Book of Revelation Study

Book of Revelation Study Justifying Grace Christian Ministries.

Rev. Lily Frazier

Hebrews 10:25- Let us not neglect meeting together as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another , and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Opening Prayer: ( we will use this each time we meet)

Father God, Lord Jesus..

Open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit,

that as the Scriptures are read and the Word proclaimed,

we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.

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Though not an exhaustive study, this outline gives a basic version of events as laid out in the Book of Revelation, Using Lessons, Commentaries and Study Guides as the basis of information.

Book: The Returning King- A guide to the book of Revelation- by Vern S. Poythress

The Wycliffe Bible Commentary-( phrase by phrase commentary) By Pfeiffer and Harrison

Seminary Course studies used with written permissions from Christian Leaders Institute.

Max Lucado Inspirational Study Bible. New King James Version

And summary explanations by myself.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT THIS IS A SIDE BY SIDE STUDY GUIDE AND NOT AN ALL INCLUSIVE STUDY...AND MOST MPORTANT- IS THAT WE AS FORGIVEN CHRISITANS WHO ARE WALKING DAILY -FAITHFULLY TRUSTING IN THE LORD- ARE NOT EXEMPT FROM STRUGGLES AND PAIN IN THIS LIFE, BUT CAN HOPE AND REJOICE THAT OUR LOVING SAVIOR COMES BACK FOR US- TO MAKE US A NEW EARTH, WHERE THERE IS NO PAIN AND SUFFERING- THEREFORE I ENCOURAGE YOU TO REMAIN STRONG INYOUR FAITH- TRUE IN YOUR HEART TO THE CALLING THAT YOU ARE GIVEN AND TO KEEP YOUR EYES UPON JESUS....Lets Begin!

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Situation: John wrote Revelation to encourage Christians to resist the cult of emperor worship and to stand firm during persecution.

Observation: Jesus, the Mighty One, cares for us and stands with us. No matter what we face, he gives us his love and power.

Inspiration: As the Christian with the Bible in his hand surveys the world scene, he is aware that we do not worship an absentee God... He is aware that God is in the shadows of history and that He has a plan.. The Christian is not to be disturbed by the chaos, violence, strife, bloodshed, and threat of war that fills the pages of our daily newspapers. We know that these things are the consequences of sin and greed.. Every day we see a thousand evidences of the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Every day as I read my newspaper I say: “The Bible is true”..

No matter how foreboding the future, the Christian knows the end of the story.. We are heading toward a glorious climax.. Every writer of the New Testament believes that the Best is yet to be..

As John Baillie has said: “ The Bible indicates that the future is in God's hands. If it were in our hands, we would make a mess of it.. The future is not in the devil's hands- for then he would lead us to destruction. The future is not at the mercy of any historical determinism leading us blindly foreward, for then life would be without meaning. But the future is in the hands of One who is preparing something better than the eye hath seen, or ear heard, or has entered into the heart of man to conceive..... ( From : Unto the Hills by Billy Graham).

Revelation 1:1-20 and Introduction:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Greetings to the Seven Churches-

John commended various churches in Asia Minor regrading their faithfulness and fervor for God. He highlights the importance of applying God's word and avoiding sin...

Observation: Believers remain faithful to the truth of God's Word by keeping their eyes on Jesus. Those who overcome will share in God's glory.

Vision of the Son of Man- Rev. 1:9-20

The Loveless Church-Ephesus-Rev.2:1-7

The Persecuted Church- Smyrna-Rev 2: 8-11

The Compromising Church- Pergamos-Rev 2:12-17

The Corrupt Church-Thyatira- Rev. 2:18-29

The Dead Church-Sardis-Rev.3:1-6

The Faithful Church-Philadelphia- Rev.3:7-13

The Lukewarm Church-Laodicea-Rev. 3: 14-22

Revelation 3:1-22

God continues to address the spiritual lives of his churches.. He encouraged the church in the Asian city of Philadelphia to persevere through difficult times. But the churches in Sardis and Laodicea were told to repent of their sin...Observation:. God does not tolerate a mediocre spiritual life. He wants all Christians to be involved in loving and serving.

Revelation 4:1- 6:17

John reported that Jesus Christ would initiate the final conflict against Satan. At the end, God would defeat Satan and throw him into hell. Observation: For the Believers, the end will be a time of rejoicing; for the unbelievers, time to face God's judgment.

The Throne Room of Heaven- Rev 4:1-11

The Lamb takes the Scroll-Rev. 5:1-7

Worthy is the Lamb-Rev. 5:8-14

The Seals: Rev. 6

John assures the readers that God would not lose track of his faithful people during the judgement of the world. He would rescue them.. All believers are important to God. God guarantees his protection to his followers by placing a seal over them. Nothing can remove that seal. Unlike the 144 thousand mentioned in Revelation below- Our seal is not visible. Our seal is spiritual. Instead of eing given the mark on our foreheads, we are given the Holy Spirit as a pledge of God's intentions. He is not finished with us yet. Salvation is Permanent! We are sealed right up to the day of redemption- when our salvation will be complete. Everyone who has been sealed in Christ- will remain sealed right up through the end.. Only God can break the seal -Rev.5:1-3.. and He has already determined to leave the seal intact until our salvation is complete... Praise the LORD!!!

(Eternal Security- Author- Charles Stanley)

First Seal: The conqueror

Second Seal: Conflict on Earth

Third Seal: Scarcity on Earth

Fourth Seal: Widespread Death on Earth

Fifth Seal: The Cry of the Martyrs

Sixth Seal: Cosmic Disturbances

Revelation 7:1-17

The Sealed of Israel

( Israel being Jacob) The tribes are the ones named after his sons.

Therefore Israels Children.144,000.

Note: The Main message of Revelation is unveiled primarily through the opening of a scroll fastened with seven successive seals. Jesus Christ is the only one who can break the seals and open the scroll to our understanding.....( For further study- see the Olivet Prophecy and see how they parallel.).. The Olivet Discourse or Olivet Prophecy is a biblical passage found in the synoptic Gospels in Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Luke 21 What is it?- It is the name given to the orderly and extended teaching given by Jesus on the Mount of Olives. It is important to recognize that Jesus' teachings in this discourse is in reference to Israel......... It is also an overview of the end times that Jesus revealed to His disciples the week before his death.....

A Multitude from the Great Tribulation: Revelation 7:9-17

Seventh Seal- Prelude to the Seven Trumpets .

Silence in Heaven- Revelation 8: 1-6

First Trumpet-Vegetation struck. Rev. 8:7

Second Trumpet-The Seas struck- Rev. 8:8-9

Third Trumpet- The Waters struck- Rev. 8:10-11

Fourth Trumpet-The Heavens Struck-Rev. 8:12-13

Fifth Trumpet-The Locusts from the Bottomless Pit. Rev. 9:1-12

Sixth Trumpet-The Angels from the Euphrates. Rev. 9:13-21

The Mighty Angel with the little book. Rev. 10:1-7

John eats the little book. Rev. 10:8-11

The Two Witnesses. Rev. 11:1-6

The Witnesses killed. Rev. 11:7-10

The Witnesses Resurrected. Rev. 11:11-14

SEVENTH TRUMPET- THE KINGDOM PROCLAIMED: REV. 11:15-19

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon. Rev. 12:1-6

Satan Thrown Out of Heaven. Rev. 12:7-12

The Woman Persecuted. Rev. 12:13-17

The Beast from the Sea. Rev. 13:1-10

The Beast from the Earth. Rev.13:11-18

The Lamb and the 144,000 ( Israels children) Rev. 14:1-5

** Revelation 14:1-20-God's Judgment arrived. Only those who were cleansed from sin through faith in Christ remained protected from God's anger against sin. This chapter provided assurance and comfort to the faithful.

**God's judgment of evil will not be put off indefinitely. Only by submitting our life to Him can we avoid his wrath.

***Have you accepted Christ as your Savior? Have you confessed your sins?

If so- then you have nothing to fear from God's Judgment of the world. The judge is on our side!

But if you are unsure- Pray to receive Christ Right Now..

Pray together aloud:

Most merciful God

We confess that we are in bondage to sin, and cannot free ourselves..

We have sinned against you – in thought, word and deed,

by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole hearts,

We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

For the sake of your Son- Jesus Christ-

Have Mercy on Us..

Forgive us

Renew us

and Lead us

So that we may delight in your will-

and walk in your ways

to the Glory of your Holy Name.. Amen.

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The Proclamations of Three Angels. Rev. 14:6-13

Reaping the Harvest. Rev. 14: 14-16

Reaping the Grapes of Wrath. Rev. 14:17-20

PRELUDE TO THE BOWL OF JUDGEMENTS. REV. 15 :1-8 AND REV. 16:1

**The seven terrible plagues are poured out on the earth. Rev. 16:1-21. Much sorrow and trouble await for those who are not protected from God's Judgment.. Despite the power of the plagues, people will curse God rather than praise him.. ( God's terrifying wrath purges the earth of evil).

Inspiration: The Bible says that , The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.. We don't fear Him as a tyrant but as a loving and just Father who leads us in wisdom and truth to do what is good for us, what will prolong and preserve our lives. But since God is a just Father, we know He will discipline and punish us when we defy Him and break His rules. If we break those rules often enough and carelessly enough, He will take our privileges away completely. That is the risk this world faces even now.....

Peace with God, the peace of God, and peace between nations is possible, if we repent of our sins, listen to Him, believe in Him, and follow Him. As Servants, followers, brothers, and sisters of the Savior, we are commanded to be His allies in the cause of the true and lasting peace that He can bring....

We are to expect the coming of Christ at any time, but we are to work as if He were not to come for a thousand years..

In the meantime, we are to work in peace and harmony among the nations of the earth and to love our neighbors even as we love ourselves.. ( From Storm Warning by Billy Graham).

APPLICATION: Before the final judgment begins, witness to friends and neighbors about God's offer of eternal life in Christ. Tell them the story of Jesus. Share how God has made a difference in your life.

First Bowl: Loathsome Sores. Rev. 16:2

Second Bowl: The Sea Turns to Blood. Rev. 16:3

Third Bowl:The Waters Turn to Blood. Rev.16:4-7

Fourth Bowl: Men Are Scorched. Rev. 16:8-9

Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain. Rev.16:10-11

Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up. Rev. 16:12-16

Seventh Bowl: The Earth Utterly Shaken. Rev. 16:17-21

The Scarlet Woman and the Scarlet Beast. AND The Meaning of the Woman and the Beast.

Rev. 17: 1-18

**Rev. 17:1-18- The “great prostitute” referred to Babylon. John's readers probably equated it with the Roman Empire, but it also symbolizes any system hostile to God. Observation: Using symbolic language, John described the destruction of evil and systems energized by Satan. God triumphs over evil.

The Fall of Babylon the Great. Rev. 18:1-8

**Revelation 18: 1-24- John pointed out that although society was built around the economy, only what was built on God would last forever.. Observation: Greed and materialism will be judged and crushed. Christians must derive their security from faith in Christ.

The World Mourns Babylon's Fall. Rev. 18:9-20

Finality of Babylon's Fall. Rev. 18:21-24

Heaven Exults over Babylon. Rev. 19.1-10

** Revelation 19:1-21- The Heavenly multitude responded to God's judgment with enthusiasm and praise. Jesus, suffering Servant of the Gospels, became the righteous Judge.. When Jesus returns, he will complete the work he began. He will gather his people and destroy Satan.

Christ on a White Horse. Rev. 19:11-16

The Beast and His Armies Defeated. Rev. 19: 17-21

Satan Bound 1000 years. Rev. 20:1-3

The Saints Reign with Christ 1000 years. Rev. 20:4-6.. ** This is the first Resurrection!**

** In Revelation 20:1-15- John describes a coming time when Satan would be bound, dead Christians would be resurrected, and Satan and unrepentant sinners would be doomed to eternal destruction. Observe the final triumph of GOD over evil!

Satanic Rebellion Crushed. Rev. 20:7-10

The Great White Throne Judgment. Rev. 20:11-15

**In Revelation 21:1-22:21- John told Christians that in the end, God would triumph. Despite the obstacles Christians face in this life, all who hold Jesus as their Lord will spend eternity in fellowship with God.

All Things Made New. Rev. 21:1-8

The New Jerusalem. Rev. 21:9-23

The Glory of the New Jerusalem. Rev. 21:22-27

The River of Life. Rev. 22:1-5

The Time is Near. Rev. 22: 6-11

Jesus Testifies to the Churches. Rev. 22:12-17

A Warning. Rev. 22:18-19

I Am Coming Quickly. Rev. 22:20-21

Seven Applications of Revelation

by Dennis Johnson

Why did God give us the book of Revelation? If you had asked me this question when I was a young Christian, I might have said, “To help us discover when Jesus will return to earth,” “To help us make sense of events in the Middle East,” “To give us nightmares about the tribulation so that we don’t get lax and miss the rapture,” “To give Christians something to argue about,” or, simply, “To confuse us.” My answer today is different: God gave the Apocalypse shown to John in order to bless us — to do us good, to convey His grace, to fortify our hearts. In Revelation, God promises His blessing seven times (a symbolically significant number): to those who hear and hold Revelation’s message (Rev. 1:3; 22:7), who die “in the Lord” (14:13), who stay awake and alert (16:15), who attend the Lamb’s marriage supper (19:9), who share the first resurrection (20:6), and who wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb (22:14; see 7:15).

God gave the book of Revelation neither to tantalize nor to satiate our curiosity about His hidden timetable but rather to arm us for the spiritual conflict that we face every day. At the end of my commentary on Revelation, Triumph of the Lamb, I asked, “What should this book do to us?” Below are the answers I offered in response to this query, and I believe they show how Revelation should be applied.

REVELATION HELPS CHRISTIANS SEE OUR SITUATION IN ITS TRUE PERSPECTIVE

Appearances can be deceiving. We often gauge how “the war” is going by the way things look to us today based on headlines about political and economic trends or global crises. The paradoxes in Revelation’s visions remind us that “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). Christ’s cross looked like the slaughter of a helpless lamb, but it was actually the triumph of Judah’s Lion (Rev. 5:5–10). When faithful martyrs shed their blood, their foes seem to have conquered (11:7; 13:7). In fact, the martyrs are the true victors who vanquish Satan “by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (12:11).

REVELATION SHOWS OUR ENEMIES IN THEIR TRUE COLORS

Our enemy is stronger and savvier than we are: “the great dragon … that ancient serpent … the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (12:9). But the seed of the woman has come, conquered the Serpent, and ascended to heaven (v. 5). Satan can no longer accuse: his charges have been silenced by Christ’s sacrifice (vv. 10–11). Frustrated over his defeat at the cross, Satan vents his wrath against the church on earth (vv. 12–17). His weapons are violent persecution (the Beast), plausible deception (the False Prophet), and seductive pleasure (the harlot Babylon). The sovereign state, civil religion, and luxurious indulgences may seem to be “saviors.” Don’t be fooled: they aim to destroy. Revelation’s symbolism peels back the façade that often hides the grotesque hollowness of Satan’s counterfeits.

REVELATION REVEALS OUR CHAMPION IN HIS TRUE GLORY

As its title promises, this truly is “the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1). It unveils Jesus and fixes our hearts and hopes on Him. He is the hero of each dramatic scene. He is the Son of Man foretold in Daniel 7, luminous in divine glory, who by His resurrection seized death’s keys and now walks among His churches. He is Judah’s Lion who conquered by being slain, redeeming people from all the earth’s peoples. He is worthy of worship from every creature everywhere. He is the Captain of heaven’s armies, riding into battle against His and our enemies, defending beleaguered saints, and finally destroying the Dragon and his beasts. Our Champion lifts our weary hearts with His promise: “Surely I am coming soon.” We reply: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (22:20).

REVELATION ENABLES US TO SEE OURSELVES IN OUR TRUE BEAUTY

Jesus’ messages to the churches of Asia show that His fiery eyes (1:14; 2:18) see us accurately, commending our faithfulness but exposing our flaws (chaps. 2–3). Nevertheless, as mottled as the church’s spiritual complexion is now, our Bridegroom loves us and will not rest until He presents us to Himself “as a bride adorned for her husband” (21:2), clothed “with fine linen, bright and pure” (19:8). Revelation paints our coming wedding in such vivid colors that we long to pursue now the loveliness that will then be fully ours (1 John 3:2–3).

REVELATION SUMMONS US TO ENDURE AS WE SUFFER

Revelation was originally addressed to Christians who were suffering for their faith. They experienced poverty, slander, prison, and even death (2:9–10, 13). Writhing in his death throes in the aftermath of the cross, the Dragon escalates his assault against the saints until Christ returns to consummate history. Jesus does not promise a painless escape from this war of the ages. Instead, He promises His presence as the one who is “alive forevermore” (1:18). In response to that promise, we must heed the King’s call to patient endurance (1:9; 2:2–3, 10, 13, 19, 25; 3:8, 10; 13:10; 14:12).

REVELATION CALLS US TO STAY PURE WHEN COMPROMISE INVITES

Some of the first-century churches, like many churches in the twenty-first century, faced a subtler threat than persecution. Satan, the father of lies, tried to mislead believers through purveyors of false teaching (2:15, 20). Material comfort and compromise with the paganism of the surrounding culture also proved alluring (2:14; 3:17). Such insidious assaults on wholehearted allegiance to Christ are still with us. Against the Devil’s lies and invitations to idolize pleasure and prosperity, Revelation calls us to keep our hearts and lives pure as befits those who will be the Lamb’s white-robed bride (3:4–5, 17–18; 7:9, 14; 14:4; 19:7–8; 22:14–15).

REVELATION ENCOURAGES US TO BEAR WITNESS AS GOD WAITS

Lest Revelation’s summons to endure and stay pure incline us to withdraw into bunkers, hiding from the dangerous and defiling world, we need to heed Revelation’s encouragement to bear witness to “the testimony of Jesus.” Our word martyr is derived from the Greek word meaning “witness” (martys, 2:13). John was on Patmos “on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (1:9). The church is symbolized in two witnesses who announce God’s word, sealing their testimony with their blood (11:4–12; 13:7). Christ’s witnesses suffer not in timid silence but for their bold declaration that Jesus is Lord of all. Through our testimony, God is fulfilling the vision of Revelation 7: “Behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb … and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!’” (7:9–10).

God gave us the book of Revelation not only to inform our minds but also to transform our lives. It gives us insight into the realities of our situation, our enemies, our Champion, and our true identity, and it calls us to patient endurance, hopeful purity, and courageous witness.

Revelation 8:2-11-18- Seventh Seal- Prelude to the Seven Trumpets

The angels and the trumpets: warnings of coming wrath.

First Trumpet: Vegetation struck -Rev. 8:7

Second Trumpet: The Seas struck- Rev. 8:8-9

Third Trumpet: The waters struck-Rev. 8:10-11

Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens struck-Rev.8:12-13

Jesus describes the events that would lead up to the opening of the 7th seal and the Heavenly signs.

Getting Into Details:

The Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets, and Seven Last plagues:

Here is a brief summary of what it all means:

Revelation Chapters 8-11 provide a summary of what will happen during the time known as the “day of the Lord.” Revelation explains and describes the punishment each trumpet blast heralds.

Revelation Chapters 12-20 fill in the details concerning the Day of the Lord, particularly about the persecuting worldly powers led and controlled by Satan and about Jesus' VICTORY over those powers.

The seventh trumpet announces the long awaited return of Jesus Christ ( Revelation 11:15).

But it also signals the coming of the seven last plagues to finally bring rebellious humanity to the point of repentance and willingness to submit to the King of Kings ( Revelation 15:1)- The destruction of Satan's kingdom...

The Dragon Slayer (Dr. Feddes)

The Dragon Slayer by David Feddes

Have you ever heard a Christmas story about a dragon? Maybe not. Our make-believe tales about Christmas have Santa Claus and elves and other jolly characters, but never a dragon. The closest thing to a dragon in these stories is an occasional grouch like Ebenezer Scrooge or the Grinch, but even these grouches end up becoming good in the end. Our made-up Christmas stories don't have dragons, and when we tell the true stories of Christmas about Jesus' birth, we still don't talk much about dragons. We usually focus on peaceful scenes of baby Jesus, joyful shepherds, and happy wise men.

But did you know there's a Christmas story in the Bible about a dragon? It's in the book of Revelation, a book of the Bible that's not usually associated with Christmas. The dragon in this story was the ultimate grouch. He was huge and horrible. He didn't want Christmas to come. And when Christmas did come, the dragon didn't have a change of heart and become nice. He became nastier than ever.

Why did the dragon hate Christmas so much? Because Christmas was the day the dragon slayer was born. And dragons aren't very fond of dragon slayers. Here's the first part of the story, as told by the apostle John in Revelation 12:1-4.

A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.

Before we talk about the dragon, let's first think about the woman and the child. The child to be born is the Savior God promised, the Messiah, the Christ child. Who is the woman about to give birth? Is she the Savior's mother, the blessed virgin Mary? No, Mary was the woman who literally gave birth to Jesus, but in this symbolic story, the woman represents not just Mary but the whole community of God's people throughout history. In the symbolism of Revelation, the twelve stars in her crown refer to the twelve tribes of Israel and to the church founded by the twelve apostles. In Revelation 12:17 the Bible speaks of this woman having other offspring, "those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus." So the woman in the vision represents not any particular woman but God's chosen community, his church all through history, the true Israel which gave birth to Jesus and gives spiritual birth to all of God's children.

Who is the dragon in the story? The dragon who hated Christmas is Satan. Revelation 12:9 speaks of the dragon as "that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray." Does Satan really look like a nasty red dragon? No, Satan is a fallen angel, a being in the spirit world, and as a spirit he doesn't fit any physical description exactly. Any picture of him is not a snapshot of what he looks like but a symbol of what he acts like.

The Bible always pictures Satan as fearsome and ferocious. Scripture pictures him as a deadly snake, a powerful bully, and a vicious lion looking for someone to devour. Of all the Bible's fearsome pictures of Satan, perhaps the most frightening is the dragon in Revelation 12.

This enormous, blood-red dragon has seven heads. He is so shrewd and cunning that if one brain doesn't figure out a plan to get you, he's got six other brains to think of something. He is so tricky that if one of his many faces doesn't fool you, he'll just show you another face and fool you with that one. He is so hard to defeat that even while you're chopping off one of his heads and defeating one of his strategies, six other heads are opening their mouths to chew you up. This horrid monster has ten horns, showing his stupendous power, and he wears seven crowns on his heads, showing his authority. With just one swing of his tail, he sweeps a third of the stars from the sky: so great is Satan's power that when he rebelled against God, he swept many angels with him.

In the vision of Revelation 12, the dragon and the pregnant woman are both waiting for Christmas to come. They are waiting for a child to be born. The woman, God's chosen people, longs for the birth of a dragon slayer who will bring victory over Satan. The dragon, Satan, fears the promised child and wants to devour him the moment he is born.

Eager to Devour

When Revelation 12 pictures a woman wanting to have a special child and a dragon eager to devour her offspring, it gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what was happening throughout Old Testament times.

The Old Testament begins with God's creation of the world and the sin of our first parents. It was a terrible day when the old serpent Satan led Adam and Eve to disobey God, but even on that day when humanity became corrupt and subject to death, God made a promise which sparked hope in humanity and struck terror into Satan. The Lord said to the serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike at his heel" (Genesis 3:15). That declaration set in motion the drama of all the rest of the Old Testament: God's people longing to give birth to the promised Savior, and the dragon eager to pounce and devour the promised offspring before the child could destroy him.

Satan pounced on the first godly offspring born to Adam and Eve. Their son Abel was pleasing to God, but Abel's ungodly brother, Cain, killed him. It seemed the dragon had won; the godly offspring was dead. But then Eve gave birth to a boy named Seth, and Seth had a son named Enosh. "At that time," says the Bible, "men began to call on the name of the Lord" (Genesis 4:26). The promise wasn't dead after all.

But the dragon didn't give up. He found ways to make humanity so wicked and repulsive and offensive to God that the Lord decided to wash the whole mess away in a flood. It seemed there would be nobody to carry on the line of promise. "But," says the Bible, "Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord" (Genesis 6:8). God rescued Noah and his family in the ark and promised never again to flood the whole world. The dragon still hadn't been able to wipe out the seed of the woman.

As time went on, God dealt in a special way with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (also called Israel), and the Lord made it clear that the promised child would be born from the Israelite people. The dragon set out to destroy all male offspring of Israel. While the Israelites were living in Egypt, a hostile ruler decided to get rid of them. This pharaoh ordered that every male child born to an Israelite be killed (Exodus 1:16). But God moved some brave midwives to disobey Pharaoh and save many babies, and God moved one particular family to save a special baby named Moses. That baby grew up and eventually led the Israelites out of Egypt. Again the dragon's designs were frustrated. (See Exodus 1-12.)

But Satan is nothing if not persistent. As the history of the Israelite nation unfolded, God said that the line of King David would produce the promised Savior. So Satan did his best to wipe out that line. Centuries after David, the crown prince of Israel, a descendant of David, married an awful woman named Athaliah. This woman's parents were Ahab and Jezebel, two of the most evil, demon-serving people who ever lived, and Athaliah was as bad as both her parents combined. She married into David's line, and her husband eventually became king. When he died, their son became king. But then the son died, and Athaliah decided to make herself queen and to destroy the whole royal family and wipe out every descendant of David. To do this, she had to murder her own grandchildren--and she was willing to do it. She was obviously in the grip of Satan. But again the dragon failed. A godly priest and his heroic wife hid away one of those children from David's line, a little baby named Joash. Eventually Joash became king, and Athaliah was killed. The line of David lived on. (See 2 Kings 11.)

Later in Israel's history, during the time of the Persian empire, the dragon dreamed of wiping out the whole Jewish nation. A powerful official named Haman hated the Jews with a demonic hatred. He devised a plan to slaughter every Jew in the entire world. But unknown to Haman, the king's wife, Queen Esther, happened to be Jewish. God had placed her on the throne for just such a time. Esther told the king about Haman's plot. Haman was executed, and the Jewish people lived on (Esther 3-8).

If you read casually in the Old Testament, these different events may seem to be unrelated. But Revelation 12 shows what was happening behind the scenes. All through Israel's history, she was longing and a straining to give birth to the deliverer, the promised Messiah. Time after time, the dragon tried to swallow up the offspring of the woman, the chosen community, even before she could give birth to that one great child who would crush the dragon's head. But God was always ahead of the dragon, and the promise remained alive.

The Dragon's Defeat

Then came the moment God's people longed for, the day the dragon dreaded. The angel Gabriel told a young woman named Mary that she would give birth to the long-awaited child. What joy for Mary to be chosen as the woman to bear the promised offspring!

But for the dragon there was no joy, only desperation. Once the child Jesus was born, Satan had to find a way to destroy him before Jesus could do what he came to do. A paranoid, vicious king named Herod ordered that all the baby boys in Bethlehem be slaughtered. It wasn't just Herod giving the order; it was the dragon. But when the babies were murdered, Jesus was not among the victims. An angel of God had warned his parents to flee.

Still Satan did not give up. All through Jesus' life, the dragon kept trying devour him. Satan tempted Jesus to sin, but Jesus refused. Satan prompted crowds of people to seize Jesus and try to kill him, but time after time Jesus slipped away. Jesus continued his ministry of preaching and healing, and whenever Jesus came near, the demons cried out and fled.

Satan wanted to stop Jesus and kill him, but one thing he didn't want was for Jesus to finish his earthly ministry and then die voluntarily in obedience to his Father as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Satan knew that if that happened, his own head would be crushed. So the dragon prompted a dear friend of Jesus, Simon Peter, to urge Jesus not to follow the hard road of obedience and sacrifice. When Jesus mentioned going to Jerusalem to die, Peter protested. "Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you." Jesus heard Peter's voice, but he smelled dragon breath. He told Peter, "Get behind me, Satan."

Finally, in his hatred, the frustrated Satan entered the traitorous heart of Judas and manipulated Jewish and Roman leaders to torture Jesus and nail him to a cross. But in the very moment where the serpent struck the child's heel, the Messiah crushed Satan's head once and for all. Jesus paid the price of sin on the cross, overwhelmed the power of death, arose from the grave, ascended to the throne of heaven, and sealed Satan's doom forever.

Despite all the dragon's efforts to swallow up the holy line even before Jesus could be born, the child was born as promised. And despite all Satan's efforts to swallow up Jesus himself and thwart his saving work, Christ succeeded and did everything he came to do and then was caught up to the throne of God. Jesus defeated the dragon. Revelation 12:5 summarize all this by simply saying that the woman "gave birth to a son, a male child, "who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne."

Victory For Angels and Christians

The story goes on to show how Jesus' life in the human realm affected the spirit realm. The child who came to this earth on Christmas also enabled his angels to win a great war in heaven. Revelation 12:7-9 says,

And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Because the holy child defeated the dragon, the good angels were able to defeat the fallen angels.

The battle between good angels and evil demons might be an even match if it were just the power of angels against the power of demons. The two armies might fight to a standoff. But when the Son of God carries out his mission, the devil and his demons are forced to flee. Against God's great Son, they have no chance.

The battle between good and evil is not a battle between two equally powerful forces. Satan may be a dreadful dragon, but the power of Satan and all his demons compared with the power of Christ is like a fly compared to an elephant. Jesus proved that even his weakness was stronger than Satan's power! It was in his times of greatest weakness--squirming as a helpless baby in a manger, hungry and weary in a wilderness of temptation, hanging as a convicted criminal on a cross--it was in his weakness that Jesus defeated the dragon.

Jesus' victory set off a chain reaction. His holy angels were able to cast Satan down, and Jesus' followers on earth were also able to defeat Satan. Revelation 12 says,

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame 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 (v. 10-11).

The dragon is defeated by the word of Christians' testimony and by the blood of the lamb. Satan throws accusations at God's people, but God won't listen. It is Jesus who has his Father's ear, not Satan, and Jesus is at God's right hand interceding for us. What counts is not what Satan says against us but what Jesus has done for us. Jesus defeated the dragon, and so those who trust in Jesus also defeat the dragon. When Satan accuses you of sin and says God can't possibly accept you, you overcome the devil by trusting the blood of the Lamb, the blood of Jesus, to cover your sins. When Satan tries to fool you into believing false teaching, you overcome him by the truth of God revealed in Christ. Your words of testimony drive back Satan's lies and help other people to come to the truth as well. When Satan tries to crush you through trouble and persecution and death, you defeat the dragon by not running away even from death but rather trusting in the resurrection power of Jesus. You follow Jesus no matter what the cost, and you triumph in him.

What a story! First the dragon tries to prevent the child from ever being born, and then he tries to devour the child. But Christ defeats the dragon; his angels defeat the dragon's angels; and all who trust in Christ also defeat the devil. What joyous news!

The Dragon's Fury

But maybe you're not convinced. You hear what the Bible says about the dragon's defeat, and you say to yourself, "That's a nice story, but it doesn't look to me like Satan is defeated. If anything, it looks like he's winning. Sin and savagery and sadness seem worse than ever." Well, it's true that Satan is doing a lot of damage, but does that mean he's winning? No, it shows he's already lost. Revelation 12 describes the dragon's defeat and then adds, "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." Why is Satan doing so much damage? Not because he's winning, but because he's a dragon that has received a terrible wound and is living on borrowed time.

In World War II Adolph Hitler's doom was certain after the Allied landing in Normandy succeeded on D-Day, June 6, 1944. From that point on, it was just a matter of time. But did Hitler and the Nazis become kinder and gentler or give up? No, in December of 1944 they threw everything they had into one last bloody offensive, the Battle of the Bulge. They also killed more people than ever in the death camps. The time between D-Day and final victory was the most terrible time of the whole war, not because Hitler was winning, but because he was doomed.

So, too, Satan is doomed but not yet gone. When Jesus came the first time in weakness, it was enough to defeat and crush the dragon and ensure his doom. When Jesus comes again, it will be in power and glory, with his saints and angels, and the dragon will be cast into the lake of fire. Satan is a defeated dragon destined for hell, so he's thrashing around trying to hurt anything he can in the time he has left. "He is filled with fury, for he knows that his time is short."

Satan is doomed. He couldn't prevent the birth of Jesus; he couldn't overcome Jesus; and now he can't even get at Jesus. The child born on Christmas reigns from heaven's throne. Satan can only take out his frustration somewhere else, on the woman who gave birth to Christ and on the woman's other children.

After Jesus' ascension to heaven, the dragon did his utmost to wipe out the woman, the community of faith. Satan sent many cults and deadly doctrines to mislead the early church. He aroused all sorts of vicious persecution to wipe the church from the face of the earth. But Jesus protected his church, as he had promised, and the gates of hell could not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).

With Jesus' victory in heaven, and with the church having survived Satan's most vicious onslaught, Satan became even angrier. Revelation 12:17 says, "Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commands and hold to the testimony of Jesus." The dragon who hated the Christ child also hates Christians.

To understand how much Satan hates Christians, you have to know how much Satan hates Christ. The destroyer hates the Creator. The murderer hates the Lord of life. The father of lies hates the living Truth. The enemy of our souls hates the friend of sinners. The prince of darkness hates the light of the world. Now that he can't get at Jesus, all his hatred is directed at us. The dragon can't stop Jesus or wipe out his church, so he vents his hatred on as many individual Christians as he can. He tries to tempt us, accuse us, intimidate us, make us as miserable as possible, and weaken our witness to others. So if you love Jesus, be prepared for the dragon's onslaughts, but don't be intimidated. Don't be fooled into thinking the devil is winning. He has already lost.

Maybe you're not a follower of Jesus at all. If that's the case, you have no chance against the power of Satan. If you don't change, you'll end up in the lake of fire along with the dragon and his demons. Don't be on the losing side. Turn away from sin and Satan. Trust Jesus as your Savior and Master.

And once you belong to Jesus, be aware of the dragon's fury and alert to his schemes, but don't be overwhelmed. Focus on Jesus and his victory. No matter how fearsome Satan seems, Jesus is far greater. The dragon is defeated. He threw all his power into destroying the Christ child, and he lost. The Bible says, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work" (1 John 3:8). No wonder the dragon hated Christmas and hates it still! Christmas is when the Son of God appeared on earth to destroy the devil's work.

So let's rejoice in the birth of the dragon slayer, and let's rejoice that he enables you and me to be dragon slayers. The Bible not only says that Jesus crushed the serpent's head under his feet but it also says, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Romans 16:20).

So let's celebrate, participate, and anticipate. Let's celebrate the first coming of Christ and his victory over Satan. Let's participate in spiritual warfare against a defeated but still dangerous enemy, and let's overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. And let's anticipate Jesus' coming again and the dragon-free joy of God's new creation.

Forces of the Future (Dr. Feddes)

Forces of the Future by David Feddes

In the early years of a new century and a new millennium, many of us wonder: What does the future hold? What will the next hundred years, or the next thousand years, be like?

Some futurists say we'll be establishing colonies on Mars, we'll have telephones that fit into a piece of jewelry, and we'll be swallowing microrobots that do surgery on internal organs. With predictions about various gizmos and gadgets, however, a more basic prediction of overall trends sees machines becoming more like people and people becoming more like machines.

Already robots have replaced humans in many jobs, and computers have become so skilled in strategy that they can defeat the human chess champion of the world. Some futurists predict a day when robotic computers will use artificial intelligence to improve themselves and perhaps think for themselves and even reproduce themselves. What will these machines be like? Well, optimists foresee machines that serve as expert assistants or even personal friends. Pessimists foresee machines that could turn against people and try to destroy us. But whether these thinking machines turn out to be good or bad, machines behaving like people will no longer be science fiction in books and movies. They will be reality, according to some futurists.

Ironically, as computers become more like people, the reverse will also be true: people will become more like computers. People will more and more be what they are programmed to be. Already giant research projects have mapped the genes that produce each inherited trait. As the genes are mapped out, and with advances in gene splicing, "designer babies" may become reality. Parents—or, if parenting became obsolete, the government—could program a child's gender, size, strength, eye color, intelligence level, and so forth, and make sure there is no genetic risk of cancer or alcoholism or mental defects.

Meanwhile, as research into the brain keeps advancing, it may be possible to read the way people think and feel, and even to control how they think. Scientists would then be able to program people the way they program computers. Would the result be a paradise of perfect humanity, or a hell of inhumanity?

Thinking about the future can be fascinating, but before we get too enthusiastic or too frightened about what lies ahead in this century and millennium, we need to realize that it's often misleading to base predictions about the future on current trends.

A trend that seems headed in a certain direction may well reach a barrier that can't be crossed. Attempts to give computers a personality may run into a wall. No matter how much technology advances, the best a robotic computer can ever do is to simulate personality, not actually become a person. Also, efforts to decode human behavior and reprogram it are bound to fail. No matter how much we learn about genetics or brain chemistry, we'll never be able to reduce people to machines. People will always be more than the sum of their DNA, brain waves, and environment. Creatures in God's image will always be more than mere machines.

Another problem with using current trends to predict the future is that the future is usually full of surprises that no one can predict in advance. Think back to the year 1900. Who could have predicted at the start of the last century all that has happened since? Back then there were no radios or TV's, no computers or internet or smart phones. Now we live in the information age. Back then there were no expressways, no mass production of cars, no airplanes, no birth control pill, no atomic bomb, no understanding of DNA or gene splicing. If someone 100 years ago had tried to predict the future based on what was happening at the time, he would have failed miserably.

And even if someone had managed to predict the inventions and innovations, who could have predicted the individual people who would shape the world? At the start of the 1900s, no one could anticipate the impact of Einstein or Lenin or Churchill or Hitler or Gandhi or Hugh Hefner or Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela or Osama bin Laden. Individual people can change the course of history in ways that none of us can predict in advance. And so as we look into the century ahead and the next thousand years, current trends may not tell us much.

The present doesn't always tell us much about the future. But, strange as it may seem, the future can sometimes tell us a lot about the present. How can that be? Well, with the help of the Bible, it's possible to know the future. The Bible doesn't tell us everything about the future, but it does show us the forces that will dominate at the end of history, and it shows us what the final outcome of history will be. The Bible tells us how the story ends, and that helps us to understand each chapter along the way, including the chapter we're living in right now.

Defeated Dragon

Revelation 12 records a vision of a great red dragon, which is none other than Satan himself (12:9). In the vision, the dragon is waiting for a woman to give birth to her child, and he intends to devour the child. But instead, the child is delivered from the dragon’s clutches and caught up to heaven. Then there is a great war in heaven between the dragon's evil angels and the angels of heaven. The dragon's forces are defeated, and he is cast out of heaven. Somehow, the birth of the child and his ascension to heaven have empowered the forces of heaven to defeat and expel the dragon.

At this point of the vision we're not yet looking into the future. Instead, the Bible is giving us a behind-the-scenes picture of events that have already happened. The birth of Jesus Christ, his victory over death, and his ascension to the throne of God have defeated Satan. The forces of God have already won a great and decisive triumph.

But that's not yet the end of the story. The dragon is defeated but not yet destroyed; he is wounded but not dead. And a wounded dragon is dangerous. Revelation says, "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."

Sometimes, when you see horrible things happening, you might think that Satan is winning. But is he? Satan is ferocious, not because he's winning, but because he has already lost and he's furious about it. Jesus has already won the decisive battle through his death and resurrection, and all Satan can do is try to cause as much trouble as he can in the time he has left.

With that picture in mind, let's look at the forces of the future and see what they tell us about the present. After Satan's defeat in Revelation 12, the dragon himself stays mostly in the background, and he uses three other beings to do his dirty work.

Triple Trouble: Beast, False Prophet, Prostitute

The first part of Revelation 13 introduces us to a beast who rises up out of the sea. This beastly figure is the one described in other parts of the Bible as "the man of lawlessness" (2 Thessalonians 2:3) or "the antichrist" (1 John 2:18).

The antichrist will be a political ruler. He will take control of the world and establish one world government. His power will be an extension of the power of Satan himself, and most people will be unable to resist. Revelation says, "Men worshipped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshipped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?" Anyone who doesn't submit to the antichrist and worship him—and this includes all who belong to Jesus—will be hunted down and killed.

As if that weren't bad enough, the antichrist will have a henchman. Revelation says, "Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon" (13:11). In other words, this second beast tries to appear like the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, but he's a fake. He doesn't speak the word of God; his words are those of the dragon, the devil. Elsewhere the book of Revelation refers to this second beast as "the false prophet" (16:13, 19:20, 20:10). The false prophet has one aim: to deceive people and get them to worship the antichrist. Revelation 13 says the false prophet

performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast.... He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image of the first beast to be killed. He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark of the beast or the number of his name.

This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.

Now, some details of this vision are hard to understand, but one thing is clear: near the end of time, false religion will unite with a brutal global government. The false prophet will spearhead this effort. With his cunning words and flashy miracles, the false prophet will be the ultimate in religious deception. He will hook up with the first beast's powers of persecution, killing those who reject the beast and making it impossible to buy or sell without the code of the antichrist.

A bit later, Revelation introduces us to a third force of the future: a prostitute by the name of Babylon. This prostitute Babylon, says Revelation, "is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth" (17:18). At the time Revelation was written, the great ruling city was Rome. Going back to the Babylonian empire, and even further back to the tower of Babel, Babylon in the Bible represents human culture and civilization united in opposition to God. In Revelation the prostitute Babylon does not symbolize any one person, but an entire civilization with enormous powers of seduction. Revelation 17:4 says, "With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."

The images of sex and drunkenness have a literal dimension—all big cities wallow in such things, the Roman Empire did, and the ultimate evil civilization will, too—but the Bible says that the prostitute's main method of seduction is money. She is the center of world trade and finance and commerce and culture, and people are willing to do almost anything with her if only she will give them a piece of her wealth. The prostitute Babylon is the capital of a worldwide civilization that is obsessed with money. Under the spell of Babylon, the people and leaders of the world care about just one thing: the economy. Everything has a price. Everything is for sale, even the bodies and souls of people (Revelation 18:13). This seductive, money-oriented civilization will eventually come under the control of the antichrist and serve his purposes.

So then, Revelation shows us three evil forces of the future who are in league with the devil. The beast, or antichrist, is the ultimate in political persecution. The false prophet is the ultimate in religious deception. The prostitute is the ultimate in cultural seduction.

Is the End Near?

When we think about these forces of evil that will dominate the last chapter of human history, many of us can't help wondering whether the world we're living in is ripe for the end. It's not hard to imagine a scenario where one person would rule the world in the near future. We already see more and more globalization in world economics and politics. All it would take to bring us to a single world government would be a military crisis involving nuclear weapons, or a worldwide environmental crisis, or a collapse of currencies and a global depression, in which one man seemed to have all the answers.

It's not hard to imagine the rise of the false prophet in our current setting, either. Imagine a smooth talking religious leader with the power to make fire fall from heaven and do other dazzling signs and wonders that had no scientific explanation—and imagine all of this broadcast on live television to viewers around the world. Secularists would be so shocked at a genuine miracle that they'd fall down and worship without bothering to ask whether the miracles and teaching were from God or from Satan. Meanwhile, New Agers and spiritists would hail the false prophet as a source of spiritual power and self-realization.

And what about the power to control buying and selling? Well, it's easy enough to see how that could happen. Most of the technology is already in place. We already have electronic scanning systems and computerized credit checks. There is already information about each of us in all sorts of different computers owned by governments and business, and that information is becoming more and more connected by means of the Internet. Now imagine a future where all that data is merged into one computer network, where all payments are made electronically after a credit check by one central computer, and where if a credit check identified you as a Christian, you would be denied the right to buy or sell anything. Imagine a computer scanner which would respond only to a certain code, and the only way to be marked with that code would be to serve the antichrist. Not hard to imagine, is it? We already have the technology.

The rise of a global antichrist and false prophet seem all too possible, and as for the prostitute Babylon, the final corrupt civilization, it's already most of the way here. How could the final world civilization get any more sex-crazed, drug-and-alcohol infested, or money hungry than the society we're in right now? The world seems ripe for the evil forces of the future described in the Bible.

Future Forces Acting Now

It's interesting—and frightening—to speculate and to wonder how long it will be until these visions come true. But the Bible doesn't tell us these things just to fuel our speculation. Many times in the past there have been people who felt sure that the end was near or that a particular person was the antichrist, but they were mistaken and the end of the world did not come. In the same way, we may think that the times are ripe for the end, but we could very well be mistaken. It may turn out to be many years, even many centuries, before history reaches its final chapter. But even if the forces of the future don't reach their final and most frightening form for a long time, we need to know about them because they are at work in our world right now.

A final antichrist will appear at some point, says the Bible, but Scripture also says that there are many antichrists at work in the world already (1 John 2:18). So don't get so busy wondering about the final antichrist, or the final false prophet, or the final seductive civilization, that you don't see the antichrists, false prophets, and seductions all around you.

Satan's methods are much the same now as they will be in the future: persecution, deception, seduction. The only difference is that those forces will be more intense at the end of history when all restraints are briefly taken away. The Bible isn't just fueling our speculation about the end time when it shows us what Satan will do in the future. It shows us the future so that we'll have a much clearer idea of the methods Satan is using right now.

Satan's first method, persecution, isn't just a future possibility. It's present reality. Whether or not the final antichrist appears in our lifetime, it's a fact that in many different parts of the world, there are already martyrs dying for Christ each year. And even where faith won't cost you your life, Satan uses peer pressure, disadvantages in finance and business, and other forms of persecution and intimidation to keep you from following Jesus.

Satan's second method of attack, religious deception, is also very much present. Even if we haven't yet encountered the ultimate false prophet, there are plenty of false prophets with us, people who deny the truth of the Bible, reject the claims of Jesus Christ, promote corrupt moral teaching, and plunge people into ruin and destruction.

Satan's third method, cultural seduction, is also at work right now. Whether or not our civilization qualifies as the ultimate Babylon, the forces of seduction are all around us. It's almost impossible to pass through your teenage years without being offering drugs or liquor; casual sex is the order of the day; magazines, movies, and music are saturated with sex. We're surrounded by a consumer culture which sucks us into an obsession with making money and finding new ways to spend it. Even if we're not living in the final Babylon, we need to be alert to the ways in which we are being seduced right now by this corrupt society.

Ultimate Force of the Future

Evil forces of the future are at work in the present. So how can you resist? Only by being in touch with the ultimate force of the future. The book of Revelation says that just when the antichrist, the false prophet, and the prostitute society seem irresistible, just when it appears Satan has won, the ultimate force of the future will ride onto the scene. Revelation 19 says,

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war... The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean... On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

This is a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, returning to destroy his enemies and establish his eternal kingdom on earth.

Earlier we saw that Jesus decisively defeated Satan by dying for our sins and rising again from the dead and ascending to heaven, and we saw that Satan is just a wounded dragon living on borrowed time. Now, in Revelation 19, we see Jesus returning to earth to finish off the devil and his cronies.

As Jesus and his armies ride forth, the beast and the false prophet and the people who follow them gather to fight back, but their end is swift and terrible. The beast and the false prophet are captured and thrown into the fires of hell. All the people who followed the antichrist and the false prophet and gave in to the seductions of Babylon, are condemned. Finally, Satan himself is crushed. He and all his demons are cast into the lake of fire. There, says the Bible, "They will be tormented day and night forever and ever." So much for the power of evil.

That's why it's important to know the end of the story. You may look around you and think that it makes more sense to give in to evil than to follow Jesus, but when the forces of the future clash, evil is the loser, and Christ is the winner. The evil forces of the future will melt away before the vast, unimaginable force of the rider on the white horse. Jesus Christ will reign supreme. Those who put their faith in Jesus and resist the powers of evil will be delivered by God and will enjoy forever the splendor of the Lord's new creation.

I've said that the evil forces of the future are already at work in the present, even if the final evil and tribulation isn't yet upon us. But let me emphasize something far more important: the holy and divine force of the future, the saving power of Jesus, is also at work right now, even if his Second Coming isn't yet upon us. The Holy Spirit of Jesus is at work today, drawing his people toward their final destiny. The gospel of salvation through faith in Jesus continues to spread throughout the world, rescuing millions from the clutches of Satan, guarding their souls and giving them strength to resist the forces of intimidation and deception and seduction. The gospel of Christ is riding forth constantly, and when it has reached all nations and the Lord has brought all his chosen ones to faith, the end will come and Jesus will return and complete his victory.

Meanwhile, the Lord calls us to live our present lives in light of what we know about the future. He shows us Satan's strategies, not so that we'll be frightened or overwhelmed, but so that we'll be alert to what the devil is doing, and so that we will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and take sides with him. There's a lot we don't know about the future. We don't know which trends or what people will have the greatest impact. But we do know this: a battle is brewing, the final battle between the forces of evil and the power of the Lord. That future battle is simply the last conflict in a war that is going on right now, a war in which the forces of the future are already exercising their power. Which forces are controlling you? Which side are you on? Are you giving in to the sidekicks of a fierce but doomed dragon? Or are you marching in the armies of the victorious Christ? Don't let another day go by before you trust Jesus as your rescuer and obey him as your commander.

Last modified: Friday, August 21, 2015, 3:20 AM

FOR A MORE ADVANCED STUDY ON THE BOOK OF REVELATION- I HAVE INCLUDED THIS LINK TO A VERSE BY VERSE COMMENTARY WITH HERMENEUTICAL EXPLANATION..

REVELATION COMMENTARY.ORG

The Return of Jesus Christ.

Satan's last ditch attempt will be to gather all the remaining armies of the world to fight against the returning Christ. After gather at Armageddon, the armies move toward Jerusalem where the final battle will take place. Of course, human armies and armaments will be no match for our Almighty Savior and King ( Zechariah 14:1-4,,12-13; Revelation 19:19-21)

Then, Under Jesus' righteous rule, assisted by His saints, the time of healing and restoring all things will come. It will be a time of great rejoicing, as the way of peace is finally taught and God's way is spread around the world ( Isaiah 2:2-4 ; 11:9 )

Chapters 21 and 22 of Revelation describe the many exciting things John sees in visions about the new heaven and new earth. He wrote , 'The first heaven and earth had passed away' and also 'there shall be no more death, nor sorrow , nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away'(Revelation 21:1,4). The bible gives us ample evidence that eternal life in the kingdom of God will be PARADISE!

What did Jesus say at the end of Revelation?? How did John respond???

Revelation 22:20-He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

This sin sick and suffering world desperately needs the return of Jesus Christ. He calls on His Church to spread the good news of His coming and of the Kingdom of God. He tells us that “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” ( Matthew 24:14).

He tells us He is coming quickly. And John eagerly responded, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

Do we have the same eagerness and urgency?

As we thing on that question- let us be reminded what Jesus taught us to pray-

Thy Kingdom Come.

Can we share in the closing of this study with the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray:

Our Father, Who art in Heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Thy Kingdom Come

Thy will be done

On earth as it is in Heaven

Give us this day

our daily bread

and forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from Evil

For Thine is the Kingdom

and the power

and the glory

Forever and ever.. AMEN