Isaiah 46:10: Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
This epic drama we call the Bible, written from Genesis to Revelation, becomes even more intense when we understand that humanity’s “fall” was no accident, we have an ADVERSARY. God Almighty has an enemy who is no match for YHWH, and yet has set his sights on destroying all that YHWH has created, particularly the pinnacle of His Creation, you and me. This enemy, this “serpent” , also known as “a dragon” is a subtle, cunning creature who is way smarter than any man on earth, and has been able to deceive the entire world (Rev. 12:9). But YHWH has other plans….
John 3: 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
This enemy, satan, was actually one of God’s most beautiful Angels in the Divine Realm. His name was Lucifer, and he was created as an angel of light. But, he became proud in his heart and desired with the greatest desire to take the place of his CREATOR, the MOST HIGH GOD!!! This enemy THINKS he can REPLACE GOD!!! This enemy of God was actually successful in convincing 1/3 of God’s HOLY ANGELS to follow him into this rebellion against YHWH!
“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.’” Isaiah 14:12-14
In Revelation 12, we see something similar, but this time God is using the metaphor of a STAR to symbolize an ANGEL. Stars often point to Angels in the Bible because both stars and angels are called “The host of Heaven”.
We have to know the beginning in order to understand what’s unfolding and where we’re going. The entire Bible is a Prophetic Love Story between God and His people explaining what happened in the Beginning and what God is doing to restore His Creation. The first and last books of the Bible are like Book-ends to this epic saga. In the book of Genesis, we see God creating everything to perfection. We see a perfect world, the Garden of Eden, where there was no sickness, no sorrow and no death. Then, we see Adam and Eve fall into sin, followed by judgement, exile, pain, suffering and death, and yet the promise of Redemption and Restoration. Jesus Christ is the key to God’s Restoration, HE is THE THEME that weaves throughout the entire Bible, and Jesus is the KEY to understanding BIBLE PROPHECY.
“And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child,” (Rev. 12:4).
Satan, the enemy of God and also of mankind, comes to steal, kill, and destroy. His desire is to destroy mankind, and he uses every tool available to him to do so. Deception is satan’s greatest weapon, which he has used to either create the belief that he isn’t real, that YHWH the Creator isn’t real, that there are “many gods”, or that we all worship the same god. We call this confusion “Babylon” (which means confusion).
But, the enemy does not get the final say! The enemy has to work within parameters, and he literally has to ask YHWH for permission for everything that he does (Luke 22:31-32 ) . The enemy and his minions cause sickness, pain, suffering, and death. They cause war, murder, and every terrible thing on this earth. All of this occurs in the unseen realm, and spills over into the earthly realm of flesh and blood. This is why Ephesians tells the Christian that our Battle isn’t against Flesh and Blood, but against the forces of darkness in the unseen realm. Prayer and the Word of God are our most valuable weapons because they keep us connected to YHWH and His Truth, the ONE TRUE GOD! Jesus IS the Word of GOD made FLESH!
Why does YHWH allow the enemy to have his way with mankind?? That is a very good question. What we have to remember, is that God gave mankind FREE WILL. God wants people to CHOOSE HIM, to LOVE HIM, but God doesn’t force them to do so! Man is free to choose…the enemy, or YHWH. I’m sorry to tell all those people who think they’re sitting on the fence, undecided as to whether to believe in the Messiah, or not, that the enemy owns the fence. There is no middle ground. Whoever is not for YHWH, for HIS CHRIST (MESSIAH) is on satan’s side, whether he knows it or not. This is part of the enemy’s deception, to get people to believe that they can stay in the middle and still be in “the safe zone”.
The Bible is the story of this epic battle, then, between YHWH and satan, between YHWH’S seed and satan’s seed, between “the Good Seed”, and “the bad seed”, between JESUS the CHRIST and the antichrist. Everything that happens between Genesis and Revelation includes this battle playing out over the centuries, until it culminates in the final battle, the Battle of Armageddon. YHWH will separate the “sheep from the goats”, the Good Seed from the bad seed. YHWH will remove the Good Seed to His Barn (Heaven), but the bad seed will be burned up in the lake of fire.
You might think, that’s not fair. Well, let’s face it. Heaven would not be Heaven if there were “bad seed” growing there. We call that place earth. Earth has a mixture of light and dark, good and evil. Although it seems like it’s taking a long, long time to complete this drama, YHWH is not slow as some would think, but is taking HIS TIME because He wishes for ALL to be SAVED, and none to be lost! Another very important point to make is that satan is NOT the opposite of JESUS the CHRIST! Jesus IS the I AM. Jesus IS God in the Flesh!! Jesus is NOT a created being, but is the Word of GOD, HE IS GOD! Jesus, IS the CREATOR, and he created the enemy (as an angel, prior to satan’s fall)! Satan is a created being, he is not YHWH’s equal, but opposite, and YHWH could crush him with a single thought, if he so chose. However, YHWH, in His infinite Wisdom, has decided to let this epic battle play out to its completion for many reasons we cannot know, but we do know this, YHWH is LOVE and HE is rescuing His people and building a FAMILY.
Therefore, the key to understanding Prophecy is to recognize that the entire Bible is detailing the battle between the two seeds, this battle is for OUR SOULS, and JESUS Christ (YHWH’s SAVIOR) is at the center of this Battle!!!
The Entire Bible, God’s Rescue Plan for mankind, is about JESUS!!
To Adam and Eve Christ was promised as the Seed who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15).
To Abraham God had said that in Christ all nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 22:18 cf. Galatians 3:14-16).
To Israel the Paschal Lamb foreshadowed the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world (Exodus 12 cf. John 1:29; I Corinthians 5:7).
To Israel in the wilderness the serpent of brass lifted upon a pole (Numbers 21:8, 9) typified the lifting up of Christ upon the cross (John 3:14).
Balaam’s prophecy of the Star that would come forth out of Jacob (Numbers 24:17) was none other than our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 2:2; Revelation 22:16).
Christ was also the smitten Rock (Numbers 20:11 cf. I Corinthians 10:4) and the greater Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15).
When Philip first met Jesus Christ he ran to Nathanael, and said: “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth . . . ” (John 1 :45).
The Old Testament Prophets prophesied of the two advents (1st and 2nd coming) of Jesus the Christ. Biblical Prophecy relates primarily to the world’s SAVIOR!!! The closing words of the Bible declare that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). This is basically saying that the testimony of Jesus is the “key” to prophecy.
