Comfort for the Saints (Revelation 15)

Comfort for the Saints (Revelation 15)

Let’s call to mind that in Revelation 6:10, the saints asked God how long it would be before He avenged the blood of the slain saints shed by their oppressors.  Here they are told that it is now time for the punishment due for the suffering brought about by the dragon and his allies.  The forces of heaven are given the directive to implement the wrath of God upon the enemies of righteousness.  Those who are still alive are given a picture of the triumphant martyrs who, having died at the hands of Domitian, kept their faith and endured to the end.  The assurance to the oppressed is that if they too shall overcome the persecution to be inflicted upon them, they also shall receive the crown of life.  It is as if the fallen martyrs are cheering their earthly brethren on to victory. 

It is significant to note that once again, the saints are being exhorted to keep the faith.  Don’t give in, don’t give up, the God of all creation is aware, still in control, angry with the beast and is about to step in and set things right.  The cruel oppressors are about to face the wrath of God.  In the end, the Roman Empire, as powerful as it seems, will succumb and the faithful saints of God will emerge victorious.  “What then shall we say to these things? If God (is) for us, who (is) against us?” (Romans 8:31). (ASV)

Revelation 15:1
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having seven plagues, (which are) the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God. (ASV)

John saw a great and marvelous sign in heaven.  There were seven angels with seven plagues to dispense on the earth.  The number seven represents completeness to the people of the time.  This would suggest that John’s vision previews the complete wrath of God which is to be directed toward the unrighteous.  Biblical history is replete with examples of God’s punishment upon the unrighteous.  Sodom and Gomorrah, Egypt, Babylon, Assyria and many others suffered defeat at the direction of God due to their rebellion.  These judgments on earth pale to insignificance in the view of the judgment yet to come, when the eternal punishment of Hell shall be manifested upon them. 

Notice that the text refers to the “finished” wrath of God.  This is no way means that the punishment of the unrepentant oppressors is over.  God’s eternal wrath will continue to be upon those outside of Christ, manifested in the eternal punishment of Hell.  (Reference Revelation 14:10-11).  This merely means that God’s anger is complete and will be poured out on the Roman Empire until His purpose is fully executed.  The Christians are being told here that the Roman Empire is going to eventually fall as a result of their persecution.

Revelation 15:2
“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that come off victorious from the beast, and from his image, and from the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God.” (ASV)

This “sea of glass” was mentioned previously in Revelation 4:6, “And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.”  The glass was mentioned in conjunction with the eyes of the living creatures and probably illustrates the transparency of everything to God who knows all things. (cf. 1 John 3:20) and sees all the works of man, (Job 34:21-22, Hebrews 4:13).  The sea represents a barrier between two points.  A barrier from which turmoil and disaster can erupt suddenly and with little warning.  Fire represents both the judgment of God and purification from sin.  The “sea of glass mingled with fire”  here would then seem to represent the all seeing eye of God, burning with the fire of the impending judgment.  And standing there by the sea of glass are those who were “victorious from the beast“, separated from God by the confines of their physical existence but still in fellowship with Him as Christians.  Those who rejected emperor worship and refused to accept the mark of the beast are there, ready to witness the coming fire.  “How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10).  The time has come and the faithful are there, looking on, encouraging their still living brethren and praising God.  In revelation 21, the sea which stands between God and His children on earth is gone.  The saved then stand in the actual presence of God in Heaven.

Let’s pause and look at the “harps of God” in this context.  The victorious are represented as standing beside the sea of glass mingled with fire having the harps of God.  Attempts have been made to literalize the “harps of God” in an attempt to legitimize the use of Manmade instruments of music in our worship today.  The first problem with this is that if one is going to literalize the harps of God, one needs to look at literalizing the sea of glass mingled with literal fire too.  The second problem with this that must be dealt with is that if there are literal harps of God in heaven, we can be assured they are not made by the fleshly hands of men.  A third problem with this is that this vision is not one of the saints in the eternal bode of heaven, rather, the vision is of the redeemed still on earth, known as the body of Christ. 

Revelation 15:3
“And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages.”

Moses and the Israelites sang a song of victorious deliverance over the Egyptian forces after they were destroyed in the Red Sea, (cf. Exodus 15:1-19).  The Christians of the day, especially the Jewish Christians, would recognize this figurative representation of victory instantly.  The song of the lamb is a figurative expression for the deliverance from the bondage of sin.  Thus the combined effect of both songs is a song of deliverance from both earthly oppression and the complete and utter deliverance and triumph over sin that is realized through Christ Jesus, the lamb.  Moses’ song of deliverance and Jesus’ song of redemption are the ones only the redeemed who were “purchased out of the earth” can sing, (cf. Revelation 14:3). 

“O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages.”  Notice the similarity to the wording from Psalms 145:17, “Jehovah is righteous in all his ways, and gracious in all his works,”  The book of Revelation is saturated with allusions to Old Testament scripture. 

Revelation 15:4
“Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify thy name?“  

We will let the Bible comment on this beautiful verse.

Isaiah 45:23
“By myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from my mouth (in) righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”  See also Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10-11. 

Revelation 15:4 “ …for thou only art holy”  

1 Samuel 2:2
“There is none holy as Jehovah; For there is none besides thee, Neither is there any rock like our God.“

Revelation 15:4 “…for all the nations shall come and worship before thee; “

Psalms 86:9
“All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and they shall glorify thy name.”

Revelation 15:4 “…for thy righteous acts have been made manifest.“

2 Thessalonians 1:4-5
4 “so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure;
5(which is) a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:”

Let’s back up now and look at the whole of John’s description of praise in its entirety. 

Revelation 15:3-4
3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages.
4 Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy; for all the nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy righteous acts have been made manifest.
ASV

What a beautiful picture of praise to God we have here. It embodies so much.  Entire books could be written about these two verses of scripture and never fully cover their content.  As one studies through John’s Revelation and struggles with understanding the symbolic language, it is a great comfort that intermingled within this letter are passages that stand out so clear to us in their meaning.  One of the main things we pick up from this and other similar passages is that praise and worship to God is the privilege of the redeemed.  While this blessing is extended to all, not all decide to avail themselves of it, choosing rather to live in rebellion to God’s will.  And it is those who so refuse who will never know this privilege.

Revelation 15:5
“And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:”

The word “temple” here is rendered from the Greek word “naos”  This word alludes directly to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, known as the Holy of Holies.  Within this chamber of the tabernacle was kept the Ark of the Covenant which contained the tables of the law, called “the testimony.”  The image here is that the royal throne room of Heaven itself was opened up and what was about to come forth was coming forth from Jehovah Himself and will be supervised under His personal direction.  God is angry and the doors of the inner sanctuary are thrown open to the view of John, thus revealing the gravity of God’s intentions. 

Revelation 15:6
“and there came out from the temple the seven angels that had the seven plagues, arrayed with (precious) stone, pure (and) bright, and girt about their breasts with golden girdles.“

And there came out from the very holiness of God Himself, the plagues of judgment.  Seven plagues carried by seven angels.  As noted earlier, the number seven is representative of that which is complete.  The seven seals in Revelation 5 and 6 reveal the wrath of God, the seven trumpets announce and warn of the coming wrath of God, (Revelation 8), and the seven bowls execute the wrath of God.  The doom of the Roman Empire is sealed.  It will be methodically and absolutely trodden out under the feet of God like treaders pressing the juice out of grapes in a winepress. 

The glorious array of the angels with their precious stones in golden girdles most likely signifies that these angels are coming forth from the presence of God almighty with a solemn mission to carry out.  The adjectives “pure” and “bright” are representative of the purity and holiness of the judgments of wrath to come. 

Revelation 15:7
“And one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.”

The four creatures here being the same ones mentioned in Revelation 4:6; 5:6-8; 5:14; 6:1-6; 7:11; 14:3, and later on in 19:4.  The idea here being that in understanding the symbolism of John’s Revelation, the figurative language is consistent and a consideration of all of it throughout can be used to help unravel the mysteries of this book. 

The wrath of God’s judgment is now given over to the angels for implementation.  The plan is complete, God’s will on the matter is settled.  The time has come.  The blood of the martyrs, just like the blood of Cain’s brother Abel, is crying out from the ground, (cf. Genesis 4:10), and now the punishment has been dispatched to the angels for execution and is about to commence. 

Revelation 15:8
“And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and none was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished.“

The temple here is still indicative of the Holy of Holies.  Looking at this from the view of the oppressed Christians, it is probable that the smoke is representative of God’s anger.  However this is not always the case in the Old Testament.  For example, Mt. Sinai in its entirety smoked and quaked from the presence of God when he descended to speak with Moses.  The smoke could therefore be representative of God in action.  Either view is consistent with the theme of the scene being described by John. 

None were able to enter into the temple until all was finished.  There will be no intercessions.  There will be no distractions.  The execution of God’s wrath on the Roman Empire is of a paramount priority, under the personal supervision of almighty God Himself, with the doors of Heaven’s throne room itself thrown open wide to His view. 

What a picture of comfort this must be to the living saints.  God is in control.  The Roman Empire as evil and cruel as they have been in their persecutions is now going to be called out for their actions.  The oppressed Christians can’t buy, they can’t sell, they can’t participate in any kind of transaction whatsoever.  Their friends and families have been turned over to the state, tortured, maimed, sold into slavery and killed.  They worship God in fear of their lives every day, often assembling in secret places out of the public eye.  They have seen their brethren rounded up and fed to beasts in the Roman games for the enjoyment of the citizens of Rome.  They have seen their brethren hung on posts in the street, doused with oil and lit afire to serve as street lamps.  They have seen their properties seized, their children abused.  They have been persecuted and ostracized by the general populace who hate them and blame them for every thing bad that happens.  This message of divine intervention could not come at a better time.  God is about to put a stop to this and nothing is going to stand in His way or detract Him from this mission.  When He is finished, the Roman Empire who has so viciously and cruelly oppressed the innocent faithful will fall.

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The Sickle and the Winepress (Revelation 14:6-20)

The Sickle and the Winepress (Revelation 14:6-20)

It is generally agreed that this is a picture of divine judgment.  There is some disagreement over whether or not this is representative of two separate judgments, one of the righteous and the other of the wicked, or if the imagery represents only a single judgment which God uses to defeat the forces of evil.  The disagreement stems mainly from the futurist interpretation of Revelation, which has been previously noted, offers no value whatsoever to the oppressed Christians of the day.  I believe the context supports a single instrument of God’s judgment on the wicked in a dramatic way that leaves the reader with the impression that it will be terrible and final.  The terror and scope of God’s judgment is seen in the size of the river of blood, as deep as the bridle of a horse and about 200 miles in length. 

Revelation 14:14
“And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud (I saw) one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.”

White symbolizes purity and a cloud is a vantage point of lofty perspective.  Setting upon this pure lofty seat is Jesus wearing on His a golden crown, symbolic of the highest of authority and in his hand is a sharp sickle.  The sickle was a sharp edged tool used to harvest grain.  We sometimes refer to it as a scythe, however a scythe typically has a longer handle.  The reapers of the time would use a sickle to cut down the stalks of grain.  The long curved blade served both to cut and to gather the stalks into a bunch as it is drawn toward the reaper.  The stalks were then gathered into bundles and were later gathered and transported to the threshing floors. 

The words “sharp sickle” do not bring to mind a pleasant thought for the harvest of the just.  John the baptist spoke of hewing down the unfruitful trees with an axe, (Matthew 3:10, Luke 3:9).  Jesus also said that the unfruitful would be “hewn down and cast into the fire” (Matthew 7:19).  Nowhere in scripture is it mentioned that the just will be gathered with a sickle. 

Revelation 14:15-20
15 “And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to him that sat on the cloud, Send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
16 And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped.
17 Another angel came out from the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, he that hath power over fire; and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great (winepress), of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” ASV

Three sickles are used to reap the vintage of the earth. One of them being with fire. Scripture is replete with passages that warn of the punishment of fire for the wicked. Those who were cut and gathered were cast into a press and trodden out with an enormous river of blood issuing forth.

The winepress is imagery drawn from Lamentations when Jeremiah wrote of Judah’s captivity in Babylon: “…The Lord hath trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah.” (Lamentations 1:15).

Ancient wine presses ordinarily consisted of two rectangular or circular excavations, hewn (Isaiah 5:2) in the solid rock to a depth of 2 or 3 feet. Where possible one was always higher than the other and they were connected by a pipe or channel. Their size, of course, varied greatly, but the upper vat was always wider and shallower than the lower and was the press proper, into which the grapes were thrown, to be crushed by the feet of the treaders. The treaders would get into the winepress with the grapes and walk back and forth, stomping on the grapes with their feet until the juice was extracted.

God’s wrath is here described as being a great winepress. The imagery here is of God cutting down His enemies, casting them into the winepress and treading them out until they are completely destroyed with their blood flowing forth in a river. This is not representative of an instantaneous overthrow on the part of God, rather it is indicative of a methodical and systematic plan designed to utterly and completely vanquish His enemies.

Isaiah 63:1-3
1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat?
3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me: yea, I trod them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my raiment. (ASV)

The scene of the sickle and the winepress is telling God’s people, with imagery they would be able to understand, that the oppressive forces of evil are powerful but are no match for God. This scene gives Christians of the first century hope as they are assured that God is still on His throne and that He cares for His people and that He will be their champion in the end and they will be victorious through Christ and through His divine judgment.

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The Turning Point (Revelation 14:6-13)

The Turning Point (Revelation 14:6-13)

God has just finished assuring the oppressed Christians that the ultimate victory will be for those who resist Domitian and remain faithful to God.  But God isn’t finished yet.  He is about to reinforce His exhortation to remain faithful and now we start seeing God’s judgment on the Roman Empire.  As mentioned in the previous study, the danger to the Christians as a result of this letter being understood by the Roman authorities is very real.  The language is becoming increasingly figurative as the judgments that God will hand out to the Roman Empire is revealed in detail to those who can understand it.  Our understanding of the next several sections depend on an understanding of who the letter was written to and who the recipients of God’s judgment will be.

Revelation 14:6-20
6 And I saw another angel flying in mid heaven, having eternal good tidings to proclaim unto them that dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and tribe and tongue and people;
7 and he saith with a great voice, Fear God, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters.

This is a turning point in the book of Revelation.  The hour of God’s judgment has come.  Imperial Rome will not be allowed to continue on in their present state.  The angel mentioned here is representative of God’s saints preaching the gospel to the whole world, (Matthew 24:14; Colossians 1:23).  The oppressed Christians are receiving another message of hope.  There is good news to those who are suffering.  Fear God, worship Him, stay faithful for His judgment is now imminent.

Revelation 14:8
And another, a second angel, followed, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, that hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Here, Babylon represents the Imperial Roman Empire.  God speaks of the destruction of the empire as if it has already happened.  This will help shroud the real meaning of the message from the authorities and those familiar with scripture in the OT will remember that God announced the fall of the real Babylon at least fifty years before it happened: Jeremiah 51:8, “Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: wail for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.”  When God makes a decree, it is as if it is already accomplished: Isaiah 46:10, “declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not (yet) done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” and Isaiah 48:3, “I have declared the former things from of old; yea, they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them: suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.” 

“Babylon the great, that hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”  Babylon is identified as the Roman Empire here for the Christians.  A discussed in the previous lesson for verse 4, God considers idolatry to be spiritual adultery.  John qualified this figurative Babylon as being the one that forced all nations under her to bow to emperor worship thereby causing them to suffer God’s wrath. 

Revelation 14:9
And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, If any man worshippeth the beast and his image, and receiveth a mark on his forehead, or upon his hand,

This is another warning to the Christians.  Do not worship the beast or the idols of the beast and do not receive the stamp of the emperor Domitian.  John used the words “if any man“, meaning if anybody.  No one is excluded from this warning.  Those who would give in and worship Domitian to save their fleshly selves will suffer the wrath of God as vividly portrayed in the following verses. 

Revelation 14:10-11
10 he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 and the smoke of their torment goeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the beast and his image, and whoso receiveth the mark of his name.

One would think this passage would be in no need of comment, however, there are millions today who believe there is no literal eternal fiery hell.  There is a lot of figurative language here but it is describing a literal place of eternal fire and punishment.  This is supported by the words of Jesus in other scripture such as Mark 9:43-48.  Again, the Christians are warned not to bow down and worship Domitian.  The language used by John is especially strong here and should serve as a warning to these Christians and others after them that God is to be obeyed no matter what the immediate personal consequences may be. 

Revelation 14:12
12 Here is the patience of the saints, they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
13 And I heard the voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.

John gives the words here that should ring loud and clear for oppressed Christians of the time and for all who come afterward.  Those who keep the faith and die in the Lord will be the ones numbered at the side of the lamb.  Don’t give up.  The wrath of Domitian is temporary but the wrath of God is eternal.  “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul : but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28). 

Let’s pause here for reflection.  Imagine ourselves in a similar situation as the first century Christians living under the oppression of Domitian.  It becomes law that we must burn incense and sacrifice to the leader of our country.  If we refuse, we would not be allowed to buy food, or work for a wage, or sell property or possessions.  It would be illegal for our friends and acquaintances to help us. By so doing, they would jeopardize their own lives.  Our religion would be illegal and if we were caught worshipping we could expect to be arrested and executed with our children sold into slavery.  Our possessions would be confiscated and sold.  Those who were unable to grow their own food would find their families starving to death.  There would be no government assistance for anything whatsoever.  We would be unable to feed our families.  Our children would go hungry.  The only relief in sight would be to bow down and worship the leader of our country.  Only then would we be allowed food.  Only then could we be assured that we would not be rounded up and imprisoned with our children sold into slavery. 

It cannot be overstated enough that obedience to the commands of God is not situational and absolutely required if salvation is to be had.  The 1st century Christians under the rule of Domitian were undergoing the worst persecution in the history of Christianity and they were expected to hold firm to the end.  God did not say, “ok, it’s bad, so do what you have to do and I’ll forgive you when this over.  The blood of my son will get you all through this difficult spot.”  Rather, God commanded over and over, “Do not bow down to Domitian; do not receive the mark of the beast; do not give in.  Stay faithful even if it costs you your life.”   The Christians under the reign of Domitian were told they were expected to remain faithful and obedient and failure to do so would result in the unmixed wrath of God being unleashed on them, being tormented with fire forever and ever, never to rest again. 

There are millions and millions of people in the world today who profess Christ, believe and teach that once a Christian is saved, he or she cannot so sin as to be forever lost.  If this were true, then the entire book of Revelation is a lie.  The persecuted saints of the time were expected to be faithful and failure to do so resulted in their damnation.  The saints of today are expected to be no less faithful.  If the saints then could sin and be lost, so can we.  “So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;” (Philippians 2:12)

Revelation 3:5
“He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” (ASV)

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The Identification of the first Beast (Revelation 13)

The Identification of the first Beast (Revelation 13)

There are two beasts mentioned in Revelation,  The first is introduced in Chapter 13:1 with the second one coming on the scene in verse 11.  We are going to focus primarily on the first beast with this study.  If there is to be any degree of accuracy in the identification of this beast we must consider two things.  One is to whom this letter was written, and secondly, we must take into account the symbolism in effect in the day and time in which the book was written. 

Many people today think the beast is a malignant force yet to come.  I have read of people in a panic over the veri-chip technology which advocates the implanting of a microchip under the skin in order to identify and track people.  They are convinced that this technology can grow into the mark of the beast.  There is also technology in the development stages where certain world wide retail chains are looking into a chip that can automatically scan items as one walks from the store and automatically deduct the cost of these items from one’s account.  The problem with this is that this does not take into consideration, those to whom the letter was specifically addressed.  What value would such a letter have for people who were undergoing severe persecution at the time if it were a revelation of events roughly 2000 years in the future?

The text we will be looking at is Revelation 13:1-10
1 and he stood upon the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns, and seven heads, and on his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy.
2 And 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  the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority.
3 And (I saw) one of his heads as though it had been smitten unto death; and his death-stroke was healed: and the whole earth wondered after the beast;
4 and they worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? And who is able to war with him?
5 and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and there was given to him authority to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, (even) them that dwell in the heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and there was given to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.
8 And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, (every one) whose name hath not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain.
9 If any man hath an ear, let him hear.
10 If any man (is) for captivity, into captivity he goeth: if any man shall kill with the sword, with the sword must he be killed. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
ASV

First, we can determine easily that the beast is not Satan.  Satan is represented in chapter 12 as the dragon who made war with the remnant of the radiant woman’s seed.  In verse 2 we see the dragon, Satan, giving the beast his power, his position or throne, and his great authority.  In verse 4 we read that the heads of the beast worshipped the dragon, Satan.  So the beast cannot be Satan since it derives it’s abilities from and is in a submissive allegiance with him.  It is obvious that the dragon, Satan, is using the beast for the achievement of his own purpose.  So with Satan as the enabler of the beast we can confidently eliminate him from being in consideration as the beast. 

Verse 1 of Revelation 13 starts with the continuance of the sentence in Revelation 12:17.  John saw the dragon, (Satan), standing on the sands beside the sea where the beast emerges from the water.  Interestingly, the symbolism used for “beast” was used by Daniel to represent a ruler or his government, (Daniel 7:2-8).  Daniel used the same animal imagery to represent the the four world empires which were Babylon, Medo-Persian, Grecian and then the Roman Empire.  The fact that the leopard, bear and lion are used here probably demonstrates that the Roman empire was a composite of the other three.  This usage of apocalyptic language would have been familiar to those of the time who were versed in old covenant figures of speech.  This goes back to the thought that Revelation was written in language the Jews would be able to understand without incrimination before the Romans, thereby giving them more incentive to destroy those who were holding fast to their faith.  We can easily see today how successful this manner of writing was in that the book of Revelation continues to be a source of misdirected doctrine.  Anybody with a poor familiarity of old testament speech would be utterly baffled by the figurative language of this book. 

Looking closely at John’s description of the Beast we see Satan standing upon the sand of the sea.  This would likely be the Tyrrhenian sea, which bordered the territory and land of Italy, where the Roman empire had its capital with the imperial palaces built alongside the Tiber river.  This imagery places the dragon within close proximity of the Beast, overlooking and personally directing the coming struggle against the faithful remnant of the radiant woman’s seed.  This thought squares perfectly with new testament teaching that Satan had been given the power to do as he will with the nations of the Earth, (Matthew 4:8-9).  In addition to the close proximity of the Dragon to the beast, the Hebrews not being a seafaring people, recognized the sea as being capable of bringing storms of immensely destructive proportions.  David wrote in imagery of a storm coming inland from the sea, breaking the cedars from Lebanon and shaking the wilderness of Kadesh, which represented Jehovah revealing His strength and power, (Psalm 29).  Daniel used the imagery of the sea when describing the 4 great beasts arising in Daniel 7:3.  Notice particularly the language used in Daniel 7:7, “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.”  While not all scholars agree, it is my belief that Daniel’s prophecy is about the rise of the Roman empire.  Certainly, the Jewish Christians, well versed in old testament teaching would instantly see a parallel and draw the conclusion that the beast of Revelation 13 and the beast of Daniel 7:23 were one and the same. 

The beast is said to have ten horns with a diadem, or crown, on each, and seven heads with the name of blasphemy on each. An interesting point in History may shed some light on what the 10 horns could represent. The Roman Empire was made up of several geographic territories called provinces. Each province fell under the control of a provincial governor.

As a rule set by Augustus there were always 10 senatorial provinces in the Imperial government system. These provinces were under the direct control of a Proconsular Senator, with little need for intervention by the Emperor, though he had the power to appoint or dispose of these governors if he wished. The governors, served for one to three years depending on which province he was over.

Notwithstanding, there were other lesser provinces under the rule of the Roman empire as it expanded. There were about 28 in all by the middle of the second century. The number “ten” carries with it the meaning of completeness in the minds of the Hebrews, thus simply meaning the complete number of vassal kings within the Roman empire which I personally believe to be the more likely interpretation. One must be very careful when literalizing a number surrounded by so much symbolic language. Consistency almost demands it be taken in the same way as the rest of the surrounding imagery.

The seven heads probably referred to the seven hills of ancient Rome. Every October there was a commemoration to the fact that Rome was founded on seven hills. The seven hills of Rome; Cermalus, Cispius, Fagutal, Oppius, Palatium, Sucusa and Velia, figured prominently in Roman mythology, religion, and politics.

The seven heads could also have represented the seven Roman emperors from Augustus Caesar to Flavius Domitianus, better known as Domitian. These emperors reigned with such power and distinction that Roman temples were erected to each one of them. These emperors were worshipped in these temples as Gods and Lords. This practice started with Augustus Caesar and by the time of Domitian, evolved into mandated emperor worship. Under Domitian, those who refused to worship him as a God were subjected to various punishments from exile to death. Revelation 17:10 lends great support to this interpretation.

So we now have a mental image of just how powerful a foe has arisen against Christianity.  The Parthians were no help, The Romans, who worshipped many Gods, hated them.  There were not enough Christians to make any kind of impact on the socio-economic scene.  When drought, famine, or natural disaster struck, the Christians with their one deity worship were blamed.  The Jews were no help, they were excused from Emperor worship and were of no help whatsoever to the Christians.

Revelation 13:3, “And (I saw) one of his heads as though it had been smitten unto death; and his death-stroke was healed:”  There are plenty of theories as to what this death blow was.  One of the most popular I read was that this was the crushing of Satan’s head prophesied in Genesis 3:15.  However, upon careful consideration of the text, we see that the beast is something other than the dragon, (Satan), which therefore does not make sense.  John mentioned this death blow to one of the seven heads, (emperors), as a means for the identification of the beast to the Christians.  It therefore stands to reason that this blow must be something that is widely known and easily attributed to its rightful understanding by the intended audience.  This said, in 64 AD, during the night of July 18, fire broke out in the merchant area of the city of Rome. Fanned by summer winds, the flames quickly spread through the dry, wooden structures of the Imperial City. Soon the fire took on a life of its own consuming all in its path for six days and seven nights. When the conflagration finally ran its course it left seventy percent of the city devastated.  Of Rome’s fourteen districts only four remained intact. Three were leveled to the ground. The other seven were reduced to a few scorched and mangled ruins.   This event happened during the reign of Nero and would be something that definitely would be in the minds of the people of that day.  The association in their minds between the burning of Rome and the wounded head of the Roman Empire would be easily recognized.  There was plenty of time for this death blow to one of the heads to be healed.  History tells us that Rome was built back bigger and better than ever. 

When considering the facts, the Roman emperor Domitian, who reigned from 81 AD through 96 AD best fits the description of the beast, especially considering the internal Biblical evidence that states things which will “shortly come to pass” in Revelation 1:1.  We learn from history that Domitian pushed the concept of him being a God so far that he would reject any communication written to him if it was not addressed to “Supreme Lord and God”.  From a Christian viewpoint, this is nothing short of blasphemy of the name of God to ascribe the title of God and Lord to anybody or anything other than Jehovah Himself.  The imperial Roman empire at the time was said to include all the inhabited earth, depending on whether you heard it from a Roman or a Parthian.  The body of water we know as the Mediterranean Sea got it’s name because it literally means “the middle of the earth”.  All people, with the exception of the Christians worshipped Domitian as a God.  The Jews were excused from this but they did compromise by praying to Jehovah on behalf of Domitian to avoid persecution. 

In the Hebrew mind, the number 6 was symbolic of that which was not perfect, thereby evil.  Seven represents perfection.  Six being one less than perfect is falling short of the mark.  The definition of “sin” is literally, “to miss the mark”.  So to obtain the ultimate of that which was evil or lacking, the apocalyptic writers of John’s day were using a series of three sixes to represent the worst evil that could befall.  Furthermore this number was reserved for those in government who caused evil to be administered. 

No other emperor in the history of the Imperial Roman Empire fits the description of the beast better than Domitian.  We therefore conclude that the first beast of Revelation 13 can be none other than the evil Imperial Roman Empire, which was personified in the person of Flavius Domitianus, (the number of a man).

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The Conflict (Revelation 12)

The Conflict  (Revelation 12)

The last chapter concluded with the downfall and utter destruction of the oppressors of the Christians.  From the conflict we learned that God is longsuffering and willing to allow His children to undergo horrific persecution in order to give all mankind the opportunity to come to repentance.  We have also seen that God will not infringe upon man’s free will choice to choose his own destiny.  Horrible things happened to the Roman Empire as a result of their evil lifestyles, but when it is all said and done and they stand in judgment, none of them will be able to claim they never had the chance to repent.  They killed the Christians and the Christians did what they could to save them from their fate.  What an incredible irony it is to contemplate this.  The enemies of the Christians were bent upon their destruction, using all manner of earthly means to inflict pain and suffering upon them.  Whatever atrocities their minds could conceive of was implemented against the Christians in full measure.  And what did the Christians have to fight back with?  Their weapons were taken from the word of God, their only armor was the sword of the Spirit, love, compassion and concern for the wellbeing of all mankind.  The world was determined to kill them and their mission was to save their enemies from the eternal consequences of their actions.  Imagine if you will, a war today with an army of soldiers armed with only the weapons of righteousness against an army of seasoned worldly soldiers with all manner of engines of warfare.  The worldly soldiers could mow the other army down by the multitudes with the soldiers being slaughtered trying to save the souls of those who were killing them.  The entire concept boggles the mind, however, not only did the Christians prevail in a real world example of this, they triumphed over their enemies in the end. 

Chapter 12 of Revelation starts back with the coming of righteousness which we earlier saw in the beginning of chapter six with the introduction of the white horse.  The entire vision which illustrated the coming of Jesus, then the coming of Satan and his allies all the way up through the persecution and ending with the total destruction of the enemies of righteousness and the ultimate victory of the saints over them is about to be replayed in its entirety.  The difference in this episode is that we are going to be given a lot more information that was left out of the earlier account.  the beast that was only mentioned in passing in Revelation 11:7 will be described in detail.  We will meet his ally and they both will be positively identified in the replay of the vision.  The enemies of the Christians will also be positively identified and we will learn a great deal more about them than was previously mentioned.  The horrors of the persecutions as well as the attributes of the enemies of righteousness are more graphic in their descriptions. 

One cannot help but wonder why God would choose to reveal the events represented in the Revelation in two parts.  There are a number of possible explanations for this.  First, God always revealed His will with figurative language during times of distress upon His children.  When the Israelites were in captivity, the prophets wrote using symbolic language.  The reason for this is clear in that the message was intended only for whom it was given and was written in a language style only they would be able to understand.   The style of writing in Revelation is no different than what was used by God in the past during oppressive times for His children.  It should come as no surprise to anybody and it makes perfect sense.   God had no intention of educating the enemies of His people as to His purpose and their fate if they refused to seek His righteousness.   God says He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him.  This implies that diligent seeking is required in order to receive the rewards.  It can be reasonably be stated that nobody on earth who knows nothing of the one true and living God is going to pick up a copy of Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel or the Revelation and read through it casually and understand it.  Long before any worldly enemy of the Christians ever made it to the second half of the book, they would be utterly lost in a quagmire of figurative language for which they would be utterly helpless to figure out.  The work would be dismissed as senseless letter belonging to a group of superstitious zealots.  There would be no perception of danger to the enemies of the Christians who would inevitably come into possession of it at some time.  The entire Revelation is revealed in stages that build on each other. The evil earthly characters in the Revelation are not positively identified until later on for a good reason.  The enemies of God’s people are going to have to read a significant way through the letter in order to get these important clues that identify them as the ones who are going to be the ultimate losers in the conflict. 

Another possible reason is so that the Christians who first read the Revelation will see early on that they are going to be victorious if they overcome and remain faithful.  It is good to see quickly that one is going to win the conflict so that the following details are a little easier to absorb.  God plants the seed of hope early in the minds of the first readers before they get to see all the forthcoming details.  Revelation is a message of hope and perseverance to the people of God, but it also contains evidence of the suffering they will undergo as the events unfold before them. 

A third possible explanation is to demonstrate to the readership that the events described in the book are not played out in chronological order in a step by step progression over the Roman Empire.   We learned in the first half of the book that God used natural disasters in order to administer His divine retribution on the the enemies of righteousness.  Specifically, earthquakes and burning mountains were mentioned and history records such things either before the Revelation was written or at least contemporary with the writing.  For example, Mount Vesuvius erupted completely obliterating the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79.  Likewise in 17 AD a massive earthquake destroyed Sardis and ten other cities several years before the crucifixion of Christ.  The events described in Revelation were already being carried out to some degree so we know the events therein cannot be consecutive, rather they occurred concurrently and diversely having been spread out across the empire over a period of many years.   The eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of the cities in Asia Minor were only two of many major natural calamities which struck the Empire and on a scale of magnitude only a fraction as devastating in terms of loss of life as those yet to come. 

And the fourth reason for the two stage revealing of the Revelation is that the first series of visions serves as an introduction to the second.  When the reader realizes the second series of visions are a re-enactment of the first, it serves to help keep the focus on what it really is and avoid going off in wild tangents thinking it is some kind of description of events associated with the end of the world.  Scripture is plain in other writings that the end of the world is going to come like a thief in the night during a time when people think there is peace and safety for all (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, 2 Peter 3:10, Matthew 24:44).  Those who contrive the Millennialists doctrine from the pages of the Revelation believe in periods of tribulation either before or after the return of Jesus.  And they have Jesus reigning on earth from Jerusalem for a thousand years which can not happen according to the Bible.  God swore that no seed of Jeconiah would rule from David’s throne in Judah ever again (Jeremiah 22:30).  Jesus Christ was a direct descendant of Jeconiah from both Mary’s side and Joseph’s.  God didn’t leave any doubt there at all.  So the entire rapture and millennial reign of Christ on earth is a contrived doctrine most of which comes from the last half of Revelation and does not find support in the rest of what the Bible has to say about the end of the earth.  With the first series of visions used as an introduction and compliment to the second series, it becomes quite clear what the second series is all about.  It was written to the same group of people and carries the same message of hope and perseverance, it has the same list of characters both good and evil, the conflict described therein is the same and the outcome is the same.  “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).  The contents of the little book which John was told to take and eat is being developed now and is the subject of the following series of visions. 

Revelation 12:1
“And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars”
The two sides in conflict in Revelation are good and evil.  The characters are God and His children in the corner of righteousness and Satan and his followers in the corner of evil.  The rules are simple.  The evil characters will use whatever earthly means are at their disposal to destroy God’s children and God’s children will use only the spiritual weapons described in the word of God.  Those on the side of evil are going to perish forever and while they are trying to destroy those on the side of good, the children of God are trying to save them from their eternal fate. 

“A woman arrayed with the sun“.
The sun is our primary source of light and God is our spiritual source of light.  The woman illustrates the relationship between God and His faithful children.  In this case, the remnant of the faithful from the nation of Israel is in view, described as a woman is representative as the bride of God in much the same fashion as the church today is the bride of Christ (Romans 7:4). 

“and the moon under her feet”
The moon is representative of lesser figures of authority so it being under the feet of the woman places the leaders of the world in subjection to the faithful Israelites. 

“and upon her head a crown of twelve stars”
Stars are representative of individuals so the crown of twelve stars will represent the twelve sons of Jacob who then became the patriarchs of the Israelite nation.  The overall picture here of the radiant woman is the remnant of the faithful children of Israel, with God as her head and with the world at her feet.   

Revelation 12:2
“and she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered.”
The child about to be delivered is none other than Jesus Christ, the promised messiah.  The children of Israel who remained faithful to God were certainly in misery and were crying out for the coming of Christ.  The stage is now set.  The time period for the starting point of this vision is before the birth of Christ on earth.  We have now been introduced to the righteous characters in this conflict.  We have God represented as the sun, the faithful children of Israel and the Son of God about to be delivered on the scene.  Now it is time to meet the evil force. 

Revelation 12:3
“And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems.”
And now we meet Satan who is represented by a dragon.  The figure of the dragon always represents Satan in the Revelation and is positively identified in the ninth verse of this chapter.  The characteristics used here to describe him are “great” which is representative of his power and  “red” which represents his murderous, bloody character.  He is pictured with seven heads which is a figure for perfect.  In this instance it means the perfect embodiment of an evil mastermind dedicated to deceit and treachery.  He is pictured with ten horns which means he has complete power within his realm of operation.  Obviously Satan does not have complete unrestricted power or our lives would be unbearable on earth.  Consider what happened to Job when God allowed Satan a little more freedom to afflict than was normally issued.  Imagine if you can what our lives would be like if the same entity were granted unrestricted access to us on earth.  Upon Satan’s head were pictured seven diadems.   This is not the same as the crowns worn by the righteous which is the “stephanos” crown of the victor.  Satan never wins any permanent victories and he is going to be utterly defeated in the end so he only wears a diadem and is never pictured wearing the victory crown. 

Revelation 12:4
“And his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child.”
The dragon’s tail drawing a third part of the stars of heaven points to Satan’s rebellion against God when he led many angels with him and they were cast down and bound in the hadean realm in chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment, (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6).  It is possible that the rebellious angels explains the presence of the evil spirits on earth during the time of Christ on earth.  We know from scripture that the time of evil spirits on earth was temporary because in Zechariah 13:1-2 it was prophesied that the evil spirits would be caused to pass from the land during the period of time when Christ walked the earth.  Statements made by the evil spirits to Jesus during their confrontations seem to support the idea of their presence on earth being a temporary arrangement (Matthew 8:29). 

The third part of the stars of heaven is a similar figure to the first four trumpet announcements when a third part of each realm was affected.  The figure represents more a significant percentage rather than a literal part of the whole.  Certainly it can not be concluded that an exact third of God’s angels sinned and were cast out of heaven, but, the fraction given certainly suggests a vast number.  We don’t know how many angels God created but Revelation 5:11 gives a hint.  The angels numbered with the rest of the righteous around the throne of God were numbered as “ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands“.  The Hebrew writer simply called them an “innumerable company of angels” (Hebrews 12:22).  Obviously the number of defecting angels was significant.  One cannot help but wonder why they would do such a thing after being in Heaven and seeing the power of God firsthand.  This certainly speaks volumes to the persuasive and deceitful nature of Satan to be able to deceive and lead astray such a vast host of heaven’s messengers. 

“and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child”
Satan is pictured standing in front of the radiant women who is about to bring forth Jesus Christ on earth.  Obviously Satan knows what is forthcoming and intends to waste no name in trying to destroy Jesus Christ as soon as He is born.  Satan working through Herod sought the child’s life right after He was born to the extent that His parents had to flee with him to Egypt in order to protect Him (Matthew 2:13).   It should also be noted that this is not the only time Satan, acting through earthly agents tried to destroy God’s plan of bringing the Messiah forth from the seed of Israel.  The Egyptians, Haman in Esther 3:13 and Antiochus Epiphanes were all agents of Satan who tried to destroy Israel.  Satan standing before the radiant woman of Israel was not a one time event that suddenly happened as Jesus was about to be born, rather this conflict had been going on for centuries.  Satan has always stood in opposition to the plan of God. 

Revelation 12:5
“And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne.”
This is a picture of the entire life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.  No need to elaborate here, the Christians who would be reading this were fully aware of all the details surrounding the life of Jesus Christ.  Jesus has ascended to the Father and is ruling all the nations of the earth from His throne in Heaven (Acts 2:33-35, Hebrews 10:12-13).

Revelation 12:6
“And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”
After Jesus ascension back to Heaven to reign from the Father’s side, the faithful became the spiritual kingdom that Jesus ruled over.  This spiritual kingdom, also known as the church, began in Jerusalem on Pentecost following Jesus’ crucifixion as revealed in Acts chapter 2.   The church in Jerusalem grew in leaps and bounds in the first years after its establishment.  In Acts 8 we see the beginning of a great persecution.  This persecution was primarily from the Jews who rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah.  In Acts 8:1 we see that because of the persecution of the Jews, the Christians “were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria” and in verse 4, “they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.”  To understand what the wilderness is in this context, one must look at it through the eyes of the people that were living it.  These Christians were displaced from their homes and driven out into the unknown to seek new places to live.  In their perspective, they were driven out into the wilderness.  And we see that they found places prepared for them by God.  God in His providential care made sure the Christians had a place to go and “They” were nourishing the church.  This is God, His Spirit and Jesus providing the nourishment from heaven and the food in view here is in the form of both spiritual and providential.  And under the care of the Godhood the church prospered and grew. 

Revelation 12:7
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels (going forth) to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels”
One thing we need to keep in mind when interpreting figurative statements is they never suggest a meaning opposite the figurative statement.  Therefore it can be concluded that “war” cannot mean “no war”.  The elements in the statement may be figurative but the activities cannot be.  For instance when we were faced with the locusts, it was the activities and the results that helped to define what the locusts represented.   In this statement, the activity is a conflict.  Inspiration calls it a war.  There is a conflict mentioned here so it cannot be denied that a conflict existed.  Many able scholars hold to the belief that this and the next two verses describe an invasion attempt by Satan against the throne of God after they were expelled from heaven in verse 4.

Scripture is clear that there were angels who sinned and were cast out of heaven, “For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment” (2 Peter 2:4).  But notice two things in this context.  First the immediate text says they were cast down to hell which in the original language is tartaroo or tartarus which is the tormented side of the hadean realm and there awaiting the day of the Lord and the final judgment.  See 2 Peter 2:9 for additional explanation.  Notice that  Peter did not mention a stopping place of earth along the way.  What we do learn here is that there was a time when angels sinned and were cast out of heaven.  Jude 6 reveals what these angels did that was sinful,  “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6).   So the angels that sinned and were cast out of heaven down to the place of punishment because they disobeyed God and left their own habitation. 

So it stands to reason that at some point in time the angels left heaven and came to earth and then were denied access back to heaven.  This is a possible explanation for the existence of the evil spirits on earth during the time of Christ.  The evil spirits existed and were on earth and they had to come from somewhere.   However this presents a difficulty in that the timeframe for the war in heaven is now at the time of Christ on earth.  Most of the scholars agree that the fall of Satan occurred at the time either before or shortly after the creation of earth.   We must also acknowledge that inspiration places Satan in a conversation with God on two occasions in the book of Job.  One would think a two way conversation would require that both be in each other’s company, so it is not unreasonable to conclude that Satan was in the presence of God and the context suggests a host of the “Sons of God” presenting themselves to the Lord.  So the question arises, did this meeting happen in heaven?  Nowhere else in scripture were angels referred to as “sons of God“.  The true meaning of “Sons of God” is found in Romans 8:14.  They are followers and worshippers of God; and so were those mentioned in Job.  So Satan having access to heaven is not supported in Job.  There is plenty of information in scripture that supports a pre-incarnate form of Jesus Christ on earth and this is a possible explanation for how the Sons of God presented themselves before the Lord without being in heaven.  Also it should be noted that in the account of Job, Satan had to acquire permission before he could afflict Job on both occasions and he was forbidden to kill him and Satan obeyed those divine directives.  Satan was bound at this time and this fact will come into play later on in this study. 

We must also give some consideration to the vision in Zechariah 3 where Satan was seen at the side of Joshua as an adversary.  Many commentators use this account to demonstrate that Satan had access to the presence of God.  If this were true, then so did Joshua.  Furthermore the text in Zechariah states that the event was in the company of the “angel of Jehovah“.  So we can easily dismiss this verse as supporting the claim that Satan had access to the throne of heaven which is used by some to support that the war in heaven happened all at once during the time of Christ on earth. 

During Christ’s ministry on earth, He sent seventy disciples out to preach the gospel in neighboring towns.  Before He sent them out, He gave them the power to cast out evil spirits.  upon their return they declared to Jesus that even the evil spirits were subject to them though His name.  Jesus reply to them was, “I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18).  Those who support the war in heaven during the time of Christ point to this verse of scripture every time and if the heaven Jesus mentions here is actually heaven, then Satan has to have been there in order to fall from it.  However in the absence of any supporting scripture that places Satan in heaven itself, it is difficult to place him physically there in the presence of God.  It appears that Jesus is in fact saying He can see the the power and influence of Satan falling from a very lofty vantage point.  It was not Satan that the disciples cast out, it was the evil spirits, and none of them were said to have been cast out of Heaven, rather, they were cast out of living people on earth.  The evil spirits being cast out of the people did not cause Satan to be cast out of heaven.  It is also significant to note that when Jesus said He beheld Satan falling, the evil spirits were already on earth and had been for some time. If there was a war going in heaven at that time, then why were the evil spirits still on the earth?  It seems more consistent to think of this as the influence of Satan on earth weakening dramatically as a result of the power given to the disciples through Jesus.   

There is no support for a literal war in heaven during the time of Christ in the rest of scripture that cannot be reasonably explained away.  Did a conflict happen where Satan and those angels who sinned were expelled from heaven?  Absolutely yes.  Satan and his angels, as they are referred to in Revelation 12:9 have been cast out of heaven, they are forbidden to return and they are all bound in chains of darkness reserved for the judgment (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6), and 2 Peter 2:9 makes it clear that this period of imprisonment is not pleasant.  It is clear from the text that when Satan and his angels left heaven, it was not under peaceful conditions.  But there is no conclusive evidence to support the belief of some that Satan led an army of angels in an attempted invasion and overthrow of heaven.   In fact, it is quite evident from an observance of the way in which the evil spirits on earth acted towards Jesus upon their encounters that they obviously knew who He was, and they always obeyed His directives without rebellion. 

It is very logical to conclude that if the forces of evil were going to lead a revolt against heaven while Jesus Christ was on earth, they would have started it off by slaying Jesus Christ or at least attempting to.   It does not make any sense to think that Satan and his angels who were already forced to operate under constraints on earth would even have the barest chance for a victory in heaven.  Why would they have any better chance to overcome God in heaven than they did to overcome Jesus as a man on earth?  They couldn’t touch Him and they well knew it and the inspired accounts which tell of their encounters reveal only that when Jesus Christ gave them an order, they obeyed it.  While on earth, Jesus Christ was a man.  He had to have food in order to live, when He was cut, he bled just like any man would, He could and did suffer .  Jesus Christ was as human in his existence on earth as any of us and as such would be an easy target for any angel to outright destroy in an unrestrained confrontation.  Satan had to have divine permission to even touch Job and the divine permissions were obeyed.  Clearly something is in place which forces the evil entities to obey the divine directives.  It would be foolish and naive to think that the evil spirits obeyed Jesus out of any desire on their part to do so.   Clearly their were restrictions on the activities of Satan and the evil spirits or Jesus would have perished the instant He was born. 

So the question becomes not “was there a war in heaven?” rather, “when was the war in heaven?”.  That there was a rebellion in heaven which resulted in the defeat and expulsion of Satan and “his angels” is beyond question.  We do not know anything about this ill conceived and foolish confrontation other than the fact that Satan and His allies did not prevail and the outcome was unpleasant for them in the extreme.  The most logical explanation of this and the following three verses is that an ongoing spiritual warfare, which had been going on from the beginning of the creation, reached its climax at the final triumph of Jesus over death.  

Revelation 12:8
“And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.”
Satan and an obviously large host of angels couldn’t overcome God’s throne, the Roman Empire didn’t stand a chance.  God’s throne and purpose stand inviolate and unconquerable against any and all opposition.  Nothing can stand in the way of God’s will.  Satan and his foolish followers, at some point in history, found themselves booted out of heaven forever. 

Revelation 12:9
“And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.”
And this is the climax of a conflict that had been ongoing since before Satan deceived Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.  Looking at this through the eyes of the first readers, it is easy to see this as the final ultimate defeat of Satan once and for all which was evidenced in Jesus’ triumph over death.  Satan and his angels may have thought they had won when Jesus died on that cross.  They were not alone in that either.  Jesus’ disciples were in a state of confusion and indecision.  Their champion had died on that cross and they thought Satan had won.  It was no secret that Jesus was suppose to arise because the Jewish leaders had guards placed at His tomb, but the shock of His death was more than the disciples could handle.  Jesus’ shocked and demoralized disciples scattered and left.  If they had been absolutely confident of Jesus’ resurrection, one would think they would have set up a vigil outside His tomb in anticipation of His resurrection.   Notwithstanding, Jesus did arise and when He did the power of Satan over mankind was crushed forever.

Revelation 12:10
“And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night.”
We see in this part of the vision, the eternal purpose of God in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.  God’s righteous nature demands the punishment of death for sin.  Satan and the sinful angels well knew this and it is obvious here that God was reminded of this by Satan continually.  Satan is demanding man suffer the same punishment for sin that he received.  Mankind sinned and Satan is right there accusing mankind of this and wanting to know why God hasn’t given them the same treatment He got.   When Jesus Christ died at the hand of man for the sins of man, the penalty of death which God’s righteous nature demanded was paid in full by Jesus Christ who was one of the three persons of the Godhood.  In effect, God paid the penalty of death for man’s sin in man’s place.  Satan did not know what God’s plan was until it unfolded and when it did, and the debt was paid for the sins of mankind, Satan had no more complaint against man with God.  Until Jesus paid the death penalty for man’s sin, Satan had a valid argument.  God’s righteous nature demanded death for disobedience and Satan never let God forget it. 

Satan hates God and He is powerless to harm God.  The only way Satan can hurt God is to drag mankind whom God loves through the muck and mire of sin and then cast it in God’s teeth.  Of course Satan’s hatred is especially focused on God’s faithful and it is the faithful he wants most to bring down.  He knows that when he brings down one of God’s own, God suffers for it.  Old Testament scripture reveals that it was God’s faithful who were the targets of Satan’s accusations.  Satan tried to say that Job was only faithful because of the goodness God showed him.  When that failed to be true, Satan said Job would curse God to His face if God would allow him to afflict Job directly and Job prevailed and prospered.  In Zechariah 3:1 we see a picture of Satan resisting Joshua who was standing sinful in the sight of God and God clothed Joshua in clean garments.  There is no evidence in scripture anywhere of Satan opposing unbelievers so from this we can conclude that Satan’s primary attention was directed towards God’s faithful children.

Now that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has paid the penalty for the sins of mankind, all faithful children of God can stand before Him justified of their sins.  Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, faithful children of God can no longer be accused by Satan.  Satan cannot accuse God’s faithful children of sin anymore because God provided them a way of appearing sinless before Him by suffering the death He demanded for man’s sin, Himself.  In today’s language we can illustrate this thusly:  “Satan, you demanded the same penalty for your sin be inflicted on sinful man, so I went down there and died for them in their place.  I suffered the death you demanded of them myself, now stop accusing them and get out of my sight.”

With the death of Jesus and the coming of the Christian age, there was a justification of sin, never before known.  The Hebrew writer taught that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin (Hebrews 10:4) and that the transgressions under the first covenant were forgiven (Hebrews 9:15).  All who lived before the cross and who will live after can have the complete and total forgiveness of sin.  It was at this time that salvation for man had come, and the power of God had been revealed and the spiritual kingdom of God was established.  This part of the vision is the coming of the church of Christ. 

Revelation 12:11
“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.”
And this is a vision of those who overcame and triumphed over Satan.  There are three conditions here for the overcomers.  There was the blood of Jesus which served as the perfect sacrifice, the will of God revealed in the New Testament and faithfulness to the terms of the covenant even to the point of death.  Without any one of these, there is no salvation.

Revelation 12:12
“Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe for the earth and for the sea: because the devil is gone down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time.”
Through the sacrifice of Christ, we have a “better covenant, which was established upon better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).  We have every reason to rejoice because now we can stand justified in the sight of God, something never before known to the children of God.  Satan can no longer accuse the faithful in God’s sight for past sins.  All that is left for him now is to deceive the nations and try and lead as many astray as he can.  Satan knows now that there will be people who live in God’s presence forever.  He knows what his fate is and knows there will be no escape for him so his mission now is to take as many with him as possible.  This is the only avenue left open for him to oppose God and cause Him suffering.  Satan knows the only way he can hurt God now is to hurt those he loved so much and he can do this by deceiving them and leading them astray away from the shelter of His church.  Satan’s time is short and he knows it, so his efforts towards this end are reinforced. 

Revelation 12:13
“And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he persecuted the woman that brought forth the man (child).”
When Satan realized he could no longer accuse the righteous, he set out to try and destroy the faithful children of God.  This is the beginning of the great persecution. 

Revelation 12:14
“And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness unto her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.”
Looking at this through the eyes of first century Christians, this is likely one or both of two events being in view here.  In Acts 8:1, we read of the first great persecution of the Christians by the Jews:  “Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.”  These Christians left their homes and fled Jerusalem out into the unknown and scattered all over the Roman Empire preaching the gospel (Acts 8:4).  From the perspective of the Christians who fled, they were going out into the wilderness away from their homes.  The apostles stayed behind in Jerusalem when the first Christians fled.  The next great event happened in 70 AD when Titus destroyed Jerusalem and burned the temple.  The Christians living in Jerusalem then had been warned by Jesus as recorded in Matthew 24 to leave Jerusalem before this happened.  History has no records of any Christians dying in the destruction of Jerusalem so the general belief is that they all escaped.  They too would have been scattered across the empire wherever they could find a place to live.  To them, when leaving their homes, fleeing for their lives, it doubtless looked to them like they were heading out into the wilderness much like the children of Israel did when they left Egypt.

The “time and times and half a time” is three and a half years, representing an indefinite period of time, which is the same time period as seen in verse 6.  The nourishment for the faithful Christians during this time could be the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit providing them with the word of God which was their spiritual food.  The providential care of God can be said to be included in this as well.  It is obvious from the content of the letter of Revelation itself that God was extremely concerned for the well being of His children and He made sure they knew He was with them and in control of the situation.

Revelation 12:15
“And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water as a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream.”
Water as a river is a familiar old testament picture of a flood of oppression against God’s people.  “And Jehovah spake unto me yet again, saying, forasmuch as this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the River, strong and many, (even) the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it shall come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks; and it shall sweep onward into Judah; it shall overflow and pass through; it shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel” (Isaiah 8:5-8).  Similar examples of water being pictured as oppression against God’s people are found in Isaiah 43:2, Psalm 144:7 and Psalm 32:6. 

The serpent sending a flood from his mouth is a figure for the amount of oppression he will send forth upon the children of God.  Pagan worship with all the lusts associated with that, lies, deceit, false philosophies, false teachings and false accusations against the church were just a part of the river of persecution that Satan spewed forth against the saints.  Christianity became illegal in the Roman Empire before it was all over and the persecution came in all forms up to and including death.   

Revelation 12:16
“And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth.”
This is a picture of God’s providential care for His people.  Looking back to an earlier vision, God made it plain that His retribution upon the people of the earth was held back in favor of God’s children.  Earthquakes, floods, famines, diseases and other natural disasters hampered and weakened the instruments of Satan’s wrath and he was unable to completely destroy God’s people from the face of the earth. 

Revelation 12:17
“And the dragon waxed wroth with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, that keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus”
Satan is angry because he cannot destroy Christians from the face of the earth so he is going to entrench himself and continue his war with God’s people for the rest of the time available to him.  This part of the vision is prophetic past the final destruction of the Roman Empire.  Satan is still at war with Christians and those who “keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus” are still fighting the battle between good and evil.  It is a worldwide battle and the stakes are the souls of mankind, both saved and unsaved.  The world is filled with false gods and false worship.  Those who claim Christ as their savior are divided into thousands of different denominations. 

Satan is still waging his war against righteousness and will continue to do so until the end.  The persecution is still life and death in some areas of the world and in others it is religious deception.  Billions of people on earth claim Christ as their savior in thousands of different denominations in the face of scripture that commands unity.  The advent of salvation by faith only is destroying more souls than the Roman Empire ever thought of and billions of people are going to their judgments only to be saddened because they believed Satan’s deceptions. 

Summary
This was the introduction to the bittersweet contents of the little book John was told to take and eat.  Revelation chapter 12 is a overview of the whole coming of Jesus Christ from the Israelite nation.  The vision portrays the birth and ascension of Jesus to the throne of God in Heaven.   In this vision we see the fall of Satan and his angels and his rage over his defeat by Jesus Christ.  Satan finds himself cast out of heaven and powerless against the heavenly host so he turns his malicious hatred upon those who God loves still on the earth.  Bent upon their destruction, he goes about trying every method of temptation and deceit he can think of to bring about the destruction of God’s faithful children from the earth. 

The introductions to the characters in the little book have been made, the setting for the vision has been set and now following will be the details of the battle between good and evil specific to the minds and experiences of those Christians living in the first century and following up until the downfall of the Roman Empire.  And in the end of this series of visions, we see death itself and all those who chose that as their destiny, forever cast into the lake of fire. 

Revelation 12 Paraphrase

Then in my next vision, I witnessed an event of great significance.  I saw the faithful remnant of the Israelites like a bride irradiated with the brightness of God, with the nations of the world beneath her feet and the likeness of the twelve sons of Israel on her head.  She was about to being forth the promised Messiah and she was in great distress and torment from the world while awaiting His birth. 

Then I saw another event that happened in heaven.  I saw Satan who was like a great red dragon with total hatred for mankind and great power and wearing headpieces like the wicked kings of the earth wore.  He had deceived a great number of angels and they had all been cast from heaven onto the earth.  And Satan who had opposed God stood on the earth in front of the faithful children of God awaiting the arrival of the Messiah so that he could destroy Him as soon as he was born. 

And then Jesus Christ, the promised messiah who would rule all the nations triumphed over death and ascended up unto God and to His throne.  And God’s children fled into the wilderness to escape the wrath of Satan and where they were nourished by God and His word for a space of time.  And the war between good and evil waxed hot and Satan and His angels were finally defeated and thrown down and there was found no more place for them in the heavens.  Satan, the deceiver of the whole earth and his followers were at last cast out.  

And then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now salvation has come, and strength, and the spiritual kingdom of our God under the authority of His Son.  And the adversary Satan has at last been defeated and his constant accusations before God are now ended.”

And the saints overcame Satan by the blood of Jesus, and by faithfulness to Jesus Christ’s word, and by patience and perseverance even unto death.  Therefore rejoice all ye who remained faithful unto death and dwell in paradise.  But Woe to those who yet live upon the earth for Satan has come to persecute you and he is angry because he knows he has lost and has only a short time left to hurt mankind. 

And Satan persecuted the children of God and to them were given the wings of eagles so they could escape into all the earth where God cared for them and fed them and protected them from the face of the evil one.  And Satan brought upon God’s children a flood of persecutions from worldly enemies in an effort to destroy them but the earth rose up against them and helped the faithful children of God.  And Satan was angry with the Christians and went to make war with the remnant of the faithful who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

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