The
events that follow are about the seventh trumpet, which are the last 7 judgments. These are described in chapters 15 - 18. Chapters 12, 13, and 14 summarizes the same
period. This period is called the Great
Tribulation. John wrote about events
that happen before those troubles or judgments.
He takes us back to the original rebellion when Satan is cast to earth
along with 1/3 of his angels.
John in
heaven saw a great sign: a woman clothed with the sun, moon at her feet and
crown of 12 stars on her head. She was
with child and cried out being in labor and in pain to give birth. (Rev. 12:1-2). This woman is Israel and the child is Jesus. This refers to the birth of Jesus and
Christianity. The pain is the period
when Israel waited for the promised Messiah to come.
Then he
saw another sign, a red dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns and on his head were 7
crowns. This red dragon is Satan. His tail swept away 1/3 of the stars and
threw them to earth. These stars are
angels who followed Satan. The dragon
stood before the woman (Israel) ready to devour her child (Jesus). She gave birth to a son who is to rule all
the nations. God protected her child and
took Him up to His throne. (Rev.
12:3-5). This refers to Jesus’
resurrection and is now setting on the right hand of God. When He returns, He will rule over all
nations and the King of Kings.
The
dragon is described as red because of his murderous and destructive
personality. His 7 heads, horns and
crowns are evil governments that come from Satan himself. He rules over them. His tail sweeping 1/3 of the stars is the
description of the original demonic uprising against God. These are called fallen angels who serve
Satan.
The
woman fled into the wilderness prepared by God and there she will be nourished
by 1,260 days. During the last 3 ½ years
Satan will try to kill all the Jews, but God will protect those who believe and
will keep them safe. (Rev. 12:6) I think this refers to a time when Israel
will take refuge among the Gentiles nations where God will care for her during
the Great Tribulation.
When
have you felt Satan pursuing you?
How did
God protect you?
Do you
feel guilty over past sins that you have already confessed and been forgiven?
When
Satan reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.
John saw
a war in heaven with Michael and his angels against the red dragon (Satan) and
his angels. This war will happen
sometime during the tribulation. Satan
and his angels will be defeated and be thrown down from heaven forever. (Rev. 12:7-9) Remember Satan use to be an angel, but wanted to be equal with God. He was thrown out of heaven along with angels
who followed him, but still could go back and forth from earth and heaven. Michael is one of the chief angels of
God. In this war that John is seeing,
Michael defeated Satan and his forces and now they had no access to heaven. Not only will Satan be defeated in heaven,
but he will be defeated on earth as well when he and his demons will be thrown
into the Lake of Fire.
How
does God’s power give you comfort and courage? We see in Job 1-2 that God is in control and Satan must ask God for
permission before he messes with God’s people.
Then
John heard a loud voice in heaven. “Now have come the salvation, and the power and the kingdom of
our God and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and
night, has been hurled down. They
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they
did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” – Rev. 12:10-11
“Who accused them before our God day and night” – The
devil is tossed out once and for all time.
His time is soon over and he knows it.
During the last half of the Tribulation there will be terrible trouble
on earth. It will be his final attempt
to deceive people. Ones of his favorite
places to water down God’s Word and Jesus is in the church. He wants to prevent the reign of Christ.
“They overcame him by of the blood of the Lamb” - When
Jesus became the perfect Lamb sacrifice, Satan was defeated. We have the ultimate victory through His
sacrifice.
“And by the word of their testimony” - When we
open our mouths and declare Jesus is Lord and believe in Him and what He did,
we are saved. When we speak His truths,
we are witnesses for Him to others.
“They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death”- Life
on earth is not valuable. Only life in
heaven is important. That is where our
home is.
Where
will you spend eternity?
Have
you declared Jesus as your Lord?
If not,
what are you waiting for?
SATAN
IS REAL! Satan is also called the
serpent of old, the father of lies, a deceiver, and a murder. His mission is to lead the whole world
astray. God is more powerful than Satan. Satan is under God’s control and he can only
do what God allows. He cannot be
everywhere at once like God. He can temp
only 1 person at a time, but his demons are everywhere. He does not know the future, but only know
what God allows him to know. He runs
around the world seeking to devour anyone he can. He knows his time is short so he is working
extra hard. He doesn’t bother the lost,
because he already has them. He is after
the believer. He causes trouble, doubt
and sickness. He accuses us before God,
but we know we are triumphal. We know
who wins in the end.
“Woe to the earth and
the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing
that he has only a short time.” – Rev.
12:12. He was defeated when Jesus
died on the cross and rose again. Those
who believe in Jesus have overcome the world and Satan.
Satan could
not kill the child so he turned his attention to the woman. These are the Jews that are true believers
and trust God. God will protect them in
the last 3 ½ years. The dragon will try
to hurt the woman, but will not be able.
God promised to protect Israel during the last days and He will do what
He promised. God will save Israel. “Then the dragon was
enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her
offspring”. (Rev. 12:13-17) Satan can’t get Jesus so he goes after
His followers.
God’s
people will suffer during those last 3 ½ years.
Many will die because of their belief in Jesus. What a terrible time that will be.
If you have
friends or loved ones who don’t know Jesus, what are you going to do about it?
Next
week we will study Revelation 13 and learn about the beast that comes out of
the sea, which is the Antichrist. You
don’t want to miss that. Hope to see you
here.
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