So turn with me, if you would, to Revelation chapter 12. As we consider this morning, the last section, verses 13 through 17. But once again, we read together the entire chapter so that we might as well be reminded of the context and what we have considered up to this point. Revelation 12, beginning at verse 1, as we give our attention to the Word of God. A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven, an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to His throne. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down. That ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray, he was hurled to the earth and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers who accuses them before our God day and night has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them. But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you. He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short. Now the words of our text. When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert where she would be taken care of for a time, times, and half a time out of the serpent's reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring, those who obeyed God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. Dear people of God, I don't think it's any secret that many things change for us in our lives. And we keep moving ahead as it were. We know that's true in our daily lives as we grow and we change, physically speaking. That's true in the fashion world with clothing and hairstyles and even as the style of eyeglasses has changed over time. That's even true as we face the dawning of another new year, a change from the year 2002 and all that has taken place this year to 2003 and all that we anticipate. Things change. Yet not everything changes. As Scripture teaches us, our God is changeless and His Word is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And there's one other thing that still stays the same, and that is that we still live in between. We still live in between Christ's first coming and His second coming. And that means, as I believe this text points out, we still live in that time of the great wrath of Satan. There's another change we can talk about, and that's when one becomes a believer, especially if one becomes a believer later on in life. that one experiences a change. They experience the peace of God that passes understanding. They experience the joy of the Lord as their strength. But there is another change that is taught that they do not experience. And that is that once you become a believer that everything will be fine. You will no longer suffer. You will no longer endure hardships. You're safe forever. That's a change that God's people do not enjoy. And that's because we still live in the time of the great wrath of Satan. He is still prowling around like a roaring lion seeking whom He may devour, as Peter says. He is still trying to destroy the church one person at a time. Yes, we know that Jesus Christ is victorious and Satan's final defeat is a sure thing. We have no doubt about that. Yet the end has not yet come, and we are still a part of the church's struggle of the ages. The church on earth, as we know, is called the church militant. Because down here on earth, she continues to do battle for the kingdom of God under the banner of the cross of Jesus. And as we seek to finish this chapter of Scripture this morning, let's consider together this Word of God, the dragon's earthly revenge. As we notice, first of all, the woman's protection. Secondly, the attack against the church. And then finally, the attack against Christians. Verses 13 and 14 once again. When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert where she would be taken care of for a time, times, and half a time out of the serpent's reach. Now you recall that in our study of this entire passage so far, we have seen that Satan, the devil, the ancient serpent, he failed to keep the Messiah from being born. And no doubt, beloved, he is angered every year as believers celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. As he is reminded every year that he failed. And because of the blood of the Lamb of God, Satan lost his right, as we said earlier, to accuse God's people before the throne of God because of their sins. But until this present earthly life is over, Satan seeks his revenge and he continues to try to attack Christ through Christ's church. Now if, as we have said, this woman represents the church, and I believe she does, the text is clear that Satan's target, his object of prey, since he has been thrown down to earth, is the church militant. The dragon failed to get the child. And the child himself is out of the dragon's reach, but he is going after the woman who brought forth the child. But the text, picking up from and repeating verse 6, speaks of the woman's protection. Now why does she need to be protected? Why does the dragon want to persecute her? Again, as I've said before, I believe this is now speaking about the New Testament church since the birth, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. The New Testament church, which is the mother of New Testament believers. Verse 17 tells us that this woman has more children as it speaks of her offspring. And we cannot forget as we consider this that Satan's sole purpose, His goal is to work to prevent the establishment of the kingdom of God, which we know he has already failed to do. As well, his goal is to maintain his own power and his own sovereignty. He knows that the church is instrumental, the instrument in the hand of God, by the grace of God, instrumental in the completion of the kingdom of God, and in making God's counsel in bringing forth the elect come to pass, making it become real. The elect must be brought forth and added to the body of Christ, added to the church before the kingdom will be complete. And since the church has such an important role in God's plan, Satan fights her to the end. You see, beloved, if this woman, if the church had no further purpose, the devil wouldn't bother with her. And the same is true for us. Those who don't care about the kingdom of God will not be the targets of Satan. That's why it's wrong to preach a health and wealth gospel that once you become a believer, once you accept Christ, everything will be fine. You will have no more struggles and no more worries. You see, Satan attacks those, as verse 17 says, who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. But again, the church is important in God's kingdom. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the church is the mother of the true spiritual children of God as a visible institution on earth. The visible church brings forth the invisible church, true believers from age to age. The children of the kingdom of God are born from her, baptized by her, nourished through her and received their strength and life and all of the blessings of God's kingdom in her warm embrace. The devil knows her great importance. And he knows that when the last of the elect are gathered in, that he is finished forever. If the dragon could have devoured the male child, the great seed of the woman, then he wouldn't have to bother with the rest of her offspring, her seed. But he failed. The church still exists stronger than ever. Even contrary to what she may look like visibly on this earth, the church still exists stronger than ever. And the same woman who brought forth the Messiah as well as Abel and Enoch and Noah and Moses and the patriarchs and the prophets and all of the Old Testament saints, she will continue to bring forth offspring until Christ comes again. Satan knows this. He knows that these children will continue to fight the battle here below and that they will one day enter into glory and therefore He fights to keep her from bringing forth too many more children. But you see, this woman is under the care of the Almighty God. She cannot outrun the dragon. And therefore the Lord protects His church by bearing her up on eagles' wings and bringing her to the desert, as the text says, or the wilderness, to a desolate place. And we are reminded of the Israelites being delivered from the Egyptians by the hand of God and cared for and provided for by God in the wilderness for 40 years. In Exodus 19, verse 4, we read, You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now, eagles' wings I take to mean the strength and the power of God, which He uses to provide the church with a means of escape from the great wrath of the devil. But how do we understand the desert? How do we understand the wilderness for the New Testament church? As you can imagine, there are many different ideas when we have symbolism such as this. But I believe that the desert for the New Testament church is the present place of the church in the world. It is the church's place in the world, but not of the world. You see, the church lies in the world, but she is distinctly separated from the life of the world. The church as institution. Now we know that one who is in the wilderness, one who is out in the desert in a desolate place, really is separated from the rest of the world. And the visible church as an institution is an institution that is and is to be separate in every way from the world. Now this may be different, of course, for her children, individual believers. Believers live right in the midst of the world and live life in many respects like unbelievers. What I mean is that there is a commonness. There are things that we have in common with those who do not call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have the same kinds of jobs. We shop in the same places. We enjoy the same kinds of recreation and many things that we have in common with the people of the world as a whole. Yet believers are spiritually separated from that worldly life and they live life from the principle of the kingdom of God and not from the principle of the kingdom of this world. Again, we may participate in the very same activities, yet we do so so differently. In other words, as Dr. Mike Horton says in his book, Where in the World is the Church? Christians are not to allow worldly definitions and worldly attitudes and worldly outlooks and patterns to shape our beliefs and our expressions. In other words, beloved, the believer's conscience is not to be seared with the philosophy of the wicked world, but it is to be transformed by the Word of God. The church is separate from the world of sin. She has her own king and does not recognize any other ruler. She has her own laws. Yes, it's true, the world may exercise laws over the church building and over her tax-free status. And as a church, we do submit to the governing authorities insofar as those authorities do not command us to go against the teaching of Scripture. But in regard to the church's real existence in life, with regards to her very nature, The church does not acknowledge any other power or sovereignty than Jesus Christ and Him alone. The church formulates her own creed. Not a world power, not a king, not a president. She governs her own worship according to the Word of God. She is separate. She is, in a sense, in a desert. And therefore, for example, the church does not mingle in politics as such or she teaches her her children how to live and behave with regard to the laws of the land and and teaches individual believers that it is their responsibility for example to get involved in policy making and government but the church as an institution does not get involved in politics the church's business you see is to preach the word of god to administer the sacraments as well to carry out church discipline. The church has her own king, her own laws, her own life. And she is not to accommodate herself to the world, which means that the church is not to be user-friendly to the world. I did not say that the church is not to be friendly to the world. I did not say that we are not to embrace those who come through the doors of the church. Not at all. We are. But the church is not to be user-friendly to the world in the sense that when the world comes through the doors of the church that the world is not to expect to have it their way. But they are to expect to get it God's way. The king nourishes his church by his word and spirit. Indeed, beloved, individual members of the true church are called commanded to be a transforming influence on the world as spiritual salt and light because the created world belongs to our Heavenly Father. But this is to be done only on God's terms and not on Satan's terms. Beloved, the text says that she would be taken care of, which means nourished for a time, times and half a time out of the serpent's reach. And this time frame is the same as the 1,260 days of verse 6 and it refers again to the New Testament church age between Christ's first and second coming. But her protection is that she is out of the serpent's reach. In other words, we are to understand that her protection is from the presence or the face of the serpent. The church is spared from Satan's most deadly and direct attack. Now we know that Satan has been bound or chained. His influence is curved or restricted so that He can no longer deceive the nations as John says later on in his revelation. Yet we also know that His influence is not completely cut off. Boys and girls, think of it this way. A dog on a chain cannot go beyond the boundaries or the length of that chain. But that dog can do untold damage within the realm of that chain. But in the desert, the church is protected in that Satan cannot destroy her. He still influences, but he cannot destroy her. In the Old Testament, you recall that the church and the nation were one and the same, namely Israel. But the New Testament church is safe because the nations of the world can no longer harass the church by making war upon a single nation. The church is no longer in one particular land but she has spread over all the world among all the nations. We can think of the apostolic age after Christ's ascension. You recall that the more the church was persecuted, the more she spread. She did not die, but she grew. And you see, beloved, she will not die by the very promise of the Savior. He says in Matthew 16, On this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And what a comfort for God's people to know that Satan cannot and will not destroy the very body of Jesus Christ. Yet it's true that we still struggle against Him. The devil doesn't give up. He works to influence her and to weaken her, even as the text goes on to speak of the attack against the church. Notice again verses 15 and 16. Then from His mouth the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Again, the church is safe from complete destruction in the wilderness. It is there where she is safe from out of the serpent's reach. And therefore the devil tries an indirect method of attack. And I think the symbolism here is picturesque. a river of water meant to sweep the woman out of the desert, the place where he cannot reach her, and to carry her back to the place where he can reach her. Satan's goal is to lift her up from isolation and carry her back into the world from which she fled. But the church's strength by the grace of God is in him and in her isolation from the powers of the world. You see, if she does not remain separate, she loses her distinctiveness. And when she unites with the world, then she becomes one with those very same powers that rise up against Jesus Christ. Satan works to establish an alliance between the church and the world to unite the two. That was his goal when he tempted Christ. He knows that if he is able to establish that unity then she will lose her strength and instead of bringing up her children as citizens of the kingdom of God they will be subjects of the kingdom of the world of Satan's kingdom and then he can deprive Christ of his subjects well how does Satan seek to unite the church and the world I think it's interesting that John refers to him again in verse 15 as the serpent. And no doubt if you ask the boys and girls here what you think of when you think of the Bible and you think of the serpent, they would say the Garden of Eden. The serpent in the Garden of Eden. And we know that that which characterized the serpent was deceit and lying. That which proceeds from the mouth. In the book of Revelation when it talks about the mouth that is talking about words and the power of those words, both good and evil. And I believe that we can understand the phrases from his mouth and water like a river as false doctrines and heresies that he sends into the church, things which are both spoken and taught. Again, we know that Satan tried to destroy the church. If the early New Testament church had stayed in Jerusalem only, she would have been easy prey for the devil. But as we said a moment ago, the more that she was attacked, the more she spread. And Paul's missionary journeys are a wonderful proof of that. Through the dispersion, Christ's church did not die, but went worldwide. Yet throughout history, we know that there have been many different streams of influence that have sought to carry the church off course. You may recall that early church councils dealt with the humanity and the deity of Christ because the humanity and the deity of Christ were being rejected. Also, the church has struggled with the concept of works righteousness versus salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, by Christ alone. The church throughout the ages has been affected time and time again by agents of the devil, by wolves in sheep's clothing coming into the visible church, spreading the lies and the delusions of Satan working to cause the church to drift off course, even to drown her. And those visible churches which have swallowed those lies have indeed been destroyed. And it's for that reason that Paul commands the church in Ephesians 4 that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. Now the text says again in verse 16, But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Now what does that mean? I have to confess that I really don't know. We can think of some literal Old Testament situations where creation removed evil. You remember, after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and Pharaoh and his army entered into the dry path, that Moses said these words, Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today you shall see again no more forever. And we know what happened. The walls of water came crashing down upon them, wiping them out. And you recall, I trust, that when Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against Moses and Aaron, that God swallowed them and their families and their followers up when as Scripture says, You see, in these ways, God purged the evil attack against the Old Testament church. But how does the earth help the New Testament church? Well, again, I can only speculate, but I think on the one hand of Gamaliel's advice to the council in Acts 5 in connection with Peter and John's preaching. Gamaliel's advice really was true, he says, beginning at verse 35 of Acts 5, Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago, Thutis appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about 400 men rallied to him. He was killed. All his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case, I advise you, leave these men alone. Let them go. For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men. You will only find yourselves fighting against God. Again, Gamaliel's advice was true. It was bad advice. He should have told them to join with them because they would not be able to defeat them and their teaching would continue. But he was saying that if their teaching is false, it will die away. If it's true, you can't stop it anyway. And as we think back over church history, the false teachings that have been introduced into the church, even though many fell with these teachings, they have been short-lived. Yes, they keep emerging. They keep reincarnating in different ways and shapes and forms. There's nothing new under the sun to be sure, but they never last. In many respects, the world soaks these false teachings in because they make sense. to some. And they can be reasoned. But in that way they are removed from the true church. The people of the world soak up many false teachings and lies like evolution or the New Age movement and many other things. And although the pressure is still there for the church to conform, the church is left standing by herself upon the solid rock of Jesus Christ. The world in many respects diverts attention from the church. Yet, whatever this verse means, beloved, the truth is that it is the work of God's grace and Spirit that enables the church to withstand the devil's deceptive flood. Even as the Lord says in Isaiah, when you go through the fire, not if, but when you go through the fire, the flames will not scorch you. When you go through the waters, the waves will not sweep you over. You see, beloved, God in His grace enables His church to not believe every spirit, but to test the spirits whether they are of God. And the church is called to take up the sword of the Spirit, the very Word of God, the truth which judges and exposes that which is false. I said the book of Revelation, when it talks about the mouth, it talks about words and power, both good and evil. We've talked about the evil, but it talks about it in the good way also. Revelation chapter 1 and chapter 9 speaks of another figure with something coming out of his mouth. The Son of Man with the sword coming out of his mouth. The very Word of God Himself who speaks judgment against Satan and destroys the devil. But you see, Satan knows that if he can't sway the church as an institution, there's one more place he can attack. Verse 17 speaks of his attack against Christians when it says, 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. Satan cannot deceive the true church so then he directs his attack against individual believers. And notice again the objects of his attack. Those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And we need to understand that John is talking here about those who do these things continually as only Christians do. Who use these things as a way of life. Do you see, beloved? Only the faithful are those who are a threat to Satan. Only those who actively fight the good fight are the ones who worry Him. His enemies are only those who claim that God is sovereign over every sphere of their life, that they must live according to the principles of the Word of God, that they must keep His commandments, that they must proclaim that Jesus Christ is King over all. They are the ones who worry Him. They are the ones who are a threat to Him. And therefore, we must all ask ourselves this question. Am I a threat to Satan? Ask yourself that right now. Am I a threat to Satan? Does he have to worry about me? Or doesn't he even trouble himself with me? You see, believers are the ones which Satan attacks through persecution, even as our Lord said. Whether that be persecution of the flesh or of the emotions or through relationships or some other way, and these he also attacks spiritually with the guilt and shame of their sin, planting thoughts in them that they are beyond help and beyond salvation. There's no hope for them. You see, beloved, his goal is the apostasy of believers. to destroy the church one believer at a time. But do you know what? The text also makes it clear that he will fail in doing that as well. Listen again. He makes war with those who obey and keep on obeying the commandments of God and with those who hold and keep on holding to the testimony of Jesus. He makes war against those who persevere by the preserving hand of God. Those whose feet have been lifted out of the miry clay and placed firm upon the solid rock of Jesus Christ will never be shaken. Jesus says, These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. Beloved, although we may not fully understand all the symbolism, and I certainly don't, the symbolism that we find in the book of Revelation, one thing is clear. The church's struggle of the ages will be turned into the church's victory for eternity. Jesus Christ defeated the devil for, on behalf of His body, the church, and each member. He won. Simple as that. He won. And our relationship with Him is in being a part of His body, belonging to Him, the church. There is no salvation apart from Him. And therefore, as members also of the visible church, we are to fight to keep the church separate from the world. You see, we have only one King, and that's King Jesus. And we are called to love the church as our spiritual mother in which we are cared for by God. We are cared for spiritually and we are nourished and strengthened with the bread of life through the preaching of the Word and the sacraments. And as believers, we are called to obey the commandments of God and we are called to hold firmly to the testimony of Jesus Christ. And we can keep on fighting because of the assurance that we have a victory. The gates of hell shall not prevail. And it is here in the church on this earth that God prepares His people to live with Him in eternity. But those who despise the church and have a false view of the true church have been overtaken by the devil and with the devil will suffer eternal defeat. And congregation, if you have not yet, turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have not yet confessed your sins and placed your trust only in Him, you are called to repent and believe on Him alone. Because only in Him is there safety and satisfaction and assurance. And we are called to resist the devil, you see, and he will flee from you. And we are called to live in the comfort that God will not allow His people to be tempted beyond what we are able, but what the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. The congregation, Satan, is still fighting. But he is fighting a losing battle. And as we said last Sunday, God's people, the church, is restricted property. Owned and protected by God. And as believers, we are called to stand firm and fight because we have the confidence that those who trust in Jesus are crowned with the crown of victory from this time forth and even forevermore. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we thank You for this word of comfort, this word of victory that is Your people when we are subject to the trials and the difficulties and the persecutions of this life. That we might remember the word of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that in the world we will have tribulation, but we are called to be of good cheer because Jesus Christ has overcome the world. Father, we pray that You would strengthen us in our walk with the Lord. We thank You, Lord, for the assurance that You will continue to protect and to preserve Your church until the day of Christ Jesus. That we may look forward with uplifted heads to Jesus Christ returning on the clouds of heaven to take His people home forever. But until that day, O Lord, give us strength to walk in the midst of this world. Keep the devil far from us, O Lord, and help us to stand firm in the face of his attacks. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray these things. Amen.