From the time of Adam and Eve's deception until now, the world has suffered violence and wickedness. At the root of all the evil from the past and present stands the most hideous of all beings, Satan.

Although the scripture tells us that at one time Satan was the most beautiful angel of all, the former arc angel, guardian to the throne of God, Satan has become the most disgusting, revolting creature the world has ever known. The only beauty he possesses today is the ability to appear as an angel of light in order to deceive mankind.

Satan is the author of confusion, the cause of every evil, murder, child molestation, homosexuality, pornography, gossip, lies, hatred, theft, and any number of sins that we can possibly name. All can be traced back to him. He is the constant tempter, never tiring enemy of Christ, and all that God has created.

Satan's ability to deceive is the main cause for the division that is in the church today. He is the cause of sickness and disease, and is constantly causing problems for every human being in the world. With all the wicked things he does, it is hard to imagine him as the anointed cherub of Ezekiel 28:14, the covering angel. His job was to cover the throne of God. He was God's protective angel.

Ezekiel 28:14-17:
14: Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15: Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16: By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God, and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17: Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

In these scriptures, it is very easy to see that it was Satan's beauty that corrupted his heart. Because of his SIN, he became a fallen angel. It is very surprising to understand what Satan's sin really was.

We see that Satan's wisdom was corrupted because of his brightness. What was his brightness? It was righteousness! He was so righteous that he glowed from the brightness of it, and all the angels noticed. Some noticed too much. Their eyes turned from God to Satan, who at that time was called Lucifer.

Then it happened! Satan began to notice that in every way, he seemed to be as righteous as God is. Many of the angels believed that he was, which sadly brought about a curse on all that believed it.

Do you realize what Satan's sin was? Have you guessed? Yes, believe it or not, it was self-righteousness, that old sin that has corrupted the heart of many of God's children. Satan believed that he was so righteous and that God didn't have any thing to do with it. He began to glory in himself rather than God. And, of course, that outlaw band of angels who gloried in Lucifer, rather than God, didn't help matters much. God had made him so perfect and it was that perfection that blinded him.

Ezekiel 28:15:
Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

But Satan had forgotten that he was the created, not the creator. His perfection was the works of God's hands, not his own. If only he could have been thankful for God's ability to make him so beautiful and perfect. But, he gloried in himself rather than God, and this brought about a curse on him and the angels that followed after him.

God wants everyone that He has created to be perfect. Jesus commanded us in Matthew 5:48:
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

It is His will, but we could never be perfect if we didn't have the ability to make choices. We have to make choices every day. Satan had the opportunity to either continue to be perfect, and follow God, or to overthrow Him. He made the wrong choice. This choice caused him to fall from Grace for eternity. God's first punishment on Satan was to put a chain on him, that he would never be able to shake loose. He became a prisoner to sin.

Jude 6:
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

The darkness that this scripture is talking about is sin, and the everlasting chains in this scripture is the inability to keep from sinning. Sin holds him in its grasp and Satan can't help it. He will sin and sin, and go on sinning, until his is brought to his final judgment at the great White Throne Judgment of God.

Isaiah 14:12-14:
12: How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13: For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend unto heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

As we can see from these scriptures, Satan wasn't content to be God's covering cherub any longer. He wanted God's throne! He only succeeded in corrupting a third of the angels in heaven, but this surely brought great sorrow and hurt to God. God loves His angels.

All of the good times that He and His angels had shared together, all of the wonderful years of loving Lucifer, and being loved in return. Now, this had been destroyed and corrupted by sin. What a tragedy! What a horrible first time experience for heaven. To see sin and rebellion on the golden streets of that magnificent place is beyond our comprehension, and it must have been beyond theirs, too. What a terribly painful situation for such a loving God to experience!

Much to our surprise, God didn't react to this absurd revolt in anger or wrath, but simply let sin gather its victims and allowed angels to make their choices. Satan and his angels had fallen from their estate; they left their habitation. Contrary to what many teachers believe, Satan and his angels were not sealed out of heaven at that time. They would be at the time appointed, but not yet.

Isaiah 14:12:
How art thou fallen, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

The first part of this scripture is talking about his fall from grace. This was all his own doing; this was his choice, and the choice of all that followed him. He fell just like some people who follow his example today. He began well, but what happened?

I John 2:19:
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

After Satan had gathered all the angels that would follow him, God gave him a throne and dominion to rule over a place after his own heart. HELL and all it's torments!

In Matthew 25:41, the scripture tells us that hell was a place prepared for the Devil and his angels.

II Peter 2:4:
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

Here, Peter is telling us that God cast Satan and his angels into their dominion, HELL! But Satan and his angels are not satisfied with the dominion that God gave them. Most people, when seeing these scriptures, believe that these angels are under the ground somewhere in a dark cave, in hell, waiting on judgment.

How I wish that this were true. What God did was to chain them to sin, (darkness), until judgment. A person who blasphemies the Holy Ghost is held in the same chains of darkness until judgment, they can never find repentance. They can never do right; sin has dominion over them. Sin is their lord, and he will rule over them until judgment. These fallen angels are demon spirits that want to live in us today; they are still seeking to overtake God's possessions.

Jesus confronted some of these fallen angels, and they asked Jesus if He had come to destroy them before their time. (Matthew 8:29).

Satan roams up and down through the earth (Job 2:2), seeking for someone to devour, (I Peter 5:8).

He also appears before the throne of God in heaven to accuse us to God when we fall. But, thank God, we have an intercessor, Jesus our Savior and Lord. I wish that Satan and his angels were in literal chains, but they are not, they will be someday. Today it is the chains of sin, or darkness.

The war between God and the devil still goes on. I am sure that in Satan's eyes, he thought that he was being very successful in destroying God's Kingdom. Think About It! He had taken a third of his kingdom of angels. When cast into hell, he saw that it was unable to hold him.

When God created man, Satan set about to destroy and corrupt him. He accomplished this, he and his angels probably celebrated when they saw Adam and Eve cast out of the garden for their sin. Again he rejoiced over his triumph during the flood, and no doubt laughed at God only being able to spare eight people out of millions. What a victory, he must have thought.

He probably snickered when he saw the tears that ran down God's cheeks. Then God gave promise to Abraham, but Satan saw him as no threat. Moses and the law came to shine its light on righteousness. No doubt Satan wondered on some of this, but wasn�t troubled over it. You see, Satan really thinks he can win.

He then caused God's people to sin and break the law. For a time, they had an intercessor, Moses and the prophets. This caused him a great deal of trouble, but after a while he either killed or corrupted the intercessors of Israel. Israel fell victim to Satan's deceit and offered their children on the fire to the god Molek. Their idol worship pushed God beyond His tolerance and He declared judgment on Israel for their disobedience. How Satan must have rejoiced to hear Israel's prophets declare God's judgment against his own people. Israel had lost its intercessors, but God had a plan hidden in His Word, a mystery was woven that would someday overturn Satan's playhouse for good. Satan knew the scriptures, but didn't understand what they meant.

Then it happened. Jesus came into the world to save mankind! Satan heard the angels tell the shepherds in the field. What a shock it must have been, but sin is a deceiver. Satan is still driven by sin. Sin blinds us to the truth. He tried to use people to kill Jesus, but that failed. He was stunned when Jesus began His miracles and began to cast devils out of people and to change peoples hearts. Then Jesus took him totally by surprise when He gave His people the power to cast out devils and heal the sick. What a blow!

When Jesus went to the cross, Satan just knew that he had destroyed him. But he once again was about to experience the unexpected. It was here that Jesus dealt him such a blow that he would NEVER recover! Jesus not only took upon himself our sins, but He died because of them on the cross. It was there that we have received redemption, atonement along with forgiveness and everything else that is made available to us through His blood. WHAT A GLORIOUS THING JESUS DID!

Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:14-15:
14: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
God had told Moses to put a brass serpent on a pole and to lift it up so that everyone could see. Fiery serpents had bitten many of the people. Everyone who looked on this serpent on the pole was healed from his or her snakebite. This was a story showing that one day Jesus would be lifted up on a cross and that whoever had been bitten by sin could be saved. Why the serpent? When the sins of the world were laid on Him, Jesus appeared to be as hideous as a serpent to God. This is why He cried out, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Because of sin Jesus felt for a moment to be separated from the Father. But Jesus Himself was God in the flesh and was without sin, He did not become a sinner but bore our sins in His body. Jesus was innocent of any sin. God could have justified Jesus on that basis alone but I believe that God used the blood of Jesus to justify him. Jesus died was buried in a tomb and went into the presence of the Father but on Mount Calvary stood an empty cross. On that cross and on the ground around it was the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus was innocent blood, blood that knew no sin. Here was the reason that God was able to justify Jesus. His blood was crying out and saying "INNOCENT!" His own blood was the reason God justified Jesus and raised Him from the dead.

I Timothy 3:16:

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into Glory.

I Peter 3:18:
18: For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Matthew 27:52-53:
52: And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53: And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus called Satan the prince of this world.

John 14:30:
Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

If you remember the disciples had just finished the feast of the Passover with Jesus. Judas was in the process of betraying Him. Satan had entered into Judas when Jesus had given Judas the sop at supper (John 13:26-27).

When Jesus said that the prince of this world was coming, He was telling us that Satan was using Judas and the Jewish leaders to come and get Him for the crucifixion.

While Jesus and His disciples were on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told them that the prince of this world was being judged (John 16:11). Satan didn't realize that by crucifying Jesus, he would release the first of a series of judgments that God had in store for him. This would be the beginning of the end for him

Jesus said in John 12:31-33:
31: Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
32: And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
33: This he said, signifying what death he should die.

At the cross Jesus began His judgments, on the world, and on Satan.
Before Jesus had come to this earth, there was no Gospel being preached, there had been no Savior, there was no intercessor for mankind. Only the Jews had received the law and the prophets. They had failed to keep the law and were out of fellowship with God. In every way, Satan was destroying everything that God had created.

God is merciful and good. Before Jesus came God winked at ignorance , but now commands us all to repent (Acts 17:30). Why, because we now have a Savior and the understanding through the Word and Spirit of God to live for Him. When Jesus said, "now is the judgment of this world", He was referring to His plan of salvation.

Mark 16:15-16:
15: And he said unto the, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Since the cross, Satan has been judged, and with each step of judgment his power will come crumbling down. Jesus has given every born again believer power over the devil.

James 4:7:
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you

As we humble and submit ourselves to God we receive power to resist the devil. When we use this power of resistance, Satan will flee. God has given mankind power over the devil.

Mark 16:17:
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.

What a disappointment this must be to the devil, God has given every born again believer the power to cast out devils! We need to use it!

Seeing into the spirit world is difficult for us because it isn't something you can see with your eyes. However, it is easy to see when someone is being controlled by something stronger than they are. I know so many people who are being held prisoner by demon spirits. In order for someone to be saved, often times these spirits must be cast out. But most of the time these spirits are cast out when the Spirit of Christ comes into our hearts at the new birth.

With every soul that is saved by the power of Christ, Satan loses more and more strength in his kingdom. He uses his demons of influence through mankind to accomplish his evil deeds. When you look at the world around you, from every direction it appears that he is about to win over the Church and their savior. But he won't, because God has a few more steps of judgment to perform on him.

During the coming seven years called the tribulation period, Satan is going to be cast down to the earth. This is a mystery to the Church, simply because most Christians believe that this has already occurred. But this event is yet to come!

Before Adams fall in the garden, Satan was cast into hell because he attempted to overthrow Gods throne. Still, Satan roams the earth like a roaring lion seeking to devour some poor soul. He goes in and out of heaven every day to accuse you and me before the throne of God. I'm glad that Jesus is there to intercede for us, aren't you?

We see God's next judgment on Satan in Revelation the 12th chapter beginning with verse 7. This judgment on the devil will occur right before the middle of the seven-year tribulation period. But in order to understand we must go back to the beginning of chapter 12.

Revelation 12: 1:
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars;

First we must see who the woman is. The wonderful thing about Bible prophecy is that God has supplied all the information we need to understand these mysteries. The information is all in the Bible itself, we don't need to try and imagine what they mean. Just simply have enough of the word of God in us to know where the answers are found, for example.

Isaiah 46:10,
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

In this passage, God is telling you and me that beginning with the book of Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament, He has laid out a blue print in understanding the end, the last book of the New Testament, Revelation. For example, in Genesis 37:9-10, are scriptures that tell who this woman in Revelation 12:1-7 is.

Genesis 37:9-10,
9: And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10: And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, what is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth

The sun is Jacob (Israel), the moon is Rachel, and the twelve stars are the twelve sons of Jacob. Joseph's star and his eleven brothers are twelve stars. By these symbols we can clearly see that the woman who is in travail is the nation of Israel. They are the descendants of the family of Jacob, or Israel. To try and say that the woman in Rev.12 is the Church would be great error. The Gentile Church is definitely partakers of Abraham's promise, true, and we could say that we were a partaker with Jacob, because of the birthright. We could claim two of the stars for our crowning glory, Judah and Joseph, but we could never claim any connection with Rachel or the other ten sons of Jacob. I say this simply because of the birthright that was the promise of salvation and the promise of the coming king who was to be the savior.

I Chronicles 5:2
For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's:

Jesus was the chief ruler who came out of Judah, who we received as our own. We were given this right because of the birthright given to Joseph's son Ephraim. And this we were able to get only because they rejected it when it came. So, if the woman had been clothed with the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, and was standing on the word of God that was a light unto her feet. And if she had been crowned with the glory of salvation, you could say that this woman was the Church. But, we can't. This woman is Israel, and she has not found Jesus yet.

The sun is a light; the moon and the stars are lesser lights. To explain what they mean is fairly simple. The sun or Jacob (also renamed Israel by the Lord himself), is her clothing. She is clothed with Jacob's light. This light is her covering, her hope in Gods promise to him. But Jacob's light is not enough to clothe her, it will take the Lord himself to be the covering that she needs.

The moon is a lesser light, and it is a symbol of Rachel. The light from the moon is under her feet, shining up to her. Only the special love that Jacob and Rachel had for one another could ever explain this. The harmony of love is the thing that pulls the Jewish people together and keeps them walking on with the hope that someday they will all come together again. Thank God it will happen and very soon.

The twelve stars are her crowning glory, these too are lesser lights, but none the less are the thing that is continually on her mind, Jacob's children. The need to see the children of Jacob find the happiness that they know in their hearts God wants them to have. God himself has this very thing on his mind; this is why she is in travail. It is the children of Jacob that He is about to bless.

If this woman had been Israel after they had been born again, she would have been engulfed in the light of the Lord, and all of these other lights would have seemed dim by comparison. In Isaiah we see an example of this.

Isaiah 60:19,
The sun shall no more be thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

The sun and the moon of course represent Jacob and Rachel.

Now that you can see that the woman in Rev.12 is Israel, we must take a close look at verse two in the same chapter.

Rev.12: 2,
And she being with child cried, travailing in birth and pained to be delivered.

She is about to give birth to the first of her children out of the nation of Israel that we call the Holy Land. This child, or birth, will be a special group of Jews who will be saved right before the middle of the seven years called the tribulation period. These people will be caught up to God's throne to be sealed and return to the earth to preach the Gospel to the nations that are brought under the control of the Antichrist.

Notice that she is in travail, She is having birth pains. This child will be born to her, but she will give birth to many more children before the tribulation is over.

Isaiah 66:7-10
7: before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.
8: Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
9: Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth, saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.
10: Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn her;

These scriptures speak of the rebirth of Israel to the Lord. Most prophecy teachers accept what the Jews in Israel say about these scriptures, not realizing that the average Jew in Israel is not born again and cannot possibly understand the scriptures until they are born again. Most believe that verse 8 is talking about Israel's rebirth as a nation in 1948. But, Jesus said that Israel would remain barren or desolate until the time that they have accepted him as Lord. This didn't happen before 1948, and it still hasn't happened. Hurt our feelings or not, God doesn't recognize Israel as an inhabited nation yet. He loves Israel, but will not celebrate them as a nation until they have accepted Jesus as the true Messiah. So verse 8 is talking about the spiritual rebirth of the nation rather than the carnal rebirth.

Matthew 23:37-39:
37: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38: Behold your house is left unto you desolate.
39: For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.

In verse 37, Jesus said, How often would I have gathered thy children together. Jesus is referring to the northern kingdom of Israel called Ephraim, or the ten tribes of Israel, who were taken captive and scattered through out Asia Minor and north Africa including Rome, Greece, and other countries. These people had been taken captive by the Assyrians around seven hundred years before Jesus came.

The southern kingdom of Israel called Judah had been taken captive by the Babylonians during the time of Daniel the prophet. After 70 years in captivity most of them returned to the land of Israel. The Northern Kingdom known as Ephraim or Israel never returned to the land of Israel. Most of the Southern Kingdom called Judah returned however some never returned. It was the descendants of Judah, or the southern kingdom that were living in Israel when Jesus came. So, when Jesus said in Matt 23:37 how often would I have gathered thy children together; He was referring to the descendants of those Jews who had been scattered into the world by Assyria and Babylon; and were then living in all the nations around Israel at that time. In this verse He was saying that He would not gather Israel back together until they have accepted Him as the Messiah who God had sent.

Micah 5:3:
Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

The woman in travail with child is about to bring forth a child who will be the first born of her children in the land of Israel who believe that Jesus is the Messiah! The devil does not want this to happen and will do anything to prevent it.

Rev.12: 2-4,
2: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth and pained to be delivered.
3: And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns.
4: And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

The woman is verse 2 is Israel. The great red dragon is explained to us in verse 9. And the dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.

In verse 3 he is described as being red in color, with seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns. This tells us about his influence or control.

1. The seven heads are seven nations.

2. The ten horns are ten kings or powerful leaders.

3. The seven crowns show that they have received power.

These nations and kings with great power show us that at the time Satan has this influence over these nations that he will be cast down to the earth. These nations are the nations of the Antichrist. The reason the dragon is colored red is to show the great bloodshed that they are causing and will continue to cause. At the time of Satan's casting down, he will only have power over seven nations, and all of these he has given great power, shown by the crowns.

There will eventually be ten nations all together under his power. These are shown by the three horns who have not been crowned as of yet. This shows us that he has the approval of these three kings to invade Israel at this time, but after Israel's invasion he will overthrow them and place his own kings over those nations, which will give him ten nations all together.

At the time of Israel's invasion there will only be seven nations involved.

Israel has experienced peace from her enemies until this time during the first three and a half years of the tribulation period. But, she is about to be invaded by the Antichrist. He is doing what Satan has put into his heart, and that is to attempt to destroy the child that she is about to have.

Revelation 12:4-5,
4:And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
5; And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up to God, and to his throne.

It would be very easy to mistake this child as Jesus, especially remembering how that Herod tried to kill him as a baby, and that God had raised Jesus to set at his right hand in heaven. We also know that Jesus will rule over the nations for a thousand years. But, let me show you why this child couldn't possibly be Jesus.

Revelation 12:2
And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pain to be delivered.

We can see by this scripture that this woman is in travail, or having labor pains. In Isaiah, God told us that Jesus would be born at a time when Israel was unable to give God children of his own.

Isaiah 66:7
Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.

Here Isaiah explains that Jesus would be born before she travailed and before her pain. Had Israel accepted Jesus they would have given birth, but because they were unable to bear at that time she knew no travail. If you remember Jesus told them in Matt. 23:38, Behold your house is left desolate. This means that Israel would be barren until they have accepted him. Isaiah explained:

Isaiah 66:8
Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.

And this is what is happening to the woman in Rev. 12. This child will be the first born of her children but she will have more!

But what about him ruling all nations with a rod of iron? Jesus answered this question in Rev. 2:25-29, while speaking to the churches in Asia.

Rev. 2: 25-29:
25: But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
26: And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
27: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers; even as I received of my father.
28: And I will give him the morning star.
29: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches.

So Christ is telling us in the 2nd chapter of Revelation that this child that is born from the woman in travail will be overcoming Christians and they will rule with a rod of iron just like the rest of the overcoming Church when Jesus returns!

It is Satan's plan to kill the newborn Jewish Christians when it happens. But, God has a special judgment that he is about to place on the devil, and the devil is not expecting it!

Although Satan was cast into hell before the fall of Adam and Eve, hell was not a prison. Satan goes in and out of heaven to accuse us to God every time you or I fail. Thank God for God's son Jesus who is our intercessor. Satan roams the earth destroying people and their lives. He has power in the heavenly realm through the supernatural to seduce us and tempt us to sin, to discourage and cast us down through our minds. It is through this realm that Satan does most of his damage. Even the Church isn't expecting what is about to happen. God is going to do something special for the Church. He is going to take away Satan's supernatural ability to warfare against the church in the spirit!

Rev. 12: 7-10,
7: And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8: And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
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.
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.

The Church is about to experience world revival! When Satan is cast down they are going to receive strength, and the power of Christ. The Church will then take the kingdom of God to the world, through evangelism like the world has never seen before! Salvation will fill the earth. The gospel will be preached in all nations and then the end will come, just like the scriptures say.

And the thing that is going to give us the boost that we need is to have the edge on the devil. This is a great victory for the Church. The casting down of Satan's spiritual ability will open the door to millions of souls to be saved because Satan will no longer be able to talk them out of receiving the Gospel. Think of it! As long as Jesus has been in heaven interceding for you and me, Satan has not been able to harm our relationship with God. The most effective thing he does to us is to accuse us to one another in the spirit. We will no longer hear his voice after this casting down. There has never been a time like this since the creation of mankind. Without his voice to hinder our faith, without his power to cause sickness, without his spiritual oppression miracles will fill the earth like no other time in the past. I'm actually looking forward to the seven years of tribulation because I know that Jesus has saved the best for the last. Satan's powers are coming down! THANK YOU, JESUS!

Some folks believe that these scriptures on Satan were events from the past, but let me share with you why it isn't. Satan fell from his estate with God and was cast into hell before the fall of Adam and Eve. In verse ten it says that the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. Satan did not come before the throne to accuse any of mankind until after the fall of Adam not before.

In the ninth verse it says that the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan which deceiveth the whole world. Before his fall in Adam and Eves time there were no nations to deceive. These scriptures on Satan falling have to be in the future, not in the past. Isaiah spoke of the same thing.

Isaiah 14:12
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Remember there were no nations when Satan rebelled against God. That happened before Adam.

Ezekiel 28:17:
Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness, I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Once again we see Satan cast to the ground so that kings can look at him. There were no kings on the earth before Adam and Eve. Satan fell from his estate before then, so it has to be an event in the future.

Rev. 12:10-11:
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.
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 death.

Every teaching in the Bible has two or more witnesses in scripture confirming the truth. We find another witness to this event in II Thessalonians 2:1-8. Paul wanted us to understand this mystery.

II Thessalonians 2:1-8,
1: Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2: That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3: Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4: Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God shewing himself that he is God.
5: Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6: And now ye know what witholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7: For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8: And then shall the Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Verses 1,2, and 3 are telling us that Jesus will not return until the man of sin, or son of perdition, is revealed. Paul is speaking of the Antichrist. Verse 4 tells how he will be recognized. The Antichrist will go into the temple of God and declare that he is God. In verse 5 Paul is reminding them that he had told them about this in the past.

In verses 6 and 7 Paul unveils a mystery. He said that there would be something preventing this from happening and that they knew what it would be. In verse 7 Paul said, only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

Many preachers in an effort to prove that the rapture of the church will take place before the tribulation period have used this word let in a twisted fashion in order to try and prove their message. If they only knew the truth concerning this they wouldn't be so anxious to do so. It is commonly taught that the word let means hinderer of lawlessness. And that this hinderer is talking about the Holy Spirit hindering wickedness. So it is taught that when the Holy Spirit is taken off the earth during the rapture, the Antichrist will no longer be hindered from doing what he is going to do.

I'm going to give you the Strong's concordance definition of this word let so that you will see how they have twisted this. They are commonly teaching that the word let in verse 7 is interpreted as hinderer of lawlessness.

This is Strong's definition:
Let--Greek Index # 2722
2722 The Greek word Kat-ekh'-o; from 2596 and 2192; To Hold down (fast), in various applications (lit-or fig):--have, hold (fast), keep, (in memory), let, times make toward, possess, retain, seize on, stay, take, withhold.

If I were to make a selection out of these meanings which word would best describe the word let that Paul was using in verse 7, I would have to choose the last definition, the word withhold. It would be very unlikely that it could mean anything else considering what Paul said in verse 6, and now you know what witholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. It could only mean withhold, there is no mention of lawlessness.

What hadn't been revealed to the Church in the past is the fact that Satan is going to be cast down. This whole set of scriptures in II Thessalonians is telling us that when Satan is cast down that our eyes would be open to the anti-Christ. It is Satan that does everything to hide the truth from us. Paul knew that simultaneous to the casting down of Satan, the Antichrist would declare himself to be God. Do you know why? Because Satan will be cast into the Antichrist himself, it is the only position in the world that he will still be able to put up a fight.

All of this will happen at the middle of the seven-year period. The Antichrist will not be demon possessed, but will be Satan possessed. Satan is going to be very upset over these new circumstances. In Rev. 12:12 it says:

Rev. 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.

Satan will finally realize that his days are numbered when this event happens. The woe that is mentioned in this scripture is not talking about the whole earth as many suppose but is a warning to the people who are serving the Antichrist.

This judgment has come, but there will be two more judgments on the Devil before God is going to be done with him.

Lets look at these scriptures together for a moment:

Isaiah 14:12:
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations

Ezekiel 28:17
Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Rev. 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.

This casting down in these scriptures can only be talking about the same event. This event will be completed when God lays Satan before himself after Armageddon at the end of the tribulation, 3 1/2 years from the time he invades Israel.

Up until the time Satan is to be cast out, or down, Satan has deceived the whole world. But Satan will lose his ability to do that in this occurrence. He will only be able to deceive the people who live in the nations that are under the Antichrist's authority. Satan will live in this son of perdition because it will be the most convenient place to go in order to accomplish his destruction of Israel. All of the angels that are cast out with him will go into the people who follow the Antichrist in order to help Satan with his plan.

What they have been able to do in the spirit in the past, they will now have to try to accomplish through the people that they have possessed. Their ability to persuade men through these people will be very powerful, but only through these men. Not in the spiritual atmosphere.

By the time Armageddon has arrived Satan will have already lived for 3 1/2 years as a man, possessing the body of the Antichrist himself. This is a possessing not an incarnation like Jesus. In Isaiah fourteen it reveals this mystery.

Isaiah 14:7-10:
7: The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
8: Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down. no feller is come up against us.
9: Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10: All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?

Isaiah 14:16.
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

There will be many demons and satanic angels make their appearance in the nations of the Antichrist during this last 3 and 1/2 years. The king of the bottomless pit will make his appearance during the sixth trumpet. (Rev. 9: 11,12.).

Abaddon or Apollyon will open the bottomless pit to bring torment and destruction upon the nations of the Antichrist. We can only imagine how terrible it will be in that part of the world when Satan gets complete control. Only God knows for sure. But many people who serve the Antichrist will be possessed by demons like Beelzebub, the prince of devils. These demons will cause these people to do anything they are told to do.

It is clear to see that by the time Jesus has defeated him at Armageddon Satan has become a mere man. And most people are in amazement over this. Satan will be working directly through the Antichrist. He will give this man unbelievable power. He will be a military genius with great accomplishments. It will be miraculous in the eyes of his ten nations. They will be convinced for the most part that he is God. The Antichrist will be so completely consumed by the Devil and no longer himself, he has become totally reprobate. The people who follow him will still believe that he is the same man, but inside he will know that he has changed.

There are so many strange teachings and ideas about the Antichrist. People love scary stories, so the more bizarre you make him the more people love to hear it. But the truth is very different from fiction. He will be horrible no doubt, but we don't need to imagine things about him. We just need to know the truth. Since Satan will be living in this guy, I will try to share a few misconceptions about him.

1. He will not be the leader of world peace having all the answer to all the worlds' problems.

Daniel has told us that he will only confirm the covenant with many. Which shows us that he will only agree to the covenant, or treaty that has been presented. But his signing this document will no doubt bring relief to many nations who are watching to see if an agreement can be reached. We can clearly see by this scripture that he is not the one who creates this agreement.

Daniel 9:27.
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

This covenant that he signs will be the same covenant that God made to Abraham promising that the land of Israel, or Canaan belongs to the children of Israel forever. He will hate this covenant but will see a beneficial purpose in signing it. In Daniel 11:28, 11:30 we see that the covenant is a Holy Covenant, and he despises it. Man cannot institute a Holy Covenant. Only God can do that.

2. He will not be a Jew, claiming to be Jesus. Healing the sick and working miraculous healing miracles.

Consider this for a moment. The scriptures tell us in Daniel 9-11, that the Antichrist will come out of one of the nations that were under Alexander the Great. These nations were Syria, Thrace, Macedonia, and Egypt. These are not Jewish nations. The Antichrist in these scriptures happens to be the little horn that comes out of one of these four horns.

Think on this. To deceive a Jew by telling him that you are Jesus would be the most stupid thing you could ever try. The Jews hate Jesus, His name, and everything about him. They didn't believe because of the miracles in the past; what makes you think they will now? Especially if you were to say you was Jesus. They associate this name with all the cruelty that they have experienced in Europe, Asia, and all over the world, even in America to some extent.

To assume that the Antichrist could ever heal someone is positively against the Holy Scriptures. He will not be able to heal. In Matthew 12: 25-26 the word of God clears this whole matter up with the words of Jesus.

Matthew 12: 25-26
Verse 25:
And Jesus knew their thoughts and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
26: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

Jesus said many more things in this passage concerning this line of reasoning. The point that Jesus was making to them was clearly that the miracles themselves were evidence that he was the Messiah. If the Devil were able to heal, then Jesus could have very well been healing by the power of Beelzebub. The fact that Jesus had the power to cast out devils, heal the sick, raise the dead, was living proof that He was the Son of God! We as Christians need to believe what Jesus said. In 2^nd Thessalonians 2:9 it explains what these miracles are.

2^nd Thessalonians 2:9:
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.

Every thing he does is a lie. All his ability to deceive is through his great power of deception, not reality. Satan is the prince of darkness. There is no light in him, He can make you sick through his power of darkness, but since there is no light in him at all, he is unable to repair the damage that he does. He is a prisoner of darkness. The scripture says that he transforms himself into an angel of light. What this means is that he appears to be a minister of righteousness. But the scripture is not saying that he can work righteousness. He can't, he is a prisoner to sin. He couldn't do the right thing even to deceive; it's impossible for him.

For example, he may tell you that it is all right to commit adultery with someone by convincing you that you would be a lot happier than you are now. By telling you that your happiness is more important than your marriage or obligation to your husband or wife he can convince you that it would be the right thing to do. This is the way he deceives. It will be through this kind of reasoning that Satan will deceive the people that reject the truth.

Satan will be a military genius. His ability to deceive is the very reason he will be. In fighting battles he will cause his enemies to believe that he is about to do one thing, and then he will do something contrary to that in order to gain the victory. He will be very successful on the field of battle. This is why the people that are under his authority will think that he is God.

Very shortly from the time of the signing of the peace treaty at the beginning of the tribulation, the Antichrist will go to war. Daniel tells us in Chapter 9 verse 26:

And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

He will invade the king of the South not long after the signing of the peace treaty confirming of the Covenant. It would be very hard to pretend to be Jesus while at the same time you are busy fighting a war. He invades Israel because he has been embarrassed by the ships of Chittim (Daniel 11:30-31). Who could have forced him out of the land of the South? He will do this to get even with the ships of Chittim (a powerful people from west of Cyprus---like America?). It would be hard to pretend that you are the Messiah of Israel when you are not even a Jew. Consider this. The arms that stand on his part are not individuals, but are nations who have decided not to keep the treaty with Israel. This is why he has the strength to invade Israel and to become the Abomination that maketh desolate.

This is the people he will deceive because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved, as spoken by Paul in 2^nd Thessalonians 2: 10-12;

Verse 10:
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11: And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

In Daniel 11:31-32, Daniel tells us this:
Verse 31:
And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
32: And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

Paul�s scriptures in 2^nd Thessalonians 2: 10-12 was taken from these two scriptures in Daniel. Paul didn't get these ideas out of the air, but received them from God through the scriptures. God has hidden these scriptures from us down through the age because of the way our mind interprets what he says. We see it in one light, when all the time he is talking to us in another.

Who is Satan going to be able to deceive? It will be the nations who are enemies of Israel. They take pleasure in persecuting the people of Israel, and despise Gods word when it comes to the promise that God made to Abraham. The promise being that the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. God has promised to curse those who have cursed Israel. This is the curse, this deception that God allows. He allows them to believe a lie and be damned. This is why they end up taking the mark of the beast and being eternally doomed; there will be no place of repentance to be found.

Satan will spend the next 3 and 1/2 years doing this to 1/4 of the earth because of their hatred for the Jew. But Gods Judgment is coming.

The Antichrist will invade Israel at the middle of the tribulation but God makes a way of escape for them. They will be rescued and taken completely out of harms way to a place that God has prepared for them, Rev. 12: 6&14.

At the end of this 3 and 1/2 year period Jesus will defeat Satan at Armageddon. It is here that he will force Satan to lay before him, and the Children of God will come by and marvel over his earthly condition.

Isaiah 14:16;
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

After this Satan will be cast out of the Antichrist to be cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. Let's look at Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10:

Verse 1:
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2: And he laid hold on the Dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3: And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Verse 7:
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8: And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea,
9: And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10: And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

I don't feel sorry for the Devil; his punishment is just. When he is gone the struggle for peace will finally be won. Praise the Lord!

Yours in Christ,
Tommie Spurgeon

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