The Great Red Dragon (Revelation): What’s the source of the conflict in the world today? John’s vision of the woman and the great red dragon reveals a spiritual adversary (Satan) who is like an angry, cornered snake. The devil is defeated but still dangerous—at least for a time. However, in the dark wilderness of our current age, we’re completely safe in Christ. Recorded on Jun 21, 2026, on Revelation 12 by Pastor David Parks.
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This sermon is part of the Revelation: All Things Made New series. Christians live in incredible tension. In Christ, we’re already saved, but we’re not yet delivered from this broken world. We’re being made holy, but we’re not yet perfected. We have love, joy, and peace, but we still long for justice, healing, and the death of death. How can we endure all this without giving in to complacency or compromise? In our series, we’ll pull back the veil of reality, exposing both a cosmic spiritual battle and the truth about how this story ends. One day, Jesus will return and bring a final end to evil. He will defeat his enemies and vindicate his people, wiping away every tear. Jesus will finally, fully establish his kingdom on the earth, making everything new. “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Sermon Transcript
Eighty-two years ago this month was a major turning point in WWII. June 6, 1944, became known as D-Day, the day when the Allied forces attempted the largest invasion by sea in history, and landed at Normandy in France. If you have ever watched the movie Saving Private Ryan, you’ll know they took heavy casualties, but this bold attack eventually led to the defeat of the Nazi powers only 11 months later in VE Day, marking the Victory in Europe and the surrender of Germany. D-Day marked the beginning of the end of the war. But for a time, the battle still raged on. We’re continuing our series on the book of Revelation called All Things Made New. And today, we’ll see that in many ways, the age that we are living in is a lot like the time between D-Day and VE Day. We know how the war will eventually turn out, we know how the story ends, but the spiritual battle rages on. We’ve said that Revelation was written by the Apostle John to seven churches in modern Turkey toward the end of the first century AD. And we’ve seen Revelation’s apocalyptic style, including wild images, numbers, and all sorts of things that go bump in the night. But despite this unusual style (for us), we’ve gotten some helpful answers to the big questions of why the world is how it is today and what we should be doing while we wait for Christ to return. If you missed any of the sermons in the series so far, you can always go back and watch or listen online if you’d like. But the big question of chapter 12 is this: What’s the source of the conflict in the world today? We know the world is a mess, and sometimes we contribute to it in big and small ways. But where does the mess come from? Did God create evil as well as good? Or is there some other explanation? What’s the source of the conflict in the world today? Well, if you have a Bible/app, please open to Rev 12:1. The answer in John’s vision both explains the nature of the battle we’re in, and reveals the path to victory.
Revelation 12:1-6 (NIV), “1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.” So John has been seeing these prophetic visions ever since chapter 4, when Jesus invited him to walk through an open door into heaven. John saw one incredible thing after another ever since. But the point of an apocalypse is to pull back the curtain of reality to show us what’s really going on behind the scenes from a spiritual perspective. And though we know how the story will end, which is a great comfort to our faith, chapter 12 reveals that we’re still in the middle of a cosmic spiritual battle. We saw a bit of that last week, with the demonic plagues during the time between the resurrection and the return of Christ. But here, we see the source of the conflict and meet the leader of these spiritual forces of evil, the devil himself. John sees him as a great red dragon in heaven. Remember that symbolic numbers are common in this apocalyptic style of writing. So the seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns all symbolize the dragon’s power, influence, and authority. There is some debate about this, but the reference to the dragon’s tail sweeping a third of the stars out of the sky most likely refers to the angels the devil led in rebellion against God. These fallen spiritual creatures became known as demons, and when they were defeated in heaven, they were flung down to the earth. But if the dragon is the devil, who’s the woman? Well, that’s a little harder question. There are a number of theories about this, but I believe she represents all of God’s people, including both Eve, the first woman, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Israel, and the church. To say she’s Eve or Mary alone seems to be too narrow for John’s vision of this woman, and I’ll give you a few reasons why. First, her appearance: While some think the twelve stars represent the twelve signs of the Zodiac in astrology, a (much) more likely connection comes from the book of Genesis. In Ge 37, Joseph had a dream with the sun, moon, and twelve stars that symbolized his family, the family of Israel, meaning, the people of God. Second, after the woman gives birth to her son, she flees into the wilderness to escape the dragon for 1,260 days. This is the exact same time period as in chapter 11, which represents the time between the resurrection and the return of Christ, when the church ought to serve as the two faithful witnesses of the gospel. Now, this doesn’t minimize what God promised to Eve in Genesis 3:15; it shows its fulfillment! You see, after the fall to sin, the Lord spoke to the devil, who was in the form of a snake, saying, “And I will put enmity [conflict] between you [Satan] and the woman [Eve], and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” This is known as the protoeuangelion or the first gospel. All the way back in Ge 3, God first promised good news about the problem of sin in the world. One day, one of the sons of Eve will be wounded by the devil, but he would crush the head of the serpent; he would slay the dragon. But neither does this image of a woman minimize Mary’s faithfulness in giving birth to Jesus, the promised dragonslayer, as both Mary and Eve are part of the people of God. But for the reasons I mentioned, and at least one more that we’ll see as we continue, the sign of the woman seems to be doing more than only describing the Christmas Story. So the woman includes Mary, but is also more than Mary. (I wonder why the great red dragon never makes it into our kids’ Christmas programs??) At any rate, John saw that the dragon was waiting for the birth to devour the boy who would be the promised son of Psalm 2, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” In Ps 2, the son would be the son of God and would rule over all the nations as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. But before the child could be devoured by the dragon, likely in his death on the cross, he was raptured, he was snatched up into heaven through his resurrection and ascension, delivered by God the Father, and seated on God’s throne where he reigns and rules to this day. But if the woman represents the people of God, that means we’re in the wilderness. This isn’t the Promised Land of the new heavenly city, not yet. So, life is not easy. The wilderness is a place of suffering for God’s people. There is still beauty and goodness in the world, but everything, to some degree, has been affected by sin. But what happened that caused a third of the angels to be hurled down to the earth?
Revelation 12:7-12 (NIV), “7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” A war broke out in heaven. Isn’t that a crazy sentence? A violent conflict in the holy presence of God, with Michael, the Archangel, the commanding angel of the hosts of heaven, leading the charge against Satan and his angels. Now, it’s hard to say when this war broke out. Did this happen before the creation of the world? Or between the death and resurrection of Jesus? Or some other time? It’s unclear from the text. But this unholy rebellion was defeated, and the devil and his angels were hurled down, where they continue the fight, seeking to lead the whole world astray. But someone might think, “Do you really expect me to believe that there is some kind of personal evil spirit out there, like the devil or demons? Isn’t that just superstition?” Well, that’s a good question. Are we really supposed to believe that the devil is real? I’ll just say two things about that. First, the Bible portrays the spiritual realm as a matter of fact and just as real as the physical realm of our universe. God is spirit, so his space is a spiritual space. And if God made physical creatures like dogs and cats and human beings, it isn’t hard to believe that he made spiritual creatures as well. But the angels are not as powerful as he is; they’re creatures like we are, not the creator. But they are powerful and cunning nonetheless. The Bible says that the spiritual and physical realms can influence each other, sometimes in ways that are not obvious. If you don’t understand this, you won’t fully understand what’s going on in the world. You’ll still think our battle is against flesh and blood, not “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:12). But second, besides the testimony of Scripture, when you look out into the world and consider the evil of so many of the events of this broken world, doesn’t it seem like the problem goes deeper than just the wickedness of individual human beings? Doesn’t it seem that there is some sort of dark spiritual force behind it all? Well, there is. But who is this spiritual enemy, this great red dragon? Well, we see here that he’s a fallen angel who led a failed rebellion against God. In Isaiah 14, we learn why. Driven by pride, Lucifer, the morning star, wanted to be God. He wanted to reign and rule over all. He wanted to receive all the glory, honor, and praise. But this false, self-appointed god was defeated and hurled to the earth. The name “the devil” means “the accuser,” while “Satan” means “the Adversary.” These names describe what he does. He accuses, and he opposes. Jesus taught that the devil is the Father of Lies and a murderer (Jn 8:44). But don’t forget, for the believer, the Holy Spirit dwells within you and brings conviction of sin, but he never brings condemnation. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” (Ro 8:1–2). But the devil condemns in an attempt to discourage and destroy the faith of the children of God. When you sin, you should feel godly sorrow, which should lead to repentance and the assurance of forgiveness because of the cross of Christ. But you should never believe the lie that your sin means you’re no longer a child of God or that you are hopelessly lost or no longer loved by God. Instead, John sees that the followers of Jesus can overcome and triumph over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony, and even by our death if it comes to that. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan, all he had was the word of God and the Spirit of God, and he stood firm. In the same way, we have everything we need to stand firm, even against Satan himself. The Accuser knows this, but loves to get Christians divided and distracted and as discouraged as possible. He’s furious at his defeat and hates the children of God. We are the way he’s trying to hurt God, and he’s filled with fury because he knows his time is short. What’s the source of the conflict in the world today? An angry, cornered snake. He’s defeated but still dangerous, at least for a time. But does this mean we’re on our own for now? Until Jesus returns, does the devil just have free rein here? And the answer is: Not at all.
Revelation 12:13-17 (NIV), “13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.” This is God’s word. And here, we have God giving the woman in John’s vision the wings of a great eagle, to be able to fly to safety. She’s still in the wilderness, but she is taken care of by God and is safely out of the serpent’s reach. And friends, this is the Exodus all over again! In Christ, God has rescued us, not from slavery in Egypt, but from slavery to sin. And just as God led the people of Israel through the wilderness, providing and protecting them along the way, so he is leading us through the wilderness of this age, providing and protecting his church along the way. And just as God eventually led his people into the Promised Land of Canaan, so he will eventually lead us into the Promised Land of his kingdom in the age to come. So the wilderness of our current age is a place of suffering for God’s people, but it is also the place where we realize our ultimate security because of God’s faithfulness to protect and provide. Do you remember what the Lord said to Israel after saving them by his grace? Exodus 19:4 (NIV), “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” This is why the woman is given eagle’s wings. It’s a picture of the new Exodus wilderness that we are currently experiencing. But do you remember the manna in the wilderness? Do you remember the water from the rock? God provides for and protects his people in the wilderness. Now, that doesn’t mean there won’t be pain and suffering, or persecution and even death for our faith—it just means that the devil won’t win. Ultimately, we are safe; we are secure. The devil can only try to be like God. He will never be God. He can try to have authority, honor, and power, but he only ever has what God allows him to have, and only for a limited time. His reign of darkness, chaos, and destruction will one day come to an end. When Christ came the first time, it was D-Day. He has invaded this kingdom of darkness, that is, the devil’s world. And Christ gave his life to win the war. But until his return, until our VE Day, the battle rages on. So again, what’s the source of the conflict in the world today? An angry, cornered snake. He’s defeated but still dangerous…for a time. But we do not have to fear him. Try as he might, even with all the forces of hell, he will not win. Let us pray.
