REVELATION CHAPTER 12
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Rev 12,1-17
(39j)
Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Jesus defeated this world
system
>> Jesus defeated Satan in the world –
Satan's initial fall from heaven is analogous to the fall prophesied to occur
in the last days. John the revelator relates the original
story of Satan falling from heaven to show that his fall from the atmosphere
surrounding the earth in the
last days is not so different from his fall from God's heaven. The stars that
fell from heaven to the earth have a duel meaning in that Satan took 1/3 of
the host of heaven with him; it also refers to 1/3 of the Church falling from grace.
The fate he suffered in heaven has afflicted him at the cross as God tricked
him to incite Israel to crucify their own messiah, at
which point the devil unwittingly handed over the keys of death and hell to
Jesus, defeating him in the weakness of human flesh. Now, at
the consummation of the ages God has predestined Satan to lose the war against
the Church in the weakness of human flesh.
(50db) Judgment >>
Last Days >> Great Endtime Revival >> Jews lead the world into revival
>> Prophesied to unite the body of Christ at the end of the age – It is no wonder people find the book of
Revelation difficult; in many respects it is a summation of the entire
word of God. It tries to say everything in only a few sentences, and to
do so it must have multiple layers of significance, and it is especially true in
this chapter. Sequentially, chapters
11&12 should have been placed after chapter seven, which
initially speaks of the 144,000. Verse one says, “A
great sign appeared in heaven a woman clothed with the sun.” This woman is
the 144,000; she is Israel the repentant, having realized the error of her
ways, having received Jesus Christ as her messiah, holding Him in a state of
revival, clothed
with the glory of God. See also: Great endtime revival; Rev 12,1-13; 225j
/ The woman; 252f
(98m) Thy kingdom come
>>
Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> Endurance invites the Holy Spirit into your life >>
Endurance invites the judgment of God
(111j) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Word and the judgment of
God—Word
(252f) Trinity
>>
You shall put no other gods before Me >> Worship
God >> Worship God who is Spirit >>
Worship God in the Spirit –
The dragon was unable to destroy the woman (144,000 Jewish believers) and her
children (gentile Church), because God protected her,
leading her into the wilderness where she was nourished for 3½ years. It says
that the woman took the two wings of the great eagle and used them to fly to
her place of safety; these winged creatures were described in Rev 4,6-9
(Cherubim/Seraphim), heavenly
creatures who continually worship God as they watch over His throne; a pair of
them were prominently displayed on the Ark of the Covenant. These living
creatures assisted the woman to a lofty place where she worshipped God
continually throughout the trumpet judgments, a place where the serpent could not reach
her, becoming the princess of the power
of the air in the very place that was once Satan's domain but was since
extricated. This is a place in the spirit where she could broadcast God's truth
for the whole world to hear through unity on a global scale, a place where her faith in God
clearly reverberated in the human
consciousness. It was a place of paradise to her innermost being, but a
wilderness to her flesh. The serpent stopped looking for her, because she was beyond his
reach, where she awaited the First Resurrection, when God would
Rapture His people (1The 4-17). Rev 14,6-8 says, "And I saw another angel flying in
midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice,
'Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of
waters.' And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, 'Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.'"
See also: Fall of Satan; Rev 12-6; 28k / Dragon (antichrist); Rev 12,1-13;
45k / Cherubim; Rev 12-14; 116e / The woman; Rev 12,1-13;
45k / Wilderness; Rev 12,1-13; 225j
Rev 12,1-14
(131g) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Unity >>
Interdependence >> Serving one another
Rev 12,1-13
(45k) Judgment
>>
Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >>
Satan VS the saints >> Defeating Satan in
weakness of sinful flesh -- These verses go with verse 17. The beast is part of Satan’s kingdom and so is the harlot,
defined as a religious institution, the
counterfeit Church, that opposes the woman. When we go
back to the Old Testament and look at the way God viewed Israel when it
walked in sin, God called her a harlot (Ezekiel chapter 16).
Revelation chapter 12 speaks about the true woman, the bride
of Christ, compared to the harlot, whose leader is the antichrist. The
name of the false church is Catholicism, and so the antichrist is the pope. The moon
under her feet represents Satan, who was once Lucifer the light bearer (Isaiah
14,12-15), who is now
a fallen angel that can only reflect light. He must stand close enough to a
light source to counterfeit its radiance for the purpose of deceiving the
world, to make them believe he is a light source instead of darkness and
decay. The moon is under the woman’s feet, meaning that at the end of the
age, the 144,000 Jews will grow wise to the devil’s deceptions and finally
believe that Jesus is their Messiah, though a materialized form of Satan will
come as the great red dragon that will be a formidable threat to
her existence. See also: Dragon (antichrist); 225j
/ Moon; Rev 12,1-10; 61f
/ Catholicism; Rev 12,7-11; 42b / The woman; 225j
(225j)
Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >>
Parables >> Parables about nurturing the people
of God >> Parables about a woman in labor giving birth to a child – The Bible has used
the analogy of a woman in
labor many times to represent giving birth to the Kingdom of God. Jesus used
it in Mat 24-7,8 to describe the pre-conditions of the seals as the
beginning of birth pangs, referring to war, famine and earthquakes leading to
the great tribulation and martyrdom of the saints. The earth will quake with
increasing intensity until at last it gives birth to Christ’s thousand-year
reign. So it seems the earth itself is aware of a coming new age when
the Millennium will kick off Christ's eternal kingdom. Not only is the earth in travail, it says the woman also is in travail, the Jewish church, the
144,000. She is in labor to give birth to a Great Endtime Revival of the
gentiles and to Christ's coming kingdom.
Rev 12-4,5 says, “And the dragon
stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so when she gives
birth he might devour her child.” This chapter speaks of a spiritual ascension of God's
people that is a type of Rapture before the physical resurrection occurs. The
beast and the harlot were martyring the saints when the woman fled into the
wilderness to hide from the devil, where this spiritual ascension will take
place. See also: Dragon (antichrist); Rev 12,1-10; 61f
/ Great endtime revival; Rev 12,1-10; 61f
/ Spiritual ascension; Rev 12,1-6; 50h / The woman; Rev 12,1-10;
61f / Wilderness; Rev 12,1-6; 50h
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Rev 12,1-10
(61f) Paradox
>>
Two implied meanings >> God’s people give
birth to Christ—Israel (to Bethlehem’s baby) / the Church (to His second
coming)
– The meaning of the woman giving birth to the
male child is a dual analogy. It refers to Israel giving birth to Christ
through Mary, His mother, and it refers to the 144,000 giving birth to a
Great Endtime Revival of the gentiles. The "child" refers to the
revival, and "children" are gentile Christians of the revival. Just as
Jesus grew in strength and stature, so this revival will grow in number and
maturity, ranging into the millions. The dragon is enraged because the woman (the Jewish
Church) has finally recognized Jesus Christ as her Messiah and is competing
against Satan's kingdom for supremacy in the world. This has been God’s
purpose from the very beginning that Israel should lead the world in matters
of faith and truth. After Jesus shed his blood, God hoped Israel would repent of her
unbelief and pick up the gospel and carry the great commission to the world. Israel was originally called to
do this, but after they consistently blasphemed and
rejected the gospel, making Paul’s administration unproductive (all he got for
his trouble was whips and beatings by the Jews), he turned to the gentiles at the
direction of the Holy
Spirit, and the gentiles have carried the gospel ever since into
all the world in Israel's stead. However, the Jews will resume their rightful
place in the last days as emissaries of all things pertaining to God. See also:
Dragon (antichrist); 61f / Great endtime revival; Rev 12,1-6; 50h / The woman;
61f / Plutonomy; 61f
/ Lk 16-19; 170d
(61f) Paradox
>>
Two implied meanings >> The dragon—King Herod
/ Satan
– It said earlier that the moon was under the
woman’s feet, referring to satanic deception. A great red
dragon appeared, which is the
materialization of this deception in the form of absolute wickedness. Satan is
raising up a kingdom, consisting of many nations to be his strong arm that
will murder many people, including and especially Christians. This dragon has seven heads and ten
horns, more horns than heads. Heads represent kings and kingdoms, while the
horns represent power, suggesting that the kings do not have power but are puppet
rulers of the ultra rich. These horns are tied to money, being economic
powers. Traditionally, the ultra rich controlled kings and presidents for the
purpose of wielding power and authority (plutocracy), but in the last days the
new world order will be run by world-banks and conglomerate financial
institutions that control governmental powers for the purpose of increasing
their wealth, called a plutonomy. This political/economical system will be
brought to its knees by the woman. See also: Dragon (antichrist); Rev 12-3,4; 243a
/ King Herod; Rev 12,1-6; 50h
/ Moon; Rev 12,1-13; 45k / Plutonomy; 61f
/ The woman; Rev 12,1-6; 210h
Rev 12,1-6
(50h)
Judgment >> Sequence of Revelations
>> Second half of the tribulation
>> The saints flee into the wilderness - spiritual warfare
(Pre-rapture ascension) --
These verses go with verse 14. Jesus
survived Herod’s attempt on His
life as an infant (Mat 2,16-20), and He grew into manhood to enter His 3½ year
ministry, and at the end of that ministry He gave His life for the sins of the
world and then ascended back to the Father. This recap of Jesus’ life has an application to the
endtimes. It is
essential to understand that this
child caught up to heaven represents a spiritual ascension of the
Church in a Great Endtime Revival led by the Jews. One might say that this is the Rapture, but
we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves; before the Rapture there must be
a spiritual ascension that occurs during the trumpet judgments, and at the Last
Trumpet God will physically Rapture His people. Before that, though, a spiritual ascension/revival will enable
them to walk in in a powerful anointing so that it won’t matter to them whether they
are in heaven or on earth. The First Resurrection occurs at the Last
Trumpet, so the spiritual ascension will occur at the first trumpet that awakes the Church to walk through the door
provided for them (Mat 25,1-13; Rev 3,8-10). The Church will be wisped to heaven
in the spirit, while their bodies remain in the flesh, just as it
happened to John the revelator (Rev 4-1,2). God will use the Church in this way to
again defeat
Satan in the flesh; the first time Jesus defeated him on the cross, taking
from him the keys of death and hell. God will use the Church to take
his position from him and become princess of the power of the air. See also: King Herod; Rev 12-4;
189h / Great endtime revival; Rev 12-4; 204d
/ Spiritual ascension; Rev 12-5,6; 237i / Wilderness;
210h
(136hb) Temple
>>
Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of
Christ >> Body of Christ consists of individual
members >> We are being fitted together
(210h)
Salvation >> Jews and gentiles are being saved >> Salvation is
from the Jews >> The Jew first
>> Jews lead the world to faith in Jesus
– “On her head [was] a crown of twelve stars.”
This crown upon her head represents a number of things. First and
foremost, it represents her anointing from God. These twelve stars represent
the twelve tribes of Israel. It also represents the twelve apostles as well as
the twelve gates of the
heavenly city and the twelve angels posted at each gate. Keep in mind that in the
early chapters of Revelation it spoke of stars representing angels,
and those angels represented churches. During the trumpets, God will call the
woman to lead the gentile believers into the wilderness, where they will set
up camps similar to Moses and the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt. There will be
many of these camps spotted around the globe with Jewish leaders of the 144,000 acting as judges, and each camp will have the capacity for
many thousands
of gentile believers, and God will personally take care of them feeding them
manna that falls from heaven as in the days of Moses. It will be the most glorious spiritual time in the
Church's history. See also: The woman; Rev 12-5,6; 105l
/ Wilderness; Rev 12-5,6; 105l
Rev 12-1,2
(95b) Thy kingdom come
>>
Positive attitude >> Speaking in tongues >>
Groaning too deep for words
(104k) Thy kingdom come
>>
Pure in heart shall see God >> Shall see Jesus >>
Shall see His appearing
(132b) Temple
>>
Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is
in God’s people >> Spirit of God in the spirit
of man >> Spirit of Jesus
(135e) Temple
>>
Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the
body >> Abortion >>
Consequences of abortion >> The woman has no
authority over the fetus because she cannot control what she conceives
-- These verses go with verses 5&6
(140a) Temple
>>
Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >>
The doorway -- These verses go with verses 5&6
(213g) Sovereignty
>>
God is infinite >> Jesus owns you >>
We are his instruments >> We are reflectors of
His glory -- These verses go with verse 5
Rev 12-1
(92d) Thy kingdom come
>>
The narrow way >> Trail of good works >>
Putting on His good works
(112f) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Light >> Obeying the truth in broad daylight >>
Church’s deeds in the light
(113f) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
The anointing >> Heaven’s clothes >>
Garments of warfare
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Rev 12-3,4
(243a)
Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >>
Persecuting the kingdom >> Reacting to persecution >> Falling away
through persecution – This great red dragon will defeat one third of
Christians in the last days. They will fall to
the dread that the great red dragon invokes. It is in
reference to the parable of the ten virgins, five were wise and five were
foolish, depicting one half of the Church falling away from God. This is only
one third, so we can assume there are others; another
sixth will fall away from the faith prior to the first trumpet, taking the mark of the beast, effectively
joining God’s enemy as they see the dragon coming to power, being members of
the foolish virgins. See also: Dragon (antichrist); Rev 12-4; 189h
Rev 12-4
(26g)
Sin >> Consequences of sin
>>
Death is Satan’s nature
–
Lucifer
transgressed God’s throne and sought to rise above the heavens to
somehow defeat the most high. He literally went insane thinking he could do
this, but not a single aspect of his plan was remotely possible. Even if he
somehow defeated the Son, what would he do with the Father? Also, since he didn’t create the universe, how could he sustain it?
Once Lucifer put his plan into action, God divested Himself from Lucifer’s
inheritance, which was the entire creation, and the result was poverty
descending all the way to the atomic level, affectively radiating
through
everything, and for that reason we were born with nothing and we will die with
nothing. God
never offered the universe to Adam and Eve; He only gave them the earth;
but after Jesus died and rose again on our behave, we have since inherited the
future new creation, and God will invest Himself into its fabric, so that the properties of the atoms and
molecules will be of a giving nature instead of a taking one. See also: Curse;
Rom 2,1-11; 26j / God is committed to proving the devil wrong;
Act 15-20; 196b
(189h) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Martyr >>
Dying to self through persecution – This
verse is reminiscent of King Herod who attempted to
kill Jesus as a baby, ordering the death of all male children under the age of
two in Bethlehem, because he heard through the Scriptures that Jesus would grow up to
become a great King and rule the nations. John is referring to
Jesus when He came in the flesh, but it also speaks of His second
coming, since the book of Revelation is a book about endtime prophecy. The timelessness of Revelation is exemplified in that some prophesied events have already occurred, suggesting they will happen again in the last days. These recurring events model predictions of the future; they take on different forms, have different causes and reemerge at the end of the age to ultimately fulfill Bible prophecy.
In this example, Herod murdered babies in Ramah trying to kill Jesus, whom
Scripture prophesied would become a great king (Mat 2,16-18), so the antichrist
will martyr Christians under the misguided logic that Christ cannot be a King
if He has no kingdom. The antichrist will use the mark of the beast, an economic system specifically
designed to isolate and identify Christians for the purpose of exterminating
them. See also: Dragon (antichrist); Rev 12-5,6; 105l
/ King Herod; Rev 12,1-10; 61f
(204d) Denying Christ
>>
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >>
Back-slider >> Practicing sin >>
The apostasy –
Many Christians in the first century were completely committed to the grace of God
and to the administration of the gospel, but if we had their zeal, people
would assume we were part of a cult, or perhaps that we are trying to work our
way to heaven. To blend with the complacency of the Church is the
expectation of Christendom these days. The clergy wants
people to get involved tithing, folding chairs, setting up tables, vacuuming
floors, cleaning bathrooms, giving us the drudgery work that the pastor doesn’t
want to do, but when it comes to preaching and teaching, he says there is no
need,
but to say that is to expose the symptoms of apostasy that has gripped the Church
and has made it impotent. Pastors jealously covet their ministries, because
they have made it their livelihood. The reason there is no need for any preaching
or teaching is that maybe no one would come if they were offered, complacency
again being the culprit. With revival coming, there will be a need for
preachers and teachers, but those pastors who try to squelch this movement will
kill their own ministries. In fact,
many
churches are dying even now. See also: Great endtime revival; Rev 12-6; 28k
/ Apostasy (Walk while you have the light); Jn 12-35,36; 33a
(242g)
Kingdom of God >>
Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >>
Persecuting the kingdom >> Worldly pressure >>
World pressures you to forsake God -- This verse goes with verse 13
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Rev 12-5,6
(105k)
Wilderness
(Key verse)
(105l) Thy kingdom come
>>
Led by the Spirit into the wilderness
>> Wilderness of safety – Instead of facing the dragon the woman will
run into the wilderness. In so doing she will find her place prepared by
God, a place of safety, protection and nourishment. God will feed His people
as He did Israel during the time of Moses when they ran from the pharaoh of
Egypt. It will be a time of
great victory, glory and power. The woman is
the 144,000 Jews, and the gentile Church will meet them there. While Satan is manifesting
his kingdom, controlling the world, deciding who lives and who dies, God will bring his kingdom to
ruin using His people by the fact that Satan
is powerless to destroy them. God will prove to the devil that he is weaker than human flesh by
protecting the Church in those days. Their wilderness experience will last 3½ years, during the Trumpets, during the ministry of the Two Witnesses. See also: See also: Dragon (antichrist); Rev 12-6;
28k / The woman; Rev 12-6; 28k
/ Wilderness; Rev 12-6; 28k
(135e) Temple
>>
Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the
body >> Abortion >>
Consequences of abortion >> The woman has no
authority over the fetus because she cannot control what she conceives
-- These verses go with verses 1&2
(140a) Temple
>>
Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >>
The doorway -- These verses go with verses 1&2
(237i)
Kingdom of God >>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom
>>
The ascension >> Believers’ spiritual ascension
–
See commentary: Spiritual ascension; Rev 12-14;
50h
Rev 12-5
(153a) Witness
>>
Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the
father >> Church bears witness of the Father
through Christ
(213g) Sovereignty
>>
God is infinite >> Jesus owns you >>
We are his instruments >> We are reflectors of
His glory -- This verse goes with verses 1&2
Rev 12,6-17
(82k) Thy kingdom come
>>
Power of prayer >> Prayer prepares you to meet
Jesus
Rev 12-6
(28j) Gift of God >>
God is our advocate >> God protects us from the
devil -- This verse goes with verses 13-16. To
be nourished in the wilderness (dessert) is quite a challenge, since there is
nothing to eat; consequently, God Himself will nourish the woman for 3½
years. She refers to the Jewish Church consisting of the 144,000, and it says that the woman has children,
referring to gentile believers among the nations, who comprise the Great Endtime Revival numbering in the millions. They
will not all be in one place. Wilderness camps will be designated around the
globe, and they will attract
millions of gentile believers in Jesus, who will flee
to one of these camps for protection from the antichrist and his emerging empire. God will personally supply their needs and
hide them from
their enemies. This 3½-year period happens during the trumpets,
and their ministry will be prayer night and day for God’s protection. Their prayers will give strength to the angelic world to
overpower Satan and his world empire, who is searching to destroy them. Paul
called him the prince of the power of the air, but in the last days when
God's people evict him from his lofty place, characterized by the atmosphere
of the earth, until he is thrown to the earth, and the Church will take his place
as the princess of the power of the air, breaking Satan’s spell over the
world. See also:
Fall of Satan; Rev 12,7-17; 50ha / Dragon (antichrist); Rev 12,7-17;
50ha / Great endtime revival / The woman; Rev 12,7-17;
50ha / Wilderness; 140d
/ Great Endtime Revival (Catfight between the princess of the Lamb and Jezebel the adulteress);
Rev 2-20;
198h
(116e) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Working the grace of God >> Through worship >>
Entering His hiding place -- This verse goes with verse 14
(140d) Temple
>>
Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >>
Living in the spiritual revelation of the word -- This verse goes with
verse 14.
Rev 18-4 says, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate
in her sins and receive of her plagues.” This refers to Babylon, which was a
city that was built thousands of years ago and was destroyed, and the Bible says it will never be
rebuilt (Jeremiah 50,11-13). Satan's world empire is a type
of Babylon that will spread its influence throughout the world, and where
else would he station such a deception than in the holy city, Jerusalem, but before
that it will be stationed in Rome. God
will direct us to run into the wilderness to escape the influence of this
technological system of our modern era that is limited to the parameters of civilization. God will protect us in the wilderness during
the Trumpet Judgments and nourish us for 3½ years, just as He nourished Moses
and the Israelites in the wilderness of their exile from Egypt. This
means we will need to survive the first five seals of Satan’s wrath before
we enter God’s protective period of the Trumpets. These first five seals
will be extremely severe for Christians, the most arduous period of the last days. Many millions of people will die during this time.
Doomsday preppers will not span this 3½-year period without their stockpile
running out of food and supplies. The great tribulation will be a time of
difficulty as Jesus said, “such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever
will” (Mat 24-21). It will closely resemble Hitler’s attempt at
world-domination, but that was just one nation, whereas the antichrist will recruit
the whole world to war against the saints, and like Hitler he will lose. See also: Wilderness; Rev 12-14;
50h
(187d) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >>
Dying to receive the glory of God >> Die to self
through prayer
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Rev 12,7-17
(50ha)
Judgment >> Sequence of Revelations
>> Second half of the tribulation >> Fall of Satan –
This depicts a time when the antichrist comes to
power. His empire will be based in Rome at first; then he will
migrate to Jerusalem. The antichrist’s deception will be to hide the fact that
his power is failing him as Christ's millennial kingdom encroaches on
his domain. Someone else now controls the “airways”, the princess of the
power of the air. This atmosphere refers to social consciousness, the very air
we collectively breathe, and the princess refers to
the woman, the 144,000 witnesses of Jesus. Once Satan is thrown from his domain,
God will take it over and broadcast his message of grace and truth to the hearts
of all people. All the nations will realize that God loves the world,
and a massive revival will take place, because the
accuser of the brethren has been thrown down, who once incited mankind against
God. These events will begin some time during the seals and carry through the trumpets. The seals
have demonstrated human depravity instigated by the devil, but when the period
of trumpets begins, and the spiritual realm will come alive, and mankind will
recognized Satan is its nemesis. The spiritual world that exists beyond the unseen spectrum
will be filled with spiritual activity, and God will glorify His people, while those who hate Him will be
horrified by the manifestations of Satan, yet many will still not repent of
their unbelief, and those who have taken the Mark of the Beast cannot repent. A spiritual standoff
will ensue where light and
darkness collide for supremacy with the prize of human souls
weighing in the balance. See also: Fall of Satan; Rev 12,7-14; 164f
/ Dragon (antichrist); Rev 12,7-11; 42b / Great endtime revival; Rev 12-11; 209g
/ The woman; Rev 12-14; 116e / Pseudo-spiritual warfare;
1Tim 2-8; 134f
Rev 12,7-14
(164f)
Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world
system >> Satan’s system of authority >> He is the prince of the
power of the air –
The Book of Revelation talks about prayer as a type of
spiritual warfare. The prayers of the saints will cause Satan’s system of
spiritual authority to crumble, and God will put the devil in his
place. This concept of "prince of the power of the air" (Eph 2-1,2)
refers to Satan’s vantage point where he spiritually controls the world. Everyone has
his own opinion, but all the world’s many belief systems are controlled within the parameters of Satan's influence, except the disciples of
Jesus who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, who are free to think the thoughts of God, and through them the world will know the
truth about Jesus, that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek
Him (Heb 11-6). Therefore anyone who continues to serve Satan and His antichrist in full
knowledge of the truth will do so at his own peril. See also: Fall of Satan; 245l
(245l) Kingdom of God >>
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >>
Literal manifestations >> Manifestation of the prince of the
power of the air –
This is the account of Lucifer being thrown from heaven after he rebelled
against God, but why is John mentioning this now? The spiritual war that
ensues in the last days will be similar to the war that occurred so many eons ago
when Lucifer fell into sin and was removed from God's presence. These two
skirmishes are similar, the difference being that the initial rebellion occurred
in heaven where God lives, and the exorcism of Satan the second time will be
from heaven that surrounds the earth. Before God created man, He bound Satan to the
earth, which really shrank his empire in that he once had dominion over God’s
entire universe, so to be confined to the earth was like being confined to a dot
in the vast ocean of space, quite a setback. Demons speak to individuals, while
principalities and powers of satanic authority control social consciousness. Just as there is an unseen
atmosphere surrounding us consisting mostly of Nitrogen and oxygen, so there are unseen
forces of spiritual wickedness surrounding us consisting of demonic entities, and we are
unaware of them communicating their philosophies that contradict God and renounce
his mercy and deny Him as the Savior of the world and the Creator of the universe. Jesus said in Lk 10-18, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning."
In the last days God will remove Satan from his vantage point of social consciousness
and put the Church in his place, and he will fall to the earth, forcing him to rule the world from the limitation of human flesh. At each censoring of Satan’s
domain his
influence shrinks, until eventually his domain reduces to the lake of fire. See also: Fall of Satan; Rev 12,7-11;
42b
Rev 12,7-11
(42b) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >>
Blameless before men –
The saints will aim the spotlight on Satan at a time when he is convincing the
world of the Jews' culpability for the collapse of the global
economy and for the Church's support of them and their involvement in the crumble
of civilization through their preaching that has come to pass as a
self-fulfilled prophecy, saying that the Jews and believing gentiles are
responsible for all the suffering and evil
that is in the world. The early Church
suffered terrible persecution too; for many years they were
treated like dogs, pushed off their land, their crops stolen or burned,
their women raped and their children murdered, until the Catholic
Church took root. The world didn't persecute Catholicism, because it was a religious institution ratified by the
state, having become the
official religion of Rome. Instead, it became the persecutors of Christians
who remained faithful in Christ. It says the saints in the last days did not love their lives
even to the point of death, meaning they will not establish a religion that is approved by
the antichrist to avoid persecution. The Church through prayer gave
power to Michael and his angels to overcome Satan, and threw him to the earth,
and as a result the antichrist was conceived. He could no longer rule the
world as a spirit, but was forced to rule from the limitations of human flesh;
then he will realize how hard it is to be a man in a fallen world. In the
last days God's people will grow strong and courageous, and they will not
be intimidated by the devil, for God
will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, and many millions of
people will be saved.
See also: Fall of Satan;
46h / Dragon (antichrist);
46h / Catholicism; Rev 12,1-13; 45k / History of the Church (First century Christians) Act 4,13-16; 149j
(46h) Judgment
>>
Spiritual warfare >> Satan falls from heaven
– This is the Bible’s most detailed account
of Lucifer’s rebellion in heaven, but why is John relating
it now? It is another one of John’s duel analogies. He describes
Satan being thrown from heaven to the earth, saying
this was Satan’s fate in heaven, but John is using the story to illustrate
Satan’s future fall from the atmosphere surrounding the earth. What happened to him will happen
again, only instead of being thrown from heaven where God lives, he will be
thrown from heaven where man lives. Satan rules man’s world
from a spiritual standpoint and has beguiled the nations, having essentially
taught them to live apart from God. The devil lies to man's heart with
spiritual forces of wickedness in high places as Paul put it in Eph 6-12.
There was war in heaven, and the spirit that deceived the
nations will be extricated from his position above the earth, forced to the ground
to inhabit a
man. Eve went to the boundary of Eden's Garden and met the serpent, who spoke
face-to-face to her, and when she and the man ate the forbidden fruit, their
disobedience empowered the serpent to rule them from a higher domain. Once they sinned he could rule
man’s world on a subconscious level, wherein his presence and influence was
covert. In this way he can make man believe that the spiritual realm doesn't
exist, sowing his secular mindset into the world to exclude God, making man
think that all the ideas in his head are his own, and they actually are if
he believes them. After Satan was thrown to
the earth he was forced to take on human flesh as the antichrist.
Therefore, he is coming, not
because he is gaining strength but for the opposite reason, because he has lost his
position as prince of the power of the air (Eph 2-2). That is, the man
of lawlessness is a sign that Satan is losing the war against God and is on the run! See also:
Fall of Satan; 68c / Dragon (antichrist); 68c
/
Adam);
Lk 4,1-13; 183j
(49e) Judgment
>>
Enemies of God’s church are destroyed -- These verses go with verse
16,17
(68c)
Authority >> Jesus delegates authority to execute judgment against Satan –
This passage speaks about the dragon that was cast to the earth, which has
already happened, and it will happen again at the end of the age. The first time
he was cast to the earth from the pinnacle of heaven where God lives; the second time he will
be cast to the earth from the atmosphere surrounding the earth. To say that
the earth’s atmosphere is Satan's domain is symbolic. It works well as an analogy in that it suggests the very air we
breathe is immersed in spiritual deception, but the reality is that Satan
controls the world from a type of spiritual broadcast system similar to the television set, being the
reason Satan immediately confiscated the airways the moment TV was invented.
This vantage point affords him the ability to control everybody simultaneously
instead of individually, but in the last days he will be removed from his
place as prince of the power of the air (Eph 2-2). The Church will replace
him and communicate her own message from God, just as Satan is setting up his one-world government.
Those who don’t get saved in the last days will no less understand that
Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, but they will reject this message in
full knowledge, blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and they will align with the
antichrist. They will take his mark and war against the saints and see many
thousands of Christians martyred, which will call God's judgment upon themselves through
the trumpets and the bowls of His fierce wrath. See also: Fall of Satan; Rev
12,9-11; 9a / Dragon (antichrist); Rev 12-9; 183g
Rev 12,7-9
(15i)
Servant >> Angels execute Judgment >> For the sake of the Church
(112d) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Light >> Jesus light in us overcomes darkness >>
The light of His power
(245i)
Kingdom of God >>
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >>
Literal manifestations >> Manifestation of God’s
righteous judgment >> Manifestation of Jesus’
victory over sin -- These verses go with verse 11
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Rev 12,9-11
(9a)
Responsibility >> Prevent being blamed for
something you did not do >> Prevent accusations – They say that Christians are the
most guilt-ridden, self-conscious people on earth. No wonder; who else
has an enemy so cruel as ours, accusing us day and night? It is important to
maintain a blameless reputation, so
when the lies come, we can prove them wrong, nor can anyone rightly testify
against
us. The
essence of Satan’s power is in accusation, bringing
attention to our sins before God and man. The fact that He has been thrown-down
means his power of accusation has been disarmed in that God is now accusing
him. Instead of Satan placing us in the way of God’s judgment, Satan is now in the way of God’s judgment, and
he will be run over as by a Mack
Truck. Satan cannot very well accuse us while he is under trial. Satan came to
God about Job and said, ‘This man serves you well enough, but touch all that
he has and he will curse you to your face,’ and then God allowed Satan to
test his theory and Job remained true to the Lord (Job chapter one). Satan
then brought accusation against Job to the Lord again and said, ‘Touch his flesh and he will curse you to your face,’ and
God allowed it, and Job remained faithful (Job chapter two). What happened? Satan accused Job, God
tested him, and Job did not accuse God of evil. The book of Job doesn’t say
what happened to Satan after this. No doubt he skipped merrily away scot-free,
but the devil's time is coming. The book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible, but the
latest written book says what eventually happens to the devil when the children of God
are found
true, God turned on their accuser and passed judgment against him. See also:
Fall of Satan; Rev 12-9;
183g / Suffering and Evil;
Rev 12-11; 209g / God tests us in this life
because the next life will be just as real;
Rom 4,18-22;
102m
Rev 12-9
(183g) Works of the devil
>>
The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >>
Spirit of the broad road >> Spirit of the world –
Satan was exorcized from the atmosphere surrounding the earth that he once occupied, so he is no longer prince of the power of the
air; he has been demoted to the earth and forced to take on the body of
a man. He came to this point as a result of God taking all his options from
him, so possessing the antichrist was his only choice. He will attempt to
rule the world from a physical body, and he will quickly discover the limitations of
human flesh. Instead of surreptitiously presenting subliminal messages and having
people unconsciously accepting them as he once did, filling the air with
hypnotic notions and people readily accepting them without question, he now must speak
directly to man's flesh and allow him to mull over His ideas before accepting them.
This is why the judgment of God will be so severe: people will have
carefully considered their options and decided that serving Satan is better
than serving God. Man is susceptible to Satan’s thoughts because of his sinful nature,
and Satan's plan will work smoothly for a while, until God creates circumstances that will lead to the
ruin of his empire. See also: Fall of Satan; Rev 12,12-14; 62o
Rev 12-10,11
(101d) Thy kingdom come
>>
Zeal does not count the cost >> Zeal of God has
consumed me
Rev 12-10
(66f)
Authority >> Jesus’ authority
>>
His position with the Father >> Jesus has
authority over all things from the Father
(81i) Thy kingdom come
>>
Pray without ceasing >> Sinning from a
lack of prayer – God will expect a lot from His people in the
last days, much more than today. Sunday morning we go to
church, and many Christians believe they are saved because of it, yet many
church-goers are
devoid of a relationship with God. They made a commitment to their religion
but not to Christ. In the last days this level of
so-called "faith"
will not suffice. We will either be Christians ready to sacrifice our lives
for the cause of Christ, or we will serve the antichrist with very little gray area
in-between.
(104h) Thy kingdom come
>>
Pure in heart shall see God >> Shall see the
Father >> God is in our presence
(136hb) Temple
>>
Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of
Christ >> Body of Christ consists of individual
members >> We are being fitted together
(158i) Works of the devil
>>
Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >>
Division (Cliques) >> Satan is the origin of
division –
Satan is called the accuser of the brethren; he is not called
false accuser of the brethren. He rightly accuses us of sin, though He is not
our judge and has only assumed his role; he didn't receive it from God, and he
doesn't have any authority except his own false-authority. He has no right to judge
us, being
the epitome of sin. If Satan's accusations
are true of us and God listens to him, how much more will He listen to us if
we are blameless in all our behavior and pray to Him day and night for justice
(Lk 18,1-8)? Satan is in rebellion against God, but we have made peace with
Him through the blood of His cross (Rom 5-1). Nevertheless, Satan gets by with his wickedness
for now, because his judgment has not yet come, but it is coming. When Satan rightly
accuses us, how can we defend ourselves? We can only repent to make Satan's
accusations hollow. Therefore, the time is now to repent (2Cor 6-1,2), so the
enemy has nothing bad to say about us (Tit 2-8). See also: Accuser of the brethren; Rev 12-11; 209g
(161j) Works of the devil
>>
Essential characteristics >> Satan’s attitude
determines our direction >> Carried Away >>
Condemnation >> Condemnation without basis of
sin
(178b) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >>
Presuming the facts about the circumstances >>
Presumption is not founded on facts
(237g)
Kingdom of God >>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom
>>
The rapture >> The Church in heaven –
We find a similar statement in Rev 11-15, “The kingdom of the world has
become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever
and ever.” These statements are similar but refer to separate
events. This verse denotes God toppling Satan’s empire on a
spiritual plane, whereas the statement in chapter eleven denotes the kingdom of Christ
beginning to take on a physical shape. Between these two
statements we understand that Christ’s eternal kingdom is beginning to
emerge from a spiritual standpoint to one that begins to invade the material
realm, while
Satan’s kingdom is kaput.
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Rev 12-11
(25d) Sin
>>
Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Murder >>
Persecution to the death >> Murder is the way of
the world
(37h) Judgment
>>
Redemption of man >> His blood delivered us from
destruction
(39e) Judgment
>>
Jesus defeated death >> Victory >>
Jesus overcame the world
(53b) Paradox
>>
Opposites >> Of life and death >>
Death cannot hurt you
(85i) Thy kingdom come
>>
Words of your mouth >> That are spoken in faith >>
Will justify you
(144d) Witness >>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The Church bears witness of Jesus >> It
bears
witness of His word -- This verse goes with verse
17
(147i) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >>
Solemnly testify about Jesus -- This verse goes with verse
17
(150cb) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Confessing Jesus
to be saved >> Confessing Jesus for the sake of heaven
-- This verse goes with verse 17
(189g) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Martyrs >>
Martyrs witness to the life of God –
Jesus was very protective of His disciples. Does that mean there won’t be
any martyrs? The past 2000
years has been stained with the blood of the saints! Their spilled blood is
what has propelled the gospel into the world. Without their blood sacrifice
the gospel simply would not have had the impact it did. It is the only
way to get through to people. Tell them, ‘I believe in Jesus,’ and they
will be unimpressed, but dying for our faith tends to open people’s eyes.
Unbelievers see this life as the only one they will ever know, and so they
protect it, but Christians are hoping for
the Kingdom of Heaven at the end of this life, so they are perfectly happy to
give their lives for their faith, especially since it will get them to heaven
that much quicker and ensure them a better
resurrection, especially opposed to renouncing the faith.
(192i) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by
losing >> Gain God’s kingdom to lose the
domain of darkness >> Gain heaven to lose the
world
(209g) Salvation
>>
The salvation of God >> Righteous saved with
difficulty >> Righteous saved with casualties –
The saints overcame Satan because of the sacrifice Jesus made for them. They trusted in God’s love rather than
the deceptions of Satan that contradict the character of Christ, and at last, the accuser of the brethren
has been thrown-down. Jesus taught in the Lord’s Prayer, “Do not lead us
into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Mat 6-13). When the devil approaches
us like Job, we should not listen to Him but pray for
guidance instead from these spiritual forces. Satan for centuries has been pushing mankind under the
bus and accusing man of sin in front of God. The saints
in the last days are willing to repent of their sins and give up their lives,
causing many to die for their
faith rather than accuse God of evil. The challenge of this spiritual war
is to become innocent of evil so we can put the spotlight on Satan’s guilt,
instead. It is ineffective to expose darkness with darkness. Satan sees no wrong in the trials and temptations that he imposes
on us but considers himself innocent before God, no matter how much evil he
perpetrates against the saints. So long as he can make us sin it takes the
spotlight off his own wickedness and onto ours. Satan has been consistent in
doing this for centuries, but in the last days, God will effect a Great
Endtime Revival that will engender faith, so God's people would rather give up
their lives than agree with the devil, refusing to find fault with their
heavenly Father for allowing them to suffer even to the point of death. See also:
Suffering and Evil; Rev 12,9-11; 9a / Great endtime revival; Rev 12,1-17;
50db / Accuser of the brethren; Rev 12,12-14;
62o
(245i)
Kingdom of God >>
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >>
Literal manifestations >> Manifestation of God’s
righteous judgment >> Manifestation of Jesus’
victory over sin -- This verse goes with verses 7-9
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Rev 12,12-14
(62o) Paradox
>>
Anomalies >> Righteous deception >>
God deceives the world (the ruler of the world) –
God has tricked the devil on multiple occasions, using the devil’s own
wickedness against him. Before Satan rebelled, God was happy to give him
everything. Lucifer was in control of the entire universe, and then he
thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to literally own the universe; wouldn’t it be nice not to bow
in reverence to God; wouldn’t it be nice to actually be God?’ He sought to separate
himself from God's authority and to become his own authority, so God cast the
devil and his angels to the earth. This planet has become Satan’s
prison. Starting with the entire universe and being restricted to a single
planet, less than a dot in infinity, shows just how far Satan has fallen
from his former glory. God has taken everything from him, reducing him
to a puddle of self-delusion. Then God created man and gave him dominion over the
earth; in other words, God gave Adam stewardship of Satan’s prison house,
essentially making him the devil’s warden. Since the shedding of Jesus’
blood, God has given man the entire universe as his inheritance (not this
universe but the one to come). Now Satan is really
mad, because the universe once belonged to him, until he lost it through
rebellion. Therefore, Satan's goal is to cause as many people as possible to
lose their eternal inheritance through rebellion. God placed the Garden of Eden on the earth, in the midst of
Lucifer’s prison to tempt Satan, and he naturally fell to the temptation
and tempted Eve, and then Satan walked away, laughing at God for being so
stupid as to place man in proximity of him, right under his nose. God created a
way to forgive man for his sin through the blood of His Son, and now we know about
sin but are forgiven, making us more in the image of God than when originally
created.
God tricked Lucifer into tempting man. Jesus visited the people He created and
tricked Satan into convincing man to crucify Him; then Jesus rose from the dead
and became Savior of the world. In these last days,
we think Satan would be wary of God’s tricks, but he will run headlong once
again into God’s trap. Rev 12,7-9 says that the angels of God have removed
Satan and his hoard of demons from the atmosphere surrounding the earth
(figuratively speaking) and cast him
to the ground so that he can only rule mankind in the form of a man, greatly limiting his ability to influence the
world. Satan is
insanely angry at God for
everything He has done to him, to the point of claiming that God's
foreknowledge makes him malicious, but Satan is the malicious one. Lucifer wanted to
rebel, and God gave him freedom to do so; how is Satan's rebellion God's
fault? Had God stopped him, Lucifer would have been far more offended for infringing on his freedom, and
the devil would have had a point. All these things God
has done for His creation without infringing on anyone’s freewill. In Rom
11-29 Paul made this statement, “The gifts and the calling of God are
irrevocable.” God refuses to take back anything he gives us, so that if we
don’t use His gifts properly, they can actually become a curse to us. This
is what happened to Lucifer; he turned his inheritance, including himself, into a curse. The
devil can do what he wants and God will trump him every time, and he keeps
digging himself a deeper and deeper hole by his own wickedness. The same goes for man.
See also: Fall of Satan; Rev 12-12; 24g / Satan is accuser of the brethren; Rev 12-10; 158i
/
Satan is released at the end of the Millennium; Rev 18-20,21; 29h
Rev 12-12
(24g) Sin
>>
Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Envy >>
Angry at God because of their poverty -- This verse goes with verse 17.
People
who have died in the Lord and are safe and sound in heaven ought to
consider themselves fortunate, compared to those of their brethren in the days
of the antichrist when he appears and manifests his kingdom on the earth.
These will be very difficult times Jesus promised, more difficult than any
other time in human history, and that is saying a lot. It says, “The devil
has come down to you,” meaning He was “up” before
he came down. Paul called him "the prince of the
power of the air" (Eph 2,1-3). A few verses earlier (v9) says, “The serpent of old
who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown
down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” It says that he is
full of wrath; with whom is he angry? We could rightly say that he is
angry with the saints, but he is even angrier at God. Satan has
always been angry with God since he fell into sin. In fact, he is so
angry that he has targeted His people over the centuries to thwart
them from believing in Jesus so they will not inherit eternal life, and if he
cannot deceive them, then he will kill them. See also: Fall of Satan; Rev 12-14;
140d
(117f) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith
>>
Rest in Jesus (Sabbath) >> Rest in His mercy
(157i) Witness
>>
Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being
hell-bound >> Having a reprobate mind –
It says that the devil knows his time is short. Knowing that his plan will
ultimately fail, he plots against God along
his prideful journey, but it is more likely that God would forgive a reprobate
than Satan. The Bible speaks about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as an
unforgivable sin, but the Scriptures don’t teach that a man cannot be
forgiven who blaspheme the Holy Spirit; it says that the sin itself cannot be
forgiven. God cannot forgive blasphemy in the sense that he cannot reward us
for the things we have not done by disobeying the Holy Spirit. It is until
the man crosses an indeterminate line that he develops a reprobate mind, which
terminates God’s ability to forgive the man. Every time we disobey the Holy
Spirit it is a type of blasphemy; everyone blasphemes the Holy Spirit, but it
is when we develop a lifestyle of rebellion that our blasphemy gives way to a reprobate mind, which is incapable of faith
toward God and incapable of repentance. This is also the case with the
devil. Satan has a reprobate mind; he cannot believe in God; he cannot repent
of his unbelief; he cannot be forgiven, and he cannot be saved. The devil cannot humble himself before God
Almighty. Jesus died for
the sins of mankind, not for the devil. God could not forgive Lucifer for his
sin because he sinned in the very presence of God, which hardened his
heart, whereas the sin of man apart from the presence of God is forgivable in
most cases.
See also: Blasphemy (Denying the truth we know from God); Mat 7,24-27; 114a
(214c) Sovereignty
>>
God controls time >> God’s timing >>
God’s timing transcends our comprehension >>
God’s time line gives the wicked just enough rope to hang himself
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Rev 12,13-17
(136hb) Temple
>>
Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of
Christ >> Body of Christ consists of individual
members >> We are being fitted together
Rev 12,13-16
(28j) Gift of God >>
God is our advocate >> God protects us from the
devil -- These verses go with verse 6
Rev 12-13
(242g)
Kingdom of God >>
Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >>
Persecuting the kingdom >> Worldly pressure >>
World pressures you to forsake God -- This verse goes with verse 17
Rev 12-14
(50h)
Judgment >> Sequence of Revelations
>> Second half of the tribulation
>> The saints flee into the wilderness - spiritual warfare
(Pre-rapture ascension) -- This verse goes with verses 1-6. Rev 8,3-5 says, “Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it
on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an
earthquake.”
Note the end of that verse in italics; then read Rev 11-19, "...there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm."
This statement resulted from blowing the Last Trumpet, the signal for the
First Resurrection/Rapture. The fact that Rev 8-5 and Rev 11-19 repeat the
same phrase ties them together and indicates what the saints are doing just
prior to the Rapture: they are praying with all their hearts. This golden censer filled with incense, which is the prayers of the saints, represents an anointing that God will give to
the Church to pray regarding the angelic war that is transpiring all around
them, just as the Seraphim worship God without ceasing, and fervently as Daniel prayed during an angelic war that transpired in his own time (Dan 10,12-15).
Their prayers will lift them to a spiritual domain that is beyond the serpents
reach. See also: Spiritual ascension; Rev 12,1-13; 225j
/ Wilderness; 116e
(116e) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Working the grace of God >> Through worship >>
Entering His hiding place -- This verse goes with verse 6.
During
this 3½ year period the wings of the
great eagle came from one of the four living creatures mentioned in Revelation
chapter 4, obviously the one that looked like an
eagle. John the revelator called them creatures because there was nothing else
like them; they are cherubim or seraphim, and we can assume that these
four living creatures are the only four in existence. There were cherubim
sculpted on the Ark of the Covenant facing each other that God commanded Moses
to place in the Holy of Holies, hinting at the kind of experience the Church
will have in the last days. The Bible describes the Holy of Holies as it were a prayer closet, and
since cherubim are associated with it, and these living creatures worship God in
His presence guarding the throne, and since Jesus commanded His disciples to watch
and pray, we understand that the woman received the wings of the
great eagle to fly to her place in the wilderness for the purpose of prayer. Hence, the wilderness represents a
great prayer closet, a type of Holy
of Holies. God has called the woman to remain there for 3½ years, while the two witnesses divert the attention of
their enemies, like a mother bird diverts the attention of a predator from her
eggs, as the seven angels blow
their seven trumpets. The cherubim have given the Church ability to fly in the airspace that once belonged to Satan,
who was previously evicted from this vantage point as Prince of the Power of the
Air. See also: Cherubim; Rev 12,1-17; 252f / The woman; Rev 12-15,16;
55h / Wilderness; 140d
(140d) Temple
>>
Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >>
Living in the spiritual revelation of the word -- This verse goes with
verse 6. Satan
has been the main spiritual influence on the world, who broadcasts His message of
unbelief into the hearts and minds of all mankind around the globe like a
giant radio station, ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin. Now the Church has
his position after the wings of the
great eagle were given to her, and she flew to her place in the wilderness
from the presence of the serpent. All these things took place before
she entered the wilderness. That is, the fall of Satan was the result of something else
that caused Satan to fall prior to entering the wilderness, even
before the first trumpet. It was the heavenly angelic world, including the
living creatures that precipitated his fall, at the orchestration of Christ,
establishing the Great Endtime Revival as a worldwide movement. Soon as God began
organizing His people, selecting His 144,000, calling His Two Witnesses
and establishing them as leaders over the Church, in the mere arrangement of
these things Satan was deposed. It didn’t take much for God to remove Him,
any amount of resistance and he crumbles, proving that man throughout the
millennia never opposed him on any significant front, proving that we can do nothing without
the Lord (Jn 15-5). The two wings of the great eagle
constitute the Spirit and the Word, and together we work with the grace of God
to become the most powerful spiritual influence on
earth. See also: Fall of Satan; Rev 12,1-17; 252f
/ Wilderness; Rev 12-17; 45k
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Rev 12-15,16
(55h) Paradox
>>
Opposites >> People preserving
the earth will destroying it –
God has subjected the creation to suffer the pains of childbirth (Rom
8,19-22). Satan was destroying the earth trying to get at the woman, so (anthropomorphically) the
earth knows that when the Church achieves immortality, it too will be liberated from its "slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God"
(Rom 8-21). The earth
opened its mouth and once more drank in the toxic poison of Satan’s lies
and deceptions. The First Resurrection precedes the redemption of all
creation, and we
know the angst of wanting to be clothed with our dwelling from
heaven. See also: The woman; 159k
(159k) Works of the devil
>>
Essential characteristics >>
Counterfeit God >> Counterfeit anointing >>
Counterfeit signs and wonders – This river coming out of the mouth
of the serpent refers to Satan tempting the woman with a false anointing. It
will be a religious deception aimed at diverting attention off her prayers and onto
the devil’s lies. He will try to exchange the anointing the woman
has received from God for his own anointing consisting of unbelief, attempting
to redirect
the Church to the antichrist and to the Mark of the Beast. However, the earth helped the
woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the anointing, suggesting that
an earthquake occurred, making a great crevasse, and the water fell into it,
while redirecting the Church's attention back on prayer. See also: The woman; Rev 12-15;
183d
Rev 12-15
(175e) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >>
Using religion to persecute the Church
(183a) Witchcraft
(Key verse)
– Definition:
Seeking guidance and favor from a
god other than the God of heaven.
(183d) Works of the devil
>>
The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >>
Witchcraft >> Anointing of error –
The New Testament uses water to represent the Holy Spirit; therefore, Satan used
this river as a false anointing in effort to drown the woman with lies and deception. He tried to deceive
her, but it says the earth helped the
woman and absorbed the river, which the dragon poured from its mouth. The earth proved Satan’s
lies, similar to
many of Solomon’s proverbs that speak of this natural realm judging the ways
of a fool. The woman only had to stay with the Lord and the principles of
wisdom that God had sown into creation judged the dragon. Satan
was no doubt making many accusations against the woman that were unfounded and making many false promises to his followers that
did not come to pass. See also:
Dragon (antichrist); Rev 12-17; 45k / The woman; Rev 12-17;
232h
Rev 12-16,17
(49e) Judgment
>>
Enemies of God’s Church are destroyed -- This verse goes with verses
7-11
Rev 12-16
(89g) Thy kingdom come
>>
Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Wisdom
is the key that unlocks the mysteries of God
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Rev 12-17
(6a) Responsibility
>>
Jesus’ yoke of obedience >> Our obligation
to keep His commandments –
These will be times in
which we dare not move a muscle unless we are sure it is sanctioned by the
Lord, lest we blow our cover and many friends suffer from our mistake. The Church will be leaning heavily on the Holy
Spirit for guidance and wisdom. It will be a time when all the
people faithful in Christ are either reading His word or praying. It will be a time of
intense godly strength and insight into the Scriptures and unity unknown
even to the early Church.
(24g) Sin
>>
Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Envy >>
Angry at God because of their poverty -- This verse goes with verse
12
(45k) Judgment
>>
Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >>
Satan VS the saints >> Defeating Satan in
weakness of sinful flesh -- This verse goes with verses 1-13.
Satan will make war with the
Gentile Church, who have followed the 144,000 Jewish witnesses into the wilderness and
are being protected by God. Those who have not fled into the wilderness and
have stayed behind and remained in big cities and have taken their
chances on civilization are in jeopardy of their lives, with whom Satan is
warring. We
know that the book of Revelation skips around a bit; there is a reason for
that: John wanted to finish a thought before he started a new one. This resulted
in the book of Revelation appearing out of sequence,
when in fact John did what he could to write the story in sequence. For example,
chapter 11 depicts the Rapture of the Church, yet in chapter 12 the
Church is still here. John is writing about the dragon being thrown to the
earth, having been overcome by the saints as spoken in verse 9, yet in
verse 17 we see the dragon is still persecuting the Church, though he has
been defeated. If we kill a venomous snake and even cut off its head, if its
fangs pierced our skin, it could still inject venom into our body
and kill us. That is why we bury the head! Satan was
overcome on a spiritual level, and for this reason he adopted a physical
body of the antichrist, like the head of a dead snake, whom God will
eventually bury in the lake of fire. See also: Dragon (antichrist); 232h
/ Wilderness; Rev 12,1-17; 252f
(87f) Thy kingdom come
>>
Ministry to God through obedience >> The
obedience of prayer
(90j) Thy kingdom come
>>
Keeping the law >> We do not nullify the law
through faith; we fulfill it
(144d) Witness >>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The Church bears witness of Jesus >> It
bears
witness of His word -- This verse goes with verse
11
(147i) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >>
Solemnly testify about Jesus -- This verse goes with verse
11
(150cb) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Confessing Jesus
to be saved >> Confessing Jesus for the sake of heaven
-- This verse goes with verse 11
(232h)
Kingdom of God >>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >>
Embrace (Jesus during the storm) >> Hold to
the word of God –
There was a war between Satan and his minions and Michael and his angels, and
after they defeated Satan, he resorted to possessing a
man that we call antichrist, and he was enraged with the woman, who is
the 144,000 and her gentile believers. Satan
through the antichrist is enraged with her,
because they will not conform to his will or submit to his authority, nor
were they intimidated by his threats, nor were they afraid when he rounded
up Christians and was destroying them. The saints overcame him by keeping the commandments of God,
holding to the testimony of Jesus and refusing to receive the devil's mark, and for
this reason he is seeking to kill them. Their victory over Satan was to
develop a hearing ear through
the word of God and prayer, so that whatever the
spirit said to them they did, and by this they overcame the serpent, though it
cost many their lives in the flesh. They had the hope of eternal
life in their sights and they were not about to take their eyes off the
prize for anything. See also: Dragon (antichrist); Rev 12,1-17; 252f
/ The woman; Rev 12,1-17; 50db
(242g)
Kingdom of God >>
Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >>
Persecuting the kingdom >> Worldly pressure >>
World pressures you to forsake God -- This verse goes with verse 4
See
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