Our Prayer

Our Prayer

Heavenly Father, I know that I have sinned against You and that my sins separate me from You. I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my sinful past and turn to You for forgiveness. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ, died for my sins, that He was raised from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become my Savior and the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You and to convict me when I sin. I pledge to grow in grace and knowledge of You. My greatest purpose in life is to follow Your example and do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Class Lesson February 25, 2024

 Lesson # 7




Opening Question

If you had to pick just one, and it can’t be the birth or death of Christ, what would you say is the world’s most significant historical event?

 

THE POINT

God wants to give us hope by helping us

see reality as it actually is.

 

A Not So Silent Night – Revelation 12

Christians often neglect the book of Revelation, but they do so to their own detriment. No other book of the Bible offers us such a behind the scenes look - into reality. Revelation reminds us repeatedly that there is more going on around us than first meets the eye. Revelation 12 is a prime example of this.

Revelation 12 is a peek behind the curtain of the very first Christmas night and the birth of Jesus Christ. The picture is very much more chaotic than we see in the gospel accounts. The spiritual reality behind Jesus’ birth in a manger is the cosmic battle between God and Satan. Satan, the dragon, the serpent of old, wants to crush and kill baby Jesus.

However, Christ is born into the world and the beginning of Satan’s defeat is at hand. The dragon rages because through the victory was confirmed at the cross, it was started in the manger.

Revelation 12 also offers us a cosmic history lesson. We get a peek into the origins of the battle between God and Satan before the foundation of the earth. Satan was an angel who rose up in defiance of God and caused a literal civil war in heaven. Though Satan rebelled, he and his army were fighting a battle against a holy God that they could never win and were cast out of Heaven. This is a peek behind the curtain of cosmic reality. Things are never just as they seem.

This the Revelation of Jesus Christ.


Revelation 12

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. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 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. 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, 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.

Satan Thrown Down to Earth

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 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. 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. 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. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Revelation 12.

 

Study Notes:

This week’s scripture is a history lesson. However, it’s a history lesson unlike anything you’ve ever witnessed before. This is a history lesson regarding the cosmic battle between good and evil, right and wrong, God and Satan. This cosmic history lesson has two major dates that we all need to remember, the day the war started, and the day the Savior came to the earth.

The day the war started was a day that predates other human days. In Revelation 12, starting in verse 7 we are allowed a peek into the original rebellion through which sin entered the world. Satan was no longer content to be a subject of God, instead, he wanted to be like God. So, Satan revolted against God and convinced other angels to join him in his rebellion. Ultimately, the rebellion of Satan was ended, and the rebels were exiled. Their exile landed them on earth where the cosmic rebellion would soon spread to humanity in the garden. A second day is also mentioned in this cosmic history lesson, the day the Savior came to earth. Revelation 12 introduces us to the arrival of a baby who would defeat the dragon and Satan. This is another example of how Revelation shows us ultimate reality. We often think about that very first Christmas night as just like any other, but in reality the night Jesus arrived on earth for the salvation of sinners was a turning point in the cosmic war between good and evil.

 

Lesson points:


1. Jesus does not simply arrive as a Savior for humanity, Jesus arrives as a Warrior in a cosmic battle to defeat the enemies of God.

So often our imaginations conjure up images of a blonde haired, soft-spoken Jesus, and while Jesus was meek, we must remember that Jesus is not weak. Jesus arrives on the earth as a Warrior sent to accomplish His mission. That is the ultimate reality.


2. We must all choose a side in this cosmic war.

Revelation 12 makes very clear that in this battle there are only two sides, you are on the side of God or the side of Satan. You are either a servant or a rebel. There is no in-between!


Bottom Line:

Though Satan battles against God, the war has been won.

 

1.   We see the day the war began.

2.   We see the day the war was won.

3.   We see how to live in the in-between.

 

Quotes:

“The battle between God and Satan was over before it ever got started.” – Wayne Bray

“Jesus is all that Satan is not.” – Dallas Wilson

“It matters more how I live in this world for Jesus than where I live in this world.” – Corey Watson

“If you think you can win your battle with sin in your own strength, then you’re already losing.” – Will Bray 


 

Questions for Discussion:

Satan was cast down because he coveted a place of authority and honor. How are you tempted to covet places of honor, and how can you work to humble yourself in those areas?

 

Consider each of the descriptors for Satan in 12:9. What do these tell us about his character and his goals for humanity?

 

This passage shows that our salvation is secure, and our enemy is defeated. How do Christians sometimes fail to rest in these realities? How can we learn to rest in them?


What does it mean to have victory as described in Revelation 12:11-12? How can believers walk in this victory?

  

Why does Satan want to destroy the people of God? This passage shows God’s provision of means for the woman’s escape.

 

Read 1 Corinthians 10:13 and discuss how these passages relate to one another. What parallels does this passage have to the traditional Christmas story found in the Gospels?

 

We are told in this passage that we have a sure victory by the blood of Jesus. How can we help spread that victory to others?

Who in your life needs to know Jesus?

 

END

 

Teacher Notes:

 



Click Play to Watch

But how did we get a God complex?

 

Satan, the deceiver was thrown down to the earth.

Genesis 3:1-5

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’” “No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, ….”

 

Do you believe that we have a God Complex today?

Definition: A god complex is a belief characterized by inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility.

What’s another name for this?



As we read last week, the 7th trumpet ushers in the bowl judgments (15:1 – 16:21), but the intervening chapters beginning with chapter 12, give us a peek behind the curtain at this cosmic battle between God and Satan.

 

John sees the source of all sin, all evil, all persecution, and all suffering here on the earth.

 

Revelation 12:7-12

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 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. 


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. 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. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

 

The devil is not a symbol or legend; he is very real.

Originally Satan was an angel of God, but through his own pride, he became corrupt.

Ezekiel 28:14-17

You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. … you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So, I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So, I threw you to the earth…

 

There was a war in heaven, Michael and his angels fought the dragon, and the dragon and his angels lost.

Even though God permits the devil to do his work in this world, God is still in control.

Revelation 12 makes it very clear - in this battle there are only two sides. You are on the side of God or Satan.

You are either a servant or a rebel. There is no in-between! 

 

So, why did Satan even think he could defeat God?


Isaiah 14:12-15

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

 

But why did Satan think he could defeat God?


It is hard to imagine a being like Lucifer (Satan) believing he could even do battle with God, much less defeat Him. Even the most depraved mind should be able to see that a creature cannot possibly contend with the Creator. Yet Satan attempted to dethrone God and strives to this day to defy God’s authority, thwart His plans, and harass His people.

Perhaps part of the explanation is that pride has blinded Satan to reality.

Two Old Testament passages (Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:11-19) discuss Satan’s original position and the reasons for his loss of that position. They tell of an exalted angelic being, one of God’s creatures, who became proud. He determined to take the throne of God for himself. But God removed him from his position.

 

 

Why is pride so sinful?

C.S. Lewis writes, “The essential vice, the utmost evil, is pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” It is pride that leads men to believe we can live without God.

 

Pride is giving ourselves the credit for something that God has accomplished. Pride is taking the glory that belongs to God alone and keeping it for us. Pride is essentially self-worship. Anything we accomplish in this world would not have been possible were it not for God enabling and sustaining us. Sinful pride is self-centered and boastful and makes us take credit for everything we are and everything we do.

The Bible warns, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” - Proverbs 16:18

 

How do you think we can fight this sin of Pride?

 

What should we do as Christians to guard against this sin?

 



God sent a clear warning to Nebuchadnezzar.

Nebuchadnezzar said: I was walking on the roof of my palace in Babylon. I said, “Isn’t this the great Babylon I have built as a place for my royal palace? I used my mighty power to build it. It shows how glorious my majesty is.” - Daniel 4:28-30

And what happened? 

God took everything away from Nebuchadnezzar, everything even his mind! God stands against those who are proud. If we are proud of our own talents or abilities, looks or possessions, God may take those things away so we will see what is true - God is the One who gives every good thing that we have (James 1:17). Without God we are helpless. We should never brag about what we have accomplished (1 Corinthians 5:6). The only thing we should ever brag about is that we know the Lord! (Jeremiah 9:24)

 

PRIDE will cost you EVERYTHING 

but leave you with NOTHING!!

 

“Never give the devil a ride; he always wants to drive!”

Author Unknown

 

Why didn’t God destroy Satan immediately after Satan sinned?

 

One of the reasons God allows Satan to work evil and bring temptation is so that those who pretend to be Christ’s followers will be weeded out from Christ’s true believers.

Free Will – Free Choice

 

 

Revelation 12 shows that our salvation is secure, and our enemy is defeated.

 

How do Christians sometimes fail to rest in these realities?

 

“HOW'S LIFE?” someone asks.

And we who have been forgiven of all our sins, have become a child of God, have been given eternal life, and are heaven-bound say,

“Well, things could be better.” - Seriously?

As a believer in Christ, are you so focused on what you don’t have that you’re blind to what you do?

Don’t focus on yourself; focus on all that you have in Christ!!

 

“If you think you can win your battle with sin in your own strength, then you’re already losing.”

Will Bray

 

 

In the meantime, we worship our way to victory and share the Gospel so others can overcome Satan’s schemes.

When we’re following Jesus and doing what He says, no attack from Satan can knock us off our feet. And when our trust is in Jesus, no attack from Satan can separate us from His love.

That’s a promise from Romans 8:38-39 — “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

 

 

Next Week… the Anti-Christ   666   The Mark of the Beast




No comments:

Post a Comment