(Revelation 12:1-13 NKJV) 1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 2

Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. 5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. 7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 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. 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. 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 "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." 13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child.

The solution to all rebellion is presented first in this chapter. The incarnation of Christ is how sin is to be atoned for on man’s behalf, and dominion of the earth is to be wrested from Satan back to Him. In this chapter we are going to learn about the rebellion of Satan, how he became the prince of Earth, and how Jesus the rightful King is to reconquer Earth.

Notice, in this chapter, the dragon, Satan, and the Devil are the same person. Here we see a war breaking out in Heaven, where Satan is cast out of heaven and is banished to the earth. The dragon taking a “third of the stars of heaven” and throwing them to the earth with his tail is describing Satan deceiving a third of the angels in heaven and winning them to his rebellion. Stars in the bible can represent angels (Rev 1:20). The fact this was done with his tail signifies the deception in which it was accomplished: “The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail” (Isaiah 9:15).

The dragon is described as “deceiving the whole world” and as “the accuser of the brethren''. Here we witness the fall of man into sin, and his claim over man that because of their sin they no longer belong to God. How are sinners to overcome the accusation of Satan? We read in the next verse, “they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb”. Man is redeemed from the dominion of Satan by Christ paying for their sins and claiming them as His own.

Questions we are looking to answer in this section: Who is Satan? Why did he rebel? What was the nature of his rebellion? How did he come to gain dominion of the earth? Why is he permitted to live?

(Ezekiel 28:11-19 NKJV) 11 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 12 "Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "

You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. 16 "By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. 17 "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you. 18 "You defiled your sanctuaries By the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you. 19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, And shall be no more forever."

Here we witness God using His prophet Ezekiel to address Satan through the king of Tyre. This lamentation reads that “you were the seal of perfection”, “you were in Eden”, and “you were the anointed cherub who covers”. These qualities could only be true about Satan. He was created perfect and played the role of a

covering cherub, the highest rank of angel. Over the ark of the covenant were two cherubs that covered the shekinah glory.

Satan was exalted more than all the other created beings, but his “heart was lifted up because of your beauty” and he became corrupted. In Isaiah we gain more clarity on the nature of his rebellion.

(Isaiah 14:12-20 NKJV) 12 "

How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' 15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. 16 "Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, 17 Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?' 18 "All the kings of the nations, All of them, sleep in glory, Everyone in his own house; 19 But you are cast out of your grave Like an abominable branch, Like the garment of those who are slain, Thrust through with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit, Like a corpse trodden underfoot. 20 You will not be joined with them in burial, Because you have destroyed your land And slain your people. The brood of evildoers shall never be named."

Notice the, “

I will”. This was a narrative that was birthed in the mind of Satan. He desired more than what he was. He wanted to be what the Bible testifies Jesus to be. Satan wanted to be God, to be exalted “above the stars of God”, to “sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north”, to be “like the Most High”.

[Mal 4:1, 3 NKJV] 1 "For behold,

The Day is coming, burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And The Day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the LORD of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch. ... 3 You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On The Day that I do this," Says the LORD of hosts.

[Heb 10:23, 25, 27] 23

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;) ... 25 Not forsaking the gathering in meeting of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but encouraging each other: and so much the more, as you see The Day approaching.(what kind of ‘Day’?) ... 27 a certain fearful looking for of judgment of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God and His adversary.

The Bible tells us that his rebellion will come to an end. As Christ is the root to the christian, Satan is the root to the “proud … who do wickedly”. What is left of Satan and his kingdom in the end is no more than a pile of ash.

(2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 8-10 NKJV) 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who

opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. ... 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will .consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

The language here points out the same characteristics of Satan. He ultimately desires to be “worshiped … showing himself that he is God”. “He sits as God in the temple of God”, gives insight into the religious aspect of his mission. We don’t need to assume a literal temple here because the temple was only symbolic. Jesus says His body is the temple (John 2:21). Also, it was Jesus who dwelt between the cherubs in the Old Testament (Psalm 80:1). Essentially, Satan wants to be Jesus Christs, and is going to personate Him. Everything Satan does is a counterfeit of what Jesus is doing.

[2Co 4:3-4 NKJV] 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the ‘

god of this age’ has blinded,..

[Eph 2:2 NKJV] 2 … the ‘

prince of the power of the air’, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

The Bible states that Satan is the god and prince of this world. In this study we will discover how this happened. We will also learn how Jesus wins back this world and saves sinners.

[2Co 11:14-15 NKJV] 14 And no wonder! For

Satan himself transforms himself into an ‘angel of light’. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

Another dynamic to understand as we delve into this study is that Satan doesn’t come to deceive in a hideous form, but as an angel of light sent from heaven. False teachers in this world, presenting themselves as “ministers of righteousness”, claiming to teach the Bible, are only mimicking their father Satan.

(Zechariah 3:1-5 NKJV) 1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before

the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?" 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. 4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him." And to him He said, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes." 5 And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.

“for the

accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night” (Rev 12:10)

(Rom 3:23 NKJV) 23 for

all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

(Rom 5:12 NKJV) 12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because

all sinned–

(Rom 3:20 NKJV) 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law

no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

(1Jo 3:4 KJV) 4 Whosoever committeth sin

transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

(1Co 15:56 NKJV) 56 The sting of death is sin, and the

strength of sin is the law.

Here we see the issue at stake. Satan is claiming that we are under his dominion because we are in sin and follow lawlessness, or another way of looking at it, we follow his laws thus we are under his headship.

The claim of Jesus, over those who believe in Him, is that He has paid their sin debt and the dominion of Satan no longer has authority over their destinies. The “filthy garments” are the sins and nature of man. Here Satan has an accurate account of the sins of all. His accusations are true. We must admit all that Satan says of us is true, but as we claim the merits of Christ by faith and believe we are righteous based on our High Priest who mediates for us, we are seen no longer as who we are in ourselves, but who we are in Jesus. The “rich robes” and “clean turban” represent the righteousness of Christ. All those being accused by the enemy, may come to Christ and be covered in His perfect righteousness.

(Rev 13:1-2 NKJV) 1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion.

The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.

(Rev 17:12-14 NKJV) 12 "The

ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 "These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful."

Satan, the dragon, imparts his authority to his servants to rule this world. Initially, when Christ created the world, He gave man dominion to rule Earth. This was lost to Satan through the fall of man, and now he takes it upon himself to set up rulers in the name of his kingdom. But how does the fall of man, consequently, give Satan dominion of the earth?How did Satan Gain the Dominion?

(Gen 1:26-28 NKJV) 26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;

let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

(Gen 2:15-17, 19-20 NKJV) 15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to

tend and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." ... 19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him(Husband/wife covenant).

(Gen 3:4-7 NKJV) 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.

She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

Because Adam obeyed Satan, the original dominion that was entrusted to him, was now legitimately given over to the enemy. The command of God to Adam was “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat”. Instead of listening to the word of God, he listened to the word of Satan. Who we obey identifies who we serve, therefore Satan became the “god of this age” (2Cor 4:4).

(Romans 6:16) Do you not know that to whom you

present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

Why was dominion lost with Adam and not Eve? God set up man to rule as the head, making Adam the representative of all those under Him. When Adam sinned the stewardship entrusted to him was transferred to Satan. Man’s purpose as an image of God, becomes an image to the dragon through this choice. Thus, the government of the world no longer reflected God, but Satan.

(1Co 11:3 NKJV) 3 But I want you to know that

the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

Adam chose Eve, his wife, over God. As

head of the human family he brought us all under the dominion of Satan, which is the dominion of death. Remember, the consequence of disobedience was death. And Satan is the accuser, attempting to forfeit the life we have in Jesus.

Parallel this to how Christ handled things. Christ obeyed the father and not His bride. Who is the bride of Christ?

(2 Corinthians 11:2 NLT) 2 For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as

a pure bride to one husband--Christ.

(Revelation 21:2 NLT) 2 And I saw

the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

Those who believe in Jesus and are faithful to Him are the bride. The true church is everyone that will be citizens of the New Jerusalem. Those who have come under Christ as their Head. Those who are obedient to His word.

When all His disciples abandoned Him the night Judas betrayed Him, what did He do? Did He give into the loneliness and choose to be with His church (bride) who had lost faith, or did He choose to be obedient to the Father at any cost?

(Philippians 2:8 NKJV) 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.

Where Adam failed, Jesus gained victory. Where Adam lost dominion by obeying his wife, Jesus obeyed His Father to secure dominion for His bride. On the same points where Adam failed, Jesus overcame.

What did Jesus Have to do to Gain Dominion Back?

(Gal 4:3-5 NKJV)

3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Our redemption was no one in a physical battle but a

legal battle. In Order for Jesus to “redeem those who were under the law”, He had to meet certain requirements. He must redeem man while maintaining His justice.

Man’s obligation to God is perfect unwavering obedience to His law. Jesus must not only be righteous, but He must do it as Man. It was man that trangessed and it must be man that fulfills the law. That’s why Jesus was “born of a woman, born under the law”. The Creator of the law, came under it as the Man.

Where we fail to live up to the law, Jesus is perfectly obedient. His humanity was in perfect harmony with Heaven. Thus where the law condemns us to death, it reckons Christ the recipient of the promises of life. He merited salvation so we could be saved by faith.

(Matthew 4:1-11 NKJV) 1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that

these stones become bread." 4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' " 5 Then the devil took Him up into the Holy City, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' " 7 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' " 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." 10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' " 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

(Mark 1:12-13 NKJV) 12

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

(Luke 4:1-13 NKJV) 1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." 4 But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.' " 5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world

in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 "Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours." 8 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' " 9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 "For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,' 11 "and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' " 12 And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' " 13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

Have you ever been tempted to turn stones into bread? Of course not! Jesus was being tempted to forfeit His humanity and work a miracle in His own behalf to satisfy His hunger. Remember, He was born “under the law”, and he had to overcome temptation as the Son of Man. Satan hoped that under the force of despondency and extreme hunger, Christ would lose faith in His Father. Had He done this, the plan of salvation would have been broken.

Jesus was tempted as Adam was tested in the garden. Adam was created good, with righteous impulses. The fall of Adam, in the fall of Satan too, an innocent nature may be tempted. While Jesus inherited the weaknesses brought on by four thousand years of sin, His nature was innocent as Adam’s nature initially was. That is why the temptations of Christ were Satan’s attempts to cause Christ to forfeit His humanity and act as God.

In the Garden of Eden, Eve “saw that the tree was

good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise” (Gen 3:6). These are the three points in which all sin falls under “For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2:16).

In His innocence, Jesus was tempted at these three points as man was in the garden of Eden.

Satan kept taunting Christ with “

if You are the Son of God…” insinuating that He was not and needed to prove it. Maybe Jesus was the fallen angel from heaven? If He was truly righteous, why would heaven forsake Him? These were some mind bending insinuations.

How did Jesus respond to this? He responded with “It is written”! As the Son of Man under the authority of God’s commands. He fulfilled the duty that Adam failed to. He obeyed the word of God over all else and by the word overcame Satan. This is also an example for Christians today.

(Hebrews 2:10 NIV) 10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and

through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.

Jesus is our High Priest, who was “made perfect through what he suffered”. He wasn't perfected morally, but legally. He now has perfectly replaced Adam. He has conquered, where Adam failed. Therefore, according to the book of Deuteronomy, He is entitled to promises.

(Deuteronomy 32:46-47 NKJV) 46 and he said to them: "Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe-

all the words of this law. 47 "For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess."

If you go back to the scriptures that Jesus quoted, you will notice that he exclusively quotes from the book of Deuteronomy.

“ … It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by

every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ …” (Matt 4:4; Deut 8:3)

" … It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God …” (Matt 4:7; Deut 6:16)

" … Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve' …" (Matt 4:10; Deut 6:13)

Deuteronomy is the book promising life for obedience to the 10 commandments and death for disobedience to the 10 commandments. Jesus is the Seed of promise that fulfilled the obligation set forth by the law, thus becoming the rightful inheritors of life for humanity.

(Deuteronomy 30:15 NKJV) 15 "See, I have set before you today

life and good, death and evil”

The condition of obedience to God for life was the same condition with Adam in the garden. The consequence of his disobedience was death, which now all of humanity is born into.

Jesus paid the penalty of death, and through His merits in overcoming, becoming “perfect through what He suffered”, He has legally earned eternal life on man’s behalf. This literal eternal life is given to those to believe and have faith in Him. That is why the doctrine of the resurrection is hugely emphasized in the New Testament.

[Rev 1:5-6 NKJV] 5 and from

Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.