The Future Fall of Satan | Revelation 12:7-12 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

According to the Lord Jesus Christ, one of the defining features of the last days will be the increase of wars and rumors of wars. And we have already seen hints of this in our study of the book of Revelation, and there will be more clashes to come. But this afternoon, we are approaching a passage that describes a future conflict unlike any other. It is unique because it is not a battle fought between human beings nor does it take place on the earth. It is actually an altercation that happens in the heavenly places and among angelic beings.

Now up to this point in Revelation, John's visions of heaven are generally described as places of rest, worship, unending bliss. But for the first time in this book, we encounter a vision of heaven that is fierce and riotous. And the reason for this unusual commotion is given to us plainly in Revelation chapter 12 beginning in verse seven. And I invite you to go with me there in your bibles as we read it together. Here's what the word of God says.

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 was 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 our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore rejoice, oh heavens, and you who dwell in them. But woe to you, oh earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath because he knows that his time is short.

Let's pray. Father, we believe that this is your word, and we believe that you want us to understand it. But we also believe that we cannot do it without your help. And so we now, as your church, your people, come to you in humility asking for your guidance. We pray that you would protect this message from any confusion, from any distraction, and more than this, lord, that you would empower it.

That we would fall more in love with your son, the lord Jesus Christ, through it, that we would be inspired to live for him with greater zeal and intentionality. So, lord, guard our minds, open our hearts, fuel our bodies even so that we can absorb all these things to the glory of your name. We ask these things in the living, matchless name of Jesus Christ. Amen. I believe the way that we can make most the most out of this text is by capturing at least four things, at least four things.

This is about a war. You heard it in the first few words of the opening verse of this passage, and so I want us to consider four elements of this war. The first thing is the timing of it. When does this war take place? Is this something of the past?

Is this something currently happening? Is this something that will take place in the future? The timing of this war. Following that, we wanna look at the outcome of this war. What happened as a result of this clash?

Thirdly, I want us to look at the celebration of this war. Because there is victory in heaven, there is this sense of triumph. And what is this celebration really all about? That's what we'll look at. And lastly, and very briefly, the aftermath of this war.

It took place in heaven, but we're gonna feel it on earth. So let's look at the timing of this war. There are some who believe that what is described here is an account of Satan's defeat at the cross. That when Christ died and he rose and he ascended, what we have here is just that. What we almost get, like an insight into the spiritual element to what took place on Calvary.

Others say no. This is more of a replay of what took place at Satan's original fall from his initial rebellion when he was removed from his exalted position in heaven and was cast down. And those who hold to those views would say, well, what you have here is almost John rewinding the tape, so to speak, so that we kind of get the backstory on the demonic influence that has been permeating the earth ever since the beginning of time up until the end of time. It's almost like a flashback. But I don't think that's very convincing when you consider the context.

I think when you actually do a little bit of investigation, you'll discover that what this war is about has not yet taken place. It's something concerning the future. I want to give you at least three observations from the verses that we just read that confirm that conclusion. I want you to look notice how the summary of Satan's defeat is that he and his angels were permanently expelled from heaven. Do you see that?

And there was no longer any place for them in heaven. Why is that significant? Because a careful student of the Bible will know that even after Satan's original expulsion and eviction from heaven, he still had access to the heavenly dwelling place of God. I don't think there's any more clear of a passage to support that than the book of Job. In the opening chapter of that book where we find Satan approaching God ready to accuse his servant Job.

And there's no way to to think that Satan was not expelled in his original fall after that. That was after his fall and he still had the ability to approach God in such a way. You have additional insights into this like Zechariah chapter three where Zechariah has a vision of Satan accusing the nation of Israel before the angel of the Lord who is Christ. And so what the Bible shows us, though it's limited in its evidence, is that Satan alternates between roaming the earth to deceive and destroy and coming before God. Coming before God to do what?

In his arrogance, in his in his pride, trying to convince God to actually turn on his children. And we'll examine examine this further in the next point, but for now we can establish that this eviction from heaven in Revelation 12 proves that it's an occurrence yet to be realized since we know that elsewhere in scripture, Satan still has limited access to heaven. But after this war, he'll no longer have access to heaven. The second point to consider is in the last verse we read in this section. So go back to verse 12 and notice what it says in the second part.

This heavenly voice says, but woe to you, oh earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath because he knows that his time is short. When you combine the the woe upon the earth and the brevity of time that is mentioned, it makes the most sense when you consider it in light of the context of the time frame of the book of Revelation. You know this already, but the primary focus of this book is to tell us about what's to come. The events leading up to the return of Christ, and how Christ will, when wickedness and evil reaches a feverish pitch, cleanse it all and conquer it once and for all. And so it makes the most sense for this short time mentioned here in Revelation, after Satan's defeat in this war, to correspond with everything else taking place in Revelation.

In other words, the shortness of time mentioned here deals with that time, that tribulation period that will lead up to Christ coming and ruling and reigning. So for those who think that this is something of the past, they would look at this short time as a general description of the span of history, which is very very unlikely when you again look at the rest of the book of Revelation. It's more fitting to see it in this final moment of time. And as Satan is now thrown down, he realizes my time is running out. And if these points are not convincing enough, I think this final observation will settle any remaining doubts.

Though this war is over in what we just read, the scene is not. This this section doesn't end at verse 12. It continues down in verse 13 all the way to verse 17. And when you see what happens immediately following Satan being cast down to the earth, you get a better understanding of when this took place or when this will take place. So let's peek quickly.

We're gonna look at this next week, but look down at verse 13 and verse 14 of Revelation 12. 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. So notice the sequence. Satan is defeated.

He's cast down to the earth. And verse 13 says, when the dragon saw that he'd been thrown down to the earth, he does something. He does something. What does he do? He pursues the woman.

Have we seen the woman before? Yes. Who does she represent? Israel. Very good.

So the enemy here is going to pursue Israel in a unique way. Now, as we just heard, we've seen this woman before. And even the the terminology here in these verses should remind us of a verse that we read when we were together last time in the book of Revelation. But let's just refresh our memories. Scroll back up to verse six of Revelation 12.

What does it say? And the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God in which she is to be nourished for 1,260. So what this is all saying about this woman is that during the tribulation period, Israel is going to experience a unique time of persecution. The the most intense oppression she has ever known. And so fierce it will be that many of the Jews will actually flee into the wilderness, a place that has been appointed by God, and he will nourish and take care of them for a specific duration of time.

That's what we see in verse six. But then it's repeated in the verses that we read in verse 13 down to verse 14. So here's what this means. If we understand that after the dragon is cast out of heaven, he will pursue Israel as she flees into the wilderness for a specific duration of time, and that duration of time is unique to the tribulation period, what does that mean about this war? It means that this heavenly war must take place during the tribulation period.

This is something that is obvious, I hope. It's clear to us. I pray. And so this is a future war, and this evidence shows us that it's not describing something of the past. But why at this point then?

Why is this battle taking place here and now? And there are many who theorize different ideas or different proposals. I don't think we need to theorize. I think there is a great clue in the very verses we just read that links us to a possible answer. Look at verse 10 again.

Revelation 12 verse 10. After Satan is thrown down, it says, 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. Do these words sound familiar to us? They should. They take us back to the last thing we read before we looked at these visions in Revelation chapter 12.

In fact, that phrase, his Christ, only appears in one other place in all of Revelation. Do you remember the announcement that was made when the seventh trumpet blasted? In case you forgot, look at verse 15 of Revelation 11. Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. Remember, the seventh trumpet declares the inauguration of the full manifestation of Christ's kingdom.

This trumpet blast announces and prepares the world for the full and complete expression of Christ's rule. Why? Well, because the seal judgments are complete. And now the trumpet judgments are complete. And we only have one set of judgments left.

The bold judgments are going to pour out God's wrath. And so in the seventh trumpet, this vision is about Christ is ready to come. The kingdom of our God, the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ is ready to invade the earth. And that celebration is reiterated in this vision where after Satan is cast down from heaven, they almost repeat that celebration. Meaning what?

I believe Satan and his demons became aware of this announcement as it reverberated in the spiritual realm. That when that seventh trumpet was blasted, even Satan and his demons understood what that meant. So what does the evil one do according to Revelation 12? In his great pride and fury, he tries to stop it from happening. And so he organizes an all out assault against heaven and this war breaks out.

Thinking that he can actually put a stop to the purposes of God and of his Christ. And so he confronts the Lord directly. But as always, he fails. And he is cast down. And the result of this war at this point of the tribulation period is that the devil will lose territory as a result, which brings us to the second point.

We've considered the timing of this war. It's gonna happen in the tribulation period, very near to the actual return of Christ. Satan is going to try to stop this from happening by engaging in a face to face combat with God and his heavenly army. He will fail. And what's the outcome?

Point number two of this war. Look back at verse nine of Revelation 12. And the great dragon was thrown down. That ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, deceiver of the whole world, he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. What phrase stands out to you in this verse?

In this one verse, thrown down appears three times. Other translations say cast down. So this is what's being highlighted. And why is it being emphasized? Again, to show the embarrassing defeat of the devil and to show how his activity from this point on will be restricted to the earth.

He will be confined now to this planet. Whereas he had access to go to heaven and accuse the brethren day and night, he will be barred from doing so from this point on. And here's what many people don't realize. Though Satan's defeat, his total defeat, is certain, it is not immediate. The Bible shows us that the devil's total defeat will take place in stages.

In fact, I wanna show you how there are actually four falls of Satan in the Bible. Four falls of Satan described to us in the book of Revelation alone. Would you like to know it? Well, we don't have to go very far. Go back to the beginning of Revelation 12 verse three.

Let's look at this again. This is fall number one. We can call this Satan's prehistoric fall. Satan's eviction from his exalted position. You have to remember that passages like Ezekiel and Isaiah give us a snippet of Satan's fall.

And both of those prophets actually give us an understanding that that Satan was one of the most highly exalted heavenly creatures. And he served a very, very important role, but because of his pride and envy, wanting to be like God, he was removed from that position of authority. And it happened before creation. And I think Revelation 12 verse three and four mentions it briefly. Look again.

And another sign appeared in heaven. Behold a great red dragon with seven heads and 10 horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child, he might devour it. So this picture of Satan like a dragon and his tail sweeping a third of the stars, we've touched on this.

Those stars symbolize the angels. He recruits a third of them. He deceives them to join him in his cause, and he's cast down to the earth. That's fall number one. At this point, yes, he's removed from his exalted position, but as we see in Job and places like Zechariah, he can still access heaven and accuse the brethren day and night.

I believe this fall is what Jesus alluded to in Luke chapter 10 verse 18. After sending out his disciples on a mini mission, an evangelistic outreach, and giving them power to heal the sick and cast out devils, they come rejoicing saying, even in your name these these demons submit. And Jesus humbles them and reminds them of his power, his authority by saying this in Luke ten eighteen, and he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. When did that take place? I believe it took place in Satan's original prehistoric fall.

And don't miss the implications of what Christ is saying here in Luke ten eighteen. Read your bible slowly and chew. For Christ to claim that he was present at the humiliating defeat of Satan, what does that say about his nature? That he is preexisting. That he was there.

That he eternally stood as the son of God and witnessed these events. He was present. Even before the incarnation, even before the world was set into motion, Jesus in this brief declaration is letting us know that he always was. He always was. But more than that, this is a statement describing the sheer power of God.

He says, I saw Satan fall like lightning. And you say, I saw him fall. Like lightning in the sense that he did become lightning, that's not what he's saying at all. He's giving a metaphor here. He's giving a picture.

That in the same way lightning strikes the earth powerfully and suddenly, Satan's fall in his initial rebellion was just a swift. It was a flash. It was a blink of a moment. It happened so quickly to again, give us an understanding of just how powerful our God is. The authority he has.

And that authority is proven over and over again when we look at the next three falls. The second one is in the text that we just read in the opening of this message. That he was thrown down in Revelation twelve nine to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him. This is the second fall where Satan no longer has access to heaven. What's the third one?

Go to Revelation 20. This is Satan's fall into the abyss. Revelation 20 verse one. John writes, then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. Pause for a moment.

What's happening here in Revelation 20? Well, Christ came back in Revelation 19. So what we're reading now is a description of some of the first orders that Christ will make upon his bodily return to the earth. When he sets up his kingdom, this is one of the first things he will do. Verse two.

And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And threw him into the pit and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be released for a little while. So the third fall of Satan is his fall into the abyss. This will take place at the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ.

That after Christ returns, he's going to seize Satan, and he's going to throw him into this pit and conceal it for a thousand years. So that while Christ rules and reigns on the earth, Satan will not be able to deceive the nations. Can you imagine a world like that? No perverted entertainment. No lies from governments, at least as prevalent.

Doesn't mean that the world's going to be absolutely perfect, but there is going to be a greater sense of holiness and integrity while Satan is removed from the scene and Christ dominates the world. And then at the end of that, he's going to release Satan for a little while, giving that generation a final chance to either pledge their allegiance to Christ or to rebel against him, and there will be some who will still rebel against him. Even even after witnessing Christ, enjoying his government, seeing what what it looks like when Christ is king, people will still choose to deny him. But that's just the third fall. Then we have to consider the fourth and the final one, and that's in the same chapter.

So after Satan is released for a little while, he'll recruit the nations to war against Christ, and he still hasn't learned his lesson. He's going to lose. And when he does lose, read here with me Revelation 20 verse nine. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints in the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire.

And sulfur where the beast the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Satan's final descent, his final fall will be into hell, into hell itself. So here are the four falls of Satan. Why do I bring this to your attention? To show how God alone determines the boundaries of Satan.

How God is the one who determines his influence and the reach of his activity. That at any time, he can evict the evil one. He can silence him. He can restrain him. He can punish him, and he has no ability to resist God.

Satan is not on the same level as God. He's far more inferior, and he is subject to his sovereignty. And this insight into God's unstoppable force and decree is a cause for our celebration. We should rejoice. This is the God that we serve.

And it reveals much of the triumph that we get to share in because of our faith in Jesus Christ, which brings us to our third point, the celebration of this war. Look again at Revelation 12 verse 10. 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 brother brothers has been thrown down. He accuses them day and night before our God. So as soon as Satan is thrown down remember, now we're back to the second fall of Satan.

This loud voice breaks out and declares the triumph of this moment. And what does he what does he say? What's the statement that highlights the significance of this victory? That the authority of his Christ has come. It's here.

It has arrived. Now we know that it's not actually here. Christ is still going to do a few more things before he physically returns. But I think the reason why it's being celebrated here is because we are closer than ever. That after Satan is removed, cleared out of the way so to speak, they can rejoice in knowing that there is an update to the arrival and the return of Christ.

You see, it's as though Satan's removed from the heavenly realm signals a major shift in the preparation for Christ's return. He's now been confined, both him and his demons, to the earth. He will not be able to interfere in that heavenly realm as Christ now is ready to make his way to this earth. But that celebration doesn't end here. In verse 11, this voice reminds us that Satan's defeat is something that took place long before this.

We're not just seeing it play out, but there is something that happened that sealed his defeat and actually shows us why we are conquerors today over him. What does he say? And they have conquered him. Verse 11. Who are they?

The ones that Satan accuses day and night. That's us. And in verse 11, this voice says they have conquered him with two main weapons. By the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. So why can we say that even now Satan has been conquered?

How can we even claim that this ancient serpent, this gray dragon, this deceiver of the whole world is defeated at this very moment while we're having church? Well, the first reason is because the blood of the lamb. By the blood of the lamb. Here's what we learned so far. Satan's primary attack, I mean, we we saw it earlier, is to actually approach the presence of God on a continual basis and attempt to persuade him to change his mind about us.

To to resurface our sins, to show God our failures, to show us just how weak we are, how unfaithful we are with the idea that perhaps God will change his mind. This is what he occupies himself with. And he does so as we see here day and night. But this verse also teaches us that there is one thing, one thing that God sees worthy enough to silence Satan, no matter how many times he comes before God, no matter how persuasive his argument and his charges are, and it is the blood of the lamb. Nothing else.

The only hope you and I have in overcoming Satan's charges is what Christ has done and understanding and applying our faith to that reality and realizing that that payment has now been transmitted to my account. That is the only thing that silences the evil one. And the moment you and I put our faith in that truth that Christ's death on my behalf wins my righteousness forever and ever, Satan's voice over your life in the presence of God is muted. It's muted. He's speaking to nothing.

It's a waste of his time. He smears our name. He highlights our failures. But according to this verse in other places, the blood of Christ speaks a better word over you. Always.

And this, by the way, teaches us how to do warfare when Satan accuses you about you. He doesn't just accuse God or accuse us before God, he accuses you about you. He assaults your conscience. He whispers lies. He reminds you of your past.

What do you do in those moments? Take your hint from this verse. Don't rehearse your obedience. Don't revisit your righteousness. Don't tell yourself how committed you are to the church and to ministry and your charity and your deeds.

Cling to the blood. Always. Listen. The greater your understanding of the power of the blood, the sufficiency of the blood, the efficacy of the blood, the more you will be able to silence Satan when he accuses you. As that one hymn says, though the restless foe accuses, sins recounting like a flood, every charge our God refuses, Christ has answered with his blood.

But that's not the only weapon mentioned here. We also read that it was through the word of their testimony. Now what does that mean? There are a lot of ideas shared about it, but I think it connects to the first point. It's built on the first reality, the blood of the lamb, and the word of their testimony.

It's one thing to know intellectually that Jesus Christ shed his blood two thousand years ago. It's a whole other thing when you have a testimony about how it's changed you. What has that blood done for you? How has it transformed you? What is your history?

What is your story connected to this truth of what Christ has done on that cross? And it's that public testimony from a personal realization of what Christ has done that delivers us and transforms us. That enables us to gain victory over him. And you know that you have truly tasted this gospel and what it has to offer when you're willing to die for it if need be. That it's more precious to you than your life itself.

And that's why later in Revelation 11 it says, for they love not their lives even unto death. If one of the greatest stress that Satan can present anybody is death, I will kill you. I will destroy you. Doesn't have any bearing, any weight to it because you love this gospel more than your life, then what does he have against you? Nothing really.

If you're willing to die for this truth, then what can he really throw against you? What can he intimidate you with? If death itself does not have that same fear factor that it once did when you were not in Christ. So the blood of the lamb and your personal testimony connection to that truth enables us to conquer Satan. And as we heard earlier, there are four falls of Satan, but the Bible speaks of something unique.

You can almost say that there are five, But it's different from the four other ones that we saw. The four ones that we saw speak of his actual descent, his physical limitations until his total annihilation, so to speak. But Jesus speaks of another casting out that took place some time ago. Listen to these words from John chapter 12 verse 31. In John twelve thirty one, when Jesus is speaking about his ministry at the cross, he mentions the following.

Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. Similar language. Right?

The ruler of this world will be cast out. One of the consequences of Christ's victorious death on the cross is that the ruler of this world will be cast out. It speaks of a decisive moment of his defeat. But where is he gonna be cast out to? We already saw that he was removed from his position, that he'll be removed from heaven and access to heaven, and then he'll be confined to the abyss and then thrown into hell to be tormented.

So what does Jesus mean here when he says that the rule of this world will be cast out? I don't I don't think it speaks about anything physical necessarily. It speaks about Satan losing a level of power and authority, especially for those who have put their faith in Christ. He will be cast out in the sense that his arguments against you will be relinquished. His access to you will be limited.

All these protective graces are now inherited by the one who understands what Christ has done on the cross and applies their repentance and faith to that truth, Satan to some degree is cast out from that believer's life. And that's why we can say according to Revelation that he is conquered for the one who understands what that blood did and has a personal testimony about it. This is the celebration of this victory, but we consider now the aftermath of this war. The aftermath of this war is found in verse 12 of chapter 12 of Revelation. Therefore rejoice, oh heavens and you who dwell in them.

But woe to you, oh earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath. Because he knows that his time is short. So this battle, it's it's fought in heavenly places but it will be felt on the earth during the tribulation period. Aware of greater limitations placed on him, Satan will be so enraged that he will vent his anger and he will vehemently seek to do all that he can to bring destruction to all that represents God on the earth. He will harass humanity on new levels.

He will ramp up his schemes and his viciousness with a stronger awareness more than ever that Christ receiving his kingdom is just around the corner. And we're gonna see one of the things that he is going to do next week. But for now, let's just celebrate the fact that we have conquered. And we have these emblems to help us taste and see that reality. And so I wonder today if you are confident that you've conquered this ancient serpent, which is a reference to his activity from Genesis three, this great dragon, how he will show up in Revelation, in that tribulation period.

I wonder if you can say with absolute certainty, I have no reason to fear him. I have no reason to fear his threats even if he wants to kill me because I have a story. I'm saved. I'm delivered. I belong to Christ.

All my sins have been washed clean. And I'm so certain of the power of this blood that I can sleep so sweetly at night even though Satan stays up all night trying to convince God otherwise. And I'm growing in my confidence in the power of this blood that when I'm driving or when I'm laying in bed or when I'm out and about and all of a sudden I just feel this guilt and shame come over me, I rehearse the power of the blood. I I remind myself that God's not looking anything from me except that blood being applied. You can know that today.

If you can't if you can't say with absolute assurance that you have made a conscious decision of putting your faith in that truth, just reserve yourself from partaking in this. This is for those who know that they've been saved by grace. And believer, because of this good news, we have to walk in light in light of it and in line with it. So if your heart is astray, if your heart is dull, if if you're living in conscience, unrepentant sin, repent of it. Get rid of it.

And prepare yourself to partake and to fellowship with the Lord in this ordinance. So So let's pray, then we'll sing, and then we'll we'll meet together at this table. Shall we do that? Thank you, Lord, for this message. Thank you for showing us the play by play of your total victory.

And thank you, Lord, that this victory is absolutely certain because of the blood of the lamb. Thank you for redeeming us though we deserve to be condemned. Thank you for cleaning us though we were so filthy. And Lord, we've come now as your church to declare that it is by grace alone. To declare that it is what you have done in that body, on that tree, on our behalf that gives us this victory.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Why don't we stand? Let's stand and worship.