Day of Judgment, Day of Wonders looks forward to that glorious return of Christ. And turning now to our scripture reading for the sermon from Revelation chapter 12, we might conclude that that will be the focus of our message, though this text actually anticipates that coming. Our sermon title, though not in your bulletin, is Still in Control. Still in Control. Revelation 12 reminds us the good news of what is. That was true, and is true, and will be true, that God is still in control. We'll be reading the whole chapter, and as is often true in the book of Revelation, there's a lot of detail, and I'll encourage you as we read it to not be distracted by the details, but to reflect upon the conflict that is presented to us. The conflict between God and His enemies, and anticipate the victory to come. We'll read the chapter and then focus in our text on verses 10 through 12. Hear now the Word of God. 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 twelve 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 ten horns, and on his head seven diadems. He 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, and so that when she bore her child, she might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who was to rule all the nations with an iron rod. But her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back, and he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is 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. And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony for they loved not their lives, even unto death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short. And when the dragon had saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child, but the woman was given two wings and the great eagle of the great eagle, so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness to the place where she is to be nourished for a time and times and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. So is the reading of God's Word for us this evening. Let's pray and ask Him to bless our reading together. Our Father, we thank You that You have once again brought us to your feet to hear from your mouth the words of life. Help us to understand what you have spoken. That there would be the promised blessing the promised blessing of your word that it would go forth tonight and bring encouragement and growth and grace for us as believers in Jesus. Your Father, if there are any who are not sure of their place with You, may they understand tonight and hear the call to repent and believe. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, at the very heart of our faith is belief in the sovereignty of God. Not long ago, a song was written that affirmed this very truth. Though more popular then than today, you may remember the chorus, Our God Reigns, Our God Reigns. Though filled with remarkable detail, our text declares the very same truth. Our God reigns. He's still in control. As we come here this evening, however, after another year and anticipating yet a new one to come, we might stand back and recognize that a growing number of men and women doubt and increasingly deny that very truth. I find it interesting that one historian summarizes the last 2,000 years of Christian thought with four rather general questions. The first is, what has God spoken? The second, how has God spoken? And the third, in the development of a modern age with science and philosophy, is that question a little more skeptical, has God spoken? And today we find ourselves seemingly on that downward trajectory of faith with that rather remarkable question, who cares? It seems that the society we find ourselves in has little concern about whether God has spoken or not. Recently, a rather popular children's author exemplifies this very thing when he writes that the big questions in life have to do with God. My own belief is that God is dead, but we need heaven nonetheless. And since it's no longer possible to believe in a kingdom of heaven, we'll have to create a new republic. Crazy, right? I trust that most of us here see that the whole of creation testifies to the reality that God is. And therefore, to conclude that God is dead is absurd. But, what of the Kingdom of Heaven? What about that promise of the kingdom of heaven to come. After another year of war and natural disaster, death, disease, and divorce, after another year of persecution and the endless flow of Christian martyrs, after another year of praying, Thy kingdom come, we may wonder along with the skeptics around us whether or not it's coming at all. we might be tempted to join them in building a new kingdom. A kingdom here on earth that we can see and immediately enjoy. God has answered us this evening. He's answered us as He has since the time of Christ and His apostles with the announcement of good news. We see that in our text in verse 10, that a loud voice from heaven is heard saying, Now, the salvation and the power and the kingdom and the authority of Christ have come. It's a remarkable announcement of the best news we as believers in Jesus Christ could imagine. And this evening I want to pause with you and ponder over them. thinking about three points that we can identify with. The conflict of this text, the resolution, and then the final conclusion. The conflict, resolution, and conclusion we find in Romans Revelation 12. The conflict is most simply stated in verse 7. If you look there in your Bible, you'll read some of those remarkable words that there was war in heaven. War in heaven. And what we find is that it was a conflict, this war, is a conflict with God's kingdom, his Christ, and his church. This conflict with God's kingdom is almost unthinkable for us, for we find that this conflict is tied to heaven. That place of peace, that place of righteousness and rest and unhindered glory is at war. Or at least that's what it might seem at first. Because this conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan is not limited to a time or any place. Rather, what we find is that these words like those used throughout the rest of the book of Revelation are consistently used to transcend time and space, representing the cosmic battle between God and Satan from the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 to the coming of Jesus and the final judgment. What we find in these words is that the promise of God's kingdom to redeem and restore His people is being attacked by the plan of Satan who seeks to destroy His people. And so this conflict, this war, is a war of power, is a war of authority, and that is the clashing of kingdoms is what we see. The promise of God in conflict with the plan of Satan. The promise of God to uphold His people. And the aggression of Satan to undermine and destroy them. That is the war of heaven. That cosmic battle between the promises of God and the plans of Satan. And from the beginning, it was clear, God made it clear, that His work would depend upon a coming Christ. According to Genesis 3, he would come from the seed of the woman, the Savior who would be born from God's people. And so this conflict with the kingdom of heaven brought Satan into conflict with his church, with his people, in order to undermine God's promises. It's a fierce conflict with God's people. The church was constantly being badgered and constantly at war, finding little time for rest or peace. If only Satan could destroy them. If only Satan could destroy the people of God, he could destroy the Christ by snuffing out his seed and defeat the promise of God. Some of you may have heard of William Hendrickson. I learned recently that he was the pastor of my grandparents. Although far more importantly, he wrote commentaries on the New Testament. His commentary on Revelation is most helpful. In it, he picks up this idea of conflict between God and Satan, between those clashing of kingdoms and that aggression of Satan to destroy the seed of the woman by tracing it through the Old Testament. He traces it from the initial promise in Genesis 3. from there to Cain and Abel to the flood and from the flood to Jacob and Jacob to Israel in the desert and from the desert wanderings to King David in the promised land and so on until he traces it from Queen Esther and the church in captivity to finally the coming of Christ and the birth of Bethlehem. He tells that amazing story of cosmic battle between God and Satan, a clashing of kingdoms, a time of great difficulty for the church as she waited for the Christ. Verses 1-7 of our text, chapter 12, describe this period of painful anticipation. Both the church symbolized by a glorious woman and Satan symbolized by a hideous dragon await the coming Messiah. The church is awaiting for the hope of salvation and the serpent, Satan, is awaiting so that he might finally be there in order to devour the Messiah. And in those few words, thousands of years, countless battles and untold suffering are summarized. Being reminded that with the Lord a day is like a thousand years. And then, in the fullness of time, Jesus was born, we see. In verse 5 and verse 6. God announced it, didn't He, with a chorus of angels. And Satan opposed it with the sword of King Herod who sought to kill the newborn King Jesus. And according to Matthew 2, Herod killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under. As the church waits and prays and longs for the coming of God's kingdom and the work of His Christ, They are devastated again and again and again by the ongoing war of Satan. But still we see God is in control. He preserves the life of His Messiah. Jesus Christ, in whose life, death, and resurrection we find finally resolution to that conflict, With heaven. That resolution, our second point, is announced with a loud voice from heaven in verse 10, beginning with the word now. Remember when Jesus came, He said the kingdom is heaven is at hand. The kingdom is near. This text says now. The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come. What we find in our passage is that this resolution is the fulfillment of God's promise. It becomes Satan's punishment and it is extended through the church's preaching of the Gospel. The announcement refers to four things not four different things but really one thing expressed in different ways the salvation power and kingdom and authority of verse 10 all announce the fulfillment of God's promised Christ and the redemption of his church that is why the announcement of the kingdom is joined together with the announcement of Satan's punishment we see in verse 10, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down. The defeat of Satan. The defeat of Satan means that God has won the battle for His people. He has redeemed them through the promised blood of Jesus Christ. Consider again the conflict. The life of Jesus Christ. the Pharisees and the scribes and the opposition that Jesus faced. And finally, He's forced, it seems, to the cross. And no doubt, Satan saw there a victory for His plan. But just three days later, that cursed cross was transformed into a sign of victory for God in the Kingdom of Heaven. For on the cross, The life and death of Jesus Christ satisfied once and for all the demands of God's law and left Satan without any further grounds to bring objections to the people of God, to the church of Jesus Christ. For God's promise was fulfilled. Satan's plans were defeated. And so, bringing the promised Messiah of Genesis 3.15, God also brought fulfillment to His promise to punish Satan. Though Satan would strike his heel, the Messiah would crush his head. Though in the Old Testament, Satan had privilege to enter into the courtroom of heaven. Think of Job. And bring accusations against the people of God. At the end of verse 10, we find that that day and night privilege of Satan, that day and night repetition of pointing to the sin of God's people is ended. The blood of Christ has left this lawyer without any grounds for charges. Four times we are told that he's been thrown down. Verse 9 says that the great dragon was thrown down. He was thrown down to the earth. His angels were thrown down with him. In verse 10 again, but now the authority of Christ has come for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down. And in His place is Jesus Christ who doesn't bring day and night accusations against us as believers. But, what do we find in Hebrews 7? He ever lives to intercede for us. That's the reversal. That's the significance of the coming of Christ, the coming of God's kingdom, and the authority of the Messiah. That the accuser is thrown down, he's thrown out of the courtroom of heaven with no further power to bring accusation against the elect. And in His place stands a new high priest who ever lives to make intercession for us. There's resolution to the cosmic battle between God and Satan because God has fulfilled His promise of Jesus Christ. There's resolution because He has disbarred Satan and removed him from His place in heaven. And, and this might be a surprise, there's resolution, our text says, because this announcement of good news continues through the preaching, proclamation, and witness of the church. Think about this. That the salvation, power, and kingdom, and authority of Christ continues now. Not just the now 2,000 years ago while the Apostle John was writing Revelation, but it exists and is at work now today through the proclamation of the Gospel. That is God's answer to our prayers. That has been God's answer for 2,000 years of praying, Thy kingdom come. It came with Christ 2,000 years ago and even though we, along with the church of every age, continue to suffer with all kinds of difficulty, the kingdom and power of God continues among us today as Jesus Christ continues to be preached. That salvation, that power, that kingdom, That authority of the resurrected and glorified Christ is among us even now for those who believe. For all who have eyes to see. And it will be. God promises that it will be until that great conclusion of His promise is finally realized. Though the conflict of heaven has been resolved, Once and finally resolved in the life, death, and resurrection, we still await that great and final conclusion. Though we live with absolute peace with God, we continue here on earth with conflict with Satan and his new plans. Like Old Testament Israel before us who waited centuries, waited and prayed and longed for centuries for the advent of Christ, we continue to wait and pray and groan along with all of creation for the redemption of our bodies. Though our waiting is very similar to that of Old Testament Israel, the message we proclaim is quite different. While Moses and the prophets looked forward to the coming of his kingdom, we can proclaim and bear witness to the fact that it has already come through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To be sure, we still see through a glass dimly, but we no longer look through the blood of animal sacrifices through the closed veil of a temple and through all of those Old Testament signs looking forward to that yet undefined Messiah. We on this side of the cross can live and die in the joy of knowing Jesus Christ. God in the flesh. God for us. God interceding for us and loving us. You see, that is why believers in Jesus Christ are called citizens of heaven. That is why Paul can say in Colossians 1 that we have been delivered from the domain of darkness and have been transformed into the kingdom of Christ. And that is why Ephesians 2 can say that we have been seated in the heavenlies with Christ. Reigning with Him. because the promises that Moses and the prophets anticipated, we are now enjoying as those who have been joined to Christ by faith. We can rejoice in these things along with the heavens, even though we know all too well it's not easy. The end of verse 12 says, Woe to you, earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath because he knows that his time is short. The text says that his time is short. It's not over. God in His own wisdom, for His own purposes, for reasons far loftier than we can understand, has chosen to resolve the conflict but not yet bring its final conclusion. Not yet. And since the devil's time is not yet over, and since he failed in his assault of heaven, he's hell-bent to corrupt the things of this earth so that even creation and the common grace that God preserves for all of us will be used as occasion to blaspheme His holy name. In His wrath, Satan, he'll corrupt the advances of science and philosophy and the liberal arts so that rather than proclaim the glories of God and the minds who hear and learn and grow, they will become the very evidences appealed to to prove God is dead. That we can no longer believe in His kingdom and that His church is an embarrassment. That's the situation we face today. That is the new strategy of Satan. Alexander Huxley seemed to have been a kind of secular prophet while others were writing books trying to calculate to the day when Jesus would return he wrote a book called A Brave New World and in it the brave world he describes as sometime in the future God is dead he's no longer believed in the new religion is absolute confidence in the ability of man and the new ethic is the pursuit of personal immediate pleasure and the new hope is further progress for the things of this world. He prophesied a time when indeed man and woman would deny the reality of God and commit themselves to building a new republic and denial of the reality of heaven. Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is the ongoing battle we face today as Satan unfolds his new strategies. He's on a leash, to be sure. But God's given him slack to work and we must be diligent. Let us be like those of verse 11. What do we see there? How do the saints conquer? No doubt there are all kinds of civil things that are valuable and important and pleasing for God for us to do. But notice the great weapon that brings victory for the church and the saints of God in verse 11. It's the blood of the Lamb. It's bearing witness to and preaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ. That salvation, that power, kingdom and authority of Christ has indeed come and is among us today. When we start to have our minds transformed with the reality of these truths, we too will be ready to place no value in our life here on earth, but to join into the glory of those cloud of witnesses who know the great gain of going home and being with Christ. As we rate and pray, witness and proclaim this truth, let us be assured that Jesus Christ is reigning, still in control, and is coming again to judge the living and the dead. Let all those who have ears to hear, hear and believe. Amen. Our dear Father in heaven, the secret things belong to you, but those things revealed belong to us and our children forever. You have revealed these things to us. Help us then to understand them, to remember them, and to be led by these truths, empowered by these truths, and inspired to live out this life as Your children among a dark world. Father, even as we do so, we do so knowing that the battle is not ours, it is yours. And so in the strength that you supply, would you enable us to bring you glory and praise in our home, in our schools, in our workplace, so that we too would be faithful witnesses that Jesus Christ has come and is reigning and will return again. It's in his name, the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.