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Prophecy II
Revelation
12:7-14:5
If
this second prophecy could be given a title, I
would call it, “Lucifer’s Hatred for
the Woman.” This prophecy shifts our focus
from Lucifer’s hatred for Jesus to his
hatred for the woman – the followers of
Jesus. We have already noticed that the first
prophecy began with the birth of Jesus and ended
with Lucifer chasing the woman into the desert
for 1,260 years. This prophecy begins with a war
on Resurrection Sunday 9Revelation 12:7) and it
ends with the 144,000 standing around the Lamb on
Mt. Zion and singing a new song. (Revelation
14:5)
The
first scene in this prophecy opens triumphantly!
Jesus has kicked Lucifer out of Heaven. The final
scene in this prophecy also ends triumphantly!
John sees the 144,000 standing with Jesus on Mt.
Zion. This final scene is very important to the
people who will live during the Great Tribulation
because most, if not all, of the 144,000 will be
killed in the line of duty and the remnant of the
woman will be totally decimated. (Daniel 12:7;
Revelation 13:7) But, do not be discouraged.
“Victory Day” will come! Even thought
the remnant of the woman will be crushed beyond
recognition and the wicked will temporarily
rejoice, the victory over the leopard-like beast,
the lamb-like beast, the image of the beast, and
the mark of the beat will surely come to God’s
saints. “This calls for patient endurance
and faithfulness on the part of the saints.”
(Revelation 13:10) Blessed is the one who waits
for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.”
(Daniel
12:12)
As
you study this prophecy, it is important that you
see four chronological segments. First, there is
war in Heaven and persecution of the woman for
1,260 years. Second, the leopard-like beast rises
from the sea. Third, the lamb-like beast rises
from the earth. Finally, the 144,000 are taken to
Heaven to gather around Jesus. Right now we are
living between the first and second segments,
Revelation 12:17 and 13:1. At this point in Earth’s
history, we have reached an excellent perch. We
can examine the progression of prophecy over the
past 2,000 years, and we can look “around
the corner” and see what is coming in the
near future. In other words, this prophecy began
on Resurrection Sunday and according to my
calculations, it has less that ten years to go
until it is completed. (Note: Please understand
that if time should last longer than ten years, this
will have no effect on the meaning or the
fulfillment of this prophecy. It just means that
my calculations on the whereabouts of the 6,000th
year of sin is incorrect.)
With
these things said, let us being this study with
Revelation 12:7. This is the first verse of a new
prophecy because, according to Rule One of
Apocalyptic Prophecy, chorological order is
broken between verses 6 and 7. In other words,
the war in Heaven (verse 7) occurs before
the dragon chases the woman to the desert (verse
6); therefore, a new prophecy begins because
chronological order is broken.
Resurrection
Sunday
“And
there was war in heaven [on Resurrection Sunday].
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon,
and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he
was not strong enough, and they lost their place
in heaven. The great red dragon was hurled down
– that ancient serpent called the devil, or
Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was
hurled [in] to the earth, and his angels with
him.”
(Revelation
12:7-9, insertion mine)
Comment:
These verses describe Lucifer’s second and
final eviction from Heaven. This eviction took
place on Resurrection Sunday. Because every war
has a history of conflict, we have to start at
the beginning of the story to understand the war
that took place on Resurrection Sunday.
When
God cast Lucifer out of Heaven the first time
(Isaiah 14:12-17, Ezekiel 28: 12-19), God did not
completely sever relations with the devil and his
angels. Even though Lucifer was not permitted to
live in Heaven, God did permit Lucifer to attend
specific meetings in Heaven. (Job 1) God
continued to treat Lucifer with utmost respect
and kindness because there is no hatred, evil, or
fear in God’s heart. (Remember, God loves
His enemies just as much as He loves His friends
and He commands us to do the same.
Luke
6: 27-36)
After
Lucifer led Eve and then Adam into sin, God
crowned Lucifer as “the prince of this
world.” (John 12:31) As prince of this
world, God permitted Lucifer to join with princes
from the other worlds when administrative
meetings were called in Heaven. At these
meetings, it appears that the angels discussed
matters pertaining to the governance of the
universe. (Job 1:6) This information is pertinent
for two reasons. First, as “the prince of
this world,” the devil was granted entrance
into God’s presence whenever administrative
meetings were held. Second, when Jesus died on
the cross and shed His own blood, Jesus paid a
great price to redeem and possess Earth. When
Jesus ascended to Heaven on Resurrection Sunday,
He immediately proceeded to take Lucifer’s
position away from him. As stubborn and
rebellious as he is, “the prince of this
world” refused to acknowledge Christ’s
redemption payment and war broke out in Heaven
between Christ and Satan for a second time.
Note:
You may recall that Lucifer tempted Jesus in the
desert. The devil promised to give the world to
Jesus if Jesus would bow down and worship him
(Luke 4:7,8), but Jesus knew (a) worshiping
anyone other than God is blasphemy, and (b)
Lucifer’s offer was a lie because the devil
had no intention of giving the world to Jesus.
Everything in the universe belongs to the Father
and Jesus knew the Father would give Him this
world if He faithfully carried out the plan of
salvation. The Father dethroned Lucifer as “the
prince of this world” when He gave the world
to Jesus on Resurrection Sunday, but this
transaction led to war in Heaven again. (Psalm
2:7,8; 24:7-10; John 17:6)
The
Bible indicates that the war described in
Revelation 12:7-9 occurred on Resurrection Sunday
(April 9, A.D. 30). Many Christians erroneously
think this war occurred before Adam and
Eve sinned, but according to Scripture, this is
not possible, Here is why:
When
Jesus cast Lucifer out of Heaven, a powerful
declaration was heard throughout Heaven’s
court: “Then I [John] heard a loud voice in
heaven say: ‘Now [that is, at this time] have
come the salvation and power and the kingdom of
our God, and the authority of his Christ.’”
(Revelation 12:10; See also Matthew 28:18.) Using
His Commander-in-Chief powers as Michael the
archangel, Jesus and His angels drove Lucifer and
his angels out of Heaven’s court and a
victorious Jesus took over as Earth’s
representative in Heaven’s court. Jesus was
given this honor on the basis of His perfect
redemption – much to the delight of the holy
angels. Then, the verse continues as an angel
proclaimed: “For the accuser of our
brothers, who accuses them before our God day and
night, has been hurled down.” (Revelation
12:10, continued) Consider the last sentence
again. Lucifer’s is called the accuser
“of our brothers.” The angels call us
brothers! Think about this. If this war occurred before
Adam and Even sinned, then sinful people
would not have existed and there would be no one
for Lucifer to accuse. Lucifer’s accusations
began After Adam and Eve sinned. Lucifer
taunted God with accusations from time to time
that God’s government was unfair because He
granted grace and forgiveness to human being and
not angels. These accusations were baseless
because God waited patiently for the angels to
repent, but they would not. Twice in the Bible,
Lucifer is rebuked for promoting baseless
arguments. See Zechariah 3:2 and Jude 1:9.
Revelation
12:10 is a punctilliar declaration: “Now have
come the salvation and the power and the kingdom
of our God…” This declaration could
only be made after the price for man’s
salvation had been paid. When Jesus walked out of
the tomb, the devil and his angels realized their
fate and they had no intention of yielding to an
honorable defeat. He would not give up his seat
in Heaven’s court as “the prince of
this world” to someone he loathed. The only
way the devil would surrender to Christ was
through force, and that is exactly what happened.
Jesus forced the devil and His angels out of
Heaven!
Consider
the next verse and notice that the last word is
“short.” This word is significant in
this context because Lucifer’s demise is
coming. If Lucifer was 100,000 years old when he
was cast out of Heaven on Resurrection Sunday,
another 3,000 years (counting from the death of
Jesus to the end of the 1,000 years in Revelation
20) is “short” indeed. “Therefore
rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them [because
Jesus prevailed and the devil has been cast out
of here forever]! But woe to the earth [land] and
the sea {people and nations of the whole world],
because the devil has gone down to you! He is
filled with fury, because he knows that his [remaining]
time is short.”
(Revelation
12:12)
Devil
Cast out of Heaven after Jesus Was Born
The
Bible says the war in Revelation 12:7-9 took
place after Jesus was born. Study the
chronology that is declared in this text:
“When
the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the
earth, he pursued the woman who had given
birth to the male child.” (Revelation
12:13, italics mine) We can easily chart verse
13.
a. The birth of Jesus
b. The death of Jesus
c. The devil cast out
of Heaven
d. The beginning of
the 1,260 years
e. Deadly would
inflicted on papacy
Chart
14.1
There is no wiggle room. Verse 13
says that after the devil was cast out of
Heaven, he chased the woman who had given
birth to the male child. Therefore, the war
in Revelation 12:7 had to occur between 4 B.C.
and A.D. 538.
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