It's Time to Gain a Heavenly Perspective

 

Things are not always how they appear. Having the right perspective is how we view those in heaven will see spiritual things that we are studying in Revelation 12 in the war between Michael and his angels and Satan and his fallen angels. The Bible is silent however on whether or not we, who are in heaven, will be able to see things going on in the earth. What is interesting is that if we, in heaven, are giving God's perspective on things, we would not see things happening below to our loved ones as sad. We would know why there are happening and thus not be sad.

Daniel 10:12-13 ~ "Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the King of Persia."

In a nutshell, the prayer Daniel prayed, was possibly in the process of perhaps being answered by Gabriel and he was dispatched from heaven the day Daniel prayed it. However, because he (Gabriel?) was delayed by a fallen angel identified as the prince of the Persian kingdom, it took Michael coming to help him before he could deliver the answer to prayer to Daniel. He was being held up in the spiritual realm. If you want an idea of what goes on in the spiritual realm and our own physical world, read Piercing the Darkness from Frank Peretti! Too often we fail to recognize and forget that there are demonic influences happening in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

Matthew 25:41 ~ "Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

Hell wasn't created for humans, it was created for Satan and his angels. Humans wind up there on their own choices to reject God and do what they want.

Isaiah 24:21 ~ "In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below."

We need to remember that our most effective weapon we weld as a Christian is prayer, We need to pray and pray again in those desperate hours in our lives.

Ephesians 6:12 ~ "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

This is where our battle is, not with the people we encounter. Pray and pray always in all things.

Ephesians 6:18 ~ "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

We need to enforce the fact that means "apply the Bible through prayer/" This is the only way to affect the spiritual realm. This is how Christians weld weapons.

Daniel 12:1 ~"At this time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people - everyone whose name is found in the book - will be delivered."

"At this time" is the time referred to in Revelation 12:7 with the war in heaven between Michael and Satan. Michael stands up to act and to defend. Fighting the right battle, wins us the victory, there is a victory that is fully guaranteed us.

Revelation 12:8 ~ "But he was not strong enough (Satan), and they lose their place in heaven."

Jesus took his disciples to a place in Caseara Phillipi where it was not a place for Christians to go. In fact, during that time, it was the biggest place of Satanic worship and demon activity. It was a place carved out of rock where places were that you could worship your god of choice, declare allegiance to them and then sacrifice your child by throwing them into the river below. The place still exists today and you'd be surprised at what it is called, "The Gates of Hell." (See pictures contained in this post). We pick up the story and see how this changes our perspective in what we have read all along now.

Matthew 16:18 ~ "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not over come it."

This was one of the darkest places on the planet. Pan was worshiped here. It was known as Pan - Ick. Worship of Pan, declare their name, worship him and then sacrifice your children to him." These rocks in Casarea Philippi are called the Gates of Hell. This is the reason that Jesus told Peter and his disciples in that location, that the gates of Hell will not prevail against His church, no matter what happens in the world. No matter how dark or evil it might look.

John 10:27-29 ~ "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's Hand."

Jesus gives eternal life for free, it is not something any of us can attempt to earn. Once we have it, we need to rest in that assurance that we belong to Jesus and nothing that happens to us in this life will ever take away the promise of eternal life He have given to those who call Him Lord and Savior.

Philippians 1:6 ~ "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Psalm 138:8 ~ "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; you love, O LORD, endures forever - do not abandon the works of your hands."

Jude 1:24 ~ "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy."

John 16:11 ~ "and in regards to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."

Hebrews 2:14-15 ~ "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humility so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death -  that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."

Satan either wants you to fear death or simply never to think about it. There is a victory that is absolutely final.

Revelation 12:8 ~ "But he was not strong enough (Satan), and they lost their place in heaven."

Luke 22:31-32 ~ "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

Isn't it interesting what Simon might have been thinking when Jesus posed this to Simon. I'm sure he was probably saying, "Why didn't you just tell Satan, No and then we'd would move forward without anything happening to me. I mean prayer is fine and all that, but really?"

When Satan asks to "sift you as wheat," that is not a good thing. People masquerade all the time in their faith, carrying their Bible, attending church, but they'd rather enjoy the pleasures of this world over what Jesus has promised and are not true followers of the faith. Why would anyone want to follow them?

The world right now belongs to Satan and his followers but as we have studied in Revelation 12, that will not always be the case. Jesus is coming back and that will soon change. 

Satan Is Expelled From Heaven

 

As we have been continuing our study into the Book of Revelation it is important to understand that this is for a 7 year duration period once the church is removed from the earth in Revelation 4:1. What we need to understand is that the final 3 1/2 years is known as the Great Tribulation period, one filled with atmospheric disturbances, wars, plagues and geological events. The believers we find scattered through these chapters are simply Tribulation Saints, ones that responded to the message in faith after the rapture of the church. Church Age Saints or Believers have been in heaven up to this point.

From Revelation 12 to Revelation 19, the Bible takes the reader into the microscopic details of the events we see coming to the earth during the final 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation period. As we studied in previous posts we learned that the nation of Israel and the Jewish remnant will flee to the wildness and we have deciphered that this is located in Jordan, and we believe it will be in the city of Petra. During the Tribulation period, the Antichrist will have Jordan as their enemy and thus he will not be able to touch them.

Daniel 11:41 ~ "He (the Antichrist) will also invade the Beautiful Land (Jerusalem). Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand."

Right now the European Union has been stockpiling food supplies and resources in Jordan in an undisclosed location but reportedly not far from Petra in the event of a global war that would impact Europe or the Middle East. It is slated to contain enough food for 2 million people. If you attempt to search for this, you will not find any information on the Internet but those who are involved in the process can't comment on what is happening or where the supply location is. This would be perfect to align up with Revelation 12:6 ~"The woman (Israel) fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days (or 3 1/2 years)." This means that Jordan will supply the food to enable this to happen. 

Revelation 12:7-12 ~ "And there was a war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short."

This details the eviction of Satan out of his access from heaven. Remember that this is a detailed look at what is going on during the Tribulation period in a behind the scenes kind of way. This is during those final 3 1/2 years known as the Great Tribulation.

Matthew 24:21 ~ "For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again."

Fighting the battle, wins us the victory. There is a victory that can only come from war despite how we may feel. No one wants war, but if you want to stop your enemies from attacking you on your own soil, you have to attach them on their own soil. You can't wait for them to get here. We all want peace, but in order to achieve it, sometimes war is necessary. Think about what happened if the US had opted to stay out of the war when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor or when Germany invaded Europe. The world would be a drastically different place.

Behind earthly wars, there are first spiritual powers at play. The Bible tells us there are nations that are stirred up by demonic and heavenly warfare. Salvation is the absolute victory and purpose of God and Satan wants to do anything he can to prevent that from happening.

We know in reading the Bible that there are 3 levels or types of heaven. We have the (1) heaven which consists of ground zero to where our atmosphere ends and space begins. Then the (2) heaven is from all the space and beyond to include all the planets and stars, suns and galaxies as far as it exists. The (3) heaven is the very abode of God. When we read that there was a war in heaven, this is all three heavens rolled into one.

During the Tribulation Period, Satan is expelled from heaven and the Throne Room of God where he has been accusing believers since the creation. Why does God even allow him access? Satan likes to pick fights, he's been doing it all along and even through the Tribulation period because he knows his time is limited. We see in our study today that a war is breaking out in heaven between Michael and his angels and Lucifer (Satan) and his angels.

This is an incredible sight to fathom because when we consider angels, they are not the cute chubby cheek cherubs. Whenever they have appeared throughout the Bible, people are afraid when they show up, and are often sick for days. Here we see Michael versus Satan. Jesus does not have an equal opponent. This is a battle in the spiritual realm of heaven and one we will look at in greater detail tomorrow.

We Are All In A War, What is Your Role?

Will God let us see what is happening on earth during the Tribulation Period? We will probably have an awareness of what is happening but the Bible is silent on that issue. So often when bad things happen in the world, people are quick to point the blame on God. But that is so wrong. The Bible tells us exactly who is to blame.

1 John 5:19 ~ "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one."

John 10:10 ~ "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." 

So if we want to place blame for all the evil things happening in the world, let's make sure to place the blame in the right place.

God told us prophecy in advance, not to scare us but to prepare us to know Jesus Christ, personally. You can find Jesus in a church, but we need to call out to Him alone. We need to divorce ourselves from religion and develop a personal relationship instead.

As we studied yesterday, about Satan's request to sift Peter as wheat and Jesus' response was that He would pray for Peter. Satan has that right today in your life and mine. The question we need to ask ourselves in situations like Peter and Job is did they win in the end? The answer should be an emphatic YES!!

Isaiah 54:17 ~ "no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me, declares the LORD."

If you want to grow as a Christian, know this, God will bring you right to the brink of things before giving you His grace and mercy. It's tough, but its how we grow. Sometimes as believers we have more problems than non believers do and a lot of times it is because they (non believers) are waiting to see what you will do when hard times come. Is your faith something that can be trusted when you are tested? That can sometimes be worth more than simply offering to take someone to church in hopes they might believe.

Remember this however, that Satan's days are numbered. Our victory is an overwhelming victory because our true enemy is overwhelmingly defeated.

Revelation 12:9 ~ "The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled down to the earth, and his angels with him."

Notice how many references to Satan are found in simply this one verse. The "serpent" is a reference to the Garden of Eden where it all began. The "devil" or diablo is one who slanders or accuses. "Satan" is our chief adversary, and the "great dragon: is ruling over kingdoms and politics of the world. Let's rephase that verse now with a little more clarity.

The one who rules over the kingdoms and politics of the world, the one who started all of this in the Garden of evil, the one who accuses and slanders, our chief adversary, was hurled down to the earth and his angels with him.

In the New King James Version, this verse begins, "So the dragon was cast out." It is interesting to say it regardless where you put the reference on the word "SO." As a result of Satan's ways, so he was cast out.

1 John 5:19 ~ "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one."

If you don't know Jesus personally, you are still lost and blinded by Satan's powers. This control can only be broken by the One who defeated Satan and that is Jesus Christ.

Beware of legalism, which is simply trying to live up to certain expectations within a church or religious group in order to gain favor with God. It's heresy and it won't work.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ~ "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

Our true desire is overwhelmingly fulfilled and our destination is heaven. We see in this chapter those who have died, the Tribulation Saints or martyrs of the faith, as we draw close to the end of the Tribulation period.

Revelation 12:10 ~ "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down."

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 ~ "However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit."

Our victory is an overwhelming victory because our true accuser is overwhelmingly stopped. Satan is constantly reminding God about all the condemnation of the human race both saved and unsaved before the throne room of God. Salvation is the victory of God.

This victory comes at a great price. This gift of salvation is of the Lord.

Revelation 12:11-12~ "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore, rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows his time is short."

The word of their testimony - is telling people what God has done and is continuing to do in our lives, that the Word of God is true. No one can say your lying about what changes you have seen God doing in your life. That is why the enemy tries so hard to keep you from sharing Jesus with others. He understands just how powerful our life stories can be.

There is no room in heaven for people who don't come there through Jesus Christ and that makes the world mad. He is the prescription for eternal security and spiritual victory. They had given up, surrendered to God so that He could live through them. That's how a Christian wins!

Those in heaven will rejoice!
The church having been raptured.
The Old Testament believers.
Those who are martyred.
All of these will rejoice in heaven!

This victory comes at a great price, this gift rejected leaves man no other hope.

By what means will you redeem yourself? How? Why is Jesus Christ such an issue for you? Why?

Acts 4:11-12 ~ "He is the cornerstone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

This gift is a once in a lifetime chance to escape. In order to get to hell, you have to willingly rejected Jesus. There is no other way out for you.

The meaning of this message must be that there is an epic battle being waged and we're in it.

The question is, what role are you playing?

 

Gaining a Heavenly Perspective

Things are not always how they appear. Having the right perspective is how we view those in heaven will see spiritual things that we are studying in Revelation 12 in the war between Michael and his angels and Satan and his fallen angels. The Bible is silent however on whether or not we, who are in heaven, will be able to see things going on in the earth. What is interesting is that if we, in heaven, are giving God's perspective on things, we would not see things happening below to our loved ones as sad. We would know why there are happening and thus not be sad.

Daniel 10:12-13 ~ "Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the King of Persia."

In a nutshell, the prayer Daniel prayed, was possibly in the process of perhaps being answered by Gabriel and he was dispatched from heaven the day Daniel prayed it. However, because he (Gabriel?) was delayed by a fallen angel identified as the prince of the Persian kingdom, it took Michael coming to help him before he could deliver the answer to prayer to Daniel. He was being held up in the spiritual realm. If you want an idea of what goes on in the spiritual realm and our own physical world, read Piercing the Darkness from Frank Peretti! Too often we fail to recognize and forget that there are demonic influences happening in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

Matthew 25:41 ~ "Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

Hell wasn't created for humans, it was created for Satan and his angels. Humans wind up there on their own choices to reject God and do what they want.

Isaiah 24:21 ~ "In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below."

We need to remember that our most effective weapon we weld as a Christian is prayer, We need to pray and pray again in those desperate hours in our lives.

Ephesians 6:12 ~ "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

This is where our battle is, not with the people we encounter. Pray and pray always in all things.

Ephesians 6:18 ~ "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

We need to enforce the fact that means "apply the Bible through prayer/" This is the only way to affect the spiritual realm. This is how Christians weld weapons.

Daniel 12:1 ~"At this time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people - everyone whose name is found in the book - will be delivered."

"At this time" is the time referred to in Revelation 12:7 with the war in heaven between Michael and Satan. Michael stands up to act and to defend. Fighting the right battle, wins us the victory, there is a victory that is fully guaranteed us.

Revelation 12:8 ~ "But he was not strong enough (Satan), and they lose their place in heaven."

Jesus took his disciples to a place in Caseara Phillipi where it was not a place for Christians to go. In fact, during that time, it was the biggest place of Satanic worship and demon activity. It was a place carved out of rock where places were that you could worship your god of choice, declare allegiance to them and then sacrifice your child by throwing them into the river below. The place still exists today and you'd be surprised at what it is called, "The Gates of Hell." (See pictures contained in this post). We pick up the story and see how this changes our perspective in what we have read all along now.

Matthew 16:18 ~ "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not over come it."

This was one of the darkest places on the planet. Pan was worshiped here. It was known as Pan - Ick. Worship of Pan, declare their name, worship him and then sacrifice your children to him." These rocks in Casarea Philippi are called the Gates of Hell. This is the reason that Jesus told Peter and his disciples in that location, that the gates of Hell will not prevail against His church, no matter what happens in the world. No matter how dark or evil it might look.

John 10:27-29 ~ "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's Hand."

Jesus gives eternal life for free, it is not something any of us can attempt to earn. Once we have it, we need to rest in that assurance that we belong to Jesus and nothing that happens to us in this life will ever take away the promise of eternal life He have given to those who call Him Lord and Savior.

Philippians 1:6 ~ "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Psalm 138:8 ~ "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; you love, O LORD, endures forever - do not abandon the works of your hands."

Jude 1:24 ~ "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy."

John 16:11 ~ "and in regards to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."

Hebrews 2:14-15 ~ "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humility so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death -  that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."

Satan either wants you to fear death or simply never to think about it. There is a victory that is absolutely final.

Revelation 12:8 ~ "But he was not strong enough (Satan), and they lost their place in heaven."

Luke 22:31-32 ~ "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

Isn't it interesting what Simon might have been thinking when Jesus posed this to Simon. I'm sure he was probably saying, "Why didn't you just tell Satan, No and then we'd would move forward without anything happening to me. I mean prayer is fine and all that, but really?"

When Satan asks to "sift you as wheat," that is not a good thing. People masquerade all the time in their faith, carrying their Bible, attending church, but they'd rather enjoy the pleasures of this world over what Jesus has promised and are not true followers of the faith. Why would anyone want to follow them?

The world right now belongs to Satan and his followers but as we have studied in Revelation 12, that will not always be the case. Jesus is coming back and that will soon change. 

Satan Gets Expelled

As we have been continuing our study into the Book of Revelation it is important to understand that this is for a 7 year duration period once the church is removed from the earth in Revelation 4:1. What we need to understand is that the final 3 1/2 years is known as the Great Tribulation period, one filled with atmospheric disturbances, wars, plagues and geological events. The believers we find scattered through these chapters are simply Tribulation Saints, ones that responded to the message in faith after the rapture of the church. Church Age Saints or Believers have been in heaven up to this point.

From Revelation 12 to Revelation 19, the Bible takes the reader into the microscopic details of the events we see coming to the earth during the final 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation period. As we studied in previous posts we learned that the nation of Israel and the Jewish remnant will flee to the wildness and we have deciphered that this is located in Jordan, and we believe it will be in the city of Petra. During the Tribulation period, the Antichrist will have Jordan as their enemy and thus he will not be able to touch them.

Daniel 11:41 ~ "He (the Antichrist) will also invade the Beautiful Land (Jerusalem). Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand."

Right now the European Union has been stockpiling food supplies and resources in Jordan in an undisclosed location but reportedly not far from Petra in the event of a global war that would impact Europe or the Middle East. It is slated to contain enough food for 2 million people. If you attempt to search for this, you will not find any information on the Internet but those who are involved in the process can't comment on what is happening or where the supply location is. This would be perfect to align up with Revelation 12:6 ~"The woman (Israel) fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days (or 3 1/2 years)." This means that Jordan will supply the food to enable this to happen. 

Revelation 12:7-12 ~ "And there was a war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short."

This details the eviction of Satan out of his access from heaven. Remember that this is a detailed look at what is going on during the Tribulation period in a behind the scenes kind of way. This is during those final 3 1/2 years known as the Great Tribulation.

Matthew 24:21 ~ "For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again."

Fighting the battle, wins us the victory. There is a victory that can only come from war despite how we may feel. No one wants war, but if you want to stop your enemies from attacking you on your own soil, you have to attach them on their own soil. You can't wait for them to get here. We all want peace, but in order to achieve it, sometimes war is necessary. Think about what happened if the US had opted to stay out of the war when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor or when Germany invaded Europe. The world would be a drastically different place.

Behind earthly wars, there are first spiritual powers at play. The Bible tells us there are nations that are stirred up by demonic and heavenly warfare. Salvation is the absolute victory and purpose of God and Satan wants to do anything he can to prevent that from happening.

We know in reading the Bible that there are 3 levels or types of heaven. We have the (1) heaven which consists of ground zero to where our atmosphere ends and space begins. Then the (2) heaven is from all the space and beyond to include all the planets and stars, suns and galaxies as far as it exists. The (3) heaven is the very abode of God. When we read that there was a war in heaven, this is all three heavens rolled into one.

During the Tribulation Period, Satan is expelled from heaven and the Throne Room of God where he has been accusing believers since the creation. Why does God even allow him access? Satan likes to pick fights, he's been doing it all along and even through the Tribulation period because he knows his time is limited. We see in our study today that a war is breaking out in heaven between Michael and his angels and Lucifer (Satan) and his angels.

This is an incredible sight to fathom because when we consider angels, they are not the cute chubby cheek cherubs. Whenever they have appeared throughout the Bible, people are afraid when they show up, and are often sick for days. Here we see Michael versus Satan. Jesus does not have an equal opponent. This is a battle in the spiritual realm of heaven and one we will look at in greater detail tomorrow.