The Victory of Christ's Incarnation and Enthronement (Revelation 12:1-11, Genesis 37:9-10)
Rev. Sid Dyer, December 22, 2024Part of the Songs of the Incarnation series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
In this vision of the woman we see the Old Testament and New Testament churches. We see God's people throughout the ages. The child is Christ; the dragon is Satan. The stars cast down to earth are the rebellious angels. We see Herod desiring to kill Jesus as soon as He is born. We see the complete life of Jesus in vs. 5; His incarnation and enthronement. We should not separate Jesus' birth from everything else He accomplished. In vs. 7 we see the war in heaven, resulting from His incarnation and enthronement. Satan lost the war. In vs. 10, we see God's salvation, strength and sovereignty have come. Believers have been delivered from the penalty and power of sin. In glory, sin will be gone.
God's salvation and strength has come to great multitudes. Strength is centered in the Holy Spirit. We see great signs and wonders accompanying the preaching of the gospel in Acts. We see this power of the Holy Spirit today. God's sovereignty has come, namely the Kingdom of God, peopled by believers. Christ posesses royal authority. Enthronement was the result of the unlimited power of God. Satan's accusations, deceptions and intimidations are overcome. We must submit to the sovereignty of God. Do we overcome temptation out of the fear of getting caught, or what the Lord will think of us?
| Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
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| « "Gloria in Excelsis" - The Angels' Song | None |
Revelation 12:1–11 (Listen)
12:1 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.
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.
(ESV)
Genesis 37:9–10 (Listen)
9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”
(ESV)