Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 12: 3-18 is about the clear and complete appearance of Satan or dragon with his activities on the last days as follows:
ad. 3. Fighting.
Revelation 12:7-12
12:7. And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
12:8. but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.
12:9. 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.
12:10. 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.
12:11. "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.
12:12. "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."
Satan and his angels make war in heaven.
Heaven is a very peaceful place. It is the place to worship God.
Satan wants to make the heaven not peaceful, so there is no more peaceful place and all will be destroyed.
There are three stages in warfare as follows:
One surely expects the victory [Revelation 12:10-12], but there is also a loser. All of them must accept the consequences.
Ad. 1. The pre-war stage, namely the peaceful atmosphere.
Psalm 23:1-2
23:1. <<A Psalm of David.>> The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
23:2. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
It is the testimony of King David, namely the atmosphere of peace, serenity, freshness, satisfaction, and abundance are in the shepherding system. That is why we must be shepherded well and correctly, so we experience peace.
We are formed by the power of God, so we can become His follower. We become His strong army who surely wins in war.
In the shepherding, Jesus appears as the Shepherd as follows:
God blesses us.
Revelation 12: 3-18 is about the clear and complete appearance of Satan or dragon with his activities on the last days as follows:
- [Revelation 12:4a] His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven.
- [Revelation 12:4b] Devouring.
- [Revelation 12:7] Fighting.
- [Revelation 12:13] Persecuting or catching up fast.
- [Revelation 12:15] Causing the woman or the church of God to be carried away by the flood.
- [Revelation 12:17] Making war or persecuting.
ad. 3. Fighting.
Revelation 12:7-12
12:7. And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
12:8. but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.
12:9. 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.
12:10. 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.
12:11. "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.
12:12. "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."
Satan and his angels make war in heaven.
Heaven is a very peaceful place. It is the place to worship God.
Satan wants to make the heaven not peaceful, so there is no more peaceful place and all will be destroyed.
There are three stages in warfare as follows:
- The pre-war stage.
- The stage of war.
- The post-war stage.
One surely expects the victory [Revelation 12:10-12], but there is also a loser. All of them must accept the consequences.
Ad. 1. The pre-war stage, namely the peaceful atmosphere.
Psalm 23:1-2
23:1. <<A Psalm of David.>> The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
23:2. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
It is the testimony of King David, namely the atmosphere of peace, serenity, freshness, satisfaction, and abundance are in the shepherding system. That is why we must be shepherded well and correctly, so we experience peace.
We are formed by the power of God, so we can become His follower. We become His strong army who surely wins in war.
In the shepherding, Jesus appears as the Shepherd as follows:
- Jesus appears as the Good Shepherdwho gives His life for the sheep.
John 10:11
10:11. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
John 10:9
10:9. "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Jesus as the Good Shepherd is the same as He is the door.
It means that Jesus dies on the cross to open the heaven or cross or narrow door for the sheep.
The narrow door means suffering in flesh to enter into the door of heaven as follows:- Entering into the court of heaven (the court of the Tabernacle) through the gate. It refers to the door of salvation or righteousness.
So, Jesus dies on the cross to justify the sinners or open the gate.
The sinners must willingly suffer in flesh to believe in Jesus as the Savior, repent (being dead to sin), and enter into the true water baptism.
The true water baptism is that one who has died to sin or repented must be buried in the water with Jesus and come out or rise from water with Him to receive new life, namely life in righteousness.
We become God's sheep. We are not destroyed, but experience peace. All things become easy and light. - Entering the Holy Place through the Door of Tabernacle.
The four colors at the Door of Tabernacle refer to the cross.
Jesus dies on the cross to baptize us with Holy Spirit. He grazes His sheep, so they do not lose their way and fall into sins up to the peak.
John 10:1-2
10:1. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
10:2. "But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
As for us, we must willingly suffer in flesh to receive Holy Spirit baptism. We experience the anointing and fullness of Holy Spirit, so we can enter into the Holy Place (the sheepfold), namely the perseverance in the three kinds of main service to God as follows:- The Golden Candlestick refers to the perseverance in committing the General Service. We have fellowship with Holy Spirit God in His anointing and gifts.
The sheep drinks to get the spiritual freshness. - The Table of Showbread refers to the perseverance in committing the Bible Study Service with Holy Communion. We have fellowship with the Son of God in the teaching Word and the sacrifice of Christ.
The sheep eats to get strong and not to fall but to grow up to spiritual maturity. - The Golden Altar of Incense refers to the perseverance in committing the Prayer Service. We have fellowship with Father God in His love.
The sheep breathes with the love and fear of God.
10:3. "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
10:4. "And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
10:5. "Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."
We know the Shepherd's voice clearly. There is no doubt.
It means that we firmly reject the strange voice and flee from it.
The strange voice is the other teaching that is not in line with the word, gossips, and the sound of the flesh that contradicts the Shepherd's voice or the true teaching word. We just hear and obey the Shepherd's voice or the true teaching word.
John 10:14
10:14. "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
If we know Jesus as the Shepherd, He will know us too. We are in the hands of the Good Shepherd.
The results are as follows:- The Good Shepherd purifies us, so we live in holiness continuously up to perfection.
- [John 10:9b] The Good Shepherd leads us to the pasture.
It means experiencing peace. We are safe and watching. God gives the guarantee for our spiritual life up to abundance. We are full and satisfied, so we can testify.
God also gives the guarantee for our physical life up to abundance, so we always give thanks to God and become the blessing for others.
- The Golden Candlestick refers to the perseverance in committing the General Service. We have fellowship with Holy Spirit God in His anointing and gifts.
- Entering the Most Holy Place through the Veil.
The four colors at the Veil refer to the cross.
Jesus has died on the cross to open the Veil or the door of Paradise, the One-Thousand-Year Kingdom of Peace, up to the door of heaven or the New Jerusalem.
We must willingly suffer in flesh with Jesus to be guided to the abundant place, namely Paradise and heavenly kingdom as the last shepherding. We experience peace forever.
- Entering into the court of heaven (the court of the Tabernacle) through the gate. It refers to the door of salvation or righteousness.
- Jesus as the Great Shepherd.
Hebrews 13:20-21
13:20. Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherdof the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
13:21. make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Jesus is called the great Shepherd because He can overcome all of challenges and obstacles including the death by the power of resurrection to make us complete in every good work.
The equipment from the great Shepherd is as follows:- A good conscience, namely sincerity and obedience, so we can live in holiness.
Hebrews 13:18
13:18. Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.
1 Peter 1:22
1:22. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
The heart is set free from evil desire , unclean desire and bitterness. We do not lie, but we can love one another. - The ministrythat God gives to us, so we are used in the ministry of the building of the perfect body of Christ, starting from marriage, shepherding, inter-shepherding up to the perfect body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:8-12
4:8. Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."
4:9. (Now this, "He ascended" --what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
4:10. He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
4:11. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
4:12. for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
If we minister to God with holiness, love, and the ministry or beautiful tunic, all things will become good and beautiful.
Be watchful! Satan does not like that all things become good and beautiful. That is why God gives us the third equipment. - The armor of God, namely faith--the sword of the word--, hope--Holy Spirit--, and love--the worship--to stand against Satan or the fiery red dragon, so we win.
Ephesians 6:11-20
6:11. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
6:12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
6:13. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
6:14. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
6:15. and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
6:16. above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
6:17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
6:18. praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--
6:19. and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
6:20. for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
The shepherding is our preparation place to stand against the great war.
- A good conscience, namely sincerity and obedience, so we can live in holiness.
- Jesus as the Chief Shepherd.
1 Peter 5:3-7
5:3. nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
5:4. and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
5:5. Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
5:6. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
5:7. casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
It means that Jesus will come a second time to give us the crown of glory that does not fade away.
The term 'Chief' means the first or one who becomes the pattern.
Jesus becomes the pattern in the shepherding, war, and so on.
Philippians 2:5-10
2:5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
2:6. who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
2:7. but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
2:8. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
2:9. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
2:10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
Jesus becomes the example for us. He humbles His life as low as He can and becomes obedient to the point of death on the cross, so He is highly exalted in due time.
Jesus receives the name which is above every name to defeat the trinity of Satan or all enemies. Jesus will come a second time to give us the crown of glory.
The crown of glory that does not fade away refers to the renewal of life from fleshly men to spiritual ones like Jesus, so we can follow the example of Jesus as the Chief Shepherd. He is the example of all things.
The renewal of life means being lowly in heart.
We humble ourselves to one another, namely confessing and forgiving one another.
As a result, we experience peace. The heart is not accused as well as does not accuse. We are free from sin, so we can minister to one another. We have fellowship with others and God. It starts from surrendering all of our anxiety up to our whole life to God. It is the same as Jesus who gives His life for the sheep.
We experience peace. We do not feel anything that flesh feels but only the great love of God.
We submit to Him until the flesh does not speak anymore. It is the characteristic of the bride.
1 Peter 5:6
5:6. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
As a result, God may exalt us in due time.
Mary keeps falling down although Lazarus has died four days. She shows her obedience, faithfulness, and ministry.
God stretches out His merciful hand to help us in due time.
God fights for us.
Exalting means finishing all of impossible problems in due time. God gives beautiful and successful future in due time. All are happy in due time. We are used in the building of the perfect body of Christ. We are purified and changed up to perfection like Jesus when He comes a second time.
We say: "Alleluia". We enter into the One-Thousand-Year Kingdom of Peace (the upcoming Paradise) and the New Jerusalem or heavenly kingdom, the last shepherding. We are with God forever.
God blesses us.