What we are going find in the next few verses is that the universe will undergo a massive change. The world will be different from how it has been from the creation of the earth and man, until the present. John writes in Chapter 12, verses 7 - 9;
(7)"And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon.
And the dragon and his angel waged war, (8) and they were not strong enough, and
there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. (9) And the great dragon was
thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the
whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him."
First we will take a look at Michael. Michael was first introduced by the prophet Enoch in the 40th Chapter of his writings. Enoch wrote about four presences he saw when he was caught up into the upper heavens and was told to write what he saw. Enoch was talking to someone that he refered to as the angel of peace. When Enoch asked the angel of peace, "who are these four presences which I have seen?", he was told this, 'These are the four angels of the Lord of Spirits,
The 1st is Michael - The merciful and long suffering.
The 2nd is Raphael - The one who is set over all the diseases and wounds of the children of men.
The 3rd is Gabriel - The one who is set over all the powers.
The 4th is Phanuel - The one who is set over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal
life."
If you have read my blog about Revelation Chapter 4, it told about four living creatures that were in the center and around the throne of God. In the Bible we get a small peek at two of these angels. Daniel references both Michael and Gabriel. In Daniel Chapter 8, verse 16, Gabriel is asked, by a voice that Daniel heard standing between the banks of the Ulai, to give Daniel an understand as to the visions Daniel had seen pertaining to the time of the end. Gabriel then proceeded to explain the vision to Daniel. That vision pertains to what we are about to see here in Revelations. In the 9th Chapter of Daniel, verse 21, Gabriel is referenced again. After seeing the visions of events that will occur in the end times, Daniel was so disturbed that he was in prayer and supplication over it, when Gabriel appeared again to Daniel to give him insight and understanding. After Daniel was given insight, he went into mouning for three weeks. In Chapter 10, verse 13, Gabriel is referenced again, along with Michael for the first time. Gabiel told Daniel that God had been sent him to comfort him on the first day that he had set his heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God. In verse 13, Gabriel tells daniel this;
"But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for 21 days; then
behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there
with the kings of Persia."
You are probably wondering why I am showing these things right now. To see the picture of what is taking place as Michael is waging war with the dragon, we have to have an understanding of what has been taking place in the spiritual realm as well as here on earth. God sent Gabriel on the first day of Daniels request to reveal the events of the end times and comfort Daniel. The prince of Persia, referring to a spirit of influence over Persia, most likely Satan, fought Gabriel for 21 days, to prevent him from getting to Daniel. Satan does not want people to know prophesy, because he knows that it will make it much harder for him to deceive people if they are aware of what is going on. It was such a fierce battle, that another one of the chief princes, Michael, had to come and help him. Is there any wonder why all the prophets of Israel were murdered. This is why it is so important to understand and why there is a blessing that comes with understanding the things that are written in Revelation. It will prevent many from being deceived. The Saints who have the hope of Jesus salvation and His coming, will be anticipating their gathering together with Jesus in the air. Daniel, through much dred of seeing the visions without understaning, was comforted when understanding this. When writing In his last Chapter 12, verses 1 -3, where Michael is referenced again;
(1) "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your
people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such has never occured since
there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is
found written in the book, will be rescued. (2) And many who sleep in the dust of the
ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting
contempt. (3) And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the
expanse of heaven, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever
and ever."
When Daniel finally saw the end goal, his heart found peace. He understood that all the things that must occur are not in vain.
In the Gospel of Luke, in the first Chapter, verses 19 and 26, Gabriel is referenced again. In verse 19, Gabriel appears to Zacharias, the father of John the baptist, to tell him about Johns birth. Then in verse 26, Gabriel appears to Mary, to tell her that she will give birth to the son of God, and to name Him Jesus.
I am trying to show, that in the spiritual realm, there is interaction between the spiritual forces of light and the spiritual forces of darkness. These forces sometimes affect what is happening in this physical realm, much more than we realize. There is a battle over the souls people. The Saints, through their prayers, determine a lot of what that activity will be. Believers are in a constant battle against the forces of darkness. The bigger threat you are, the more resistance you should expect. Boot camp, not much. The front lines, much battle. But greater is He (Jesus) who is in a New Creation, than he (Satan) who is in the world. In Jesus, a Believer has power over Satan through Jesus shed blood.
What we see happening in verse 7, 8 and 9, is Michael, one of these chief princes, kicking Satan and his angels down to the earth. We have to ask ourselves, What will this be like? It will be different then how it has been. Satan and his fallen angels have had access to the earth, since it's creation, but they have been limited to doing so only in the spiritual realm. Now they are kicked down to this physical realm. We have to ask ourselves, What kind of manifestation this will be. We know at the present time that Satan and the fallen angels have been able to possess people. I wonder at what this might look like. If they can been seen, Where might they say they have come from?
Jesus peace to all of you.
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