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VI.
The Sure Word of
Prophecy
»
Chapter 59
:
Satan's Warfare Against the Church
1. UNDER what figure was the Christian church
represented to the apostle John?
"And there appeared a great wonder [margin,
sign] in heaven; a woman clothed with the
sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her
head a crown of twelve stars." Rev. 12:1.
NOTES.-
Frequently in the Scriptures a woman is used to
represent the church. See Jer. 6:2; 2 Cor. 11:2. The
sun represents the light of the gospel with which
the church was clothed at the first advent (I John
2:8); the moon under her feet, the waning light of
the former dispensation; and the twelve stars, the
twelve apostles. "Woman in her innocence was
attacked by 'that old serpent, called , the Devil,
and Satan.'. . . At the end of that first crafty
assault and speedy victory the dragon met with his
rebuff, in words like these: 'The seed of the woman
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His
heel.'. . . In the Revelation the scene is changed
from Eden to the heavens, and before you stand again
the woman and the serpent, in the same position of
antagonism as before, the serpent still the
assailant, only this time more openly so. . . . The
woman is no longer a simple, childlike personage,
but a wonder; she walks not among the trees
and flowers, but amid the orbs of heaven. She is
clothed with the sun, the moon is under her feet,
and upon her head is a coronet of twelve stars. In
her you see the great cause of truth and
righteousness embodied - she is, in fact, the church
of God in all ages, the woman whose Seed blesses all
the nations of the earth." - C. H. Spurgeon, in
The Tabernacle Pulpit, March 15, 1886.
2.
How is the church at the first advent described?
"And she being with child cried, travailing in birth,
and pained to be delivered." Verse 2.
NOTE.-The church is in labor and pain while she
brings forth Christ and her children, in the midst
of afflictions and persecutions. See Rom. 8:19,22; 1
John 3:1,2; 2 Tim. 3:12.
3.
How are the birth, work, and ascension of Christ briefly
described?
"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all
nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up
unto God, and to His throne." Verse 5.
NOTE.-Specifically this must refer to Christ (see
Ps. 2:7-9) ; but through Him is also prefigured the
experience of the people of God, who finally in the
judgment are to share with Christ in ruling the
nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 2:26,27), and, like
Him, when their work on earth is accomplished be
"caught up," at His appearing, to God and to His
throne. 1 Thess. 4:15-17.
4. What other sign, or wonder,
appeared in heaven?
"And there appeared another wonder in heaven;
and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads
and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his
tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did
cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the
woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her
child as soon as it was born." Verses 3,4.
5. Who is this dragon said to be?
"And the great dragon was cast out, that
old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,
which deceiveth the whole world." Verse 9.
NOTE.-Primarily the dragon represents Satan, the
great enemy and persecutor of the church in all
ages. But Satan works through principalities and
powers in his efforts to destroy the people of God.
It was through a Roman king, King Herod, that he
sought to destroy Christ as soon as He was born.
Matt. 2:16. Rome must therefore be symbolized by the
dragon. The seven heads of the dragon are
interpreted by some to refer to the "seven hills"
upon which the city of Rome is built; by others, to
the seven forms of government through which Rome
passed; and by still others, and more broadly, to
the seven great monarchies which have oppressed the
people of God; namely, Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea,
Persia, Greece, pagan Rome, and papal Rome, in
either of which Rome is represented and included.
See Chapter 60. The ten horns, as in the fourth
beast of Daniel 7, evidently refer to the ten
kingdoms into which Rome was finally divided, and
thus again identify the dragon with the Roman power.
6. How is the conflict between
Christ and Satan described?
"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."
Verses 7-9.
NOTE.-This conflict, begun in heaven, continues on
earth. Near the close of Christ's ministry, He said,
"I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven."
Luke 10:18. "Now is the judgment of this world:
now shall the prince of this world be cast out."
John 12:31. From the councils of the representatives
of the various worlds to which Satan, as the prince
of this world, was formerly admitted (Job 1:6,7;
2:1,2), he was cast out when he crucified Christ,
the Son of God.
7.
What shout of triumph was heard in heaven following the
victory gained by Christ?
"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. . . . Therefore rejoice,
ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them." Verses 10-12.
8. Why was woe at this same time
proclaimed to the world?
"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."
Verse 12, last part.
NOTE.-This not only shows that, since the
crucifixion of Christ, Satan knows that his doom is
sealed, and that he has but a limited time in which
to work, but that his efforts are largely if not
wholly now confined to this world, and concentrated
upon its inhabitants. Better than many professed
Christians, Satan knows that time is short.
9.
What did the dragon do when cast to the earth?
"And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the
earth, he persecuted the woman which brought
forth the man child." Verse 13.
NOTE.-The persecution of Christians began under
pagan Rome, but was carried on far more extensively
under papal Rome. Matt. 24:21,22.
10. What definite period of time was allotted to this
great persecution of God's people under papal Rome?
"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle,
that she might fly into the wilderness, unto her place,
where she is nourished for a time, and times, and
half a time, from the face of the serpent." Verse
14.
NOTE.-This is the same period as that mentioned in
Dan. 7:25 and, like the ten horns, identifies the
dragon with the fourth beast of Daniel 7, and its
later work with the work of the little horn of that
same beast. In Rev. 13:5 this period is referred to
as "forty-two months," and in Rev. 12:6 as 1260
days, each representing 1260 literal years, the
period allotted to the supremacy of papal Rome.
Beginning in 538 A.D., it ended in 1798, when the
Pope was taken prisoner by the French. The woman
fleeing into the wilderness fittingly describes the
condition of the church during those times of bitter
persecution.
11. What was Satan's design in thus persecuting the
church?
"And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood
after the woman, that he might cause her to be
carried away of the flood." Verse 15.
12. How was the flood stayed, and
Satan's design defeated?
"And the earth helped the woman, and the earth
opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the
dragon cast out of his mouth." Verse 16.
NOTE.-The mountain fastnesses quiet retreats, and
secluded valleys of southwestern Europe for
centuries shielded many who refused allegiance to
the Papacy. Here, too, may be seen the results of
the work of the Reformation of the sixteenth
century, when many of the governments of Europe came
to the help of the cause of reform by staying the
hand of persecution and protecting the lives of
those who dared to take their stand for the right.
The discovery of America, and the opening up of this
country as an asylum for the oppressed of Europe at
this time, may also be included in the "help" here
referred to.
13. What did Christ say would be the result if the days
of persecution were not shortened?
"Except those days should be shortened, there should
no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those
days shall be shortened." Matt. 24:22.
14. Still bent on persecution, how does Satan manifest
his enmity against the remnant church?
"And the
dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war
with the remnant of her seed, which keep the
commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ." Rev. 12:17.
NOTE.-To the very end, Satan will persecute and seek
to destroy the people of God. Against the remnant,
or last portion of the church, he is especially to
make war. Their obedience to God's commandments, and
their possession of the testimony of Jesus, or
spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10), are especially
offensive to him, and excite his intense ire.
Soldiers of Christ, arise,
And put your armor on;
Fight, for the battle will be ours;
We fight to win a crown.
We
fight not against flesh,
We wrestle not with blood;
But principalities and powers,
And for the truth of God.
CHARLES WESLEY. |
