hi
do you believe that the war in heaven is future or past?
Hi Zeke,
I believe that the war in heaven spoken of in this passage of the Scriptures took place as during Jesus' ministry and while he was sacrificed and lay dead in the tomb. The Scriptures here seem to show the working out of the life or our Messiah. That the woman (Israel) gave birth to the male child (Savior) and Satan stood ready to devour him, but was unable. And because of the ensuing war he was cast down to the earth. This doesn't mean that he hadn't ever been there before, of course, but in past references it seems that he was always able to return. Now, he has been cast out and unable to return and as the Scripture goes on to explain, he now wages war on the earth against those who hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Beginning in verse 5 of chapter 12 we find that the male child is born and then God protects Israel for a period of 1,260 days, which would be the period of Jesus ministry to Israel. I think it is to be understood that the desert, the place of no faith was prepared for her by God. All that took place during that 1,260 days was God's preparation of Israel for the final sacrifice for sin. Israel had to turn it's back on the Lord. It had been written hundreds of years before that they would and that the Christ would die. If Israel had not, by the preparation of God, turned their backs on their Messiah, then God's word would be a lie. All the prophecies of the Messiah's death and sacrifice would not have come true. Friend, the 1,260 days and the preparation of Israel by God had to happen just as it did and God has always used His people to carry out His plan of bringing salvation to the ends of the earth. Everything, yes absolutely everything that we trust to be the truth of God has been delivered to the world through God's people Israel. Even the final sacrifice for sin comes to us by way of Israel.
When God promised Abraham that he would be a blessing unto all the nations of the earth, Abraham had no idea the grand scope and measure of all that that would entail. But God did! God knew from the moment He called Abram of Ur, that He was about to set that man's foot to work out over several centuries a plan that would include God giving through them all that He wanted us to know and then providing the sacrifice for our sin through Israel. Israel is still God's chosen and while He has often railed against them for their continued faithlessness and stiff-necked attitue, God's plan has prevailed. His will has been fulfilled through Abraham and all of his descendents.
The war in heaven was the sacrifice and death of God's Son and his resurrection was the culmination of that war. And John then writes: Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power of our God and the authority of his Christ." That moment came when Jesus gave his life and was then resurrected from the grave. And then it continues: "For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God dayd and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Jesus' blood was available the moment that he shed it upon the earth and the word of their testimony is speaking of the gospel. "They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." Who is they? It is the disciples. For each one of them died a martyr's death or was threatened with such. Yet they did not shrink back. They held and proclaimed the gospel of truth even unto death. "Therefore rejoice, you heaves and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, (the sea always refers to the people of the earth), because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury because he know that his time is short."
Friend, we are living in the time of the devil's fury now! And have been since Jesus resurrection. There is nothing yet in all the realm of this creation that has angered the devil more than the fact that God has won! His plan has been set! His salvation has come and been made known to all the inhabitants of the earth. No longer is it just Israel who knows God, but now the whole world has been opened to the gospel of truth.
Then it continues that once the dragon saw that he had been hurled down to the earth, he pursued the woman
who had given birth to the male child. It was done! And Satan is angry and he tried to pursue Israel and he brought Rome against her, and he attempted to destroy her by spewing a river of torrent against her, but the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river of torrent that the dragon had spewed against Israel. This, friend, is the diaspora! The earth shut down Israel and took all of its inhabitants to live among them. Thereby not having them all gathered together in one place where Satan could harm them. No, now they are spread all over the earth and when the dragon saw that he could no longer attack Israel as a single unified body, he turned his attacks against those who would believe the truth. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
Friend, he is right now standing on the shore of the sea. Directing hatred and anger and venom by the sea, (Remember the sea means the people), towards those who keep to the testimony of truth. We are living in those days!
That is how understand John's vision that is explained in Chapter 12 of the Revelation. All that it speaks of occured during the time of our Lord's birth, ministry and death and then finished by explaining what is happening after that.
God bless you.
IN Christ, Ted
