THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
August, IMI
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a id the power o f his Christ; for the ac cuser of oar brethren 1« cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood o f the Lamb, and by the word o f their testimony i and they loved not their lives unto the death. 12 Therefore rejoice» ye herfvens» and ye that dwell In them. Woe to the in habited* of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you» having great wrath» because he kuoweth that he hath but a short time. 15s2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the victory over the beast» aad over his .image» and over his mark» and over the number of his name» stand on the sea of glass» having the harps of God. 3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God» and the song o f the Lamb» saying» Great and marvelous are thy works» Lord God Alm ighty; just apd true are thy ways» thou King o f saints. 4 Who shall not fear thoe» O Lord» and glorify thy name? f¡or thou only art holy; for all nations shall eome and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. LESSON TEXT; Rev. 12t7-12; 15i2-4. GOLDEN TEXT; * And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb» and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Rev. 1 2 s ll). - . DEVOTIONAL READING; Psa. 27 1 1-6. Outline and Exposition I. T he W ar in H eaven (12:7-12) B ELIEVERS in the Lord Jesus come. Many students of the Word be lieve that the passage already has had a partial fulfillment; but it is certain that the full meaning of this “war in heaven” must be unfolded in a yet future time. It is a warfare between spiritual beings; on one side is Michael, the prince of Israel, and on the other is Satan. The respective leaders are accompanied by hosts of their angels— in Satan’s casé, o f evil angels (v. v). The result of the war will be »the casting out of Satan from the territory he has long occupied and over which he has maintained authority. Ultimately, neither he nor his angels will have place any more in the heavens (vs. 8,9). He is Lifcifer, who lost his place of high authority through self-will; and he is that old serpent, the devil, existent before ever man was upon the earth (cf.: Isa. 14:12; Rev. 20:2). When he is cast out of the heavens into the earth (not yet to the bottom less pit nor to the lake of fire), a great voice is heard saying, “Now is come salvation, and strength, and the king dom Of our God, and the power uü.'y., ‘authority’ ] of his Christ” (v. 10). This is the voice of the heavenly saints con cerning th e ir “brethren” on earth. This voice will be heard when “the accuser of our brethren . . . which accused them before our God day and night” is cast down. Satan accused them, but he could not gain the control over them, because they overcame him by using a threefold
method (v. 11). The same method, is available to us also in all our testings by the evil one. First, there is victory through “the blood of the lamb.” For the trusting believer, the atoning blood of the Saviour answers fully and just ly every righteous claim. Second, there is victory by "the word of . . . testi mony”—personal witness to trie aoso- lute sufficiency of the blood. Third, there is victory through willingness to sacrifice even life itself for the Lord’s sake. In the light of the war in heaven and its results, the heavens, are called upon to rejoice, together with all that heaven holds (v. 12), At the same time “woe” is declared for all that dwell in the earth and the sea at that time. The “woe” is because of the presence of the devil, .cast out of heaven and having great wrath because the time of his activity in accusing men is short. n . T he M artyred C ompany (15:2-4) These verses from chapter 15 really introduce an entirely new section in the hook of Revelation. The company here described is composed of those who have gained the victory over the beast, his mark, his image, and the number of his name (v. 2), in spite of terrible perse cution. They are those who, during the great tribulation, will suffer death rather than yield, to the demands of Antichrist. They are numbered with the saints of heaven rather than with those who carry the number of man, or the beast, of Revelation IS. They have “harps,” indicating praise rather than prayer; hence they are not priests occupied with intercession. Their song is the song of Moses, ascribing praise to the One who gives the deliverance (v. 8). And it is the song of the Lamb, a song of salvation and rejoicing over the cleansing from all sinfulness. It is a song that cele brates the marvelous works of God and that magnifies the perfect justice and truth of the ways of God, a song that exalts our Lord as true and righteous yet full of grace and compassion. Their testimony (v. 4) is unto the holiness of God. They look forward to the time pictured by the Old Testament prophets when all the world shall come to worship before the Lord and pray before Him at Jerusalem (ef. Isa. 2:2-4; Zech. 8:20-23). Their reason for bearing such a testi mony as this is that God’s “righteous acts have been made manifest” (v. 4, R.V.) for all to behold. From the be ginning, men have questioned God’s justice, have denied His truth, and even have denied His very existence. But in this coming day, His “righteous acts” will be made manifest, and every created intelligence in heaven and on earth will acknowledge that He is the just and true God. Are your pupils acknowledg ing Him today as the one righteous Ruler of their lives? t
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