The Great Battle in Heaven
A Paradigm Out of Order
Part 2

The Battle, In Context
         As amazing it seems, there it is; a clear contradiction of this great "war in heaven" occurring at the return of Jesus. Satan was about to kill Jesus, God takes Mary to safety, and Michael blows Satan right out of the sky. And, equally clear, is the fact that Satan is not imprisoned, as will happen to him at the return of Jesus. Rather, it states that after he is defeated, he goes after Mary and the infant Jesus, and the world is warned of the danger he now poses to all living things. This is not a description of Satan operating out of prison, but a prediction and description of the havoc he has been wreaking on Earth since he was grounded, about 4 BC, or just over 2000 years ago.

But Wait! What About.......
         The twelfth chapter of Revelation could not be more concise about when this occurred, which shows that the accepted doctrine on this issue is, in fact, false. But, this would seem to fly in the face of some other, very well-known biblical "facts", such as, Isaiah specifically saying he saw Satan / Lucifer fall in his day, almost 8 centuries before the birth of Jesus. What about Ezekiel's declaration that he saw Satan fall about 6 centuries before Jesus' birth? And, there is the well-known fact that the Revelation is a book of future predictions and not historical realities.
         The same people, who will tell you the "war in heaven" is an end-times event and the three points just presented are true, will also tell you that the Bible does not contradict itself. Therefore, since we have proven that the "war in heaven" did not occur until just over 2000 years ago, either the last three concepts presented are as false as the concept of an end-times sky battle, or the Bible is contradicting itself.

A Chain of False Doctrine
         One of the basic pulpit-supported traditions is that Satan's fall took place, either in the gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, in the gap between Genesis chapter 2 and Genesis chapter 3, or even before that. This, even though Satan still had access to God's throne after he tempted Eve, which is evidenced by his appearances before God with the other angels in Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-7.
         Another traditional belief is that Satan's fall was described in Isaiah 14:12-17, where he is called "Lucifer". A very basic study of the word "Lucifer" will show that it was never in the original Hebrew text of the Book of Isaiah. And, a simple reading of the entire 14th chapter of Isaiah will show that the passage clearly applies to the king of Babylon. Modern theological scholarship accepts that this is the king of Babylon that Isaiah is describing, and not Satan.
         The same reality also applies to the concept that Ezekiel 28:11-19 is describing the fall of Satan. Again, a simple reading of the entire text will show that Ezekiel is giving a prophecy against the king of Tyre, who is specifically identified in verses 2 and 12. Many will admit the prophecies of both Isaiah and Ezekiel are directed at kings, but try to claim that they are actually giving prophecies against the "power behind the throne", and not the kings themselves. This may be an argument of convenience, but is not a valid concept which is accepted in theological erudition.
         And, to add weight to the concept that Satan's fall did not occur until after the birth of Jesus, we have direct testimony from the victim of Satan's failed murder plot. "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." (Luke 10:18).
         The Revelation to John is often believed to be exclusively concerned with end-times prophecy, but according to the original instructions given to John, it was about things already known, as well as, things to come: "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;" (Revelation 1:19)
         This is also evidenced by the fact that both the second and third chapters of the Revelation are written to, and about, churches that existed in John's own time.

The Last Deception
         The concept of a great battle in the sky as the finale to the return of Jesus is of critical importance to the vast majority of end-times prophecy theorists. Everyone, from the authors of the "Left Behind" series to the satanic UFO internet crowd, accepts most, if not all, of the following events about the return of Jesus and the future evil reign of the "Antichrist" as the "gospel" truth.
♦ The "Antichrist", AKA, the Beast, who is the central figure of the end times, will establish a world government, bring peace to the world, he will stand in a rebuilt temple at Jerusalem and either declare himself as the Messiah, or be declared the Messiah, by a new world church, which he has established.
♦ This "Antichrist" will force all people to be marked with a symbol, generally believed to be the number 666 or something representing that number, as an identifying sign of loyalty to the "Antichrist".
♦ The "Antichrist" will be charismatic and popular, and even convince the Jews to accept Jesus as the Messiah before he returns.
♦ Many, who believe this concept, will be "raptured" just before this all occurs, and all the "non-believers" will be "left behind" to suffer the devastation described in the Revelation.
♦ These events will lead to a great battle in the sky against Satan, just before he is imprisoned in chains, and the world is destroyed by fire.
         Neither the word "Antichrist" or any description of such an individual, a world government and religion, a rebuilt temple, a symbol of loyalty to the "Antichrist", the conversion of the Jews, a rapture of the modern church, a great battle against Satan at the return of Jesus, nor the destruction of the world is found anywhere in the Revelation to John.
Many end-times theorists use the "dual prophecy" theory; a method of taking Old Testament prophecies, which have already been fulfilled and are used out of context, and claim they have a dual meaning for end-times prophecies. Of course, not all previously fulfilled Old Testament prophecies have a dual meaning for the mainstream end-times theories; only those for which they can find no backing in the New Testament and, particularly, the Revelation.
         We have no way of knowing where the standard script for the mainstream scenario of the end times began. That being the one with all the accepted elements; the popular antichrist, ruling a temporarily peaceful world government and religion, a rebuilt temple, a mark of loyalty, a rapture of church believers, and an end-times sky war with Satan. We can trace it back as far as the early "fathers" of the Universal / Catholic Church, between 300 and 400 years after the ministry of Jesus.
         It has endured as the traditional belief, ever since having been reinforced in billions of minds through constant pulpit conditioning. But, no matter where it is found, or what form it is presented, no scriptural backing for those elements is ever presented, except, as was previously stated, the use of out-of-context, Old Testament scripture, with the claim that such scriptures have "dual" or, in some cases, "triple" meaning relevant to the last days.

In Conclusion
         As with every other issue that disagrees with mainstream concepts that the satanic UFO proponents so strongly depend upon, this one will also be ignored, or the accusation of being spiritually blind to biblical truth will be charged. But, no matter what tactic is used to rebut the facts presented in this article, one truth is self-evident. Every point made has been presented directly from scripture. To deny these solidly-backed realities is to deny the validity of scripture.
          We know that Satan once had his own craft to travel the cosmos, but we also know that he was grounded and the power of God is strong enough to keep him bound to Earth. Claiming otherwise is nothing short of denying, not only scriptural reality, but questioning the very power of God to restrain Satan.
         At least, when the reader encounters the concept that Satan is engaged in a sky battle against the forces of the returning Christ, this research will give them reason to pause and question its validity. Scripture is certain to trump theory and conjecture.

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