In the book of Job we read of how satan had access to God and at times satan would accuse us.
Job 1:6
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them
But now satan can’t accuse Christians anymore because Revelation 12:10 says that “now the kingdom of God has come” and Jesus tells us in the verses below that the Spirit of God within the kingdom of God is what drives out demons.
Matthew 28:28-29
28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.
I believe that the timing of the kingdom of God which came in Revelation chapter 12:10 (which was after Jesus the male child was caught up to God at His ascension) was also the same time as the verses below in Daniel as Jesus was given all authority.
Daniel 7:13-14
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Satan cannot accuse Christians anymore because at Jesus' death He removed our sin and guilt which also removed us from God's wrath and ended our alienation from God thus we are now redeemed as we read in the verses below.
Colossians 2:13-15
13 when you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Revelation chapter 12:11
11 They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
Verse 11 started its fulfillment with the death of Stephen which we read in the book of Acts and it is still currently happening as Christians are still being martyred today. Christians are triumphing over satan by the blood of Christ and many have refused to reject Christ even onto the point of death.
Revelation 12:12
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”
We now read that satan has been cast from heaven to the earth and that he is now full of fury but there is also a woe given to the earth and the sea. What is meant by the earth and the see?
Let’s read a couple of verses from the next chapter in Revelation.
Revelation 13:1& 11
1The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.
We read in the above verses that one of the beasts comes from the sea and the other beast comes from the earth the very same locations that the woes are given too in Revelation12:12. The sea and the earth represent the people of the earth carnal worldly men as John refers to when Jesus was speaking to the Jews in the verse below
John 8:23
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
We now see that the timing of the two beasts in Revelation chapter 13 was right after satan was cast from heaven to the earth which was shortly after Jesus’ ascension. The meaning of the woes was the havoc that these two beasts would cause in the world.
Revelation 12:13-14
13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.
After satan was cast to the earth he again pursues the woman (Israel) but she is given two wings of an eagle and taken to the wildness for a set time of a time’ times and a half a time or 3 ½ year. Verse 14 takes us back to the time of the Exodus as Israel was taken to the wilderness by God for protection from Egypt upon eagles wings as mentioned in the verse below.
Exodus 19:4
4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself
Revelation 12:15-16
15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
The verses above also takes us back to Exodus as God protected Israel and used the red sea to protect Israel from Pharaohs pursuing army.
I believe this to be the time from the start of the Roman and Jewish war until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. The war started in 66AD and 3 1/2 years later Jerusalem was destroyed. God protected Israel from total destruction during that time to allow time for the Christian Jews to escape the city of Jerusalem. God also used that time for a grace period for some unbelieving Jews who could realized that Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem in the Olivet discourse was about to take place.
I believe the river that the dragon spewed from his mouth was the first advancement on the Roman armies upon Jerusalem in 66AD. The Roman army surrounded Jerusalem but then retreated as Cestius Gallus the legate of Syria realized that he did not have enough troops for the task he then retreated to wait for more reinforcements. As the Roman army retreaded they were perused by the Jewish rebels and defeated.
God used the time of the retreat as an opportunity for a window of escape for the Christian Jews who had heeded the words of Jesus in the Olivet discourse as we read below.
Luke 21:20-21
20 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.
Matthew 24:15-16
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Job 1:6
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them
But now satan can’t accuse Christians anymore because Revelation 12:10 says that “now the kingdom of God has come” and Jesus tells us in the verses below that the Spirit of God within the kingdom of God is what drives out demons.
Matthew 28:28-29
28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.
I believe that the timing of the kingdom of God which came in Revelation chapter 12:10 (which was after Jesus the male child was caught up to God at His ascension) was also the same time as the verses below in Daniel as Jesus was given all authority.
Daniel 7:13-14
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Satan cannot accuse Christians anymore because at Jesus' death He removed our sin and guilt which also removed us from God's wrath and ended our alienation from God thus we are now redeemed as we read in the verses below.
Colossians 2:13-15
13 when you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Revelation chapter 12:11
11 They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
Verse 11 started its fulfillment with the death of Stephen which we read in the book of Acts and it is still currently happening as Christians are still being martyred today. Christians are triumphing over satan by the blood of Christ and many have refused to reject Christ even onto the point of death.
Revelation 12:12
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”
We now read that satan has been cast from heaven to the earth and that he is now full of fury but there is also a woe given to the earth and the sea. What is meant by the earth and the see?
Let’s read a couple of verses from the next chapter in Revelation.
Revelation 13:1& 11
1The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.
We read in the above verses that one of the beasts comes from the sea and the other beast comes from the earth the very same locations that the woes are given too in Revelation12:12. The sea and the earth represent the people of the earth carnal worldly men as John refers to when Jesus was speaking to the Jews in the verse below
John 8:23
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
We now see that the timing of the two beasts in Revelation chapter 13 was right after satan was cast from heaven to the earth which was shortly after Jesus’ ascension. The meaning of the woes was the havoc that these two beasts would cause in the world.
Revelation 12:13-14
13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.
After satan was cast to the earth he again pursues the woman (Israel) but she is given two wings of an eagle and taken to the wildness for a set time of a time’ times and a half a time or 3 ½ year. Verse 14 takes us back to the time of the Exodus as Israel was taken to the wilderness by God for protection from Egypt upon eagles wings as mentioned in the verse below.
Exodus 19:4
4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself
Revelation 12:15-16
15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
The verses above also takes us back to Exodus as God protected Israel and used the red sea to protect Israel from Pharaohs pursuing army.
I believe this to be the time from the start of the Roman and Jewish war until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. The war started in 66AD and 3 1/2 years later Jerusalem was destroyed. God protected Israel from total destruction during that time to allow time for the Christian Jews to escape the city of Jerusalem. God also used that time for a grace period for some unbelieving Jews who could realized that Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem in the Olivet discourse was about to take place.
I believe the river that the dragon spewed from his mouth was the first advancement on the Roman armies upon Jerusalem in 66AD. The Roman army surrounded Jerusalem but then retreated as Cestius Gallus the legate of Syria realized that he did not have enough troops for the task he then retreated to wait for more reinforcements. As the Roman army retreaded they were perused by the Jewish rebels and defeated.
God used the time of the retreat as an opportunity for a window of escape for the Christian Jews who had heeded the words of Jesus in the Olivet discourse as we read below.
Luke 21:20-21
20 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.
Matthew 24:15-16
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
