God’s Devil - Part 10: The Serpent is Cast Out of Heaven
God's judgment is often long in arriving but when it does arrive, it is swift and sure. As human history wraps up toward it's end, the end of Satan will happen in stages.
The lake of fire was sure from the moment Lucifer spoke the words given in Isaiah 14:14 “... I will make myself like the Most High”. For many centuries Satan has ruled the earth since with his end postponed. When He no longer needs Satan for His own purposes, God will bring Satan's end.
At the cross, the prince of this world was defeated, and in that moment Satan was judged and found to be guilty. He was shown to be deficient in purpose and power. Satan took a blow to the head and the death on the cross only showed Satan taking a nip at the heel of Jesus just as Genesis 3:15 foretold.
Satan's final ruin comes in three stages:
First, he is cast out of heaven.
Second, he is bound for 1,000 years.
Third, he is cast into the eternal lake of fire.
Does Satan still have access to heaven today? For far over 2,000 years, believers in Yahweh in the OT and in the Father and His Son in the NT, have asked this question. Does the heavenly meeting described in the first chapter of Job still occur? Since Satan is still accusing us and using his temptations to harass us, it seems likely the answer is yes, since he must receive permission to do so. It seems probable that he has not yet been fully denied access. Remember that there is no human time in heaven so John was shown things both current and future when he was given the vision of Revelation.
Revelation 12 allows two signs of the coming final warfare.
12:1-2:
“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.
And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pain to be delivered.”
The woman represents Israel and the stars represent the tribes. We see this because this woman is still existing in the tribulation times.
12:5:
“And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.”
This one sentence summary is of Christ's birth, life, and ascension into heaven.
The second sign is given in verse 3:
“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.”
The crowns show his authority and the ten horns are thought to be the ten kingdoms described in Daniel 7 where we are given a view of kingdoms unified under Satan's puppet, the Antichrist.
There is more to consider.
12:4:
“And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven; and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
Past and present events are seen as one. The picture given is meant to be horrid. The evil dragon stands by waiting for the woman to give birth so he can destroy the child. The woman, however, flees to the wilderness where she is protected and nourished for forty two months (three & one half years), the last half of the tribulation.
As a result of the war in heaven, Satan left the glories there, never to again reside there. Michael, the angel, who had great respect for Lucifer (Satan) not contending with him for the body of Moses (Jude 9), now fights Satan with confidence.
12:7-8:
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought, and his angels,
And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.”
We must remember that Michael and Lucifer (Satan) were once co-servants together in the Lord's heaven. This portion of the story is the heavenly counterpart of the victory of Jesus Christ on earth. The devil and his angels are thrown out and have lost their place above.
12:10:
“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”
This kingdom could only be proclaimed because Satan, the accuser of the brethren, had been cast down. If this kingdom is the millennial kingdom, as seems likely, it begins the literal reign of Jesus
After he is cast out we read a warning in verse 12.
12:12:
“... Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”
He knows his time is short and he hits the earth running He continues to pursue Israel (the woman) trying to destroy the nation but God prevails again, not allowing that effort to succeed. Losing his place in heaven appears to have made Satan more determined to succeed on earth. During the last three and one half years of the tribulation period, Satan, through his Antichrist, rules the world.
Satan will inhabit a man who appears to be God. He forms his unholy trinity with himself as the father, the Antichrist as the son and the beast he creates as the spirit. In these days all will worship them except the elect whose names were in the Book of Life before the foundation of the world. False miracles will be seen. He will create a new religion that seeks to imitate Christianity. He will control the world's vast financial network by commanding that only those who have his mark may buy or sell. Those who challenge the authority will be put to death. The devil will be seen to be in charge.
While the church will have already have been raptured there will be those who stand against this evil rule. These will be the overcomers.
12:11:
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
They overcome the same way we do, by the blood of our Lamb, the Messiah. The power of the cross still stands. Next their testimony is active and has power. Third, they have been given the awesome gift of martyrdom keeping Satan from his victory. Just as it was God's will for Jesus Christ to die at the hands of evil men, so His followers die under the same care and plan. Even here, the devil is still God's servant. Death cannot frighten the followers of the Prince of Life. The devil will end because God will not allow worship of a counterfeit to stand. Worship is only allowed to stand for His Son.
The final showdown is near.