Cheering and Warning - Rumor notes 97

 Revelation 12

10 I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now is come the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 They overcame him because of the Lamb's blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn't love their life, even to death. 12 Therefore rejoice, heavens, and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil has gone down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time."

Here we land at the very center of the hub of both this chapter as well as the entire book of Revelation. Around this hub revolves all the rest of what we are studying, the pinnacle of the chiasm which means it is the important truth at the very heart of the message of Revelation and even the gospel relating to the war that defines the backstory of all that is taking place around us. Consequently I believe it is beneficial and important to appreciating how to interpret everything we study in this book, to anchor our thinking in this core revelation.

I heard a loud voice in heaven

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet (Revelation 1:10)

I saw, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals. I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book, and to break its seals?" (Revelation 5:1-2)

I saw, and I heard something like a voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousands of ten thousands, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who has been killed to receive the power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing!" (Revelation 5:11-12)

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had. They cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" (Revelation 6:9-10)

I saw another angel ascend from the sunrise, having the seal of the living God. He cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea, saying, "Don't harm the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!" (Revelation 7:2-3)

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. They cried with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Revelation 7:9-10)

I saw, and I heard an eagle, flying in mid heaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe! Woe! Woe for those who dwell on the earth, because of the other voices of the trumpets of the three angels, who are yet to sound!" (Revelation 8:13)

I saw a mighty angel coming down out of the sky, clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was on his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. He had in his hand a little open book. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land. He cried with a loud voice, as a lion roars. When he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices. (Revelation 10:1-3)

The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!" (Revelation 11:15)

I saw an angel flying in mid heaven, having an eternal Good News to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He said with a loud voice, "Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!" (Revelation 14:6-7)

Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or on his hand, (Revelation 14:9)

Another angel came out from the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, "Send forth your sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap has come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe!" (Revelation 14:15)

Another angel came out from the altar, he who has power over fire, and he called with a great voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Send forth your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for the earth's grapes are fully ripe!" (Revelation 14:18)

I went through every one of these references in Revelation listed here and noticed something in this last verse I find highly significant relating to the context of this verse. We will look at it more closely when we get to that chapter, but in every instance except this one the Greek uses the same two words. But in this instance while word for loud is the same, the word used for voice is different. The original word actually means outcry, clamor. This alerts us that something is very different about this voice than the other references to a loud voice, which I believe exposes this as a counterfeit voice.

I heard a loud voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth!" (Revelation 16:1)

The seventh poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came forth out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!" (Revelation 16:17)

After these things, I saw another angel coming down out of the sky, having great authority. The earth was illuminated with his glory. He cried with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and she has become a habitation of demons, a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird! (Revelation 18:1-2)

After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God: (Revelation 19:1)

I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the sky, "Come! Be gathered together to the great supper of God, (Revelation 19:17)

I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, "Behold, God's dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:3)

Now is come the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God

Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. (John 12:31-32)

Behold, how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn't know us, because it didn't know him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is. Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure. (1 John 3:1-3)

For, "He put all things in subjection under his feet." But when he says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all things to him. When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:27-28)

The now referred to here is a milestone, a pivot point of no return in this process of all things coming under subjection to the kind of authority that God's Christ exercises. This subjection is not accomplished the way we typically think of subjugating but is explained in the previous verses from John. All who respond to the drawing power of truth and love and submit their lives to be controlled and directed by that love; they subject themselves willingly, eagerly to live under the authority of Jesus, the Lamb who reveals exactly how God thinks and feels.

This is the whole purpose of the ministry of the Son – to expose to everyone the light of truth about God's heart, motives and methods that have been slandered, distorted, misrepresented and accused ever since the initial stages of the rebellion. This is the only way the war can be won against the great Satan – by exposing and neutralizing the power of every lie that induces distrust in God's ways and motives and disposition towards us. When we see Him as He is in Christ, all will acknowledge that His ways are true, just and righteous, whether or not we participate and cooperate with them.

They cried with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Revelation 7:10)

After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God: (Revelation 19:1)

Exposing God's glory involves revealing His character which brings about His salvation. God is the one who needs the greatest salvation - salvaging of His reputation. Yet this can only be secured by a unanimous, un-coerced acknowledgment of His untainted goodness and love by everyone. This will be the final outcome of God's judgment when everyone judges Him based on the full exposure of all the evidence.

the authority of his Christ

We have discussed this surprising truth that God needs a Christ as much or more than we do, and it goes right along with salvation belonging to our God. The salvation – salvaging of His reputation – is accomplished by His Christ who is the Lamb who fully reveals the actual truth that has been obscured, twisted and slandered by the dragon accuser. This is all tied into the credibility of the One who is God's star witness who alone has what it takes to rescue God's reputation and secure His government forever.

For more on this topic review the notes for Revelation 11:15.

The first half of this verse composes the very hub of the chiasm of this chapter and the whole book. From here on we are going down the other side of the curve that parallels what we examined coming up the first side. This is a summary of the grand finale, celebrating with the New Song how God overcomes the enemy, how all things are brought back into full compliance with His will, His ways and everyone is resynchronized with His motives and Spirit. This is what needs to become our theme, our reason for living, our constant anchor so that everything else is measured and defined based on this core truth.

the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down

Accusing God's reflectors on earth is Satan's highly effective way of bolstering his assertions that God's heart is what is reflected in all the chaos and evil in the lives of those made in His image.

We discussed this extensively on the other side of the chiasm in verse 9.

accuses them before our God day and night

Day and night means relentlessly, without let up or pause or relief. Because the accuser relentlessly accuses (he is the father of lies and cannot do truth), those giving opposite testimony need to do the same – never rest from praising, honoring and giving Him glory without ceasing.

The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around about and within. They have no rest day and night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come!" (Revelation 4:8)

Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. (Revelation 7:15)

The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. (Revelation 14:11)

The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)

Rather than trying to use this to prove a literal everlasting torture in hell as punishment from an unrequited offended deity, what this reveals is the principle of natural cause and effect. To the same extent that Satan accuses, the final outcome of his nonstop accusations will be nonstop torment when exposed by the light of truth that contradicts every lie he continuously circulates. This also brings in the issue of rest or lack thereof, dependent on whose version of God we choose to embrace and give authority in our life.

Among these nations shall you find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of your foot: but Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul; and your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you shall fear night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, Would it were even! and at even you shall say, Would it were morning! for the fear of your heart which you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see. (Deuteronomy 28:65-67)

This is all a result of the continual accusing inside our mind and heart instigated by the devil who uses our sins and our doubts about God's disposition towards us to rob us of all peace and assurance.

And by this we know that we are of the truth, and persuade our hearts before him, because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our hearts don't condemn us, we have boldness toward God; (1 John 3:19-21)

But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can't rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, says my God, to the wicked. (Isaiah 57:20-21)

then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. (2 Peter 2:9-11 NKJV)

Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" (Jude 1:9 NKJV)

All of this again highlights the theme that keeps coming back around, that the methods, motives and disposition of God in how He relates to His opponents are entirely different and nearly always opposite from those fighting against Him. If we choose to follow the Lamb, we must embrace the same.

Down to Earth - Rumor notes 96

 Revelation 12

9 The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he 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.

was thrown down/cast out

Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. (John 12:31-32)

Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I don't go away, the Counselor won't come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment; about sin, because they don't believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to my Father, and you won't see me any more; about judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged. (John 16:7-11)

Taking Jesus' own definition of how judgment works from John 3:19-21, we learn how the prince of this world is judged and cast out. It is not by overwhelming superior force that Satan is defeated, for this is not God's method but Satan's. The example of Jesus and His revelation of God's reflected heart through a human being is what releases the kind of power that neutralizes fear and breaks the spell of lies which Satan relies on for his power. The secret power of the Lamb by which the world is overcome and Satan is exposed/judged, is a demonstration of the power of love through the most stunning display of willing vulnerability in the face of overwhelming intimidation, cruelty, shame and pain. This alone is potent enough to be the antidote to the poison of the fiery serpent. This is why the dragon cannot prevail in the long run, because selfishness and lies cannot defeat love, joy and truth embraced by those who value freedom.

The Lamb defeats the power and venom of fear by absorbing it into Himself, not by force or accusation. This cannot be emphasized enough. In order to prepare to participate with the Lamb in the victory He will accomplish, we must allow heaven to align us with the principles the Lamb uses consistently and cease clinging to the false principles of this world that are so appealing to our flesh. One of these is found in the symbolism that revealed God's method on the Day of Atonement.

"When he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat. Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. (Leviticus 16:20-21)

The wilderness has long been a symbol of restlessness, lack of peace, danger, deprivation, chaos and associated with the habitation of demons. It is also closely tied to the meaning of the word abyss that we studied at length some time ago. This symbolic ceremony on the day of Atonement in the ancient system of figures and types foreshadows the method God uses to deal with sin and evil. The goat that finally bears all the guilt, condemnation and sins removed symbolically from God's children, is not killed but is removed from the presence of those choosing to live in harmony with God's principles and who rest in God's love. This goat prefigures Satan as well as all who choose to cling to his methods and his disposition rather than synchronizing with God's design for them.

thrown/cast down to the earth, and his angels...with him

Note here that the phrase thrown down is repeated 3 times in the same sentence. This is significant, meaning we must not overlook it and should seek to understand what it means. There are a number of things we might apply to discern why it is mentioned 3 times in a row.

Is this referencing 3 literal times that this throwing down occurs before it is final? Possibly.

Is this to lead us to look deeper into the nature of how the throwing down happens? Possibly.

Is this referring to 3 different dimensions where they are thrown down? Explore that.

Is the number 3 itself symbolic of the finality, the completeness, the permanency of whatever this is describing? Possibly.

In the very next verse we find it mentioned yet again, and again a couple verses later. Then the true character and disposition of the dragon is witnessed in how he reacts when it is clear he has lost his place. He resorts to persecution, which is reliance on violence against any who disagree with him.

I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now is come the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night." (Revelation 12:10)

When the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. (Revelation 12:13)

The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him. (Revelation 9:1)

I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were finished. After this, he must be freed for a short time. (Revelation 20:1-3)

He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. Arise, Yahweh, confront him. Cast him down. Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword; (Psalms 17:12-13)

This is tightly connected with the previous concept we explored regarding no place found for them in heaven. I believe it is important to carefully meditate on these things with an open mind and heart as these truths are extremely relevant for understanding and appreciating the difference between how God conducts Himself in this war versus how the dragon carries out warfare.

Consider the following confrontation between Satan and Christ (the very same two contenders as before) in light of the backstory and see how it may bring a different perspective to this story.

Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge concerning you.' and, 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you don't dash your foot against a stone.'" (Matthew 4:5-6)

What are potential implications of this temptation in light of what we are looking at here? Might this be spoken out of a deep spirit of resentment and desire for revenge on the part of Satan? “I was thrown out of heaven because of you, and now look where you ended up! Maybe its your turn to throw yourself down to prove to everyone you are not the real villain here at fault for all the chaos going on.”

There are many references throughout history to throwing things, people and kingdoms down. We are very familiar with this kind of language, which might be the reason we struggle to imagine that maybe this particular throwing down could have happened differently than how we usually see it happening. We have been so conditioned to believing that if someone is thrown down or cast out, the cause of that must involve force or else it could not have been accomplished. This is the key issue I want us to examine here, for I believe it is vital that we not move past this as it is pivotal in how we perceive the methods God uses to achieve victory in contrast to what the dragon insists has to be used to defeat his power.

Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me; and all the people came near to him. He repaired the altar of Yahweh that was thrown down. (1 Kings 18:30)

He said, I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with the sword: and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. (1 Kings 19:10,14)

Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock. They will hear my words, for they are well spoken. (Psalms 141:6)

Shout against her round about: she has submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen, her walls are thrown down; for it is the vengeance of Yahweh: take vengeance on her; as she has done, do to her. (Jeremiah 50:15)

Yahweh has done that which he purposed; he has fulfilled his word that he commanded in the days of old; He has thrown down, and has not pitied: He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you; he has exalted the horn of your adversaries. (Lamentations 2:17)

For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; so that the fish of the sea, and the birds of the sky, and the animals of the field, and all creeping things who creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the surface of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. (Ezekiel 38:19-20)

As he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Teacher, see what kind of stones and what kind of buildings!" Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone on another, which will not be thrown down." (Mark 13:1-2)

Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to Yahweh, and said, "I will sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea."

Miriam answered them, "Sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea." (Exodus 15:1, 21)

You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their pursuers you did cast into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters. (Nehemiah 9:11)

I saw him come close to the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ram, and broke his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground, and trampled on him; and there was none who could deliver the ram out of his hand. (Daniel 8:7)

But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. (Jonah 1:4 NRSV)

I want to revisit something we mentioned earlier, how this is mentioned 3 times in this passage and possibly what we might tease out of that. This may refer to the first of 3 major casting downs of the dragon. The first was likely when permission for him and his angels to stay in heaven was revoked by consensus of the majority of angels in their refusal to listen his constant accusations. As a result all the fallen angels were compelled to leave with the dragon as we discussed previously related to their place being lost. I believe this also parallels the truth that likewise it is necessary for us to cast him out of our lives by rejecting his incessant lies about God and about our own identity as His reflectors. Satan has to be expelled, not tolerated or just ignored.

This multiple casting out may also refer to stages. He was cast out from the presence of loyal angels in heaven early on in the war, yet the evidence hints they in spite of that, they may well have already become infected by some of his insinuations and suggestions, causing them to retain lingering sympathies with some of his ideas. It was only after they witnessed Satan involved in the torturing and killing their beloved Leader, the Son of God and the Prince of heaven, that every lingering sympathy was eliminated from the hearts of all the remaining loyal beings of the universe. This was due to the convincing power released at the cross (Romans 1:16-17) and could constitute the second casting out (possibly referred to in Revelation 12:10). At this time Satan was cast out even more by being evicted from participation in the assembly of the sons of God in heaven (Job 1:6; 2:1), replaced by Jesus as our true human representative. This left the rest of the war to be finished among those still on earth.

At the beginning of the millennium we see Satan temporarily cast into a confinement situation caused by the absence of anyone around to tempt or harass. Finally, on the day of judgment he will be cast out for the last time by everyone, losing all credibility forever in the minds of every created being in the universe. This strips him of all authority entirely, because no one will ever again believe any of his lies as they have all been fully exposed for what they are. This brings his rebellion to a complete and final end in the lake of fire which is a symbol of the fury aroused against him on the part of all whom he has deceived and ruined. This will be the last and final casting out of the dragon, and it leaves the new earth free of all evil, sin and rebellion, ready to be recreated and our planet at last reintegrated fully into the fellowship of the loyal universe. It also establishes earth as the location for the capital of the kingdom of heaven.

What is vital to keep in mind is that in every instance, this casting down of the dragon and his supporters never involves force or compulsion on the part of God. Rather it is accomplished through evidence-based free decisions on the part of beings who choose for themselves whom they will trust and serve. God never has to resort to Satan's methods to accomplish His will, for freedom of choice is the most essential ingredient for the kind of love needed to maintain order and harmony, and this secures forever the credibility of His integrity. This is how the war will be won and all the charges lodged against God will be forever exterminated.

This verse is the entry point into the very center of the chiasm of this chapter and the whole book in verse 10. A proper understanding of all this is essential to appreciate this entire book that exposes the war involving the entire universe regarding God's credibility and trustworthiness. Satan's allegations against God's character and reputation must be exposed as baseless, yet they must be willingly expelled from every mind and heart to repair the condition of anyone who wants to live in God's presence. This must happen without any threat of coercion or force on the part of God, which is a key distinction between God's ways and that of the kingdoms of this world. Fear, force and deception are only used on the side of the enemy and have no place in God's kingdom and must not be used by His followers. This is the main point we need to take away from this study, and this principle applies across every aspect of God's dealings with others.

This story can be seen as a large version of a fractal principle that can be applied in every situation no matter how large or small. Satan must be sent to the wilderness, not through force but through the elimination of every sympathy on the part of all who choose to side with God. This alignment was accomplished among those in heaven when on the cross Jesus exposed the truth about God's heart. It will happen again just before the Second Coming when the Lamb's accomplices on earth who embrace the truth fully will again reflect God's true character just like their Master. The final casting out will be concluded on the day when the full revelation of God's character will be judged. It is then that Satan loses all credibility with everyone including his own followers, as the light of all truth about God's pure character of love exposes everything that has been hidden. This will come about through a full exposure of all His dealings with everyone throughout all of history.

What this means is that to overcome the dragon through judgment, God allows Himself to be judged by everyone! This is scandalous in religion, yet it is the true power of the gospel that alone can defeat all the power of evil without compromising with it in any way. This is the secret of the Lamb, the power released through self-sacrificing love which defines the truth about God's heart.

Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, "That you might be justified in your words, and might prevail when you come into judgment." (Romans 3:4)

This final isolation of Satan is symbolized by the leading of the scapegoat Azazel into the wilderness on the day of Atonement. We already looked at this earlier, but the most important thing to note in those instructions was the startling way the goat was treated. He was not to be killed or sacrificed but only to be led away into the wilderness where he was to be released, set free, left alone. If we do not see and embrace this we miss the main issue of what this war is all about and we are in serious danger of being deceived and seduced into embracing the enemy's spirit that infects us with his pernicious lies that are at the root of all sin.

God sent His only Son into our wicked world, not to condemn us but to save us from the darkness of lies and misapprehension about God's disposition towards us.

For God didn't send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn't believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. (John 3:17-18)

The name of the only Son of God refers to the revelation of the true character of the One who sent Him for that very purpose. What we choose to believe about God as revealed by Jesus is the pivotal issue that determines our own destiny. What we choose to believe about God's character then becomes the determining factor by which we judge ourselves as either willing to be synchronized with His love principles or alienated from them by clinging to the misrepresentations of Him circulated by the dragon.

I will close with how God relates to the idea of casting out as explained by the One sent to reveal to us our Father.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don't believe. All those who the Father gives me will come to me. Him who comes to me I will in no way throw out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day. This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:35-40)

Dragon ID - Rumor notes 95

 Revelation 12

9 The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he 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.

The great dragon was thrown down/cast out

Previously we talked some about this dragon where we mostly examined the implications of the color red when it was first introduced into this scene. Now I want to take more time to follow the thread of this idea of a dragon which is the symbol of the chief rival of the Lamb and the sworn enemy of God and all that He is and does. This symbol is very significant, but we need to understand why it is so.

She was with child. She cried out in pain, laboring to give birth. Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns. (Revelation 12:2-3)

There was war in the sky. Michael and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war. They didn't prevail, neither was a place found for him any more in heaven. (Revelation 12:7-8)

Then I stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads, blasphemous names. The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. (Revelation 13:1-2)

They worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" (Revelation 13:4)

I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke like a dragon. (Revelation 13:11)

We see a beast up out of the sea, resonating with Leviathan. Now another beast comes up out of the earth. This version of power mimics the appearance of the true hero of Revelation, but subverting it subtly in order to deceive all who dwell on the earth. This resonates with Behemoth.

I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, something like frogs; (Revelation 16:13)

He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored animal, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:3)

The angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present. (Revelation 17:7-8)

The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)

See now, behemoth, which I made as well as you. He eats grass as an ox. Look now, his strength is in his thighs. His force is in the muscles of his belly. He moves his tail like a cedar. The sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are like tubes of brass. His limbs are like bars of iron. He is the chief of the ways of God. He who made him gives him his sword. Surely the mountains produce food for him, where all the animals of the field play. He lies under the lotus trees, in the covert of the reed, and the marsh. The lotuses cover him with their shade. The willows of the brook surround him. Behold, if a river overflows, he doesn't tremble. He is confident, though the Jordan swells even to his mouth. Shall any take him when he is on the watch, or pierce through his nose with a snare? (Job 40:15-24)

"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down his tongue with a cord? Can you put a rope into his nose, or pierce his jaw through with a hook? Will he make many petitions to you, or will he speak soft words to you? Will he make a covenant with you, that you should take him for a servant forever? Will you play with him as with a bird? Or will you bind him for your girls? Will traders barter for him? Will they part him among the merchants?

Can you fill his skin with barbed irons, or his head with fish spears? Lay your hand on him. Remember the battle, and do so no more. Behold, the hope of him is in vain. Won't one be cast down even at the sight of him? None is so fierce that he dare stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me? Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Everything under the heavens is mine.

"I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame. Who can strip off his outer garment? Who shall come within his jaws? Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth is terror. Strong scales are his pride, shut up together with a close seal. One is so near to another, that no air can come between them. They are joined one to another. They stick together, so that they can't be pulled apart. His sneezing flashes out light. His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. Out of his mouth go burning torches. Sparks of fire leap forth. Out of his nostrils a smoke goes, as of a boiling pot over a fire of reeds. His breath kindles coals. A flame goes forth from his mouth. There is strength in his neck. Terror dances before him. The flakes of his flesh are joined together. They are firm on him. They can't be moved. His heart is as firm as a stone, yes, firm as the lower millstone.

When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid. They retreat before his thrashing. If one attacks him with the sword, it can't prevail; nor the spear, the dart, nor the pointed shaft. He counts iron as straw; and brass as rotten wood. The arrow can't make him flee. Sling stones are like chaff to him. Clubs are counted as stubble. He laughs at the rushing of the javelin. His undersides are like sharp potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge. He makes the deep to boil like a pot. He makes the sea like a pot of ointment. He makes a path shine after him. One would think the deep had white hair. On earth there is not his equal, that is made without fear. He sees everything that is high. He is king over all the sons of pride." (Job 41:1-34)

In that day, Yahweh with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the twisted serpent; and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea. (Isaiah 27:1)

Speak and say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers, that has said, 'My river is my own, and I have made it for myself.' (Ezekiel 29:3)

Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:17)

Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land. (Jonah 2:10)

Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from you." But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:38-40)

The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. But he answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' In the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you can't discern the signs of the times! An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah." He left them, and departed. (Matthew 16:1-4)

When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, "This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah, the prophet. For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will also the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and will condemn them: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, one greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, one greater than Jonah is here. (Luke 11:29-32)

was thrown down/cast out

This is mentioned twice in this verse, so we will postpone exploring this until after finishing the extensive ID's listed here regarding the dragon..

the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world

He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years, (Revelation 20:2)

Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, "Has God really said, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'" (Genesis 3:1)

The serpent said to the woman, "You won't surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5)

Yahweh God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." Yahweh God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. On your belly shall you go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. (Genesis 3:13-14)

Don't rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod that struck you is broken; for out of the serpent's root an adder will emerge, and his fruit will be a fiery flying serpent. (Isaiah 14:29)

So far we see how this ancient serpent was the liar about God and instigated the fall of humans. Also, there is speculation that this serpent in Eden was originally able to fly and appeared like flashes of fire. Some believe it was the most beautiful of all the creatures on earth and even possibly the most intelligent. This would parallel the description of Lucifer in heaven who turned into Satan.

The people spoke against God, and against Moses, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loathes this light bread. Yahweh sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. The people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against Yahweh, and against you; pray to Yahweh, that he take away the serpents from us. Moses prayed for the people. Yahweh said to Moses, Make you a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard: and it shall happen, that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live. (Numbers 21:5-8)

The Hebrew word translated here as fiery serpent literally means burning, fiery, specifically and symbolically a seraph; poisonous. It comes from a root word meaning to be on fire. This links back to the description of the original angel who once lived in the very fiery presence of God.

You were the anointed cherub who covers: and I set you, so that you were on the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. (Ezekiel 28:14)

In that day, Yahweh with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the twisted serpent; and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea. (Isaiah 27:1)

But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3)

Chiasm of Revelation 12

 

Revelation 12 Chiasm

(1) A great sign in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet,

and on her head a crown of twelve stars. (v 1)

(2) She was with child. She cried out in pain, laboring to give birth. (v 2)

(3) Another sign in heaven. a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns. (v 3)

His tail drew one third of the stars, threw them to the earth.

The dragon stood before the woman so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. (v 4)

(4) She gave birth to a son to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.

Her child was caught up to God, to his throne. (v 5)

(5) The woman fled into the wilderness, a place prepared by God,

they may nourish her one thousand two hundred sixty days. (v 6)

(6) There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels made war on the dragon.

The dragon and his angels made war. (v 7)

(7) They didn't prevail, neither was a place found for him any more in heaven. (v 8)

(8) The dragon was thrown down, the deceiver of the whole world,

thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (v 9)

I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,

"Now is come the salvation, power, Kingdom of our God,

the authority of his Christ (v 10)

(8) the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down,

who accuses them before our God day and night. (v 10)

(7) They overcame him because of the Lamb's blood, word of their testimony.

They didn't love their life, even to death. Rejoice heavens, you who dwell in them. (v 11-12)

(6) Woe to the earth and sea, the devil has gone down to you,

having great wrath, he has but a short time." (v 12)

the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth,

he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. (v 13)

(5) Two wings of the great eagle given to the woman to fly into the wilderness to her place,

to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time (v 14)

(4) from the face of the serpent. (v 14)

(3) The serpent spewed water out of his mouth after the woman like a river,

that he might cause her to be carried away. (v 15)

(2) The earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river

which the dragon spewed out of his mouth. (v 16)

(1) The dragon grew angry, went away to make war with the rest of her seed,

who keep God's commandments and hold Jesus' testimony. (v 17)