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The beast from the sea                         Revelation 13v1-10                        part 6/

His audacity.

The culmination of all sin in one man, and pervading throughout his evil empire, this show of pride is such as has never been seen before; it is the same sin which brought down Satan, and it is written  that   "pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16v18.  Daniel describes this man in chapter 8v25   "he shall magnify himself in his heart and by peace shall he destroy many: he shall also stand against the prince of princes, but he shall be broken without hand."    For a man to think that he can oppose the Almighty and to persuade all his followers to do the same, takes some level of audacity that beggars belief, but scripture states it in its raw form.

• Psalm 2v1-4   "Why do the nations rage and the people imagine a vain thing?   The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed saying, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their chords from us.   He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."
• Daniel 7v8     "Behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things."
• Daniel 7v11    "I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake.  Here we have unbridled boasting from a mere human being.
• Daniel 7v20   "The horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows."     A man with proud talk and proud looks.
• Daniel 7v23    "The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth which shall be diverse from all kingdoms and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces."
• Daniel 7v23   "And he shall speak great words against the most high and shall wear out the saints of the most high and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time."
• 2nd Thessalonians 2v3-4    "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."  The Pharaohs of Egypt before him, the heads of all the empires, particularly Rome, acted as if they were God and promoted themselves as such.   Only the audacity of this man will outdo even them.
• Daniel 11v36     "And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done." 

This is where sin will lead, and God will allow it to show to the world the absolute folly of opposing God.     Let us all in reading these dark passages take upon ourselves that lowliness of mind that becomes all human beings who are utterly dependent on God for life and breath and all things.

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The beast from the sea                     Revelation 13v1-10                           part 5/

How does he operate?                      His activities 

His activities can be summed up in three ways:

• Blasphemy against God
• Deception of men
• War against the saints

Blasphemy against God.

Why would God allow such things on the earth?   It is because He is completely righteous and will demonstrate to the world the true nature of sin as seen in this  "man of sin."     God judges sin, but only when it has reached its full proportions.   He allows it to come to its worst, and this is illustrated throughout the scriptures.  

• Genesis 6v11       -   before He brought the flood on the earth it was said  "the earth was filled with violence."
• Genesis 15v16     -    He would leave the nation of Israel in Egypt for four generations.   "For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full."
• 2nd Thessalonians 1v16     -     "Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost."
• Revelation 18v6     -     Referring to Babylon  "for her sins have reached unto heaven and God hath remembered her iniquities.    Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double."  

Blasphemy is verbal abuse against God.   This can be done by demoting God to a human or lesser level.   It can be done by outright challenge to God's authority, or imitating God, or mocking Him.   It comes down to exaggerating our own powers and belittling God's.   In verse 1 all the empires from which this final empire comes had  "on their heads the name of blasphemy."    Verse 5 says  "there was given him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies."   Verse 6 says  "he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven."   In Daniel 7v25 it says  "he shall speak great words against the most high." In that day there will be a very public abuse of God.

Deception of men.

Verse 3    he creates wonder by means of miracles.

Verse 7  "power was given unto him over all kindreds and tongues and nations." 

Verse 14  "He deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had the power to do."   Modern man is unwilling to accept that they are being deceived by unseen forces, yet it is a biblical fact and Satan has  "blinded the minds of them that believe not."   This deception will become worldwide in a day to come.  2nd Thessalonians 2v7 says concerning those who did not receive the truth that they might be saved  "for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie; that they all might be dammed who believed not the truth but have pleasure in unrighteousness."   God deceives no one but He will use lying spirits more powerful than any human being to deceive because of their rejection of Him.   The man the world will accept is a liar and is bringing people down.

War against the saints.

Here is a clear indication that the church is no longer on earth; in Matthew 16v18 Jesus said  "I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."   What is said here is that this man through this system will make war with the saints and overcome them.   These are the saints of the period after the church age and God will allow this evil man his way with his people.   It will be truly  "the time of Jacob's trouble."   In Daniel 7v25 it says  "he shall wear out the saints;" this suggests a constant persecution and hounding of the people of God.   There will be no public gatherings in that day.   Daniel 8v24 says  "and his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power, and he shall destroy wonderfully and prosper and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people."

   

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The beast from the sea                   Revelation 13v1-10                           part4/ 

The world accepts him        His adoration

"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed.   And all the world wondered after the beast ...... and they worshipped the beast saying Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?"                                         Revelation 13v3-4

Whatever this apparent deadly wound that was healed is, it caused the whole world to wonder after him.   It brought a new dimension as to how this monster was viewed.   From this point on the beast was universally worshipped, even though he was a brutal tyrant in charge of a brutal regime.   The extent of this is amazing.

• Verse 8   -     "All that dwell on the earth worship him."   (That is all earth dwellers, all people who have made this earth their only home).  
• Verse 12   -   "The second beast causeth all the earth dwellers to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed."
• Verses 15&16   -   This worship was coerced, as they were placed under threat of death if they did not worship the image of the beast.

Some say this deadly wound that was healed was a real miracle.   2nd Thessalonians 2v9 speaks of  "powers and signs and lying wonders."   It may even have been a fake recovery from an apparent deadly stroke, contrived to show that he can even conquer death.   However, what John saw was one of his heads wounded to death, so this is not speaking of the man but the system.   Some say it could be Rome under Nero, which actually recovered after its initial downfall.   Indeed the bible teaches that the Roman empire will be revived.   However, I favour the view that it is Babylon, which will be rebuilt in these days.   In the very next chapter we have the first mention of Babylon and this is expounded in chapters 17&18.   I believe that the beast will rebuild the city of Babylon as the centre of his operations, otherwise how can we understand the details of chapter 18?   It will become a mega centre of world trade and prosperity.   Babylon, the commercial hub of nations, that great kingdom which received a deadly wound so that no one thought it would ever rise.   This view is underpinned by the frequent mention of "the great city" in chapters 14 - 18.   Chapter 14v8; chapter 17v18; chapter 18v10,16,18,19,21 all refer to the great city.  

The basis of their worship was  "who is like unto the beast, who is able to make war with him?"   They worshipped him not for his character or compassion or his loving kindness but for his brutal strength.   This phrase  "who is like"  is applied to Jehovah in Exodus 15v11, 1st Kings 8v23, Psalm 71v19, Psalm 113v5.   Again in Isaiah 40v18&25  appears the phrase  "to whom then will you liken God.?"   This is the devil's counterfeit worship but it will be a worship of fear rather than of adoration.  

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The beast from the sea.                  Revelation 13v1-10                       part3/ 

How does any man achieve such prominence?

His authority. 

"And the dragon gave him his power and his seat (throne), and great authority ......"  Revelation 13v2.

Who gives a man such power?   The answer is, ultimately, God.   Jesus said as he stood before the Roman governor Pilate  "you could have no power at all against me except it were given thee from above."   All power and position and authority ultimately comes from God.   It says here "the dragon gave him his power" and the dragon could only do this with the permission of God.   It is a little understood truth, but one which we do well to understand that  "the gifts and callings of God are without change of mind."   Romans 11v29.    God created Satan as the anointed cherub, and even in his fallen state God grants him that position while time lasts, which even the archangel Michael had to observe  (Jude verse 9.)   In verses 5-7 of this chapter there is a series of statements which makes this abundantly clear:

• Verse 5      "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things."
• Verse 5b    "Power was given unto him to continue forty and two months."
• Verse7       "It was given unto him to make war with the saints."
• Verse 7b    "And power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations."

Whether we think of military prowess or status or influence or powers of oratory or endurance, it all comes from the unseen world, and ultimately from God.   This may be a blow to our human pride, none of us can boast in anything save what we have been given.   This is a huge subject in the bible and it is necessarily prominent in these last days.   This man received his power (energy) his throne (his position) and great authority (his influence) from the dragon and therefore ultimately from God who will allow this to continue for three and a half years.   This principle can be applied to all things in all times in world history.  

During this period of time God will allow the power of the dragon to hold sway.

• 2nd Thessalonians 2v9   "Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders."
• Revelation 13v4   "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast."
• Revelation 11v7   "The beast that ascendeth out of the abyss shall make war against them."  This just means that the energising power behind this man comes from Satan, since no human being exists in the abyss only demons.
• Revelation 17v8   "The beast that thou sawest was and is not and shall ascend out of the abyss, and go into perdition."

There is an interesting description of this beast in verse 1  "having seven heads and ten horns and upon his horns ten crowns and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."   This is virtually the same as was said of the dragon in chapter 12v3.   There we understood that the seven heads represented seven world empires, and that the ten horns represented the confederacy of the last days.   This world system in rebellion against God that has gone on for thousands of years will find its culmination in the last days.   This beast (whether we think of it as a empire, or of an individual) will manifest all the features of the past rebellions, each head having the name of blasphemy, which is basically verbal opposition to God.   Like all of these empires which have fallen and come to nothing, so this one will end under the mighty hand of God and men will realise finally just who God is and who they are.  

"They shall know that I am the Lord"..........no less than 41 times in the prophecy of Ezekiel!!

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The beast from the sea                Revelation 13 v1-10                      part2/    

The world is destined to worship a monster, so what is he like?

His attributes

"And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion......."                 Revelation 13v2.

The man who will rise from obscurity to total world dictatorship will combine the features of a leopard, a bear, and a lion; but he will also, according to Daniel chapter 7 be like no other beast that has ever existed, this we will refer to as the non- descript beast.   These three beasts along with the non- descript beast are described in Daniel 7v1-8, and whatever their historical interpretation, what we have here is their prophetic fulfillment.   The man will give character to his kingdom.  

The beast which I saw was like unto a leopard.

The first thing to notice is that this man is a predator just like the leopard, the lion and the bear.   There is no compassion in these animals, just raw animal power subduing all in their pathway.   In the leopard we see many things; swiftness of movement, attractiveness, craftiness and fierce cruelty.   This man will combine all these qualities: speed of movement, swift decision- making, self assurance, highly intelligent knowing all about his prey, cunning, cruel but with a certain awesome attractiveness.   This is reminiscent of Alexander the Great who in the course of twelve short years toppled an empire and ruled from Greece to Egypt to India.    This beast will conquer the world.

His feet were as the feet of a bear.

In this we see the aspect of brute strength.   In these modern times we have characterised the bear as something lovable and cuddly, but the bear hug is not for loving but for killing.   This is an animal of extraordinary ferocity.   In the picture in Daniel chapter 7 the bear has in its mouth three ribs between its teeth.   This represents three kingdoms which will be brutally subdued by this man; Daniel 7v8 says  "plucked up by the roots."   Daniel 7v24 says  "he shall subdue three kings."    In the picture he stands aloft in dominion and proclaims  "arise devour much flesh."   This is the symbol of the bear as describing the future world ruler.  

His mouth as the mouth of a lion.  

In the lion we have imperial majesty combined with great strength.   The lion is the king of beasts; the lion of Daniel 7 had eagles wings; thus he combined universal authority in the air as well as on the land.   His rule will be autocratic and majestic.   The eagle is known for its all round and far seeing vision.   His intelligence and perception is universal.  

The non descript beast.

This is simply described as  "a fourth beast" in Daniel 7v7.   There is no natural description that God can give to this beast because there never has been its like before.   A reading of Daniel 7v7 will reveal the following.

• Dreadful.   This means commanding awe to all around him.   In a world presently besotted with the idea of human rights, when this man is in power, his will be the only right and everybody will know it.
• Terrible.   He will rule by terror, playing on the fears of those less powerful having demonstrated his power in subduing three kingdoms.   There is an interesting change from Revelation 12 to Revelation 13 in connection with the crowns (compare chapter 12v3 with chapter 13v1).   In 12v3 the crowns are on the heads, in 13v1 the crowns are on the horns.  Crowns on heads means  ruling by right, by public acknowledgement; crowns on horns (symbolic of power) means a rule by means of destructive power.
• Exceedingly strong.   He will command many forces numerically and qualitatively; he will be very organised and powerful and will rise to power on the back of a ten kingdom confederacy in the last days.  
• Iron teeth.   Devouring and breaking all opposition in pieces; in addition "he stamps the residue with his feet."   Strong destructive power with no humane feelings crushing all in his way he will be a brutal tyrant who brooks no rival.  
• Diverse from all other beasts.   Such is the vile nature of this man and this system that there is no word found to describe it.  

His attributes are of power achieved by brute force and a reign of terror, eventually, as we shall see, taking control of all food production and employment and military might.   Incredibly the world is going to welcome this man.

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The beast out of the sea                       Revelation 13v1-10.                 part 1/

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns and upon his horns ten crowns and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."
                                                                                                                       Revelation 13v1

We remind ourselves that we are studying the rise of the last great world empire.   This will be headed by a man who is mentioned in many passages of scripture, such as Daniel 7; Daniel 9; Daniel 11; Matthew 24; 2nd Thessalonians 2; 1 John; Revelation 6; Revelation 13; & Revelation 19.   The multiple reference to this man means that the Holy Spirit wishes us to understand the nature of the empire to come.   We will study verses 1-10, looking at this  "beast" as an individual, and as head of a world dominion in a number of ways as follows:

• His appearance on the stage of world dominion.
• His attributes .
• His authority.
• His adoration.
• His activities.
• His audacity.

All of these aspects are sprinkled throughout verses 1 - 10 as well as many other scriptures.  

His appearance in world dominion.  

"I saw a beast rise up out of the sea."   The word for beast is "wild beast" and this is the character of the man and the system.   The world is headed for a brutal regime and tyrannical dictatorship.   In Daniel chapter 7,  as well as here, this beast is said to have features of a lion and a bear and of a leopard, all of whose features we can understand, but this is a non-descript beast ("diverse from all the beasts that were before it" Daniel 7v7).   God can find nothing on earth to describe the vile nature of this beast of the last days.   He is seen to rise up out of the sea; in Daniel chapter 7 the vision was of four great beasts coming out of "the great sea."   This is always interpreted in scripture and in history as the Mediterranean Sea.  Thus the first indication is that he will arise from the area around the great sea.   The context however of Revelation chapter 13 points us in another direction, because he compares the first beast rising from the sea with the second beast rising from the earth.   It would appear therefore the idea here is of the scriptural interpretation of the sea as representing chaotic conditions, whereas the earth represents settled conditions.   Chapter 17v15 says   "the waters which thou sawest where the whore sitteth are peoples and multitudes and tongues and nations."    Thus the sea represents the nations of the world.   In Isaiah 57v20 it says  "They wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest."   Jude describes the troubled sea in verse 13  "raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame."   Thus the bible is viewing the sea as the turbulent unstable conditions on the earth among all the nations of men in rebellion against God.   It is out of such turbulent conditions this beast rises to ultimate power.  

What are the chaotic conditions on earth which have brought this about?   We now trace the recent previous history.

• Following the sudden removal of the church (the harpazo), and the coronation of Christ in heaven in Revelation chapters 4-5, a would be world conqueror arises and slowly but surely takes control by peaceful means (Revelation 6v1-2 & Daniel 7v7-8).
• The delusion of a short world peace quickly disappears and the world is plunged into global war resulting in famine and pestilence and death (Revelation 6v3-8).  
• During this period there erupts a middle east war in which Israel suppresses a ten nation confederacy and takes control of their lands (Psalm 83).
• The rising beast who comes to power via another ten- nation confederacy makes a seven year covenant with Israel, during which time Israel prospers (Daniel chapter 9 & Isaiah 60).  
• The kings of the north (Russia and allies), with the kings of the south (Egypt and North African allies), incensed by the peace and prosperity of Israel invaded her to eliminate her finally (Ezekiel 38-39).   God intervenes and the invaders perish during a supernatural conflagration.
• The beast now has a free run and enters  "the glorious land" and although he maintains his peaceful covenant he cancels all temple worship.   This action commences the displacement of Israel and the emergence of world dictatorship under the power of Satan. This is where we are at the beginning of chapter 13.

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Revelation 13       an overview.

This is a very important chapter.   Here we are introduced to a man with many titles in holy scripture  He is called "the man of sin,"  "the lawless one," "the little horn," "the beast," "the son of perdition," "the prince that shall come," "a vile person,"  "a king of fierce countenance", and "the antichrist".    It is important we understand the nature of this, because the sin of man will find its ultimate fulfillment in the man of sin possessing all kinds of hateful qualities.   The same world which rejected the holy, righteous, beautiful man who "went about doing good, healing all that were oppressed of the devil," will accept this beast and pay homage to him.   In Daniel 7v1-8 we have a description of him and in Revelation 13v1-10 we have his identification.

What we have here is the emergence of the trinity of evil, or the unholy trinity, the devil's counterfeit of the godhead.  

• First is Satan the mastermind, now trapped on earth.  
• Verse 1 says  "he stood (RV) on the sand of the sea."  
• Verse 2  "the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority."  
• Verse 4  "the world worshipped the dragon."  
• Verse 11 " another beast spake as a dragon."
• Next the beast out of the sea verses 1-10.  
• Verse 1  "a wild beast rose out of the sea" 
• Verse 3  "all the world wondered after the beast" 
• Verse 6  "he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God" 
• Verse 8  "all that dwell on the earth shall worship him" 
• Then the beast out of the earth  verses 11-18   
• Verse 11  "another beast coming up out of the earth"
• Verse 12  "he exercises the authority of the first beast" 
• Verse 13  "he does great wonders on the earth in the sight of men."

The picture seems to be as follows:  Satan the spiritual mastermind and the energizing power between his two human agents, the beast and the false prophet(Rev.19v20).   This fact is made clear in 2nd Thessalonians 2v9   "him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish: because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved."   In beast No 1  it appears we have the ruler in all civil and military matters on the earth; in beast No. 2  we have the ruler in all religious and mass media communications.   The partnership is a worse version of Adolph Hitler and Dr. Goebbels.   Behind them both is Satan who through them will dominate the world in all civil, military, religious, and propaganda issues.   The clear aim is to deceive and destroy as many of the world's inhabitants in the short space of time they have (three and a half years).  

It is important to understand that the term  "beast" can refer to both a person and a system, the context deciding which one it is.   It is clear that the evil of the head will permeate throughout the entire body of evil.    At this point it will be helpful for us to trace from other scriptures where we are at this crucial time in earth's history (later).   It has been called  "the mid tribulation" and is the beginning of "the great tribulation,"  "the time of Jacob's trouble" and  "great and notable day of the Lord."  The world is under the control of a triad of evil.   We will next consider the stage which has been set for this period of time.   Lest any believer become alarmed, it is good to remember that even in such times God is in control; 

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The wrath of Satan

"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.                  Revelation 12v12

Satan and his  hordes are now planted on the earth; this signals the ultimate calamity to the world.   Side by side here in verse 12 we have the expressions "ye that dwell in the heavens" and " the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea." 

This is not only speaking of their physical location, but of their spiritual desires, the place where they want to dwell.    We have already seen this before in the book of Revelation.   The situation on earth is now dire.   God is about to vent His wrath on the earth and Satan also is mentioned as having  "great wrath," for the first time in the bible.   The world at large is facing the wrath of God and the wrath of Satan, and although Satan will focus on God's people, the world will pay a heavy price.

Satan has tremendous power; he has the power of death, he has the power to inflict illness, he has the power to summon armies both local and foreign.   According to Job chapter 1 he has the power to summon fire from heaven, and he has the power to summon a hurricane wind.   His power should not be underestimated.   When the proclamation from heaven is  "woe to the earth dwellers" it must be taken seriously.   At this point he still controls all the kingdoms of the earth and rules through wicked men.   The great arch demon is now on earth and his attitude has changed because he has been demoted  and also his time is short.

Here again is a tremendous insight into this unseen world of demon spirits.   They are not omniscient, but they know exactly the programme of the God of heaven.   They know that their time is almost up.   "he knoweth that he hath but a short time."   People must be made aware of this because the demons who are keeping the world from the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ know the details of the future.   The apostle James pointed to this in chapter 2v19  "Thou believest there is one God thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble."   The word for tremble is to shudder .   If demon spirits shudder at the thought of the wrath of God, what will be the end of human beings who will follow them into their eternal prison.   The lake of fire was prepared for the devil and his angels.   Sadly, through deception, many people will follow.   The extent of the knowledge of these demons is quite amazing.   In Matthew 8v29 when Jesus would cast out demons possessing two people, the demons cried out saying  What have we to do with thee, Jesus thou Son of God?   Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?   Notice two things about that; they know they are headed for eternal torment; they also know when that torment will begin.   The lesson to all readers is this; if we don't know, demons know.   The time is short and if you have not yet made your peace with God do it now before it is too late.

So will begin the period of the greatest slaughter ever on the face of the earth.   The main target will be Christian believers and Jewish believers and will result in the greatest period of martyrdom the world has ever seen.   In the indiscriminate attacks by the evil one many in the world will be slain.

• Verse 13     -     He persecuted the woman.
• Verse 15     -     He tried to drown the people with a flood but the earth opened up and swallowed the flood.
• Verse 17     -     Having failed in both these missions he went to make war with the remnant of her seed; for the greater part of three and a half years there will be a reign of terror such as never been known in which anyone confessing the name of God will be slain.   All morality will go, no longer the angel of light, but now the roaring lion in his true colours.  

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 145

Rejoicing in heaven

"

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.   And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death.   Therefore rejoice ye heavens and ye that dwell in them,                                                   Revelation 12v10-12

"A loud voice in heaven......"        Thirteen times in the revelation we are told of a loud voice.   The Greek word is megas, which corresponds to our adjective "mega"; these loud voices are proclamations for all to hear.    No one must miss the news reports in heaven.   Crucial events which must be known and heralded, and this one is of Satan and his demons cast down to the earth.      This action is highly significant.   The response of heaven is immediate  "now is come salvation and strength etc."  

• It is a proclamation of salvation    -    The Greek word is soteria from which we get soteriology(which is the study of the doctrines of salvation).   This, of course, is salvation in its ultimate sense; we could rhyme off at least fourteen studies of different aspects of salvation, but time and space forbid.   It is enough to say that this is the final stages of God's restoration of all things to Himself.
• Strength     -      The Greek word is dunamis from which we get dynamic or even dynamite.   it is the supernatural power of God; living, vibrant power, now unhindered because the whole of space has been cleared of demons.     God had allowed their existence for reasons known only to Himself.   They were a hindrance to the working of angels and to the work of God on earth but their deceiving influence is now gone.
• "Now is come the kingdom of our God"     -     God will now rule visibly in all the universe; He has always done so unseen in the main but now His righteous and benign rule will pervade the whole of existence.  
• "The power of His Christ"     -     The word for power is authority, and the One who wields that authority is Christ, the Anointed One of God, who will set up the kingdom of God on earth in due course.   He will display God's rule everywhere and in the language of 1st Corinthians 15v25  "He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet."

We now get a glimpse into the unseen world    Satan the accuser of the brethren who accused them before God day and night is now cast down .   The Lord Jesus referred to this in Luke 22v31  " Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not" RV    Another picture is given in Zechariah 3 where we see Joshua the priest standing before God in the temple and Satan standing beside him to accuse him .   Joshua had filthy garments on him and no doubt Satan was pointing the finger.   Whatever caused this, it is clear Satan wanted to stop him in his service for the Lord by pointing to his filthy garments.   The Lord rebukes Satan and says  "Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?"  and God ordered him new clothing.  No servant of God is perfect or pure or without sin.   Satan is ever ready to bring God's people down by pointing to their failures.   According to Revelation chapter 12 this is something which happens day and night.   It goes on to say they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and because they loved not their lives unto the death.   Notice the important order here.   The only thing which overcomes the accusation of sin and failure in our lives is the blood of the Lamb.   The apostle John explains this himself  in chapter 2v1-2  "these things write I unto you, that ye sin not and if any man sin we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous."   We stand in the presence of God only on the merit of Jesus Christ and His shed blood for us.   However there is another side to that and that is the side of human responsibility, where we must respond in our lives, and so it says they overcame by the word of their testimony and they gave their lives even unto death.   Only the blood of Christ fits us for the service of God, but we must prove that in our lives if, we wish to truly overcome the accusations of Satan.   By these accusations he hinders the people of God in their lives and in their service, but in this glorious day that is to come, all of this will end when he is cast out. Meanwhile, if we wish to live in the good of our salvation, to avoid satanic hindrances we must give our lives to the Lord. Readers who wish to understand the hindrances of Satan should read the whole of Daniel ch. 12.

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 144

Continued from 143/     The exposure of the true character of Satan 

 c.  The Devil.

The word is diabolos from which we get the English word diabolical and means the false accuser; it can refer to a slanderer, one who tries to bring a person down by presenting a false picture.   An accuser is one who charges someone with or declares someone to have committed a crime.   Satan is described as the father of lies (John 8v46).   All liars are under his control.   Lying in the context of slander is a malicious attempt to bring someone down unjustly.   This is his stock and trade.   In (Revelation 12v10) he is said to be "the accuser of the brethren."

The oldest story in the bible, recorded in (Job 1v1-11 & Job 2v1-5) is a case in point.  .   Job was a man described by God as a perfect man, upright, a God fearing man, and one who hated evil.   Satan was riled by this and entered the counsel chambers of heaven (which he still does today), pointing the finger and charging Job with "fair- weather religion".   God had hedged him up, made him prosperous, surrounded him with a good business and family and possessions and loyal servants.    Satan said take all that away and see how religious he really is (paraphrased from the book of Job).   Not once but twice was this done, until even Job's wife advised him  "to curse God and die."   God allows it, only to show Satan that Job's faith was independent of his external circumstances.   This is a gentle warning to Christian believers, to avoid giving Satan the opportunity to accuse you in the courts of heaven, which he has done day and night since the beginning of time.   He himself was cast out of heaven because of one sin, the sin of pride.   He will accuse us before God whether rightly or wrongly.   If he accuses us rightly too often, God may have to act in discipline against us, but that is a whole other subject.

d.   Satan.

Means the adversary, who opposes all that is of God even though he knows in the end he will lose.  He cannot touch God but he can touch us, and he does.   He targets our minds and our bodies.   Paul in (2nd Corinthians 12v7) refers to his illness as  "a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me."   He speaks perverse things in the church.   He corrupts doctrines.   We are advised by the apostle John not to believe every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."  (1st John 4v1).    Paul tells Timothy that serious error will beset the churches in the latter times  "some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons." (1st Timothy 4v1).   This is a serious warning to us all because he opens that section by saying  "the Spirit speaketh expressly."   He incites apostasy from God, he incites believers to sin, he circumvents men by wiles, he controls idol worship in the world, he takes bodily possession of people.   He is in fact the enemy of all mankind .   God chose men to replace him  and he has since been our enemy.   He is the adversary of all that is good, and all that is of God.  

e.  Deceiver.

We must take note of the all embracing statement of verse 9  "he deceiveth the whole world."   Not only does he have the entire world in his power, but it is stated in the present tense, he is still doing it.  He does it through false preachers and prophets, he does it through mass media communication.   He causes people to err, to wander from safety and virtue and truth.   He is a liar and all who are liars are his children.   In 2nd Corinthians 4v4 Paul says  "he has blinded the minds of them that believe not."   In 1st John 5v19 it says  "the whole world lies in the wicked one." R.V.   In 2nd Thessalonians 2v9-11 we find that God uses Satan to delude those who have willfully refused the gospel.    At the end, perhaps the saddest verse in the entire bible,  "the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire."   Evolution is a lie, atheism is a lie, pantheism is a lie, humanism is a lie, all religion without Christ is a lie.   The entire world is being deceived.   He is now, in this event, cast down to the earth, which produces a contrasting response from heaven and from earth.  

 

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 143

The great dragon cast out of heaven.

"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.

                                                                                                                 Revelation 12v9

Here we have the most comprehensive description of Satan in the entire bible.   There are many more titles, but in this one verse we have five which declare the character of the evil one.  

• Dragon     -     This declares his violence and ferocity.
• The serpent     -     This declares his craftiness, his subtlety.
• The devil     -     This declares his slander, his lies, his false accusations.
• Satan     -     This means the adversary, the opposition to God and all that is good.
• The deceiver     -     This declares his trickery by which he blinds people to the truth. 

All of us know that there are unseen forces of evil operating in this world.   Events, which often defy credibility, continually happen leading us to the conviction that there are dark forces at work.   The bible crystalizes this for us with a description of the prime perpetrator of evil and this is a warning to all of us that we should not be  "ignorant of his devices."  

a.   Dragon.     Jesus Christ, in the book of the Revelation is described as the Lamb many times over.  The suffering Lamb who gave his life for all mankind, and, in so doing took on the forces of evil.   In contrast Satan is depicted as a dragon intent on destruction.   This suggests ferocity and brutality with intent to destroy.   Satan has many sides and in these last times assumes the brutal reality of his existence, as a dragon breathing out fire.    In Ephesians 6v16  Paul speaks of the  "fiery darts of the evil one."   In the present day he operates as "an angel of light" but in reality is "as a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour."  1st Peter 5v8     The title dragon is found thirteen times in the book of the Revelation.   It represents powerful murderous violence which has been his stock and trade since the very beginning.   All violence in the world stems from him.   He is described in Isaiah chapter 14 as  "the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms."   The prophet Ezekiel, in describing his beginnings, records the following  "thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created, till iniquity was found in thee.   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."   Ezekiel 28v15-16 

b.  The serpent.   "That old serpent" thus identifying him as the one behind the voice of the serpent in Genesis 3v1-16.   The point of the serpent is that he is cunning, as stated in Genesis 3  "more subtle than any other beast of the field."   Satan occupied the body of a serpent and spoke through it to Adam & Eve.   The unfolding of the chapter reveals his clever ploy.   He cast doubt on the word of God; he cast doubt on the goodness of God; and he cast doubt on the judgment of God.   He succeeded by appealing to the woman's immediate bodily need and also to her sense of pride.   In the course of time a serpent has come to describe a human being like this  "a sly or treacherous person who exploits a position of trust in order to betray it."    This is exactly what Satan did and this is exactly what people do who follow him.  In Genesis 49v17 Jacob predicted that  "Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horses heels, so that his rider shall fall backward."   This is the influence of Satan on human beings.  His power should not be under estimated.   He was behind the Prince of Tyre of Ezekiel chapter 28  of whom it was said  "behold thou art wiser than Daniel."   Paul warns all Christians to be on their guard against the wiles of the devil.   "I fear lest by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.   For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached or if ye receive another spirit which ye have not received or another gospel which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him."   2nd Corinthians 11v3-4

The classic illustration of the wiles of the devil are recorded in the book of Exodus, as Pharaoh tried to prevent the Israelites from leaving Egypt.   God had simply commanded Moses that all their people with all their possessions were to put three days distance between themselves and Egypt in order to worship God in the wilderness.   Four times Pharaoh, energized by Satan, tried to prevent it by suggesting compromise.

• Exodus 8v25     -     "Go ye sacrifice to your God in the land" thus coming short of God's demands to proceed to the wilderness.
• Exodus 8v28     -     "Go sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away."   God explicitly stated three days journey.
• Exodus 10v11     -     "Go now ye that are men and serve the Lord."   Contrary to the mind of God that all the people must go.
• Exodus 10v24     -     "Go ye serve the Lord only let your flocks and your herds be stayed."   Thus they would lose the ability to sacrifice to their God.

Satan is still operating like this today, suggesting compromise after compromise after compromise, and God's people need to hold fast to the simplicity of the word of God which has brought them to salvation.   Satan and all who follow him will try to corrupt this in whatever way he can.

 

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 142

War in heaven

"And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven".  Revelation 12v7-8.the scale

Sometimes we wonder where the script writers gain their inspiration for such as star wars etc; perhaps they were reading Revelation 12v7 and letting their imagination run riot.   If so, their productions have been fairly tame, because what we have here is way beyond the imagination of any scriptwriter.   This is a full scale conflict between demons and angels, between Satan the arch devil and Michael the archangel.   The issue is to cast Satan out of the sphere of his domination to the earth, before his final expulsion into everlasting punishment.  

We were informed in verse 3 of this chapter that Satan was successful in persuading one third of the angels to rebel against God.   Since the number of angels in existence is described as  "innumerable" and "myriads upon myriads" we can understand the scale of what is being described here.   In 2nd Kings 19 it is recorded that one angel with one stroke slew an army of one hundred and eighty five thousand soldiers.   The power of what is here is indescribable.   For centuries God has allowed Satan and his demons to roam free in the universe, but no longer.   Paul describes the vastness of this demon army as follows:  "principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places,"  Ephesians 6v11.

The archangel Michael sent by God displaces this vast gathering of wickedness from the heavens to the earth.   "Michael and his angels fought against the dragon."    Five times we read of Michael in holy scripture.

• Daniel 10v13          He is described as "one of the chief princes."
• Daniel 10v21        "Michael your prince" who is said to be mighty in the understanding of holy scriptures.
• Daniel 12v 1           He is " the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people" (Israel).
• Jude verse 9           "Michael the archangel ....   contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses."   
• Revelation 12v7      He makes war with the mighty forces of evil.

Every time we read of Michael he is opposing Satan or his demons.   Here he prevails in the final heavenly battle and Satan's hosts are cast to earth.   For centuries demon spirits have been free to operate in the air (Ephesians 2v2, Ephesians 6v12, 2nd Corinthians 4v4, 1st \timothy 4v1).   Satan's kingdom is now on the verge of collapse.  No longer can he influence the thinking of God's people; no longer can he stand in the presence of God and accuse God's people of their failings, as he has done day and night in the past.   The statement in verse 8 is ominous for him  "neither was there place found anymore in heaven."   The great anointed cherub who stood in the presence of God, who walked up and down amidst the stones of fire, who was perfect in beauty, and perfect in wisdom has been deposed forever from his lofty place.   Also he can no longer oppose or hinder the work of angels (as is described in Daniel 10v10-14).  

The outcome of this cosmic war is the trigger for the beginning of the great tribulation .

       

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 141

The flight of the persecuted.

"And the woman fled into the wilderness where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days."             Revelation 12v6

The woman of course is representative of a vast number of people, the Messianic Jews of the end times.   This future event mirrors the flight into Egypt of Matthew 2v13 "the angel of the Lord appeared 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."  What happened to Jesus shortly after His birth will happen to His people.   Just as God miraculously preserved the baby Jesus and his family, so He will miraculously preserve His fleeing persecuted people in that future day.   The promise of Psalm 27v5-6 appears to fit the circumstances here  "in a time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me.   He shall set me up upon a rock.   And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me."   Such will be the persecution of that day that God must hide away a remnant of His people and feed them in a wilderness place.   We know from Matthew chapter 24v15-22, and also Zechariah 13v8-9 that not all of God's people will be spared.   This is at the beginning of what Jesus described as the great tribulation, a period of unparalled persecution for the people of God.

"She hath a place prepared by God".  There has been endless speculation as to where this place might be, but if it were revealed then even the enemy would know.   We know that it will be in the wilderness, and it is described as  "her place where she is nourished."   The flight is massive and miraculous; verse 14 says  "to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle."   Again speculation as to what this might mean, for me it is a supernatural removal (remember the flying angel of chapter 8&13 and also that one of the four living creatures before the throne of God was described as having the face of an eagle).   The prophet Isaiah seems to express the idea in chapter 26v20-21   "come my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpassed.   For behold the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.   "The time period of this is expressly stated, 1260 days (verse 6) and 3and a 1/2 years (verse 14).   In that place prepared by God she is nourished every day, for all these days and she is protected from the face of the serpent (the details of which we shall see later).  

Satan failed to stop Christ in His lifetime, He now turns to His people, first the church and then Israel in a coming day.   The details are expanded in verses 13-17 .   God fed a nation of approximately three million people in a desert for more than thirty eight years giving them manna in the morning and quails in the evening, every single day.   In 1st Kings chapter 17 God uses ravens and then a widow woman to feed his servant Elijah in a time of drought.   He sustained David's fugitive army while in exile from the wrath of Saul (2nd Samuel).   God will finally feed and protect his beloved people from the wrath of Satan in the day to come.  

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 140

God's king

"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God and to His throne."                                   Revelation 12v5

This is a reference to the incarnation and to the ascension and to the exaltation and to the coming of  Christ all in one sentence, which should leave us all breathless!   We need not worry about any time lines here; the Spirit of God is dealing in the facts and records all things knowing the end from the beginning.  There is no mention of the cross or the suffering here, only the victory.   The point is to link the woman with the child with the dragon as the main characters in the unfolding drama of redemption.   The reference here "she brought forth a man child"
takes us back to the incarnation of Christ.    Luke says in chapter 2v7  "she brought forth her first born son."   Again in verse 11 he says  "unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord."   The godly Simeon said of Him  "this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against,"  Luke 2v34   The prophetess Anna who lived in the temple precincts and served God day and night spoke of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.   We move from the incarnation to the purpose of why He came which is  "He is about to rule all nations with a rod of iron."   Satan knew it, and saw Him as the end to his own kingdom.

There is no doubt this is the seed of the woman of Genesis 3v15 who would destroy the kingdom of Satan.   He was "caught up"; the word is harpazo, and means "taken by force", taken through Satan's kingdom without resistance.  He was taken up to heaven like Enoch and Elijah before Him and like the church at its completion in a day to come. He was caught up to God and to His throne and the one who came as the redeemer of mankind is now on the throne of heaven.   The angel proclaimed it to the early church in Acts 1v9-10  "while they beheld He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight."   That Jesus will fulfill the purpose for which He came is seen in verse 11 of the same chapter  "this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven."

The stage is set, He is beyond the reach of man and demon and in Him God's purposes will be fulfilled.   He is coming to rule the nations with a rod of iron.   The word rule carries the idea of "ruling as a shepherd", which tends to suggest a caring rule; but also that rule will be with a rod of iron.   His rule on earth will be a caring one, but it will be an uncompromising one, and it is clear that His rule will need to be enforced.   When He comes back, as this verse is indicating, righteousness will be enacted across the globe and there will be no hiding place.  Over a one thousand year period there will be many children born, who are born in sin just as we are today.   The rule of Christ with a rod of iron will mean that all sin will be put down and righteousness will be enforced. Divine justice will prevail.

Many scriptures refer to this uncompromising rule.   Notice first of all He will rule all nations.   There will not be a nation on earth that will not be under His control, and all rebellion will be immediately crushed.  "Thou shalt brake them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."   Psalm 2v9.   In Revelation 2v7 it says concerning the church who will reign with Christ  "to Him will I give power over the nations and He shall rule then with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father."    Isaiah 60v12 says  "for the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea these nations shall be utterly wasted."   Matthew paints the picture in Matthew 21v44  "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken but  on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."   Isaiah 40v10  "Behold the Lord God will come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him."   The babe of Bethlehem is on the throne of heaven and some day soon will set up His own throne on earth.

END OF TIME PROPECIES 139

Continued from 138/    Seven heads and ten horns.


We keep in mind that verses 3&4 are describing Satan and his anti-God empire that has existed for thousands of years; a vast world system which is still in place today.   The seven heads refer to dynasties or empires which have existed for so long now.      Chapter 17v9-10  helps us in the understanding of this  "and here is the mind which hath wisdom.   The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.   And there are seven kings; five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."   There is therefore no need for speculation, the seven heads are seven empires controlled by seven kings which have been energized by Satan.   Mountains in scripture refer to world empires (Jeremiah 51v25  "Behold I am against thee o destroying mountain saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth" this refers to the empire of Babylon).   (Isaiah 2v2 & Daniel 2v35&v45).    The statement "five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come" clarifies it for us.   When John wrote,  the Roman  empire was in existence; this is "the one which is."   The five who are fallen must refer to past empires which have fallen away.  The five great world empires prior to the Roman empire were EGYPT, ASSYRIA, BABYLON, MEDO-PERSIA, and GREECE.   These are all traceable in history.   John then writes of a future kingdom which is described in both the prophecy of Daniel and the book of the Revelation.   The references are as follows: Daniel 7v7; Daniel 7v20; Daniel 7v24; Revelation 12v3; Revelation 13v1; Revelation 17v3; Revelation 17v7; Revelation 17v12.   The future world empire will consist of a confederacy of ten kingdoms.   The horn in scripture always speaks of power.   A reading of each of those references would reveal that the ten horns of the future will be a revival of the Roman empire, although not perhaps in its original form and may include much more than Rome.   The character of this confederacy is described in Revelation chapter 13 but the overall picture is of all world empires including the future one as being energized and controlled by Satan.   Satan has a vast empire (seen and unseen) , and although most of these empires have gone, they still exists on the earth in spirit, in the spirit that controls all the evil in the world.


This monster who has control of all evil empires, past, present and future confronts the woman ready to devour her child as soon as it is born.   This of course refers to Matthew chapter 2, the story of Herod and the wise men and the slaughter of innocent children .   Satan knew that this little baby, if allowed to grow would bring down his kingdom.   The message of the wise men is very poignant here "where is He that is born king?"   and again  in Matthew 2  "thou Bethlehem in the land of Judea are not the least among the princes of Judea for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel."  Satan knew that the baby Christ was the stone of Daniel chapter 2 which would crush his kingdom, and itself become a great mountain that would cover all the earth.   This is not the first time Satan has attacked the seed of the woman all through the centuries.

•  The murder of Abel  -  Genesis chapter 4.
• The corruption of the pure human seed  -  Genesis chapter 6.
• The slaughter of male infants  -  Exodus chapter 1&2.
• The attempted genocide of the royal seed  -  2nd Kings chapter 11.
• The confedercy to destroy Judea  -  Isaiah chapter 7. 
• The exiles in Assyria and Babylon  -  the major prophets.
• The attempt to corrupt the faithful remnant  -  prophecy of Zechariah.
• The slaughter of the innocent  -  Matthew chapter 2.
• The temptation of Christ  -  Matthew chapter 4.

The avowed intention of Satan is to destroy the work of God.   All attempts will fail, but sadly many will be deceived in the process.   Do not be deceived (Revelation 20v10).

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 138

2.  The moon under her feet.

Again using the law of first mention, we turn back to Genesis 1v16 which says  "the lesser light to rule the night."   thus the symbolism of the moon is that which speaks of the night and we find here that the moon is under her feet.   The expression  "under the feet" in scripture always speaks of total subjection and we know that Israel through the Messiah has all things under the feet.   1st Corinthians 15v27  "He hath put all things under His feet."   Again in verse 25  "He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet."   This is a quotation from the Messianic Psalm 110  and links the Messiah with Israel in subduing all that speaks of the night, namely sin and satan and rebellion.

3.  Upon her head a crown of twelve stars.

The crown is stephanos which means victor's crown.   The crown on her head is a crown of victory.   The Israel of God has finally come through and the symbol on her crown is of twelve stars.   This surely represents the twelve tribes of Israel.   When we consider the tortuous history of this nation, having begun in slavery for four hundred years; having had to fight for the land that was given to her over many years; having been surrounded by enemies more numerous than she; having been taken exile into Assyria and Babylon; and having been scattered throughout the nations without a name and without a home for almost 2000 years , what we see here is nothing short of a divine miracle.  For many of those years the twelve tribes were divided into ten and two; there was even talk of some of the tribes being lost forever, but here we have the record of the holy Spirit, way into the future, that the twelve tribes are together in the context of world dominion.   Looking over the history we find that some of the tribes came under the discipline of God, and some tribes were omitted from the lists.   In chapter 7 the tribe of Dan is missing, but the final picture is in Ezekiel chapter 48 where the tribe of Dan is mentioned first and given their portion of the land.   What we are witnessing here is the amazing power of God.   It is one of the most beautiful pictures in the whole of the bible and for those whose families went through the holocaust this picture is truly one to cherish.

4.  She is great with child and in the pain of delivery.

There is little doubt this refers to the birth of Christ.   All the pain and suffering of Israel through the years was largely because of her association with the Messiah.   Through her God would bring the Christ child to the world and, as we are about to see, Satan did His best to prevent it.

"And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his head.   And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to the earth."          Revelation 12v3-4        

We are now introduced to the second major player in this end of time drama.   Like the woman the record of Satan in this chapter is from the beginning of his career to the end.   In contrast to the title given to Christ (the Lamb) the title given to Satan is true to character.   He is said to be the fiery red dragon because he has blood on his hands and in his heart.   He possesses the beast like features and murderous intent of the dragon.   He is seen to have seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns (diadems) upon his heads.   This monster is identified in verse 9 as "that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world;" so there is no misunderstanding.   No longer the cunning of the serpent but the brutality of the dragon.   Next we have to unravel the meaning of the seven heads and the ten horns.

  

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 137

The woman clothed with the sun.

There are four women in the Revelation, two of them symbolic of the followers of Satan, two of them symbolic of God's people.

• Chapter 2v20     -     Jezebel   -   that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit fornication............"
• Chapter 12v1     -     The woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars."
• Chapter 17v5     -     "I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."
• Revelation 21v9-11     -     "Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.   And He carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God having the glory of God and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

Chapters 3 & 17 represent the beginning and ending of apostasy (counterfeit religion).   Chapters 12 & 21 represent the true people of God as in messianic Israel and the church of the firstborn.

The woman cannot be the church because this woman gave birth to the Messiah (verse 5).   The Messiah gave birth to the church (spiritually speaking) the church did not give birth to Messiah; and Israel gave birth to the Messiah (physically speaking), the woman therefore must be Israel.   This is verified by the prophecy of Joseph (given in the form of a dream) in Genesis 37v9-11 where the sun, moon and the stars were interpreted as Jacob, his wife and the sons.   This confirms the view that God will take up again His people Israel in the last days.   Scripture makes it clear that the Messiah, Saviour of the world, would come out of Israel.   "Israelites ........whose are the fathers and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came."    Romans 9v4&5.   Notice the language of the chapter "she brought forth a man child who was to rule all nations."   Again  "her child was caught up to God and to His throne."   Evidently this is speaking of Christ whom the woman brought forth; but the woman cannot be an individual like the virgin Mary because she is seen to be persecuted in future times for three and a half years.   Therefore the woman is representative of the true Israel, Messianic Israel.   A number of things are said about her which we will now trace through the chapter.

1. The woman was clothed with the sun.   Scripture interprets itself and we must understand the symbols in the way in which scripture uses them.   In Genesis chapter 1v16 the Spirit of God makes it clear that the greater light (the sun) was "to rule the day" and in verse 17  "to give light upon the earth and to rule over the day."   The fact is, that all the light that the world has of God, has come through the people of Israel and one day, in the purposes of God, Israel will rule the world.   The expression  "clothed with the sun" suggests that she is comfortable with this position, so there will be no challenge or conquest in the final day.   In a world marked by anti- Semitism many may find it difficult to accept this, but the following scriptures make it clear; Deuteronomy 28v13; Isaiah 2v1-3; Isaiah 27v6  "He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." ; Isaiah 60v5; Isaiah 60v11-12; Ezekiel 36v1-8; Ezekiel 36v35-36; Ezekiel 37v27-28; Ezekiel 39v21-29.   In Isaiah 60v1-3 the best picture of this is given  "arise, shine for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee for behold the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising."   Again in verse 5 it says  "the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee."   Everyone take note, rulers, politicians, philosophers, captains of industry, the rank and file of all peoples; God has decreed that Israel will rule the world and will control the world's produce and will finally bring the light of God to the world! No one will prevent it!  This is the unmistakable meaning of the symbol of Revelation 12v1; but there is much, much more.

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A great wonder in heaven

"And  there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars."                       Revelation 12v1

The word "wonder" (or sign)  is used seven times in the book of Revelation, but only once is it called "great."   Before we look into the story of this chapter we must underline the main thought which is; the preservation of God's people, despite the opposition of the hosts of hell.   This final effort of Satan to crush the people of God will fail, as did all the rest.   God will preserve His people even in the darkest of days.   Revelation is a book of  "great things " because it is the climax of human history and most things in it therefore are described as great.   This is indeed a great wonder  a sign of something of spiritual importance.   The picture is very graphic and leaves nothing to the imagination.   Here we learn the truth of Psalm 33v11  "the counsel of the Lord standeth forever; the thoughts of his heart to all generations."   There is no greater wonder in all of human history than the preservation of the true Israel throughout the ages.    Here we have the glorious conclusion of that story.

It centres around two wonders in heaven.

• The wonder of the woman clothed with the sun.
• The wonder of the great red dragon.who opposes her.

In short we have the victory of the woman and the downfall of Satan.   After thousands of years of persecution, all of Satan's efforts have failed.   The merging together of the two wonders defines this chapter and indeed the whole of history.  

We have a woman in the pains of childbirth and a dragon described as  "that old serpent", with the avowed intention to destroy her seed .   It is clear from the chapter that the woman is messianic Israel (that is true believing Israel).   It is also clear that Satan is the dragon.   However the story goes back further than the nation of Israel.   It goes back to the story of creation and the fall in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15.   There it says  "I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed; he shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel."   The enmity between satan and the seed of the woman has continued as long as the earth has existed.   In essence it is the story of the power struggle between demons and mankind.   What is not always understood is that in the purposes of God man has replaced fallen angels as God's vice-regents for the world.   The seed of the woman therefore became the object of Satan's wrath and this will continue until the end.   This chapter will mark the further downfall of Satan, yet his hatred of mankind will know no bounds.   The message of revelation chapter 12 , since it begins with a beautiful picture of a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of stars upon her head and the story here, is of the wonderful protection and preservation of God, and the ultimate victory of His people.  

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Window 4                           Revelation 11v19-15v4. 

"And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament: and there were lightnings, and voices and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail."        

This is the fourth phase of the unfolding drama in the book of Revelation; each phase begins with something which is opened in heaven, and it is note- worthy that each event increases in intensity as we move towards the end of the present order of things.   The temple of God, the inner temple, the very sanctuary where God dwells was opened in heaven.   This symbolism is taken from the Old Testament teaching of the tabernacle.   Exposed to full view in heaven was the ark of the covenant, which in the Old Testament symbolized the presence of God, the dwelling place of God.   That this is now opened to view is a solemn portent for the earth.   The record of the ark of the covenant is that which brought fear and reverence amongst the people of God, because of the presence of God.   The same ark which became a symbol of peace amongst God's people, became a symbol of terror to the ungodly.   When the ark was removed from Israel by the Philistines in 1st Samuel chapter 4 it was said  "the glory is departed from Israel for the ark of God is taken."   The presence of the ark of God amongst the Philistines brought such judgment and terror that they could not live with it in their midst.   It was then passed from pillar to post over twenty years, the culmination of which was the divine judgment on the men of Bethshemesh where more than fifty thousand perished.   The cry of these men was this  "who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall He go up from us?" 1st Samuel 6v19-20.  

What we have here is 1st Samuel chapters 4-6 taken to a global level.   The holiness of God has not changed.    His attitude to sin has not changed (will never change).   That fearful holiness is now to be exposed to a sinful world.   God comes out of His sanctuary.   The issue is not grace but judgment.   Out from the throne there comes all the symbols of Divine wrath against sin.   Never has God been seen in this mode on such a scale    The section ends in chapter 15 with the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.   God will have His way at the end but first he must clear away the obstacles to His plan.   Before describing the details of the final awesome display of the wrath of God, He will introduce to us the evil trinity which has brought all the chaos about.  

• In chapter 12 we are introduced to Satan, described as the dragon, the old serpent, the devil, Satan, and the accuser of the brethren.   We have here the beginning and ending of his malicious career.  
• In chapter 13v1-10 we are introduced to the first beast, a human being energized by Satan but also head of an evil worldwide system which is anti-God.  
• In chapter 13v11-18 we are introduced to another beast who is the religious counterpart of the first political beast.

These three are symbolic of the counterfeit trinity who have brought all the trouble to the earth.   All this is followed in chapter 14 with a scene which represents a condition of order in heaven, and a corresponding condition of chaos on earth.  

• Chapter 14v  1-7       -    We have the Lamb on Mount Zion.
• Chapter 14v  8-12     -    We have the fall of Babylon.
• Chapter 14v13-20     -    We have the harvest of the earth.
• Chapter 15v  1-4       -    We have the seven last plagues.

Out of rebellion God will bring His praise; "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain" Psalm 76v10.   Out of chaos He will bring order.   The depravity of earth will be checked and God will establish a world of righteousness.   Satan and the two beasts and all who follow them will be put away, because, in the new world that God will create, "nothing that defileth shall ever enter in." The same Psalm comments "Thou, even Thou art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once Thou art angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared and was still, when God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah(pause and think about that). Psalm 76v7-9.

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The God who commands the praise of all heaven

"The second woe is past: and behold the third cometh very quickly. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.   And the four and twenty elders which sat before God on their seats (thrones RV), fell upon their faces and worshipped God saying "we give thee thanks o Lord God Almighty which art and wast and art to come: because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned.   And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath hast come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that Thou shoudest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."
                                                                                                                   Revelation 11v14-18

The pronouncement by the angel is that  "the third woe cometh quickly."   How quickly it comes is such that no one will be able to pause for breath, as we shall see.   The pathway from here to the coming of Christ is only a few days away; but first He will introduce us to the trinity of evil in chapters 12&13 and to the apostate church in chapter 17&18, before describing the fall of everyone of them under the uncompromising wrath of God in the vials of wrath in chapters 15&16 which will rapidly fall upon the earth.  

Our eyes are now turned heavenward.   The seventh angel sounded and what we hear are great voices in heaven.   The triumphant cry comes at last  "the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ."   What Jesus refused from Satan in the desert in Matthew chapter 4 and Luke4 (because it was offered as a temptation to avoid the cross); He now receives from God as of right (having been to the cross) and all heaven rejoices!   What has been predicted from Genesis chapter 1 all the way through to Revelation chapter 22 are now a glorious reality.   The new world order has begun.   The predictions of scripture like Psalm 22v25; Psalm 72v8-19; Psalm 110; Psalm 145v13; Psalm 146v10; Isaiah 9v6-7; Isaiah 32v1; Isaiah 42v4; Isaiah 52v13; Daniel 2v44; Daniel 7v27; Matthew 6v10; Luke 1v32-33; etc. etc.are about to take place: also all the promises to His people Israel and to the church; also all angels fully enlightened as to the wisdom of God.   No more the fall and its consequences, no more the devil, no more the sin, no more failure, no more suffering, the sounding of the seventh trumpet proclaims the visible manifestation of the day of Jesus Christ.  

The church in heaven responds.   Human beings who have been saved and glorified and exalted and enthroned burst out in praise as God brings to pass all that the angels and the faithful have been expecting for many years.      They fell on their faces, what else could they do?  when faced with the wonder and the majesty of God!   The title they give to Him reflects His eternal character, His all powerful character, and also, by implications, His gracious character, because he has demonstrated unbelievable longsuffering with the sons of men to bring the plans to completion.

Verse 18 is very interesting, as it describes the whole programme.   The folly of men "the nations were angry;" their anger against God was nothing compared to His anger against them.   By this programme the dead will be judged; rewards will be given to God's servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear His name small and great.   Almighty God will destroy those who have destroyed the earth.   The programme set out in verse 18 spans over one thousand years yet the language is very much in the past tense as if it has already happened.  

We should all be in awe of the God who rules the world and all things in it, and who decides the destiny of us all.   No wonder scripture repeats time and time again, not only in words but also in ideas that  "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." The hymn by Anne R Cousin (1857) seems fitting:

The sands of time are sinking,
The dawn of Heaven breaks;
The summer morn I’ve sighed for—
The fair, sweet morn awakes:
Dark, dark hath been the midnight,
But dayspring is at hand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Immanuel’s land.