Chapter Twenty-Seven/God's Kingdom Is Born1 -"Be Glad, You Heavens"

 John reports a joyous heavenly reaction to this stupendous fall of Satan: "And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: 'Now has come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God1 And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death. On this account be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them. -REVELATION 12:10-12a. 

Whose loud voice is it that John hears? The Bible does not say. But a similar cry reported at Revelation 11:17 came from the resurrected 24 elders in their heavenly position, where they can now represent the 144,000 holy ones. (Revelation 11:18) And since the persecuted anointed servants of God still on earth are here spoken of as "our brothers, "this statement could well come from the same source. No doubt these faithful ones can join their voice, since their resurrection would follow soon after Satan and his demon hordes had been thrown out of heaven. 

Next time: Chapter Twenty-Seven/God's Kingdom Is Born -"Be Glad, You Heavens" 

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