Download The War of Wars

Lesson 16
The War of Wars
The Transcendental Temper Tantrum
Revelation 12
And there was war in heaven. 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 dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.
He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.
Rev 12:7-9, 12
“The moment you have a self at all, there is a possibility of putting yourself first - wanting to be the centre wanting to be God, in fact. That was the sin of Satan: and that was the sin he taught the human race.
Some people think the fall of man had something to do with sex, but that is a mistake...what Satan put into
the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they 'could be like Gods' - could set up on their own
as if they had created themselves - be their own masters - invent some sort of happiness for themselves
outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come...the long terrible story of man
trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
“Like a good chess player, Satan is always trying to maneuver you into a position
where you can save your castle only by losing your bishop.”
― C.S. Lewis
Introduction:
The fall of Satan
Isaiah 14:11-17 ; Ezekiel 28:11-17
A likely chronology
Fall – Access – War – Exclusion – Incarceration – Release – Eternal Punishment
The two fold horror of The great Tribulation
I.
The Players (Can’t Know the Players without a Program)
A.
The Woman
1.
Rev 12 - 13
Rev 12:1-2
her symbolism
Jer 3:1 "If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again?
Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers —
would you now return to me?" declares the LORD.
Ezek 16:32
You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!
1
Hos 3:1, 5
1
The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an
adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites,
5
Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king.
They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.
2.
her attire
Gen 37:9-11
9
Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream,
and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."
10
When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had?
Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?"
11
His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
3.
her condition
Isa 26:17-18
17
As a woman with child and about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence,
O LORD.
18
We were with child, we writhed in pain, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth;
we have not given birth to people of the world.
B.
Rev 12:9
The Dragon
Rev 12:3-4
The great dragon…. — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan,
E – A – B1 – M/P – G – R – B2
1.
his 7 heads
7 empires
2.
his 10 horns
10 kings who will rule under B2
Dan 7:23-25
23
He gave me this explanation: 'The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth.
It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.
24
The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from
the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.
25
He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws.
The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.
3.
Rev 12:4
His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.
4.
C.
his associates
his obsession
thwart the inevitable by killing Jesus by killing the Jews
The Male Child
Rev 12:5
1.
incarnation
born in spite of Satan’s efforts
2.
coronation
will one day rule with a rod or iron (iron scepter NIV) Psalm 2
3.
exaltation
he is seated at the right hand of God
2
II.
Divine Protection of the Woman
Rev 12:6
The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
Matthew 24:15-21
III.
The Cosmic Conflict
A.
1 Peter 5:8
Rev 12:7-9
Satan’s Current Domain and Access
(Satan’s never been to hell and when he goes there he certainly won’t be in charge!)
1.
earth
…Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
2.
heaven
Job 1:6-7 ; 2:1-2
6
One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.
7
The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
B.
War in Heaven
1.
Michael’s position exercised
Dan 10:12-13
12
Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding
and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
13
But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes,
came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
Dan 12:1
1
At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as
has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people — everyone whose name
is found written in the book — will be delivered.
2.
Satan’s position lost
Rev 12:7-8
7
And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon,
and the dragon and his angels fought back.
8
But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.
“With what weapons and by what tactics this heavenly warfare will be waged is beyond our understanding.
Angels cannot be injured or slain with earthly weapons, and such physical forces as we know about are not able
to move spiritual beings. But these beings do operate in a physical universe, so there must exist powerful
physico-spiritual energies of which we yet can have only vague intimations, energies which can propel angelic
bodies at superluminary velocities through space and which can move mountains and change planetary orbits.
It is with such energies and powers that this heavenly battle will be waged and the spectators in heaven
(including John) will watch in awe. When Michael finally prevails, and Satan is forced forever out of the
heavens, a tremendous cry of thanksgiving will resound through the heavens.”
Henry Morris; The Revelation Record
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C.
Rev 12:9
Satan’s Expulsion
The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan,
who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
1.
his monikers
2.
his method
John 8:44b-45 there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
2 Cor 11:14-15
14b
…Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
15
It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.
Eph 6:11
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
Rev 20:3, 7-8, 10
3
He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore
until the thousand years were ended.
7
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison
8
and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth
10
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur,
where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown.
D.
Rev 12:10
Heaven’s Rejoicing
Rev 12:10-12
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the
kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
Rev 12:11
1.
those who rejoiced
the “brothers”
2.
the content of the joy
no more accusations
3.
the basis of victory
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
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a.
the blood of the Lamb
1 Peter 1:18-19
18
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty
way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,
19
but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
b.
the word of their testimony
Rom 8:35, 37-39
35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or
danger or sword?
37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor
any powers,
39
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Matt 24:13
E.
Rev 12:12
…but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Earth’s Lament
Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.
IV.
Earthly Conflict
A.
Rev 12:13-17
Eagle’s Wings to safety
Rev 12:13-14
13
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the
male child.
14
The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the
desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.
Ex 19:4
You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
1.
where would they go ?
Matt 24:16
then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Dan 11:41
He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall,
but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand.
2.
has he taken care of people in the wilderness before ?
3.
does the time period sound familiar ?
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B.
Supernatural Protection
Rev 12:15-16
15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.
16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
Ex 15:12
You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them.
Num 16:30-33
30
But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with
everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have
treated the LORD with contempt."
31
As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart
32
and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions.
33 T hey went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished
and were gone from the community.
“Significantly, the turning point came in Moses’ life when he saw, in the desert, that mysterious burning bush,
which flamed and blazed away but, for all the crackling of the fire, was not consumed. That bush clearly
symbolized Israel, which cannot be consumed despite the ceaseless hatred of her foes, because God is in her
midst. Israel cannot be assimilated into the nations, nor can she be exterminated by the nations.
She is a burning bush in the wilderness.”
John Phillips Exploring Revelation
C.
Rev 12:17
Satan’s Plan “B”
Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her
offspring — those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Rom 11:26-27
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins."
2 Cor 4:17-18
17
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
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TNBS Study Questions
preparation for lesson 17
Revelation Ch. 13
Read Daniel 2:31-35, 44-45; 7:1-28; Revelation 13
1
There may be a dual meaning in “coming out of the sea” (13:1). From Rev 11:7; 17:1, 8, 15 what might be meant here?
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2.
How does Daniel 7 help us with Revelation 13 as it relates to :
a. the beast from the sea? ______________________________________________________________________
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b. the beast from the earth? _____________________________________________________________________
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3.
Read Rev 13:3, 12, 14; 17:7-15; 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9. How might these passages be speaking of:
a. a nation __________________________________________________________________________________
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b. a man ____________________________________________________________________________________
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4.
Why did the “whole world” follow the beast?
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5.
Did men make the statement (or ask the question) in 13:4 because they felt intimidated or secure? Explain
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6.
13:7 says the beast was “given” power and authority. By whom? Think about it from all sides, spiritually and physically
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7.
How would the previous two questions (and your answers) be instructive for believers in our day?
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8.
Why are verses 3:22 and 13:9 different?
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9.
Is Rev 13:8-10 relevant to us as Christians in our day and culture? If so, how should we apply it?
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10.
What is the primary function of the beast from the earth and how does he achieve it?
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11.
Compare and contrast (briefly) the dragon and two beasts with the Holy Trinity.
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12.
See Rev 1:4, 20; 5:1, 6; 8:2; 15:1 Why is the number of the beast 666 ?
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