02082015ADragonVsALambDonRuhl

A Dragon vs. A Lamb 

In a fight between a Dragon and a Lamb, who would win?

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • February 8, In the year of our Lord, 2015

Song Leader and Song Suggestions: Larry Amberg – Songs of victory

  1. What would you think if a Lamb challenged a Dragon to a fight? 
    1. Do you believe the Lamb would be foolish?
      1. A Dragon is a killing machine!
      2. A Lamb is a cuddling machine.
        1. What will the Lamb do,
        2. cuddle the Dragon to death?
    2. What if I told you this Dragon was no ordinary dragon?
  2. The Dragon 
    1. He is huge, so much so
      1. that with his tail he can draw a third of the stars and
      2. fling them to the Earth.
    2. He has seven heads and ten horns.
    3. Do you know what he likes to eat?
      1. Babies!
      2. Do you think this Dragon would go easy on a Lamb in their fight?
        1. No, that Dragon would attack the Lamb quickly, and then
        2. devour it as soon as possible.
    4. He wars whenever he can, fighting the mightiest of the mighty.
    5. He has great wrath,
      1. spewing water out of his mouth,
        1. enough to cause flooding,
        2. as he tries to kill those whom he hates.
      2. If he cannot defeat one opponent,
      3. he will find another, because
        1. he is enraged against anyone who would dare challenge him,
        2. the very thing this Lamb wants to do.
    6. This Dragon has no intention of making things
      1. even,
      2. balanced, or
      3. fair.
        1. Therefore, he gets helpers.
        2. He will get them anywhere he can.
  3. The Dragon’s Helpers 
    1. He will get messengers of heaven to work for him.
    2. He will stand on the sea shore and conjure up a Sea Beast.
      1. This Sea Beast looks like the Dragon
        1. with seven heads and ten horns, because
        2. the Sea Beast works for the Dragon.
      2. The Sea Beast looks like a leopard, but it has
        1. the feet of a bear and
        2. the mouth of a lion.
      3. The Dragon gives the Sea Beast
        1. power,
        2. a throne, and
        3. great authority.
          1. This Sea Beast is so powerful
          2. that when one of its heads receives a deadly wound,
            1. the Sea Beast manages to heal itself,
            2. making the world marvel and follow the Sea Beast.
      4. When people of the world see just how
        1. great and powerful,
        2. fearful and ravaging,
          1. the Sea Beast is,
          2. they worship the Dragon and the Sea Beast,
            1. asking a question
            2. that glorifies the Sea Beast,

              “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

    3. As if the Dragon fighting the Lamb alone was not enough, and
      1. as if the Dragon and the Sea Beast together were not enough,
      2. the bloodlust of the Dragon seeks more, and
        1. he gets another helper,
        2. just as dreadful and ferocious as the Dragon and the Sea Beast.
    4. The Dragon brought a Beast up from the Earth.
      1. The Land Beast has the authority of the Sea Beast, because
      2. they work together, and
        1. the Land Beast makes the people of the Earth
        2. worship the Sea Beast.
          1. This Land Beast also possesses great power
          2. so that he can make fire come down out of heaven upon the Earth.
            1. With his power and authority
            2. this Land Beast subjugates all the people of the Earth,
              1. who honor, tremble, and worship the unholy trinity of
              2. the Dragon, the Sea Beast, and the Land Beast.
    5. Then there is this little, harmless Lamb
      1. that stands up to the Dragon,
        1. stands up to his messengers from heaven,
        2. stands up to his Sea Beast, and
        3. stands up to his Land Beast.
      2. Why would a Lamb even begin to think
        1. that he could fight such enemies?
        2. They are all about killing, but
          1. lambs are all about being killed.
          2. Does not this Lamb know what he is doing?
            1. Does this not seem like the height of folly?
            2. Why even stay around to watch the fight?
              1. If there was ever
                1. a one-sided,
                2. lop-sided battle,
              2. this is it.
    6. Look at the Lamb.
  4. The Lamb 
    1. What is sweeter? What is more harmless?
      1. Also, this Lamb goes into the fight
      2. with a mortal wound and dies.
    2. While the Dragon and his Beasts have many followers,
      1. some people like the Lamb because of its nature.
      2. They even worship him.
        1. Yet, some of them live in fear, because
        2. they believe their Lamb cannot defeat the Dragon and his Beasts.
    3. However, followers of the Dragon fear this Lamb.
      1. When the fighting begins,
      2. they hide in caves and in the mountains
        1. rather than face the wrath of this Lamb.
        2. Did I just say a Lamb with wrath?
      3. Yes, the people who support the Dragon and his Beasts,
        1. live in so much fear of the Lamb,
        2. that when he arrives for the battle,
          1. they cry out to the caves, rocks, and mountains,

            “Fall on us and hide us from…the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
          2. They see the ferocity of this Lamb, and
            1. although they go into the caves, and
            2. seek hiding places among the rocks and in the mountains,
              1. they can see that the wrath of this Lamb,
              2. can find them.
                1. If this Lamb has enough fortitude
                2. even to think of challenging the Dragon,
                  1. these people know
                  2. they cannot stand up to the Lamb.
  5. The Dragon Wars Against the Lamb 
    1. The Dragon, his messengers from heaven, the Sea Beast, and the Land Beast,
      1. make war with the Lamb, but
      2. he overcomes them.
        1. He defeats the Land Beast, the Sea Beast, the Dragon, and his angels.
        2. You see, it was not foolish for the Lamb to challenge the Dragon;
          1. it was foolish for the Dragon to think he could kill the Lamb…
          2. permanently.
            1. The Dragon could use all the forces of creation he wants,
            2. both in the spirit and of this world, but
              1. he would only hurt the Lamb for a short time.
              2. Then after a few days,
                1. the Lamb comes back and
                2. stomps on the Dragon.
    2. The Dragon and all his cohorts are the fools.
      1. They saw a Lamb, but
      2. appearances are not always what they seem.
        1. Yes, they gave a death blow to the Lamb, but
        2. he recovered from it, and then
          1. he goes after them,
          2. destroying them utterly.
  6. How Can These Things Be? 
    1. This Lamb is no ordinary lamb.
      1. This Lamb has seven horns and seven eyes.
      2. This Lamb is the Lion from the tribe of Judah.
    2. This Lamb has always been, and
      1. this Lamb was with God in heaven, and
      2. the God of heaven is this Lamb.
    3. In heaven, they say this of the Lamb,

      12 “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
      To receive power and riches and wisdom,
      And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
      (Rev 5.12)

      1. Heaven says more, and
      2. this time the Earth joins in,

        13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:

        “Blessing and honor and glory and power
        Be to Him who sits on the throne,
        And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
        (Rev 5.13)

    4. Therefore, when this Lamb shows His wrath,
      1. none of the great people of the Earth can stop it,
      2. nor can they hide from it,

        15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Rev 6.17).
    5. However, for those who sided with the Lamb
      1. they shall do something much different
      2. than hide and ask for mountains to fall on them,

        9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev 7.9–10).
    6. This Lamb has such great power
      1. that even His followers
      2. can defeat the Dragon, the Sea Beast, and the Land Beast, for
        1. the Dragon is Satan, and
        2. the Beasts are Rome in its civil and religious power, pagan and papal,

          9 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. 10 Then I heard 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. 11 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 (Rev 12.9–11).
    7. However, the Dragon and his forces do not give up easily,

      14 “These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful” (Rev 17.14).

      1. The Lamb has had to beat down the Dragon
      2. more times than any man can count, but
        1. the ultimate demise of the Dragon approaches rapidly.
        2. First, the Lamb puts a restriction on the Dragon for a while,

          1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while (Rev 20.1–3).

          1. Then when he is released for a little while,
          2. he finally meets his eternal destiny,
            1. where the Sea Beast and the Land Beast
            2. will have already preceded him,

              7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Rev 20.7–10).
    8. The Lamb has a better ending in this battle,
      1. as we see a brief picture of the throne in the city of heaven,
      2. we get this picture of the Lamb,

        3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him (Rev 22.3).

        1. We also have this wonderful sight,
        2. along with those who stand with Him,

          1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads (Rev 14.1).

          4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb (Rev 14.4).

  7. Who Is the Lamb? 
    1. The Lamb is God, God is the Lamb.
    2. Do you want a more specific description?

      29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1.29).

      1. Jesus of Nazareth is the Lamb of God.
      2. Jesus takes away our sin.
      3. Jesus redeems us from among men.
  8. Who Is the Fool? 
    1. Is the Lamb and His followers the fools for challenging the Dragon?
    2. Is the Dragon and his countless followers the fools for challenging the Lamb?
      1. I believe the Dragon, and
        1. anyone who sides with him,
        2. are the fools.
      2. Do not be a fool.
        1. Cease following the Dragon.
        2. Start following the Lamb.
          1. As it is written, those standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion,

            “These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (Rev 14.4).
          2. Follow Him right through immersion in water, for in so doing,
            1. you will leave the Dragon and
            2. join the Lamb
              1. to walk with Him on the Earth and then
              2. right into heaven.