The Second Vision: The Beast from the Sea

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Midweek of Trinity 5

Revelation 13:1-10

We turn now from the vision of the dragon, the woman, and the Child to the second vision from the set of seven visions in Revelation 12-14. This one shows us the beast that came up out of the sea. It’s a terrible creature, and it’s one that the Church will have to deal with for 42 months, that is, for the entire New Testament period, until Christ returns. As usual, there’s plenty in these pictures that we may struggle to identify, but the overarching message remains the same: The Church will suffer terribly throughout this New Testament period, but it all fits into God’s plan to work all things together for good to those who love Him.

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 he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.

Instead of “I stood on the sand of the sea,” another Greek reading has “he stood,” as in, the dragon stood. That seems to fit a little better with the context, because the dragon is just waiting for this beast to come forth so that it can serve him. If you recall, the dragon was described in chapter 12 as having seven heads and ten horns, just like this beast, so that the beast resembles the dragon, and the dragon gave the beast his power and authority. They’re working very closely together.

There’s really no doubt that John’s vision of the beast from the sea is directly related to Daniel’s vision of four beasts that came up out of the sea. If you recall from our study of Daniel, we easily identified those four beasts as the four governments that would affect the people of Israel over the coming centuries. The first beast Daniel saw, representing Babylonia, was described as being “like a lion”; John’s beast has the mouth of a lion. Daniel’s second beast, representing the Medes and Persians, looked “like a bear”; John’s beast has feet like those of a bear. Daniel’s third beast, representing the nation of Greece, was “one that looked like a leopard”; the beast which John saw was like a leopard. The fourth beast in Daniel, representing the Roman Empire, is not compared to any animal but it has ten horns; John’s beast also has ten horns. The third beast described by Daniel has four heads, the other three only had one each, for a total of seven heads, just as the single beast seen by John had seven heads. One of the ten horns of Daniel’s beast is described as “waging war against the saints and defeating them.” John later describes the beast from the sea as doing almost exactly the same thing.

So it seems very clear that the beast from the sea in Revelation is also meant to represent the governments of the world. The message is clear: the governments of the world will be working hand in hand with the devil against God and against the Church for the duration of this New Testament time period. Now, the devil didn’t create the world’s governments; they “came up out of the sea,” out of God’s natural created order. Nor do most world leaders worship the devil openly as so-called “Satanists.” But if you pay attention, practically all of them have “a blasphemous name” written on them. Their claims about themselves challenge the authority of God, and they have a reputation of usurping God’s authority, legalizing, promoting, and celebrating things that God condemns, while often forbidding the things that God commands.

Where is the God-denying doctrine of evolution taught more than in government-sponsored schools? Who is responsible for legalized abortion, no-fault divorce, the celebration of homosexuality and other perversions, and the persecution of Christians but the governments of the world? At times in history they have been openly anti-Christian, as in the first three centuries leading up to Constantine, or in the governments under Muslim control, or in modern times, the communist governments of the world. At other times government leaders have claimed to be Christians, but have still promoted policies that blaspheme God and that are harmful to the true Christian Church, all the while pretending to teach people things that are false when it comes to God. Our country is a prime example.

And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. What could it mean that one of the heads of secular government appears to have been mortally wounded or “slain,” and then healed? That seems to indicate all the times when one of the governments of the world that was persecuting Christians was stopped for a time, maybe by a rebellion or a revolt, or by other nations. The Roman Empire’s horrible persecutions of the first three centuries were put to a stop when Constantine took over. The Muslim conquerors were sometimes defeated. Hitler’s government was overthrown. The Soviet Union crumbled. Even the United States seemed to have defeated the anti-Christian forces connected with slavery. But all of these governments, forasmuch as it seemed like Satan’s influence was diminished for a time, always came back into his service eventually.

And all the world marveled and followed the beast…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?” The power of the government seems almost god-like, and they’re all wearing those “crowns” or “diadems” on their horns, which were symbols of a ruler’s claim to godhood. Sometimes it’s the government’s military strength that impresses people. Sometimes it’s their power to lock up or punish dissenters. Sometimes it’s their socialist programs that are aimed at making everyone dependent on the government. In any case, people end up putting their faith in the government—faith which should only be placed in God.

It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

The governments of the world have made war with the saints since the time of Christ, when Herod and Pilate conspired together against Christ Himself, if not by open persecution, then by deceit and leading people to trust in princes more than they trust in God. And all unbelievers end up worshiping the governments of the world in one way or another. That’s what’s meant by “whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb.” That’s a clear reference to the election that took place in Christ “before the foundations of the earth were laid.” And while it’s possible to take “from the foundation of the world” with the “Lamb slain,” the Greek allows for that phrase to be taken with “whose names have not been written,” which seems to fit the context better.

If anyone has an ear, let him hear. He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. This little saying is meant to comfort the saints, to give us patience and faith. The world rulers who have done the persecuting will eventually be persecuted by God. Those who have blasphemed God and made war against the saints, who thought they were running things, will one day learn what it’s like to have God make war against them.

Now, given what God has shown us about the world governments in this vision, no Christian should ever fall into the trap of thinking of the government as the friend of Christians. It never has been, and it never will be. But neither should the Christian’s response be rebellion against our governments, or slander, or mockery, or bitterness, or anger. The task God has given us as Christians is not to worship the beast, not to “slay the beast,” or to rage against the beast, or to take the beast over for Christ, but still to pray for the governing authorities and to honor them, even though they dishonor the very God who put them in place to do good in this world. The wicked will answer for their crimes, not to us, but to God.

Meanwhile, we may have to stand up to the government, not by rebelling, but by speaking the truth and by not going along with the sinful or illegitimate laws the governments make. We may have to flee to a place where the government attacks aren’t as strong or as direct. And we will certainly have to keep preaching and hearing the Word of God and living as lights in the world. And when we do, you can expect that the governments of the world will brand us as extremists, because while we continue to hold the line, with the same old teachings and practices God has always prescribed in the Bible, the world rushes further and further away from those principles and practices, until the gap between the world’s morality and ours is like a great chasm.

But take heart! Revelation is the story of the final victory of Christ and His Church after God’s enemies look like they’re winning for a time. The governments of the world are one of those bitter enemies, and they, too, will finally have to admit that God has loved us. Amen.

 

 

 

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Do what the Lord has given you to do

Posted on July 9, 2023 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Trinity 5

1 Peter 3:8-15  +  Luke 5:1-11

When Jesus said to Simon Peter in today’s Gospel, “Put out a little from the shore,” you know He wasn’t talking to you, right, telling you to row your boats away from the shore? When He told Peter, “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch,” you know He wasn’t talking to you, right? Of course you do! It’s obvious that Jesus’ words to Peter were not meant for you, or for anyone else. And yet, when Christians hear the last words Jesus spoke to Peter in today’s Gospel, they get all excited about it, as if Jesus had spoken the words directly to them, “From now on you will be catching men!” Or as it’s stated in another Gospel, “I will make you fishers of men!” Now, someday, some of the young men hear may be able to apply those words to themselves if they receive a divine call, through the Church, into the preaching ministry, as Peter, James, and John did directly from Jesus. But for everyone else, no, “catching men” is not something the Lord has given you to do.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty in today’s Gospel and Epistle that does apply to you all as Christians. The Lord has given you much to believe here, and much to do! So let’s take a look at our Bible texts again and see what those things are.

Some time before Jesus met Peter, James, and John at the Sea of Galilee for today’s miraculous catch of fish, He had already called them to follow Him as learners, as disciples. They had already spent some days with Him, heard Him teach, and seen some of His miracles. But they hadn’t yet been called to be His full-time apprentices. That would change by the end of the day. Jesus chose this occasion to call those men to follow Him full-time as “seminary students” preparing for the ministry He would eventually give them. And how He called them is significant.

First, Jesus got into Peter’s boat and asked him to put out a little from the shore so that Jesus could preach to the large crowds from a little distance, so that they could all see and hear Him better. It was a simple thing Jesus told Peter to do, and he did what was given him to do; it seemed like a reasonable request. And that simple act of obedience ended up serving the Lord’s purpose to teach the people.

Then, after He finished teaching the people, the Lord had more to teach Peter and his companions. So He told Peter to put out into the deep water and let down his nets for a catch. Again, it was a simple thing, but this time, Peter couldn’t see the reasonableness of it. Serious fishermen went out at night, as Peter and his companions had done the night before, with no luck at all. Not a single fish was caught in their nets. You see, God had prevented Peter from catching anything the night before so that Jesus could teach him this lesson today. Peter didn’t know that the night before, of course. He didn’t know why it had gone so badly for them. But that’s how God’s plans usually work. We don’t understand ahead of time why we go through this or that hardship. Sometimes we don’t find out this side of heaven. But sometimes it’s made clear to us later, as it was for Peter.

Initially, it seemed like a fool’s errand to let down the nets at this time of day, especially after how things had gone the night before. But Peter said something very wise: Master, we have toiled throughout the night and have caught nothing. But at your word, I will let down the net. It didn’t make sense, from a human perspective, to do what Jesus gave him to do. But Peter didn’t let that get in the way of doing it. At your word, Jesus—because You said to do it—I will do it.

And that’s usually how it goes in the ministry of the Word. God tells His pastors, “Preach the Word! Baptize! Give out My body and blood with the bread and wine! Convince, rebuke, correct, encourage! Take care of My sheep! Forgive the penitent! Do not forgive the impenitent!” That’s it? That’s the work He’s given pastors to do? It doesn’t seem like it can accomplish much. But we should learn with Peter to say, “At Your Word, Lord, I will preach and do these things, because You gave them to me to do.”

See how it turned out for Peter and his fellow fishermen. Their net sank with the weight of the great multitude of fish that were suddenly caught in it. The net began to tear, and two boats began to sink as they worked together to drag the net to shore.

It wasn’t luck. It was a miracle that Jesus performed to teach His disciples, both then and now, to trust His Word and to do whatever He has given us to do, no matter how unreasonable or how useless it may seem.

Peter recognized this miracle for what it was. When he saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Jesus’ power over the sea, over nature itself, was a clear sign that this man was not just a man. He was the holy God. Peter was beginning to understand that. And he knew that sinful men, like him, cannot survive in the presence of the holy God. In that respect, the Old Testament had done its job very well. So many of the regulations of the Law of Moses had to do with clean and unclean, and the message was clear: One way or another, you had to be clean, sinless, spotless in order to be in God’s presence in the temple. Either you had to be sinless (which didn’t apply to anyone), or you had to be cleansed of your sin. You had to have atonement made for your sins so that you could be forgiven.

Well, Peter was in the very presence of the One whom he was beginning to recognize as the Son of God, and although he was no murderer or adulterer or thief, he knew he hadn’t fulfilled the righteous requirements of God’s holy Law. He was a sinful man, like everyone else. But when he pleaded with Jesus to depart from him because of his sinfulness, Jesus gave him a very different kind of command. “Do not be afraid.” He doesn’t explain it here, but it would all be revealed eventually. Jesus had come to make atonement for all the sins of all people by offering up His life on the cross, inviting all sinners to make use of His atonement before God as the basis for His forgiveness. To all who look to Him in faith, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid. Your sins can no longer harm you. It’s all right. You can be in the presence of God without fear, as long as you’re with Me.”

And then Jesus added something that’s recorded in Matthew and Mark but not here in Luke. He said to Peter, as He said also to Andrew, James, and John on this occasion, “Follow Me.” He meant it literally. He was calling them to leave behind their careers, their job as fishermen in which they had worked their whole lives. To do what? “From now on, you will be catching men!” This was something new, a new call to these men, not just to believe in Him, not just to learn from Him, but, eventually, to carry out the same ministry Jesus was carrying out in the world, to gather people into the kingdom of God by preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments. And they left everything and followed him.

Now, of the five things Jesus gave Peter to do on that day by the Sea of Galilee, only one has been given to you directly. When you acknowledge your sins, when you look to Jesus for mercy, His words to Peter are also intended for you. “Do not be afraid.” Don’t be afraid of God’s anger or God’s punishment. Don’t be afraid that God will reject you or abandon you. Jesus has taken care of that for you. So don’t be afraid.

There is a sense in which another of Jesus’ commands to Peter applies to you, though. Follow Me. In Peter’s case, it was meant in a very literal sense. In your case, it’s less literal, but just as real. You have been called to follow Jesus, that is, to follow His teaching, to learn from Him, to trust in Him, and to walk in His footsteps, which includes living a life of honesty, courage, and love, which also includes suffering for doing and saying what is right, if necessary.

The same Peter who did what the Lord had given him to do in our Gospel has spelled out in his Epistle many of the things God has given you to do as you follow Jesus.

Finally, all of you, be of one mind. Be sympathetic. Show brotherly love. Be compassionate. Be friendly. You could spend all day just contemplating how you might put those things into practice. You don’t have to change the world. You don’t have to fix our broken society. God hasn’t given you those things to do. But to be sympathetic? To show brotherly love? To be compassionate? To be friendly? That you can do.

Do not repay evil with evil or insults with insults, but on the contrary, pronounce a blessing, knowing that you were called to this. If you’ve spent any time on social media, you know this isn’t how most people behave. Mockery. Insults. Assuming the worst about other people. Tearing down others. That’s what the world does. But you have been given something else to do. You have been called to behave differently. Whoever wants to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it…Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for an explanation of the hope that is in you. Do it with gentleness and respect.

To “catch men” or to be “fishers of men” is an important task the Lord has given to some men and will continue to give, as He sees fit. But to all Christians God has given plenty to do in the time He has given you here on this earth. Be about those things, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem. In God’s eyes, no task that He’s given is irrelevant; no task is trivial or small. So serve the Lord with gladness, and give thanks that He has counted you worthy to follow Him here on earth, until you finally follow Him to His heavenly home. Amen.

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The first vision: A war won, a war still being waged

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

Sermon for Midweek of Trinity 4

Revelation 12:7-17

Last week we studied the beginning of John’s first vision in the set of seven visions, beginning in chapter 12. We easily identified the dragon as the devil, because in tonight’s reading that much is spelled out for us by the Holy Spirit. He’s called the ancient serpent, the one who has been tempting, deceiving, and accusing mankind since the Garden of Eden. He’s called the Devil and Satan, because he opposes God and His Church and accuses sinners in God’s heavenly courtroom. That dragon was pictured last week trying to destroy the male Child, Jesus, when He was born. But he failed.

The first part of our reading this evening focuses on that failure of the devil. It’s depicted as a war in heaven. People have seen this war as something that happened in the beginning, when the devil first rebelled against God and he and his angels were cast out of heaven, but that doesn’t fit the context. No, this war is in connection with Christ’s victory over the devil. Not His final victory at the end of the world, but one that comes before that.

We’re told that Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

We’ve talked about Michael before in Bible class. He’s mentioned by the prophet Daniel as the great prince who stands watch over the people of God. Daniel says that Michael will “stand up” in the last days, and that when he does, a time of great tribulation will follow, after which the people of God will be saved once and for all. That’s why many see this Michael in the book of Revelation as representing Christ Himself. But whether he represents Christ or serves as the chief angel under Christ, it doesn’t matter, really. The point is, God’s side wins this crucial victory over the devil’s side. As a result of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, combined with the preaching of the Gospel that went out afterward, the devil is no longer able to accuse before God those who belong to Christ, those who have been baptized in His name and who trust in Him as their Savior.

And so John hears a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them!

Now, remember, this isn’t the end of the world yet. The coming of this salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ—it’s already come! Heaven rejoices in the atonement Christ made for sin, and in the success of the Gospel that applies that atonement to sinners as it brings them to faith—faith that leads believers to be ready to give up their earthly lives in order to hold onto the heavenly life Christ has purchased for us. That’s what it means when it says, They did not love their lives to the death. They did not love their earthly lives so much that they shrank back from death when faithfulness to Christ required it of them. That is part of Christ’s victory, too! That is part of the devil’s defeat! That he hasn’t been able to turn believers away from God! That he hasn’t been able to separate them from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus! Those who make it all the way through this life clinging to faith, with the help God provides in His Word and Sacraments, have won the fight with the devil!

But the fight isn’t over yet for those who still live on the earth. That was the last part of what the loud voice said. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

Since the devil couldn’t win against Christ or against those believers who have already departed this life, he turns his attention toward those who are still vulnerable, to those who are part of this Church Militant, to you and me and the rest of the Christian Church on earth. His time is “short,” relatively speaking. He knows that he won’t be allowed to persecute Christians forever. Either we’ll make it safely to the end of our own personal races, or Christ will come to put an end to all the devil’s attacks. I am coming soon, Jesus says. In that sense, the devil’s time is “short.”

Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Remember from last week, we identified this woman as a symbol of the Church. The devil persecutes her, but she’s given eagle’s wings to fly to that place in the wilderness that God has prepared for her to be nourished for that same time period that is 42 months or 1,260 days or a time, times, and half a time, that is, 3-1/2 years, basically the duration of the New Testament period. The true Church doesn’t look glorious on this earth. It looks like fleeing into the wilderness and hiding in the desert. The serpent, the devil, can’t attack the Church directly, so he “spews water from his mouth like a flood” to get at her. That flood can be false doctrine. It can be societal pressure. It can be governmental oppression. It can be hardships of many kinds. We probably can be too specific about how the earth helps the woman by swallowing up the flood from the dragon’s mouth. It’s enough to say that every time the devil has tried to overwhelm the Christian Church on earth, something has stopped the flood from drowning her and carrying her away. But still the devil tries and continues to wage war with believers, with those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

It’s nothing new, is it?, this vision of Michael and the angels defeating Satan, and then Satan taking out his anger on the Church. It’s the same old story, but told in fantastic pictures. It should remind you to rejoice in Christ’s victory and in the victory of all those who have entered the Church Triumphant. It should remind you to be vigilant, watchful, conscious of the devil’s rage against the true Church, and of how threatened and imperiled and destitute the true Church appears in this world. To be a Christian is not a matter of feeling comfortable in the world or having fun at church. A war has been fought over you—and won! —by Christ and His holy angels. And now a war still rages against you, as long as you remain in this world, as long as you belong to Christ, as long as you are among those who keep the commandments of God and hold onto the testimony of Jesus Christ. Understand the Church on earth in this way. Understand your role as one who is fleeing from the devil, and yet not in fear, but in anticipation of the victory that awaits after the time of fleeing is done. Amen.

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A blessing from two godly women

Posted on July 2, 2023 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for the Visitation of Mary

Isaiah 11:1-5  +  Luke 1:39-56

Today, July 2nd, has historically been celebrated as the Visitation of Mary, which you heard about in today’s Gospel. The birth of John the Baptist is celebrated on June 24th, six months before December 24th, because John was six months older than Jesus. Using those dates, John would have been circumcised on July 1st, and since we’re told that Elizabeth was about six months pregnant when Mary first came to her, and that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months, it’s likely that she stayed until John was born, circumcised and named, so July 2nd marks the time when Mary would have completed her visit with Elizabeth and returned to Nazareth.

But the Gospel for today’s festival tells us, not about the end, but about the very beginning of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, about her arrival at Zacharias’ and Elizabeth’s house, when Elizabeth was about six months pregnant with John. This encounter between these two God-fearing women was something the Holy Spirit chose to have recorded for us, so that through their words of blessing, we, too, might receive a blessing.

“Blessed are you among women!” Those were the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary when he informed her that God had chosen her to bear His Son by the miracle of a virgin-birth. Now Elizabeth echoes those words verbatim, as she has been “filled with the Holy Spirit.” “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” calling her the “mother of my Lord.” We can certainly go overboard in honoring Mary; we are not taught by the Christian Church to practice any kind of devotion to her, nor are we taught to pray to her, or to seek help from her. But we certainly don’t deny the words of Gabriel or the Spirit-inspired words that Elizabeth spoke to Mary. Mary was blessed among women. That doesn’t mean she was better than or superior to other women. It means that God had given her a greater gift than He had given to other women. She was the only one in history whose womb gave human life to Him who is the Life. She was the mother of Elizabeth’s Lord and ours. Her womb and her descended-from-King-David genes were the Holy Spirit’s raw material for crafting a human body and soul that was taken up into the Person of the Son of God, so that there is now one Christ who is both true God and true Man, God incarnate (made flesh) as a man to save men from their sins. Mary was given a vital, intimate role in the incarnation of Emmanuel, God-with-us.

Even Elizabeth’s unborn child perceived that and leaped for joy in the presence, not of Mary, but of God-with-us. That was a confession of faith on the part of John, not just that the Lord is present, but that it’s a good thing, something to jump for joy over.

Why? Not for any earthly reason. Jesus wouldn’t make anything better here on earth, especially for John the Baptist, who would one day be put to death for his faithfulness to Christ. But now the Lord was finally present, not as He is always present everywhere, but tangibly present in human flesh. Not “God-out-there-somewhere,” but God-right-here-in-the-midst, to reveal God to us, to carry our sorrows, to receive our stripes, and to die our death, to make atonement for the sins of all men, and to grant eternal life to all who believe.

That God-right-here-in-the-midst is no longer growing in Mary’s womb, or lying in a manger, or walking around the land of Israel, or hanging on a cross, or lying in a tomb. He’s sitting at the right hand of God, which means He’s ruling everywhere, though still right here in the midst in the preaching of the Gospel, in the waters of Baptism, and in the giving out of His true body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar.

Finally, Elizabeth said to Mary, Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord. What a contrast with Elizabeth’s own husband Zacharias, who had disbelieved the word of the same angel Gabriel and had been struck dumb for those nine months that John was growing in Elizabeth’s belly. Zacharias was “cursed,” in that sense, but Mary was blessed—fortunate, enviable—because, unlike Zacharias, she believed the angel’s word, even though what he had told her was humanly impossible. And in believing God’s Word about something that was humanly impossible, Mary was walking in the footsteps of her forefather Abraham, who believed the Lord, against hope, that he and Sarah would have a son in their old age. Abraham believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness. Mary believed the Lord, and she, too, was blessed. These examples spur us on to faith, too, to trust in God’s amazing promises, to believe in the Word of God, even if no one around us believes, because He is faithful, and through faith in His promises, we will be blessed, because faith is counted as righteousness in the sight of God.

Then we have the beautiful words of Mary, which have been sung in the Church ever since in the canticle called the Magnificat, “magnifies.” My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

First, Mary gives thanks to God and rejoices in Him for what He has done specifically for her. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.

Mary knows the source of her happiness, the source of her blessedness. It’s the Lord God, her Savior. We often point to this verse as inconsistent with Rome’s unscriptural teaching of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Mary didn’t need a Savior if she wasn’t conceived in sin, like the rest of us. But we don’t need to rely on this verse alone. The teaching of original sin is very simple. Everyone born in the natural way, of man and woman, inherits the innate corruption of our nature. Mary, too. She was righteous in the eyes of God only by faith, and from that faith came a righteousness of life, obedience, and love. But still, she was only righteous by faith, because God, her Savior, had brought her to faith and pronounced her righteous through faith in Him and the promised Christ, who was now growing in her womb.

And so she magnifies the Lord. She “makes His name great” because of the “great things” He, the Mighty One, had done for her. She hadn’t suddenly been made rich, nor would she ever be. Her life hadn’t gotten easier with this conception; it had gotten a good deal harder. The great things were all wrapped up in Christ. God had given Mary the gift of bringing His Son into the world. Through Him, Mary’s sins were forgiven. Through Him, Mary received grace upon grace. Through Him, Mary knew her God personally, and she knew that He cared for her and would never abandon her. And because of her Son, she also knew that she would be called blessed, that is, remembered fondly by all generations, not because she deserves our honor, but because God had shown her favor, and so we recognize and give thanks for her.

Then Mary goes on to bless the Lord for how He treats the rest of His believers. And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. Mercy on those who fear Him, in every generation, from Adam and Eve to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to David, to Mary, to you and me, to our children and grandchildren who fear Him. What a promise! This is the special, personal, fatherly mercy for those whom God has brought to faith and who continue now in faith and the fear of God, who fear and revere, not just any god, but the God who sent His Son into the womb of the blessed virgin.

This is why we Christians cry out in our liturgy, Lord, have mercy! Because Mary was right. His mercy is on those who fear Him, and we can count on His mercy, from generation to generation, even when we don’t understand how His mercy works.

In this sense, God treats those who fear Him differently from how He treats those who don’t fear Him. Mary goes on to show the great contrast:

He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.

It’s very much like Jesus often said, whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. How has God “scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts”? How has He “put down the mighty and sent the rich away empty”? By telling them the truth: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. You want to take pride in yourself? No human being has any reason to do that. God doesn’t let anyone trust in their own works, in their own strength, or in their own riches. God says to the proud, You will surely die, unless mercy steps in to save you.

But mercy did step in, wrapped up in Christ Jesus. So despair of yourselves and trust in Him. He has mercy on those who fear Him. He has exalted the lowly and the poor and the despised. He has filled the hungry with good things. As Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

And He raises up the lowly, as Mary confessed, out of faithfulness to His own promises—promises which He first made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—the fathers of the Israelite people—and to their seed forever. He promised those patriarchs that, through their Seed, all nations on earth would be blessed. That seed was Christ Himself, the Rod from the stem of Jesse, as Isaiah called Him, the Branch from Jesse’s roots, from the house of David, through David’s daughter Mary. This is the only reason why the nation of Israel has ever mattered in the world, and the only reason it should still matter, that God, in His faithfulness, gave His Son into the world through that chosen nation, according to His promises made to them long ago.

Of course, the same Isaiah to whose prophecies Mary had been alluding in her Magnificat prophesied about how God’s kingdom would extend through the virgin’s Son far beyond the nation of Israel, how the Christ would be a light to lighten the Gentiles, for the creation of one great Church to fill the world, the New Israel that proclaims the God of the Old and New Testaments, the Church made up of sinners only, who recognize their need for mercy, and God’s merciful gift of the Savior who visited Elizabeth long ago, still in his mother’s womb, and in whose presence John the unborn child leapt for joy.

The same joy is for all the humble and lowly who look to Him for salvation. Learn that from Elizabeth’s words and from Mary’s, and receive the same blessing that those lowly women received. Amen.

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The first vision: The woman, the child, and the dragon

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Midweek of Trinity 3

Revelation 12:1-6

All right. Let’s review. Overall, there are seven sets of seven visions in the Book of Revelation. Each set essentially covers the whole time of the New Testament from different angles, focusing on different things. So far in the book of Revelation we’ve considered the first three sets: (1) the vision of the seven letters to the seven churches, (2) the vision of the seven seals, and (3) the vision of the seven trumpets. Three sets down, four to go.

The fourth set of seven visions can simply be called the “seven visions.” There are seven scenes that John sees in chapters 12-15. The first vision is covered in chapter 12, and it’s divided into three parts. We’ll cover just the first part tonight: the vision of the woman, the child, and the dragon.

It’s hard to go verse by verse here, because it takes all the verses together to understand who the woman, the child, and the dragon are. So let me read the whole section one more time:

Now 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. 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. Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

The child and the dragon are easier to interpret than the woman, so let’s start with them.

The dragon is clearly identified a few verses later as Satan. He’s described here as a fiery red dragon, fiery red for the fires of hell. He’s described as having seven heads and ten horns, with seven diadems on his heads. Seven has been used throughout the book as a number of the perfection that comes from God. And Satan was created perfect in the beginning. But when he rebelled against God, he went from being a holy angel to being like a deadly dragon. Horns are symbols of strength and rule, and ten of them means he’s very powerful, or that he works through the full number of kings and rulers among men to fight against God. The diadems he’s wearing are a special kind of crown. At the time of John, the wearing of a diadem by a king meant that he considered himself to be a god and that he demanded to be worshiped as a god. A very fitting description for Satan, who isn’t God but desires to be worshiped as a god. Remember, he wanted Jesus to bow down to him and worship him during the temptations in the wilderness.

The dragon sweeps his tail across heaven and draws a third of the stars to the earth. That seems to be a reference to how the devil convinced many of the holy angels to abandon their place in heaven and to follow him in his rebellion in the beginning.

The dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth in order to devour her Child as soon as he was born. Well, the male Child who was born, persecuted by the dragon, who will rule all nations with an iron scepter, and who was taken up to God and His throne—there is no question that the Child represents Jesus. From the moment He was born the devil tried to snuff out His life. Think of the slaughter of the babies of Bethlehem. Or think of how Satan entered Judas Iscariot, using him to betray Jesus and get Him killed. But in the end the dragon was not successful, even in Jesus’ death on the cross, because Christ turned the tables on the devil, rose from the dead victorious, and ascended into heaven to reign on His Father’s throne.

So who is the woman who gave birth to this Child, the woman who was clothed with the sun, who had the moon under her feet?

Roman Catholics have tried to make her the Virgin Mary, but that is completely inconsistent with the rest of the vision. Yes, Mary gave birth to Jesus. But “clothed with the sun”? The moon beneath her feet? Wearing a crown (that is, the victor’s wreath) with twelve stars? None of that fits with the Virgin Mary, unless you have made her into the Queen of heaven, contrary to the rest of Scripture. But the last verse of this section makes it absolutely impossible to interpret this woman as Mary. We’re told that after the Child was caught up to heaven, she fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. That period of 1,260 days (which is the same as the 42 months or 3-1/2 years mentioned earlier) is the entire period of the New Testament. So this cannot possibly apply to the Virgin Mary.

What other “woman” could it be who was there before the coming of Christ, gave birth to Him, and then spends the rest of the New Testament period fleeing from the devil and being provided for by God? Only one “woman” fits the bill. It’s the Church herself.

God often refers to Old Testament Israel as His bride, or sometimes as His daughter. Those are just figures of speech, of course. But it’s the same way He speaks of His New Testament Church, sometimes as His bride, sometimes as His children. It was literally the Virgin Mary who gave birth to Jesus, but it was figuratively the Church who carried Him throughout the Old Testament period through the promises God gave to Israel over the centuries, as believers waited expectantly for the Child to be born. The Church is “clothed with the sun,” that is, made radiant by the God who chose her to be His bride and clothed her with Christ. She has the moon under her feet as she has been exalted by God over the creation. She wears a victor’s crown with twelve stars—twelve again being the symbol for the Church.

And most notably, after Christ ascended into heaven, the Church is left here below to be persecuted by Satan in this wilderness that is not our true home, provided for by God until the end of this New Testament period. We’ll hear more about that next week.

So this first part of the first of the seven visions is a very brief picture of the whole history of the world. The devil and his demons were there early on, demanding to be worshiped as gods, threatening God’s precious Church, which, throughout the Old Testament period, was like an expectant mother, waiting for the day when Isaiah’s prophecy would finally be fulfilled, “Unto us a Child is born. Unto us a Son is given.” And for as much as the devil tried to prevent Christ’s birth by leading Israel astray, and then tried to defeat Him after He was born, he couldn’t do it. God’s Word was fulfilled. And now, although Christ has ascended into heaven, His Church remains here below, fleeing from the devil, just as Peter said in Sunday’s Epistle, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being brought upon your brothers in the world.

But see how God views His precious Church! As His glorious bride whom He preserved until the Christ was born. And just as God the Father protected His beloved Son from being wiped out by the devil, so He will continue to preserve His beloved Church until the end. The devil is a fierce dragon and a dangerous enemy, but the story is already written, as it were. The Child is safe, and so will be the woman who gave birth to Him. The dragon does not win. The Church wins, with God’s help. Amen.

 

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