.  As much as Jesus Christ was God in human flesh and in-so-far as his birth was unique in being a virgin birth, the remaining details of the birth remind us that what took place that Christmas night was real. What occurred in the heavenly realms on the night of Christ's birth would reveal just how much this one night would forever change the landscape of both history and eternity. 

How the incarnation enables us to speak of Jesus in two ways

Isaiah 9:6-7 "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."

Introduction:
Isaiah the prophet wrote these words over 750 years before the events of Christ's birth recorded in Matthew and Luke's Gospel.  In this one verse we discover two towering truths about Jesus Christ: first, that He would be born and second, His eternal pre-existence.  What may seem at first to be a contradiction is actually central to identifying the person of Jesus Christ. How so? Let's discover!

Jesus was virgin born as a true human being
Anytime we talk about Jesus Christ, we speak of Him in one of two ways. The first was is by speaking of Him as a human being and the second way is to speak of Him as fully-Divine along with the Father and Holy Spirit. Prophecy in the Old Testament and the explanations of what Jesus came to be and do are consistent in this dual-way of talking about Jesus. 

Isaiah first of all identifies Jesus the Messiah as One who would take upon Himself true humanity - hence as man, he would have a beginning.  In another passage, Isaiah 7:14, we discover that the beginning of Jesus' experience as a human being would start with the virgin birth/conception.  

This unusual detail of the virgin/birth conception is a cornerstone of the Christian faith for a couple of reasons.  First of all, it was a man who had broken God's law in the garden of Eden, and so a man would have to pay for the damages done by the giving of his life.  Unfortunately when God cursed humanity and the earth, all of humanity inherited the sin nature from Adam. 

Which leads us to the second important truth about the virgin birth of Jesus - that Jesus would not inherit the sin nature.  According to 1 Peter 1:18, the sin nature of Adam is transmitted down through the father's side of the human bloodline.  Since Jesus did not have a human father, He could not inherit the sin nature.  This is vital, since a sinless Savior is required to represent sinful man before a Holy God. 

Thus "Jesus" refers to Jesus Christ as truly man.  He would be "a son" given, "born" and having a beginning as it touches his humanity. 

Christ is Eternal God
As we noted already, in the Bible we can speak of Jesus in one of two ways: as truly man and then in a second way described by Isaiah wherein the Son is also truly God.  When we speak of "Jesus", we speak of His full humanity.  When we speak of "Christ" we are referring to Him being fully God.  Thus before Jesus Christ became a human being, He had pre-existed from all eternity.  Each title given here by Isaiah points us to this truth:

1. As Wonderful, Christ is shown to be beyond human comprehension. 

2. As Counselor He is God full of wisdom

3. The Mighty God is referring to His Divine Nature

4. Everlasting Father speaks to Him sharing the same nature as God the Father

5. Prince of Peace speaks to His Deity revealed through His humanity

Jesus Christ as God is equal in importance to Him being the virgin born man. Why? Only as God could the Son provide salvation (Isaiah 43:10-11).  Therefore in one verse - Isaiah gives us the entire sweep of the Bible's teaching on the identity of the one who was to be born in Bethlehem.  He as One person was truly God and truly man.  He who has always been would become born and thus having a beginning.  Without this event of the incarnation, salvation and the truth of God's word would had been jeopardized. 

Christmas and the Four Gospels

Matthew 1:21-22 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet."

Introduction:
Yesterday we began considering the whole Bible in light of Christ's first coming, and traced God's redemptive plan from Genesis to Malachi.  We ended at the cradle. Today, we will journey from the cradle to the cross as we consider Christmas in the Four Gospels.

Seeing Christ in the Gospels
The cradle of Bethlehem is spoken of in Matthew and Luke's Gospel and the cross of calvary is spoken of in all four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  We come to understand God the Son coming from eternity into time to live a perfect life, die a sinless death and raise to victory over death, hell and the grave. 

In Matthew we see Christ our King. He is King as it touches His lineage back to King David in the Old Testament and He is King as it touches His Eternal pre-existence as the Son of God.  He is the King who came, taught, healed and was rejected by His own people. The lineage of Christ's royal bloodline and the scene of the wisemen worshipping the two-year old Christ in Matthew 2 begins this grand theme of Jesus is King. As one journey's towards the end of Matthew, there is found the emphasis of Jesus' Kingship with regards to His possession of all power as God-incarnate in Matthew 28:18.

Mark shows us Christ the suffering servant.  He came to die and give His life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45).  Though Mark does not gives us the early life of Christ, yet it focuses our attention as to why he was born - to live as the believer's credited righteousness, to die for the forgivness of sins and to rise to provide both.

Luke portrays Christ as the Son of Man, full and complete humanity.  He is the Master who calls his disciples to die to themselves and live for Him.  Luke the physician points us to the Great Physician Jesus Christ.  Luke begins His Gospel with the early life of Christ: His birth, His presentation at the temple and the shepherds.  We see 72 names listed in Christ's geneaology - stretching from Adam to Christ. 

John, the beloved Disciple pens for us the glory of Christ as God in human flesh.  In John's record we see emphasis upon Christ's undiminished Deity and perfect humanity.  We see John's fondness for the number seven in telling us His version of Jesus' life: seven signs or miracles and seven times where Jesus identifies Himself as "I am".

What Christmas is all about
Now all four of these Gospels take us through Jesus' life to His cross. The three days following Christ's crucifixion witnesses His resurrection from the dead and then His ascension 40 days thereafter.  When you put all four gospels together together, you have a complete picture: the babe in Bethlehem would be the Savior on the cross.  The Savior on the cross would rise again, demonstrating Himself to be the God of glory.  All Four Gospels work distinctly and together in communicating the glory of the incarnate God - Jesus Christ - invading history. The Kingdom of God has been inaugurated by Jesus following His ascension into Heaven, yet if He had not came in the virgin conception/incarnation, there would had been no cross, no empty tomb nor inauguration of any Kingdom. In as much as we are right to celebrate all that Jesus achieved, let us not forget the way in which He came to affect such salvation - namely, the virgin's womb and the miracle of His incarnation. This is what Christmas is all about. 

How God used Old Testament history to prepare for Jesus' coming

Luke 24:44 "Now He said to them, 'These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.'”

Introduction
Preachers of old have often said something to the effect: "even though I may not be able to find Jesus Christ in every verse of the Bible, yet from every verse of the Bible I can get you to Jesus Christ." As Jesus was speaking to his disciples prior to His ascension into heaven, He was pointing back to the Old Testament Scriptures that spoke concerning Himself.  As we think about how the Bible focuses so much on what Christ would come to accomplish in His first coming, as well as what He will accomplish in His second coming, I want us to discover how God used Old Testament history to prepare for Jesus' coming.

From Creation through History we see Christ
As we start at Genesis we see Christ the creator.  The Gospel of John tells us that without Him nothing was made that was made (John 1:3).  Christ is the Origin of all things, Who along with the Father and Holy Spirit, as One God created the Heavens and the earth.  In Genesis He is Creator.  As you go through the rest of the Old Testament books, we discover Christ pictures or spoken of in the following ways:

In Genesis He is my Creator.  In Exodus, my Redeemer.  Leviticus, my Perfect sacrifice.  In Numbers, He is the God who leads me and in  Deuteronomy, the Living God.

From History to the Prophets we see Christ
In Joshua He is the Captain of my Salvation.  Ruth tells me He is my Kinsman Redeemer.  In Samuel He is my Prophet and in Kings and Chronicles He is my Sovereign God.  In Ezra He is my Faithful Scribe and in Nehemiah He rebuilds what the enemy has torn down.  In Esther He is the God who is always on time. 

In Job He is the the midst of my suffering and in Psalms he is the Song of my salvation.  Proverbs tells me His is wisdom and Ecclesiates reveals Him to be the meaning of life.  Song of Of Solomon presents Him as my beloved Bridgegroom.  Isaiah, the prince of the prophets, shows Him to be Holy God.  Jeremiah shows Him to be the one who weeps and Lamenatations, the one who mouurns.  Ezekiel shows him to be the Glory of God and Daniel tells me His is the fourth man in the fiery furnace.

Hosea shows Him to be the Faithful spouse and Joel shows me the Holy Spirit whom He would send to help.  Amos communicates Him as the Plumbline of Truth and Obadiah reveals Him as Humility against my pride.  Jonah reveals Christ as the one who died, buried and rose again, the Great Foreign Missionary coming to seek and save the Lost.  Micah tells me there is no God like Him and Nahum reveals His way in the whirl wind and the clouds to be the dust of His feet.  

Habakkuk understands Him to answer my prayers and Zephaniah tells me that He rejoices over me with singing and quiets me with His love.  Haggai unfolds Him as the treasure of all nations and Zechariah shows the purpose of His first and second comings - to provide salvation and bring forth His glory.  Malachi, that great last prophet, tells of the time up to His first coming, and that He will come again as the Sun of Righteousness with Healing in His wings.  

From the Prophets to the Cradle we are led to meet Christ
After Malachi, 400 years passes, with heaven closed and no word from God.  Israel was awaiting the arrival of their King, their Messiah.  Then we come to Matthew and we find out that the long awaited Messiah would be born in Bethlehem's cradle.  By the time Christ would die on the cross, over 100 propecies would be fulfilled.  The shadow of the cross was never far from the cradle. 

The Scarlet Thread of Redemptive History

Genesis 38:28 Moreover, it took place while she was giving birth, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.”

The Scarlet Thread
In one of my Bibles I have a red piece of yarn that I call "the scarlet thread".  The reason I have this yarn in my Bible is to remind me of the redemptive plan of God that took place in bringing the Savior to the world. Preachers such as the late Dr. W.A Criswell quoted above have for years made reference to the lineage of Christ's humanity as being a scarlet thread of redemption. In several places in the Old Testament we find remarkable events and people that constituted the bloodline that God would use to bring about Christ's humanity.

Mankind is broken before God
In Genesis 38 we meet one of Jacob's sons - Judah.  Now Judah was a man who lived by his desires and by the moment.  Unlike his father Jacob, we never see Judah exhibit any major quantum leaps in the walk of faith.  In this chapter, we see hypocrisy, treachery, lies, immorality, intrigue, injustice and betrayal.  Judah's spiritual life was littered with the trash of the sin nature he inherited from his father going all the way back to Adam. (1 Peter 1:18)  Judah is a small picture of humanity in need of a Savior.  Little did he know that God was going to use his rebellion and unsavory decisions to Sovereignly work forth the bloodline of redemption.

The bloodline issuing from Judah to Christ
God's hand was upon and in history as He was preparing the way for the arrival of His Son on that first Christmas night.  When we compare the birth records of Jesus in Matthew and Luke, we discover some remarkable features:

-From Adam to Noah is ten generations
-From Shem, Noah's Son, to Abraham is ten generations
-From Judah, Abraham's great-grandson to King David of Israel is ten generations
-Judah and his wife Tamar here in Genesis 38 appear in Christ's geneaology in Matthew
-King David was of the tribe of Judah, which came from Judah the man here in Genesis 38
-The second major prophecy about Christmas was about Judah in Genesis 49:10

The Scarlet thread of redemption signals the hand of God in salvation
At the end of Genesis 38, after a series of shocking events, Tamar, Judah's daughter-in-law, has twins by Judah.  The twisted set of events in this chapter underscore the falleness of man in need of a Savior.  As the twins are being born, the first one pops its hand out and the midwife ties on its wrist a scarlet thread.  Suddenly it goes back in and the little brother forces his way ahead and becomes the first born!  Just like grandfather Jacob - who steals the blessing from his older brother Esau, and just like great-grandfather Isaac whom God chose over the older brother Ishamael, God once again is working to remind man that He is charge. 

Only One who is both God and man could fix what man had broken before God
God was not and could not be twarted in bringing about that first Christmas.  God came through a broken humanity to redeem all who by grace through faith would believe on Him. (John 1:12-13).  A man, Adam, had broken things with God - thus God's justice demanded that man is responsible to fix what was broken.  Likewise, God and God alone could provide salvation - however God is too Holy to just right out forgive sinful man.  God took upon Himself humanity in order to satisfy both conditions. 

That little scarlet thread shows us that God's plan was continuing onward.  God was going to accomplish what He set out to do - to bring the Savior into the world.