Revelation Lesson 27

     We will begin this lesson in Revelation 12:9 "And the great
dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,
which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and
his angels were cast out with him."

     Here we see several names for the Devil. Notice we are told here,
that the serpent that tricked Eve was the devil as well. You can call
him by any name you want to. If whatever you call him is evil, it is
the devil or his handiwork. Here we see that he deceiveth (is
continually deceiving) the whole world. That does not include the
believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in this world, but we are
not of this world. Over and over we are told that everyone except the
elect of the Lord will be deceived.

     Verse 9 here is just a repetition of what we have been reading
about. Satan and his angels (demons). The devil runs to and fro
throughout the earth seeking whom he may devour. The devil does not
even bother the lost at all. He already has them. He is after the
believer. He comes to church regularly, trying to coax you away. He
brings false doctrine and strife in the church. Check everyone and
everything they say by the Word of God. The deceiver will come dressed
in sheep's clothing, Matt. 7:15 He plants doubt and fear wherever he
goes.

     The devil is the very one who brings in the "feel good" religion.
Beware, he is a destroyer, he appealed to Eve's flesh and destroyed
her. The flesh is at war with the Spirit. DO NOT LISTEN TO THE FLESH.

     Revelation 12:10 "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now
is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the
power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused them before our God day and night."

     Here we see the large heavenly body celebrating the fact that God
is supreme. There will be no accusations against the Christians to
God. The devil has always accused the saints, and Jesus has been our
advocate with the Father. Every time the devil accuses us, Jesus
reminds God that He paid for that. He (the devil) is tossed out once
and for all time. His day is over.

     Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,
and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives
unto the death."

     The "they" here are the Christians. When Jesus shed his blood on
Calvary and became the perfect Lamb sacrifice once for all time, Satan
was defeated. We read in Romans 10: 8-10  "But what saith it?  The
word is nigh thee, [even] in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the
word of faith, which we preach;"
     Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved."
     Romans 10:10 "For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

     You can see here the word of our testimony is when we open our
mouths and declare that we believe Jesus Christ is Lord, and also
believe He rose from the grave; we will be saved. We must proclaim
this, even if we know it will mean our life. We are not to regard life
here on this earth as very valuable. The life that is important is in
heaven. This world is not the Christian's home. We are just passing
through.

     Revelation 12:12 "Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that
dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for
the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he
knoweth that he hath but a short time."

     Here we Christians are told to look up and rejoice when we see
terrible things happening, because our redemption draweth nigh. Those
who will dwell in heaven for all of eternity are the redeemed. The
devil, even now, is in an all out push to destroy the church as it
used to be fifty years ago. He realizes his time is running out, and
he is working on the believers, trying to convert them to his way.
His scheme is to tell us not to be a radical Christian. He is trying
to make us not take God real seriously. He doesn't mind going to most
churches, because he hears very little pure Word of God and no sermons
on the blood. Watering down Jesus is one of his favorite tools to
destroy the church.

     Revelation 12:13 "And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto
the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man
[child]."

     This does not mean Mary the mother of Jesus. This just means,
when the devil realized he had lost the battle with Jesus, then he
turns on Jesus' followers, the church.

     Revelation 12:14 "And to the woman were given two wings of a
great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place,
where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from
the face of the serpent."

     I have said so many times before that we Christians will be here
for 3 1/2 years of the tribulation period. God saved Noah in the
flood, not from the flood. Just as we saw the ten plagues that came on
Egypt, God saved his people in the midst of the plagues. Not all the
plagues effected the Hebrews, and the wrath will not fall on us
believers either.

     Over and over we see the seven year tribulation period divided in
two 3 1/2 year segments. Some believe the two wings were symbolic of
the Old and New Testament. The eagle in many instances in the Bible is
symbolic of God. I believe, it means that God will protect us in the
midst of the problems.

     The serpent is the natural enemy of the eagle. One of the most
beautiful scripture relating Christians to eagles is in Isaiah 40:31
"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they
shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary;
[and] they shall walk, and not faint." To me this just shows again
that God will protect the true church.

     Revelation 12:15 "And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as
a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of
the flood."

     Water is symbolic of the Word of God. This is strange because
this water comes from the serpent's mouth. I believe this is a flood
of false doctrine coming from Satan himself. Some of the new
translations  of the Bible are very dangerous as well. If Satan can't
destroy us outside the church, then the final assault would be inside
the church with false doctrine; so close to truth that we would not
even notice the difference, unless we were grounded and rooted in the
truth.

     The really scarey thing today, is that many churches are
compromising a little here and a little there. You see, this would be
just the way Satan would bring in the false doctrine. You see, there
is such a flood of false doctrine today that many are being drowned by
it. Just as more than thirty thousand came to help Gideon win a battle
for God, and God had Gideon to send all them home except three
hundred, Judges chapter seven. This is about the percent in the
churches today that really know God in a way He would have them know
Him. God looks inside our heart, not at our outward appearance. Do not
fall for false doctrines.  Check everything by the Scriptures.

     Revelation 12:16 "And the earth helped the woman, and the earth
opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out
of his mouth."

     This is so sad, here we see that many will accept this false
doctrine. Only the elect will stand during this time. Earth means
worldly people.

     Revelation 12:17 "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and
went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the
commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

     This really angers Satan. He cannot get to Jesus, as we said
before, so he is venting his anger on the followers of Jesus. Notice
here that there is only a remnant who have not fallen for the devils
false doctrine. A remnant means a very small portion that is left. You
can easily see here that what we were talking about before is true.
You see here, that this small portion (remnant) of Christians are
still keeping God's commandants, and even though the opposition has
been great, they still have given the testimony of Jesus Christ. These
two names (Jesus, Christ) together mean THE SAVIOR, THE ANOINTED ONE.


     Other Scriptures to look up and study: St. John 8:44, Acts 22:4,
Romans 9:28, 1 Corinthians 7:29, Exodus 19:4, Deuteronomy 32:11,
Psalms 69:15, Isaiah 59:19, Hebrews 2:11.

     Memorize Matthew 7:15 and Romans 8: 8-10.

















































                 Revelation Questions 27

1.  Who was cast out?
2.  What are three more names for him?
3.  Who does he deceive?
4.  Who was cast out with him?
5.  How do we know the serpent in Genesis was Satan?
6.  Why does this whole world not mean the Christians?
7.  Satan's angels are __________.
8.  How will the deceiver be dressed?
9.  How did the serpent appeal to Eve.
10. This loud voice in heaven says now is come what? Three things.
11. Who has always accused the believers?
12. How was Satan overcome?
13. What do we read in Romans chapter 10 about our testimony?
14. In V-12 who is the woe to?
15. The devil is come down with great wrath, Why?
16. Why does Satan not mind going to most churches?
17. When the dragon was cast unto the earth, he persecuted whom?
18. When the devil realizes he cannot get to Jesus, what does he do?
19. What was the woman given?
20. Why?
21. The eagle is symbolic of what?
22. Who is the natural enemy of the eagle?
23. Isaiah 40:31 tells us what?
24. What came out of the serpent's mouth?
25. What is water symbolic of?
26. What kind of flood is this?
27. What can we learn from Gideon about the percent of who will be
    saved in the church?
28. What helped the woman?
29. How?
30. What word shows how few will make it through tribulation?
31. What does this small group do that pleases God?
32. What does Jesus Christ mean?
33. Write Matthew 7:15.
34. Write Romans 8:8-10.
35. Write your opinion of those who are opposed to the true believer,
    who they are and what their tactics are.