Revelation: War in Heaven.

Excerpts from my sister's book, "The End is Near."
Continued from previous post...

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman…and she was with child…Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems…And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.  And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.  

Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.  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.  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 brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.””  Rev. 12:1-10

          Here we see the birth of Jesus: the birth of Christianity. 

Satan tried, and failed, to kill Jesus through king Herod when Jesus was born (see Matt. 2:13-20).  Prior to Jesus’ death, Satan was the ruler of this world within limits set by God (see Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Matt. 4:8, 9), but Jesus’ sacrificial death redeemed the world from Satan’s control and Jesus became the absolute ruler of this world (see Rev. 5:9-13; Rev. 12:5).  Satan did not want to give up control so a war broke out and he and his angels were thrown out of heaven by force. 

Satan is no longer allowed to come before God in heaven and accuse us of anything.  We now belong to Jesus and he represents us before God as our redeemer, our savior, and substitutes his perfection for our faults.

Rules of Engagement.

Who is God?

"Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon--the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world--was thrown down to the earth with all his angels."  Revelation 12:7-9

Who is God?

Someone who always hears us.

"Then he (the angel Gabriel) said, "Don't be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer."  Daniel 10:12

 "But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."

verses 13, 14

Who was this prince of Persia? Probably Satan, who is called, "...the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience."  Ephesians 2:2

God plays by the rules. Adam and Eve chose Satan over God, therefore God allowed Satan to be the ruler of this world. But the rules also say we all have a chance to make our own choice in this war of the universe. Satan has power; how much, we do not know.

"Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out."  John 12:31

"...and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world already stands condemned."  

John 16:11

"I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me."  John 14:30

"For 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."   Ephesians 6:12

Who am I?

Someone who rarely thinks about Satan and what he can do. In a way, that is good. In another way, not so good. I've noticed in Jesus' prayers he twice told us to ask God to keep us from the evil one. So, I include that with my prayers. And when I am overwhelmed with negative thoughts, I pray God will cast Satan away from me. I've noticed he does. Somehow, Satan does have the power to affect our thinking and actions. We don't need to dwell on satan, but we can pray against his power over us.