Sermon Notes Rev 12:1-6

Intro:

Have you ever asked yourself: "Why do you do what you do?"  Your world view and how you answer is very important.

If you believe that this world is all there is then it makes sense to live self centered and try to get as much as possible.  Basically "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die."  But if you see yourself involved in a story greater than yourself you will live your life in line with that story and ultimately in line with the Author of that story.

As we wrestle with Rev 12:1-6 I want us to challenge us with the question: "Does your faith really impact your day to day living?"

Which leads to the Main Point:  What (or who) you hope, believe and trust in needs to impact every area of your life.

The Players in the Great War & what they represent:

The Woman
- equals the people of God.  Progressively moving from the OT to the NT that is Israel > Church.  Jesus declared in John 15 that he was the true vine.  In essence he was saying that he was/is the true Israel (contrast with Hosea 10:1-2, Ezek. 15:1-8) and all who abide in him would be the people of God.  Here the "Woman" represents the people of God
- What Israel was unable to do (Isa. 26:18), namely provide deliverance/salvation God did through Jesus (Isa. 27:1, 7:14 66:7)

The Great Serpent
- equals the Devil (Gen 3) and all who oppose God (Ezek 29:3, 32:2 Jer. 51:34)

Note: The Serpent is only great b/c of the destructive power given to him and not a great sign.  In the end the Serpent only has limited power.  He is a dangerous enemy, but not all powerful or great

Myth or Truth?

Ancient Religions had similar stories (Grant Osborne's Revelation Commentary):

- Egypt:  the mother goddess Isis is pursued by the red dragon Set or Typhon and flees to an island, where she gives birth to the sun god, Horus
- Ugaritic: the storm god Baal defeats the 7-headed serpent Leviathan and sets up his kingdom
- Mesopotamia: Marduk, the god of light, kills the 7-headed dragon Tiamat, who had thrown down 1/3 of the stars
-Greco-Roman: goddess Leto, pregnant with Apollo, is pursued by the dragon Python.  Poseidon rescues her and places her on an island for safety.  After Apollo is born he slays Python.

"The question is why John would tell the story in mythical form. Yet this is not unusual in a biblical context.  Titles of other gods are applied to Yahweh in the OT...in order to say that God has conquered the other gods and taken their names...The purpose here is evangelistic, to say that what the Greeks have known only as myth has now been actualized in history.  One could say that the NT 'demythologizes' Greco-Roman myth by historicizing it.  What the pagans longed for in their myths has now become true in Jesus."

How do we live in light of the Truth?
How do we communicate the Truth?

Conclusion:

Why do you do what you do?

What you hope, believe and trust in needs to impact every area of your life.

So what?  What will you change or do differently with your life?