Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

The Tree of Life can mean a few things.

Most of us here probably first think of the garden of Eden.

In 1859, Charles Darwin introduced his own version of "The Tree of Life," as an abstract structure showing how all life was (according to his theory of evolution) intertwined and interrelated, sprouting from the same trunk.

The Tree of Life is also a movie with Brad Pitt & Sean Penn.

It is probably the weirdest movie I have ever seen on several levels.

If you were to ask me if it is a good christian film, I would say that I don’t know, but I don’t think so.

It does quote a couple verses from the Bible, it promotes prayer and choosing God (or at least a god—presumably the Christian God), but it is insanely odd!

I had to watch the film in my literary class at Northland.

Even after being taught about it, I still am left terribly confused!

One of the major reasons it confuses me is that it jumps around in the life of a family without sticking neatly to a linear, chronological timeline.

In fact, even at one point in the movie it jumps to the beginning of creation and then shows dinosaurs!

At that point in the movie, the scenes seemed very disjointed and somewhat arbitrary.

Apparently, if you are able to think abstractly and philosophically as you watch it, the scenes supposedly make sense.

Well, our passage this morning has one common element to this unique movie, Revelation chapter 12 zooms out on history’s timeline rather than sticking to a linear timeline with the surrounding chapters.

But unlike the Brad Pitt movie, Revelation leaves you with a crystal clear view of our God.

Transition:

After the trumpet judgments, we find ourselves yet again at another interlude.

The second interlude was in between the sixth & seventh trumpet, then for a brief moment, John mentions the seventh trumpet.

The seventh trumpet in ch.

11 ushers in the bowl judgments that start in ch. 15.

But now we start the third interlude, and it will be the biggest thus far extending through chapter 14. forms this very grand and dramatic interlude detailing a cosmic conflict between YHWH and satan, as well as God’s vindication of His people, and judgment of the unrighteous.

As well as being the start of a new major section, stands as the theological center of the book because it shows why the church faces spiritual hostility in this world and how YHWH provides the victory.

Bruce Barton et al., Life Application New Testament Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001), 1240.This would now be the third interlude thus far, and it will be the biggest yet extending into chapter 14. forms this very grand interlude detailing a cosmic conflict between YHWH and satan, as well as God’s vindication of His people, and judgment of the unrighteous.

As well as being the start of a new major section, stands as the theological center of the book because it shows why the church faces spiritual hostility in this world and how YHWH provides the victory.

Scripture Reading:

In chapters 12 & 13, we hear about the battle between the false trinity (Satan, sea beast, and earth beast), and the Triune Godhead, and His chosen people.

More specifically, all of chapter 12 consists of three scenes:

the woman, the Son, and the dragon (12:1–6),

the war in heaven (12:7–12), and

the war on earth (12:13–17).

We saw the last couple weeks with John eating the scroll and with the two witnesses that suffering accompanies our call as witnesses in this world (10:1–11:13).

Now, we can come to understand more about the spiritual war we are fighting here.

My prayer this morning is by gaining a larger perspective on our spiritual conflict, it might inspire more faithful endurance in us today.

Transition:

So with just the first 6 verses here in chapter 12, we see at least three signs.

The first being:

I.

A Good Sign (12:1–2)

Or as scripture words it: “a Great Sign” a μέγας/mega sign!

What is that sign?

A pregnant woman:

“a great sign ...: a woman”

John refers to the “great sign” of the woman (here in v. 1), and to the “sign” of the dragon (in v. 3), so now remaining faithful to a literal hermeneutic/a literal interpretation, the verbiage of a σημεῖον/sign (same word for miracle in the Gospels) indicates to us that he is communicating now more in a spiritual reality through symbols (much like his typical use of the “signs” in John’s Gospel) and that the woman is glorious in contrast to the dragon.

“clothed with the sun, with the moon … a crown of twelve stars”

“clothed with the sun, with the moon … a crown of twelve stars”

The description of the woman uses words that might recall O.T. Joseph’s dream of , where the sun, moon, and stars likely represent Jacob, his wife, and the tribes of Israel.

In addition, these images reveal the woman’s character (the light of the sun), her dominion (moon under her feet), and her royalty (a victor’s crown with twelve stars).

So who is this glorious woman?

In light of the Old Testament background and the details presented here in the immediate context, the woman represents Israel, more specifically, the tribe of Judah—the line of David throughout the O.T.

In other words, it is the faithful remnant within Israel, or could we say, the community of faith that gives birth to the Messiah.

(The woman cannot be the virgin Mary because of the reference in v. 17 to the “rest of her offspring.”)

She is portrayed here as a pregnant woman in labor which is somewhat expected considering what the O.T. prophets have said: [[; ]]

we see the prophets allude to this symbolism

In light of the Old Testament background and the details presented in the immediate context, the woman represents the community of faith that gives birth to the Messiah, or the faithful remnant, within Israel.

(The woman cannot be the virgin Mary because of the reference in v. 17 to the “rest of her offspring.”)

She is portrayed here as a pregnant woman in labor (cf.

; ).

As Kiddle puts it, the woman is “the true Israel in her pre-messianic agony of expectation.”2

“the woman is ‘the true Israel in her pre-messianic agony of expectation.’”

Illustration:

)

As Martin Kiddle puts it in his commentary,

“the woman is ‘the true Israel in her pre-messianic agony of expectation.’”

Transition:

That’s the good news—literally the beginnings of the Gospel, but here is the bad news:

II.

A Bad Sign (12:3-4)

The second “sign” is A Bad Sign: A red dragon

“another sign...a great red dragon”

Naturally, such figures as a dragon provide a fitting symbol for Satan, the archenemy of God.

(The dragon is identified a few verses later in v.9 as the “ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan”.)

The color red alludes to the devil’s character of violence and bloodshed (cf.

; ; ; ).

“seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems”

“seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems”

His “crowns” (diadēma) portray real power but not power equal to that of the King of kings.

In addition, while the Lamb has seven horns (), the dragon has ten horns, a symbol of evil’s widespread power and a common trait of other evil forces (as with the beast in 13:1 and the prostitute in , ).

The “ten horns” also recall Daniel’s vision of a ten-horned beast (, , ).

The same devil with the evil forces

Now the dragon attacks.

Where are we in the timeline of history?

It is hard to say

It is tough to dogmatically say what is meant by the third of the stars of heaven.

This is not literal stars, so since the stars usually represent angels rather than people in Revelation (e.g., chapter 1 and ch.

9), Satan’s first act of war involved a rebellion that resulted in the fall of many angels.

Having now gathered his army, the dragon turns his fierce wrath against the woman and her child, a child who is none other than Jesus the Messiah [[]].

Now the dragon attacks.

It is tough to dogmatically say what is meant by the third of the stars.

This is not literal stars, so since the stars usually represent angels rather than people in Revelation (e.g., chapter 1 and ch.

9), Satan’s first act of war involved a rebellion that resulted in the fall of many angels (cf.

; ).

Having gathered his army, the dragon turns his fierce wrath against the woman and her child, a child who is none other than Jesus the Messiah [[]].

Oswald Chambers once commented:

We are not meant to be “carried to heaven on flow’ry beds of ease”; we are given the fighting chance, and it is a glorious fight.

Jesus Christ came to fit men to fight; He came to make the lame, the halt, the paralysed … into terrors to the prince of this world.…

No man is a match for that warfare unless he is saved by God’s grace.

Throughout the New Testament we read of the devil’s attempts (often in conjunction with wicked humans) to kill Jesus—at his birth by Herod, throughout his ministry by the Jewish religious leaders, and finally at his crucifixion.

Illustration:

On August 15, 1945, the Emperor, Hirohito, of Japan addressed his nation for the first time by radio broadcast.

His message was simple and tragic for the Japanese nation: they had been defeated by the Allied forces.

For many, the end of conflict came as a difficult, yet a welcomed blessed, relief.

However, for a small band of soldiers, the war was not over.

Whether because they did not receive clear communications or because they simply refused to believe what they heard, a number of Japanese soldiers continued fighting … for years.