Bible Text: Revelation 12 | Pastor: Eric Danielson | Series: Living on Mission | One of the biggest, yet most overlooked barriers that keeps Christians from living on mission, is that we have a powerful enemy that wants to take us out. What is he like? And how can we overcome him?

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Enemy of the Mission
Revelation 12

Living on mission is difficult because of the day to day struggles in this world and our own fleshly desires, which is why in the past two weeks we have looked at the fuel and network of support we need to persevere. The fuel is our connection with Jesus and the network of support is our connection with the church family and these give us what we need to keep going from day to day. But there’s another major barrier to living on mission that we need to be aware of that can cause all kinds of problems – we have a bitter enemy who wants to take us out.

I played on a really great basketball team in high school and we went to State my Sophomore, Junior, and Senior year. In my Sophomore year we were just glad to make it to State, and I think we won 1 out of 3 games and took 6th place overall. In my Junior year there were higher expectations and twice as many teams because they did a sweet 16 tournament, so we had to play one extra round to begin the tournament. I remember we did well, winning 3 out of 4 games and taking fifth place.

When my Senior year came around, the expectations were very high. We were ranked #1 in our class, had a 29-1 record, and were starting 5 veteran seniors, 3 of whom had scored over 1,000 points. During the season we beat the undefeated state champions from the previous 2 years and in our last game to make it to State we beat the #2 ranked team in our class by 29 points. So the stage was set for a promising run at the state title. Again they did a sweet 16 tournament that year, so we had to play an opening round to begin the tournament and you had to win that game or you were done. Everyone expected us to easily win and move on to the rest of the tournament.

The problem was, we faced a team that really wanted to take us out. They were a private school in the Twin Cities and ranked #5 in our class, and everyone assumed that since we had already beaten two better teams, we’d walk all over them. But they came ready to play and wanting to put an end to our season. When the final buzzer sounded, we lost by about 10 points and it was over. We were done. We had come to state on a mission to win the title, but we ran into an enemy we kind of overlooked that took us out.

On the day we first put our faith in Christ and joined him on his mission, we became the target of a bitter enemy who wants to take us out. And oftentimes this enemy gets overlooked. So this morning we’re going to look at who he is and how we can defeat him. To understand who this enemy is, I want us to look at a passage of Scripture that I think portrays his hatred for us and for our mission very clearly. It comes from the book of Revelation – from visions the apostle John received while he was in exile on the island of Patmos.

Read Revelation 12:1-6.
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. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 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. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 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.

The book of Revelation is difficult to interpret and there are a lot of different opinions about what each passage means. So you may have a different opinion than me about the meaning of these passages, and that’s just fine – don’t let that be a distraction to you because it won’t change the main point that I think we will all agree on.

In these first 6 verses we are introduced to three key figures. One is the woman described in verses 1-2. She likely represents the faithful Israelites at the time of Jesus’ birth. It says she was pregnant and about to give birth. Her child is the second key figure and is Jesus, the Messiah, who would be born from among the faithful Israelites, including his parents and many others. And the third key figure is the great red dragon described in verse 3. We know from later on in verse 9 that this is Satan, but the way he is described also indicates that he was working through a powerful earthly kingdom – in this case the vast Roman Empire which also included King Herod the Great in Israel. These were powerful, wicked kingdoms at the time Christ was born.

It says in verse 4 that the dragon stood before the woman, waiting for her child to be born so he could devour it. My understanding is that this corresponds with Herod the Great’s attempt to kill Jesus after he was born when he had all the baby boys slaughtered in Bethlehem. That attempt was unsuccessful. The child was caught up to God and his throne, which I think is a reference to Christ’s ascension, and the woman fled into the wilderness for safety, which also shows up later on and I think describes the early Christians fleeing from Jerusalem to escape persecution.

So in this first passage you see a menacing enemy who hates Jesus and failed to destroy him.

Read Revelation 12:7-12.
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 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. 10 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. 11 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. 12 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!”

Here we see there was a great war in the heavenly realms that corresponds with events in human history. This war was likely fought in the time leading up to and surrounding Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus’ death may have first appeared to be a stunning victory for Satan but ended up being a crushing blow instead. It appears that prior to the resurrection of Christ, Satan and his angels were allowed to have some kind of presence in heaven, which is also indicated in the first chapter of the book of Job. During this time Satan was allowed to hurl accusations against the people of God who had been justified by faith even though they were guilty of sin. But after Christ’s death and resurrection, Satan’s accusations had no ground to stand on and he was utterly defeated.

He and his angels were cast out of heaven and thrown to the earth. They were decisively conquered by the blood of the Lamb and by the testimony of the faithful people of old. Colossians 2:13-15 seems to speak of this as well when Paul writes: “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” Satan was defeated at the cross and his accusations had nothing to stand on, and he was cast down to the earth along with his angels.

So these verses show us a conquered and humiliated enemy, now filled with wrath because he knows his time is short. The clock is ticking on Satan and his angels. When Christ returns Satan will be thrown into hell to be tormented day and night forever. The reason that hasn’t happened yet is found in something Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” The end hasn’t come yet because the mission isn’t complete. As long as the mission is incomplete, Satan’s final ruin won’t come to pass. But his time is short. So what do you suppose he is trying to do in the time he has left on earth? We see that in the final verses of Revelation 12.

Read Revelation 12:13-17.
13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings 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. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 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. 17 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. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

As soon as Satan was thrown down to earth after the resurrection of Christ, he went to work trying to destroy the small group of Christians in Jerusalem so that the advance of the gospel would be put to an end. I think this corresponds with the activity of the Jewish leaders to snuff out the followers of Christ through threats and persecution, which escalated to the stoning of Stephen and the manhunt for Christians conducted by a zealot named Saul. Satan was behind all of this – the great red dragon pouring out water from his mouth in a flood of persecution. But it didn’t work. In fact, it backfired because the Christians fled from Jerusalem into the surrounding regions, and they spread the gospel wherever they went. The gospel was no longer contained in one area and became a major obstacle to Satan’s longevity. And you see in verse 17 that this infuriated the dragon and he went off to make war on the woman’s offspring.

Who are they? That’s all the people who have converted to Christ since then, and even though we’re almost 2,000 years removed, that includes all of us. We have a powerful and menacing enemy who is has been defeated and humiliated by Christ, who failed to put an end to his followers in Jerusalem, and who is now waging war against us in an attempt to keep us from completing our mission so he can delay his own eternal torment in hell. He’s like a cornered beast that’s incredibly dangerous and he cannot be overlooked. He is actively working to take us out. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

We need to be aware that we are under attack. We have an enemy who is actively at work in the world to destroy us. The mounting tension you feel in the world, especially against Christians – does it seem kind of odd to you? Kind of out of place? That’s because what’s driving it is an invisible, evil, demonic warlord who hates our guts. For 2,000 years he has been warring against Christians to try to slow down the advance of the gospel. We’ve already seen that he uses direct persecution, but he has many other tactics that are more inconspicuous.

I looked up every place where the word “Satan” or “Devil” is used in the ESV to see what the Bible says about Satan’s attacks and here’s what I found… He often uses temptation to keep us from the mission – temptations of self-reliance, pursuing the things of this world, greed, sexual immorality and slander. He also uses lies, deception, and false teaching – twisting the truth just enough to get us to believe a lie and veer of course. He’s responsible for natural disasters, sickness, disease, physical disability, and death – not in all cases, but certainly in some. He also uses hatred, malice, and murder. And finally, he’s also responsible for creating division in the church that has crippled the effectiveness of Christians working together to accomplish the mission. I’m sure if we took more time, we would find many other ways the Bible affirms Satan is attacking us. We are in the midst of a spiritual battle and Satan knows he can’t snatch us out of the Father’s hands, but he doesn’t need to – he only needs to slow us down and prevent us from living on mission.

Once you start to hear about these things you start to see that our enemy is far more real and active than most of us realize, and in many cases his destructive influence in our lives is overlooked. The spiritual battle is likely influencing us much more than we realize in the various things that keep us from living on mission. So, if we are going to succeed, we need to be aware of his attacks and understand our defense.

It’s important to know that even though Satan is a formidable enemy, those of us who are in Christ, have nothing to fear. When Jesus gave his disciples the mission, which also includes all of us, he first reassured them with this in Matthew 28:18: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples… And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” All authority belongs to Christ and Christ is with us always. We don’t have to be afraid of Satan’s attacks because in Christ, we can’t be defeated. His first disciples found this out with great surprise when Jesus first sent them out on mission. Luke 10:17-19 says, “The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” That same authority belongs to us today. When we go into the world to carry out the mission Christ has given us to do, we have his authority to defeat Satan. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 it says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.”

Furthermore, God can take the things that Satan uses to harm us and actually turn them around to defeat him. In Romans 8:28 we are promised that God uses all things, even the problems caused by Satan, for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. And in Romans 8:37 we are told that we are more than conquerors in Christ, which in that context means that not only will we be saved through various trials we face, but God will actually use those trials to bring victory over the enemy and accomplish the mission.

So we have the authority in Christ to defeat Satan and bring about his demise by continuing to live on mission. Christ has given us everything we need to stand firm in the day of battle and defeat our enemy. We just need to use it, and that’s what Paul teaches in Ephesians 6:10-18.

Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints

In Christ we have the truth we need to stand against the lies and deception of Satan. We have the righteousness of Christ to defend us against his accusations. We have the good news of the gospel with which we can advance the mission. We have the gift of faith to fend off his various attacks. We have the guarantee of salvation to give us confidence, and the word of God to fight with. And finally, we have the gift of prayer and a Father that hears our prayers and acts in response to them.

God wants us to succeed in living on mission and has willed to bring Satan to an end. In Christ we have everything we need to win the victory each day and with every attack we face. So let us be aware of our enemy, but let us not loose heart, for as we stand firm in Christ we will have the victory.