Rev 13:18This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. 14:1Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
Let's talk about 666, and marks:
Those who had chosen to worship Caesar, there was a mark placed on their right hand or forehead, so the concept is not unfamiliar.
We also know that when the Jews prayed they wore phylacteries on their foreheads or left arm. These are leather pieces with little scrolls of paper inside them which have Bible passages on them.
Soldiers branded themselves with the name of their general to show their allegiance to him.
Slaves were sometimes (usually in a runaway, caught situation) branded with a mark of their owner.
We even see it today with persons tattooing names of their loved ones on their own body.
What we know:
Charagma is the word for the mark of the beast. It would mean that a person would get this mark only at the cost of denying Christ.
We get from the passage that it will be a literal mark on the right hand or forehead.
It is not stated what the name will be but, there have been many attempts to figure it out. Most have been chooses solely on the idea that the Greek translation would cause the name to equal 666. I.e.: Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini...etc. The idea is that in the Greek and Hebrew alphabets there is not a separation of letters and numbers. the alphabets stand for numbers. Therefore, add the letters and 666 appear on some of the names. This is truly human speculation and have no Biblical backing.
Remember, he will not appear until after the church is ruptured and there is the formation of the 10 kingdoms.
Interesting fact is that six is the number of man, and the number three is of manifestation. So, three sixes is the full manifestation of man....His last attempt at to be a God?
There is a significance to taking a mark, it could mean:
1. Ownership, whom would you want to belong to?
2. Loyalty, as in the slave or the general mentioned above.
3. Security or Safety, in pas times, a mark could mean you are related to someone of importance and to mess with you would mean to mess with that person as well. Again I ask, who would you want security from?
4. Dependence, total and complete, for food , water, shelter, money etc. Arabic culture did this to show who was responsible for whom. We today do this to a lesser degree with our pets, we put a chip under their skin to inform the person who found them where the animal lives and who is responsible for it.
There have been many many guesses to who this man of 666 may be but, I myself will not be around to see it! I pray that you will not be either! Wisdom is to turn your life over to Christ and don't sweat the numbers!
Another post soon,
Until next time,
Blessings on all!
Calabash
Monday, October 29, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Revelation 13 :11-18
Rev 13: 11 Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. 12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. 14 Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.
Last blog we mentioned there might be an "un-holy or satanic trinity". If this is the cast, the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet would be our three players.
The Dragon we mentioned was thrown down from Heaven and is Satan (the Anti-God). The Beast, the son of the Dragon, who appears on earth, dies (remember, it may not be a physical death), is resurrected, and given power by Satan. and the False Prophet (will speak of in chapters to come).
Turn to Daniel 11:36-45. Here we find a really good description of the Anti-Christ. We read he will arise in Jerusalem, be an atheist ("he shall not regard the God of his fathers" (God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and become a Jew. He would have to become a Jew or he would have no claim to Israel. This guy will not honor God or any supernatural god, until eventually the man to come. (come into power, the first beast).
If this Beast is the son of the Dragon, it would make him the Anti-Christ. This would mean it would be similar things that would coincide with our Holy Christ:
1. It would also be a man. Personal pronouns are used, like "he", to describe this beast.
2. "Coming up out of the earth." Both of the last two beast mentioned will be natural men born in the last days. This will fulfill prophesy of Dan. 7:11, Isa 11:4 and 2 The 2:8.
3. This Beast will arrive after the first beast mentioned and will act as the first beast prophet. (Rev 13:13; 19:20; 20:10)
4. The mentioning of the "like a lamb". Now think here. Whom else do we refer to as "a lamb". That's right! This beast will have some Christ like appearance or mannerisms. Be meek and have strength. But, he will be known by his words..."Spoke like a dragon"!
5. This guy has all the authority of the first beast. He is the first beasts' cheer section, his promotion posse, his PR firm and will convince people to worship the first beast.
6. Verse 13 says he can do miracles, this will help in the deception of men.
7. With all the signs and miracles, it will be easy to convince men to make idols of the first beast. (verse 14)
8. He will be able to convince men to make a image of the first beast and then give it live and cause it to speak and to bring death to those who do not worship this Antichrist.
9. There will be a mark that will be forced upon those who belong to the kingdom of the Antichrist. Either on the forehead or the hand. The mark will be the number of his name. This is where the 666 comes from.
10. People who do not get the mark, will not be able to buy, trade or sell.
This is much information that will be talked about further as we read more of the Book of Revelation. I will stop here for now.
Remember this will happen AFTER the church is taken. You do not have to go through this, you can live a better life NOW. Contact me or a church to turn your life over to Christ. He loves you and wants the best for you, not this, not what is described here. It is truly as easy as ABC !...Admit you need Christ, Believe He died and rose again and Confess Him to be your personal Savior! DONE ! Hang with people who believe in The Holy Bible and strengthen one another with God, Christ and the Holy Spirit in your new life to guide you.
Blessings on all till next time,
Calabash
Last blog we mentioned there might be an "un-holy or satanic trinity". If this is the cast, the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet would be our three players.
The Dragon we mentioned was thrown down from Heaven and is Satan (the Anti-God). The Beast, the son of the Dragon, who appears on earth, dies (remember, it may not be a physical death), is resurrected, and given power by Satan. and the False Prophet (will speak of in chapters to come).
Turn to Daniel 11:36-45. Here we find a really good description of the Anti-Christ. We read he will arise in Jerusalem, be an atheist ("he shall not regard the God of his fathers" (God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and become a Jew. He would have to become a Jew or he would have no claim to Israel. This guy will not honor God or any supernatural god, until eventually the man to come. (come into power, the first beast).
If this Beast is the son of the Dragon, it would make him the Anti-Christ. This would mean it would be similar things that would coincide with our Holy Christ:
1. It would also be a man. Personal pronouns are used, like "he", to describe this beast.
2. "Coming up out of the earth." Both of the last two beast mentioned will be natural men born in the last days. This will fulfill prophesy of Dan. 7:11, Isa 11:4 and 2 The 2:8.
3. This Beast will arrive after the first beast mentioned and will act as the first beast prophet. (Rev 13:13; 19:20; 20:10)
4. The mentioning of the "like a lamb". Now think here. Whom else do we refer to as "a lamb". That's right! This beast will have some Christ like appearance or mannerisms. Be meek and have strength. But, he will be known by his words..."Spoke like a dragon"!
5. This guy has all the authority of the first beast. He is the first beasts' cheer section, his promotion posse, his PR firm and will convince people to worship the first beast.
6. Verse 13 says he can do miracles, this will help in the deception of men.
7. With all the signs and miracles, it will be easy to convince men to make idols of the first beast. (verse 14)
8. He will be able to convince men to make a image of the first beast and then give it live and cause it to speak and to bring death to those who do not worship this Antichrist.
9. There will be a mark that will be forced upon those who belong to the kingdom of the Antichrist. Either on the forehead or the hand. The mark will be the number of his name. This is where the 666 comes from.
10. People who do not get the mark, will not be able to buy, trade or sell.
This is much information that will be talked about further as we read more of the Book of Revelation. I will stop here for now.
Remember this will happen AFTER the church is taken. You do not have to go through this, you can live a better life NOW. Contact me or a church to turn your life over to Christ. He loves you and wants the best for you, not this, not what is described here. It is truly as easy as ABC !...Admit you need Christ, Believe He died and rose again and Confess Him to be your personal Savior! DONE ! Hang with people who believe in The Holy Bible and strengthen one another with God, Christ and the Holy Spirit in your new life to guide you.
Blessings on all till next time,
Calabash
Monday, October 1, 2012
Revelation 13:7-10
Rev 13:7 He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. 9 He who has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.
We see here that the Book of Life is mentioned and it is mentioned several times in Revelation, Chapters 3, 13,17,20(x2) and 21. This many mentions, it must be important!! In addition, it is mentioned in Psalm 69 and Philip 4. Those names that are in the book are a register of who belongs to God! Is your name there? I pray so! Those that are written in, the Lord will watch over them but, they will be in with a huge group of heathen persons, there will be little to no retreat or sanctuary for them they will most likely be martyred. Those belonging to God will have to endure, it will take great faithfulness to get through this. Remember, there will be no Holy Spirit to be with
You see friend, the book of Revelation is our warning, it is not meant to scare us, it is there to encourage us to keep the faith, to know the promises of God are YES and AMEN for those who believe in Christ Jesus. There is a new Kingdom coming, one of our King and Saviour! He is there for us and will prevent us from going through any of this!
Verse 10 refers to those who are in the Book of Life, there will be no escape of God's wrath. This passage has a connection in the Old Testament, see Jeremiah 15:2. This was a warning from Jeremiah to tell his people what will be happening. Here, we see, if being a Christian means dying by the sword, we will, if it means prison, we will be there, if it means following Christ, we will do it!
Being a Christian we, have our weapons. Steadfastness means hupomone which translates to, not just passively accepting, but courageously accepting what is happening. Loyalty means pistis translated meaning is never wavering in devotion! Praise God he gives us such strength!
The next chapter introduces us to yet another beast so, I will end here and pray for wisdom to all who are reading this that you may glean what is necessary! Please remember, this is a public blog, feel free to write to me if you need assistance. Plus, you are free to share this with someone who you may have concerns about, we want as many with us as possible to enter God's coming Kingdom! Amen!
Till next blog,
Calabash
Monday, September 24, 2012
Revelation 13:3-6
3One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.4And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?" 5And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
There is a book that is out of circulation called, "The Greatest Book on Dispensational Truth in the World", it is by Clarence Larkin. Mr. Larkin describes a "satanic trinity" where he reminds us that Satan is the god of this world, 2Cor 4:4. Many times Satan tries to mimic or ape the actions of God.
So, as God sent his son Jesus; Satan send a Antichrist into this world.
As God is part of Christ; Satan will be part of his Antichrist.
See 1 Tim 3:16 God in the "flesh"; Now see 2 Thess.2:7, Satan will manifest in the "flesh".
Christ has a Church; Now remember in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 where it mentions "Synagogue of Satan", that will be his church.
Christ has a bride, The Church; Satan will have a bride too, see Rev 17:1-16.
There is a book that is out of circulation called, "The Greatest Book on Dispensational Truth in the World", it is by Clarence Larkin. Mr. Larkin describes a "satanic trinity" where he reminds us that Satan is the god of this world, 2Cor 4:4. Many times Satan tries to mimic or ape the actions of God.
So, as God sent his son Jesus; Satan send a Antichrist into this world.
As God is part of Christ; Satan will be part of his Antichrist.
See 1 Tim 3:16 God in the "flesh"; Now see 2 Thess.2:7, Satan will manifest in the "flesh".
Christ has a Church; Now remember in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 where it mentions "Synagogue of Satan", that will be his church.
Christ has a bride, The Church; Satan will have a bride too, see Rev 17:1-16.
We take Communion with Christ with the cup, 1 Cor. 10:16: Now see 1 Cor 10:21 The cup of the Antichrist, "Cup of Devils"
Christ's earthly ministry lasted 3.5 yrs; Satan's will last the same.
Christ was placed on the cross at 33 years old; Antichrist will fe smitten at 33.
The Holy Trinity:
God The Father
Christ the Son
and The Holy Spirit (with us now)
Satanic Trinity:
The Dragon- The Anti-god Recall Rev. 12:7-17 where the dragon was cast out.
The Beast- The Anti-Christ
The False Prophet- The Anti-Spirit.
This is all on page 123 of the book mentioned above. I found my copy on line, Amazon, if your interested. (Good book, highly recommend for Revelation studies.)
Here we are talking about the Beast, the Anti-Christ. Notice one of the heads have a mortal wound, and the wound was healed. The entire beast didn't die and was resurrected, one of the heads was. Theory here, is that Rome had 5 distinct forms of government before John's time. In John's time there was a sixth, it was the Imperial style. This form was completely destroyed or, the "heads seem to have a mortal wound,". It may be restored but, in a different condition, making it a 7th head. There will be 10 nations banding together and will have one of the heads as the leader, this man will be "The Beast. This man will exercise his authority so completely that people will be amazed and and thrilled and accepting of this ruler. Feeling that he has their best intentions in mind. In a word, he was worshiped...It is difficult here, they will worship the Beast but know it is the Dragon that gives the Beast his power.
This man, beast, will be attractive, charismatic, intelligent, he will have great ability and will have the final say on so many issues, including religion. Read above, verse 5 and 6, he will blaspheme God and say things against God. He will be given this power for 42 months.
I hope this is not to difficult to follow, it is a difficult point in the book. This should be enough for tonight!
Blessings on All!
Calabash
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Revelation 13:1 & 2
1And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bears, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.
Chapter 13 talks about what happens when Satan is thrown out of Heaven. He is aware that time is short and that he needs to do the most damage he can in the time he has. So, he enlist some assistance from his minions. We will find the mention of two beast in chapter 13.
Verse one talks of a beast rising out of the sea. The sea here is the sea of Humanity. We will find the proof of that in Daniel 7: "24As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings."
One theory of the horns and heads:
The 7 horns and the ten heads are the rulers and the emperors of Rome since the first emperor, Augustus:
Notice we are brought back to the realization of who is telling the story- "I" saw- reminds us that John is receiving this vision from God.
Chapter 13 talks about what happens when Satan is thrown out of Heaven. He is aware that time is short and that he needs to do the most damage he can in the time he has. So, he enlist some assistance from his minions. We will find the mention of two beast in chapter 13.
Verse one talks of a beast rising out of the sea. The sea here is the sea of Humanity. We will find the proof of that in Daniel 7: "24As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings."
One theory of the horns and heads:
The 7 horns and the ten heads are the rulers and the emperors of Rome since the first emperor, Augustus:
1. Tiberius
2. Caligula
3. Claudius
4. Nero
5. Vespasian
6. Titus
7. Domitian
The 10 horns: after the death of Nero, there was chaos. There were 3 rulers for a short period of time: Galba, Otho, and Vitellius.
The scripture says the names on its heads are blasphemous. The titles the emperors took are called divus or sebastos meaning divine. On Nero's coins was actually written "The Saviour of the World".
Later emperors took titles as dominos or kurios which means lord.
The 10 horns could also be symbolic of the 10 kingdoms which are not yet formed but, will be formed inside the Old Roman Empire. See Dan.7:23-24
Daniel's fourth beast was compared to this beast and found that it was the fourth kingdom upon the earth, the Roman Empire. John's beast represents the revived Roman Empire which will embody all the characteristics of all four of the world empires.
Lets look at the description:
John's Beast: Daniel's Fourth Beast:
Out of the sea Out of sea (our of the sea of humanity-from the nations)
Leopard body Dreadful and terrible
feat of Bear Exceedingly strong
Mouth of Lion Great Iron Teeth and nails of brass
Note: The Book of Daniel also mentions "three wild beasts" prior to this one. That is of the Lion (Bablyon) Dan 7:1-4, the Bear (Medo-Persia) Dan 7:5, and the Leopard (Greece)Dan 7:6.
Back to the beasts:
Both beasts have 10 horns. In both situations, the 10 horns stand for the 10 kings. We will see in chapter 17 that the Roman Empire will be divided into 10 separate kingdoms, each will have a Head or King.
More about this first beast in Revelation:
He will become the ruler of the territory of the 7 kingdoms.
The majority of the literature out there agrees that this beast will become the ruler of the 10 kingdoms that have not yet been formed.
The beast is also a man, in the verse it refers to the beast as "his".
He will have power and authority given to him by the dragon. So, Satan is giving this beast power.
We will find out what this beast is going to accomplish as we go on through Revelation...don't want to jump to far ahead.
This is a great place to stop!!
Next time we will discuss the Wounded head.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Revelation 12:13-17
13And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.14But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.
15The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.17Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
How do you get to a child? Go through his mother! This is exactly what the dragon (Satan) did! He took off after Mom (Israel). But, God gave her the wings of an eagle to fly into the wilderness for a time, and times and half a time. (Remember: a time is a year...it is the same as 42 months).
15The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.17Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
How do you get to a child? Go through his mother! This is exactly what the dragon (Satan) did! He took off after Mom (Israel). But, God gave her the wings of an eagle to fly into the wilderness for a time, and times and half a time. (Remember: a time is a year...it is the same as 42 months).
About the wings, it has been used before in the OT. See Exodus 19:4, "4You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself." as well as Isaiah 40:31. It has been noted that the eagles wings are symbolic to the out stretched arms of Christ on the Cross. (Hippolytus noted this). The basic thought here is the protection given to Israel.
About the Water out of the serpents mouth:
There are two train of thoughts here,
1. That the water symbolizes The Antichrist's armies actually pursuing Israel. In a real and physical way.
2. That the river from the mouth is evil teaching. This would contrast nicely the live giving waters flowing from the mouth of Christ.
This is another one of those things we may just have to see, again, from the sidelines watching from Heaven!
Notice the ground actually opens up and swallows the river, do you ever recall the Earth helping out Christians before? See Numbers 16:30, "32And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods." Here is an OT reference concerning Korah and company! If it has happened once, it certainly can happen again!
Another thought is concerning the evil teaching, and that it will be so shocking and hard to believe that it will fall on dry ears, that it will "fall on the earth without effect" or have no effect on the people it was intended for. Have you ever heard anything so outrageous that you just couldn't believe it? This is what Israel will experience.
So, not being able to get "the woman or the man-child", the dragon goes to find the rest of the family. This is the finish of chapter 12. In chapter 13 we will find out what "the rest of the family" means.
Blessing on all,
Calabash
About the Water out of the serpents mouth:
There are two train of thoughts here,
1. That the water symbolizes The Antichrist's armies actually pursuing Israel. In a real and physical way.
2. That the river from the mouth is evil teaching. This would contrast nicely the live giving waters flowing from the mouth of Christ.
This is another one of those things we may just have to see, again, from the sidelines watching from Heaven!
Notice the ground actually opens up and swallows the river, do you ever recall the Earth helping out Christians before? See Numbers 16:30, "32And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods." Here is an OT reference concerning Korah and company! If it has happened once, it certainly can happen again!
Another thought is concerning the evil teaching, and that it will be so shocking and hard to believe that it will fall on dry ears, that it will "fall on the earth without effect" or have no effect on the people it was intended for. Have you ever heard anything so outrageous that you just couldn't believe it? This is what Israel will experience.
So, not being able to get "the woman or the man-child", the dragon goes to find the rest of the family. This is the finish of chapter 12. In chapter 13 we will find out what "the rest of the family" means.
Blessing on all,
Calabash
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Revelation 12:6-12
Before we move on lets recap, the woman is Israel, the Dragon is Satan, the man-child is not Christ but the 144,000.
Rev 12:6and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.7Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back,8but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
9And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
There is something else happening here, war is going on in heaven (v. 7) and Satan being cast out (v. 8) when the man-child is being taken up. See Dan. 11:45-12:1; Isa. 24:21-22; 25:7-8; 27:1, this is telling what is going to happen after the man-child is taken.
Rev 12:6and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.7Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back,8but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
9And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
1260 days is something we have gone over as well, look back and recall the 70th weeks explanation, and this refers to the first half of the 70th week. It is the beginning of sorrows. The woman Israel is fleeing into the wilderness. We have seen this before in our Bibles; Elijah to Cherith to be nourished by ravens & John escaping to the desert to be nourished by the angelic messenger, just to name two. God will give us an out to protect us when we need it! We ALWAYS have an escape to God, to talk to Him, to worship Him and to just be with Him.
The War in Heaven is for possession of the heavenlies. See Eph 6:12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Satan reigns here. But, what Satan did was follow the taking of the man-child up into heaven where Michael was waiting...and there was war. In verse 8, he was defeated and cast out, never to return. It appears Satan influenced angles while there, once they had turned allegiance away from God, were cast out of heaven with Satan. Note, we need to take care to be on the right side. Right now there is forgiveness waiting for you, all you need to do is ask. If you need help with this, please, write to me or seek spiritual guidance somewhere. If that is not available, get on your knees, ask God for forgiveness and start a right relationship with Him! Acknowledge that Christ died and rose again for you and me and that He is the most important person in your life. Now, live right and continue that relationship, you'll be better for it!
Rev 12:10And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God11And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death12Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!"
(Timeline: right before Rev 12:10 is where the 3rd Woe is announced)
We see here a proclamation of 4 things:
1. To everyone concerned: God and Christ have defeated Satan and all his minions. They have been thrown out of heaven. Now there is:
a. salvation
b. power,
c. the kingdom of God
d. the authority of Christ!
2. & 3.To the Saints & the heavenly inhabitants: The accuser is gone...thrown down. The passage here (v 11) is referring to the martyrs. These are the persons in all of time who have been martyred. These are the persons who have persevered , did not waiver when it came to the question of "Who do you worship?" When told, "Deny Christ or God in Heaven and worship me." The answer was a resounding, "NO!!, NEVER!". These persons have proven themselves superior to Satan and to his seduction. Their victory was won "by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony"
4. To those left on Earth: Sad and horrible for those left on Earth for the Devil is now down with you and he is very angry! Why? Because he has only a short time to gather company!
Blessings on all till next time!
Calabash!
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