CAUGHT IN A CRISIS

My dad, brother, and I, in the yard playing baseball, hear a car revving its motor and squealing its tires. My dad, a State Trooper, fears that someone in the neighborhood will get hurt or killed. He says, "We have to stop that!"

When the car races past our house, my dad slams its trunk with the baseball bat. Wham! The tires screech, the car halts, and the men jump out--MAD! Dad, standing with his boys beside him, faces them--MAD! At any minute, we boys expect gunfire. What will take place? We are caught in a crisis!

There is a Bible story about being caught in a crisis: a pregnant woman materializes in Heaven; a dragon tries to destroy her baby; and, the baby goes up and sits at the throne of God.

"Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.

"And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up to God and His throne." Revelation 12:1-5 NKJV

A picture is worth a thousand words. The Bible speaks of three heavens: the heaven where the birds fly; the heaven that holds the stars; and, the heaven that is the locale of the throne of God. This sign appears in either the heaven with the birds or with the stars.

The book of Revelation is written in symbols, which are explained in other parts of the Bible. In John's vision, he sees a picture of the woman clothed with the sun, with the moon at her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

God compares "His people" to a woman. God wants Isaiah to write to the "woman" who walks away that He promises to find her when she sees her necessity and seeks for help.

"'For your maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy one of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.

"'For the LORD has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused,' says your God." Isaiah 54:5-6 NKJV

The woman may be the people of God, or people who have apostatized from God. Jeremiah writes about one hundred years after Isaiah that God says, "I have likened the daughter of Zion to a lovely and delicate woman." Jeremiah 6:2 NKJV

Today, the woman is a description of God's church. God's true church is depicted by the woman in Revelation 12.

The woman has a crown with twelve stars. They characterize either the apostles or the twelve tribes of Israel. She is "with child"--that is, pregnant. The woman is ready to give birth to a child; the devil is ready to pounce on it as soon as it is born; and, the devil will do whatever he can to destroy that child.

My wife had three children. I was there when they were born. While I talked to the doctors about being a Christian, she was having much pain giving them birth.

The great, red dragon is Satan--the devil. John sees the dragon throw down a third of the stars with his tail. When Satan fell from Heaven, a third of the angels fell with him. Jesus interprets for us of the stars being angels.

"'The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. . . . .'" Revelation 1:20 NKJV

So, the characters in the drama are being defined: the woman (the true church), the child, and the dragon (the devil). The theme of many literature books today depicts a woman in distress and a dragon. You will discover that the key players in the book of Revelation are the key players in your life, too. You are caught in a crisis!

Worship is the issue in Revelation. Satan is the dragon that gives powers to the Revelation 13 beast. All the people wonder after the beast except those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. The people who follow the beast that gets his power and authority from the devil are following Satan. I don't want to follow the devil, do you?

"Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying 'Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?'" Revelation 13:1-4

Will the people following the beast think they are following Satan? No. They will believe that they are following the truth. In your life, you are either devotees of God, or following the devil. You cannot be neutral. You will either worship Satan or follow Jesus wherever He goes.

The Revelation story reveals that the devil wants to devour the male child to destroy Him. Grandparents often say to the grandchildren, "You are so sweet that I could eat you!" But, the devil isn't being cute.

Who is this male child? There are three clues to the puzzle:

1- the child will rule with a rod of iron;

2- He will be caught up to the throne of God; and,

3- the devil will seek to devour Him.

First, the Word of God, becoming flesh (John 1:1 & 14), will rule the world with a rod of iron.

"Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with A ROD OF IRON. . ." Revelation 19:11-15 NKJV (capitalization added).

Second, He is "caught up to God." He sits at God's right hand.

"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He make the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down AT THE RIGHT HAND of the Majesty of high." Hebrews 1:1-3 (capitalization added).

Third, the devil seeks to destroy Him when He is born.

You know the story: Mary and Joseph from Nazareth are in Bethlehem when Jesus is born. The wise men follow the star and find Jesus. King Herod contends for his throne, inviting the wise men to tell him when they find the king--Jesus--so that he can worship him. Joseph is warned in a dream to flee with Mary and the baby to Egypt. The wise men returned to their home. Herod was so mad when he was deceived that he had all the children in the region who were two years or less killed.

"Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men." Matthew 2;16 NKJV

Who prompted the acts of Herod? The dragon, crouching in front of the woman. Now, all the characters are identified: the woman (the true church); the child (Jesus); and the dragon (Satan).

In the Bible, Jesus is often called "the Lamb." Revelation reveals a battle between the dragon and the Jesus, the Lamb.

"And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain. . ." Revelation 5:6 NKJV

Who wins the battle? The Lamb.

"'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

To receive power and riches and wisdom,

And strength and honor and glory and blessing!'"

Revelation 5:12 NKJV

There is a Lamb Who loves you. He says, "Worship me. I will give you pleasure now and life forever."

There is a dragon who wants to destroy you. He says, "Worship me. I will supply fun now and destruction later."

There is a church who God loves: His bride.

Brothers and sisters, it's all about WHO YOU WORSHIP. The choice is clear: worship God and come after the Lamb or worship the beast and go behind the devil. You have to choose because you are caught in a crisis!

Jesus was given birth as a human being. Satan sought to kill Him. All His life, the devil tried to destroy Him. When Jesus died at the cross, Satan thought he was victorious. But, Jesus came forth from the grave victoriously. GOD HAS POWER OVER DEATH AND THE GRAVE!

Moses brought 1-2 million people out of Egypt. In the wilderness God had the power to feed them.

At the edge of the Promised Land, Moses sent out twelve spies: the men find walled cities but God is bigger than all the cities; they find giants there but God is stronger than all of the giants.

Caleb and Joshua believe that God can conquer any of the enemies. But ten of the spies believe that the land is too immense for God to handle. The people--1-2 million--accepting the report of the ten men, go back to the desert for forty years. Except for Caleb and Joshua, every adult that was there died on the desert.

When Moses, their leader, eventually died, God announced that their new leader is Joshua who will lead them into battles in the Promised land. After many years, with Joshua's time to die, each person must choose who he will worship. Joshua says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15 NKJV

Caught in a crisis. We can choose this day to worship God! Would you like to say, "Today I choose You!"

"Father in Heaven, You are more powerful than the devil. You can deliver us, our families, and our friends. Tonight we honor and praise You. We ask that You accept our decisions to choose You! Deliver us all who are caught in the crisis. In Jesus' Name, Amen."