SPIRITAL DIARY FOR
6/8/2015 10:19 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The Battle PT-3
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Revelation 12:7-8
Message
of the verses: “7 And there was war
in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and
his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no
longer a place found for them in heaven.”
We see in verse seven these
words: “The dragon and his angels waged
war,” and what this shows us the truth of what Jesus said in Matthew 25:41 “"Then
He will also say to those on His left, ’Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the
eternal fire which has
been prepared for the devil and his angels.” There is a spiritual warfare going on and
Satan is the head of those fallen angels and once they fell God prepared a
place for them which we know as hell, but it will not only be occupied by them,
but also those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ and the only way for
salvation.
We see the term “waging war,” and
then we see “waged war,” and MacArthur says that this “emphasizes the force and
fury of the battle; this will be no minor skirmish, but an all-out battle. Satan will fight desperately to prevent
Christ from establishing His millennial kingdom (just as he opposed Israel’s restoration
from captivity and was rebuked for it; Zech. 3:2). Thus, the supernatural war will reach a
crescendo as the time for Christ to establish His earthly and eternal kingdom
draws near.”
God has won every battle fought
against Satan and will win this one too as we read “they were not strong enough.” Michael and his holy angels will win this
battle and then Satan will not be allowed to be in heaven as he has had access
in the past. All of heaven will be
searched and made sure that all of Satan’s demons are out, never to return and
as he has to then go to the earth what we read in Ephesians 2:2 will end for
Satan, for he will no longer be “the prince of the power of the air (Eph.
2:2).”
The cleansing of heaven will bring
terror to the earth for Satan and his demons will have to come to earth and
this causes him to be angry and so at this time he will come after the children
of Israel, and also those who have come to know Christ as their Savior. Revelation 12:12 says “"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."” John MacArthur
writes “At exactly what point in the Tribulation Satan and the demons will be
evicted from heaven is not revealed, nor is the duration of their battle with
Michael and the holy angels. All that
can be said with certainty is that Satan and the demos will be case out of
heaven, possibly at the Rapture, but no later than the midpoint of the
Tribulation. Verse 12 says that Satan
and his forces have only a ‘short time’ after they leave heaven, supporting the
view that they will have only the last three and a half years of the
Tribulation to operate, rather than the full seven years. They will not arrive on earth later than
that, since they clearly are present during the terrible events of the last
here and a half years, the Great Tribulation (cf. 9:1ff.). During that last period, Satan’s full power
will be directed at anyone belonging to God, especially Israel.”
Well after all is said and one from
the subject of what we have called the “battle” I am not sure when this will
happen, and whether or not it will happen during the Rapture or at the
mid-point of the Tribulation. If I had
to guess I would lean towards the mid-point of the Tribulation for that is when
times on earth will be as bad as they have ever been or ever will be.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: As we
read and study the book of Revelation we cannot be sure as to the timetable of
many of the things we find in it but one thing is sure and that is all the
judgments that we are learning about will happen and the outcome will be that
there will be a new heaven and a new earth and the awfulness of sin will once
and for all be done with thanks to what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To love the
Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to live in and to
trust the love that the Lord has for me.
Answer
to yesterday’s Bible question:
“Habakkuk.”
Today’s
Bible question: “What was Cain’s
occupation?”
Answer
in our next SD.
6/8/2015
10:50 AM
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