Now war arose in heaven. Focusing on Revelation 12:7-9 as we migrate through Revelation.

If you are a follower of my posts then you know I move rather slowly. Revelation chapter 12 opens with: “a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”

“a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”

Having spent more than a few minutes looking into this, I believe we can say with confidence that this is Israel. Finally, after all, those years, Jesus is born. Look at this description:

“She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,” Revelation 12:5 ESV

This was Paul's message of hope, that the Messiah, the one who is to rule all the nations, has come.

Did they listen? Some did and because of that, we have the letters to the Ephesians, Galatians, Corinthians, and the letters to Timothy and the church at Thessalonica. The gospel message spread all over the world.

I suppose in God's scheme of things 33 years is just a blink. The verse gives the impression that child being caught to God and to his throne happened almost instantly. Did you ever think about the impact this “child” made in the world in three short years? John said this of Jesus:

“how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38 ESV)

Wait a minute. How is he supposed to rule the nations if he got caught up to God? It would appear that the implications are that he is: alive; sitting on his throne; and, if I extrapolate, coming again to finish the job he started. That is really not a bad assumption considering we know from scripture that this is the game plan.

“Caught up”, that seems so subtle and gentle. I suppose that at that point it was, but the road to get there was brutal. Beaten by order of the Jewish high priest and then handed over to the Romans to have the flesh flailed off his body. Made then to carry his own cross beam and then get nailed to that same cross. None of this was subtle, nor pretty. Dead this Jesus was placed in a tomb and the tomb was sealed, only to find it open on the third day. When they saw him again he walked among them and ate with them. Shortly after presenting himself to them alive again, he was “caught up.”

The woman, Israel, then flees into the wilderness for 1,260 days.

“and 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.” (Revelation 12:6 ESV)

So, let me get this straight. Immediately after the birth of Jesus, he gets caught up to heaven (that means he died and rose again) and Israel flees into the wilderness to hide in a protected condition for three and one-half years. I can tell you from reading about the birth of Jesus that few noticed and fewer cared. While it is clear that we are talking about Israel and the birth of the Messiah, this is not a tightly knit chronology. I know this because Israel does not flee until the abomination gets set up in the temple and the false prophet arises, and from the time of Christ's death until his promised return for those who belong to him has now been over 2000 years. This coincides with Daniel's seventieth week.

Daniel 9:24 ESV "Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place."

Unfortunately, we only made it to the sixty-ninth week and then everything seems to have been put on hold.

I suppose you caught the time frame, 1,260 days. Yes, that equals three and one-half years, and there are only a couple of places you find reference to the time frames, both of them have to do with the last days, which, if we are not in them now, we are unreasonably close.
It is said that this place Israel flees to is Petra. What makes sense about that is that the earth swallows up a flood and I think I could picture that, but it is a narrow canyon and having watched enough cowboy westerns, you always get trapped by the bad guys there. Does it really matter what I think? No, because God's plan will not be thwarted and a remnant of Israel will be saved.

Moving on. Again, if this is supposed to be a chronology, we have just jumped backward in time once again, all the way to what may have been near the beginnings of the earth. I say that because scripture tells us that the devil walked in the garden in a perfect state. I talked about this in some detail in my earlier post, so I won't carry on about it here, but I think it is important that you see it because I cannot remember anyone ever teaching about Satan including this.

"Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: "You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you." (Ezekiel 28:12-15 ESV)

Now war arose in heaven

If Satan, under the name of Lucifer, was in the garden and he was blameless something clearly happened between then and the deception of Eve by the serpent, in the garden.

The War in Heaven by Gustave Dore

Revelation 12:7-9 ESV "Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, (8) but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. (9) And 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."

Earlier we read:

His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. (Revelation 12:4 ESV)

Perhaps this is merely another way to describe an incident; regardless, the result is the same. I need to discuss something here. We make a common mistake when we assume that this is indicative of some complete and utter destruction of Satan. If not that, then this is the total banishment of Satan from heaven. If that were the case, then how is it that we can see this happening in Job.

“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.” (Job 1:6 ESV)

Perhaps it is best to think of Satan being thrown to earth as him losing his place in heaven. Don't get me wrong, a final, destructive end will come for Satan, but not yet.
Verse 8 seems to give us some clarity as to the condition of Satan.

"but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. (Revelation 12:8 ESV)

Having been thrown out of heaven merely seems to mean he lost his place, position, or title.

You might think it was a reason to shout.

Revelation 12:10 ESV "And 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 God."

Because we just read that Satan was thrown to earth, stripping him of his place in heaven, you might think that his moment of punishment had come and it was time to shout for joy, but that was not the case.

We really have to get past the assumptions we make and pay attention to the context. I told you that this was a cryptic history lesson, but it is certainly not chronological. If you have taken history in college you learn several things: One, history tends to be told from the perspective of the winner of the battle in most cases. And, two, it oft-times makes more sense studying say, the American Civil War if you know what led up to that war. But you could, for example, be specifically interested in one particular battle, like the last major action of the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House which occurred on May 19, 1864, at the Harris Farm. The point being that we can look intentionally at moments in time independent of the overall picture.

The context of the Revelation is not meant to give you a history lesson, but to show you an unfolding of God's mystery, the culmination of all things; a gathering of those who are his; a punishment of those who continue to reject and fight against him, and the termination of Satan. Because of all that verse, 10 would be the victory shout heard as that page in history comes to a momentary close.

What would it mean to these voices in heaven to say, "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 God” if that was not the case? And, though we see him thrown down in verses 8 and 9, it is not his end. And, as I pointed out in the passage from Job, he was back before God a short time later, among other angels, accusing Job.

(Satan now spends all his time accusing the saints. Is what Satan says about me a lie, no, because I do those things and so do you, but the fact that Christ covered us with his blood and since we accepted that salvation it makes me his – I am in him. We call this being covered by the blood. God, from that point forward, sees me as justified, as though I had hung on that cross.)

As an evidence for where we are in the biblical time frame, I want to look at Revelation 12:11.

Revelation 12:11 ESV "And 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 death."

But I have to ask myself if I understand this verse to be speaking of the martyred saints throughout the time of wrath or is it speaking of saints throughout all time?
Because the context of Revelation primarily has to do with the time of wrath, then I can find out that verse 11 is speaking about a time that is still in the future (though not too distant future.)

Let's camp out here for a moment.

“And 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 death.”

Our militaristic mentality tells us that you have not conquered much if you are dead. Is that a true assessment? I do not think so for several reasons:

1. Wars have been fought and sides have won, and yet scores of good men have died. Does the fact that people have died make them a loser? Not in the mind of the winners.
2. The militaristic mentality is not truth. Truth is, things hurt, and admitting that is not necessarily a bad thing.
3. Thirdly, God does not see death as a failure.

This group of people we find in heaven, rejoicing because justice is finally being served against Satan, are those who were martyred during this time of wrath. They are painfully aware that Satan had a role in their deaths.

Revelation 7:13-14 NASB (13) "Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?" (14) I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."

How did they conquer?

“by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” This is really a two-part equation, not that they necessarily did both. The blood of the Lamb is understood to be Jesus blood; often, this is seen as that which was spilled on the cross. Obviously, there is more to the blood than merely spilling it, and the trail of blood may have begun when the chief priest ordered Jesus struck in the face.

The point I want to make here is that the way I see ISIS flooding into a town, blowing up the church, and taking the survivors captive, in many cases probably point several guns at you while shouting, give praise to Allah. It could be that simple. In that moment of time you merely, through tears, say no. The result is that they kill you. Let's take this one step further. Suppose they round you up, demand that you give praise to Allah (we will ignore all the tortuous things they do to you for now), and perhaps you say little, but you do not bow to Allah. What if in your rejection of Allah you are assenting to God and his ways? It's just a question; but, what if you are not given time to speak, as Paul and Stephen did? Then the word of your testimony would have to be an ongoing aspect of your life.

I, for example, am not an outgoing evangelist, and could never compete with Pastor Greg Laurie and his big stadium crusades. But, I do publish my thoughts and messages on the internet, where they are read around the world. You might also find me talking about these same things at the place where we get our coffee, and I am not very quiet about my God.

There is, of course, a problem with all this. The government here in America monitors everything we do on the internet, and so I can guarantee you that I am a marked man. How do I respond to that? By continuing to try to open people's eyes to the truth found in the Bible.

Here is the truth: God is love, this is His nature and character. I know many can't believe that, using the argument about God ordering Israel to kill everything on many occasions.

Knowing who he really is, aside from tradition, requires a personal relationship, and that is entirely up to you. It begins with you asking Jesus into your life to make a permanent home. He then will quietly clean the place up.

Questions we all seem to want an answer to. Chapter 10 in our journey through Revelation.

One of the questions we all seem to want an answer to is, who is this great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads?

Since we know that Ezekiel 28 addresses him as the king of Tyre and places him in the garden of Eden, and, that he awaits throughout all time as we know it, for a chance to catch and kill this promised savior of the world, that we are dealing with Satan when we think about the main body of the dragon.

Remember the old East Indian saying, how does one eat an elephant? A little bit at a time. With that in mind let's take this a little bit at a time.

• ten horns

Revelation 12:3 KJV 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.

We don't really know what this looks like, but let's assume this represents what scripture describes it as.

Where else do I get ten horns? Daniel chapter 7.

Daniel 7:1-7 ESV In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. (2) Daniel declared, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. (3) And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. (4) The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. (5) And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, 'Arise, devour much flesh.' (6) After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. (7) After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

Continuing to focus on the number ten.

Daniel 2:30-44 ESV But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. (31) "You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. (32) The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, (33) its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. (34) As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. (35) Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. (36) "This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. (37) You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, (38) and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all--you are the head of gold. (39) Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. (40) And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. (41) And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. (42) And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. (43) As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. (44) And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,

Nebuchadnezzar's statue

You cannot separate the toes from the feet as they are an integral part of the balance system, and most people have ten. So, here, in a most subtle way, we have the number ten again. Look up the word mixed and you will find something very revealing, the Chaldean word ar-ab', meaning: to commingle: - mingle (self), mix. Contrast what little we know and understand about the Middle Eastern nations and scripture, because God had already told us what we would find there. God, in speaking about Ishmael, said,

Genesis 16:12 AMP And he [Ishmael] will be as a wild ass among men; his hand will be against every man and every man's hand against him, and he will live to the east and on the borders of all his kinsmen.

Ten nations, mixed in so many ways, with one main purpose, struggle and warfare.

Daniel explained to Nebuchadnezzar that he was the head of gold. The Babylonian empire was the head of gold – an empire. So let's follow the logic. Since we know that the Babylonians were overthrown by the Medo-Persian empire (Assyrians), we now have the chest and shoulders of the statue that Daniel was describing. Carrying on. We can ascertain from history the Medo-Persian empire was replaced by the Grecian empire, but more importantly, the Grecian empire came to an end under the control of two Alexandrian generals: Seleucid and Ptolemy.

As a former pastor loved to say, stay with me here.

Since the statue we see in Daniel is following a comparable pattern to the red dragon and the beasts, then it safe to say that what we are looking at when we try to define what the dragon is, is a succession of Satanically motivated and even possessed empires.

Is there anything in Daniel that explicitly explains who some of these are?

The first one is plainly laid out.

Daniel 2:37-38 ESV You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, (38) and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all--you are the head of gold.

Without a doubt, the first empire we are considering was the Babylonian. The revelation of the second kingdom is a little more subtle.

As you read Daniel chapter four, you find Nebuchadnezzar on all fours grazing with the cattle. In time his mind is restored and he honors God. That is a plus, but we have little to tell us about his end and chapter five opens with one of his sons, Belshazzar, now leading the kingdom. I suggest you read Daniel 5:1-31 yourself to get the feel of what was going on and why. Here is the direct passage that explains who we are looking for.

Daniel 5:24-28 ESV "Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. (25) And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. (26) This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; (27) TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; (28) PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

Daniel 5:30-31 ESV That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. (31) And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

This is now the third head of state Daniel has served under and the potential for radical change in leadership is often the order of the day, but God has his hand on Daniel.

Daniel 6:1-3 ESV It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; (2) and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. (3) Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

Daniel 6:28 ESV So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Did you notice this? Two different kings but the empire did not change focus or direction, and Daniel served well in both of them. The domain was Persian, which happens to have what affiliation? Assyrian and the Assyrians were the ruling bodies in Nineveh when Jonah was told to deliver the message – repent or be destroyed.

While this is all good stuff to take note of, we still have not migrated to the third empire as yet.

In Daniel chapter, seven we step back in time as Daniel tells us about a dream he had during the first year of Belshazzar's reign.

Daniel describes the four great beasts rising out of the sea that was in the dream.

Daniel 7:2-4 ESV Daniel declared, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. (3) And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. (4) The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.

• “The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings”

Sounds regal enough but you seldom find someone of such stature crawling around on the ground like a mad man.

“then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.”

This is the description we have of Nebuchadnezzar that we find that in Daniel chapter four before his mind was restored to him. So, once again, we have a description of the Babylonian empire.

Because we have a clear definition of who the second empire is – the Medo-Persian. Keep that in mind as you read about the second beast Daniel sees.

Daniel 7:5-6 ESV And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, 'Arise, devour much flesh.' (6) After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it.

Here is a peculiarity. Even though all these sound very deadly, did they have that effect on Daniel, or on Israel in general? The answer is no. If you read through Daniel you find the king setting up a large, grotesque statue of himself. Where Daniel was when this happened we are not told, but to not worship the image meant death. Daniel's Jewish brethren refused to bow and were thrown into the fire - if you know the story then you know they were not burned or even touched by the smell of smoke. Now, the question is, did these kingdoms have an evil and deadly side to them? Certainly.

Let's ponder the third beast for a moment.

(6) "After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it."

Is it possible that verse six is speaking of the Grecian empire when it speaks of the beast having four heads? Historically, we know that this was the Grecian empire. We also know that after Alexander's death the Grecian empire was controlled by four generals. However, there was no end to struggle and eventually two generals controlled all the northern and southern regions. The general that ruled the northern empire was Seleucus and Ptolemy to the south. The fact that the empire ends up under the control of two generals either eliminates them as a possibility or, it explains the legs of the statue.

Let me burst your theological bubble just a bit more.

While we have some definition to the first three: a lion; a bear, and a leopard. Just the species alone does not give you a solid link to particular empires. The problem is that there is a fourth.

Daniel 7:7 ESV After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

When we compare what Daniel tells us in chapter seven against the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's statue dream, we are now down to the undefined legs.

The fourth beast is given no animal counterpart, but it does have iron teeth. There is nothing on earth, outside of mythical creatures, that has iron teeth with the exception of one thing, man and his weapons of war.

• “ it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet.”

There is an entity active on the earth presently that is devouring and breaking in pieces everything they come in contact with. All you have to do is look at pictures coming out of the Middle East to see how devastated and broken those nations are now. They are currently called ISIS. What is the root of ISIS? Islam in its most vile form; and, those associated with ISIS are holding fast to every brutal command contained within the Qu'ran.

Take note of where these four came from.

Daniel 7:3 ESV And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.

I have heard it said that the sea represents the sea of people, and I do not have a problem with that. But in truth, we are looking at something very spiritual/devilish/demonic = fallen angels, and their original attempts to wipe out anything that looked like it could be the Messiah? Clearly the attack plan shifted once the Messiah came, paid the price, and freed the world from the bondage of servant-hood to sin. So, then the demonic plan must be focused on deception and prevention of anyone joining ranks with God and his plan.

I am jumping ahead with this example but it corroborates what Daniel saw, and this repetition is a vital aspect of prophecy.

Revelation 13:1-2 ESV And 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. (2) And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.

It is no longer four beasts, but one. And yet, we still have the identities of the lion, the bear, and the leopard. It too is coming out of the sea and has ten horns and seven heads. This is the same thing that Daniel has been seeing, even if the format looks different. John here sees one other aspect that we do not see in Daniel:

“And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.””

Since Daniel alerted us that we should be looking for empires or authoritative bodies, we know that what we see in Revelation 13:1-2 is also representative of the same thing. There is, however, a subtle word in Revelation 13:2 that we need to pay attention to, and it is the word “it.” It is singular but can comprise a unity of power under one motive and action. We often refer to a corporation as it, but what if “it” is a demonic/fallen angel. The dragon, which we have established as representative of Satan, is the one doing the giving. Would he give all that power to a man? Maybe, but clearly this is not just one man and has not been in any of the examples we have looked at as evidence so far.

One of the horrendous problems we have had in understanding Revelation and end times events is the conjecture as to who the fourth beast, the waist, thighs and legs of the statue are. Still, to this day, I hear prophecy teachers saying that we should be looking to Rome. Although the Pope does and says things associated with apostasy, while leading a group of people that are awaiting alien leadership, that does not make him the Antichrist. It does, however, cause us to not look anywhere else, pursue logical options, and it distracts us from real possibilities, that are happening all around us.

A huge clue comes out of Daniel 7:7 when it says,

“It was different from all the beasts that were before it,”

Alright then, let's consider this. Since God is focused on the Babylonian empire as the initiating point. What is it that is significant?

• Babylon, under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, takes Israel captive.
  What was the purpose of Israel's captivity? To punish them for forsaking the Shemittah, the period of rest.
  Even though, as we discussed, Nebuchadnezzar had the potential for great harm, he also had a preservative effect on Israel. People continued to live there, carrying on with their lives, and someone actually preserved the oral history and traditions.
  Daniel, a Jew, excelled under Nebuchadnezzar, as did Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, his Jewish brethren.
• Babylon was overtaken by Darius the Mede.
  How did Daniel fare through this? He was placed in the kingdom as one of the three highest-ranking officials.
  And, Daniel even rises to the top when Cyrus, the Persian takes the reigns of the former Babylonian empire.

So far, it is not an entirely destructive pattern we see. Since we love to assign the hips and legs of the statue to the Roman empire, let's consider them for a moment. Rome was not an entirely destructive force upon the earth, as they made roads, built aqueducts, and established a rule of law. While it is obvious that their initial greetings may have been at the point of a spear, this was common with any invaded nation. Historically, Rome never held any ground over Babylon proper, for any period of time, and, therefore, cannot be deemed to have held the same land masses that others conquerors held.

If we are looking at invading powers as solely destructive, this was not the case. And yet, this power, which may not be as global as we think, and because of this statement - “It was different from all the beasts that were before it,” it may prove to be one of the most destructive plagues upon man.

I never end one of these without pointing out that you too can have a confidence in your relationship with the Messiah. Admit you are broken with Him and invite this Jesus into your life. He will come and make himself real to you, live in you, and give you a hope in an eternal home with the Father, God.

Related articles

• 12 Historic Sieges of Jerusalem
• Comparing Joseph & Daniel
• Why would anyone ever say this? Migrating to Revelation 16, part 4
• A Study of Daniel's Seventieth Week
• [D&R Study] Daniel Chapter One
• Nations against Israel
• For it is given over to the nations. The continuing migration toward Revelation 16. Part 6

A cryptic history lesson. The journey through Revelation. Chapter 9

Previously, I mentioned that Revelation 12 comes across as a cryptic history lesson. How else do you explain rapidly why we have this hope?

If you have read Paul's writings in the New Testament, then you know that this HOPE we have is one the major themes being preached. Try to absorb the book of Acts and you come to realize that Paul's primary audience were Jewish followers of the Law and the Prophets that had gathered on the Sabbath, in the synagogue of the city he was now in. Speaking to men educated in the Torah and Tanach, many through oral history, Paul spoke a language they understood. And, since the Law and the Prophets spoke of the Messiah that was to come, Paul made it clear that He had come already; there was clear evidence of that and many of those who were eyewitness are still alive today (he would tell them) and you can speak with them should you wish to pursue that.

In my last post, I mention these two verses as I talked about how we were jumping backward in time; where and when this action might have taken place; and what some of the possibilities are concerning the dragon's attempts to devour the child Israel was to give birth to.

Today I had a thought that may tickle you as we try to understand the language being used.

My constant admonition – keep in mind that this is a Jewish book, written to Jewish converts within the early churches. Yes, it was meant for us to see and understand.

Revelation 1:3 ESV Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

John wrote at the direction of the Holy Spirit of God and therefore fully intended for us to figure this stuff out.

The second half of my admonition is that John wrote in a terminology they were familiar with. So, when he writes about a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, the learned, Jewish mind has an immediate association with some passage from the Old Testament. And, this is not just some mere, worthless symbol, this is prophecy. For prophecy to the Jewish mind is a pattern, not flash and pizzazz, but solid, repeatable evidence. That evidence came as God's word. Now consider that before the days of books history was oral tradition. Therefore, what the “prophets” did and said might have been transcribed and then orally passed along for generations. That sort of demands that you show some belief and faith.

Can you see a problem here? I can and examples of that problem show up at the birth of Jesus. How you ask?

• Magi/wise men/game changers – come from another nation. Following evidence in the scriptures and a sign in the heavens, that was noted in the scriptures, they pursued the birth of the Messiah, the King that was to come, and they worshiped him.
• Follow that story in scriptures and you will find Herod and all Jerusalem in a panic as these men came. Herod questioned the Jewish Chief priests and elders what this was all about, and they told him. Did they pursue the Messiah as the Magi did? Not at all, in fact, they were all in favor of having him eliminated. Are you kidding me; why? Because they knew they would lose their place and power, the same thing Herod feared.
• Simeon the priest recognized the Messiah and worshiped him.
• Anna the prophetess, longed to see the day he would come, and she too recognized that it was him.

So, Israel has a problem with belief. Do you actually believe we are so different? And yet, as you saw above some believed and waited anxiously for the Messiah.

Even though I covered this to some degree before, I want to discuss the bizarre description. There is a humorous reason for this, as well as the desire to understand. The men's bible study I attend off and on has a variety of men and their thoughts, but most are deeply entrenched in some old twisted traditions. One guy, he was a gunnery Sargent in the military, asks questions and challenges what he hears because he either does not or will not open his bible. As we spent time some time talking about end times events, he goes on a short rant saying, “who can understand this stuff anyway. What is this red dragon with seven heads and ten horns? No one can figure this stuff out.”

Well, that is not a true statement. You can understand it if someone tells you what is going on in common language. The other aspect of his dismay was the imagery. As I said, John wrote with the intent and purpose of being understood. The problem is that we do not recognize that fact and we do not read for ourselves.

Revelation 12:3-4 ESV And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. (4) His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.

We don't really know what this looks like, but let's assume this represents what scripture describes it as.

Time to tear it up:

“ behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.”

This was not a new concept to John's audience. Although the terminology is not exactly the same, the 'monster' has some similar characteristics.

Daniel 7:19-22 ESV "Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, (20) and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. (21) As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, (22) until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.

Both of these beasts have ten horns. Just because we do not see all the details, does not mean they are different.

Other examples:

Ezekiel 29:3 ESV speak, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, 'My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.'

Isaiah 27:1 ESV In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.

There is no physical dragon in the sea or streams, therefore, this is either symbolic or a fallen angel. We do have a huge clue to help our understanding and it comes from passages we are looking at.

“His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth.”

Since we know that Satan was cast out of his permanent home, heaven. We should also comprehend that this dragon being cast out, sweeping a third of the stars with him, is Satan.

Take a moment to read this and then ask yourself some questions:

Ezekiel 28:12-19 ESV "Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: "You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. (13) You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. (14) You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. (15) You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. (16) In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. (17) Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. (18) By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. (19) All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever."

• Is he really talking to the king of Tyre, for that was a real king born long after the garden disappeared?
• If this is the king of Tyre, how did he get to wander in the garden of Eden?
• You know how certain religions claim that Satan is the brother of Jesus. What do they do with this? “ On the day that you were created”
• People struggle with how Satan even got into the garden. I never really noticed this before, but it certainly makes sense. Obviously, his corruption into Satan happened during this time.

  “You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. (14) You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. (15) You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.”

Take your time and ponder what Ezekiel 28 conveys about Satan's beginnings.

While I admit I have offered you no great definitions about who the great red dragon might be, I think it is safe to say it is conglomeration of powers and leaders throughout many ages, backed by Satan himself, who have but one purpose – whether they know it or not, and that is to try to destroy the Woman and her child. Since the child, fortunately, included those of who were grafted in, then we have become the targets as well.

On the plus side, we have this closing statement from Ezekiel.

“Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. (18) By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. (19) All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever."

Although our hope is based on the promise of a peaceful life with the Father, there is joy in knowing that Satan and all his cohorts will be put away permanently someday.

If you do not have that hope in you, you can. Just ask Jesus to make himself real to you. He will come into your life and be a part of it if you merely ask Him to. But I warn you, your life will change.

Related articles

• Revelation 6:9
• It Is Precious to Me