The Judgment Seat Of Christ

From the Website http://www.prophecyforum.com/revelation/judgment.html

Rev 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,


Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

The thought of a public examination before the Judgment bar of our Lord should be incentive enough to awaken even the most slumbering saint of God. Yet few, if any, ever give it a second thought. Paul declared, "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:12). Perhaps if the doctrine of judgment and reward were expounded more from our pulpits there would be more attention given to living a life of holiness and obedience. Think of it. How will you stand in that day? Will you approach Him with confidence or will you stand before Him red-faced and embarrassed over a life of waste and neglect? It is something that we as Christians will all have to do. Are you ready to appear before the judgment seat? And if you say that you are, perhaps you are speaking without the necessary contemplation of the task that lies before you. Yes, the judgment seat will be a most solemn occasion for many in that great day.

Many are of the opinion that there will be one general resurrection and judgment, but the Scriptures speak of as many as seven judgments that span from the cross of Christ to the beginning of the eternal state. These include: (1) the judgment of Christ at the cross (John 12:31); (2) of the believer himself (1 Cor. 11:31-32); (3) of the believer's works (2 Cor. 5:10); (4) of the nations (Matt. 25:31-46); (5) of Israel (Ezek. 20:33-44); (6) of the fallen angels (1 Cor. 6:3; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6); and (7) of the unsaved at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15).

Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 5:10: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." The basis of this judgment will be the believer's works. Concerning the believer's sins, Chafer states: "Although his sins have been judged at the cross and will not be brought up again, at the judgment seat of Christ his works or service will be judged." Therefore, we see that in the life of the believer there is a threefold judgment: (1) as a sinner, his judgment at the cross is past (Rom. 8:1); (2) as a son, the believer must judge himself and confess his sins, or else expect chastisement (1 Cor. 11:31-32; Heb. 12:7); and (3) as a servant, a future judgment awaits the believer at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 3:9-15; Rom. 14:10).

According to Thayer, the judgment seat or bema was "a raised place mounted by steps; a platform, tribune: used of the official seat of a judge, Mt. xxvii. 19; Jn. Xix. 13; Acts xvii. 12, 16..." The bema was also used to denote a raised stand or platform in Grecian games to award the winning contestants. For many, it will be a day of reward and honor; yet there will be those present who will also suffer loss (2 John 8). John declares, "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming" (1 John 2:28).

When will this future judgment of the believer take place? Paul told the Corinthian believers: "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise of God" (1 Cor. 4:5; cf. 1 Jn. 2:28; 2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 22:12). Therefore, the judgment seat of Christ will take place at the rapture of the church, when we "meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thess. 4:17), prior to returning to the "heavenlies."

Paul exhorted the Phillipians believers to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12-13). We are to "work out" what God "works in" (NIV), because we are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Eph. 2:10). Paul R. Van Gorder remarks: "God has a design, a field of service planned for each believer. The 'good works', which the Christian is to perform, are those which make up 'that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.'" Our "works" will come under the inspection from Him whose eyes are "as a flame of fire" (Rev. 1:14; 2:18). The Divine Judge who will examine our works is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. John 5:22 states: "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."

The judgment seat of Christ will be a time when the true character of our works will be manifested. Vine notes: "To be manifested, in the Scriptural sense of the word, is more than to appear. A person may appear in a false guise or without a disclosure of what he truly is; to be manifested is to be revealed in one's true character...." The examination of our works will bring to light whether they were good or "bad" (kakos), meaning "worthless." The true character of our service (1 Cor. 3:13), as well as our motives (1 Cor. 4:5) will be revealed.

What will be the results of this examination? The believer will either receive a reward (1 Cor. 3:8a), or forfeit reward (1 Cor. 3:15). the believer must build on the proper foundation, and others were to build on that foundation, which is Christ (1 Cor. 3:10-11). The believer must also build on that foundation with the proper materials. Two types of builders and two kinds of materials are mentioned. The spiritual believer will build with gold, silver, and precious stones; the worldly believer will build with wood, hay, and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12-15). The gold, silver, and precious stones are a product of creation, while the wood, hay, and stubble are a result of natural growth. The former are the results of the Spirit of God working through the believer's life, while the latter represent the fleshly works of the old nature. No one builds completely with gold, silver, precious stones, or with wood, hay, and stubble. In this life one's achievements may seem massive and imposing, yet at the judgment seat they will be revealed for what they are: wood, hay, and stubble. "The day shall declare it" (1 Cor. 3:13). J. Vernon McGee notes:

As you know, a little piece of gold isn't as visible as a hay stack. Possibly God is the only One who knows that it is gold. Now a haystack is another thing--I have traveled across flat farmland, and it seemed to me I could see hay- stacks that were twenty miles away. There are a lot of folk building haystacks, and everybody hears about what they are doing. The haystacks are going to be tested someday, and then there won't be one haystack left, because the testing is going to be by fire. The same thing will be true of works of wood or stubble.

All works produced through self-confidence, self-conceit, and some other words that begin with the prefix self- (and there are many), will be examined at the judgment seat only to be found wood or stubble. The worldly builder will find his works destroyed by fire, yet he himself will be saved, "yet so as by fire" (1 Cor. 3:15), which Alford explains, "--i.e. as a builder whose building was consumed would escape with personal safety, but with the loss of his work."

The Scriptures speak of five crowns that will be awarded the believer whose life has been faithful to the Lord. These crowns are the victor's crowns (stephanos), not to be confused with the kingly crown (diadema), which is Christ's alone. These five crowns include:

(1) The Crown of Life or "Martyr's Crown" (Js. 1:12; Rev. 2:10). The believer must love the Lord even more than his own life and be faithful unto death if he is to receive the crown of life. Jesus said, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it" (Mk. 8:35). Norman H. Camp notes, "during the coming Great Tribulation many will receive the crown of life because they will be slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they hold (Rev. 6:9-11)."

(2) The Crown of Glory or "Pastor's Crown" (1 Pet. 5:2-4). This is for the pastor who feeds the flock and does not lord it over "God's heritage." He is an example to others and not in the ministry for profit or financial gain. It will be awarded by the "chief shepherd" when He appears.

(3) The Crown of Rejoicing or "Soul Winner's Crown" (1 Thess. 2:19, 20; Phil. 4:1). This crown is given to those who win souls for the Lord. The winning of souls should be every Christian's responsibility. The Apostle James explains: "He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins" (Jas. 5:20).

(4) The Crown of Righteousness for those who "love His appearing" (2 Tim. 4:8). This is the crown for those who are looking for the "blessed hope," the return of the Lord for His own at the Rapture. They are living "soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Tit. 2:12).

(5) The Incorruptible Crown or "Victor's Crown" (1 Cor. 9:25-27). This is the crown for those who practice self-control over their impulses and desires. Paul was careful to keep his body in subjection, "lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Cor. 9:27). Paul was not afraid that he might lose his salvation, but that he might be (adokimos) "disqualified for the prize" (NIV). Here Paul is thinking of rewards that would be given at the judgment seat of Christ.

In Revelation 4:10 the saints are seen casting "their crowns before the throne." These are not for the believer to boast in, nor take permanent possession of, but to submit unto the Lord in loving adoration. Paul told the Corinthian believers, "For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. 6:20). The casting of crowns at the Savior's feet will be one act of glorification that will be the eternal destiny of every believer throughout eternity. D.M. Panton, in his study The Judgment Seat of Christ, observes that "Scripture regards each saved soul as a runner racing, an athlete wrestling, a warrior fighting, a farmer sowing, a mason building, a fugitive flying, a besieger storming; and all this strenuous intensity rests on a fundamental of revelation--'that God is, and that He is a rewarder' (Heb. xi. 6).'"







The Millennial Kingdom


From the Website http://www.prophecyforum.com/revelation/millennium.html


Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

The word "millennium" comes from the Latin mille and annus, meaning a thousand years. This is the doctrine known as chiliasm. There are three views concerning the millennium: first, there is premillennialism, the belief that Christ will return before the thousand years. Secondly, there is postmillennialism, which believes that Christ will return after a period of universal peace and righteousness. Thirdly, there is amillennialism, which denies a literal, earthly millennium. Although the word “millennium” is not stated in the Bible, the mention of one thousand years is revealed six times in Revelation 20:2-7.

The kingdom is the subject of most Old Testament prophecy. It will replace the ten-kingdom confederation that exists at the return of Christ. It will be a literal, earthly kingdom that will last for one thousand years. This will consummate the covenant that God made with David (2 Sam. 7:11-16). This future kingdom was announced to Mary by the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:32).

Several important facts concerning the character of the millennium: first, Christ will sit on the throne of His father David. This will be a literal, earthly reign characterized by universal peace (Ps. 72:7; Isa. 2:4) and universal righteousness (Isa. 11:4f; Jer. 23:5f.). Christ will rule with a rod of iron and Satan will be bound during this one thousand year period (Rev. 20:1-3).

The church will reign and rule with Christ and sit on His throne (Rev. 3:21). As individuals, believers will have responsibilities in the kingdom (Luke 19:16-19) and the Old Testament saints will also be involved in this reign.

Israel will be regathered (Ezek. 37:1-4). The establishment of the nation of Israel in 1948 was the precursor to this final regathering. Upon Christ’s return, Israel will repent and be converted in a day. Ephraim and Judah will be reunited as one nation (Isa. 11:13; Jer. 3:18; Ezek. 37:16-22). Temple worship will be restored (Ezek. 37:26-28; 40-46; Zech. 14:16f.) and the land divided amongst the twelve tribes. Last, Israel will evangelize the Gentiles during the kingdom age (Isa. 66:19; Zech. 8:13, 20-23).

After Christ judges the sheep and goat nations (Matt. 25:34-40), the sheep will enter the kingdom with restored and converted Israel. During the one thousand years, many will be born and will need salvation (Isa. 65:20; Jer. 30:20). Israel will evangelize these multitudes (Isa. 66:19; Zech. 8:13, 20-23; Acts 15:16f.). The Gentiles will go up to Jerusalem to worship and God’s people will be one (Isa. 19:23-25).

At the beginning of the millennium, Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss along with his evil minions (Rev. 20:1-3). During the one thousand year period, he will be powerless to deceive the nations and tempt individuals to sin. Individuals will still have a carnal nature as before, but the temptation to sin will be greatly reduced.

The millennium will be a time of regeneration (Matt. 19:28). Creation itself will be restored (Rom. 8:19-22). There will be great topographical changes (Isa. 35:1f.; 55:13; Zech. 14:4-10). The nature of wild animals will be altered (Isa. 11:6-9; 35:9; 65:25; Ezek. 34:25). Plant life will be blessed and the productivity of the land increased (Isa. 35:2). Mankind will live for long periods, although there will be death (Isa. 65:20).

This period will be a time of great joy and prosperity. The knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:9). There will be no more war (Isa. 2:4) and friendly relations between men and nations will exist. Man’s headship will be restored (Gen. 1:28; Heb. 2:5-10).


Revelation chapter 13 commentary

by Don Koenig

This is an informational chapter from the little book that tells us about the last Gentile world political and world religious power and the men that lead them just before the return of Jesus Christ. These entities become totally controlled by Satan and his angels.

1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and 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.

The sea shore John is standing on is the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Some say it is actually talking about a sea of people from Gentile nations; that is true as well. John is standing on the coast of Europe or Israel (depending on your point of view). In either case, the beast rises in the Middle East and Europe. The beast with seven heads and ten horns fits the same description of the red dragon seen in heaven in chapter 12. The Dragon and his angels have now been cast out onto the earth, John sees a beast with seven heads, and ten horns rise out of the sea of Gentile Nations. Later we will understand what the seven heads and seven horns on this beast represent. To understand this chapter correctly, we must search the scriptures for the answer to the beast with seven heads and ten horns. The answers are found in Daniel:

Danl 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.

2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.

5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

15 ¶ I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.

16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.

17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.

21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

23 Thus he said, 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.

24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

25 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.

26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

The angel tells Daniel that the four beasts are kings or kingdoms that will arise on the earth. He also tells Daniel that the ten horns are ten kings that will arise in the last world kingdom before Jesus comes and sets up His kingdom. From this and following passages in Daniel, we can make sense of the beast in Revelation.

2And 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: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

We know that Satan is the power behind this Beast because we have been told that Satan is the dragon. The passage tells us that the Beast is not only a world empire but a person as well (the dragon gave “him” his power).

There are seven heads on the beast and they represent the seven gentile world empires. The three empires before Daniel were Samaria, Egypt and Assyria. The four from Daniel’s time are Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman. Verse 2 describes the attributes of these last four beasts or world empires. These descriptions are in reverse order in Revelation than what Daniel describes because in Daniel we were looking forward to their time and now in Revelation we are looking back in time. Therefore, the Leopard was the Greek empire, the Bear was the Medo-Persian Empire and the Lion was the Babylonian Empire. The forth beast world empire from Daniel will have the combined attributes of all of the three before it. Consequently, the Roman Empire is the fourth Beast that rises out of the sea and is the seventh head of the dragon.

Rome fell from within but the wreckage has always been in place and several leaders have tried to put it back together again. The last attempt until now was with Hitler but today we see the revival of the Roman Empire taking shape in Europe. It is called the European Union (EU). The EU as of this writing has 25 members. They intend all members to join together in one central government, constitution and currency. However, there are and will be only 10 full charter members out of old Europe in the EU, if that has any significance. At some point in the not too distant future, the EU or the wreckage of it will evolve back into the final Beast.

This revived Roman Empire is further defined in Daniel’s prophecy that explains the vision of the statue of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan chapter 2). This vision as well, describes all the Gentile world powers until God sets up His kingdom on earth. The feet and ten toes on the image of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue are the ten kings in the last phase of the Roman Empire. At that time, a rock made without hands hits the toes of the image and pulverizes it. The ten toes in this vision of Daniel represent the same leaders as do the ten horns in Revelation. The ten toes are the ten horns that have power with the Beast for one hour and it is they that will be crushed by the stone cut out of the mountain made without hands. Daniel speaks to the king of Babylon explaining the king’s dream:

Dan 2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

A complete study on the prophecies of Daniel is way beyond the scope of this commentary. For how the prophecies in the book of Daniel relate to end time events and the end time Beast, I recommend these books: “The Handwriting on the Wall”, by David Jeremiah or “The End of the Days”, by Bloomfield.

3 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.

Satan will incarnate the man described as the Beast after a head wound kills him. Satan will be allowed by God to raise this world leader back to life to deceive all those who did not want to believe the truth. At that point, this risen man will enter the temple of God and claim to be God incarnated. The whole world will believe him. There is a reference in scripture that indicates that the wicked shepherd will be blind in his right eye and that one arm will be useless. This will apply to either the Beast Antichrist or his false prophet.

Zec 11:16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. 17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Although this man will be alive, he may still have some disabilities in this body due to the head wound. Verse three may have a duel fulfillment to a man as well as to his kingdom. Scripture indicates that there will be a revolt within the kingdom where he subdues three powers and removes them (Dan 7:20). The Beast Empire itself might as a result of this revolt receive a deadly head wound when the capitol is destroyed. It is healed when the incarnated risen world leader transfers the capitol to Babylon. From there he will begin the worldwide counterfeit kingdom of God also known as “Babylon the Great” (Chapter 18).

4And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

This verse is saying that the world will worship the man possessed by the Devil. No one will believe that anyone can defeat this Beast. He will have incredible supernatural powers and will have all the angels of Satan to assist him. The world will actually believe that he is God just as today’s world religions ascribe attributes of Satan to their present concept of God.

5And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

In the first four verses it is talking about the rise of a world empire and the verses only give us some hints of a man but the rest of the chapter primarily talks about the satanic man that is the power behind this Beast kingdom.

Again we are told that this person will be given power to continue for 3 ½ years. This period of time starts at the time Satan is cast out of heaven and indwells the world leader who has died and whose soul ascends out of the pit. He immediately kills the two prophets and desecrates the Jewish temple (this occurs at the end of the sixth trumpet). The reign on the earth by this Beast will last until Jesus defeats Him at His coming. The period of the reign of the Beast is the same 3 ½ year period that the obedient that flee from Jerusalem are under the protection of Michael in the mountains.

6And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

When Satan enters this man, the first thing this man does is speak blasphemy against God, his tabernacle and those that dwell in heaven. He will probably claim that all in heaven are alien impostors trying to control the earth. He probably will say that he is the real God and that he came with his angels to help mankind free themselves from enslavement to these hostile forces who now control heaven. Jesus said it would be like it was in the days of Noah at his coming. In the days of Noah angels came down to earth and posed as gods (Gen 6:2, Jud 1:6)

7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

There should be little doubt about the power of this being. He will make war and overcome all followers of Jesus and Jehovah. He will have power over all nations on the earth.

8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

The entire world will worship the Beast as the “God of God’s”. They probably will name him Zeus but Allah is not totally out of the question. The verse also indicates that those still on earth that are written in the book of life will not stay deceived by him or worship him.

9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.

10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

In those days, anyone who leads people to take the Beast forces captive shall themselves be made captives and anyone who takes up arms against the Beast forces will themselves be killed. God is clearly saying that this is not the time for anyone to take up rebellion against the Satan possessed Antichrist and his angels. This being will be all powerful on the earth and only Jesus at his coming will have the power to deliver the earth. The Antichrist will make short work of any tribulation militia forces who think they can war against the world Beast government. Those prone to thinking they can form a militia against this world government fail to realize that his force is supernatural and that scripture indicates he will have almost absolute power on the earth for these 3 ½ years.

Even most prophecy teachers fail to grasp the extent of the Beast’s power and it is reflected in their simplistic writings about end time events. Many teachers try to explain all of what will happen as a result of man’s own wars and the follow up catastrophes that result from those wars. They simply leave no room for the supernatural from God or from Satan! There will be two prophets from God with supernatural powers that will torment unbelievers on the earth for 3 ½ years in the first period and in this second 3 ½ year period Satan himself will have power to act as if he were God. No one can really conceive how the supernatural will control events on the earth during these periods.

11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

John sees another beast come out of the earth. This beast comes out after the first beast and is seen in the last 3 ½ year period. The first Beast came out of the “sea” which in scripture means that he came out of the Gentile nations of the world. The second beast comes out of the earth or land (the Greek word translated here as “earth” is more often translated as “land”). This means that he will come up out of “the land” (of Israel). He will certainly be Jewish. The verse says he will have two horns like a lamb. The two horns represent authority. He will not have crowns so he does not rule over two nations. The two horns mean He will have full authority from two world religions whose leadership believes that the first Beast is God. At this point any world religion that worships anyone other than the first Beast is actively persecuted (chapter 17), Therefore, they must be religions that wholeheartedly accept the Beast as God. Since the False Prophet is a Jew one of the Religions will be the majority of Judaism that reject the message of their own two prophets. I believe Jew on Jew persecution in the last days is predicted in several passages in the Bible. Only one third of the Jews in the Land of Israel will survive these wars and persecutions (Zec 13:8). That should be food for thought for those who want to help God by sending Jews to Israel before the Lord pleads for them (Joe 3:2). Nevertheless, I am not claiming that the return today is not prophetic and ordained by God but their future will be bleak if they do not know and obey their scriptures to flee when the temple holy place is defiled.

Luk 21:16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

The other religion will certainly be Islam or what Islam evolves into under the Beast. Islam today is setting the stage for the forced Beast worldwide worship system. Honest astute true Christians know that Moslems who follow the extreme fundamental tenets of their religion with its intolerance and forced worship embraced a god that has the exact same attributes of Satan. In addition, the fact that the headquarters will be moved to the geographical center of Islam tells us that Islam will be the chief religion to embrace the Beast as God, even if my statement is not politically correct.

The appearance as a lamb might mean that this beast will appear gentle and talk peace. However, this leader will speak the lies of Satan. This False Prophet is the foolish Shepherd from the tribe of Dan that will not spare his own flock (Zec 11:15-17). He will tell the world to worship the first Beast who claims to be God. The False Prophet will take on the role of Elijah and perform similar miracles as Elijah by making fire come down from heaven in the sight of the first Beast.

The coming of a Messiah-like figure to help mankind is an expectation of Moslems, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. This coming of a new Christ to bring in a new age is also a common expectation for those in “new age” beliefs and other religious beliefs as well. The world has been programmed to accept these two Beast antichrists.

There really are three Antichrists on earth at this time and not just one:

·Satan is the invisible counterfeit god in the Beast - Satan is counterfeiting Father God - Satan is anti God’s true Christ

·The Beast is the visible counterfeit god/man - The Beast is counterfeiting the visible image of the God/man (Jesus) - The Beast is the Antichrist

.The False Prophet from Satan gives power to the Beast - The False Prophet counterfeits the power that comes from God’s Holy Spirit - he is anti God’s true Christ

They all will oppose the true Christ and they will come as a triune counterfeit to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

Like the first Beast, he will have great power but His purpose will be to promote and force worship of the first Beast who rose from the dead. As the Holy Spirit does not speak of Himself and promotes Jesus this False Prophet will also not promote himself but will promote the Beast Antichrist. All this is done to counterfeit everything of the true God.

13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

This False Prophet will do great wonders. Apparently, he will have the power to call down fire from heaven like Elijah did. The False Prophet may even claim to be Elijah. The orthodox Jews have always expected Elijah to come and prepare the way for the Messiah. The deception through the power of Satan may include deceiving the biblical illiterate or those who read scripture without the light, that the real two witnesses of God are the classical biblical Antichrist and his False Prophet.

Popular books and movies on end times have programmed most of the world to expect the Antichrist and False Prophet to come to torment the world at the end of the age. Yet, scripture really tells us that the two witnesses tormented the unbelievers on the earth. The two witnesses had the power to smite the earth with plagues as often as they wished for 1,260 days.

It will be like in the days of the plagues of Egypt. The Egyptians did not welcome the judgments but the judgments came from God by the word of His prophet Moses to deliver His people from bondage. I do not know for sure exactly what these two prophets will demand from the world but the world will not wish to comply. The two prophets may demand a world kingdom by the Jews from Jerusalem. They will have power for 1,260 days, which is the same amount of time the world has been taught to expect the Antichrist and False Prophet to rule on earth.

When the Beast kills these two true prophets of God the whole world will rejoice! Why? Because they may believe the classic Antichrist and False Prophet are dead. They will think the Christ has come, that the Beast is God and that the Kingdom of God has come to earth. They will be led to believe that they have survived the great tribulation and have reached the “thousand year new age” of peace. What diabolical deception! No wonder all who hate the truth will be deceived.

14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

This False Prophet will have the power to work miracles in the sight of the Beast Antichrist. He will be able to perform miracles on the temple mount. The image of the Beast will be set up in the holy place of the temple. There was a foreshadow of this when a statue of Zeus was set up in the “Holy Place” Under Antiochus Ephiphanes in 168 BC, which is also one of the reasons why I say the world may believe the Beast is Zeus. In ancient days, Zeus was worshipped as the god of gods and the savior god. These are names for the Lord Jesus. Zeus, even then, was a counterfeit. Zeus was the national god of the Greeks. When Paul healed a cripple, the Greeks of the city said the gods had come down to them in the form of men. Then they called Barnabas Jupiter (Zeus in Greek), because he seemed to be the one in charge (Act 14:12). With all this in mind, it would not take much deception for the world to believe that Zeus is the highest God

Jesus in his Olivet discourse warns the Jews to flee to the hills when the desecration spoken about by Daniel the prophet stands in the holy place (where it ought not). Only Jesus is worthy to stand in the holy place of the temple. This blasphemy will bring the wrath of God on those on the earth, instead of the thousand years of peace that will be promised by the Beast and his False Prophet. Hitler had plans that included a thousand year reign by the Arians. His attempt to unite Europe by using war and by using Jews as scapegoats was a foreshadow of the coming Antichrist government and its deception.

15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

This person will have power to make the image of the first Beast have life and speak (the image set up in the holy place). Who really knows what all that means? Possibly, it will be a hologram of the Beast. A world religion with the Beast as God will be put into effect. Anyone who will not worship the image of the Beast will be killed. There most likely will be a time of day when all in the world will have to stop what they are doing and at some audio signal they will have to get into a position of worship toward his image in Jerusalem. It will be like it was in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. When the musical instruments played the people in Babylon had to fall and worship the image he made of himself or be killed. That was a foreshadow of what is coming under the Beast Antichrist.

We see a similar situation today in Moslem countries except they bow toward a landmark rather than an image of a man. The verse is talking about a worldwide worship that is enforced by penalty of death. The image will probably tell the world what Satan requires for them to do. Is it any wonder that the Beast moves his headquarters to Babylon Iraq? The killing and beheading of Christians and Jews by fundamental Moslems in the name of God is already foreshadowing how this demonic religion will readily accept the Beast as their God. A worldwide foundation for the Beast system is now being put in place and it is called Islam. However, I am not saying that the world will go Islamic. I am saying this intolerant religion is rapidly setting the foundation built on hate for this counterfeit God who will kill everyone who does not join his world system and worship him.

16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

This False Prophet will cause all to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. The power of this individual is over the entire world. Much has been written about this mark but we are all speculating until the event happens.

I speculate that the mark will be some type of biological computer chip that will allow a satanic gateway for control over the mind and/or even to somehow bring an altering of the human genetic code. Taking the mark may be packaged in the guise of an evolutionary leap forward for man to become like God (a new age concept). Once an individual takes this mark we are told that he can no longer be saved. I believe this may be because those who take the mark may no longer have the genetic code of a human descendent of Adam. At the very least it will be a visible mark of initiation sealing those who belong to Satan.

Before the flood Satan tried to alter the DNA code of man by having angels take wives and have offspring to produce a new race on the earth (Gen 6:2). This corruption of the flesh brought God’s judgment on the earth to save a pure line from Adam through Noah. In the last times Satan may again try to corrupt man through whatever the mark of the beast is. The “kinsman redeemer” (Jesus) who came from the bloodlines of Adam might no longer “lawfully” save those who corrupted their bloodline by taking this mark of the Beast.

17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

No one will be able to buy or sell anything unless they have taken the mark, the name or the number. Most likely a person’s hand or forehead will need to be scanned to complete a business transaction. If the person is physically remote he will have to have the password or account number to buy or sell (i.e. a phone or computer transaction). At that time a one world cashless economic system will be set up and it will be controlled by computers. Unless you have access to the world financial system by having the proper identification you will be totally shut out. Those who do not take the mark will have to barter to get anything they need and that will be outlawed.

18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

The number of the Beast will be 666. If you study numeric patterns in the Bible, six is the prime number for man while God’s number is seven. The number 666 might mean man claiming to be the triune God (777).

There are notions that the number of the Beast’s name will add up in Hebrew and/or Greek to 666 (in these languages each letter also has a numerical value). That is probably a correct assumption but I would not get carried away with speculation about who the man is before Satan is cast out of heaven and possesses his body. The man is likely to change his name after being incarnated by Satan anyway, so what anyone’s name adds up to before this takes place is probably totally meaningless.

Satan offered to enter Jesus and to give him a shortcut to all the kingdoms of the world but Jesus rejected Satan’s offer (Mat 4:8). This man will welcome Satan but until that happens, he is not yet the Beast and his identity is sheer speculation at best. When all these events happen, people who are worshiping his image and taking his mark will know the man they are worshiping (although they may not know him by the name of the Beast).

This verse is probably not saying that it “takes wisdom to find out who the guy is” because at this point everyone will already know the identity of this person who claims to be God.

Those with “understanding” will know all about these mysteries of a man claiming to be God (666) and about the counterfeit kingdom he will set up. Those with wisdom will not be deceived; they will know that this counterfeit is not God.

Revelation chapter 12 commentary

by Don Koenig

This is another informational chapter from the little book that John digested. This information is about Israel and her Messiah and Satan’s attempt to stop the kingdom of God from being set up on the earth.

1 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:

Symbolic scripture in heaven is always interpreted by scripture. Genesis explains who the sun, moon and stars represent in the verse above.

Gen 37: 9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

Jacob probably rebuked Joseph because Joseph was arrogant and he misunderstood the dream. Jacob and Rachel never bowed in worship to Joseph. Rachel died long before Joseph became a ruler in Egypt. The dream was a similitude of Joseph representing the Messiah that would come. There are hundreds of other similitude's in the story of Joseph that point to the Messiah that would come. The Messiah will rule over Jacob, Rachel and all descendants of Israel. Jacob and his eleven brothers did come before Joseph in Egypt but I do not believe Jacob ever bowed in worship to his son. Therefore, in the dream the important thing to grasp is that the sun represented Jacob, the moon represented Rachel and the eleven stars represented Joseph's brothers. Together with Joseph, they and all their descendants represent the whole house of Israel.

Now that we have seen what scripture says about this subject we can discern the symbolic wonder that John sees:

This woman that John sees symbolized in heaven is true Israel. It is the people that descended from Jacob (Israel) that have stayed faithful to Jehovah. John sees Israel symbolized in heaven as a woman. She is clothed with the sun and moon because those in her are descendants from Jacob and Rachel (The sun and moon in the genesis passage above). Like their parents, the chosen people of Israel are clothed with special revelation (light) from God and reflect His glory. The crown with twelve stars that is on her head represents the twelve brethren apostles from the twelve tribes of Israel that were chosen to rule over the twelve tribes of Israel and that laid the foundations for the new covenant Church.

Mat 9:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Catholics claim that the woman in this passage is Mary the “queen of heaven”. There simply is no foundation for such an assumption in scripture. This belief simply comes by interpretation of scripture through prejudiced supersession theology and the idolization of Mary. The “queen of heaven” was always a pagan god in the scriptures and she is not the real Mary of scripture. The worship of the Madonna and child actually goes back to the time of Nimrod and Babylon. Nimrod and his wife Semiramis supposedly had a supernatural child called Tammuz. Tammuz allegedly was gored to death by a wild boar and came back to life. He and his mother were actively worshiped in ancient times in many cultures. The Romans called them Venus and Cupid and the Greeks called them Aphrodite and Eros. These two demonic gods are still popular names with some today.

Either Catholics are still doing pagan Babylonian practices or they have allowed pagan Babylonian practices to be Christianized. Even if the latter were true, in effect it is doing the same thing because they have put Mary in the place of Jesus who is the only mediator between God and man (1 Ti 2:5). There simply is no scriptural support for placing the human mother of Jesus as the intercessor between man and her Son. She had to be saved “by faith” in the work of her Son on the cross for forgiveness of her sins like everyone else. Scripture says that John the Baptist was the greatest born of woman, not Mary, and Jesus chose twelve male apostles to lay the foundation of the Church. When Jesus was crucified, Jesus put Mary under John’s care and not the other way around. This adoption of this Babylonian practice has obviously led to serious heresy but in addition it has led to incorrect interpretation of this passage in Revelation for a billion Catholics on earth today. The Bible speaks of the “queen of heaven” but she is always a demon!

Jer 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

Jer 44:17 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.

Jer 44:18 But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.

Jer 44:19 And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?

Jer 44:25 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.

2.And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

First, the King must be born and must take possession of his kingdom. The Child from Israel that pained to be delivered was the promised Messiah that we know as Jesus.

3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

This other wonder in heaven is the Devil. Scripture also defines this symbol. The verse makes it clear that the dragon is synonymous with Satan and the Devil. In the book of Daniel and later in this book we will see a Beast with seven heads and ten horns that will deceive the whole world. The seven heads represent world kingdoms with kings under the control of Satan and the ten horns represent ten end time world leaders that Satan will control in the last Gentile world empire called “Babylon the Great” This is further defined by Daniel and in chapter 17 and 18 of Revelation.

Rev 17:10 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.

Dan 7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

Rev 17:12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

Stars sometimes are used as symbols for angels. This verse is talking about the fall of Satan and his angels. Satan apparently led a third of the angels in heaven in a rebellion against God. The earth may be the place in the universe where God choose to create beings made in his own image that would replace the fallen angels. Satan deceived Adam and Eve so that they sinned and became enslaved to him through sin and death. When Adam sinned and died the stewardship of the earth given to him was placed under the administration of angels until under God’s law a kinsman redeemer is found.

The child the dragon was ready to devour as soon as He was born was Jesus. Satan tried to stop the “kinsman redeemer Messiah” from coming from the Adamic race. In this passage Satan is ready to devour the Messiah as soon as He was born. This occurred when King Herod sent out the order to kill all infants under two years old in Bethlehem. He did this because the wise men from the East told him the Messiah was prophesized to be born at Bethlehem at the time the star was seen.

Satan failed to stop the Messiah from fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies when Joseph was warned by an angel in a dream to flee to Egypt with the child. Later when the child was grown He directly appealed to the Father Himself and no one could take His life from Him. He freely laid down His life for us at the time appointed by the Father to pay the price for the salvation of mankind. The scriptures record several times that some did try to kill Him but they could not. Satan’s continual failure to thwart God’s plan allowed the Son of Man to pay the blood price as kinsman redeemer for the human race at the cross.

5 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.

Only one person will rule the world with a rod of iron according to scripture. That person is Jesus (Rev 19:15 - Psa 2:9). Some say the Church is also seen in this passage because we are the body of Christ and are raised up with Him to rule and reign with Him. The Church is not a man child, she is a woman. It should be clear the primary focus of this verse is the birth of King Jesus for without Him we would all be caught down to hell, not up to His throne.

Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

6 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 threescore days.

We have already defined that the woman is Israel. If there is still any doubt about who the woman is this verse tells us she flees into the wilderness for 1,260 days which is the same length of time the Beast Antichrist will have power on earth. Correlation of prophetic Bible passages in Daniel, Revelation and the Olivet discourse by Jesus make it abundantly clear that the remnant of Israel is told to flee into the wilderness for this same period of time after the defilement of their temple. Elect Israel will flee at the mid point of a seven year covenant that a world leader will confirm.

Dan 9:27 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.

The 1,260 days is the time when Michael the archangel stands up for Israel to protect her from Satan. This will be the worst time on earth the world will ever know.

Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

What the verse above is saying, is that God will protect those that obey Him and flee to the mountains. They are told to do this when they see the desecration of the holy place foretold by Daniel the prophet and also by Jesus in His Olivet discourse. The area of protection will be in the mountains of Jordan in the area of the cliff city of Petra. The people there will be fed manna and they will get water out of a rock just like the Israelites in Exodus did for forty years.

Mar 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

Michael is commander of the angels that did not rebel against God. In Daniel we are told that Michael is also the angel that watches over Israel. In these last days there is a war in heaven and Michael and his angels fight against Satan and his angels. Satan and his angels are cast out of the heaven.

Some think Satan was long ago cast out of heaven but there are several passages in scriptures that indicate that Satan still has access to God and accuses us before the Father continually. That is why Jesus is our advocate before the Father until the time when Satan no longer has this access.

The casting out of Satan, the desecration of the temple and the killing of the two prophets will all happen very quickly probably on the same day. That is why Jesus warns Israel to not get anything out of the house but to get out of town as fast as they can. By reading only the prior verses you might think that Satan is cast out after the woman flees but verse 13 clarifies this by saying after the Devil sees he is cast out He persecutes the women (Israel). One thing should be clear; since Satan is cast out here he could not have been cast out at the fifth trumpet when the star fell from heaven with the key to open the bottomless pit. Now that Satan is cast out, he has 3 ½ years to work through his Beast and his False Prophet. After that period, Jesus will deal with the Beast and then set up his own kingdom on earth.

9 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.

This passage defines who the dragon is. I have heard a well known author say the Devil and Satan are different beings but this passage should make it crystal clear that the dragon, the Devil and Satan are the same. The Devil is not just an evil force or influence as some might think. A specific being was cast out into the earth and the angels that fought with him were also cast out with him. We read in prior verses in this chapter that the number is a third of all the stars (angels). I do not know how many that is but I think it is safe to assume that many millions of angels will be cast out to the earth. These are beings with incredible power. People on earth will think that the gods have come to earth. This will lead to the great deception. The millions of other angels that were cast out either will have their own bodies or will possess human ones (maybe this is the real “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”). It will be an incredible time for all those living on the earth.

This verse also tells us about Satan’s nature. He is the deceiver of the whole earth. He is a counterfeit god. His work of deception can be seen from his deception in the Garden of Eden until his last deception at the end of the thousand year reign.

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.

There is a loud voice from heaven announcing that it is time for the Kingdom of God and the power of His Christ. Satan is cast down; Satan obviously had access to God before he was cast out because in this passage it tells us that he was the accuser of the brethren before God. He could not do that if he did not have access to the throne of God. Other passages in scripture also verify that Satan appeared before God and that he patrolled the earth to report to God (Job 1:6, 2:1). Now we see that Satan has been judged by God and cast down to earth.

Those who overcame the devil did so by the blood of Jesus, by their testimony and by dying for their faithfulness to Jesus even at the cost of their natural lives.

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.

When the devil is cast out of heaven he will come with great wrath against humans. He knew from the start that humans were created to replace his angels. He did everything he could to keep the human race from qualifying. Even after the Messiah came he tried to deceive Him into using His divine powers to disqualify Him as a human and as mankind’s kinsman redeemer (Mat 4:1-11).

Now that Satan has lost the battle in heaven he will use his angels to deceive and destroy mankind on earth. He will be very aware that Jesus is about to return with His saints in a very short time and he will do everything in his power to give Him a planet with no one alive. Jesus Himself said, unless those days be shortened no flesh would be saved but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened (Mat 24:22). Satan will make Jews the scapegoats and the focal point to lead mankind to its own destruction.

In verse 12 there is only one woe mentioned by the angel because the other two are now over with. The third woe lasts the entire second half of Daniel’s final week of years. The third woe will span a 3 ½ year period. It will start with the persecution of all mankind who will not worship the Beast as God and it will end with the seven vial judgments from God.

13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

The woman as we saw is Israel and the man child Israel produced is the Messiah Jesus. When Satan is cast unto the earth He will persecute the woman who brought forth the Messiah in the flesh. He will persecute Israel and eventually all the Gentiles that claim that Israel’s Messiah is Lord.

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.

The faithful of Israel will flee into the wilderness to a place where God will protect them for 3 ½ years. No one really knows if the great eagle will be a natural airlift or a supernatural airlift. God will provide for Israel as he did in the days of Exodus. As I said, those in the wilderness of Jordan will eat manna and get water out of a rock. The timeline for Satan is given in verse 13 and 14. He is cast out unto the earth just before Israel flees. She is protected by Michael in the wilderness for 3 ½ years or 1,260 days. (A time is a year, times is two years, and a half time is ½ a year = 3 ½ years. The 1,260 days is given to us in verse 6.) The world will be under almost total control by Satan and his millions of angels for this same 42 month time period (Rev 13:5).

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.

There are a couple of schools of thought about this verse. Some think the flood is a tidal wave from the sea and some think it is a huge army of Gentiles. I think it may be both. I believe a great rift will open and swallow the tidal wave and the rift will also prevent the armies of the Beast from reaching the remnant of Israel.

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.

Satan and his angels cannot touch the woman being protected in the mountains of Jordan so he will declare war on all descendants of natural Israel and all who keep the testimony of Jesus Christ all over the earth. This includes those who identified themselves as Christians in the “left behind” apostate World Church who will not renounce Jesus and take the mark of the Beast.

Up until this point the world religion harlot is riding the Beast and controlling the direction of world events but after Satan is cast out to the earth and becomes a counterfeit god he will turn on the harlot of world religion and burn her with fire. This is spoken about in detail in chapter seventeen