Don’t Close Your Eyes to Evil
A blind man walks into a barbershop, and as the barber begins to cut his hair, the blind man says, “I just heard the best blonde joke ever –“
The barber interrupts, “Listen, buddy, I understand you’re blind, so I’ll cut you some slack. But you need to know: I’m a Golden Gloves boxer, and I’m blonde. The barber to your right is a former Navy Seal, and he’s blonde. The barber to your left is a former NFL linebacker, and he’s blonde.
“To top it off,” says the barber, “the guy at the cash register is a black belt in karate, and he’s blonde. Do you still wanna tell that joke?”
“Nah,” says the blind man. “I don’t want to have to explain it four times.”
Moral of the Story – It can be dangerous when you don’t see your enemy clearly.
I thought I would start off with a light hearted joke today because the chapters we are going to look at are anything but light hearted and a joke.
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This morning Rev 12 - Don’t Close Your Eyes to Evil. These chapters are meant to open our eyes, even to shock us a little into realizing just what has gone on, what is going on, and what will go on until Christ returns.
Satan - Does he exist or not? There is a debate.
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Is he that guy in the little cute red outfit carrying a pitch fork?
Does he sit on one shoulder whispering in your ear while there is a little white angel sitting on your other shoulder whispering in the other ear?
Let me just say there is no debate in scripture on whether or not the Devil or Satan is a real concept. We find him throughout scripture battling God and seeking people to destroy their lives. He first appears in the book of Genesis and continues his appearances all the way through Revelation.
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In the New Testament we find this telling verse: 1 Peter 5:8 – “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Our enemy is clever, and he knows that if we saw him unmasked, we would recoil in dread at the sight of true evil. So, he is on an undercover mission, trying to fool as many as he can thinking he means no harm. Maybe you have seen the TV show –Undercover Boss.
Rev 12-14 rips back the veil on the spiritual world and we see Satan as he truly is.
I decided not to cover all three chapters today. I want to focus on chapter 12 today and next week chapter 13 where I will focus entirely on the passage surrounding the number 666.
In chapter 12 we have some interesting and powerful imagery and symbolism that deserves our full attention.
SLIDE – Traditional Nativity Scene
Can anyone tell me what this is? Right. Nativity scene. There is actually another type of nativity scene that is described in the Bible – Revelation 12 that looks something like this:
SLIDE – Nativity scene with red dragon
But have you ever seen a nativity scene that looks like this?
What is different about this scene? This is the nativity scene from Rev 12.
Listen as I read the Christmas story from Rev 12. You might call this a parallel story showing the spiritual battle going on in the spiritual realm as Jesus was born.
I will explain some of the imagery as we read through it.
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Rev 12:1-18
12 Then I witnessed in heaven an event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
2 She was pregnant, and she cried out because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth. A woman giving birth – Not just Mary, but the nation of Mary - Israel, out of which the Messiah comes
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3 Then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads.
4 His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born. Great Red dragon – Satan revealed as he really is.
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5 She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne.
A child who will rule – Language and imagery coming directly from Psalm 2 where a victorious Messiah is prophesied – Jesus. Notice that Satan’s plan was foiled, the child was protected by God.
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days. Remember where Mary and Joseph went after Herod began to kill all the babies? Egypt.
7 Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. Here is the spiritual battle in the spiritual realm that I mentioned.
8 And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven.
9 This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
These verses are like a step back, giving the background of the scene. As things were happening on earth there was a spiritual battle going on in heaven.
We don’t think of things like that much but the Bible does allude several times to what is happening in the spiritual realm as it relates to what is happening here on earth. It is somewhat hard for us to wrap our mind around. I believe what is being pictured here is a picture of the fall of Satan. It is spoken of also in the OT in Ezek 28 and Ish 14:12 which says, 12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! NIV
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10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, "It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
I believe this is a picture of the battle and ultimate defeat of Satan. He was cast to the earth but did not stop working. From the Garden of Eden to the birth of Jesus to the resurrection.
All along the way he thought he had won but he was defeated at every step by the power of God. Does that mean he will give up? Never.
What is the most powerful tool we have against him today? Did you catch it in verse 11 - “they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony”.
Who are the they? Faithful followers of Jesus. Those that have given up their life for the faith, those who are giving, and those who will give.
Never under estimate the power of your life and your testimony for Christ here on this earth. With the power of the blood of the Lamb, the power of Jesus and our testimony, Satan is cast down and defeated.
John goes on to give a picture of that conflict.
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12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time."
13 When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
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14 But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time.
These verses are a picture of the struggle of people vs. Satan in what has happened, what is happening, and what is to come. After Christ came Satan stepped up his pursuit of God’s Children on the earth. Satan has been relentless in his pursuit of God’s people and will be until the final judgement. Yet God protects and looks out for His people.
But we must never forget that Satan has declared war on all of God’s people. He is going to try and take his stand.
Two Major Points of Application from Revelation 12
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1. We must realize we are at war – a spiritual war.
a. 15 Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth. 16 But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon. 17 And the dragon was angry at the woman
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b. and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God's commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.18 Then the dragon took his stand on the shore beside the sea.
c. In the big picture, Rev 12 – 14 shows us Satan’s battle plan. His desires are exposed and his plot revealed.
d. In chapter 12 we see that the Christmas story is not just a “Silent night, Holy Night” story. It is an interictal part of the plan of God. Jesus came to earth to prepare God’s people for battle.
Important points to remember in this war, what has happened and what will happen:
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e. Satan does not have the foreknowledge of God so he keeps revising his plan at every defeat.
i. In other words, he doesn’t know what is coming next. He launches a plan, thinking he has won and then is defeated.
ii. Examples
1. Garden of Eden – “If I can just get her to eat this fruit I mess up everything for God.” God’s grace came through. There were consequences but God still had a plan to take care of mankind.
2. King David – When I get David to give in to temptation it will mess everything up and there is no way God can come out on top of that mess and still have the Messiah come through his family line
3. King Herod killing the babies when he heard about the birth of Jesus - It wasn’t just King Herod trying to kill the baby Jesus, it was Satan displaying his next desperate act. Remember vs. 4 - I saw a large red dragon . . . He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born.
1. At the Cross – If I can just get them to kill Jesus it will be all over and done with. I will finally win.
2. In the World today – If I can just convince people not to believe in God and get distracted by all the wonderful temptations that are out there – I will win
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3. Then comes the message of Revelation - Satan, no matter what – YOU LOSE.
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f. Satan uses as many things as he can to try win the war.
i. Governments
1. In John’s day Satan had corrupted the Roman government to the point that it was impossible for Christians not to be persecuted.
2. There have been countries throughout history that have oppressed believers – Nazi Germany, Russia, China. Russia and China still are on most people’s minds but the top 5 countries for persecution of Christians might surprise you – at least 4 of the 5 –
a. Number 1 – North Korea,
b. Number 2 – Somalia, on the eastern side of Africa at just south of Saudia Arabia,
c. Number 3 – Yemen, the southern portion of Saudia Arabia,
d. Number 4 – Eritrea, a small country in Africa and the southern tip of the Red sea,
e. Number 5 – Libya, north central Africa on the Mediterranean Sea.
3. We may not face anything like that in America, but we must not fall asleep or close our eyes to what is going on even in our own country.
a. Christians and Christian organizations seemingly no longer have the right to stand for what they believe in
b. There have been more babies killed through abortion than number of lives lost in all of our wars combined, even with the reversal of Roe vs. Wade it continues
c. Marriage is no longer defined as a union between a man and woman.
d. Note - Those last two items were also very real in the last days of the Roman empire – the people John was addressing.
4. The dragon is alive and well. Keep our eye open.
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ii. False or Deceptive Teaching
1. In Rev 13 a second beast appears. He appears as a lamb, trying to imitate the true lamb – Christ.
2. Rome was full of pagan Gods. Roman emperor worship was promoted.
3. In fact, Christians were accused of being atheists because they only worshipped one God.
4. Today Satan entraps people in false religions that deceive people into thinking that they are “OK” with God.
5. Perhaps the biggest false teaching today is that “it doesn’t matter what you believe in”.
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iii. Immorality
1. Rev 14 introduces Satan’s third ally – moral corruption. Roman culture was morally corrupt.
2. Rev 14:8 - Rev 14:8 Then another angel followed him through the sky, shouting, "Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen—because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality."
3. Our culture has come a long way over the last 50 years morally – and not in the right direction. It didn’t happen overnight.
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4. C.S. Lewis wrote – “The safest road to hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”
Transition – So how do we overcome all of this? How do we win?
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2. We Defeat Satan the Best when we Know God the Most
a. 12:11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony.
b. There is only one way to overcome all of this – through the blood of the lamb – the sacrifice of Christ and through a life that lives out Jesus.
c. I have read that they train people to recognize counterfeit money by first teaching them to know the real thing. The better they know what the real money is like, the easier it is to find the counterfeit.
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d. Get to know Him Intentionally.
i. Jer 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
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e. Get to know Him by digesting His word
i. Ps 119:18 Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.
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f. Get to know Him by making worship a priority.
i. Ps 95:6-7 6 Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, 7 for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!
ii. Corporate worship and personal worship
Conclusion
There was a TV show in the 80’s that was somewhat of a typical Cop show. At the beginning of each episode there would be a scene where the captain would go over all the crimes they were working on and what the policemen should be on the watch for. With almost every episode the opening scene would close with the same phrase – does anyone know what it was? Right, “Let’s be careful out there.”
That is almost what John is telling us in Rev 12 – 14 – Let’s be careful out there. Satan is doing his best to mess things up. The good thing is, we know how the show ends – We win! Do you best to be on the winning team.
Don’t Close Your Eyes to Evil Handout
This morning Rev 12 Don’t Close Your Eyes to Evil. These chapters are meant to open our eyes, even to shock us a little into realizing just what has gone on, what is going on, and what will go on until Christ returns.
Satan - Does he exist or not?
Is he that guy in the little cute red outfit carrying a pitch fork?
1 Peter 5:8 – “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Our enemy is clever, and he knows that if we saw him unmasked, we would recoil in dread at the sight of true evil. So, he is on an undercover mission.
Rev 12-14 rips back the veil on the spiritual world and we see Satan as he truly is.
What is the difference between the Traditional Nativity Scene and the one found in Revelation 12?
Rev 12:1-2 - A woman giving birth – Not just Mary, but the nation of Mary - Israel, out of which the Messiah comes
Rev 12:3-4 - Great Red dragon – Satan revealed as he really is.
Rev 12:5 - A child who will rule – Language and imagery coming directly from Psalm 2 where a victorious Messiah is prophesied – Jesus.
Rev 12:6 -9 - As things were happening on earth there was a spiritual battle going on in heaven.
Rev 12:10-11 - I believe this is a picture of the battle and ultimate defeat of Satan
Rev 12:12-14 - These verses are a picture of the struggle of people vs. Satan in what has happened, what is happening, and what is to come.
Two Major Points of Application from Revelation 12
1. We must realize we are at __________ – a ______________________ war.
a. Rev 12:15-18
b. Satan does not have the __________________________ of God so he keeps revising his plan at every defeat.
c. Satan uses as many things as he can to try win the war.
i.
ii.
iii.
d. C.S. Lewis wrote – “The safest road to hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”
2. We Defeat Satan the Best when we Know God the Most
a. Rev 12:11 - And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony.
b. How do they train people to identify counterfeit money?
c. Get to know Him ____________________________
i. Jer 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
d. Get to know Him by __________________ His word
i. Ps 119:18 Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.
e. Get to know Him by making _________________ a priority.
i. Ps 95:6-7 6 Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, 7 for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!
Conclusion
There was a TV show in the 80’s that was somewhat of a typical Cop show. The show was called “Hill Street Blues.” At the beginning of each episode there would be a scene where the captain would go over all the crimes they were working on and what the policemen should be on the watch for. With almost every episode, the opening scene would close with the same phrase – does anyone know what it was? Right, “Let’s be careful out there.”
That is almost what John is telling us in Rev 12 – 14 – Let’s be careful out there. Satan is doing his best to mess things up. The good thing is, we know how the show ends – We win!