Join us in this episode as we delve deep into the heart of Revelation chapter 12, where the clash between heavenly forces and evil unfolds vividly. In an insightful discussion led by Bible teacher David Hawking, we uncover the symbolic representation of the great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns which marks the horrifying influence of Satan throughout history. This narrative is not just about revelations of evil but is intertwined with the overarching theme of victory and salvation brought forth by Jesus Christ.
Isn’t it kind of encouraging to know that for every evil angel, there are two good ones? You ever thought about that? I like the odds, don’t you? I like it when the Bible says he encamps a host of angels around those who trust in him. I like that. People often ask me, do we have a guardian angel? I think every believer has at least one, and some of us obviously need more. Amen? Amen.
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A shout erupts in heaven. The dragon is hurled down, that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan. Lightning splits the sky, the earth shudders under his fall, and in fury he makes war against the people of God. But a declaration echoes through the heavens. Now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come. the accuser is silenced. And the people of God, ordinary men and women, overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking. And on today’s program, David is taking us back into Revelation chapter 12 for day three of his message that reveals the fall of Satan and the victory of Jesus Christ. We’ll be back in the passage in just a moment. First, as we come to the close of this month, may I ask you something? What would it mean if your gift given today put a Bible study into the hands of a new believer or perhaps a saint who’s discouraged in their walk with the Lord? What if your gift kept this broadcast going strong in a world that is drowning in noise? What if God used your gift to bring someone to Jesus Christ before the clock runs out? You can give safely and securely online at davidhawking.org or call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE. That’s in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible by the numbers 24253. And I’ll give you our mailing address later in the program. Right now, though, here’s David with day three of Great Signs in Heaven. His study from Revelation chapter 12, verses one through six.
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Well, let’s come to the sign of the dragon. The sign of the woman, the sign of the dragon. Verse 3 and 4. There appeared another wonder or sign in heaven, and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his heads. Now we’re introduced to a beast, a dragon, that’s going to be seen on two other occasions. We’re going to see it in chapter 13. And we’re going to see it again in chapter 17 with a woman riding on it. It’s some beast, seven heads, ten horns. Take a look at the identity of this dragon. And I want you to notice four things. First of all, I’d have to say the context is an issue here because it leaves no doubt to the dragon’s identity. It says in 12.9, And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, who deceiveth the whole world. So don’t waste any time figuring out who the dragon is. The dragon is Satan. In addition to the context, the color of the dragon reveals his real character. He is a great red dragon. In John 8, 44, Jesus said to some religious leaders, “‘Ye are of your father the devil, and the lust of your father you will do.’ He was a murderer from the beginning.” Turn back to Revelation chapter 6. This same word red, which is really a blood red color, was used before in Revelation in chapter 6 verse 4 with the second seal being opened and the second horseman. of the apocalypse. It says, There went out another horse that was red, or blood red, and power was given to him that sat on it. Notice what it does. To take peace from the earth that they should kill one another. And it was given unto him a great sword. So the picture of blood red is talking about murder, and killing. We see this sign in heaven. This great blood red dragon is a sign of murder and killing. He is a murderer. Look at chapter 9, please, when we were talking about the plague. In verse 2, it says, “…he opened the bottomless pit, and there arose smoke out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace burning fire. The sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.” And verse 11 says, “…they had a king over them, who was the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, and in the Greek tongue his name is Apollyon.” Both words mean destroyer. What is the character of this dragon? Murder. Death. Death. killing, destroyer. That’s what Satan’s all about. And if you don’t know that, you better learn it. You follow him or any of his pernicious ways or his satanic strategies or temptation traps, and he is going to destroy you. The Bible says he’s like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He’s not going to bless you. Don’t follow him. Don’t go after anything he designs or any of his strategy or any of his temptations. He’s a destroyer, a murderer. And the very color of this dragon is powerful. I wish there was some way in English we could express it more powerfully like it is in Greek. This blood red picture in the ancient world is a sign of terrible death and murder and killing. And that’s what the beast does. You see, when you read the whole story of the beast, you realize that these seven heads have represented a long history. And in the history of that beast is nothing but bloodshed. And the Bible says the blood of the martyrs of all the ages. And God’s going to judge it terribly. God’s going to destroy it. But it’s been destroying. It’s been killing. Killing the people of God. And who’s behind it? Satan is behind it. If you don’t see that in Revelation, you don’t understand the imagery. So many people focus on the Antichrist. And we will do that. And so many people focus on the great harlot sitting on a beast. And we will do that. But if you forget what’s in chapter 12, you don’t understand what is taking place. What the Bible is saying, that whatever the beast represents, and the harlot woman sitting on it, it’s inspired by Satan himself, who’s been a murderer from the beginning, and in its system, whatever this beast represents, with seven heads and ten horns, is nothing but bloodshed. And the martyrs of all the ages are there. Very fascinating picture. The third thing I’d mention about the identity of the dragon, in addition to context and color, is his connection with the beast. Now this is a very powerful. Seven heads, ten horns. Turn over to chapter 13. Chapter 13, verse 1. I stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns. Now in chapter 12, the dragon has seven heads and ten horns. In chapter 13, verse 1, the beast who comes out of the sea has seven heads and ten horns. Turn to chapter 17, verse 3. John says, He carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast. that blood red picture again, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. So the woman sits on the beast, and the consistent imagery is seven heads, ten horns. Mention again in verse 7, the beast has seven heads, ten horns. Verses 9 to 12 describe that. We’ll be getting into that in some detail later. And verse 18 says, the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigneth over the, what? Kings of the earth. So what’s the beast? Well, it’s been a lot of leaders in the world. And a woman sits on it. And we’ll talk about what all that means when we get to Revelation 17. But I’m simply saying at this point, this therefore means that behind the governments and empires and leaders of the world has been a force that very few people have often recognized. And that is Satan himself. What’s behind the leaders of the empires of the world that have been so destructive to the people who have put their faith in the Lord? And the answer is the devil himself. The devil is behind it, and he’s been causing havoc through all the years. And you can’t miss the connection there. I think the fourth thing about the identity of the dragon that fascinates me is the crowns on his heads. In this particular passage, it uses a different word for crowns that is normally only used of Jesus. It’s the Greek word diadems in verse 3. Seven crowns is diadems. Now the word Stephen in English comes from the Greek word Stephanos. That’s referring to a crown, but it’s a wreath, like some twigs put together, and they would put that on the head of an athlete who had won an event in the Olympic Games. So he is crowned, but he’s got a Stephanos crown. When we receive crowns, it’s Stephanos. We are never given diadems. But when you read in Revelation 19 of the Lord coming and the crowns, it says many crowns on his head. It’s the word diadems, which is referring to dominion and authority. So I find it interesting that in picturing the dragon on the seven heads, not on the horns, but on the seven heads, there were diadems, meaning diadems. very clearly as far as I’m concerned, meaning that the devil himself is ruling whatever the seven heads represent, ruling them exactly in the same fashion with the same kind of authority and leadership and honor that Jesus Christ will one day rule the entire world. It’s like a titanic war between the devil and our Lord. And of course, we know who’s going to win. Amen. Now, back again to verse 3 and 4, we looked at the identity of the dragon. I just want you to see a couple more things. Look at the influence of the dragon. You say, how powerful is he? What kind of influence does he have? And it says in verse 4, his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and it cast them to the earth. What did the stars represent in Revelation? Anyone? Angels. So at this point, it pictures that one-third of the angels of heaven are being cast to the earth with Satan. So apparently it’s describing the moral fall of Satan. Now turn to the book of Jude, which appears right before Revelation. And look at verse 6. And we do know in Revelation chapter 9 that the devil is called the angel of the bottomless pit. Stars are consistently angels in the book. So the dragon is Satan, and he is a fallen angel, and he brings one-third of the stars of heaven with him. Now what about these angels that fell? Jude 6 says, “…the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, under the judgment of the great day.” Some people believe that a section of these angels that were involved at the time of Noah’s flood when the sons of God went into the daughters of men, the sons of God, a common term in the Old Testament for angels, they believe a certain section of these angels were then, because of their gross immorality and evil work at the time of the flood, were then put into everlasting darkness and chains and bound until God wanted them to be released, and that they are then released, as we described when we were studying the locust plague, of Revelation chapter 9, that demonic plague and the release of the angels out of the river Euphrates to do their havoc in the world. I think we need to be careful here. It’s very possible that what he’s talking about is that all the angels who fell with Satan are doomed as terms of their final destiny. That it isn’t saying that they don’t have access to do trouble down here now. But his tale draws a third part of these angels. Look down at 2 Peter, please. Just a few books to the left. 2 Peter 2, and look at verse 4. The Bible does speak clearly about angels who sinned. So when it says the dragon with his tail took a third of the stars of heaven, the Bible has verses that give us understanding. Like 2 Peter 2, 4. For if God spared not the angels that what? Sinned. Now some of the angels, called good angels, are elect angels. That is, they cannot sin. They are holy and elect and they will not. When did God make them that way? I don’t know. Maybe it was at the time that some of the angels sinned. If the angels could sin, then they had the ability to choose to sin. We know that sin originated in Satan himself. The Bible says iniquity was found in him. He was anointed cherub and angel. So angels apparently had volitional choice and could choose not to sin or choose to sin. A group of them chose to sin in the pride and fall of Satan. And apparently a third of them Very, very interesting. It says they were cast down to hell. That’s the word Tartarus, which is an interesting word, meaning the very lowest regions of the final abode of the wicked, and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment. That’s often compared with Jude 6, and meaning that a portion of them are totally controlled by god until the judgment day because of their sin in the past others say no it’s simply saying that they are going to be judged that their destiny is sure and there’s no escaping out of it let’s go back to revelation chapter 12 again the influence of the dragon is obviously powerful as he takes a third of the stars of heaven the angels of heaven with him Finally, I want you to see the intent of the dragon. What’s he trying to do? It’s interesting what it says here, verse 4, the last phrase. The dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered to devour her child as soon as it was born. What is the devil really trying to do? He’s standing before the woman who represents Israel to devour her child. Then he was the one behind the edict and action of Herod, wasn’t he? He was the one who literally thought he could get rid of Jesus. Turn to Genesis 3.15. The Bible describes this long history of animosity between the devil and Jesus Christ. In Genesis 3, 14, it says, Remember Revelation 12, 9 says it was Satan, that serpent, that old serpent. And I will put enmity, hostility, anger between thee and the woman. We’re going to learn in our next time in Revelation that the devil literally goes crazy. He is so obsessed with anger. He is going to be enraged at the woman, and he’s going to try to destroy the entire nation of Israel because they’re the apple of God’s eye. They’re the ones that brought the Messiah, and he hates Israel with a passion. The Bible tells us to bless Israel, that God will curse any man who curses her. You curse Israel, you’re doing the work of Satan. To me, I thought it was an interesting paradox when the peace talks started quite a while ago in Madrid, Spain, when they first talked about Middle East peace. I found it kind of a paradox that that in Tehran there was a counter conference which brought together the leaders of the nine Soviet Islamic republics and all of the Arab nations with the exception of three brought them all together two thousand known terrorists from all these nations to oppose what was going on at the peace conference and the theme of that was the extermination of Israel and the United States both of whom they called Satan, the great Satan. Talk about a reversal. No, the Satan-inspired effort to destroy Israel, that’s what Satan is. Oh yes, the same people that we supported in the Persian Gulf War. I just find it despicable, and I thought somebody should say something. I figured it’s a good place to put it in. The point is that this long standing feud between the devil and the Messiah was predicted by God in Genesis 3.15. But look how it comes out. It says, he shall bruise thy head. What happens when you crush the head of a snake? Hey, goodbye snake. The next thing, thou shall bruise his heel. Satan is going to strike at the heel of the Messiah. Now, I don’t know if you’ve been bit by a poisonous snake, but if you’re going to be bit, always give them your heel. It’s the best place. When Satan thought he really had a blow, he bites the heel, so to speak, of the Messiah, the one he has been waiting to devour. But through that cross, God’s joke on the enemy is through that cross, he destroyed him who had the power of death. That is the devil, Hebrews chapter 2, verse 14 and 15. He destroyed the works of the devil, 1 John chapter 3, verses 6 to 8. He wiped him out. By what? By his cross. When he died on the cross, the devil’s ability to do any havoc to us was finished. We have overcome him, as Revelation 12 says in a few verses later, by the blood of the Lamb. If you want victory over the enemy and you want to live forever with God, you better understand you come by the cross, no other way. I thank you, Lord, that you destroyed the power of the devil when your Son, our Savior, the Messiah, died on the cross for our sins. When sin is paid for and forgiven and cleansed and removed as far as the east is from the west, the devil has nothing to use in defeating us. God, I thank you that we have overcome him by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are cleansed, forgiven, not because we’ve done anything to earn it or deserve it. We simply believe what the Bible said, that Jesus died for our sins and rose again from the dead. We might live forever with him. God, I pray that everyone listening who’s not sure of their relationship to Christ, you might open up their hearts right now to turn to the Lord before it’s too late. We thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Have you given your heart to Him? We’d like to pray for you right now. Open your hearts, please. as we pray. Lord, You know who’s listening, and I pray for those that have never settled their relationship with You. O God, I pray that through Your powerful Holy Spirit, as they put their faith and trust in the finished work of our Lord, who died for our sins and rose again from the dead, ascended to heaven and is coming back. Lord, if they will believe in you, you have told us in your word that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. I pray, friends, that you’ll give your heart to him right now.
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That’s Bible teacher David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will be back in just a moment. First, if you’d like to know more about a relationship with Jesus Christ, well, we’d love to send you a free booklet by David called What Is Christianity? It tells you from the Bible, God’s Word, what it means to be a Christian. We’ll also send you a Bible study by mail. And again, both of these resources are free if you’re not yet a Christian, but you want to know more, or if you’re new to the Christian faith. Call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And you can also request your copy online. Use the contact form at DavidHawking.org. And also, just before David returns… Matt, like here’s something your dad teaches. And five minutes after, I can’t remember it. How do I preserve what your dad is teaching? Sermon notes. The sermon notes. Sermon notes. Okay. Sermon notes in Revelation. These are your dad’s original sermon notes. One set of notes for each message in the series. The whole collection is just $10. And I tell you, Jim, you’ve never seen sermon notes like my dad’s sermon notes. Oh, yeah. So you’re listening to the broadcast. David just said something you want to remember. You didn’t quite catch it. Pull up the sermon notes. Good chance it’s right there. Yeah, you’re never going to be able to write it down as fast as he does. No, you can’t. And then again, if you want to save the whole series and be able to pull up those messages again in the years ahead, what do we have for that? We have the MP3 audio and you can play that at home and you can share it with your friends. Sure. It’s a great reference to use anytime. All 48 messages on MP3 audio in a package and the cost is just $30.
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$30.
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And Matt, what if I’d like to watch the Revelation series? That’s just for $50. On DVD. Yes, it is. Give us a call at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. and in Canada. 1-888-75BIBLE. And of course, you can see these resources on our website and make the purchase there at davidhawking.org. And by the way, if you’d like to send a gift via a good old-fashioned letter, our address is Hope for Today, Box 3927. Tustin, California, 92781. That’s in the U.S. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. And as promised, here’s David.
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Well, friends, I hope you’re enjoying our study of Revelation, especially chapter 12. What a fascinating subject it is. And there are two great signs in heaven that we’ve been looking at. One is the woman clothed with the sun, which we believe is Israel, not the Virgin Mary. and about the great red dragon. And we’re going to see this imagery of a dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his head. It’s going to come up several times before we’re done with Revelation. So get ready. The picture is of Satan himself. Yes, the devil is going to work overtime in the tribulation period to try to destroy God’s people and destroy the work of the Lord. And we’re told in verse 6 that the woman is going to flee into the wilderness where she has a place prepared of God. Wow. And they’re going to feed her there 1,203 score days. 1,260 days. God’s going to take care of the people of Israel. Some people think it’s going to go to Petra, the rock city in Jordan. I don’t think so. Too many people know about that. I think there’s a place that God has prepared that he’s going to take his people Israel and protect them during the tribulation period. Oh, they’re going to suffer all right, but it’s going to be his protection. Plan to be with us for all of our studies.
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Well, thank you, David. And next time on the broadcast, it’s day one of David’s message from Revelation 12, 7 through 17. War in heaven. Michael and his angels clash with a dragon. Satan is cast down and the earth trembles. Be sure to join us as David begins the message, Satan’s War, right here on Hope for Today.
