4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven,
and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was
ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 And
she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron:
and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. Revelations
12:4
Fools love company! The devil is the biggest fool in history
and his foolishness lead one third of the angels to rebel against God. We now call these angels, demons, for demons
are truly what they have become. These
devils lead by the prince of devils believed a lie. They believed they could dethrone God, their
maker. They are like clocks trying to rule clock
makers. Isaiah 14 provides us a glimpse
into the internal conversation the devil had before he rebelled.
‘I will ascend
into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on
the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;14 I
will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most
High.’ Isaiah 14:13-14
Apparently that
internal conversation became and external conversation, consensus was gained,
and the angels became devils. You may
ask yourself, how they could do such a thing in the midst of the glory of
heaven. Always sound in alarm in your
spirit whenever you separate yourself from others sin as if you would never do
such a thing! Humankind has been
partnering with the devil since the garden.
After a 1,000 year Earthly reign of Jesus the King; living on Earth; ruling
from Jerusalem; with the devil completely bound during that period of time men
rebel when the devil is released for just a short time.
“When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released
from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of
the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like
the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the
earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he
loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.” Revelations 20: 7-9
Jesus will be in that city at that
time. He is the child that was ‘brought forth a man child, who
was to rule all nations with a rod of iron,’ that child, now King, will
simply burn up those ‘numbering like the sand on the sea’ but isn’t it sad!
One of the most difficult
questions to resolve for the believer is why did God allow the devil to come to
earth, where man would be in the first place?
Why not kick them out of heaven and cast them directly into the lake of
fire? The best explanation is as a test
of our faith. Jesus was tempted by him
and defeated him with the word. Joseph defeated him with integrity of heart
when no one around him knew the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Job defeated
him with praise in the midst of suffering. Daniel honored him in a land where
the knowledge of God was foreign; Noah built what had never been built out of obedience
to the voice of God. Jesus cites John the Baptist as the greatest prophet of
men simply for being a voice crying in the wilderness.
Few of us are could be listed in
this illustrious company, but this I know;
‘No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But
when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.’
1 Corinthians 10:13
If Jesus
rules with a ‘rod of iron’ it is because he must. We do not even honor his attempts to provide
us ways of escape! We have greatly reduced the iron in which we rule each other
in our modern culture and the result is greater rebellion. This is not because sin or the devil is any
stronger than they have ever been but because we are lead away by our own
desire to sin.
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be
tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is
full-grown, gives birth to death. James 1: 13-15
‘And this is the judgment, that the light
is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for
their works were evil.’ John 3:19
There will be a
day when will truly understand how impotent the devil is. On that day will say,
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who
shook kingdoms, 17 who made the world as a wilderness
And destroyed its cities. Isaiah 14:16b
Our primary
scripture also reads, ‘and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.’
As we struggle in
this life of ours and view the works of the devil all around us, let us
remember the words of some Angels that did not fall, they said;
"Men of Galilee, why do you stand
looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven,
will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."
Acts 1: 11
The
Devil was caste down from heaven in judgment on a bolt of lightning, Jesus come
in victory riding of the on a white horse prepared to bring justice to every
man women and child. Let us persevere
to he comes!
