Earthly, Satanic Chaos

December 26th, 2024
by Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Revelation 12:10-12 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. 12 For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has a short time.”

The Rapture of the Church is an imminent event, without sign or warning. So if no one knows the day or time of Christ’s return, yet His return to the earth is said to occur directly after the seven-year Tribulation (cf. Rev. 11:15), then His imminent return can only refer to the Rapture—when Christ’s Church is caught up in the air to meet the Lord in the clouds (1 Thess. 4:15-17; cf. 1 Cor. 15:51-52). This event, just prior to the Tribulation, sparks another episode: war in heaven (Rev. 12:7). It thus appears that as the saints, or Church, ascend to heaven in the Rapture, the devil and his angels are simultaneously “thrown down to the earth” (12:8-9).

Verse 10 therefore is the reaction from the raptured saints in heaven, spoken of previously as the 24 elders (4:10; 11:16), the representatives of the raptured Church. They say, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come.” That it is the raptured saints who say this is supported by the fact that they speak of Satan as the accuser of our brethren. The “brethren” concerns fellow believers, not fellow angels. Further, the “salvation” (Gr. soteria) they speak of is not used here for one’s sins being forgiven through faith in Christ; rather, it concerns the ultimate rescue of the saints following their salvation—all their hope in Christ fulfilled now that they are with Him in glory. Their reference to “the power” (Gr. dynamis) speaks of their glorified strength as a result of their ultimate salvation. They are now present in “the kingdom,” coupled with “the authority” (Gr. exousia) of Christ, for they will reign with Christ in His Millennial Kingdom (Rev. 3:21; 5:10; 20:4, 6; 22:5) following the completion of the seven-year Tribulation. For them, the kingdom has finally come!

Now the saints of God are currently on the earth, enduring “the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11), eagerly and patiently awaiting the Rapture. John speaks of them in v. 11, following the Rapture, as having overcome the devil through the blood of Christ and His eternal word. They are people characterized as not loving their own lives to the point of compromising their faith under severe trial. In this, they are like the Smyrnaens (2:10) who would be faithful unto death, akin to their Savior who was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:8).

Verse 12 reiterates the call to the inhabitants of heaven to rejoice following the Rapture. But to those left on the earth during the Tribulation, when Satan and his minions have come down to torment them, there is only “woe.” The woe concerns the fact that Satan knows his days are numbered, and his own “wrath” (Gr. thymos) will then be meted out on those who oppose him. This term for Satan’s “wrath” contrasts God’s wrath (Gr. orge). Whereas Satan’s is an emotional state of mind, God’s is rational. Satan’s wrath speaks of out-of-control madness; insanity. That is what the earth will look like during those dark days of the Tribulation—out of control madness spurred on by the defeated devil, like a wounded python destroying everything in its midst as it flounders and gyrates until it finally draws its last breath. Though the judgments inflicted on humanity during that time originate from God Himself, the sufferings of earth’s inhabitants stem mainly from the schemes of the devil. This will result in the deaths of many, some of whom will be those who come to know Christ during the Tribulation, many of which will be from Israel.

Food for Thought

Swindoll summarizes Revelation 12:10-12 very succinctly: “Members of the church, destined to reign with Christ in His kingdom, will have received the fullness of their salvation and power and will be preparing to join Christ at His return to earth to establish the earthly kingdom (12:10). At the same time, Satan—the accuser of the brethren—will be cast down to earth. Though he had accused the mortal and sinning saints while they struggled with temptation on earth, Satan will no longer be able to make a case against believers. Their sinful inclinations and mortal flesh will have been replaced by a new nature and a new, glorified flesh (1 Cor. 15:53-54). Finally, the church will be described as overcoming Satan—not by personal strength but by the blood of the Lamb and through His Word (12:11). Because of this, the resurrected and raptured saints who will dwell in heaven can rejoice (12:12).”