Revelation 12-
VERSE 7.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the
dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8. And
prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the
devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10. And I
heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and
the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the
word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe
to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto
you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
The first six verses
of this chapter, as has been seen, take us down to the close of the 1260 years,
which marked the end of the papal supremacy in 1798. In the 7th verse it is
equally plain that we are carried back into previous ages. How far? - To the time
first introduced in the chapter, - the days of the first advent.
"And there was
war in heaven," the same heaven where the woman and the dragon were seen
at first; but they were actors in scenes that took place here upon the earth;
hence we understand this war to be located in the same place. And to what point
are we carried back? - Evidently to the commencement of Christ's ministry here
upon earth. To prove that Michael is Christ, see Jude 9; 1 Thess. 4:16; John
5:28, 29; and that this was a special time of warfare between him and Satan
need not be argued.
Another symbol is
here introduced, and John hastens to tell us what this symbol represents. It is
the devil and Satan. But this is not the same as the dragon of verses 3 and 4.
That was a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns
upon his heads. Though in a sense the dragon represents Satan, since he was the
instigator of the work which this dragon did, it would be most grotesque to try
to apply this symbol to Satan personally. Satan is not said anywhere in the
Bible to be red, and he is not possessed of the
p 550 -- number of
heads and horns there stated; and while he might, as the god of this world,
have one crown, there would be no reason for his having seven. But all these
features are very appropriate as applied to pagan Rome.
When it is desired
to set forth Satan by a symbol, no more appropriate one can be chosen than a
great dragon, or serpent, unqualified. And why a similar symbol is also
employed to represent Rome with some of its peculiar features, is evident. It
was because Rome, as a universal empire, was then the only possible general
agent to carry out Satan's will in the earth. But there is no occasion to
confound the two symbols.
In reference to the
war mentioned, Satan had looked forward to Christ's mission to this earth as
his last chance of success in overthrowing the plan of salvation.
He came to Christ
with specious temptations, in hope of overcoming him; he tried in various ways
to destroy him during his ministry; and when he had succeeded in laying him in
the tomb, he endeavored, in malignant triumph, to hold him there.
But in every
encounter the Son of God came off triumphant; and he sends back this gracious
promise to his faithful followers: "To him that overcometh will I grant to
sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my
Father in his throne." This shows us that Jesus while on earth waged a
warfare, and obtained the victory.
Satan saw his last
effort fail, his last scheme miscarry. He had boasted that he would overcome
the Son of God in his mission to this world, and thus render the plan of
salvation an ignominious failure; and well he knew that if he was foiled in
this his last desperate effort to thwart the work of God, his last hope had
perished, and all was lost.
But, in the language
of verse 8, he "prevailed not;" and hence the song may well be sung,
"Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them."
It is held by some
that this war took place when Satan, then an angel of light and glory, rebelled
in heaven; and that the "casting out" of which John speaks, was his
expulsion from heaven at that time. But we are unable to harmonize
p 551 -- this view
with the testimony before us. Thus, in verse 13 we read: "And when the
dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which
brought forth the man-child."
This shows that just
as soon as the devil saw that he was cast out, he turned his wrath against the
woman, the church, which, not far from that time, fled into the wilderness.
When Satan therefore found himself thus overthrown, the man-child had already been
brought forth, or, in other words, the first advent of Christ had taken place.
Hence this war and defeat of Satan, taking place this side of the Christian
era, and not a great length of time before the church went into the wilderness
in 538, cannot be his fall from heaven before the creation of the world; though
that was a war in heaven.
Again, there seem to
be a number of instances in which Satan is spoken of as defeated, or cast down.
One was his first rejection from heaven; another, when Christ overcame him at
his first advent; and there will be another in the future, when he is cast into
the bottomless pit, and shut up for a thousand years. And on each successive
occasion, we behold a regularly increasing limitation of his power. He falls a
degree lower in every succeeding combat. The first time, as we may plainly
infer from certain scriptures, the contest was between him and God the Father
(see 2 Peter 2:4); the second time between him and Christ the Son, as in the
scripture before us; while the third time an angel suffices to accomplish the
work of his humiliation. Rev. 20:1, 2. Since his first contest, he has not been
permitted to rise to the dignity of contending with the Father; since the
second, he has not had the privilege, if such it may be called, of a personal
encounter with the Son. The war mentioned in the scripture now before us is
between the devil and Michael, Christ. The great effort of the former against
the latter, personally, was during his mission here on earth; and Christ's
great personal victory over him was in that very contest.
"Neither was
their place found any more in heaven." Heaven, we have seen, does not
mean, in this chapter, the place which is the abode of God and his celestial
messengers.
p 552 -- It here
doubtless denotes condition rather than place; and the expression would then
signify that they were here humiliated, and never to regain their former
position. They had suffered a terrible defeat, which Christ describes by
saying, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." The hope
which he had all along cherished, of overcoming the Son of man when he took
upon himself our nature, had forever perished. His power was limited. He could
no more aspire to a personal encounter with the Son of God, - a fact which
hitherto had given, in a comparative degree, dignity and prestige to his
position. Henceforth the church (the woman) is the object of his malice, and he
resorts to all those nefarious means against her that would naturally
characterize a baffled and hopeless rage.
But hereupon a song
is sung in heaven, - "Now is come salvation," etc. How is this, if
these scenes are in the past? Had salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of
God, and the power of his Christ, then come? - Not at all; but this song was sung
prospectively. Those things were made sure. The great victory had been won by
Christ which put the question of their establishment forever at rest. Just as
we read in other scriptures, "We have eternal life," "We have
redemption through his blood," etc., as if we were now in actual
possession of these blessings; whereas we only have them by faith, and the
language is simply an assurance that they are forever sure to the final
overcomers.
The prophet then
glances rapidly over the working of Satan from that time to the end (verses 11,
12), during which time the faithful "brethren" overcome him by the
blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony while his wrath increases as
his time grows short. Though working through earthly powers, Satan, personally,
is the chief agent from verses 9 to 17.
*******
It's important that
we realize Satan, that old serpent, the devil, is REAL.
Satan was an angel
in heaven- a ministering spirit in heaven, a covering angel for he was right
next to God.
Eze
28:12…Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou
sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
Eze 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;
every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the
beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle,
and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee
in the day that thou wast created.
Eze 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth;
and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast
walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Eze 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day
that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Eze 28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have
filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will
cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O
covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
Eze 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy
beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast
thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Eze 28:18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the
multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will
I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will
bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
Eze 28:19 All they that know thee among the people
shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be
any more.
Anointed cherub that
covereth.
Exo 25:20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their
wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall
look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
A covering cherub-
SO CLOSE TO GOD!
Satan before sin was
found in him, was a very blessed angel, a spirit being as angels are. When he sinned and was eventually cast from
heaven he retained his spirit form. The
father of lies, the being in whom sin was born, the first to disobey God - is
REAL. He was able to seduce Eve into
disobeying God, wanting her to be his equivalent on a human level. He wanted
the human race- these special beings God created with the ability to procreate
to reject their creator in favor of following him. Banned from the Garden of
Eden and cast out into a world that would need to be worked in suffering, cast
out into a world unprotected by God's perfection and into a world filled with
pain and death, man wasn't abandoned by Satan. Satan did NOT leave the humans
alone, the first born of procreation became the first murderer who took the
life of his younger brother. Satan did NOT hesitate to work his evil upon that
first born son of procreation. And Satan continued to seduce, to tempt, to use
all who would listen to his evil seductions.
Satan tempts us to evil, all of us! Satan does not withhold any
opportunity to tempt in any way- big or small.
Here in the book of
Revelation we are given the opportunity to witness the reality of Satan. It was
Satan who wanted to devour Christ as soon as He was born upon earth.
Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars
of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the
woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it
was born.
Satan tempted Herod,
Satan used Him to kill innocent babes in an attempt to kill the prophesized
Christ child. SATAN is real and he can
be overcome ONLY through the blood of the LAMB.
Prophecy. We have to
believe! Herod believed in prophecy and with good reason, it's real and it came
to pass, what Herod feared HAPPENED.
Mat 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east
to Jerusalem,
Mat 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the
Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Mat 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things,
he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Mat 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief
priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ
should be born.
Mat 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of
Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
Mat 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art
not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor,
that shall rule my people Israel.
Mat 2:7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the
wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
Mat 2:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go
and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me
word again, that I may come and worship him also.
Mat 2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed;
and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came
and stood over where the young child was.
Mat 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with
exceeding great joy.
Mat 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they
saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him:
and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold,
and frankincense, and myrrh.
Mat 2:12 And being warned of God in a dream that they
should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
Mat 2:13 And when they were departed, behold, the
angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the
young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I
bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
Mat 2:14 When he arose, he took the young child and
his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
Mat 2:15 And was there until the death of Herod: that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out
of Egypt have I called my son.
Mat 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of
the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children
that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and
under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
Mat 2:17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by
Jeremy the prophet, saying,
Mat 2:18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation,
and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not
be comforted, because they are not.
PROPHECY! We have no trouble believing the unfolding of
prophecy here. It was prophesized and it came to pass as ALL prophecy must come
to pass!
We don't have any
more Bible writers, they are gone. Bible
writers in the new testament looked back to the only Word of God they had -
what we now call the old testament and they can SEE where the prophets of old
spoke of things unfolding in their time! Believing in PROPHECY is a REAL thing!
Our Savior believed in prophecy, He gave it to us! He blesses us with it! We
can't allow ourselves to remain asleep, eyes closed, refusing to awake to the
truth of prophetic blessings! We are living in the last days with only a few
prophecies left to unfold. Quite a few of those will only unfold by the time it
will be too late to repent and choose to believe in our Savior for our
salvation! There are only a few left to take place, the warnings are sounding
loudly and once those last few pre-plague prophecies take place then it's all
over, those who are unjust will remain unjust and those who are just will
remain just. Why don't we want to
see?! Pulling a blanket over our heads
will not keep us from being taken captive by Satan. Satan will let us live in a
dream world as long as it's one of his own devising. WAKE UP! SNAP OUT OF IT! STOP DREAMING! STOP
SLEEPING BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!
We know that there
are many false workers who claim to be on God's side, and they'll tell us all
sorts of soothing words, familiar words, words that we know by rote and barely
need to hear.
2Pe 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the
people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall
bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring
upon themselves swift destruction.
2Pe 2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways;
by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
2Pe 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with
feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time
lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
False prophets,
false teachers!
WAKE UP! SEEK TRUTH
and ONLY TRUTH!
Please!
In the name of our
LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, please, wake us up! Keep us awake to ONLY Your
truth no matter how hard it is for us to hear! Please!
Keep us in YOU!
All by YOUR MERCY
and GRACE, through Your endless LOVE!
Amen!
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