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.
Here is a hint of when this is
taking place as Satan is finally cast down to earth and has no place to speak
accusingly of the believer, of God’s people, before Him. Satan accused the
brethren night and day before God, so, as in Job, he still had access to God’s
throne even after he lost his place of authority as the anointed cherub that covereth.
Job 1:6 Now there was a day when
the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also
among them.
And this was not just a one-time
thing.
Job 2:1 Again there was a day
when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came
also among them to present himself before the LORD.
An important point here is that
Christ’s people overcome not by war with guns and bullets but by Christ’s
blood, their witness, and by being willing to die for Christ. One example of
the great conflict between worldly Christianity and the faith of the Bible is
the fictional work from the 1800’s entitled Uncle
Tom’s Cabin. In it the main character dies rather than violate his
submission to Christ in hurting others as it is demanded that he become a
wicked overseer, prompting the salvation of at least one of his own murderers
at his death. The world vilifies Tom and calling someone an, “Uncle Tom,” is an
insult in the black community as cooperating with whites in their presumed
oppression. However, Tom is the most Christ-like character in fiction.
Conservative Christians will glorify a man who goes to war and kills many
people before they will glorify someone willing to die for Christ so, white or
black, the worldly Christian would not be able to face being killed for Christ
as many martyrs have done and are doing now in other parts of the world.
So, when someone says that they
would never take the mark of the beast it is almost laughable. A willingness to
die for Christ is not a character trait of most modern day Christians. Calling
in the marines, maybe, but not dying for Christ in a triumphant entry into
eternity.
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. 13 And when the dragon saw
that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth
the man child. 14 And to the woman were
given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into
her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from
the face of the serpent. 15 And the
serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might
cause her to be carried away of the flood. 16
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and
swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and
went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of
God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
At this time, it is better to be
in heaven, the abode of God and the blessed dead, than to live on the earth. This
passage seems to make it clear that Satan’s final casting down will be to earth
during this Great Tribulation.
The woman, in my estimation a
reference to Israel, is given supernatural power to escape as God did for the
Hebrews in the Exodus.
Exodus 19:4 Ye have seen what I
did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you
unto myself.
For three and a half years, a
time, times, and half a time, the remnant of Israel is protected from the wrath
of Satan while the two witnesses torment Satan’s people, some of whom, as we
saw, wind up giving glory to God.
Satan uses water as a flood to try to destroy Israel. This disaster is
prevented by the earth absorbing the water. Is this figurative language
representing something other than that which is literally stated? It doesn’t
appear so considering the literal natural disasters that are listed in
Revelation. But, note this use of the word flood
in Daniel.
Daniel 9:26 And after threescore
and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of
the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood,
and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many
for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the
oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it
desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon
the desolate.
Daniel 11:22 And with the arms of a flood shall they
be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the
covenant.
Notice also how a flood is used as
a word symbol for a great river in Joshua, chapter 24.
An angry and perhaps frustrated
Satan leaves the Jews in the wilderness to return to make war on the remnant. They
follow the commandments of God and trust in Christ. Keeping in the context of
John’s writing and understanding let us look at other remarks he made under the
inspiration of God.
1John 3:20 ¶ For if our heart
condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then
have we confidence toward God. 22 And
whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do
those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23 ¶ And this is his commandment, That we should
believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave
us commandment. 24 And he that keepeth
his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he
abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Remember how John defined
overcoming mentioned in Revelation, chapters 2 and 3 and also in chapter 21:7
to come? The key is in his first letter as I pointed out previously.
1John 5:3 For this is the love
of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
4 For whatsoever is born of God
overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even
our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh
the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Beware of preachers trying to put
the Christian back under the Law given to Moses, the civil and religious law of
the Hebrews, which in no way justifies us today.
Galatians 3:23 But before faith
came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should
afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the
law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by
faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer
under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all
the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
It is important to note that later
the testimony of Christ is said to be the
spirit of prophecy.
Revelation 19:10 And I fell at
his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy
fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship
God: for the testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy.
See this prophecy of the last two
thousand years of history and this Great Tribulation focusing on the Jewish
experience fully explained in Matthew 24.
The Jews flee to the wilderness.
Satan again tries to destroy them just like so many times in history but realizing
he cannot destroy the Jews returns in verse 17 to his war on the saints
revealed in the next chapter. Again in the next chapter we see the 3 ½ years
from a different perspective, a different angle of the word-picture presented
by Christ to John.
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