In the book of Revelations, we read about a day when the devil and his angels are cast out of heaven, to the earth (Rev. 12:9). This is an event that occurs later than the one at the beginning where he loses his position as an archangel. At the fall of man, he stole man’s authority over the earth. He now rules as the prince of the power of the air, which is the second heaven (Eph. 2:2). In the first part of this message we looked at the vision Tommy Hicks had in 1961 concerning the end-time army of Christ. In that vision, when the giant arises and reaches into heaven, God responds with a great outpouring of His grace upon the earth. I suggested in that article that this vision is speaking of the event in Revelations Chapter 12.
When Jesus died on the cross, he took back man’s authority over the universe. He then gave that authority to the Church. The application of this victory, however, is gradual. Christ must rule until He puts all enemies under His feet (1Cor. 15:25). The feet are part of His Body, which is the Church. This is a gradual process because it involves the transformation of man into the Bride of Christ. The Church must grow into the stature of the fulness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). As she does this, she is being prepared to stand in the evil day (Eph. 6:13). Can the evil day Paul is referring to be the time of the end when the devil is cast down to the earth? The complete fall of Lucifer is recorded in Scripture: he is rejected as an archangel (Isa. 14:12), he will be cast to the earth (Rev. 12:9), defeated on the earth (Ezek. 28:18), brought down to Sheol (Isa. 14:15), bound in the bottomless pit (Rev. 20:2), then cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). For man to take back his authority over creation, he must overcome the devil on this earth. In the Spirit, we already have this victory (1Co. 2:6). As we go through the Process of Transformation, we gain this victory over our natural life (our thoughts, words, and actions) (Rom. 12:2). When the devil is defeated upon the earth, we will gain the final victory over physical death. The last enemy to be defeated over the Church is death (1Cor. 15:26). This will be followed by a final victory of death over the rest of creation, after the Millennium (Rev. 21:1).
The difficulties that lay ahead for the Church are necessary for a final victory. As we enter the time of the end, I believe it is important for believers to be prepared. We must not take an escapist point of view. We must do all we can to stand (Eph. 6:13). Through faith we can overcome all the attacks of the enemy. As we consider the difficult days to come, it is important to remember that grace will increase as evil increases. We cannot imagine ourselves in a future evil day from the view point of our current circumstances. In that day, we will have the grace necessary to overcome. To access that grace will require the same exercise of faith that we must learn to exercise in this present day. The Lord’s grace is, and will be, sufficient for all our trials (2Cor. 12:9). But we must receive this grace with a humble heart, for “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6).
The minister saw something else in the vision that was terrible. “There were many people as He stretched forth His hand that refused the anointing of God and the call of God.” “And each of those that seemed to bow down and back away, seemed to go into darkness. Blackness seemed to swallow them everywhere.” We must not wait until the coming outpouring to serve the Lord. If today we choose not to obey Him, then on that day our hearts will deceive us to pull away. It is the deceitfulness of sin that causes the heart to be hardened (Heb. 3:13). “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things (uncleanness and covetousness) the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” (Eph. 5:6).
As believers we must also gird our minds with the thought that we must go through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God (Acts. 14:22). It is better to expect sufferings and not have to go through them, than to expect to escape them and find the opposite is true. This vision clearly shows that the resurrection of the saints occurs after a time of great persecution which ends with the appearance of the Lord. In the vision, the Church, which has become His Bride tested by fire, remains with Him as His wrath is poured out upon unbelievers.
In the book of Revelations, we read about the church in Philadelphia which is hidden during the “hour of trial which shall come upon the whole earth” (Rev. 3:10), because they had already persevered through persecution. Although these believers escaped further persecution, they remained on the earth through the hour of trial. The vision we have been discussing tells us that some Christians also escaped persecutions: “Angry mobs came to them with swords and with guns. And like Jesus, they passed through the multitudes and they could not find them, but they went forth in the name of the Lord, and everywhere they stretched forth their hands, the sick were healed, the blind eyes were opened.” Rather than hoping to escape in the rapture, we should be looking for supernatural acts of deliverance, while going about doing the works of God. During the time of tribulation, it is still possible for people to turn to Christ for salvation. When the day of wrath comes, it is too late for repentance.
It is interesting to note that the nation of Israel is not mentioned in this vision. This appears to imply that she is to become part of the Bride of Christ during the time of great outpouring and tribulation. The Scriptures are clear that the nation of Israel will receive Jesus Christ as the Messiah, but this must occur before the Day of Wrath. Actually, it is their acceptance of Christ that will usher in the end, “For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? (Ro. 11:15).
The last days are not a time to be feared, but a time to persevere and hope because our redemption is drawing near (Lu. 21:28). “But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Thess. 5:8-9).
Highway in the Wilderness 