I am burdened that we would all see the vision in Rev. 12. Do not think that the portrait here is a small picture showing a few insignificant matters. No, it is a great vision regarding what is taking place in the entire universe. The woman in this vision has been representing the people of God since the fall of man in Genesis 3. The woman not only represents God’s people, but also God Himself. In front of the woman is a dragon signifying God’s enemy. Throughout the centuries, the war has been between the woman and the serpent, the dragon.
This vision unveils the true situation in the universe. The worldly people can only see the obvious outward things: commerce, politics, industry, education, war. If you ask them the meaning of all this, they would say that they do not know. They only know to obtain an education that they may have a good job to earn a good living. They do not have the vision of what is taking place in the universe. But we see clearly what is going on. A woman symbolizes God’s people and represents God. In a positive sense, the wife always represents her husband. If your wife does not represent you properly, you will be shameful. But it is wonderful to have a wife to represent you in a good way. This signifies that we, the people of God, are His wife and that we need to represent Him adequately. God is the unique husband, and we, the unique wife, represent Him. But God has an enemy. Firstly, this enemy was a little serpent. Eventually, however, it became a great dragon who is now in front of us. If you do not have this vision, you will be blind, not knowing what is taking place on earth or in the universe. Praise the Lord that it is not simply a matter of education, industry, commerce, diplomacy, etc., but a matter of warfare between the people of God and God’s enemy. This war has been raging throughout the centuries and it is still raging today.
We all must be aware of the fight between the woman and the dragon. Actually, it is not the woman who fights, but the stronger part within her. Of those in the Lord’s recovery, some belong to this stronger part. This stronger part must bear the responsibility to fight the battle. The way to fight is by praying. Through the past four messages the dragon has been exposed and now he is naked. Hallelujah, we know what and who he is, and we know what his destination will be. We all need to preach to Satan about this. This will terrify him.
Most Christians mainly see that man fell, that God so loved the world and sent His only begotten Son to be the Savior, and that sinners need to hear the gospel, repent, and be forgiven of their sins and saved, so that one day they will go to heaven. But we must see something higher. The book of Revelation unveils a universal scene, a universal view. It is not simply that man has fallen — it is that God’s enemy is fighting against Him. In His economy God has selected a people to be a glorious woman. Once we were sinners, but now we are part of this glorious woman. Before I was saved, I was a poor sinner, but after I was regenerated, I became a part of the glorious woman. Look at how bright she is. In her there is no darkness at all. With her, everything is light — the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars. In front of this glorious woman is a blood-shedding, murderous dragon. We have no choice except to fight against him. But, according to the vision, the whole woman does not fight; the stronger part within her does the fighting against the dragon.
There will be war in heaven because of the man-child’s rapture to heaven. Many Christians have a poor concept of the rapture, thinking that rapture is merely for the purpose of giving them a happy time, of taking them to a pleasant place. The rapture is not only for us; it is for God’s economy and for God’s strategy. God’s enemy is still in the heavens. This enemy has been judged and his sentence has been pronounced, but during the past nineteen centuries God has not had those who could execute His sentence upon the enemy. Satan, the enemy of God, was judged by the Lord Jesus on the cross (John 12:31; 16:11). Following that, there is the need of the overcoming believers to carry out that judgment, to execute that sentence. The fighting waged by the overcoming believers against Satan is actually the execution of the Lord’s judgment upon him. Eventually, through their fighting, he will be cast out of heaven (v. 9). Who will go to heaven to execute God’s judgment and command the condemned, judged, and sentenced enemy to depart? The angels will not do this, for they are not qualified. The angels lack the position to do this because, being angels, they are on the same level as Satan who formerly was among them. God needs a man to accomplish this. This man has a Head — the man Jesus. He is the Head of the man-child, the Pioneer of all the overcomers. God needs such a man to execute His sentence upon Satan. God has been waiting a long time for this man. Although God does not have him yet, one day He will have him.
We must be raptured to the heavens to fulfill God’s need. We should not care that much for our own happiness. To care for our happiness is a Babylonian concept. This is also the concept of Catholicism derived from Babylonianism and resembling Buddhism. Religion is for human happiness, for having a good life in a merry land after we die. This thought is devilish. But, alas, this concept has infiltrated all of Christianity. Christians only care for their happiness, saying, “We like to have joy and a happy life. We want to go to heaven when we die, for we shall be happy there.” In Christianity you probably never heard that God has an eternal purpose and that we must fulfill God’s purpose. We need to be raptured to heaven, not for our happiness, but for the fulfilling of God’s purpose. We must go there to execute God’s judgment upon His enemy. God is waiting for this.
Verse 7 says, “And there was war in heaven.” Immediately after the man-child is raptured to heaven, a war commences with Michael and his angels against Satan. This indicates that the man-child, the stronger part of God’s people, is always engaged in fighting God’s enemy, Satan. The overcomers have been fighting Satan continually, even unto death, and have defeated him on earth. But heaven is still waiting for them to arrive there that a war may be waged to cast Satan out of heaven.
The Lord has shown us the most effective way to defeat the enemy. What we need to do is to take the covenant, the word of God, and preach to Satan regarding what the Lord has accomplished for us. For example, whenever we were troubled by our temper in the past, we firstly confessed it, then asked the Lord for forgiveness, prayed to the Lord to help us, and finally made up our mind never to lose our temper again. I experienced this many times. But we should not do this anymore. When our temper is aroused, we should forget it and preach to Satan. Go to the source of the problem — Satan — and preach to him, saying, “Satan, you have been crucified on the cross.” The more you preach to Satan, the more you will be released.
When the man-child is delivered and is raptured to the throne, he will say, “Satan, you were defeated by me on earth. Are you still here hiding in the heavens? Now I have come here to preach to you! Don’t you remember the messages I gave you on earth?” I am not joking about this. When we get there, this will be the situation. Then the man-child will say, “Satan, you should no longer be here! Get out!” As soon as this word is uttered by the man-child, Michael the archangel will lead all his angels to war against the dragon. After the executor gives the word, all the policemen will come to carry it out. God is waiting in the heavens for this executor. Who will be the executor? We, the man-child. Let us go there to preach to Satan. Before we can do this, however, we must first defeat him on earth. After defeating Satan on earth, we shall fight upward to heaven and eventually we shall fight downward to earth. Now as we confront Satan, we must give him many messages. Later, we shall go to the heavens, meet him there, and preach to him again. Then, after he has been cast down to earth to damage it, we shall descend and say to him, “Satan, are you still here? Let me give you another sermon. Now is the time for you to go to the abyss.” Then after the millennium there will be the fourth sermon given to Satan. At that time, Satan will instigate mankind to rebel against God. But we shall say, “Satan, listen to us. This is our last sermon. Now you must go to your destination — the lake of fire.”
If you would be qualified to participate in this, you must fight now. Do not be indifferent. I hope that after you read this message you will give a strong word to the enemy, saying, “Satan, you have deceived me for years. But by reading these messages, my eyes have been opened and I see that I must no longer be indifferent. Satan, you are not only God’s enemy — you are also my enemy. From now on, I will be absolute for my Lord and I will never listen to you.” The longer you make your message, the better it will be. Also, it is better for us to do this preaching individually. If you preach to Satan like this, you will become another person and will probably soon be included in the stronger part of the woman. Begin now to be qualified, equipped, and perfected to be among those who will be raptured to heaven to execute judgment upon Satan. We must tell the enemy, “Satan, I will preach to you on earth today. Later, I will also give you a message in the heavens. After that, I will see you on earth and preach to you once more. Finally, I will give you one more message, and then you will be cast into the lake of fire.”
I say again that the rapture is not for our happiness; it is for God’s purpose. Our God is waiting for the overcomers, the man-child, to go to heaven to execute His judgment upon the enemy. What a privilege it is to share in this! The angels are not positioned to share this privilege, but we are. Now we have the ground to say, “Praise the Lord that I am in the position to be an overcomer!”
We have seen that as soon as the man-child is raptured to heaven, the war begins. When I was young, I sought to understand why this war will start immediately after the man-child is raptured to the throne. I also wanted to know why the man-child did not actually fight but that the fighting was done by Michael and his angels. The reason is that the man-child is the executor, and the executor does not need to fight. Rather, he simply gives the word. After we, the executor, give the word, the angels who serve us will fight for us. The angels are our servants. When we say, “Satan, go away,” Michael will take the lead to fight against him. When the executor gives the word, all the policemen will carry it out. Are you willing to be in the stronger part of the woman? If you are, then you must learn to preach to Satan. Satan has constantly been troubling you, but after you decide to preach to him, he may run away, for he knows what you intend to do. Thus, you need to say, “Satan, don’t go yet. You are not allowed to leave until I command you to do so. Stay here until I am through speaking to you.”
The angels are ready to war against the dragon. Michael might even be saying, “Man-child, come up here and give us the word. We’ll carry it out.” But if we would be qualified to be there in the heavens to execute judgment upon Satan, we must begin to execute the judgment upon him now on earth. Say, “Satan, I will not let you go. I will bind and defeat you.”
This is what Paul meant when in Ephesians 6:12 he spoke of wrestling, not with flesh and blood, but with principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies. These powers are Satan’s angels. Satan is a usurping, self-enthroned king. Under him, there are many angels who are the princes, the principalities, and authorities in the air. According to the Bible, the principalities, powers, and authorities under Satan, rule over the countries on earth. For example, Daniel 10:20 speaks of “the prince of Persia” and “the prince of Grecia.” All heathen countries are under the ruling of these satanic princes in the air. In Daniel chapter ten, Daniel prayed for three weeks. Although he was burdened to pray, he did not receive an answer. Eventually, a heavenly visitor said to Daniel, “From the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days” (Dan. 10:12-13). This heavenly one had been sent to Daniel, but he was frustrated by the prince of Satan. However, as Daniel 10:13 continues, “Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me.” Ancient Persia and Greece both were under principalities in the air. The nation of Israel, however, was not under a satanic prince, but under Michael, the defender of Israel. While Daniel was praying those three weeks, a war was raging in the heavenlies. If we would be the overcomers, the stronger part of the woman, we must pray. All the rumors, criticisms, and opposition do not come from any human beings, but from Satan, who is behind them. If you pray like this, you are qualified to be an overcomer. Do not spend time dealing with your temper or your besetting sin. These things are little “bugs.” Rather, tell Satan, “Satan, I have been distracted for years with paying attention to my temper and to my besetting sin. But now I shall pass this on to you. I will not pay attention to these things, but I will pay attention to preaching to you. I don’t have the time to pray about my temper, but I do have the time to give you another sermon.” We all have been deceived, saying, “Oh, my temper and my besetting sin! If I don’t overcome them, how can I be holy, see the face of the Lord, and have the proper church life?” Leap out of your besetting sin and give Satan a sermon. According to my experience, I can testify that if you try to overcome your temper, your temper will be enlarged. Do not pray to overcome your temper — pray to overcome “the prince of Persia” and “the prince of Greece.” Pray that there may be a way for Michael to come. Pray that many in the Lord’s recovery may not only remain part of the woman but also become part of the man-child. If we pray like this, then one day the man-child will come into existence, and the archangel Michael will take the lead to wage war in the heavens against the dragon and to cast him down to earth.
After the man-child has been resurrected and raptured to heaven, he will not tolerate to see Satan in the heavens. Even today, we should not tolerate to see Satan in the church, but should fight against him. If you fight against Satan today, you will be qualified to fight against him in the heavens. After we have been raptured to the throne of God, we shall see Satan, and he will be terrified of us. When we see him, we shall not tolerate his presence there and we shall say, “Satan, are you still in our God’s sanctuary? This is not your place. Satan, you must go.” Immediately, Michael will act on our word and war against him.
Why will Michael and the angels not fight the dragon now? The reason is that they are not the legal and qualified executors. They are simply the policemen. We, the man-child, will be the legal and qualified executors. As we have seen, after we have spoken our executing word, the captain and his policemen will fight against the enemy.
The Bible reveals the names of two angels — Michael and Gabriel. Gabriel is a reporter bringing news to God’s people (Dan. 8:16; 9:21-22; Luke 1:19, 26), whereas Michael is a fighter contending for God’s people (Dan. 10:13, 21; 11:1; 12:1; Jude 1:9; Rev. 12:7). Jude 1:9 reveals that Michael the archangel contended with the Devil about the body of Moses. God had a purpose for Moses’ body. Moses had to be present on the Mount of Transfiguration and, according to chapter eleven, he must return to be one of the two witnesses. Hence, God had to preserve his body. Satan, however, wanted to destroy it. But Michael fought against Satan regarding this.
Daniel 10:13, 21 and 11:1 have unveiled that Michael has fought the princes of Satan for the people of Israel. Michael has always been a fighter for the interests of God.
Michael has been fighting throughout the centuries. When the man-child is raptured to heaven and gives Michael the word, he will fight once more against the dragon to cast him out of the heavens to the earth. I want to be there to see this take place, to execute the word, and to see Michael act upon it. I hope that many of us will be there.
Verses 7 and 8 say, “And the dragon warred and his angels; and they did not prevail.” “His angels” should be the fallen angels who follow Satan to rebel against God (Matt. 25:41). Satan will never be victorious against Michael and his angels. He will be defeated.
Verse 8 also says of the dragon and his angels that “neither was their place found any longer in heaven.” Having been defeated, there no longer will be any place for the dragon and his angels in heaven.
Verse 9 says, “And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent, he who is called the Devil and Satan, he who deceives the whole inhabited earth; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” We see here that the dragon and his angels will be cast down to the earth. This will take place at the beginning of the fifth trumpet. Revelation 9:1 says, “And the fifth angel trumpeted and I saw a star out of heaven fallen to the earth and to him was given the key of the shaft of the abyss.” The “star” in this verse is Satan. After he has fallen from heaven to earth, he will use the key to the abyss to cause the torment of the fifth trumpet. At that time, the shaft of the abyss will be opened and demon-possessed locusts will emerge from it. We have already pointed out that these locusts will torment men for five months. Recall that the fifth trumpet will mark the beginning of the last three and a half years. After Satan, the heavenly star, has been cast down to earth, his time will be very short, only three and a half years.
After the dragon and his angels are cast out of heaven, there will be a loud declaration in heaven. Verse 10 says, “I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now is come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brothers has been cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night.” The fighting of the overcoming believers against Satan is to usher in God’s kingdom. The Lord teaches us to pray for the coming of the kingdom (Matt. 6:10). Along with our prayer for the kingdom’s coming, we need to fight for it.
The rapture of the man-child to heaven, the casting of Satan to earth, and the declaration in heaven signify that the man-child will bring the kingdom to earth. When the man-child is raptured to heaven and Satan is cast down from heaven to earth, that will be the time for the kingdom of God to come. Not only will the kingdom come, but also the salvation of our God. Although we have God’s salvation today, we do not yet enjoy it in full, to the uttermost. But when the kingdom of God comes, we shall enjoy God’s salvation in full. It is the same with the power of God and the authority of Christ. We have participated in God’s power and Christ’s authority today, but our full enjoyment of them will be in the kingdom age.
We have seen that there are two aspects to the kingdom of God: the aspect of the reality of the kingdom (Matt. 5:3) and the aspect of the manifestation of the kingdom. Today, in the proper church life, there is the reality of the kingdom. However, in the church life we do not have the manifestation of the kingdom. The manifestation of the kingdom, which will be brought in through the overcoming believers, will come after the man-child has been raptured to heaven. The words, “Now is come...the kingdom of our God” denote the manifestation of the kingdom of God. If we are the overcomers, then we are living in the reality of the kingdom today. Since we are in the reality of the kingdom now, we shall certainly be in the manifestation of the kingdom in the future. Being in the manifestation of the kingdom requires us to be in the reality of the kingdom.
In these messages we have seen a vision regarding what is taking place in the universe. We are sober and know what is transpiring. We are not viewing things from the earth — we are viewing them from the heavenlies. We see a bright woman representing God and a dragon signifying God’s enemy. We also see that these two are fighting. Praise the Lord that we are not only part of the woman, but we are also becoming part of the man-child, the stronger part of the woman that fights against the dragon. We are fighting the dragon today and one day we shall be there in the heavens to give him the word to leave heaven. No human mind could have devised such a picture. Once again, we are forced to believe that this is the divine revelation. Who could have written such a record? No one, including Plato or Confucius, is wise enough to compose this. This record is simple, wonderful, profound, and all-inclusive. It affords us a universal view of what is taking place in the universe. From now on, none of us can say that we do not know what is happening. We all must say, “I have seen the vision and I know what is going on.” Hallelujah for this vision! I am glad that among the many crucial matters in the second section of the book of Revelation the first is this vision of the universal bright woman with her man-child warring against the dragon. This must be a governing vision. As long as we see it, we shall know where we are, what we must do, and where we shall be. We are in the church, we must be in the man-child, and our destiny is to be raptured to heaven that we may issue the order to Michael to cast Satan and his angels out of heaven. If we see this vision, we shall surely be beside ourselves.
