The History of Satan as Revealed in Revelation 12 and 13

The history of Satan, as depicted in Revelation chapters 12 and 13, shows that after being cast out of heaven, Satan established the Catholic Church as a religious institution. This aligns with the prophecy extended from Daniel 7. The Catholic Church, which wielded authority for 42 months, corrupted the Scriptures and sought to destroy God’s people. However, it faced resistance from the Protestant Reformation, initiated by reformers. This conflict is described in Scripture as the war between the dragon and the woman’s offspring. Despite the resistance, the Catholic Church triumphed due to the eventual corruption of the reformers. Scripture testifies to this by stating that "the dragon was given authority to wage war against the saints and to conquer them."

Satan’s work does not end with the Catholic Church. After its era, Satan established another religious institution, depicted in Scripture as a two-horned beast rising from the earth.

Satan in Daniel’s Prophecies: The Little Horn

In the Book of Daniel, Satan is described as a "little horn." This little horn appears not once but twice—first from the sea and then from the earth. Accordingly, the beast rising from the sea in Revelation 13 corresponds to the prophecy of the first little horn in Daniel 7. The two-horned beast rising from the earth corresponds to the prophecy of the second little horn in Daniel 8. To understand this fully, we must examine the history of Israel as recorded in Daniel.

The Importance of Israel’s History

Israel’s history is not hidden but detailed in Scripture, making the Bible both a historical record of physical Israel and a prophetic book about the future of spiritual Israel. While the history of Israel from Adam to the Babylonian exile is documented, the period from 450 BC (after the Babylonian liberation) to Jesus’ arrival is deliberately sealed. This 450-year gap is often referred to by scholars as the "dark period of Scripture" because of the absence of recorded history.

Understanding Israel’s history is crucial because it serves as a shadow and model for the events to come in spiritual Israel. By studying the physical history of Israel, we gain insight into the spiritual history yet to unfold. God prophesied the 450-year history through Daniel, but these prophecies were recorded in symbolic language, and without proper interpretation, they remain sealed.

The Sealing of Prophecy

[Daniel 12:4]
"But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge."

[Revelation 22:10]
"Then he told me, 'Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.'"

The "sealed book" mentioned in Scripture refers to Daniel, which records the history of physical Israel, and Revelation, which details the history of spiritual Israel. Since the history of physical Israel serves as a shadow and model for the history of spiritual Israel, failing to understand the former makes the latter incomprehensible. This situation mirrors the forgotten dream of King Nebuchadnezzar.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Forgotten Dream

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had an important dream but could not remember it. He summoned all the diviners and prophets of his kingdom, demanding they first reveal his forgotten dream and then interpret it. When they admitted their inability to retrieve the dream, he recognized them as false prophets and ordered their execution. However, Daniel, through divine revelation, was able to recount and interpret the dream.

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream depicted a colossal statue made of gold, silver, bronze, and iron, representing the successive world empires starting with Babylon. This dream parallels the sealed history of Israel revealed to Daniel, showing that physical Israel’s history foreshadows spiritual Israel’s journey.

The Challenge of Unsealing

Just as Babylon’s diviners failed to retrieve Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, today’s preachers and self-proclaimed prophets cannot explain the lost history of Israel or the prophetic history of spiritual Israel. The sealed book of Daniel contains the physical history of Israel starting with Babylon, while the sealed book of Revelation records the spiritual history of Israel beginning with spiritual Babylon.

What Was Sealed in Daniel?

The sealed content in Daniel outlines the history of physical Israel starting with Babylon. This history provides the foundation for understanding the events prophesied in Revelation about spiritual Israel. The continuation of this message will explore these sealed prophecies in detail.