What Happens When Satan Is Cast Out of Heaven?

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Okay, and good to have everybody stick with us. Well, it's been a good afternoon. And for those of you watching us on television, I sometimes forget that you have to wait a whole week for the next program, whereas these here in the studio, of course, just get it after a coffee break. But whatever, we trust you're enjoying our class and that you're enjoying being a part of us. Now, for those of you here in the studio, I'd like to have you turn again to Revelation chapter 12, where we just left off. We're going to pick up those verses I skipped. And I did it for a reason, so I don't break the continuity of these events. Now, I think you're realizing we're looking at the things that are taking place at the midpoint of the tribulation. Now, in our last program, of course, we saw that the Antichrist came in and defiled the temple, sets up his place of rule and authority there in Jerusalem now for those final three and a half years. And so Jerusalem just becomes the very capstone of everything in these final events. And never lose sight of the fact now, you know, we're dealing with a God that is dealing with His covenant people, Israel, predominantly, but all the world is going to fall under these events. It isn't just a Middle East thing. This is going to be worldwide, but predominantly as He deals with the nation of Israel. All right, now in chapter 12 then, let's drop down to those verses that we skipped, beginning at verse 7. Now, this too is all at the midpoint. There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, or Satan, and the dragon fought and his angels. Now, this is hard for us to comprehend, isn't it? That Satan and his angels, his demons, are actually having access into heaven. And I know there's a lot of doubt as to whether that is really so, but maybe it'll clarify it a little bit more if we go on. Verse 8, "...and of course Satan and his angels prevailed not," because after all, he's now coming to the end of his rule and reign. "...neither was their place found any more," where? "...in heaven." See that? And so, verse 9, "...the old dragon, Satan, was cast out," that is, out of heaven. "...that old serpent called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world." He was cast out of heaven, and now he's cast into his domain of the earth. Now, let's go back to the book of Job, because we like to use as much Scripture to clarify these things as we possibly can. You go back to the book of Job, and I'm sure you're all acquainted with the scenario. Job, of course, is, again, one of the few righteous, believing men of his day. You know, it's amazing God has never had many, has He? He's always had the few, always the remnant. But here in the book of Job, if you'll come into verse 6, Job 1, verse 6, "...Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and who in the world comes in amongst them?" Satan, see? Satan, right into the very portals of heaven comes Satan. Verse 7, "...and the Lord said unto Satan, Whence, or where did you come from? And then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." In other words, in plain English, he says, from my domain, I'm coming from where I'm ruling and reigning, and that's, of course, the earth, as we understood ever since Genesis. All right, now then, if you'll come back to Revelation 12 again, he has now had his final access into the throne room, or into heaven, as we understand it, and as a result of the war in which Michael and the holy angels have fought and defeated Satan, and he's cast out. Now you come to verse 10, "...now is come salvation, and strength, and the..." What? "...kingdom." Oh, you see, that's been in view ever since the beginning of the human experience. This glorious kingdom that God is going to rule and reign upon the earth, and now here it's beginning to get close, and so the angelic host can say, "...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, who accused them before our God day and night." Who is accusing? Satan. And who is he accusing? You and I. Every time we sin, and we all do, who is the first to run and tell God about it? Satan. Do you ever realize that? He is constantly letting the Lord know where we have failed. And this is a sobering thought, that not only is the world watching every move we make, but Satan is watching. And the minute we fail, he's right up there. But we have, of course, turn back to me a few pages from Revelation to the left, and come to 1 John. Just a few pages, the little letter of 1 John, but we have this comforting fact that even though Satan is constantly accusing us before the Lord, day and night, every time he sees us fail, he immediately reports in. And he says, Aha! You see what that person did? I thought he was one of yours. Now, 1 John chapter 1. No, let's come down to chapter 2, verse 1. John, 1 John, chapter 2, verse 1. My little children. You know, I've always told my class, I love that address, don't you? You know what that makes me feel like? I'm just like that little kid again that a mom just can't watch close enough. You know, what does that take? About a two-year-old or a three -year-old, you know, they say the terrible twos. I mean, you can't watch those kids close enough. And yet that mother, if she's a mother, has such a love for that little child that she's not going to let anything happen to it. Well, now, when John addresses me with that, that's just exactly how I feel with regard to God. He is watching us so closely, and He knows that without His watchful eye we're going to stumble, we're going to goof it up. But He says, My little children, these things I write unto you that you sin not. See? Oh, that's God's still first choice, is that we don't sin. But what does God know? That we will. We're human, see? And so He says, I write these things unto you that you sin not. And, or but, if any sin, we have an advocate. You know what that word really means? Hey, that's your attorney. That's your mouthpiece, I guess the world today would say. And just as soon as Satan comes into the throne room and accuses you and I of whatever sin, immediately the Lord comes to our defense, see? And in so many words, what does He say? Hey, He's under the blood. He's forgiven. He's mine, see? You can't touch Him. All right? So if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. All right, let's turn back a little further to the left and go to the book of Hebrews. Go to Hebrews, chapter 1. Because these are a lot of basic doctrines that I'm afraid a lot of believers are never being taught. Some of us were talking on the other evening that, you know, so little teaching is coming across to where people can sink their teeth into it. But we have to know what God's Word says and believe it and trust in it. All right, Hebrews, chapter 1. Come down to verse... Well, we might as well read right from verse 1. God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in the times passed unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, and by whom also He made the worlds, or He's the Creator. And now look at verse 3. Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power. You know what that means? This whole universe is held together by His Word. Everything in our life and within the fabric of our existence is held together by His Word. But all right, read on. When He had by Himself purged or cleansed our sins, what did He do? He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high as our advocate. See? And so even though we've had the old accuser, now come back to Revelation chapter 12. So even though the old accuser of the brethren has been constantly accusing us, yet the Lord Jesus constantly comes to our defense. All right? Now pick up then verse 11 of Revelation 12. And they, that is, those who have been accused, they overcame Him by the blood of the Lamb. Now you see, nowhere in Scripture is the blood overlooked. Now we know we have a lot of preaching today and a lot of teaching that leaves the blood out. But if you're going to be Scriptural, you can't. Because it is intrinsic to our faith that we believe in the shed blood of the cross of Calvary. And so we overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony they had not loved their lives unto the death. Now I think that refers to the martyrs of all ages, not just the tribulation. Verse 12, Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea, for the devil is come down unto you, now watch it, having great wrath, because he knoweth he has but a short time. Now think of it. Let me put my seven years back on the board again, if I may, our timeline. And here we split it. Now here we have Satan coming down, the Antichrist coming in from his headquarters in Europe. Satan cast out of heaven and they're going to meet here at the temple in Jerusalem. This will all happen here at the midpoint. And now as we saw in our last lesson, he's going to turn his wrath, particularly upon the 144,000 Jews, but on all the people of the world are suddenly going to feel the wrath of Satan. But not only of Satan, we're also going to have the wrath of God. Now what does that tell you? No wonder Jesus said it's going to be worse than any time in human history. Now a lot of people say, now wait a minute, God's a God of love. Oh, He has been. He still is today. But you see, once this day comes, His grace ends and He becomes a God of judgment, a God of wrath. Go back with me to Psalms chapter 2, a verse we've looked at over the months. But Psalms chapter 2, because we have to overcome this theology that God is just a God of love. You see, that's another reason a lot of people seem to think that He couldn't possibly dream up something like an eternal hell or the lake of fire, because after all, He's a God of love. How could He? Well, now wait a minute. We always have to qualify. He was a God of love when He sent Christ to the cross, that's for sure. And He has loved the human race ever since. He has poured out His grace upon humanity. But what has humanity done with it? They've walked it underfoot. And so now He finally gets to the place where His love and His grace are withdrawn and it's His wrath. Psalms chapter 2, and again we have to come down to verse 5, I guess it is. Then, you all with me? Psalm 2, verse 5, then now, this of course is taking us into the tribulation. Then shall He speak unto them, that is, the people of the world, in His, what? Wrath. See, not His love, but He's going to speak unto them in His wrath and vex them. Now you know what the word vex means. He's literally going to just torment them. And He's going to do it righteously, with all fairness and justness, because, you see, He has so patiently poured out His love toward the human race, and they continue to react in unbelief. Now that takes us back to our last program, and that's the worst sin possible, is unbelief. That's the worst one you can think of, because it's the opposite of faith. And when you have faith, you're pleasing to God, that is, faith in His Word. When you have faith in His Word, you're obedient to it. And when we're obedient to the Word, of course, we become exactly what God wants us to be. But it's the opposite that is so frustrating, I think, to God, when the human race cannot believe Him and trust His Word. Unbelief. Come back to Revelation 12 then, because I didn't want to end that verse on too light a note. The last part of verse 12 again. So now He is literally kicked out of heaven. He comes down to the earth. He comes to Jerusalem to join the Antichrist, and He has great wrath because He knows that He has but a short time. And how long does He have? Three and a half years. Three and a half years, and He knows He's going to pull all the stops. Everything that He can think of that He's never used before, He's going to pour out on the human race. Well, now, I know the average person is going to say, well, now, why should Satan do that? They're in his pocket. Well, I've given the illustration before, and I'll repeat it. If the Mafia or some underworld organization cannot get a businessman to knuckle under their demands, because after all, he's just too strong in himself. If they can't get him to knuckle under, who will they threaten? Well, his family, his wife and kids, because he knows that if that father sees them suffer, then, of course, he's going to react. Now, you see, Satan does the same thing to God. Satan feels that when he torments and when he brings all of these things upon the human race, who does he really get at? The heart of God, see? Now, of course, God's wrath is going to be coupled with it, and that will make that final three and a half years what it is. Now, then, if you don't think that that last three and a half years is going to be awesome, come back with me now to Revelation chapter 8. Now, remember, we've come through six seals in our study. The sixth seal was the great earthquake, which triggered the midpoint. And now, when you come to chapter 8, we come to the seventh seal. Now, the seventh seal, which will, of course, open up now the scroll and the paying off of that mortgage that's within. The seventh seal in itself is not an event, but it triggers the seven trumpets. And so out of the seventh seal comes the first of the trumpet judgments, and there'll be seven of those. Now, remember, when we first started our study on Revelation, I put it on the board that the events of the tribulation are like a mother-to-be approaching the day of delivery. First comes a light birth pang, just enough to know that, and it just keeps increasing in intensity as well as in the closeness. And so this will come through the tribulation. It'll start out relatively mild, but as it moves to the end, it's going to crescendo, see, until finally the last day has come and Christ returns. All right, so now you come to chapter 8. We're at the midpoint again, and He opens the seventh seal. There was what? Silence. Silence. There's not an angelic voice. There's not an instrument. There's not a note of music. There's not a shout. There's not a trumpet. Absolute silence in all of heaven. Now, that's sobering. Why? Because of the awesome things that are about to come on the earth. And so there was silence in heaven for the space of half an hour. I don't think we can get the drama of it. That they are, even the angelic hosts, are so aware of the awful things that are about to come on the earth. Now then, come down into verse 2. And I saw the seven angels who stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Now remember, these trumpets are just simply going to announce the next event. And another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censer, and there was given unto him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which is before the throne, and the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. Now, what was the purpose of the incense in the tabernacle? Well, what's the purpose of incense any time? Well, to give a sweet aroma, isn't it? It's to give that aura, I think, of worship and holiness and righteousness. Now, for God, the sweetest incense that could ever come up to his nostrils are what? The prayers of the saints. Now, that's how most saints pray, see? And here they all come at this midpoint in the tribulation, but here we are in the throne room of heaven. And then verse 5, And the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar and cast it into the earth. Now, this is the beginning then of these trumpet judgments. And there were voices and thunderings and lightnings and still another earthquake. Now, when you read that, thunderings and lightnings and voices again flash all the way back to Exodus when God came down on Mount Sinai. What did you have? Thunderings, lightnings, the voice of God, see? And so it's just a constant replay only on a totally grander scale. And verse 6, So the seven angels who have prepared themselves to sound. Now verse 7, The first angels sounded and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood and they were cast upon the earth and as a result of this calamity the third part of trees are burned up and all the green grass. Now, we're not going to take time. I'm afraid we're going to run out as it is. But you see, if you went back to Exodus, what was one of the plagues? This very same thing. Very same thing. Fire running along the ground and hail. And I imagine it was a traumatic thing. Now, I always have to think of it this way. Even though the events in themselves will probably bring a lot of death and destruction, but I think there's going to be a lot of psychological warfare, if you want to call it, of the mental part of people. It's going to be beyond our comprehension to see these things happening one right after the other. All right, now come on to the next one. Verse 8, The second angel sounded. Now, this isn't going to be a matter of hours, but it will probably be a matter of probably days or weeks, and we're just going to keep getting closer and closer in these events as we move up to the end. But the second angel sounded, and as it were, a great mountain burning with fire was cast in the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood. Now, again, if we had the time, we could go back into the Old Testament, and prophecy tells us that there's going to be great disturbances in the cosmos. In other words, I think there's going to be great meteorites coming down and hitting the earth. I was reading a scientific article a while back where some scientists are trying to project some means that if they see a huge meteor coming from out of space, and it's going to collide with the earth, they are actually dreaming up some kind of a weapon that they can send out and explode a nuclear device on the face of that meteor and maybe deflect it. Because I think the article I read, they had just recently detected a meteor that was only something like a million miles from earth. Well, now that sounds like a long ways to us. But you see, in the realms of space, a million miles isn't all that far, and it's close enough that they're getting a little bit concerned. So we know that these things are possible, where great objects from outer space will come and strike the earth. This particular one will land in the ocean evidently, and the third part of the sea became blood, and the third part of all creatures living in the sea and had life died, and the third part of shipping. See, it's going to be in an area where there's evidently shipping lanes, and a lot of ships will be destroyed in this one event. Then verse 10, a third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of water. In other words, it's going to attack the fresh water. Again, go back to Egypt. You remember when old Moses caused the river Nile to turn to blood, which was normally the source of their drinking and cooking water. So what did the Egyptians quickly begin to do? Well, they dug wells for fresh water. So then in the next plague in Egypt, what did God affect? Well, even the well water. See, the fresh water. And the same thing here. And so He's going to just constantly be one step ahead of them. But now verse 11 is an interesting one. And the name of this star that's going to cause all the fresh water to be destroyed is wormwood. And the third part of the waters became wormwood, and many men died of the waters because they were made bitter. Now this is just an interesting sidelight, and I don't know if it has any impact on this verse at all. But what does the word Chernobyl, where they had the nuclear disaster in Russia, what did Chernobyl mean? Wormwood. Wormwood. So now that might be just a little indication of things that may be used of God to bring these things apart. Well, we got time for one more trumpet at least, and that'll be the fourth one now in verse 12. And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten. And the third part of the moon saw the third part of the stars, and the third part of them, and so on and so forth. And the day shone not for a third part, and the light likewise. And I beheld and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three, which are yet to sound. Now it's already horrible. There's already been a tremendous loss of life and living things, not only the human race, but also we've already seen living things in the sea, animal life. It's all coming under the wrath of God. And yet the angel says it's nothing compared to what is left. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. Appreciate it. Thank you, and be sure to tune in next time for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.