Ears To Hear # 94

TELL SATAN
“I SAW YOU FALL”
A Taste of Tribulation

         “This is the day the Lord hath made. I am rejoicing and glad in it. In all my ways I acknowledge Him and He directs my paths.” 
         “For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:10). 

A TASTE OF TRIBULATION

         As I battled the forces of darkness that would prevent me from praying for many with various needs, my eyes fell on Revelation 12:10-17, and I saw natural experiences in my own life written there. Although it is referring to the persecution of Israel, I could relate and understand our need to pray for Israel…that what she faces affects us.
         My first comfort and inspiration came from verse 10 which says, “…the accuser (Satan) of the brethren is cast down, which accused them before God day and night.”
         What causes depression other than accusations? Verse nine says, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the Devil, and Satan, which deceived the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

THE BIBLE

         The Bible is more than a history book. It is alive with revelation and comparisons. It tells of things that have been, of times to come, and attends to our present individual needs.
         Although we remain limited in our knowledge of what there is yet to learn and understand, we can compare our earthly experiences with even future prophesies that will come to pass. Our dear Holy Spirit is constantly revealing His Plan for the world and our daily lives. He is constantly reminding us of “why” we face battles and telling us “How” to win…when we have open ears to listen.

IN THE NATURAL
I Can Compare

         Chapter 12 is about the Sun-Clad woman (Israel) and her child, Christ the Messiah. I won’t go into detail, but I can relate to her as I, too was carried away into my place in the wilderness (verse 14) where I was nourished from the face of the serpent. It was a quiet place where I felt safe and close to God.
         In verse 15, the serpent tried to destroy me by flood, but the earth swallowed up the flood. Then the dragon (verse 17) was even more angry with me, so he went to make war against my seed (my physical and spiritual children) which keep the commandments of God.

      

           Bear with me now, but I see another comparison. My first son is NOT the Christ, but is His brother and a child of God. Satan tried to destroy my son physically when he was a baby, but did not prevail. Verse 5, refers to Christ as the man-child who was to rule with a rod of iron and He was caught up to God and to His throne.
         My earthly son is like his Heavenly Brother. He was caught up to God in the sense that God called him to a strong service in God’s Kingdom to win souls and teach His Word. My earthly son also rules his ministry with a rod of iron. Not punitive, but unbendable to the Word of Truth. He is as consistent as anyone I have ever met…keeping strong like iron to the path that God lays out before him.

DON’T THROW STONES

         Please don’t throw stones at me for making this comparison. I’m not altering God’s Word. I’m allowing God to use it to show me where I am today, helping me relate more to the days that will come on the earth, and days that are already here. He will do the same for you by His Spirit as you read and study His Word. His Word IS preparation for all and any tribulation, past, present, or future.
         When we can relate (however the Holy Spirit does this for each of us) we are able to pray more earnestly for Israel and all of God’s children who are going through hard times.

WHERE IS SATAN TODAY?

(I Peter 5:8)

         Michael and his angels cast Satan and his angels out of Heaven down to the earth. As Michael warred with Satan in Heaven and won, so must we war with Satan now on earth.
           If we are children of God, God does not listen to the accusations Satan makes about us…and neither should we. We are not to be deceived by Satan, who comes against us more strongly now…because he knows his time is short. (verse 12). The nearer his time…the angrier he becomes.
         He still wants to destroy the Kingdom of God. If he can make us back off from what our Lord has assigned us to do, he thinks he has gained advantage for his kingdom and himself. So, he continues to accuse us day and night, trying to wear us down.
         Not only does he accuse us before God, but is so arrogant as to accuse God before us. But we have Covenant with God. We should no more listen to Satan’s accusations about God than God listens to Satan’s accusations about us.

WHEN THINGS SEEM TO
GO WRONG

         When things seem to go wrong in our lives and we face disappointments, the first voice we often hear is that of Satan lying to us and telling us it is our fault whether it is or not. Any lie that is believed will weaken a person.
         We are weak and human. That is why we need our Father daily, and the Spirit of Truth as our strong weapon against the attacks of Satan.
         Even if, we should fall, or totally give up, God forbid. But, if we did, God’s Plan will not be stopped. God is God, and He has already set His Plan in motion.
         Should one of us falter from time to time, God will always have another to pick up the slack until His Plan is completed.

OUR HEARTS GROAN

         Our hearts groan for the day that Satan will be cast out of the earth as he was cast out of Heaven. Our hearts are like the heart of our Father. We are His SEED and we desire love, peace, joy, unity of spirit. And, one day, soon I believe, God will bring it to pass. As we watch Israel (the Fig Tree) we can see God’s Word coming to pass. We SEE His Plan unfolding.
         As Gentiles, we were like the wild olive branch, but by the Grace of God we have been grafted into His Kingdom. 

FUTURE TRIBULATION

         Since we have had a “taste of tribulation”, we pray more earnestly for the salvation of many while it is still light, so that they will not have to endure the greater tribulation which will come.

         Those who survive the later tribulation will do so the same way we do today. We have the confident hope and assurance that as Michael warred with Satan and saw, as Jesus saw and said in Luke 10:18, “I beheld (saw) Satan fall from Heaven.”, we too, will see him fall off of the face of the earth. We too, shall overcome Satan the same way.

HOW?

         As given to us in Revelation 12:11, “by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony.” And, by loving God more than we do our very own lives. And by the Name of Jesus (Luke 10:17).
         STEP ONE: Satan was thrown out of Heaven.
         STEP TWO: Satan will be thrown out of the Earth.
         Knowing this because we read it in God’s Word, we now receive the strength and power of Christ (verse 10) to turn our accusations on Satan by remembering daily to say to him before he says to us, using the very words of Jesus. We can say, “I saw you Satan fall from heaven.” And we can add with assurance, “And I will see you fall from earth.”
         “Each time I see you (Satan) accusing one of my brethren or myself, I will remember from whence you fell.
         “And you will fall again! And soon!”
         Let the accused, (us) become the accusers of Satan; give him a taste of his own medicine. He will fall again…and one day, we will hear his lies no more. Praise God!
         We can’t kick him off the earth, because that will be God’s Pleasure and privilege at the appointed time. But we can do Satan a lot of damage and torment him each time we remind him that his time is short…and that we know what his end will be…as does he.
         Each time Satan sees us bring a new baby into the Kingdom of God, he must howl. There are many ways for us to torment Satan. You know what they are. When he sees us becoming more like Jesus and less like himself, the angrier he becomes. That’s okay. We are no longer afraid of him. We can laugh at him as we enjoy saying, “Hey, Satan…don’t forget. I saw you fall.” “I saw you trip and fall.”  “And I’ll see it again.” Tee Hee!       

                             

PROOF OF GOD’S WORD

Job 2:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 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, which accused them before our God day and night. 

I sa 31:4 For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, [he] will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.

BECAUSE OF CHRIST’S SACRIFICE
ON THE CROSS
SATAN HAS NO RIGHT TO
ACCUSE
ANY CHILD OF GOD!