JRNT 523 WAR IN HEAVEN, WRATH ON EARTH REVELATION 12:7-17 4/19/2026 JESSE RANDOLPH Well tonight, we’re picking up our regular Sunday evening series in the book of Revelation as we make our way to the end, Lord willing, of Revelation 12. As we saw last time, we’re in a section of Revelation specifically a section that spans chapters 12, 13, and 14, where the Apostle John through this vision he received isn’t really moving the chronology forward during his recounting of events of the Tribulation. Instead, the chronology is paused for these three chapters you could say while Jesus, as He continues to give John these insights of these events that are to come during the Tribulation, is really setting the stage for the events that will come in the second half of the Tribulation known as the Great Tribulation. And that’s what we had last Sunday night, some stage setting. We’re at this point in the Tribulation, at this point in John’s vision, as we started to unpack last weekend where the focus really turns to Israel and the pressure and the opposition that Israel will face before Christ returns to this earth and sets up His kingdom. In the text we were in last Sunday night, verses 1-6 of Revelation 12, we were given insight into this Battle of the Ages between Israel, who is pictured as this woman who was with child, between Satan who’s pictured as this great red dragon, and between Christ. And Christ is really the linchpin of the entire conflict as Israel was always looking to bring forth her Messiah to see Him come to rule and to reign while Satan was always going back to the very beginning, always looking to prevent the Messiah from coming. And then when He did come in the Person of Jesus, Satan was continually looking to put an end to Him, whether you looked at the events of his temptation in the wilderness or the events living up to the cross and so on. So that was last week. And as we continue on into our text this evening, and Lord willing again, we’re going to get all the way to the end of chapter 12, the stage setting here continues as John, through this vision and before he proceeds to go back to the chronology of events that will come in the second half of the Tribulation, gives more details undergirding these ongoing conflicts between the forces of good and the forces of evil, which will go on all the way till the very end. So let’s look at this text. We’re going to be in Revelation 12:7-17 tonight. I’ll go ahead and read it on the front end and then we’ll work through it verse by verse, line by line. It says, “There was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then 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, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witness, and they did not love their life even to death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.’ And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. So the dragon was enraged with the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the witness of Jesus.” Let’s get into it. There are really two things happening in our text for this evening. First, in verses 7-12, what we see is a war in heaven. And then second, in verses 13-17, what’s being described is wrath on earth. So war in heaven, wrath on earth, those are the two points for this evening’s message. Let’s begin with WAR IN HEAVEN. That’s how John describes it in verses 7 and 8. He says “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.” That’s quite the jarring phrase right at the front end of this text, that there was war in heaven. And though it sounds like this war, it took place in the past, it sounds like this is past tense as though John is looking back at some war that was fought long ago, the orientation of these words and the orientation of this scene, is still future. It’s yet future. In other words, John’s vision and John’s words here in verse 7, are looking ahead to a war that has yet to be fought. A series of battles which are yet to be fought. And these battles, this war will be fought we see here between these classes of angels, holy angels on the one hand led by Michael, and evil angels led by this great dragon. So, on the one side you have the forces of Satan who we saw last week as depicted as this great dragon in this chapter. And then these evil angels, these fallen angels who are following Satan’s leadership in this future battle during the Tribulation. And on the other side will be Michael and the unfallen angels, the holy angels who will be marching forward, spiritually speaking, under the banner of Michael’s leadership. Now since this is our first introduction to Michael in the book of Revelation we need to answer the question, who is he? Who is Michael? Well go ahead and turn back with me one book to the book of Jude. We’re in Revelation right now but if you go to the second-to-last book of the Bible, this little epistle of Jude. And look at what’s recorded here in Jude verse 9. “But Michael the archangel, when he, disputing with the devil, was arguing about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’” Now for our purposes this evening, there are a few things to point out here. First, is that Michael whose name means “who is like God,” he’s described here in Jude 9 as this archangel, an angel of a heightened rank, an angel to whom other angels report. We see other references to Michael’s status among the other angels in the book of Daniel, where he’s referred to in Daniel 10:13 as the “chief of princes.” And in Daniel 12:1 as the “great prince.” Second, we see here that Michael has been long embroiled in this battle with the devil, who himself we know is an angel, a fallen angel, an evil angel. And then third, this reference in Jude 9, this reference to the body of Moses. This is a notoriously difficult verse, which we’re going to save for another day. But it indicates, for our purposes here this evening, that Michael has long been associated, by that Moses reference, with the people of Israel. So, this Jude reference tells us that Michael and his armies and Satan and his armies, have had their skirmishes in the past. And as we get back to our text here in Revelation 12, we see that there’s going to be an all-out war that bubbles over between them in the future. Look at Revelation 12:7 again which says, “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war.” The war between these angelic forces will be at the root of the terrible events that will take place during the second half of the Tribulation, the Great Tribulation, when Israel faces increased persecution and opposition by Satan and his forces. This is that period that’s referred to in the Old Testament, this second part of the Tribulation, as the period of Jacob’s trouble, the time of Jacob’s trouble. It’s described this way in Daniel 12:1. And note this reference again to Michael. It says, “Now at that time, Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will stand. And there will be a time of distress such as never happened since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.” Those events mentioned in Daniel 12:1 are going to play out in the text that we’ll be in this evening, and throughout the rest of the record of the Tribulation as given in the book of Revelation. So this war between Michael and his angels, and Satan and his angels, is described here in verse 7. And as we move into verse 8, we learn that Michael’s forces, the holy angels, will gain the upper hand. It says, “and they,” meaning, the evil angels, “were not strong enough.” They are those who were following the great dragon, and they’re not strong enough. “And there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.” What that’s describing is Satan and his evil angelic forces being cast out of heaven, being cast down from heaven. In fact, look ahead to verse 9 where we’re told three different times that Satan and His angels were thrown down from heaven. It says, “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” Now, for starters I want us all to note the number of descriptors offered by John here in verse 9 for our common foe. He’s referred to as the great dragon which is what he was referred to back in verse 3 of this chapter, this fearsome, destructive enemy. He’s also referred to as the serpent of old which harkens back, of course, to the Garden of Eden where sin first gained its foothold on humanity. Romans 5:12, “Through one man sin entered into the world.” He’s described here in verse 9 as the devil, diabolos in Greek, meaning slanderer, defamer. The father of lies, John 8:44, is how Jesus referred to him. And then last, he’s called here in verse 9 Satan which stems from a Hebrew word that means adversary. So this one who in Revelation 12:9 is being described as thrown down, is each of those. He’s the great dragon, he’s the serpent of old, he’s the devil, he’s Satan. He disguises himself as an angel of light as we see in 2 Corinthians 11:14. But in reality, he’s a fiery dragon, he’s a hissing snake. 1 Peter 5:8 says he’s a prowling lion. Now for some, those three references in verse 9, to Satan and his angels being thrown down causes them to trip up, because they are thinking of the biblical reality as some of you are right now, I’m sure, that Satan has already fallen from heaven. He’s already been cast from heaven. That’s what we think of when we think of Satan, among other things. He is a fallen angel right? And from where did he fall? Heaven. We see that reality portrayed in Isaiah 14. We see it portrayed in Ezekiel 28. It’s what Jesus Himself says in Luke 10:18 when He says, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” So, Satan has already fallen from heaven. That’s a historical fact. It’s supported by the biblical record. So how can Satan and his angels, as we’re told in verse 9 of our text, be thrown down from heaven in the future? If he’s already fallen, how can he fall? Does Satan have access to heaven right now? Well, the answer to that question, does Satan have access to heaven now, is yes. Satan had access to heaven as an unfallen angel in his original created state. In our present day and in our present world, we know that Satan’s domain is largely concerned with this earth and its population, as he attempts to blind those who live on this earth and draw them away from God, and rob God of the glory and the rulership and the dominion that He’s due. But even so, after the fall Satan has had access not only to the heavenlies, the celestial realm. Remember, Ephesians 2:2 says he is “the ruler of the power of the air.” Ephesians 6:12 says that along with his angels, he governs the world forces of this darkness. The spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. But Satan, in addition to the heavenlies, has also had access to heaven itself. Turn with me if you would to the book of Job, Job chapter 1, so we can see with our own eyes what I’m referring to when I say that Satan has had access to the heavenlies. I’m going to read just the first few verses here to get the context for the story. It’s familiar I’m sure to many of us here this evening. But let’s go ahead and get the backdrop. Job 1:1-5. “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil. Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 pairs of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the sons of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. Now it happened when the days of feasting had completed their cycle, that Job would send and set them apart as holy. And he would rise up early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, ‘Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job did continually.” Now take a look at verses 6-8. “Now it was the day that the sons of God came to stand before Yahweh, and Satan also came among them. And Yahweh said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, ‘From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.’ Then Yahweh said to Satan, ‘Have you set your heart upon My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.’” Now, what is this passage telling us? It’s telling us quite clearly that Satan came to stand before Yahweh. And where would this have taken place? Where would he have stood before Yahweh? Before the throne of God. And where is the throne of God? In heaven. Isaiah 66:1 says, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Heaven is My throne, and the earth is the footstool of My feet.’” Psalm 115:16 says, “The heavens are the heavens of Yahweh, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.” Or turn with me over to Job 2:(1-6) where we see this different account here, but a little bit later in the account of Job. Job 2:1-6 says, “Again it was the day that the sons of God came to stand before Yahweh, and Satan also came among them to stand himself before Yahweh.” Again, this is taking place before God’s throne in heaven. Verse 2. “And Yahweh said to Satan, ‘Where do you come from?’ Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, ‘From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.’ And Yahweh said to Satan, ‘Have you set your heart upon My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity. So you incited Me against him to swallow him up in vain.’ Satan answered Yahweh and said, ‘Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. However, send forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You in Your face.’ So Yahweh said to Satan, ‘Behold, he is in your hand, only spare his life.’” Now look at this, verses 7,8. “Then Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh.” So, in one moment, Satan’s there in God’s presence in heaven. Now he’s departing from heaven. And it continues where we see that Satan “struck Job with terrible boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.” So in the context of Job, what we’re told is that even after his fall Satan still had some form of access to heaven. There may also, by the way, be a reference to this reality in the book of Zechariah. On Palm Sunday I went through all of those visions that were given to the prophet Zechariah, and in one of those visions in Zechariah 3, Zechariah describes Satan being in God’s presence presumably, in heaven. This is from Zechariah 3:1,2, where the prophet says this, “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Yahweh, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And Yahweh said to Satan,” so they’re in person with each other, “Yahweh rebuke you, Satan!” So the point being, kind of keeping the big picture in view here, we have these Old Testament texts which indicate that even after Satan fell he had some form of access to heaven. Well as we make our way back to our text now, back to Revelation 12:9, we’re told here that the great dragon, it says was thrown down and he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. This passage, along with the passages in Job and maybe with the passages in Zechariah, what all of this is telling us is that in the present era in which we live, even today, though Satan did in fact fall from heaven, Satan since has had and still does have some degree of access to heaven. Don’t get this wrong in your head. This does not mean that he has unfettered access to heaven, or that he has rulership over heaven. No. That prerogative belongs to God alone. But Satan does, the Scriptures teach us, have some form of access to heaven. Now when this battle between Satan and his angels, and Michael and his angels, takes place in the second half of the Tribulation, that will no longer be the case. Let’s look at verses 7-9 again where it says, “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” What John was gathering from this part of his vision is that in this epic battle between these two categories of angels, the holy and the wicked, the good and the evil, between those competing contingencies within the angelic realm, Satan who was already defeated at Calvary, that was the heart behind Jesus’ cry, it is finished. Satan will be no match ultimately for Michael and his angels. Rather, Satan and his angels will finally be evicted, permanently dislodged, barred from ever regaining access into heaven. As we’ll see, by the way, as we continue to march our way through Revelation, there are three future phases to Satan’s ultimate doom. First, we have what we’re looking at this evening in Revelation 12, where he will be thrown down from heaven. That’s after his battle with Michael and his angels. Second, Revelation 20:1-3 tells us that Satan will be thrown into the abyss for a thousand years at the start of the Millennium, so that he will not deceive the nations any longer, it says, until the thousand years are finished. And then third, the final defeat of Satan is described in these terms in Revelation 20:10. “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” So, thrown down from heaven into the abyss and then the lake of fire, the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels as Jesus described it in Matthew 25:41, that’s what Satan has to look forward to and he knows it. Indeed, he knows that his time is short, and he knows that his leash is tight, and that’s going to propel Satan to really escalate and intensify his efforts to deceive and to destroy during the second half of the Tribulation, as we’ll get into here momentarily. So, what we’ve covered so far are these first three verses, Revelation 12:7-9, in this introductory scene to this war in heaven. The scene continues, now in verses 10-12. It says “Then 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, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witness, and they did not love their life even to death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.’” So it’s the same scene that John is taking in in this vision, this vision of this future war between Michael and his angels and Satan and his angels, which as we’ve just looked at, results in Satan and his angels being thrown down from heaven, and to the earth, and they’re going to now wreak havoc on the woman representing Israel for the duration of the Tribulation. But before we see Satan start to do that, down in verse 13, what we have here in verses 10-12, is this little inset. And it begins verse 10, with this loud voice in heaven. Whose loud voice is this? We’re not told. It’s not identified. We can’t say with 100% certainty whose voice this is. Some have said it’s the voice of God Himself. Some have said it’s an angel’s cry. Some have said it’s the voice of the twenty-four elders. Some have said it’s the voice of the Tribulation saints from Revelation 6:10. We can’t be dogmatic because the text doesn’t specify whose loud voice this is. But I can still make an educated guess. And if I’m going to make an educated guess, I would go with that last option, that this is the voice, collectively, the cry of the Tribulation saints, those who were martyred during the Tribulation. The Tribulation saints back in Revelation 6:10 are quoted as saying “How long, O Master, holy and true? Will you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Here in Revelation 12:10, this loud voice very well may be the shout of the triumph of these Tribulation saints as they long for as they’re anticipating that ultimate victory and triumph. Well, though we’re not told whose loud voice this is, we are given the content of their cry. Reading on in verse 10 it says this loud voice in heaven is reported as saying, now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come. What we have here is a victory cry. Heaven has forever been expunged of any trace of demonic presence. Satan has forever, by this point, been purged from heaven. He’s one step closer to the abyss. He’s one step closer to his final destination in a lake of fire. And because of this, these four realities are laid out, which even as of this point in the Tribulation are still yet future. But the reality of their coming arrival is so certain, so fixed, that they can be described here in this vision as present-day realities. For instance, we have here salvation in verse 10 being mentioned. Verse 10 begins with these words after he says I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, and then it goes “Now the salvation.” Now that’s not referring to salvation from the guilt of sin like we considered this morning in our study of Luke chapter 7, where there is that woman who was wiping the tears which had fallen on Jesus’ feet with her hair, and she’s anointing his feet with perfume because of her salvation. Instead, right here this is referring to salvation in the sense of deliverance, God’s completion of His divine program culminating in a new heaven and a new earth mentioned in Revelation 21. So this loud voice speaks of salvation. This voice also speaks of power. It says, “and the power.” Now the salvation and the power, that’s referring to the time where the Lord will manifest His own power to the utmost with no competing powers, no vying powers remaining in the world to challenge him. Next verse 10, this loud voice in heaven highlights the kingdom of our God. Now that’s not referring to the universal reign of God, though that is a truth. Psalm 93:1 says, “Yahweh reigns.” Psalm 24:1, that was part of the Scripture reading this evening, “The earth is Yahweh’s, and the fullness thereof.” Rather, this here in verse 10 is referring to the coming millennial kingdom which Christ will usher in when He returns to reign. This is a kingdom which as of this point in the Tribulation, here in Revelation 12, will not yet have arrived. But it’s coming is so certain, its future arrival is so certain, that a verb form called a “proleptic aorist” is used here. And all that means again is that this event that’s in the future is described with such certainty that it’s described as a present day reality. So confident is the writer here, or the vision recipient, that that kingdom is to come, that he can describe it as though it’s already come. Proleptic aorist. That will certainly be the case when it comes to the kingdom of our God. It is so certain to come that it can be spoken of as though it’s come. And when that kingdom comes, still in verse 10, “the authority of His Christ,” it says, “also have come.” And that language is right in line with what Christ said to His disciples while still on earth in Matthew 28:18, where He says that “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” This language here in verse 10 is right in line with the text we studied back in Revelation 11:15, where after that seventh trumpet sounded, we were told that “there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.’” The kingdom of our Lord has come. Proleptic aorist. So, Christ we know indeed will return and Christ indeed will return and reign. And He will do so we know from the Scriptures, Psalm 2:8, “with a rod of iron.” And He will do so, as it says here in Revelation 12:10, “with authority. “ And at that point, when He sets up His kingdom, when Christ sets up His kingdom, He will do so in a world where Satan and his angels having been thrown down, are going to continue to scratch and claw and battle and fight and accuse all the way to the very end. Look again at verse 10. It says, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come.” And then this loud voice says next, “for the accuser, that’s another word for Satan, accuser. “For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.” That term “accuser” refers to bringing a legal charge before a judge, as one would do if one was to go to court. And here, though Satan has just been cast out of heaven by God, Satan is portrayed here as seeking to accuse believers during the Tribulation. This is both day and night as he’s prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, he is relentless. But ultimately we know he’s not victorious. Because despite his accusations and despite his efforts to thwart the plans of God, and despite the short 3.5-year leash that God has given him to roam free during the second half of the Tribulation, before he is consigned to the abyss, Satan will not only face not opposition, he’ll face overcomers. Look at verse 11. “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witness, and they did not love their life even to death.” Believers during the Tribulation who will be accused by Satan, it’s saying here they will ultimately overcome him. They might die but they’ll be no less victorious. Whether in the church age or in the coming Tribulation, victory and life aren’t always synonymous. You can die for the cause of Christ and be victorious. You can be martyred for the cause of Christ and be victorious. But those who Satan accuses at this point of the Tribulation, those who resist the devil, those who stand firm, those who overcome, they will have those same settled promises to which they they are able to look forward as we do today in the church age. Here’s what I mean by that. What did Christ promise the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:7? He says, “To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.” What did Christ say to the church at Smyrna? Revelation 2:11, “He who overcomes will never be hurt by the second death.” What did Christ say to the church at Pergamum? Revelation 2:17. “To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.” What did Christ say to the church at Thyatira? Revelation 2:26. “And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS.” What did Christ say to the church at Sardis? Revelation 3:5. “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments, and I will never erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” What did Christ say to the church at Philadelphia? Revelation 3:12. “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he will never go out from it anymore.” What did Christ say to the church at Laodicea? Revelation 3:21. “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” So, as we saw when we worked through each of those seven letters in Revelation 2 and 3 to those seven churches, that language of overcoming has a singular meaning applied to all seven of those churches and to all believers today. Overcoming refers to eternal life. Jesus was promising His followers in those seven letters in the church age, that if they overcame, if they remained faithful to the end, they had the sure hope of being with Him one day. They had the sure hope of eternal life. And it will be no different in the Tribulation. Those who resist the devil, those who turn aside the fiery darts of the accuser, those who stand firm, those who overcome, they will have this same fixed sure eternal hope. And their ability to overcome will rest on three realities. First, verse 11, is the blood of the Lamb. “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb.” Just as it is for you and me, the blood of the Lamb is the price of redemption for anyone who comes to faith during the Tribulation. For any believer who has survived up to this point of the Tribulation and recognizing that Christ has shed His own blood for them, the believers of this era will not only have an answer to the accuser’s charges, to Satan’s charges, they will have motivation to devote themselves to the Lord’s service, for how ever long they are enabled to live. Next still in verse 11, we’re told that they overcame “because of the word of their witness.” That’s referring to their confession of Jesus as Savior and Lord. Jesus to his disciples in Matthew 10:32,33 said, “everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” Meaning, those who have genuine faith in Him, who genuinely confess Him to others, they will preach His gospel knowing that it is the power of God to salvation, Romans 1:16. And so those who overcome Satan at this point in the Tribulation, they will be able to overcome him in part because of the word of their witness, because of their bold stance for Christ and for truth and their bold stance against the devil and his lies. Then, still in verse 11, we’re told that they overcame because “they did not love their life even to death.” They will be aware of the fact that the good shepherd, (John 10:11) lays down His life for the sheep. And they will be willing to put their lives on the line for Him out of loyalty to Jesus Christ. They’ll remember the words of Luke 9:24. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one will save it.” Summarizing this passage, Revelation 12:11, one commentator I read this week said this of this group in verse 11 who withstands the accusation of the devil. “What can Satan do with the likes of these? Lock them up in prison and they convert their jailors; torture them and they become partakers of Christ’s sufferings and heirs to a greater reward; martyr them and they go straight to be with Christ; turn them loose and they evangelize the world.” Indeed. Well, this little inset between verse 9 and 13 comes to a conclusion in verse 12, where we see these words. Verse 12. “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” This is still, by the way, the loud voice of verse 10 speaking, and here what is being said is being said to begin with in this distinctly celebratory tone. “For this reason, rejoice.” For what reason? Well, rejoice for the reason that the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ have come. Rejoice for the reason that the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down. Rejoice for the reason that those who Satan will target at this point in the Tribulation, will overcome because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witness, and because they did not love their life even to death. For each of those reasons, rejoice! “Rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them.” That language is very reminiscent of Isaiah 49:13. “Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For Yahweh has comforted His people and will have compassion on His afflicted.” This language of verse 12 has echoes of Psalm 96:11-13. “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, as well as its fullness; let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before Yahweh, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.” So there’s rejoicing. But that’s not all. Though there will be rejoicing here in verse 12, rejoicing in the heavens and rejoicing among the faithful because Satan has been thrown down, and because there’s this faithful remnant who is standing firm, we can’t lose sight of the context of what’s going on here. We’re still in the Tribulation. This is still an ominous time, this is still a treacherous time, this second half of the Tribulation, the Great Tribulation. And that’s picked up in the second part of verse 12 where we read this. “Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” What a stark contrast to the rejoicing that will be happening between or among those who dwell in heaven, on earth, all over the earth, whether on land or sea. When Satan is cast down, when it says the devil has come down to you, knowing that he has only a short time, a specifically defined time, 3.5 years. Knowing this is his last campaign, his last hurrah before going into the abyss, he’s going to display his great wrath, his great wrath toward the inhabitants of earth generally, but toward Israel specifically as he intensifies his attack on them. Satan will be expelled from heaven. He’ll be cast down to earth. And then for the next 3.5 years he’ll be lashing out in this irrational rage. Remember this. The world at this point will already be facing these waves of God’s judgment on the planet. God’s perfect wrath, His measured wrath as seven more bowls of judgment are going to be poured by God and through God and through His agents. But in addition to that, there’s going to be this more turbulent fury from the devil which he’s going to be aiming at the people of Israel specifically. Satan in this final outburst, is going to be targeting Israel yet again before he is sent into the abyss. He has this foolish and desperate hope that he can change things in this final 3.5 years, but he’s going to try nonetheless. And how do we know that Satan having been expelled from heaven is going to have this special focus on Israel during that second half of the Tribulation? Well, we’re told so in verse 13. So far, by the way, we’ve been looking at that war in heaven. Now we’re going to get into WRATH ON EARTH. Verse 13. “And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.” We’ve already established; we went over this last Sunday night who these different symbolic figures are in Revelation 12. The dragon is Satan, the woman is Israel, and the male child is Christ. So piecing it all together, what this is saying is that once Satan is at this point in the Tribulation finally cast down from heaven, he is going to ratchet up his persecution of Israel. As we covered last week, Satan has always hated Israel. He’s always sought ways or sought to look for ways to put a stop to God’s plans for and through Israel. And he does so because if Satan were able to thwart God’s plans to and through Israel, Satan could then accuse God of being a liar. A God who fails to keep the promises that He has made in concrete to the apple of His eye. Satan was opposed to Israel when he sought to prevent the Messiah from coming in the first place. We covered that last week. Satan was opposed to Israel when he tempted Israel’s Messiah in the wilderness offering Him the kingdoms of the world. Satan was opposed to Israel when her Messiah was being led to a Roman cross. And even today, Satan is opposed to Israel and God’s promise to have her Messiah come yet again this time to rule and to reign with His rod of iron. Well at this point in the Tribulation that we’re studying here in Revelation 12, it’s going to be no different as Satan will seek to vent his wrath in this little time he has left on Israel. This is the time I believe that Jesus is describing in Matthew 24 as He’s describing the Great Tribulation which will come upon the earth. He says in Matthew 24:17-22, Jesus does, “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. And whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” All of that is all wrapped in I believe into Revelation 12:13 where we’re told that “when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.” But as we see in verse 14, the Lord will yet again intervene. And the Lord will yet again protect Israel, the apple of His eye. Verse 14. “But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.” I was doing a lot of reading on this passage earlier this week, when I came across quite a few interesting takes on the meaning of this passage, including one which finds that the two wings of the great eagle here are referring to the United States Air Force. I’m all for patriotism and Team America. I’m as impressed as anyone by the shows of power that our different military branches can put on display at the drop of a hat. But to read America or American symbolism, or even our wonderful branches of the US military into this text as being in the great eagle, as that must have been what John was thinking of when he was on the isle of Patmos, I think that’s just plain silly. The great eagle language very clearly is drawing from Old Testament where Yahweh Himself is described as being a shelter and a protection for His people. And it’s described in eagle like or bird like language. Exodus 19:4. This is God speaking to the Israelites. “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I lifted you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.” Deuteronomy 32:11, speaking of Yahweh says, “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, He spread his wings and caught them; He carried them on his pinions.” So in light of that biblical evidence and American nationalistic biases aside, and love for country and the American military aside, the two wings of the great eagle described here in verse 14 is not referring to F-16s and the B-2s. That’s not the picture here. Rather this is referring to an even more powerful source of help for Israel, namely God Himself, who will deliver her. So that, verse 14, “she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time.” That means 3.5 years, 1260 days, from the presence of the serpent. It will be there in the wilderness having rescued her, having protected her, having taken her under the shelter of His wings, Psalm 91, that God will prepare a faithful remnant in Israel to be reconciled to Him. And He’ll prepare that same faithful remnant in Israel to finally receive the Lord Jesus as her Messiah and Savior when He comes to earth again at the end of that 3.5-year exile in the wilderness to set up His kingdom on earth. That idea of this being a time of preparation of Israel, in preparation for gradually and eventually receiving the Messiah, Jesus as Savior, comes from Hosea 2. We studied Hosea a few years ago on Sunday nights. But in Hosea 2:14,15, Yahweh says this speaking of Israel, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness and speak to her heart. Then I will give her her vineyards from there and the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.” And then He says this a few verses later, Hosea 2:19,20, still speaking of Israel, “And I will betroth you to Me forever; indeed, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion, and I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know Yahweh.” This will be a small remnant, by the way, of faithful ones in Israel. Because Zechariah 13:8 tells us that two-thirds of Israel will perish during this point of the Tribulation. But the remaining third, Zechariah 13:9 says, this remnant who are brought through, God says this of them, the surviving one third remnant. Zechariah 13:9. “I will bring the third part through the fire and refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘Yahweh is my God.’” So God has provided for Israel in the past. God has been very patient with Israel in the present, and what we’re told in these texts here this evening is that God will be preserving Israel in the future Tribulation era, in the period of Jacob’s trouble. But that won’t stop Satan, the dragon. Though his days numbered, he will continue to attempt to destroy Israel. Look at verse 15. “And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.” Now, there are basically two views that faithful exegetes will hold with respect to this verse 15. Some will take it to mean that during this part of the Tribulation, Satan is going to use actual water, H20, as an attempt or in an attempt to physically drown and destroy Israel. That is a valid option and a valid interpretation. Others take it to mean that this “water like a river” language is describing the armies which Satan will use to control and send forth in his efforts to finally put an end to Israel during the Tribulation. I lean in that latter direction that this is describing armies of Satan, not an actual deluge of water. And I land there for a couple of reasons. For starters, Satan in this chapter, in the context of all of chapter 12 is described using highly symbolic language. We saw this last Sunday night. He’s a dragon. He’s a serpent. So it’s in keeping with the overall flow of this chapter to keep this river language also in the realm of the symbolic. And that doesn’t mean we’re reading Revelation anti-literally now or nonliterally. It means that we’re reading Revelation consistently. We’re taking stock of the context and the symbolism that’s baked into this chapter. Remember how it started here in Revelation 12:1. “A great sign appeared in heaven.” Not only that but interpreting this language in verse 15 as describing military forces or armies is consistent with Scripture itself. In the Old Testament we see great armies repeatedly referred to as water sources, rivers. Jeremiah 46:8. “Egypt rises like the Nile, even like the rivers whose waters toss about.” Jeremiah 47:2 says, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Behold, waters are going to rise from the north and become an overflowing torrent, and overflow the land as well as its fullness, the city and those who inhabit it; and the men will cry out, and every inhabitant of the land will wail.” That’s in the context of a military invasion. Isaiah 8:7. “Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the mighty and abundant waters of the river, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and it will rise up over its channels and go over all its banks.” Here in our text in Revelation 12:15, Satan is depicted as trying one last time to engulf and drown the godly in Israel as though by a river. He is depicted as one who in his rage is trying desperately with this show through military force, I would say, to annihilate the faithful Jewish remnant. But it won’t work. Verse 16. “But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.” As He did in the Old Testament, God will again miraculously spare His people the people of Israel. And there is a parallel here to that that parallel is in Exodus 15:11,12. This is the song of Moses which is describing that day where God delivered Israel from the Egyptian armies that were pursuing them through the Red Sea. “Who is like You among the gods, O Yahweh? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, fearsome in praises, working wonders? You stretched out Your right hand, and the earth swallowed them.” The earth swallowed the water. But the earth also swallowed Pharaoh’s army we know from Exodus. And that seems to be what’s happening here in verse 16. Namely, that notwithstanding Satan’s efforts at this point in the Tribulation to persecute and exterminate the people of Israel, God will intervene. God will not sit idly by as it relates to the apple of His eye. And through supernatural provision He’s going to protect the woman, Israel, again. He’s going to carry a remnant of Israel safely through the Great Tribulation. And that will only further enrage the already-enraged Satan. Verse 17. “So the dragon was enraged with the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the witness of Jesus.” Now that language, “the rest of her seed,” is referring to a subset of Israel which will not flee to the wilderness, as reported in verse 14. So most do flee to the wilderness, but a subset won’t, and for those who don’t go to the wilderness, those who don’t flee, verse 17 says they’re going to face additional persecution, severe persecution. Not only because they are Jews associated with Israel, the woman, because they’re believing Jews. They are those who are described here “who keep the commandments of God and have the witness of Jesus.” So, these are now converted followers of the seed of the woman, Jesus. And the seed of the serpent, Satan, is depicted here as being especially antagonistic toward them. So the stage is now set. We’ve encountered the dragon, we’ve encountered the woman, we’ve encountered the male child. Now, as we prepare to get into Revelation 13 next Sunday night, we’re going encounter two additional characters in this grand drama of the Great Tribulation, namely, the beast and the false prophet. Now we can actually pray. Let’s pray.