verticallife

As I’ve been reflecting on Revelation 12 and its tie to the most pivotal event in history, something caught my attention. Why was Jesus’ birth the cause for Satan’s forced departure from heaven? After his assassination attempt to devour the Child, “war broke out in heaven,” yet Satan could not prevail. “There was no place for them in heaven any longer.” Why?

He was “thrown out” of heaven (v8) and was “thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him. (12:8-9)

Then John heard a loud a voice in heaven say, “The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Messiah have now come, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out: the one who accuses them before our God day and night.” (v10)

The accuser. The accuser of our brothers. The one who accuses them before our God. Day and night. He was non-stop.

“Give the adversary no opportunity to accuse us.” (1 Timothy 5:14)

“Satan (stood) at his right side to accuse him.” (Zechariah 3:1)

That event marked the end of his accusations, as least to God’s face. There was “no place for” accusations, “no place for” pride and arrogance.

Part of me wonders whether Satan had a problem serving beings that were made a little lower than him. You see, angels are “ministering spirits sent to serve those who are going to inherit salvation.” (Hebrews 1:14) The opperative word there is “serve.” Did Satan have a problem serving those “made…a little lower than the angels”? (Psalm 8:5)

“You made him lord over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet.” (Psalm 8:6) That’s what God wanted from the very beginning. Adam and Eve and their children were to “be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.” (Genesis 1:28) They were to rule over all creation. All authority had been given to them.

I think this is what Lucifer had a problem with. When you consider that worship and service are much the same word in the Bible, it was Lucifer’s desire to be served and worshiped, not to serve.

“I will give you their splendor and all this authority,” Satan told Jesus in his temptation, “because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. If you, then, will worship me, all will be yours.” (Luke 4:6-7)

Angels were not to be worshiped. John was about to worship the angel when the angel said, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow slave with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” (Revelation 22:9)

Angels were not meant to be worshiped. “All the angels stood around the throne…and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God.” (Revelation 7:11) They were meant to worship. They were meant to serve. They were meant to support God’s plans, not thwart them. When Satan led his attack to kill the Christ-child, God the Father had had enough. The Devil could no longer level accusations against God’s creation. The accuser in heaven was replaced by the Advocate. And now…

“There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) If you are hidden in Christ Jesus, if you have given your life to Him, if you have asked forgiveness and expressed your desire to follow Him and trust in His death on the cross that paid the penalty for your sins, Satan can no longer level accusations against you. He was cast out of heaven and cast down to earth, where we will one day crush his head. (Genesis 3:15)

When Satan reminds you, accuses you of your past, simply remind him of his future: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath your feet.” (Romans 16:20)

Click this link…  I2:The Invader …to listen to the second message in this series.

The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, as it was called by the Imperial General Headquarters) was a surprise military strike conducted by the Japanese navy against the United States’ naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on the morning of Sunday December 7, 1941, later resulting in the United States becoming militarily involved in World War II. It was intended as a preventive action to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from influencing the war Japan was planning to wage in Southeast Asia against Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States. The attack consisted of two aerial attack waves totaling 353 aircraft, launched from six Japanese aircraft carriers.

The attack sank four U.S. Navy battleships (two of which were raised and returned to service late in the war) and damaged four more. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, and one minelayer, destroyed 188 aircraft, and caused personnel losses of 2,402 killed and 1,282 wounded. The power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section) were not hit. Japanese losses were minimal, at 29 aircraft and five midget submarines, with 65 servicemen killed or wounded.

The strike was intended to neutralize the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and hence protect Japan’s advance into Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, where Japan sought access to natural resources such as oil and rubber. Both the U.S. and Japan held long-standing contingency plans for war in the Pacific which were continuously updated as tensions between the two countries steadily increased during the 1930s, with the Japanese expansion into Manchuria and French Indochina greeted by steadily increased levels of embargoes and sanctions from the United States and other nations.

In 1940, under the authority granted by the Export Control Act, the U.S. halted shipments of airplanes, parts, machine tools, and aviation gasoline, which was perceived by Japan as an unfriendly act. The U.S. did not stop oil exports to Japan at that time in part because prevailing sentiment in Washington was that such an action would be an extreme step, given Japanese dependence on U.S. oil, and likely to be considered a provocation by Japan.

Following Japanese expansion into French Indochina after the fall of France, the U.S. ceased oil exports to Japan in the Summer of 1941, in part because of new American restrictions on domestic oil consumption. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had earlier moved the Pacific Fleet to Hawaii and ordered a military buildup in the Philippines in the hope of discouraging Japanese aggression in the Far East. As the Japanese high command was (mistakenly) certain any attack on the United Kingdom’s Southeast Asian colonies would bring the U.S. into the war, a preventive strike appeared to be the only way for Japan to avoid U.S. naval interference. An invasion of the Philippines was also considered to be necessary by Japanese war plans, while for the U.S., reconquest of the islands had been a given of War Plan Orange in the interwar years.

While the attack accomplished its intended objective, it was completely unnecessary. Unbeknownst to Isoroku Yamamoto, who conceived the original plan, the U.S. Navy had decided as far back as 1935 to abandon ‘charging’ across the Pacific towards the Philippines in response to an outbreak of war (in keeping with the evolution of Plan Orange). The U.S. instead adopted “Plan Dog” in 1940, which emphasized keeping the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) out of the eastern Pacific and away from the shipping lanes to Australia while the U.S. concentrated on defeating Nazi Germany.

The attack was an important engagement of World War II. Unintentionally occurring before a formal declaration of war (which had been scheduled to be delivered shortly prior to the attack beginning),it pushed U.S. public opinion from isolationism to the acceptance of participation in the war being unavoidable. The lack of warning led Roosevelt to call it “a date which will live in infamy.” (wikipedia)

Infamy. It means extremely bad reputation, public reproach, or strong condemnation as the result of a shameful, criminal or outrageous acts. The invasion of the Japanese on Pearl Harbor marked a turning point in the minds of most Americans. It was a date we’ll always remember. There were no warnings signs of an impending attack. Though the US knew we had an enemy, we didn’t know they would attack like that.

Satan knew the warning signs. After his rebellion, that “ancient serpent” as John calls him in Revelation 12 was told his head would be crushed in Genesis 3. It was revealed through the Prophet Isaiah how “the Lord himself will give you a sign.” A sign. (a mark; an indication; a sign of warning or admonition; an indication of God’s power) That sign? “The virgin shall be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” There’s no way Satan could have understood how or why God was going to invade his kingdom. He knew what the name meant: God with us. Another warning sign of an impending invasion.

Once again from the words of Isaiah, “there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress….The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.” What was going to take place on the day of that invasion? “On those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned,” Isaiah warned. There would be an enlargement of God’s kingdom. There would be increased joy. People were going to throw parties like the kind they did when harvest time came or when victory secured over an enemy. The things that bound and burdened people would be shattered. The weight that they were carrying would be lifted. The rod that struck them would be taken away, their enemies boots and clothes would be fuel for fire. And then these word that I’m sure struck fear in mind of Satan and those he led in his rebellion:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,        establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7

There were even more warning signs of this invasion. An angel appearing secretly to a young virgin girl. She received the warning that God was going to invade her life. An angel appearing to her fiancé in a dream that God was about to invade his life. Angels appearing to shepherds. So far, these warnings were not very public. All these words, echoing in the enemy’s head, an enemy that Jesus said three times was the prince of this world, and once called the god of this age by Paul, all these words, but no real time frame. There was still an element of surprise.

But then, the element of surprise was wasted. Or was it. Was it an act of stupidity that led the three astrologers right into the hands of the enemy? Or was it an act of blatant disregard, an act of boldness, an act that communicated “he is here! He is here to destroy the works of the devil. He is here to seek and to save that which was lost. He is here to free people from fear, and specifically, the fear of death.” Bomb blasts going off. Warning whistles blasting through the night sky.

Matthew 2 1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east[b] and have come to worship him.”

 3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ^[c] was to be born. 5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet (Micah 5:2) has written:
 6” ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
   for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’^[d]”

 7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

 9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east^[e] went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The In-Vader Had Come. Not the Darth Vader, or even the dark vader but the Invader who brought light, who was called the Light of this world. He came to invade Mary’s life. He came to invade Joseph’s life. He came to invade the shepherds’ lives. He came to invade the lives of the three wise men. He came to invade Herod’s life and all of Jerusalem. He came to invade the darkness that Satan shrouded this world with. Herod was disturbed. Satan was disturbed. Why? Ancient prophecy become present reality:

“There will be no more gloom for those who were in distress….The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” In his account of His Savior’s life, John wrote “life was in Him, and htat life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.” (1:4-5)

Wonderful Counselor: For those who need someone to listen to them, the Invader has come as the Wonderful Counselor.

Almighty God: For those who feel powerless to overcome the battles in their own lives, the Invader has come as Almighty God.

Everlasting Father: For those who don’t know their father or mother; whose dad walked out on them; whose mom called them no good; whose father said they would not amount to anything; For those called out to a daddy who wasn’t there, the Invader has come as the Everlasting Father.

Prince of Peace: For those whose lives seem to be crazy; who have no peace of mind; whose hearts feel heavy within them; who feel separated from the One who loves them and created them, the Invader has come as the Prince who brings Peace.  The Invader has come. Are you disturbed or delighted? Will you submit yourself to this Prince, crawl up on the lap of this Father, let this Powerful God fight your battles and let this Wonderful Counselor hear your pain? When He comes, will you let Him in? 

By clicking on this link… I1:Phantom Menace …you can listen to the first in this series on The Invasion – The Battle Behind the Birth. This series is based on Revelation 12.

O come O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel. Joy to the world, the Lord is come; let earth receive her king. O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. It came upon a midnight clear, that glorious song of old, from angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold. “Peace on the earth, good will to men, from heaven’s gracious King.” The world in solemn stillness lay to hear the angels sing. O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by: yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light: the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. Silent night! Holy night! All is calm, all is bright round yon virgin mother and child, holy infant so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace.

Hope, joy. A midnight clear. Peace. Good will. Solemn stillness lay. Deep and dreamless sleep. Silent stars. Silent nights.

If Christmas is all about hope, why are so many in despair? If Christmas is all about joy, why are so many depressed? If Christmas reminds us of clarity, why is everything so foggy? If Christmas is about peace, why is there so much war? War among countries. War among nationalities. War among neighbors. War among families. If Christmas is all about good will, why is there so much bad will and ill will? Tell me if I’m wrong, but it seems like there is something out there trying to cloud our clarity, steal our stillness, and push away our peace. It seems like there’s a being, a menace who wants to keep people captive to the past. Where Emmanuel is sent to ransom those in captivity, there’s a menacing presence keeping people in prison. Where the Lord is come to bring joy to the world, a nuisance and trouble maker is right around the corner to steal that joy. When all ye faithful come together, joyful and triumphant, a troublemaker is their plaguing people with defeat.

Borrowing a character from the Star Wars trilogy, this menace is not a phantom. He is not an apparition. He is not a mirage. He is very real and really wants to steal, kill and destroy.

In his book Cosmic Christmas, Max Lucado writes, Christmas is full of cozy thoughts: a sleeping Jesus, wide-eyed shepherds, a soft- faced Mary. The nativity sentiment is warm, the emotion is joy, and the feeling is peace. Such is the picture in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. In John’s book of Revelation, however, he offers another perspective. From his perspective, the birth of Jesus stirs more than excitement; it stirs evil. Pulling back the curtain of the skies, he reveals a bloody war in the heavens. John sees a woman, ready to give birth. He sees a dragon, ready to bring death. The woman is beautiful and the dragon ugly. The dragon lunges at the newborn child, but he is too late. The child and the mother are granted safety and then “there was a war in heaven. A war in the stars, if you will. “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.”

Max admits, “parts of Cosmic Christmas are fiction – fruits of my imagination. Other parts of the story, however, are true. Whether or not you like the fiction is insignifant. But whether or not you see the truth is essential. Scripture for example says nothing of a vial containing the essence of Christ, an arch demon named Phlumar, an angel named Sophio… Scripture is, however, very clear that ‘our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Go to the back of the bible in the book of revelation chapter 12. We’re going to look at the Christmas story through the eyes of the revelation John received – John, the same apostle who wrote the Gospel of John and the three letters. John’s testimony shows us that there is a very real menacing presence out to steal, kill and destroy everything Christmas represents. And it’s my honor this morning to tell you that you do not have to live in fear and frustration, in depression and defeat.

Revelation 12 1A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.

Two signs: a woman and a dragon.  A sign is a mark; an indication; a sign of warning or admonition; an indication of God’s power

A woman.

Ø      Clothed with the sun: it suggests supreme authority. How is the woman clothed with supreme authority? Think back to the Christmas story. In Luke 1, starting in verse 28, the angel Gabriel went to Mary and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” She was a little troubled and wondered what this was all about. But Gabriel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Could it be that the one she was to hold and protect was actually holding and protecting her? So here’s this woman, covered by, overshadowed, blanketed by, clothed with the power of the Most High God, with…

Ø      Moon under her feet: suggests derived authority. To derive literally means to draw off, like drawing water from a stream. It’s to receive or obtain from a specified source. The moon does not have light in itself. We only see the moon because of its reflection of the source of light, the sun. This derived authority is under her feet. Could this have something to do with the curse placed on that ancient serpent that Eve’s offspring would crush his head. (Genesis 3:15) Does it have to do with what Paul said at the end of Romans, The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. (Romans 16:20) We’ll look at this deeper in the coming weeks as we look at the Invader who “must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. … For he “has put everything under his feet.” (1 Corinthians 15:25-27)

Ø      A crown of twelve stars on her head: Does this crown refer to the 12 tribes of Israel or the 12 apostles of the church? This description has some translators thinking that the woman is the nation of Israel that gave birth to the church.  “Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars.” Psalm 148:3

A dragon.

Enormous red dragon: Who is the dragon? Verse 9 answers that question: “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” How many angels? Verse 4 says a third of the stars. His tail swept of third of what was trailing him, flinging them to earth. Somehow, someway, he was able to convince a third of heaven in his rebellion. His purpose? To devour her child. Do you remember what Peter once wrote? “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)  That ancient serpent. This serpent found at the end of the book is the same serpent in the beginning. Genesis 3:1 says that “the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made.”

Who is this dragon?

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Cor.4:4 Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light, 2 Cor.11:14 and is the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. Eph.2:2 Be on the alert! Our enemy the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, firm in the faith. 1 Peter 5:8 Some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 1 Tim.4:1 The Devil…was a murderer from the beginning and…is a liar and the father of liars. John 8:44 Our gospel is veiled…to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Cor. 4:3-4 It’s our prayer that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will, 2Tim.2:26 for the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 1 John 5:19 He’s the accuser in Job 1. He’s the tempter in Luke 4. He is seen in 2 Cor.2:11

In September we saw that we are in a very real war and that battle is not against flesh and blood. In October and November we looked at the personal battles we face every day. This month I want to encourage you to commit James 4:7-8 to memory and put it to practice every day.

Submit to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. James 4:7-8

Submit to God actively.

Resist the devil verbally.

Draw near to God intentionally.

God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay, Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day; To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.