Audio Download

Rev 12:10-13 – Part 2 – Now Is Come The Kingdom

[Study Aired Dec 22, 2024]

Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters 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.

True to its “is, was and will be” nature, in this verse we again see ourselves both as those who “dwell in the heavens” as well as those who were once “inhabiters of the earth and of the sea… unbelievers, abiding in God’s wrath”. Paul makes clear that both parts of this verse are ours in Eph 2.

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:

… the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

By whom does the Lord try and tempt mankind?

Jas 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him.
Jas 1:13  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man:
Jas 1:14  but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. (ASV)

“Enticed” by whom? Who incites man to lust after the things which the Lord has forbidden? We need not guess.

Gen 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Gen 3:2  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
Gen 3:3  But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Gen 3:4  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Gen 3:5  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Gen 3:6  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

By whom did the Lord try Job?

Job 1:6  Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
Job 1:7  And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Job 1:8  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that [there is] none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Job 1:9  Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10  Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

“Put forth Thine hand” shows us that Satan is nothing more or less than a tool of our Lord to “create evil”, and to “work all things after the counsel of His own will.” Satan could not touch Job without the Lord’s direction to do so. Do we think this is an exception to the rule? It is not. This is the rule of Him “of whom are all things”, all the good and all the evil.

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and [there is] none else.
Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Who was “the Lord’s” instrument to tempt King David? It is in “the sum of God’s word [that we will find the] Truth”. When we add up “the sum of God’s word” in these two verses we find that the Lord used the same adversary to tempt King David that He used to tempt Adam and Eve and Job.

2Sa 24:1  And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.

1Ch 21:1  And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

The result of this provocation was that 70,000 men died as “the anger of the Lord” was poured out on Israel through the agency of Satan, who, as “an evil angel, was sent among them” to tempt King David to number Israel.

Who was sent to tempt our Lord?

Mat 4:1  Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Mat 4:2  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
Mat 4:3  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

If we are “as He is in this world” would not we also be tempted by “the tempter… the devil?

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

How are the seven last plagues of God’s fierce wrath administered upon us all in our own time? Is it not the same for all? Here are the verses that answer both of those questions respectively:

Psa 78:49  He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.

Ecc 9:2  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

What does “All things come alike to all” mean? What that means is that “there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked”, that is what that means. That “one event” includes the seven last plagues of God’s wrath being pour out on the wicked and on the righteous alike, in the day when we are all “made wicked for the day of evil” which comes to us all alike, and in the day when mankind will live by those words which have proceeded out of the mouth of God.

Satan comes to us with great wrath, but as we have seen in Job, Satan is nothing more than “thy hand”, and like all of us, Satan has no wrath except as it is given Him from God:

Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Joh 19:11  Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Let’s summarize what we have seen here: “the Lord Himself tempts no man…” Satan is specifically called “the tempter”, is called “God’s hand”, and God ‘casts the fierceness of His anger, wrath and indignation and trouble, by sending evil angels among us’. What does it all mean? What it all means is “… the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time”. That is why this chapter is placed between the introduction of the seventh trumpet in Rev 11, and the revelation that the seven plagues of the seventh trumpet fill up the wrath of God against our ungodliness and unrighteousness in chapter 16.

… because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

The scriptures reveal that the time of our trials really is nothing more than “a small moment” and “a little wrath”. I know from experience that what God calls “a small moment” seems like an eternity when it is being endured, but as the example of our Lord demonstrates, it is only after God has forsaken us for that “small moment” that we will be raised up to sit with Him in the heavens as He has been raised to sit with His Father in His throne in the heavens.

Isa 54:7  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:

Rev 12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

Have you and I ever lived these “words which have proceeded out of the mouth of God [in this] revelation of Jesus Christ”?

Who among us has not felt defrauded, lied to, played for a fool and robbed of the fruit of our efforts by men who at best were deceived and in many cases were proven charlatans. And who among us has not to some degree been embittered when we discovered that all our lives have been wasted by a woman who is nothing more than a great harlot, who despises her true Husband and despises His words. Here is what Satan does in us to “the woman” at that moment, with the power he gives to the beast in the horns upon that beast:

Rev 17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Rev 17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

What we are being told here is that this woman who is bringing forth this manchild here in chapter 12, is the same harlot woman we discover here in chapter 17. Do you doubt that God’s “man child” comes out of “the woman which… is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth”? Here is the scripture which tells us from whence come the Lord’s people. Speaking of this same woman, we read this:

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

As redundant as it is to do so, we must remind ourselves that the only way to avoid death is to first die, the only way to see is to first be blind, and the only way to be healed of our sickness is to first be sick.

Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

In like manner, if there is anything we should be learning about living by every word of God, all things being ours, and keeping the things written in this prophecy, is that the only way to come out of Babylon, is to be in Babylon. The only way to avoid partaking of her sins is to confess that we ourselves have been the chief of sinners, and the only way to avoid receiving of her plagues is to fulfill within ourselves the seven plagues of the seven angels.

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

It is because the spirit of Babylon is still in us that we, as the ten horns on the beast, turn on the woman and “burn her with the fiery” words of God of which we, as carnal babes in Christ, have only recently become aware.

It is we who persecute the woman who brought forth the man child, and we do so as we are coming out of her, because the ten horns that burn her with fire are us as “carnal… babes in Christ” who, in our immaturity, are bitter toward a woman who has deceived us and has taken advantage of our ignorance.

Where do the beast and his ten horns get their power?

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who [is] like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

By giving the beast his power, it can rightly be said “when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child”.

Summary

We have seen that this twelfth chapter, as well as chapters 13, 14 and 15, are all introductory and preparatory chapters to the revelation of the seven plagues of the seventh trumpet, which was first mentioned in chapter 10.

Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

We have seen once again that when “the mystery of God is finished” we will finally realize that “all things come alike to all, that all things are ours, things present and things to come”, and that it is we who are instructed to “keep the things written in this book”. So we have seen that we are first the woman who brings forth this man child before we are made to become this man child who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron.

We have seen that “all the nations” within us must be subdued to the mind and thoughts of our Lord, before we will be found worthy to be in that blessed and holy first resurrection. We must “bring every thought into subjection to God” before we will be entrusted to rule the nations of this outward world or judge angels in the lake of fire.

We saw that our “strength and salvation” comes through our recognition that Christ died for our own sins, and through our testimony to that effect, and our willingness to die to the things of this world to obtain life in the next age.

We have seen that the “war in heaven” of this chapter is the same “warfare” spoken of by the apostle Paul in 2Co 10:4-5, and the “casting down of the accuser of our brothers” is nothing more or less than “the casting down of imaginations and every thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” spoken of by Paul in these same verses.

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

That is the “casting down of the accuser of our brothers.”

We saw the three different verses in the New Testament which specifically speak of “our Lord and His Christ”, and we saw that we are our Lord’s Christ, and the salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ is NOW. It is in down payment form through “the spirit of promise”, but nevertheless the salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God is ours here and now.

We saw that the strength we are given gives us power and dominion over the power of the dragon who gives our beast his power over us with all his sinful desires within us. We have seen that sin no longer has dominion over us, because God, through Christ in us, no longer imputes sin to us because we have “suffered in the flesh” with Him.

We have seen that the short time given the dragon to persecute the woman is the time he spends trying us, because we saw where Job reveals that Satan is nothing more or less than God’s own hand, to create the wicked man for the day of evil.

Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand now [Lord], and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

We also saw that the wrath given to Satan to persecute the woman is the same wrath God gives Satan to pour out “the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels” among us because “these things are all ours”.

Psa 78:49  He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.

Finally we saw that the dragon’s persecution of the woman is accomplished through us, as the ten horns who agree to give their power to the beast we are at that time and upon which the ten horns are found. We do this at the time we, as carnal babes in Christ, are coming out of Babylon, because we are not yet mature enough to appreciate the fact that all the lies and all the hypocrites of Babylon are nothing less than an integral part of “His wonderful works to the children of men”.

Next week, Lord willing we will finish this twelfth chapter and we will see what it means for this woman to be in the wilderness, and we will learn how the dragon goes about “casting water as a flood out of His mouth, to cause the woman to be carried away of the waters.” We will also see how the earth can help the woman by swallowing up the flood, and we will see what happens when the dragon is “wroth with the woman”.

Rev 12:14  And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Rev 12:15  And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
Rev 12:16  And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Rev 12:17  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.