Revelation_12

ScriptureRevelation 12:3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.Observation - What does it say? The “great and wondrous” spectacle of verse one is quickly interrupted by another ominous spectacle.  The scene is heaven and is meant to showcase the believing Messianic community and the twelve tribes of Israel.  War ensues on an epic scale starting in heaven then violently making its way to earth.  Defeated in heaven the devil and his angels persecute the Church; trying in vain to destroy her.  Finally they renew their war against her seed. Understanding - What does it mean?

It wasn’t long after my conversion to Christ that I realized the “honeymoon” was over.  I was joyously introduced to the trinity; Our Father in heaven, Christ the Risen Lord and the indwelling Holy Spirit.  I was a new creation in Christ created in Him to do good works.  I was more than a conqueror in Christ and I was filled with the Holy Ghost.  My true identity, which had been cloaked in sin, was coming into view.  It wasn’t long before I was confronted by a raging enemy, diametrically opposed to the plan of God for my life.   Satan, the world and the flesh make up what I call the “counterfeit trinity”.

Satan means “adversary” in Hebrew.  Tradition holds he was once an angelic being who rebelled against God and was cast down to earth, along with a third of the heavenly host.  Together they parade around like an angel of light attacking believers in warlike fashion.  Though we use the English words “earth” and “world” interchangeably, the bible differentiates: earth is the planet we live on and world is the order of all things that we live in.  Adam’s sin brought death into his world – into our world.  Satan manipulates earthly systems to breed death into the people of God.  In America there is a strategy to remove any and all references to the God of the bible from government establishments, e.g. the Ten Commandments. By flesh I mean our sin nature.  “Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Eph 6).   Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation, the old has gone, the new is here” (Rom. 6:6). The reality of our new status still comes under attack from within.  For example, try a biblical fast and see if you get any pushback.Though the actual word is not used in the Bible, the truth of God revealing Himself in three persons is included.  The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all called God, given worship as God, exist eternally, and are involved in doing things only God could do.  Although, God reveals Himself in three persons, God is One and cannot be divided.  All are involved completely whenever One of the Three is active. AW Tozer. Life ApplicationEvery day is a gift.  The Bible is clear; no man can serve two masters.  If my day is lived out submitted to Christ, I serve Him and his plans for my life. That being said, the safest place for me on this entire planet is at the center of God’s will.   Otherwise, I risk choosing a system that is overseen by a corrupt and created being and whose final destruction is eminent. His time is short.  Those whose identity is in Christ will overcome this “counterfeit trinity” by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.   - Warren Vivian 

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