Friday, November 27, 2015

Wake up before it's too late... please!

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.

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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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