"VICTORY OVER SATAN, SELF AND THE WORLD"

MF Blume
February 20, 2000 pm

Revelation 12:10-11 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Revelation 12:11 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.
1John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith.
Romans 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

The Bible teaches us that the three enemies of the believer are Satan, self or flesh, and the world.

And we also see that there is victory to overcome these three enemies.
Comparing EXODUS and the BOOK OF REVELATION, we see a PATTERN of how we can overcome Satan, self and the world.
EXODUS foreshadows our salvation from the world, and REVELATION is a revelation of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1).

FIRST ENEMY: SATAN

In the beginning portion of the book of Revelation, 5:9, we read that the blood of lamb redeemed mankind.

This beginning note of Revelation, after the seven letters and the vision of Christ glorified is mentioned, parallels with the beginning of Israel's release from Egypt by the BLOOD OF A LAMB.

Let us study that event.

And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel [is] my son, [even] my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, [even] thy firstborn.

God told Pharaoh that Israel was God's firstborn son.

Should Pharaoh refuse to release His firstborn then God would kill Pharaoh's firstborn.

Plague after plague hit Egypt, and time after time, Pharaoh refused to release Israel.

God could have killed Pharaoh's firstborn son the first time Pharaoh refused to comply.
But He didn't.
He did not want to destroy Pharaoh's son.
God is so longsuffering and gives everyone as much of a chance to repent as possible.
But finally, after 9 plagues and Pharaoh still would not release Israel, God had to do what he warned Pharaoh about.

Exodus 12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that [was] in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

THe firstborn of one's family represented something particular in the Bible Days.

Genesis 49:3 Reuben, thou [art] my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

When God destroyed Pharaoh's firstborn, he destroyed Pharaoh's might, beginning of strength, excellent dignity and excellent power.

PHARAOH DEPICTS THE DEVIL.

God showed how He would destroy the Devil's MIGHT, POWER, DIGNITY AND STRENGTH.
God did it by the blood of the lamb when He set us free.

The Devil has been defeated by the Blood of the Lamb.

Today, Satan has no more power over a child of God than Pharaoh had over Israel after the blood of the lamb was shed to save Israel and death took Pharaoh's firstborn.
Notice that Israel escaped and came to the Red Sea.

Some might ask why Pharaoh was able to chase after Israel when his POWER, MIGHT, DIGNITY AND STRENGTH was destroyed.

Pharaoh's might was destroyed.
But something remained that assisted Pharaoh in pursuing Israel in attempts to bring Israel back into bondage.
THE ARMIES OF EGYPT.

If Pharaoh's strength was destroyed when his firstborn was killed, what would the aries of Egypt represent?

If Pharaoh represents the Devil, and Pharaoh's firstborn is representative of the Devil's power being destroyed, what does the armies of Egypt represent?

In order to discover that, we must see what God did to the armies of Pharaoh, and compare that with the New Testament teachings.

Exodus 14:22-28 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry [ground]: and the waters [were] a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, [even] all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, [and] all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

The Red Sea drowned the armies of Egypt so that not so much as one of them survived.

This occurred after the Israelites obeyed God and crossed the Red Sea.

1Corinthians 10:2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

Paul compared the Red Sea crossing with our water baptism.

They were baptized unto Moses.
We are baptized unto Jesus!

And whereas the armies of Egypt were washed away in the Red Sea, what is washed away in our baptism?

Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Although Satan's power is destroyed by the blood of the Lamb, it is not until we are baptized in Jesus' name, in an act of faith that we died with Christ, that our SINS are washed away.

Our sins are represented by the armies of Egypt.
Our SINS assist Satan in capturing us again.
We need our SINS removed.

The Devil's back was broken, but we still need the armies of Satan washed away in water baptism.

The only power the Devil has over a true believer, is the power to holler at us from across the Red Sea, and try to DUPE us and FOOL us with temptations and lies.

He cannot grab you and make you suffer, as he could before you escaped Egypt, so to speak.
You are freed from him now.
If he could make you do anything, how come you are here today in Church service?
If the devil had his way, he would have you all killed on the way to service today.
All he can do is Lie to you.
So you need to know the truth.
SO MANY BELIEVE HIS LIES BECAUSE THEY DO NOT LEARN THE TRUTH.

So, first of all, learn that WE OVERCAME THE DEVIL BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB.

SECOND ENEMY: SELF

Our real problems with the devil are over after we are saved by the blood of the lamb.

The next series of events in the Book of Revelation, following the BLOOD OF THE LAMB is the BREAKING OF THE SEALS.

After Israel overcame PHARAOH, they entered the Wilderness.

This corresponds to our second enemy that we will face, and that is our own flesh.
It was not Pharaoh that gave them any trouble in the wilderness.
He was overcome.
But it was ISRAEL THEMSELVES who were their problems, then.

In the wilderness, it was not whips and taskmasters of Egypt, but their own murmuring and complaining and rebellion that worked to defeat them.

The seals of Revelation speak of our WILDERNESS experience, so to speak.

Jesus' words in Matthew 24:1-31 repeat the SEALS OF REVELATION in perfect order as they are listed in Revelation 6.

He spoke first about FALSE CHRISTS, as the first seal was the WHITE HORSE GOING TO CONQUER.
He spoke next about wars and rumours of wars, as the second seal was a red horse given a sword to take peace from the earth.
He spoke thirdly about famines, as the third seal was a black horse with balances and a declaration of the extreme expense of grain, as would be the case in famine.
He spoke fourthly of disciples being taken to judges and some killed, as the fourth seal was a pale horse called death with hell following.
Jesus then spoke of enduring to the end to be saved, as the fifth seal showed martyrs who were told to endure and wait.
And the sixth thing Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24 was the sun turning black and the moon to blood after the tribulation, when the son of man would come, as the sixth seal showed the sun black and the moon bloodied when the wrath of the lamb is come.

And in speaking these words that correspond to the seals of Revelation 6, Jesus was speaking to His disciples, saying things like:

Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Matthew 24:8 All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.
Matthew 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

They are warnings to the DISCIPLES to be careful and to hold on.

And the first five seals depict TRIBULATION, because the words or Jesus that correspond to the sixth seal of the sun blackened and the moon bloodied state "After the tribulation of those days..."
So the seals depict tribulation.
They depict our wilderness wanderings, so to speak, after we are saved by the blood of the lamb, just as the wilderness occurred with Israel after the escape out of Egypt by the blood of the lamb.

EXODUS AND REVELATION COMPARE PERFECTLY.

The thing that will give us problems when false Christs arise, and wars and famines, etc., arise, is OUR FLESH.

We must ENDURE to the end.
We are going somewhere.
Like Israel going to the Promised Land, we are on our way!
But Israel's carnality stopped so many from finishing their journey, and many died in the wilderness.
Matthew 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

What happened to the doubters of Israel in the wilderness?

Numbers 14:27-33 How long [shall I bear with] this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. Say unto them, [As truly as] I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, [concerning] which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. But [as for] you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.

The OLDER GENERATION DOUBTED GOD and He decreed they would DIE, and THEN the younger generation would enter the land.

DEATH OF THE OLDER WOULD MEAN ENTRANCE INTO THE LAND BY THE YOUNGER.

The OLDER GENERATION represents the OLDER PART OF US that was in the world before we were saved.

OUR FLESH.

The YOUNGER GENERATION represents the NEW MAN, the NEW BIRTH.

THE OLD MAN IS PERISHED.
We do not carry our OLD MAN from the world into our new creaturehood as Christians.
Then how does the OLDER GENERATION REPRESENT anything if our old man is dead?

Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

WHen you look at a bright light, and turn away, the light is no longer before your eyes.

BUT YOUR VISION STILL BEHOLDS A REMAINING AFTER-IMAGE from that light.
You see a purplish and reddish after-image when you turn your eyes away from the light.
THAT AFTER-IMAGE is like the OLDER GENERATION THAT DOUBTED.
After we are saved, and our "old man" is gone forever, WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF THINKING that we received from that NOW-DEAD OLD MAN, and that kind of thinking is not of God.
The originator of that thinking is gone.
But the thinking remains in our minds and we will find ourselves in trouble if we CONTINUE IN THAT KIND OF THINKING.
Israel was out of the world, but the world was still in their MINDS.

So the way we overcome the FLESH, is to HAVE OUR MINDS RENEWED.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

This is the Word to CHRISTIANS who already are freed from Satan's kingdom.

The word to sinners is to apply the blood of the lamb to their own experience and identify with the Lamb's death, burial and resurrection.
But the word to christians who already overcame the devil, is to RENEW THEIR THINKING.
SELF and not the devil is a Christian's big battle now.

After Israel left Egypt, the Ark of the covenant was constructed.

They did not have the Ark when they left Egypt, but they had the Ark when they entered Canaan.
The ark looked like the EMPTY TOMB OF JESUS.

Exodus 25:19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: [even] of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.

Leviticus 16:14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle [it] with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

The blood of sacrifice was between the two cherubims that were at either end of the MERCYSEAT.

John 20:12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

Whereas the blood of the sacrifice was between the two cherubims on the mercyseat, the sacrificed body of Christ laid on the place between two angels in the tomb.

And with the Body of CHrist risen from that place, we can see that the ark of the covenant represents THE GOSPEL.
The tomb had two angels at either end of where Jesus' body laid, but yet His body was gone.
DEATH , BURIAL AND RESURRECTION are therefore symbolized by this picture Mary saw.
Death an BURIAL, because it was a tomb.
And RESURRECTION because the tomb was empty.

So the picture is that we have to go back to what first saved us when we want to have victory over the flesh.

They carried the ark in the wilderness and into Canaan as a symbol to us that we renew our thinking and remind ourselves that we died with Christ.
The old thinking must be replaced with new thinking.
Did you know that so many saints SIN because THEY EXPECT TO SIN.
And if you expect to do something, you're probably going to find a way to do it.
Why do they expect to sin?
Because they do not understand THEY DO NOT HAVE TO SIN, BECAUSE THEY ARE DEAD WITH CHRIST.

Romans 6:6-7 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Romans 6:10-11 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Notice that verses 14 and 22 say that we are freed from sin and that sin shall not have dominion over us?

How is that so?
It is because verse 7 says that he that is dead is freed from sin.
How are we dead?
WE DIED WITH CHRIST.
Many Christian do not look at it that way, and that is why they continue to EXPECT TO SIN.
But if you read Romans 6 carefully, you will realize you do not have to expect to sin.
YOU ARE DEAD TO SIN.
RENEW YOUR MINDS.
Overcome your flesh BY RENEWING YOUR THINKING.

That is why Paul repeated so many times in this same chapter:

Romans 6:3 Know ye not, ...
Romans 6:16 Know ye not, ...
Romans 7:1 Know ye not, ...
Hose 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:

What destroys them?

THEIR OWN FLESH.

THIRD ENEMY: WORLD

After we read about the seals of tribulation, the next series of events is the SEVEN TRUMPETS.

Revelation 8:1-2 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

Notice the sequence.

SILENCE and the 7 TRUMPETS.

Watch what happened after Israel left the wilderness.

Josh 6:4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
Josh 6:10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall [any] word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.

The seven trumpets after the blood of the lamb and the seven seals perfectly coincides with the thought of Israel escaping Egypt by the blood of the lamb, the tribulation through the wilderness, and the downfall of Jericho by 7 trumpets IN THE LAND.

Leaving the wilderness and overcoming the flesh is what we read of here at this point.

Notice what also occurred when they entered Canaan.
Recall that the OLDER GENERATION had to die first.
Until we lose our old way of thinking, we remain in the wilderness.

Josh 5:2 At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.

God looked at Israel as ONE SINGLE PERSON.

And this individual had to be circumcised a SECOND TIME.
The first circumcision, so to speak, occurred at the RED SEA, when Pharaoh and his armies was CUT OFF.
The SECOND CIRCUMCISION was the CUTTING OFF of the older generation.

Josh 5:4 And this [is] the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, [that were] males, [even] all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people [that were] born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, [them] they had not circumcised. For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people [that were] men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

Josh 5:9 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.

Notice that the circumcision occurred as soon as the older generation was dead.

The two thoughts tie together.
God called is the ROLLING AWAY THE REPROACH OF EGYPT.
Our carnal minds that think the way we did in the world are A REPROACH FROM THE WORLD CLINGING TO US, and are in NEED OF BEING REMOVED, by NOT THINKING THAT WAY ANY MORE.
So we are transformed when we renew our thinking.
We were translated when we were first saved.
But we need to be TRANSFORMED afterwards.

Israel came across JERICHO.

Jericho is not the DEVIL nor the FLESH.
IT IS THE WORLD.
And we overcome the WORLD at this point.

Notice where the priests got the horns from.

Josh 6:4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns:
Revelation 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

The seven trumpets were RAM'S HORNS.

And the very lamb whose blood saved us at the first had SEVEN HORNS.
The reference to SEVEN TRUMPETS being sounded to overcome the WORLD in Revelation 8, take us back to the SEVEN HORNS OF THE LAMB.
Notice that every victory, whether it be against the DEVIL, the FLESH and the WORLD, is accomplished THROUGH THE LAMB in some form or another.
The blood of the lamb in the beginning.
The ark and the blood in the wilderness.
The ark, blood and RAM'S HORNS in the land.

(We take what we already used for victory in the past, and keep it for future victories, and then add more blessings with it for further victories as we travel along.)

Since the LAMB slain and risen had SEVEN HORNS, and SEVEN TRUMPETS defeat the world in Revelation 8, we see a truth.

The power to overcome the WORLD is DECLARING THE TRUTH OF THE DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS.
Blowing trumpets speaks of DECLARING TRUTH.

Isai 58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people

Blowing seven trumpets of the lamb's seven horns speaks of victory by declaring the POWER OF THE LAMB.

Jericho came down!

Recall David's return of the Ark.

Count how many men had trumpets, to be blown BEFORE THE ARK.

1Chronicles 15:24 And [1] Shebaniah, and [2] Jehoshaphat, and [3] Nethaneel, and [4] Amasai, and [5] Zechariah, and [6] Benaiah, and [7] Eliezer, the priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obededom and Jehiah [were] doorkeepers for the ark.

7 trumpets when David brought the ARK HOME.

And seven trumpets were sounded BEFORE THE ARK as they marched around Jericho.

Josh 6:4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns:

As the ark, depicting the GOSPEL in symbol form, was marched, SEVEN TRUMPETS OF RAM'S HORNS blew before it.

It was as though we read of a declaration of the ALL-POWER (7 horns) of Jesus (THE LAMB) as we CARRY THIS GOSPEL FORWARD.

HORNS speak of POWER.

SEVEN speaks of ALL.

LAMB speaks of JESUS.

After Jesus rose from the grave, He said....

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

And we read of the Gospel to BE PREACHED... SEVEN TRUMPETS BLOWN.

Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

The Gospel will go all the way with you!

From the first day you are saved, until you overcome everything.

The GOSPEL truth applies to salvation and LIFE AFTER SALVATION also.

Always go back to the ROCK OF YOUR SALVATION when you need to overcome.