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The anger of Satan
against the Rapture of
the saints is because
this event will be his
final defeat. Calvary,
the Resurrection, and
all the victory of
Jesus' death and life
were certainly Satan's
greatest defeat. It has
been downhill for him
since he was cast out of
Heaven. The Rapture will
seal his doom forever.
From the time that he
deceived Adam and Eve in
the garden, he has
attacked the family of
God. When Jesus
descended into upper
Sheol, Satan lost his
hold on the First
Testament saints. He
could not damn them nor
could they escape the
prison house of the
righteous dead. Jesus
took the keys of death
and hell and led this
victorious company out
of their prison into His
resurrected presence.
Their spirit and soul is
with Him in Heaven, but
the majority of them are
still awaiting the
Rapture and the
Resurrection to receive
their glorified bodies.
Matthew records that a
firstfruits number were
resurrected and caught
up when He arose from
the dead.
There are complexities
to the Rapture and the
Resurrection that must
not divide us. I
personally believe that
not one blood-washed
soul (Old or New
Testament) will be left
in the grave when the
Pre-Tribulation Rapture
occurs. The earth must
be free of the saved
dead before the traumas
of the seven years of
judgment can begin. The
judgments of Jesus
Christ will shake this
earth to its very core
so that nothing of sin
will be left to defile
or destroy in all of
creation. The wicked
dead will be in death
and hell until the Seven
Years of Tribulation and
the Millennium are
finished. Then they will
be resurrected unto
damnation to be judged.
Satan has waged war
against the saints for
six thousand years. His
very thought of the dead
in Christ being
resurrected with
glorified bodies forever
out of his reach is
terrifying to him. Add
to that the Rapture and
Resurrection of the
living saints that he
has pursued since the
moment they were born
again being removed
totally beyond his
reach. But the Rapture
and Resurrection of the
righteous is only the
beginning of his future
troubles. The saints
that he has terrorized
will become the Lord's
elders during the seven
years, and we will be
used of the Lord to
direct the judgments
against him and his
false trinity. We will
be glorified saints; and
the Bible says that we
will judge the angels,
and Satan is one of
them.
Let's begin by
contemplating the defeat
for Satan that will
occur in the first
heaven as the saints are
removed to the presence
of the Lord. Satan is
called the prince of the
power of the air.
"Wherein in time past ye
walked according to the
course of this world,
according to the prince
of the power of the air,
the spirit that now
worketh in the children
of disobedience."
(Ephesians 2:2) This is
the area of his
stronghold, where his
kingdom of fallen angels
is organized and
operates. From this
realm, he rules as the
god of this world. He is
called the god of this
world and the prince of
this world. He affects
everything that
constitutes the world
system, nature, and
especially the weather
patterns. God created a
perfect world. There was
no destruction until the
destroyer deceived Adam
and Eve. Satan usurped
his way into control of
the world system. Nature
is berserk today because
it is greatly affected
by the devil and his
princes of destruction.
The Bible warns us of
the struggle that this
horde of evil
personalities will
create for us we serve
the Lord. Apostle Paul
stated, "For we wrestle
not against flesh and
blood, but against
principalities, against
powers, against the
rulers of the darkness
of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in
high places." (Ephesians
6:12) Notice those terms
the Holy Ghost inspired
Apostle Paul to use,
"rulers of the darkness
of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in
high places." This is an
epic struggle, and
natural men and women
are absolutely no match
for these great and
strong spirits of evil.
Every spiritual victory
we win must be by the
Blood, the Word, and the
Spirit
Understanding these
strong, experienced, and
wicked angels operating
under the leadership of
Satan; we can see the
battle that is
developing to hinder
God's Prophetic program.
When the Rapture occurs,
we must travel right
straight up through the
middle of Satan's
stronghold. Hearing many
strange stories about
unidentified flying
objects is not so
strange when you know
what is about to occur.
The devil will stop at
nothing to accomplish
his goals and to defeat
the saints of God.
Victory is already
assured because "For
ever, O LORD, thy word
is settled in heaven."
(Ps 119:89). Apostle
Paul said, "For the Lord
himself shall descend
from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with
the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall
rise first: Then we
which are alive and
remain shall be caught
up together with them in
the clouds, to meet the
Lord in the air: and so
shall we ever be with
the Lord." (I
Thessalonians 4:16-17)
We will not need to
fight our path through
Lucifer's stronghold.
The Lord comes down to
meet us in the midair,
and with His Heavenly
Host (multitude) He
leads us back right
through Satan's horde.
The event of the saints
being Raptured up out of
their graves, joined
together with the
Raptured living,
following the Lord of
Hosts back to the
Banquet Hall in New
Jerusalem is too grand
to consider. There has
never been an army
marching from some great
victory back to the
fatherland to match this
picture. Satan has got
to know that this is
soon to happen, and he
certainly has a
counterattack planned.
His great defeat at our
victory right through
his stronghold will
leave him vulnerable to
the heavenly host of
angels. He will never
recover from seeing "ten
thousand times ten
thousand and thousands
of thousands."
(Revelation 5:11) pass
untouched through his
hands into the presence
of the Heavenly Father.
A multitude of angels
led by Michael will then
engage Satan to finish
his reign as the "prince
of the power of the
air." Weakened by his
losses, the angels of
Jesus Christ will cast
him down to the earth
never to appear in
heaven again.
John recorded the future
scene of Satan's great
heavenly defeat. "And
there was war in heaven:
Michael and his angels
fought against the
dragon; and the dragon
fought and his angels,
And prevailed not;
neither was their place
found any more in
heaven. 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. 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."
(Revelation 12:7-10)
His territory will now
be restricted to the
earth and he will know
that he has but a short
time. This loss for
Satan is incredible. He
has accused us to God
throughout human
history. The defeat of
Adam and Eve gave him
legal right to act as an
accuser to every saint
of God. He has been the
world's prosecutor for
six thousand years. The
reason for many great
defeats in the church
has been man's failure
to stand solely on truth
in their battles with
evil powers and dark
spiritual authorities.
Our only rights against
evil are those legal
truths of Scripture
contained in our blood
covenant.
Now, ultimate truth
prevails and Satan's
reign as prosecutor is
over forever. "Therefore
rejoice, ye heavens, and
ye that dwell in them.
Woe to the inhabiters of
the earth and of the
sea! for the devil is
come down unto you,
having great wrath,
because he knoweth that
he hath but a short
time." (Revelation
12:12)
Satan finally
understands that he is
losing and his last
efforts will be efforts
of desperation. By the
end of the seven years,
no creature on earth
will doubt that he is a
serpent, unquestionably
corrupted, and a loser.
The victorious saints
will be elevated to
elders during the coming
Great Tribulation. We
are never called the
church again after
Revelation chapter four.
We will be to the Father
and the Lamb, elders
participating in all the
events of righteousness
and righteous judgment.
Too often we think only
of judgment during these
dark seven years but
more than judgment is
redemption. The elders
will share the glory of
cleansing this earth
from every curse of sin
until righteousness will
be ready to spring forth
when we come back with
Him to reign on this
earth.
In Revelation chapter
nineteen when the harlot
religious systems led by
Satan have been
gloriously destroyed,
worship by the saints
will explode. The saints
are heard to say, "And
after these things I
heard a great voice of
much people in heaven,
saying, Alleluia;
Salvation, and glory,
and honour, and power,
unto the Lord our God:
For true and righteous
are his judgments: for
he hath judged the great
whore, which did corrupt
the earth with her
fornication, and hath
avenged the blood of his
servants at her hand."
(Revelation 19:1-2) The
Scripture states that
this was the voice of
much people in heaven,
not angels but "much
people." A voice came
from the throne of God
to this multitude
saying, "Praise our God,
all ye his servants, and
ye that fear him, both
small and great."
(Revelation 19:5b) Then
a voice proclaimed that
the Marriage of the Lamb
and His Bride had come
and the glorious event
of the Marriage Supper
was in progress.
Now, John is so awed by
this great vision that
he falls on his face to
worship at the feet of
the messenger that stood
before him. Listen to
this messenger, "And I
fell at his feet to
worship him. And he said
unto me, See thou do it
not: I am thy
fellowservant, and of
thy brethren that have
the testimony of Jesus:
worship God: for the
testimony of Jesus is
the spirit of prophecy."
(Revelation 19:10)
Careful attention to the
Book of Revelation will
reveal the wonderful
presence of His saints
acting as elders in all
the processes of the
seven-sealed book.
Redemption is the
business of the Lord and
His saints; and we will
surely judge the
Antichrist, the False
Prophet, Satan, and his
kingdom of fallen
angels.
Saints Will be as
Angels
What a defeat for the
devil to be judged by
the very saints he
persecuted so
relentlessly. The
Scripture stated, "Know
ye not that we shall
judge angels? how much
more things that pertain
to this life?" (I
Corinthians 6:3) All
through the great events
of judgment in this Book
of Revelation are angels
or messengers
proclaiming,
participating, or
directing the course of
events. Often we cannot
know whether they are
heavenly angels or
glorified saints now as
"angels" with the same
glorious powers that
angels of God already
possess.
The Word of God clearly
states that when we are
resurrected from the
dead, we will be "as the
angels." "For when they
shall rise from the
dead, they neither
marry, nor are given in
marriage; but are as the
angels which are in
heaven." (Mark 12:25) As
we read the Book of
Revelation after chapter
four we forget we are
viewing the scene after
the Resurrection. The
saints will then be "as
the angels" or in the
"likeness of angels"
from that moment on.
The Armies from
Heaven
When the Marriage Supper
is finished, we will
return with Jesus Christ
to the earth that we
left at the Rapture. It
certainly will be a
redeemed earth, but the
battle will not be
finished. There is no
record of where Satan is
hiding during the Battle
of Armageddon. His
Antichrist and False
Prophet are leading this
great army of angry,
godless followers. What
a defeat for the
Antichrist and False
Prophet. The spirit of
Antichrist is already at
work as they wait
somewhere in preparation
for the last days of
evil. At this time they
will be finished and the
mopping up operation is
the duty of His saints.
"And the armies which
were in heaven followed
him upon white horses,
clothed in fine linen,
white and clean."
(Revelation 19:14)
We descend with the Son
of God riding on white
horses and fully
prepared for battle.
There is no need for us
to draw our swords
because of the "Faithful
and True One" that leads
this great procession.
It will be our joy to
arrest the Antichrist
and the False Prophet
and to cast them alive
into the Lake of Fire.
"And the beast was
taken, and with him the
false prophet that
wrought miracles before
him, with which he
deceived them that had
received the mark of the
beast, and them that
worshipped his image.
These both were cast
alive into a lake of
fire burning with
brimstone." (Revelation
19:20)
How long the Lake of
Fire will be visible on
the earth is not
recorded in Scripture,
but it will be visible
to all the earth's
inhabitants at this
time. I think it will
probably be visible
during the entire
thousand years of the
reign of Jesus Christ
and His saints. Israel,
as the most glorious
nation on earth, will
also reign and be the
capitol of the earth
during this thousand
years of glory. The Old
Testament prophets spoke
often of Israel's
triumph during this
great kingdom of the
Messiah. The judgment of
the Antichrist and the
False Prophet will be
evident to the entire
earth's population. The
world must see the
contrast between
wickedness and
righteousness. In the
First Covenant, Isaiah
described the Lake of
Fire into which the
saints of God cast into
these two champions of
darkness. He spoke these
words, "And it shall
come to pass, that from
one new moon to another,
and from one sabbath to
another, shall all flesh
come to worship before
me, saith the LORD. And
they shall go forth, and
look upon the carcases
of the men that have
transgressed against me:
for their worm shall not
die, neither shall their
fire be quenched; and
they shall be an
abhorring unto all
flesh." (Isaiah
66:23-24) What a defeat
to Satan that he is
required to watch. The
devil will witness the
saints, that he has
hated, cast his
champions alive into the
Lake of Fire. The Father
created this Lake of
Fire for the devil and
his angels, not for
earth's population.
The Rapture and the
Seven Years of
Tribulation have been
one defeat after the
other for Satan. He will
know it is over as he
watches his last
kingdom, the long
anticipated "One World
Order," go up in smoke.
His great army, gathered
by his last world
conquerors will also be
judged and utterly
defeated. Then, its
leaders will be cast
alive in an open Lake of
Fire for the entire
world to see. Six
thousand years of Satan
being the prince of the
power of the air and the
god of this world will
have ended.
The Glorious Moment
of Satan's Arrest
The very Raptured saints
that he fought to
defeat, the glorious
hope of the church that
he hated and labored to
destroy, and the very
Tribulation Period that
Satan thought to stop by
his influence against
Bible truth will now be
completed and finished
by his arrest. I believe
this messenger, called
"an angel" in Revelation
chapter twenty, is a
"great saint" of God.
The honor for Satan's
arrest could not
possibly be given to a
heavenly angel. It has
already been settled
that the saints will
judge the angels, and
Satan is nothing but a
fallen one.
Let's read as a redeemed
saint is sent to cast
Satan into a bottomless
pit. "And I saw an angel
(messenger) come down
from heaven, having the
key of the bottomless
pit and a great chain in
his hand. And he laid
hold on the dragon, that
old serpent, which is
the Devil, and Satan,
and bound him a thousand
years, And cast him into
the bottomless pit, and
shut him up, and set a
seal upon him, that he
should deceive the
nations no more, till
the thousand years
should be fulfilled: and
after that he must be
loosed a little season."
(Revelation 20:1-3) This
bottomless pit is the
depth of hell in the
heart of the earth. The
torments in this
location could not be
worse, and he will
fester in this dark
place for one thousand
years. He will then be
given one reprieve
before he will be cast
into the Lake of Fire
for eternity.
Conclusion
It is not hard to
understand Satan's
hatred for the prophetic
truth of Holy Scripture.
The hope of the
Pre-Tribulation Rapture
is especially an object
of his attacks. It is no
wonder that the Catholic
Church hated the
original text of
Scripture. Once the
Catholic Church came to
power, it destroyed many
of the early copies of
the original text and
enlisted its own
supporters to produce
what we now call the
Alexandrian Manuscripts.
These corrupt copies
have a bent towards
post-millennialism and
are a part of the reason
for the present bias
against the
Pre-Tribulation Rapture.
Bible-loving and
truth-obeying saints are
still dedicated to the
great hope of the
saints. The Rapture of
the believing church is
certainly at hand. The
road map to the end is
visible. The coming of
the Lord will soon
occur, maybe today,
maybe tomorrow. Our duty
is to be "Waiting on
Ready."
Joseph
R. Chambers
jrc@pawcreek.org
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