On Guard: Discerning Truth in End Times
A call to awaken Christians about deception in these end times while also sharing the truth about Jesus Christ and His promises to both Christians and all others who will hear. We want believers to be aware of what the Bible says. Topics will include Revelation, Daniel, Great Tribulation, Biblical Prophecy, the Rapture, the Antichrist, God’s Wrath, etc.
On Guard: Discerning Truth in End Times
(S2E14) Satan: The Great Red Dragon
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In this episode, Gordon and Mark step into Revelation chapter 12, explaining that it functions as a flashback in the overall timeline. Rather than continuing forward from the Seventh Trumpet, this chapter pulls back the curtain to reveal the deeper spiritual backstory behind the conflict. Its purpose is to provide a biographical and theological overview of Satan, tracing his opposition to God’s redemptive plan from before creation through the End Times.
The chapter opens by introducing three central figures:
- The Woman, representing Israel as the covenant people and faithful remnant.
- The Red Dragon, identified as Satan, is a real supernatural being, not merely symbolic evil.
- The Male Child, representing Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah who will rule the nations.
Through these figures, John is shown a panoramic summary of redemptive history. The vision compresses events from Genesis to the End Times, revealing Satan’s rebellion, his attempts to destroy the Messiah, Christ’s victory and ascension, and God’s ongoing preservation of Israel during the Tribulation.
The hosts then unpack what they describe as Satan’s biography. Originally created as Lucifer, he was good but fell due to pride and self-exaltation. His rebellion led to the fall of a third of the angels, whom he drew into his opposition against God. The hosts explore several motivations behind this fall: pride in his beauty and status, jealousy of God’s glory, and resistance to God’s plan for humanity to share in Christ’s rule.
At the core of Satan’s rebellion is a desire to replace God and rule independently. This conflict intensified after the promise in Genesis 3:15, often called the “dragon slayer prophecy,” which foretold that a descendant of the woman would ultimately defeat him. From that moment forward, Satan’s strategy has been to disrupt God’s plan whether through attempts to corrupt humanity, destroy Israel, eliminate the Messiah, or persecute God’s people throughout history.
The hosts emphasize that God allows Satan to exist for a purpose. He remains to preserve genuine choice of the people on earth. True faith and love require the ability to choose, and humanity’s response to God reveals the condition of their heart.
The hosts distinguish between two heavenly conflicts. The war described in Revelation 12:7–12 is not Satan’s original rebellion, but a later event tied to Christ’s victory at the cross. In this latter conflict, Satan is permanently cast out of heaven and loses his role as accuser. Before the cross, he could accuse believers before God; after Christ’s atoning work, believers are justified, and Satan no longer has standing to bring accusations against them.
Believers overcome Satan not by their own strength, but by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Their willingness to remain faithful, even in the face of death, demonstrates the power of redemption and the certainty of Christ’s victory.
As the timeline moves into the final 3½ years of the Tribulation, Satan intensifies his attacks, knowing his time is short. God responds by supernaturally preserving a remnant of Israel, echoing the imagery of Exodus’ protection, provision, and deliverance. Unable to destroy Israel, Satan turns his focus toward persecuting those who follow Jesus.
The episode concludes by discussing the larger picture. Revelation 12 reveals the cosmic battle behind human history. What appears on earth is rooted in a deeper spiritual conflict. Yet despite Satan’s efforts, he is already a defeated enemy. God’s plan continues to move forward with certainty, culminating in the ultimate victory of Christ and the full restoration of His kingdom.
Introduction
SPEAKER_00Hello everyone. Welcome to our podcast called On Guard Discerning Truth in End Times. My name is Gordon Douglas, and I'm here with my brother Mark.
SPEAKER_01Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us again today. We're glad to have you back.
SPEAKER_00We are so glad that you continue to listen to us and this podcast.
SPEAKER_01Last week we had an incredible episode where we talked about the seventh trumpet, which we called the glorious seventh trumpet. We concluded that when it was blown, that we had arrived at a long-awaited moment, and we said it was the time God was reclaiming our world for Himself, and He was installing Jesus as King of Kings over the planet. Wow. We know there is still a lot to discuss in this book. At least 11 more chapters in Revelation alone. But at this point, we should take away the that moment will be glorious and exciting for believers in God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00Yes, that was a great episode that in a way marked a milestone for these end times. But as you said, we have many, many more details to study and discuss provided by this book of Revelation. Today, we turn to the uglier side of the redemption story. Or maybe better said, we turn to the biography of the one who carries much of the blame for the uglier side of it.
SPEAKER_01Yes, I agree. Satan and his biography will show that he is the ultimate adversary. We say that he carries much of the blame for the uglier side of the story, but why tell that story now? On the tales of the episode about the glorious seventh trumpet. Well, we've shared bits and pieces of Satan's background in previous episodes, but never the whole thing. We've never really shared how he fits into the timeline of the events of Revelation. But plus, it is also how God wrote the book, right? It's just the next chapter. Right.
SPEAKER_00And that is the reason to do it today. In this episode, we will learn more of Satan's background and what has been going on in the spiritual realm with him over the whole time, since even before creation. Did you hear that? Satan's background, plan, and events are the subject of Revelation chapter 12.
"Flashback" as a Style of Writing
SPEAKER_01What we see in today's study is a type of writing generally referred to as a flashback. This form of nonlinear storytelling is where the writer has already shown you the results of a situation or a conflict, but then he reaches back in time to explain the real origin of it. Stories and movies do this all the time. They show you the big moment or the ending first, then they step back to explain the villain, the conflict, and the deeper story behind it all. I tried to come up with a list of a few movies that could apply to the range of ages in our audience to show you an example. So here are just a few. All right, let's look. The Titanic. The movie begins with the present-day search of the wreck with an elderly lady who had participated on it when it sunk. Then the whole movie goes back to tell the story of the ship and the people on it. That's good. That's one. Saving Private Ryan. The movie opens with an older man at the cemetery, then moves back into the wartime story to describe the impact that World War II had on his family. Alright. And the last one, Star Wars, as a franchise, this movie uses the flashback technique on a momentous scale. We meet Darth Vader as the villain in the very first movie, and then see him through two additional movies before the fourth movie in the sequence actually steps back to tell his whole life story up until that point.
SPEAKER_00I knew he was going to mention Star Wars. He had to mention Star Wars. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Well, scripture shows us this exact style of writing at this point in the book of Revelation. We are at a point in the story, the end of the tribulation, at the glorious seventh trumpet, where we have already talked about how it ends, and now we're going to go back to see a more thorough description of what was going on behind the scenes over that timeline. That is a really good way to look at it.
SPEAKER_00So let's get started with chapter 12. We
How Revelation 12 Fits in the Timeline
SPEAKER_00could go ahead and read the whole chapter, which is 17 verses, but I think that might be too much at once. So what we'll do is break the verses into short segments or chunks and just go through them. Revelation chapter 12, verses 1 through 4 says, quote, and a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of getting birth.
SPEAKER_01Stop, stop, stop. Hang on a minute. The first thing that's really hard to understand with this chapter, besides the style of writing, is the way it starts. It's like out of nowhere we just start hearing about this new vision. John never really says anything about this new thought. Usually, you know, we're accustomed to him saying something like, um, therefore, or and then I saw something, right? Or even says, I was given another vision about something. Right. But in this situation, he doesn't do any of that. He just kind of matter-of-factly writes that these signs were in front of him. It is pretty bizarre, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I agree, it is. The transition from chapter 11 to chapter 12 isn't really as clear as maybe we'd like it to be. Um, so at first we're left trying to understand just how these statements, in fact, this whole chapter, fits into the chronology and the narrative that we've been reading and studying.
SPEAKER_01As you say, the issue isn't the content, but it's kind of the placement. Once we have read the whole chapter and digested its content, we hope it will become apparent that what this chapter is all about is background information about the spiritual battle that is going on and has been going on since before the creation of earth. We will learn another piece of the spiritual significance of the birth, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, and we will also learn that Satan has been at this spiritual battle from the very beginning and for a long time. I want to offer a potential suggestion as to why the verses are structured this way in the book. You know, to answer why God brings Satan's biography in at this point in the book. Maybe, just maybe, it's because of the events at the end of chapter 12 and not the beginning. The material in Revelation chapter 12 is critical to fueling the events at the end of Revelation chapter 11. I know we haven't read all of chapter 12 yet, but remember, last week we studied about the seventh trumpet and God's plan coming to a game-changing moment. Well, at that point, we know there will be the battle of Armageddon to take place. Well, the end of chapter 12 in verse 17, which we're going to read in detail in a minute, says, then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God's commands and hold their testimony about Jesus. Maybe chapter 12 is trying to tell us in a quick flashback that at this moment in the time of the blowing of the seventh trumpet, that Satan's plan, as described by all of chapter 12, merges into the storyline.
SPEAKER_00If that's the case, then when we read Revelation 12, we understand that we are aligning the endpoints of the narrative in the big picture, which have been discussed, we've been discussing. So let's keep going. We'll push to understand the particular characters in the verses as best we can in hopes to understand the significance to the seventh trumpet in the overall story.
Define 3 Characters of the Story
SPEAKER_00So can we move on then? So back to the verses. So I'm going to start again with Revelation chapter 12, verses 1 through 4. Quote And a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems, his tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. So I think we see three main characters in these first four verses that we just read. I believe I see a pregnant woman, a great red dragon, and a male child.
SPEAKER_01Yep, yep. The first character is a pregnant woman. Is this woman real or symbolic? At first glance, because Revelation is full of signs and symbols, we should expect that this woman represents something bigger than just an individual person. The text itself says that a great sign appeared in heaven, which tells us we're looking at a symbolic imagery meant to communicate a larger truth. It seems to me this woman is connected to the people through whom God brought forth his redemptive plan into the world. She's pictured with heavenly imagery, the sun, the moon, twelve stars, which point back to God's covenant people and the larger story of Israel. So this is not just a random woman in a vision. She represents the covenant line and the people of promise through which the Messiah would come. The message is not hard to see, and there's no real doubt that this figure of a woman is the nation of Israel, the faithful, covenant-keeping remnant of Israel. We know of leaders who teach the woman is considered to be Mary, or even maybe the church. But we find these answers don't seem to fit the full picture of the text. Mary was, of course, the human mother of Jesus, but the imagery here is much larger than one individual woman. And while the church is deeply connected to Christ, the church did not give birth to the Messiah. Israel did that, and more specifically, it was through the covenant people of Israel, and ultimately through the faithful remnant within Israel, that that promised child, male child, came into the world. So the woman is best understood as a symbolic picture of Mother Israel in her God-ordained role in the redemptive story.
SPEAKER_00If you go back to Joseph's dream in Genesis chapter 37, you can see the analogy that this woman is Israel. You can also read Micah chapter 4, verse 9 and 10, and Micah chapter 5, verse 2 through 4 as well to see Israel called a woman in labor. You will have to read those passages on your own. We're not going to do that today. So we believe the first character, the pregnant woman, is Israel. Who's the second character mentioned?
SPEAKER_01So the second character is the great red dragon. And we will plainly see that this dragon is Satan or the devil. We are directly told that fact in verse 9, which we haven't read yet. We will do that in a few minutes. There's no dispute about who this dragon is. And make sure you understand this point. This dragon is not just a symbol for evil. This dragon is not the systems or structures surrounding evil. The dragon in this vision is a real supernatural being. The dragon is Satan himself. And we are told some additional information about the dragon. Here in verse 3, we're told that this great red dragon is shown with seven heads and ten horns. And on his heads there are seven diadems. I don't like the word diadems. I like the word crowns. But scripture says diadems. I may say crowns, but anyway.
SPEAKER_00No doubt the red dragon is Satan. We'll talk in more detail about these elements of the description of the dragon in future episodes. Those components and history are more about the kingdom and systems which are used by Satan. As you likely know, Satan is the major adversary in this story and this spiritual war. We will discuss those heads, those horns, and those crowns later on. For now, we want to stay focused on the idea this red dragon is Satan. The next character in the story is a male child. Mark, who is this male child?
SPEAKER_01The identity of the male child is really not difficult to know or to determine. This child is Jesus Christ. Similarly, with the sourcing used to identify Satan, the clearest reason is found in a few verses later in chapter in Revelation chapter 12, verse 5, where we are told that this male child is the one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. That is a direct messianic reference taken from Psalm 2, a passage long understood to speak of the Messiah and his rightful rule over the nations. So this male child has to be Jesus.
SPEAKER_00No doubt. No doubt. The male child is certainly Jesus. So even though the imagery is symbolic and given to us in a cosmic vision, the identities of the characters are easy to determine. The woman represents Israel, the red dragon represents Satan, and the male child is Jesus, the promised Messiah who came through Israel and who will one day rule the world in righteousness. So
Spiritual War Summarized in 6 verses
SPEAKER_00now, with these three characters defined, I think we should reread the verses and add a few more verses to it. So let's read Revelation chapter 12, verses 1 through 6 this time. It says, quote, and a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains, in the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and on his head seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was caught up to God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God in which she is to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
SPEAKER_01Those extra two verses in the in the passage you read seem to help the first four, and they give us a summary of the main events of the Bible's redemption story from Genesis all the way to the seventh trumpet. This scene is shown to John almost as though God is projecting a scene of an epic battle between Satan and the woman as a panoramic visual against the backdrop of heavens. What a scene John must have been shown. He was in the spiritual realm, and their picture of this whole story was really going on right there in front of him. The verses cover all of time and are talking about all these events that really happened so many years apart. And you can see that the end of this six-verse summary aligns with the very point we made at the beginning where we have landed on the seventh trumpet, just at the end of the 1,260 days of the Great Tribulation.
SPEAKER_00So really, Revelation 12, 1 through 6 so far has just retold the events from the other 66 books of the Bible. Alright? I get that. Before we move forward with any more of Revelation 12, I want to ask you a question, though. Who is Satan? Why does God allow Satan to exist? Why didn't God just destroy him immediately when he rebelled? If that had happened, none of the world's pain and agony would have had to exist.
SPEAKER_01Those are great fundamental questions that we need to work through and understand. Let's start with this doctrinal-like idea. God wants our faith in him to be real. I'll say it again. God wants our faith in him to be real. Said another way, God wants us to love him like he loves us. God did not create human beings to be robots who simply go through motions with no choice, no testing, and no opportunity to genuinely love and trust him. Real faith and love is revealed when there is something else to choose. When we have a chance to resist, to deceive, or to choose a competing truth, then God can tell from our actions where our hearts lie.
SPEAKER_00I think that's why we said earlier that Satan carries much of the blame for the uglier side of this story, but he doesn't carry all of it. Mankind had the capacity to rebel, and what was in mankind's heart was potentially evil. Satan just exposed it and brought it out of mankind. Satan is a created being who rebelled against God, and now he stands as the adversary, the accuser, and the deceiver. God allows him to exist for a time, not because God is weak and not because evil is winning, but because God is unfolding a much bigger plan in history. Our hearts and faith were and are being tested.
SPEAKER_01And that helps answer the question of why God did not destroy Satan immediately. God is not in a hurry. He is allowing history to run its course so that rebellion can fully show its nature, and so that obedience, worship, and faithfulness can be seen as a real and meaningful act. In the end, no one will ever be able to say that God was unfair in his judgment when he finally brings Satan and unrepentant sinners to their end.
SPEAKER_00So when we come to Revelation 12, we're not just reading about a strange red dragon in symbolic language who was placed in the story by God. We're being reminded that behind the events of human history there is a real spiritual conflict taking place. Satan opposed God's purposes because he wanted to corrupt or disrupt what God was doing.
SPEAKER_01God wants mankind to have a choice to love him or to choose to not love him. One way that can happen is to test it. In 1 Peter 1, verses 6 and 7, it says that various trials in our lives prove the genuineness of our faith. If there were no choices and all things were rosy all the time, it might never be known that when push comes to shove, would we still love God?
SPEAKER_00As you said, mankind is given a choice. Either choose God or don't. You have your opportunity to show where you stand, make your choice. Our desire is that all of you choose God, choose Jesus. We pray that is the decision you make, but you have to decide. No one else can do it for you. But I digress.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Preach on, really. Now, here's the ironic part of this whole multi-level redemption story. Do you know Lucifer, the created being that eventually becomes Satan, was also given a choice. God did not create evil in Lucifer. God did not make Lucifer an evil guy. In my opinion, Lucifer was not created just so our world could have a bad guy. Lucifer made his own decision and he became evil as a result. Listen
Lucifer's Biography
SPEAKER_01to this set of scriptures that gives a summary of Lucifer's biography, his story. In John chapter 1, verses 1 to 4, Scripture is quite clear that all heaven and earth were created through Jesus Christ. Jesus, as part of the Trinity, was higher in the order than all of the other creatures in creation, because he was God. In Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 to 16, together with Ezekiel chapter 28, verse 11, we learn when Lucifer was created, he was created good. It says he was the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. In Job 38 and in Genesis 3, we see that angels witnessed creation. So then Lucifer would have seen God create earth and Adam and Eve. We know mankind was made in God's image, that God breathed life. Into our bodies, and that we bear his likeness. We also know that Adam, in that creation, was given dominion over the earth. Alright? In Ezekiel chapter 28, verse 13, we learn Lucifer was then placed in Eden, the garden of God, so God had a task for him and placed him there. Alright? In the Bible, the term watcher appears most clearly in Daniel chapter 4, verses 13, 17, and 23, where Nebuchadnezzar describes a watcher or a holy one coming down from heaven to announce God's judgment on him. In that setting, a watcher is a heavenly being who observes and carries out God's decree. We learned from an earlier episode that watchers were watching over earth and God's creation. This is important because ultimately Satan, plus a subset of these watchers, turn against God, and we're going to come back to that point in a second. Gordon and I have done a lot of analysis for this episode. In fact, I would say we have really learned a good amount about Satan as we've prepared this discussion. This subsection has changed about four times through our efforts. We believe somewhere on this timeline that we've set up, Lucifer chooses to rebel.
SPEAKER_00Scripture says pride was found in Lucifer. But the actual reason behind that pride is not so directly cited in the Bible. Some people have said to us that God didn't tell us the reason, so it's not important for us to know the reason. They go on to say we should just see that pride was the stated answer, and that's all we need to know.
SPEAKER_01I understand that position, but I, you know I like data. But I think understanding how Satan was thinking might actually help explain what was going on in his head and his heart. Satan's rebellion is not just an old story about a fallen angel. His choices are a similar set of lies which humanity continues to face in our daily lives. Refusing God's order, rejecting God's design, or grasping for a divine place that God has not given us. We run into all these exact same ideas today. At the center of all of it is sin, the desire to rule self instead of submitting to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00We tossed around a couple of discussion points behind the pride of Satan. The one we should consider first is found in Ezekiel chapter 28, verses 15 through 18. When you get a chance, go and read verses 11 through 19, the full text around those verses, to see it. Scripture says this in those four verses in the middle, starting with 15, quote, You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade, you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned. So I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground. I exposed you before kings to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries. So I brought fire out from your midst. It consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. So Scripture says Lucifer became full of himself. It says he corrupted his wisdom for the sake of his splendor. The message, Bible, says it this way Your beauty went to your head. You corrupted wisdom by using it to get worldly fame. So we see he did this to himself.
SPEAKER_01It is possible that added to this thought, and in conjunction with Lucifer's decision, we see Adam and Eve being given dominion on our planet. Mankind is being given authority over the earth with all animals and plant life. And we possibly can speculate that Lucifer believed that that space was his space and his authority. Another thought is that Lucifer realized the image bearers, i.e. Adam and Eve, mankind, would overtake or surpision and authority. With full disclosure, I want you to know my thoughts are speculative, but I think it is possible Lucifer did not like what he could see was happening with mankind's future. If you read in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 2 and 3, you see humanity will judge the world and judge angels. And in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 12, it says, If we endure, we, mankind, will reign with Jesus Christ. Alright. It also could be that Lucifer saw how God was adored and worshipped by all the host of heaven, and he became jealous of all that attention. Let's actually read verses from Isaiah chapter 14. The verses are aimed at the king of Babylon, but you certainly can see God speaking directly to Satan. Scripture says this quote, How you are fallen from heaven, O daystar Son of Dawn, how you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low. You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven above the stars of God. I will set my throne on high. I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High.
SPEAKER_00As Mark mentioned, these thoughts mentioned here are our best attempt at describing what we see going on with Lucifer. The Bible really doesn't clearly teach us Lucifer's motivations. It says that pride was found in him. And we all know that the Bible says that pride comes before the fall. That is from Proverbs chapter 16, verse 18. So, to summarize, Lucifer got bigheaded in his own beauty and rolled, saw Adam and Eve replace him, knew that Adam and Eve were the image-bearers of God's likeness, and rejected God's future design and plan. We believe Lucifer was not going to be subservient to humanity. Remember, for Satan, mankind was made a little lower than the angels. And he was disgusted and repulsed by the idea God's plan would allow mankind to eventually rule and reign with Jesus. That's right.
SPEAKER_01So ultimately, Satan finds himself on earth in the garden after his rebellion. In an act of defiance, Satan misinforms, dupes, or tempts Adam and Eve to disrupt God's perfection and to stain mankind with sin so they could never achieve God's goal for them. And this is where the commentary on the watchers fits in. A subset of these watchers goes along with Satan in his disruptive actions. In Genesis chapter 3, verses 1 through 15, and Romans chapter 5, verse 12, we know sin leads to spiritual and physical death. My assumption is that Lucifer knew that too. Then God gives the Genesis chapter 3, verse 15 prophecy on how sin will be overcome by a Savior, a Messiah further infuriating Satan, especially the part about the seed of woman crushing Satan's head. Lucifer becomes our adversary and accuser. These verses from Job 1, 6 through 12, Zechariah chapter 3, 1 through 2, Revelation chapter 12, 9 and 10 support that idea. And finally, it's clear Satan, the former Lucifer, has been doing everything in his power to stop God's redemption story from unfolding the way God wants it to happen. This includes efforts with the DNA corruption, which we discussed way back a few episodes ago, the attempts to eliminate the nation of Israel at every turn in history, the temptation of Jesus himself in the desert, and finally taking control of earth in the end times.
Lucifer Made His Choice
SPEAKER_01Alright, I'll stop now. That's a lot of data, a lot of background story. The point is Lucifer made his decision. He made his choice. And through his decision, all of mankind has been and is being impacted. He became evil on his own. God did not make him that way. Here in Revelation chapter 12, we see the summary of this fact. Satan has known about a Savior from Israel from as far back as Genesis chapter 3.15. We see in today's text that Satan has wanted to devour the male child born from the woman since that moment.
SPEAKER_00So back to what we said earlier. God did not simply destroy Satan. Instead, he is using Satan to find out what is in mankind's heart. The question many people ask is, why do bad things happen to good people? Remember the answer? There are no good people. But if God can find faith in a person's heart to believe in him and his words, then he uses it to redeem him or her. God is God and His ways and words are truth and righteousness. Whether we are tested and face trials or not. But if we do face troubles and doubts and choose to remain faithful, then it shows God what is truly in our heart. We believe that God has allowed the adversary to continue to be around in order to separate the wheat from the tares. God will find those who are interested in following Him and loving Him despite the trials and tests. There are many places in the Bible where the enemies of God's plans and purposes and his people are referred to in ways that show that Satan is the one that is the ultimate adversary. He is often cited to be the one who is behind all these various enemies. He is the one holding the puppet strings of the earthly adversaries who try to thwart the plans and purposes of God.
SPEAKER_01When Satan rebelled against God, he was defeated, but not annihilated. His fate was sealed, but he was not destroyed on the spot. Timothy Alberino writes in his book titled Birthright, he writes this the dragon's fate was foretold from the very lips of the Maker in one of the most remarkable prophecies of Scripture. He's referring obviously to a verse that we've mentioned many times. That verse is Genesis chapter 3, verse 15. Alberino calls that verse the dragon slayer prophecy. Genesis 3.15 says, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. This prophecy foretells of the dragon's defeat at the hands of a man born through a woman. We know that this man is Jesus Christ, who is born through a woman, Eve, and then Mary, but also Israel.
Unpacking Revelation 12
SPEAKER_00So now back to Revelation 12. Those verses we just read span the time from creation all the way to the end times. And these six verses list five major items that we're going to look at in detail. First, the dragon's tail swept a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to earth. Second, the dragon stood before the woman so that when she bore her son he might devour him. Third, then the child was actually born. And the verses describe this child as the one who will rule the nations with a rod of iron. Fourth, the dragon could not touch the child as he was caught up to God and to his throne. And then fifth, and then the woman fled into the wilderness where God will protect her and nourish her for twelve hundred and sixty days. So Mark, let's walk through each of these items and make sure we have a clear understanding of each of them.
SPEAKER_01Okay, as we've said, the first six verses of Revelation 12 are a summary of Satan's fall from grace. We covered a lot of this with Satan's biography, but we want to discuss these points within the context of Revelation 12's text.
SPEAKER_00Alright, the dragon's tail swept a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to earth. Alright? That language in these first few verses doesn't include any detail describing why. It just matter-of-factly states a fact. We believe this sentence in these summary verses is pointing to the original rebellion of the cherub angel named Lucifer. We believe this sentence is pointing to the story you have always heard, which we talk about, talked about a little earlier in this episode. Pride was found in Lucifer, who wanted to be worshipped as God. He wanted to rise and take the place of God. He led a rebellion, and that rebellion was stopped. As punishment, Lucifer was exiled to earth and took many other angels with him who had joined him in that rebellion. For the record, this exile is not the same war in heaven, which we will read about in the rest of the chapter.
SPEAKER_01The rebellion that led to that exile was a full-scale rebellion that included many other angels that sided with the dragon, and they were all cast down to earth. But I don't like that word exile to describe what actually happened. What do you mean he was exiled?
SPEAKER_00All right, by that term, I mean that he was cast out of the heavenly host. He was removed from participating on God's team of angelic beings. He was no longer part of God's servants. Or conversely, he was sent on his way to do what he would do in opposition to God.
SPEAKER_01Alright, so the dragon found himself outside of God's plans. I agree with what you say happened. We know Satan wasn't really exiled at that point because we know that Satan still had some form of access to God, but his primary place of existence was moved out of heaven towards earth. Then God created mankind and planned on giving him dominion over the earth that he created. Satan was not happy about that plan, and we've said that. Thus he came up with a plan to bring mankind down. We know that he was successful in tempting Adam and Eve to sin and getting sin brought into the world. But God was not surprised and already had a plan of redemption in mind. This is when the dragonslayer prophecy was given. So Satan stood before the woman so that when she bore her son he might devour him. This son was the one who was supposed to redeem mankind.
SPEAKER_00The success of God's prophecy in Genesis 3 verse 15, which we have said is called the Dragonslayer prophecy, that depended on a man who could defeat sin and death. Satan heard the prophecy and became determined to destroy that man before he could do anything. He nudged King Herod to try and kill him as a baby. Then he nudged the Jewish leaders to convict him and crucifying him to stop him.
SPEAKER_01Satan even came to Jesus and tried to get him to forego the plans and purposes of God and to take an easier path. Satan tempted Jesus to not follow through on God's plans for what he needed him to do. But when Jesus was born to Virgin Mary, he was a fully man, but fully God as well. He was destined to redeem mankind by living a sinless life and dying a death which would pay for the sins of mankind and provide a way for redemption. Since Jesus was fully man, Satan thought he had a chance. But we also know since Jesus was fully God, Satan really had no chance. Jesus was never going to waver from the path set for him by God. He fulfilled the plan, and God resurrected Jesus and placed him back on his throne in heaven.
SPEAKER_00As per the prophecy, Satan bruised Jesus' heel by succeeding in getting him killed or crucified. But little did Satan know that God would resurrect Jesus right according to plan, thus defeating death and providing the way for others to defeat death.
SPEAKER_01And the last piece is that there's more to the story that is still taking place. The summary seems to jump to the end times. The text in the final part of these first verses is language we should recognize. A few episodes ago we did one on the remnant of Israel, and we saw how God was going to seal and protect them for the final three and a half years. Well, that is the 1,260 days being mentioned here in verse 6. The story in Satan's epic battle is not done. Satan knows his time is short and will try and do everything at his disposal to stop God's plans.
SPEAKER_00So with all of that detail and those pieces of the big picture, we learned about the overall battle between the dragon and God. And then the language we read next seems to do its own flashback within the chapter itself. The overall story is vital to understand, but the point of revelation is eschatology or the study of these end times. So I think what we get from the rest of the chapter is more detail pointing us to what we will see and need to understand during this very trying time we know as the Great Tribulation.
SPEAKER_01We have said so much about the multi-layering technique used in the verses of Revelation. You know, the swim lane effect. It is so strange. This chapter seems to have its own version of that effect. The final 11 verses of this chapter back up within Satan's own biography to fill in some of the details of the first six verses.
SPEAKER_00Before we move on to the remainder of the chapter, you should be thinking to yourself that we have not yet discussed those seven heads or ten horns or seven diadems or crowns, and you'd be correct. For our purpose as in studying what comes in the next chapters of Revelation, those heads and horns and diadems are absolutely critical to understand. And we will discuss them fully, but we believe it will be best to talk about them with the rest of the chapter or possibly at the end of this episode. So hold that thought.
SPEAKER_01Okay,
Satan's 2nd War in Heaven Explained
SPEAKER_01let's move on to the next verses in chapter 12. We're going to break the remainder into two sections. First, we're going to read Revelation chapter 12, verses 7 through 12. It says this, quote, Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, 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. And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before God, and they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they love not their lives even unto death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short, unquote. So right away you might notice that we seem to be going over the same ground that we've already covered. Verse 7 starts again with this war in heaven. You might think that this war is the same thing we discussed earlier in the rebellion of Satan and his cohorts against God. And it does sound like that could be true, but we believe this war is different from that rebellion war. Help us understand it.
SPEAKER_00All right, so I want you to hear again what he said right there. And this is a critical time to understand what we're talking about in this episode. You might think we're going back over that same war. We don't think so. So listen carefully. So, by way of explanation, I want to read a few passages from the Old Testament. They'll likely be very familiar passages, but should help to set the scene for the discussion. So Job chapter 1, verse 6 through 9 says, Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, From where have you come? Satan answered the Lord. Lord and said, from going to and from on the earth, and from walking up and down on it. And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Does Job fear God for no reason? End quote. So we're all familiar with that story. But from it today I want you to understand two points. At the time Job's story happened, Satan still had access to heaven and to God. And the second point is that Satan used that access to accuse Job and point out to God exactly who Job was, which was a weak human being who only loved God when God was good to him. By the way, he would say the very same thing about me and you and all of us.
SPEAKER_01And then let's read one verse from the book of Zechariah. Zechariah 3, verse 1, says this, quote, then he showed me Joshua the priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him, unquote. Again, here we see that Satan had access to God, and once again he stood there for the very purpose of accusing someone.
SPEAKER_00From these two passages, we learn who Satan is and what he is doing. He is an accuser. He accuses people before God. He is telling God that people that love him only love him because of what God does for them. Satan was trying to condemn all men because of their sin. He was in God's ear night and day accusing us of not being worthy for God to love us and bless us. And guess what? He was right. We had no leg to stand on to refute the words he was saying. Let me give you one more example. In the New Testament, Luke chapter 22, verse 31, is Jesus talking to Simon Peter. It says, quote, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat, end quote. Satan apparently, at the time Jesus was living on earth, still had access to God at this time. And he was still accusing each and every one of God's children of not being good enough or strong enough or able to measure up. And he was still correct. Remember, this was the New Testament, but this was still before Jesus had gone to the cross, but that did not last forever. There are a couple verses from the book of John that help us to see this idea properly. Jesus was very close to going to the cross and he was teaching his disciples about what was going to happen. He was troubled because he knew what his death was going to look like and feel like. For today, I just want to read a piece of his words. He says in verse 27 and then in verse 31, quote, For this purpose I have come to this hour. Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out, end quote. Jesus is pointing to the cross, which was right around the corner. He is pointing to his death and resurrection as a time when something is going to change. We all obviously know what changed for us. Jesus defeated death on that cross when he rose from the dead. But I think Jesus says that when that happened, Satan was cast out of heaven and now can no longer stand before God accusing us. He now has no basis for accusing us and our brothers when sin has been defeated. Romans 8 verse 1 says, There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So now let's reread Revelation 12, 7 through 10, understanding this perspective. So, quote, now war arose in heaven. Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the world, the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. End quote. Jesus is at the right hand of God at this point. Jesus made us worthy. He gave us a way to stand before Almighty God with a robe of righteousness, which is a white robe. Well, so good.
SPEAKER_01Now we can read these two verses that are next with a better understanding. So Revelation chapter 12, verses 11 and 12 say this quote, and they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, for they love not their lives even unto death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short. Here is the response to this good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We don't have to worry about physical death or any of Satan's threats. He cannot harm our soul. And faithful believers take this to heart and love not their lives even unto death.
SPEAKER_00But for those who do not trust God and think that our earthly lives are all there is, they are given words of lamentation and woe. They are warned. The devil will be on the warpath. He will be lashing out since his time is short.
SPEAKER_01In these verses, we get a transition from the time where Jesus defeated sin and death to the end times. I think that verse 11 is specifically putting us in and around the middle of the end times. I think verse 11 is meant to reach back and show us exactly what happens under the opening of the fifth seal. Remember, when that fifth seal is opened, martyrdom is rampant. We've discussed this earlier. Satan's wrath results in faithful saints being martyred. They love not their life even unto death.
Satan's Time is Short
SPEAKER_00And the rest of the chapter tells us what Satan does when he realizes his time is short. So let's read that. Revelation chapter 12, verses 13 to 17 says, quote, And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness to the place where she is to be nourished for a time and times and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus, and he stood on the sand of the sea. We believe these verses are describing what happens in this very short period called the Great Tribulation. This is the twelve hundred and sixty days, or forty-two months, or three and a half years we have discussed so many times.
SPEAKER_01The big picture is that Satan has been trying to thwart the Dragonslayer prophecy ever since Genesis chapter 3. He pursued the woman Israel since God chose Abraham. He tried at every generation to derail the bloodline of Jesus. Then he tried to knock Jesus off his path. Then on this side of the cross, he can only lash out at people who are the children of God. He comes after the nation of Israel and the followers of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00Keep in mind that Satan is not omniscient. He does not know everything God knows. He cannot see into the future and know what God will do. So he has to react to God and God's plan. Put yourself in his shoes. He has to know he is fighting a losing battle, but he is full of pride and arrogance. He might really think he has a chance to defeat God's plans, but he knows he has no other choice but to try his best to fight off his demise. He's trying to prolong his defeat and ultimate death. Verse 14 is interesting. It says that the woman Israel was given two wings of the great eagle, so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, times, and half a time. What do you make of that sentence?
SPEAKER_01Yep, that's an interesting verse, which really ties things to what we've been saying in several of the episodes. There are key words all over the verse which tie things to what God has been saying throughout the whole story of the Bible. The key words are this the woman was given two wings of the great eagle. This language might sound familiar or seem familiar. It is Exodus language. Exodus chapter 19, verse 4 says that God bore the nation of Israel on eagle's wings when he rescued them out of slavery in Egypt. These same words in this chapter of Revelation tell us that God will be doing the same thing here. We believe that this is being done via the sealing of the remnant for the vision in Revelation chapter 7.
SPEAKER_00Yes, we believe that God supernaturally protects the remnant, as we discussed a few episodes ago in the episode about the 144,000.
SPEAKER_01Alright, and the continuing verse says, so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness. We believe the wilderness represents a place of refuge and divine provision, echoing Israel's experience in the Exodus when they were sustained by God in the desert. The wilderness likely represents physical protection. Some scholars suggest this is a literal and specific geographic area where a faithful remnant of Israel might flee to escape persecution during the tribulation period. Locations which have been suggested include Petra in modern-day Jordan, which is an ancient city surrounded by rocky cliffs that could serve as a natural fork fortress. We also know that the word wilderness has frequently been used symbolically to depict Gentile nations, because in most part they are spiritually desolate and apart from the true God. Read Ezekiel chapter 20, verse 35 and 36, which says, I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead with you face to face. This could be interpreted as though Israel is being scattered to the nations of the world. Others interpret the wilderness more figuratively as a place of spiritual dependence on God. This could signify a period of trial where the faithful are sustained only through their reliance on God's provision and protection.
SPEAKER_00And then the end of it says, where she is to be nourished for a time, times and half a time. So this language puts this whole scene directly in the Great Tribulation. Time, times, and half a time, which is three and a half years, which is 42 months, which is 1260 days. This term comes from the book of Daniel. Daniel 12, 7 is within the final long prophecy given to the prophet Daniel, where he was told that this final time of Jacob's trouble would last for a time, times and half a time. In verse 15, it says the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman to keep her away like a flood. What does that mean?
SPEAKER_01Well, I think we we need to take verse 15 and 16 together. They appear to me to be the same kind of thought. I believe the two verses are imagery related to a type of military attack. If we read Isaiah chapter 8, verse 7 and 8 in the Old Testament, it it says some stuff about floods. So let's read it. Quote, Therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the river, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory, and it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, and it will sweep on into Judah. It will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the next. In these verses, the king of Assyria and his army are directly compared to a flooding river overflowing its banks and sweeping into the land. The text is clearly descriptive of a military attack. Using the Old Testament to justify the New Testament means that here in verses Revelation chapter 12, 15 and 16, we probably have a military attack. Now it's very interesting when I read verse 16. If Isaiah's passages are a type of a flood-like military assault against Israel, then Revelation 12, verse 16 may picture God's protection through earthly means. The earth coming to the woman's aid could represent a nation raised up to help preserve Israel from destruction. One possible modern-day parallel is America standing with Israel through defensive protection systems. This includes the missile defense systems we've given to Israel or they've purchased in their protective dome. Those systems have helped absorb and neutralize incoming attacks as though they were swallowing up the water.
SPEAKER_00It is critical to remember in the timing of Revelation 12, we were at the end of the tribulation period, looking back on what we what will have already occurred. It will be much easier to identify the attack described from verses 15 and 16 looking backwards. We will see that Satan's attempt to destroy Jerusalem and Israel has not worked. Here in verse 17, Scripture tells us Satan was unsuccessful with his attack on Jerusalem. So he has turned his attack towards those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. In other words, having failed to sweep away Israel, the dragon redirects his war against faithful believers, those who remain loyal to God and openly cling to Jesus Christ. His rage will not be randomly allocated. It will be aimed at anyone who belongs to God and refuses to deny the testimony of Jesus. This is all so interesting because I see this point connected back to the beginning of the tribulation where we saw the white horse in Seal 1 setting the stage of deception that got us here
Conclusion
SPEAKER_00in the first place. So, thank you so much for listening to us today. We are closing in on the end of this season. Next week, we will conclude season two with an incredible episode on the first beast out of the sea or the beast that rises out of the sea. We'll get real details on the Antichrist and start to talk about his false prophet. You can subscribe to our podcast through the applications follow us button wherever you get your podcast. Also, please tell others about us if you can. Our main method of spreading our message is through fellow believers who are willing to forward it on. Please share our podcast with anyone you think might listen. Remember also that you can send us an email to notify at onguard244.com if you want to be on an email distribution list to receive notification of new episodes and seasons. Please update your spam controls to make sure our notification does not get redirected there. Our notification will come from no reply at onguard244.com. Once again, you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and iHeartRadio currently. Also, you can find us on Instagram and Facebook or at our website, www.onguard244.com. If you have comment or an idea, then send those messages to comment at onguard244.com. Thank you very much for listening. See you next week. See you next week.
