by Paul Moore
A couple weeks ago during our Thursday morning prayer meeting, the Lord gave me a prophetic utterance. He said we are entering into the Battle of the Ages. I haven’t been able to shake that thought ever since it came out of my mouth.
It’s obvious, when you read the news today, that we are living in a time of great upheaval and conflict in practically every area of life. Hardly a week goes by without the report of some act of terrorism taking place in different parts of the world. It used to be almost exclusively overseas, but now it’s happening more and more at home. Civil unrest continues to escalate, especially between police and the Black communities in America. The division between the political parties is greater than it has ever been in history. I’m afraid it’s not just a matter of different ideologies… We are witnessing an ever increasing conflict among people around the world, and it is not likely to get any better in the days ahead.
This week, as I was praying, the Lord led me to Revelation 12:7-12. This passage may be descriptive of the time in which we are now living…
And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.
War broke out in the heavens, and Satan and his angels were cast to the earth. I’m not a scholar when it comes to eschatology, especially the book of Revelation, so don’t hold me to the exact time of the interpretation of these events. However, some commentators believe this passage marks the beginning of the seven year tribulation here on earth. That may or may not be true. I do, however, believe we are living in a time of great deception here on earth, both among the saved and unsaved. If you question that thought, listen carefully to people, especially leaders, talk about the challenges we face today…
“Somehow, if we can stop the sale of guns people will stop killing each other.”
“If we stop opposing the gay/lesbian community, we will have unity in our country.”
Verse 9 in this passage, tells us that Satan is the problem. It is he who deceives the whole world. Satan’s greatest weapon here on earth is deception. If he can cause us to believe a lie, we will turn away from God and one another. It’s the root cause of sin. Further, deception gives birth to rebellion, which in turn causes us to fight against the very One who created us. It sounds foolish, and yet, we fall prey to the devil’s tactics time and time again.
Verse 11 gives us the keys to overcoming Satan during the evil days. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, the blood of Jesus Christ. We will not overcome our enemy, if we stand on our own wisdom and strength, knowledge or understanding. Jesus purchased our victory at Calvary, when He shed His blood for our sins. It is only through the cross that we will be able to stand in the evil days. If you are not a Christian, you need to run to the cross, surrender your life to Christ, and ask Him to cover you over. If you are a believer, you need to run to the cross, seek the Lord daily, and ask Him to hide you under the shadow of His wings. One commentator said this, “They overcame him by proclaiming that salvation is through none other than Jesus Christ, and by their continual intercession at the throne of grace for the conversion of the heathen world.” (Adam Clark)
Secondly, we will overcome by the word of our testimony. We stand on the fact that we are all sinners saved by grace. We have been called to be part of God’s family – to stand together, to war together. The battle of the ages does not just apply to the unsaved. There is already great conflict in the Church. That will intensify, as Satan will do his best to turn us against one another. We must determine to walk humbly with God and love one another, especially in this time of war. I’m afraid the proud man will have his head chopped off! Please determine in your heart to love one another; don’t allow the enemy to separate and divide you from other believers. A great deal of that has already taken place – more will come.
And finally, He says, “They loved not their lives even unto death.” We must be willing to die for our faith. It’s one thing to physically die for one’s faith. I honor those who refuse to denounce the Lord and are put to death. However, there is another kind of death that we all face – and that is the challenge to die daily, to lay down our lives for one another. John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” We need to be willing to lay down our lives for one another – and that means to die daily. We have to die to our will, our way, our rights – and even our rigid schedules if we want to live a crucified life. (Galatians 2:20)
Verse 12b gives us a special warning: “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” The battles against us and all around us will intensify, because Satan knows his time is short. He will unleash every weapon in His arsenal in these last days. However, I John 4:4b tells us, “…greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
So, don’t fear, we will stand – if we choose to stand on our knees. The key word for this hour is “humility.” If we humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand, He will lift us up in His time.
