My aim here is to walk you through verses 12-17. As always, I want to show you what these verses say, what these verses mean, and in the end, what and how these verses apply to you today pre-rapture. I am going to give you three consequences of Satan’s having been cast out of the second heaven down to planet earth during the last half of the tribulation. And in essence, what you are going to see is that Satan’s defeat in this upcoming war and his being cast down to earth, will fuel his rage against humanity for the remainder of the tribulation period, which, at this point, is only another three-and-a-half years.
Consequence #1: When Satan is banned from the second heaven he will pour out his wrath on the inhabitants of planet earth.
Verse 12 says, “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!” I want you to notice that we have two opposite emotions going on here. On the one hand, when Satan is cast out of the second heaven down to planet earth, we have heaven rejoicing – “rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them!” They are glad. They are delighted. They are happy. They are joyful. All because Satan has been defeated and cast out of the second heaven forever!
But, on the other hand, we see “woe”. Woe is being expressed because Satan has been cast down to the earth – “But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you.” Woe is an expression of lamentation, of grief, and of distress. It’s a word of warning to indicate that a time of misery and misfortune and anguish and gloom and tragedy and trouble and adversity and difficulty and affliction is coming. And it’s coming to the earth because Satan has been cast down to it.
The reason woe is expressed here is because when Satan is cast out of the second heaven down to the earth John tells us that it will be “in great wrath.” In other words, Satan will not be a very happy camper when he is defeated and forced out of the second heaven, and cast down to the earth. When that happens he will take his hatred and irritation and anger and frustration and resentment and vengeance and displeasure and rage and fury out on the inhabitants of planet earth.
The reason Satan will have such fury against the inhabitants of the earth, isn’t simply because he was defeated, it’s because when Satan is banned from the second heaven, he will then know that his time is short on the earth. That’s why John says, “because he knows that his time is short!” You may ask, how does Satan know that? The reason Satan “knows his time is short” is because he knows Scripture. He knows there is only three-and-a-half years left until he is captured and bound to hell forever and ever. He knows there is one last great battle that is to come – the battle of Armageddon – and will be using what remaining time he has to build an army to make ready for this battle in hopes to overcome Christ. And knowing his time is short, he will also pour his wrath out on this planet in a way this planet has never seen before.
Consequence #2: When Satan is banned from the second heaven, knowing his time is short, he will increase his efforts to destroy Israel.
To explain this I want to walk you through verses 13-16 one verse at a time, because there is a lot of imagery to those verses. Verse 13 says, “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.” What John is saying is that when Satan is cast out of the second heaven he will continue to seek the destruction of Israel just as he always has.
Then, in verse 14, John says, “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.” What John is indicating here is that while Israel makes their journey to Petra in the wilderness, in order to flee Jerusalem, Satan will attack them. However, Satan will fail. The reason he will fail is because Israel will be under the protection of God. The phrase “the two wings of the great eagle” is a metaphor that we see in Exodus 19:4 that indicates that even though Satan will attempt to harm Israel, as they flee Jerusalem and make their journey to Petra, Israel will escape unharmed by Satan’s attack, which many scholars think this attack will be in the form of military warfare (missiles and such). The phrase “a time, and times, and half a time” is a reference to the remaining three and a half years left in the Tribulation, which tells us that Israel will remain in Petra for the remaining length of the Tribulation under the protection of God.
Of course, this does mean Satan will stop attacking Israel. In verse 15, John says, “The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood.” According to scholars, this symbolizes a different kind of attack on Israel. A different type of attempt to destroy Israel. It will not be with the use of military warfare. Instead, Satan will implore spiritual warfare. It will be through false teaching. He will attempt to destroy Israel by infiltrating Petra with a flood of false teachers who prophesy lies and be able to perform miraculous signs to try to mislead as many Jews as they can away from Jesus.
But even then, Satan will fail. In verse 16, John writes, “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.” This is symbolic of the time a man named Korah attempted to lead a revolt against Moses and Aaron in Numbers 16. When they did, God, in His anger, opened up the earth, and they were swallowed whole. What John is saying here in Revelation 12:16 is that even though Satan, through a flood of false teachers, will attempt to mislead Jews from Christ, God will protect Israel from being misled, and Satan will fail.
So, in essence, what John is saying in verses 13-16 is this: when Satan is banned from heaven for good, Satan will attempt to destroy Israel, while they are going to Petra and while they are in Petra, by military warfare and by false prophets. But Israel will be under the protection of God for the remainder of the tribulation, and ultimately Satan will be unable to harm them.
Consequence #3: And lastly, having been cast out of the second heaven, Satan will not only attempt to destroy those Jews who follow Jesus. He will also attempt to destroy the church, meaning non-Jewish believers.
Verse 17 says, “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.”
There are some who believe John is only talking about Israel here. But I am under the impression that these other offspring include Jews and non-Jews. I believe this refers to anyone post-rapture who has come to believe that Jesus is the Christ and has submitted themselves to the Word of God.
My basis for that is Galatians 3:7, “Knowing then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.” It’s also Romans 9:6-8, “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are the children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”
In summary, what those passages mean is this: Not every Jew is a child of God simply because they are from Israel, which is descended from Abraham. It means non-Jews who put their faith in Jesus are grafted into the promise that God made to Abraham in Genesis 12. It means that any person, Jew or non-Jew, that believes that Jesus is the Christ, believes that Jesus is the Son of God, believes that Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of their sins, and has submitted to Jesus’ Lordship, is an offspring of Abraham by faith; and therefore an offspring of Israel, because it is from Abraham that God produced Israel. That being so, I believe the “offspring” mentioned here in Revelation 12:17, is referring to the church in general. The church being, not a building, but any person, Jew and non-Jew, who believes in Jesus and has submitted to Jesus’ Lordship.
So for the last half of the Tribulation, which is the Great Tribulation, it will be intense warfare and persecution and suffering and wrath from Satan, and his earthly and demonic armies, against those who have come to believe in Christ, Jew and non-Jew, in order to destroy them. And of course, this is because Satan knows his end is near, and he is trying to prevent it.
So how does this text apply to us today, pre-rapture? Let me give you four applications here that I think makes this text relatable to us today.
Application 1: The world you live in is already under the control of Satan.
The Bible says in 1 John 5:19, “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” This does not mean that Satan has sovereign power over the world, only God has that. This means that if you are a Christian, you are a child of God living in a world under the power of the Devil. It means that if you are a Christian, you are living in a world that Satan has sway over. It means if you are a Christian, you are living in a world that Satan has the ability to influence; and the way he influences the world is through wickedness, evil, godlessness, and sin. This is why no person, especially, the Christian, should be surprised at the wickedness taking place in our society today. The whole world is being influenced by the Devil.
Application 2: Satan is already trying to destroy the church.
1 Peter 5:8 says, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” That “someone” is you, Christian. In nature, lions, when hunting prey, always look for the weakest and most vulnerable of the herd. That’s how Satan operates today. He is pursuing believers who are spiritually vulnerable and spiritually weak, in order to destroy them. He is actively looking for the weak Christians. Who are those weak Christians?
It’s those Christians who are not growing in holiness. Those Christians who are not growing in the Word of God. Those Christians who are not seriously aiming to be like Christ. Those Christians who are not earnest in prayer. Those Christians who have isolated themselves from fellowshiping with the rest of the church. Those Christians who are more concerned with the things of the world than they are of Christ. Satan seeks out such people in order to destroy them. And I would say, based on my view of the church in general, he is doing a very good job.
So let me ask you: Are you growing in holiness? Are you growing in the Word of God? Are you aiming each day to be more like Christ? Are you earnest in your prayer life? Are you actively fellowshipping with the rest of the church? If your answer is no, then you are in danger of being devoured by the Devil. And I want to urge you to repent and pursue Christ.
Application 3: Satan is already attempting to destroy the church through false teaching.
In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth he told them in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light”. Paul also said that Satan’s servants disguise “themselves as apostles of Christ” (2 Cor. 11:13) and “as servants of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:15), in order to lead people away from Christ (2 Cor. 11:3). And Paul said they do this by proclaiming a different kind of Jesus, a different kind of spirit from the Holy Spirit, and a different kind of gospel altogether (2 Cor. 11:4).
My friends, Satan is continuing this work today. Not every preacher is true and sincere. Many preachers today are simply servants of Satan in disguise, and we must be careful. Satan and his servants, disguising themselves as “apostles of Christ” and “servants of righteousness”, have infiltrated many of our churches today and denominations, and are proclaiming a different kind of Jesus, a different kind of spirit, and a different kind of gospel altogether. We call them the prosperity gospel, new age, universalism, and progressive christianity; all of which are having increasing influence on the evangelical church right now, because Satan’s main agenda, as pointed out by Paul, is to lead people “astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). And he is doing a wonderful job.
So again, let me ask you: has Satan led you astray from a pure and sincere devotion to Jesus? Have you accepted a different kind of Jesus? Have you received a different kind of spirit? Have you accepted a different kind of gospel? A Jesus, a spirit, and a gospel that is contrary to the sound doctrine of Scripture? If you have, I urge you to repent and believe in the gospel of Jesus, according to the Bible, that you might receive the Holy Spirit.
Application 4: This war with Satan is a war you are daily engaged in already.
Paul, in Ephesians 6:12, said, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ladies and gentlemen, have no doubt, we are at war, and that war is with Satan. We are living in the last days, and I believe Satan is already stepping up his game to destroy and deceive because he knows the Rapture is coming.
I believe that everything taking place in our world today is happening as a direct result of this spiritual war. I believe we can look at our world, and even our nation, and even in our churches, and see the spiritual darkness that has overcome it. And I believe what we are seeing with our eyes taking place on this planet is a result of a war that is happening in heavenly places, that we cannot see.
What we, the church, have to understand is who our fight is against. Our fight is not with our President, our Vice President, our Congress, our Senator’s, our House of Representatives, our County Commissioners, our Mayor’s, or our school boards. It’s not with progressive churches or their denominations. It’s not with prosperity gospel preachers. It’s not with the LGBTQ+ community. It’s not with abortion activitist. It’s not with Black Lives Matter. It’s not with Drag Queens. It’s not the gender identity community. These are symptoms of a larger problem. They are small battles of a larger war happening.
Our fight is a real one and it is a spiritual one. It is against Satan and his demonic army, who has influenced the world towards evil and sin and wickedness and godlessness, and is even influencing the church in a like manner. And whether you believe it or not you are in the very center of it.
In fact, it’s your soul that this spiritual war is over. Satan’s agenda is to destroy you, God’s agenda is to save you. Satan’s agenda is to keep you indebted to the penalty of your sin, God’s agenda is to redeem you and pay off that debt. Satan’s agenda is to keep you separated from God by sin, God’s agneda is to reconcile and unite you to Himself. It’s your soul that is at stake here, pre-rapture and post-rapture.
I want to ask you: who is winning this battle for your soul? Do you belong to God or Satan? Are you a child of God or a child of Satan? Understand me, ladies and gentlemen, you belong to one of the two. There’s no room to have it both ways. You cannot belong to both. You either belong to God or belong to the Devil. You are either a child of God or a child of Satan. Whose are you? If you are a child of Satan, repent and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, that you may be saved.
As I close, here’s what I want to remind you of: Jesus has already dealt Satan a critical blow, and you could say THE critical blow.
He did that at the cross. At the cross, Jesus defeated Satan. At the cross, Jesus destroyed Satan’s plan for humanity. At the cross, Jesus died in our place and paid the penalty for our sin. At the cross, by the shedding of Jesus’ blood, our sins have been atoned for.
Which is why we can live in a world influenced by Satan without fear. It’s why we can live in a world swayed by the Devil with hope. It’s why we can live in a world under the power of Lucifer with confidence. It’s why we can live in a world under the dominion of Satan with joy.
As Christians, we can live a fallen, wicked, evil, sinful, godless world, that is under the influence of Satan, with fearlessness and hope and confidence and joy, because through Christ, we are already victorious. We are not victorious because of anything we have done, but victorious because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross! If you are a Christian, you have been set free from the power of Satan’s influence. But, if you’re not a Christian, you remain under the power of the Devil. And if this is you, repent and put your faith in Christ Jesus that you may be set free.