11/12/23 “Wars and Rumors of Wars”

“Wars and Rumors of Wars”

Revelation Chapter 12 (12:1-17)

As a kid, one of my favorite board games was “Risk.”

Some of you may be familiar with this game. You begin by placing armies in various countries on a large map. Then, you spend the next 5 or 6 hours of your life attempting to defeat the armies of other players until one person’s army is the last one standing – and hence – they have taken over the world.

I remember at many family gatherings (such as Thanksgiving or Christmas) my cousin Mike, myself, my Dad, and whoever else we could con into playing, would engage in this epic battle of world domination.

In some ways, this game of war resembled the real thing – alliances would be made, words would be spoken, feelings would be hurt, soda would be spilled…this was serious business because the winner would boast the title of supreme commander of the world – at least until the next time we played.

For some reason, the ladies never wanted to play Risk…it’s like they had better things to do with 6 hours of their lives than pretend to obliterate family members from the face of the earth….I’ll never understand that.

 Well, whereas Risk is just a game of war, we unfortunately live in a world where war is definitely not a game.

Today’s sermon is going to be a bit different than usual.

Today, you won’t hear many illustrations or funny anecdotes…you won’t hear about my latest experience at Culvers or Pizza Ranch…

Today, we will be looking at a very serious subject – the subject of war.

 In light of what is happening right now in Israel – and on a weekend where we as a nation honor those who have served our own country in the armed forces –

I feel it would be appropriate for us today to look at the history of aggression directed toward the Jewish people throughout the centuries – and what the Bible says about the spiritual forces that are driving it.

As you all know, just over a month ago on October 7th 2023, Islamic terrorists affiliated with the group Hamas breached the Israeli border fence and proceeded to murder over a thousand people – most of whom were attending a music festival a few miles from the border of Gaza near the town of Kibbutz Re’im.

Some people were taken away as prisoners, but the majority were brutally murdered – with many individuals being tortured or raped before taking their final breath.

This act of terrorism by a Muslim group that has one goal – to kill all Jews and those who support Israel -  was the manifestation of pure evil.

Some of you may recognize the names Itai and Hadar Berdichevsky. They were a young Israeli couple who were murdered in their home in a small kibbutz near the Gaza border…they were also parents of 10-month-old twins.

Itai and Hadar heard the terrorists coming and had the wherewithal to hide their babies in a safe room before the Hamas terrorists charges through the front door.

Itai and Hadar lost their lives that day but through their quick thinking - and by the grace of God - their babies were found 14 hours later….alive.

But these precious babies are now orphans. These babies will never know their birth parents because of this senseless act of pure evil.

Even more horrific, many other babies and children did not survive this Hamas attack as these terrorists made no distinction as to their victim’s age, gender, or ethnicity….

In their raid, Hamas killed many non-Jewish people as well – including over 30 Americans….they even murdered numerous Palestinians.

So, the question becomes….Where does this level of hatred come from?

The world will tell you that collective hatred of this magnitude comes as a natural result of some kind of generational oppression, or from a reaction to some economic policy of perceived inequality or injustice.

You see, people who hold to an atheistic, naturalistic view of the world have no way of defining or explaining the existence of evil.

To them, it becomes impossible to condemn the actions of others because such a worldview does not allow for a transcendent moral law….or, for that matter, a transcendent moral law-giver.

To these worldly individuals, there is no standard for ‘good or bad’, there is no ‘right or wrong’….just your opinion and my opinion….and since (according to this view) we are all simply the product of random chemicals bouncing around in our brains, who’s to say that your cranial chemical reactions are any more correct than my chemical reactions?

This is downright scary…..If you take this atheistic, naturalistic, relativistic, illogical worldview to its logical conclusion, it becomes impossible for one individual or group to tell another individual or group what they are doing is wrong….because, according to this ideology, there is no divine standard of right and wrong.

There really is no difference between, say, Hitler and Mother Theresa…only the biological reactions going on in their individual cerebral cortexes.

That’s why we are seeing people who actually believe the horrific lie that Hamas was somehow justified in their actions of violence and murder against the Israeli people….

Folks, this is called deception….and it originates from a deceiver…and the Bible tells us that this evil purveyor of deception has a name….his name is Satan.

 Chapter 12 of Revelation is an amazing portion of scripture because it pulls back the curtain for us to catch a glimpse of the spiritual forces that are at work behind the scenes throughout all of history….forces of good as well as forces of evil.

Keep in mind here in this chapter that John, the author, is using symbolic language and imagery in order to convey truth regarding physical realities.

Verses 1 and 2 describe a pregnant woman with 12 stars on her head.

First of all, this is not a literal woman – this is a description of a nation of people, it’s a description of the nation of Israel.

The 12 stars on the woman’s head symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel....the imagery here is reminiscent of Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37:9 concerning his family members when Joseph says “….I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

Joseph himself would, of course, be the 12th star in John’s vision here in the book of Revelation.

Moving forward, verses 3 and 4 of Revelation chapter 12 describe a second player in this cosmic saga – the dragon…or, we know him better as – Satan.

John describes this dragon as enormous, with seven crowned heads and ten horns.

Many theologians believe that the seven heads refer to 7 world empires that have ruled over the Jewish people, and the 10 horns representative of 10 kings (or rulers) who will assume power during the second half of the 7 year tribulation – all under the supreme authority of the Antichrist….who is directly controlled by Satan.

So here in these verses we have the image of Satan attempting to position himself in such a way as to destroy the soon-to-be-born Jewish child of promise.

Verse 5 (Revelation 12:5) tells us about the birth of that child.

The text says that the woman gave birth to a son, a son who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter…

If you haven’t already guessed, the soon-to-be-born baby in this powerful scene refers to the Christ child….the Messiah….it refers to Jesus being born in the flesh through the lineage of the Jewish patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and so on…

According to verse 5, Jesus is described as being “Snatched up to God and to His throne.”

This verse is a description of Jesus’ entire earthly life – from his birth to his ascention….and through all of it, God the Father protected him.

 If we look at Jewish history, we clearly see the work of Satan (The Dragon) and his attempt to snuff out, or thwart, God’s plan of having the Messiah come through the Jewish people, and eventually fulfill the perfect plan of redemption for mankind.

For Instance:

In the time of Moses’ birth, the Egyptian king told the midwives to kill any male Hebrew child – this was an attempt by Satan to derail the plan of God.

A short time later, Pharoah would try to stamp out the Israelites by chasing after them into the desert – this was an attempt by Satan to derail the plan of God.

During the time of the Judges, many of Israel’s pagan neighbors tried to completely destroy them – this was an attempt by Satan to derail the plan of God.

Later on, Saul tried to murder David - this was an attempt by Satan to derail the plan of God.

In the book of Esther, we see Haman attempt to exterminate the Jewish people - this was an attempt by Satan to derail the plan of God.

In Matthew chapter 2, we see an angel warn Joseph that King Herod was going to kill all the young boys in their region - this was an attempt by Satan to derail the plan of God.

In Matthew chapter 4, Satan directly tries to tempt Jesus to sin, which would have derailed the plan of God.

Finally, in Luke chapter 4, Satan tries to influence the people of Nazareth to kill Jesus.

All of these satanic attempts to derail the plan of God fail as Jesus obediently and prophetically fulfills his mission – to make salvation available to all who place their faith and trust in him.

Satan, however, did not give up.

We see his hand in the many attempts - since the time of Christ - where people and nations have persecuted Jews, most notably, of course being the holocaust during WWII.

Today what we are seeing between Israel and Hamas is yet another chapter in the long book of satanic persecution of the Jewish people.

Satan hates the Jewish nation because it is through this race of people that Jesus, the Messiah, was born – and through his sacrificial death on the cross– opened the door to salvation for those who will believe upon his name.

As a believer in Jesus – Satan hates you too!

Satan wants nothing more than for you to experience pain, loss, grief, sadness, depression, torture, agony, suffering, anguish, affliction, misery, heartache, trauma….do you get the point?

In short – Satan wants you dead….physically and spiritually dead.

Satan hates you because when he sees a believer in Jesus bound for Heaven, it vividly reminds him of his ultimate destiny of eternal torment in the lake of fire!

This is why Satan has never – and will never – give up his tireless quest to somehow derail God’s plan of salvation for mankind. He wants as much of the human race to share in his eternal destiny as possible.

This is why evangelism is so important – we should care enough about the eternal destiny of others to share the gospel message with them…to tell them of the salvation that is found only through Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 6:2 reminds us of this urgent truth when it says “…Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”

That lost individual that God has laid on your heart? Maybe it’s a friend…a co-worker…a family member…an acquaintance…a stranger you just met…tell them about what Jesus has done for you.

Just plant a seed. For a harvest to occur – a seed needs to be planted.

Verses 7-12 of our passage for today (Revelation 12:7-12) shifts to a different theater  – that of war in Heaven.

This is an amazing passage of scripture as John describes a battle of epic proportions happening in a spiritual dimension that is difficult for us to fathom.

Verse 7 (Revelation 12:7) tells us that the angel Michael leads the other angels in an epic battle against the dragon (Satan) and his demons as they attempt to cause as much destruction as they can in the heavenly realms.

A common misconception about Satan is that he is in Hell right now….this is simply not the case.

Someday, he will be in Hell (A place the Bible calls the lake of fire) forever – but that is not where he is now.

So…where is Satan right now and what is he doing?

Satan divides his time between two places where he involves himself in 2 different activities.

The first place is here on earth where his primary goal is to deceive humanity.

1 Peter 5:8 tells us to “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

The second place we see Satan spending time in scripture is – brace yourself – is in the presence of God….

Look at verse 10 (Revelation 12:10) “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.”

Most theologians believe that this epic war in heaven takes place at the mid-point of the 7 year tribulation – a time that has not yet come upon the earth.

Before this time of the Tribulation, Satan is described as accusing believers before God – this means that he is, at least occasionally, in God’s presence.

Heaven is typically defined as God’s presence….so right now, Satan does have at least some access to Heaven.

Both of these places and activities of Satan are also confirmed in the book of Job.

Job 1:6-7 reads “One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the Lord, ‘From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.’”

Here we clearly see Satan’s activities – and the 2 locations in which he is currently conducting these activities.

Satan roams the earth looking to deceive men – and - he makes accusations against believers in the presence of God.

Fortunately for us, if we have placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, Satan’s accusations against us are futile and ineffective.

Why? Because when Satan brings up our laundry list of sins, God looks at His Son and tells Satan “By the blood of the lamb, that laundry is clean!”

1 John 1:7 says “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

A couple verses later:

1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Finally, 1 Corinthians 6:11 says “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, your were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

If your life is in Jesus Christ and you’ve repented of your sin, Satan’s accusations against you will never stick because when God looks at you, he no longer sees the stain of sin – he simply sees the clean righteousness of His Son.

Psalm 103:12 is a wonderful reminder of this truth: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

Praise God!!

…And praise God that the Devil and his demonic forces are defeated in this heavenly battle.

Verse 8 and 9 (Revelation 12:8-9) tell us that Satan loses this battle and he – along with his demons – are hurled to earth.

The remainder of this passage describes Satan’s intensified attempt to take as much of humanity down with him.

Satan knows that his time is almost up before being locked away – he has 3 and a half years to cause as much trouble as possible on the earth before Jesus victoriously returns at the end of the tribulation to set up his millennial Kingdom.

This Messianic Kingdom will last for a thousand years, at the end of which Satan will be released one last time for one last battle.

The battle won’t last long – it will be extremely one-sided.

This is when Satan is defeated for good and he is finally cast into the lake of fire for all of eternity.

Revelation 20:7-10 tell of this final war: “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth – Gog and Magog – to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from Heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

The good news?...God wins!

We just need to make sure that we are on the right side of this battle.

So when we look at what is going on right now in Gaza and how war has found its way to Israel – we need to pay attention – we need to be ready.

We need to be ready in case these are the birth pains that Jesus speaks of in the book of Matthew.

Matthew 24:4-8 says “Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name claiming, “I am the Christ”, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

Brothers and sisters…let’s be ready.

Let’s have our lives committed to our savior Jesus Christ.

Personally, I have a feeling that activity in the middle east will just continue to escalate, and when other countries begin to get involved in moving against Israel – those of us who read our bibles – we will know what is coming.

Be ready, folks…be ready.

And If you haven’t already done so , give your life to Jesus Christ today – for time is getting short.

Let’s Pray.