Timing the Two Witnesses

After posting my end times chart a while back, a few people e-mailed me to tell me I was wrong for placing the Two Witnesses’ ministry in the second half of the Week. Here is my explanation for this if you were one of those wondering why I believe as I do. This is a very neat timing issue within Revelation that is connected to other issues within the book that are equally interesting. When put together a bigger picture of how the puzzle pieces fit together is seen. It will help if you follow along in your Bible.

To start, we know that the abomination of desolation takes place at the midpoint of the Seventieth Week. And we know that the sixth seal takes place after the midpoint of the Week because we see the same triple sign in the sun, moon and stars that Jesus said would take place after the abomination that causes desolation (Rev. 6:12-13, Matt. 24:29). And we know that the trumpet judgments can only begin after the seventh seal is opened. It’s impossible for the seals, trumpets and bowls to take place concurrently as some suggest, but I digress.

This brings us to the moment before the fifth trumpet is sounded. Rev 8:13 says:

Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in mid-heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

In the above verse the three “woes” are said to be associated with the final three trumpet blasts, and this is exactly what is proven as one reads on. On completion of the fifth trumpet, Revelation 9:12 tells us that:

The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.

Obviously the fifth trumpet is the first “woe,” and the sixth and seventh trumpets will be the second and third “woes.” Chapter nine then continues in consecutive order informing us of what will take place during the time of the sixth trumpet. I won’t include it here, but you should read it to get a clear picture.

Chapter ten takes us to an interlude, and in verse seven we’re informed that, “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished…”

What is the “seventh angel” “about to sound” that will inform us that “the mystery of God is finished?” The seventh trumpet. The third “woe.”

Now this finally brings us to the chapter in question—chapter eleven. Verses one through fourteen tell us what the Two Witnesses will do and how long they will do it. They will prophesy for 1260 days (Rev 11:3). After their work is completed they will be killed (11:7), they will lay in the street for 3.5 days (11:9), and then they will be brought to life and will be raised to heaven (11:11-12). In that hour there will be an earthquake with thousands of people killed (11:13).

The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly. (Rev. 11:14)

The second woe is said to be in the past once the ministry, death and resurrection of the Two Witnesses is completed, and because the second woe is said to be associated with the sixth trumpet it is clear that their death takes place during the period of the sixth trumpet, and that the ministry of the two take place in the last 3.5 years because, as we discussed in the second paragraph, the seals fill up the first half of the Week and continue into the second half only to lead into the trumpet judgments. And in nice, orderly fashion, the very next thing mentioned in Rev. 11:15 is that “the seventh angel sounded…”

This goes to show that it only makes perfect sense that the Witnesses’ period of prophesying was previously recorded in the beginning of chapter eleven as being linked with the time when the holy city will be trampled.

Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days clothed in sackcloth. (Rev. 11:2-3)

The holy city will not be trampled during the first half of the seventieth week because this is the period when the covenant is yet to be broken, the temple is undefiled by the beast and the Jewish sacrificial system is in progress. It’s not until the midpoint of the Week when the covenant will be broken by the beast and the Great Tribulation will begin resulting in the city being “tread under foot.”

And if you haven’t figured it out already, the timing of the Two Witnesses also shows us why the seven bowls must take place after the completion of the 70th Week. Visit an earlier post for this explanation.

All this may sound complicated to the individual new to the study of prophecy, but hang in there, there are many rewards that come with the study of end things, even if it is the study of secondary issues such as the timing of events.

A New Thought on the Word "Church" in Revelation

While challenging a pre-tribber the other day I had an epiphany. I think it’s another piece that helps solve the question that many have had concerning why the word “church” is not used in Revelation chapter four through chapter twenty-one when John wrote of the time period of the Great Tribulation.

I suggest that the reason John used the word “church,” or “churches,” frequently throughout Revelation 1-3 and then abruptly stopped using the word is quite obvious. It’s like so many of the other puzzles I’ve encountered in the book that has been staring me back in the face for years, yet I walked past it one hundred and one times only to be smacked in the back of the head one day by the simplicity of the answer.

The word “church,” or “churches,” is used seventeen times in the NASB through chapter three (18 times in the original Greek), and then in chapter four the usage of the word halts. Pre-tribbers will inform us that it’s because the words said to John, “Come up here,” in Rev. 4:1 are symbolic of the pre-trib rapture, thus the need to use the word “church” from this point on is no longer valid because the Church is gone. They say that the earthly Church no longer exists, and that the term “saints” in Revelation describes what they call the Tribulation saints. This is, of course, very weak, but a topic for another post at another time.

Could it be that the reason that the word “church” is so frequently used but then shifts to the point that it’s never used is because the text, itself, shifts? Does it sound crazy for me to say that John did not stop using the word "church" in chapter four, because in reality he never even used the word in the first three chapters? And if this is the case, why should he use the word in chapters four through twenty-one? I know, I just said a moment ago that the word “church” is used eighteen times up to chapter four, but there’s a hitch.

Notice that in the first three chapters it is Jesus giving John the words to write, and that John wrote exactly what Jesus said.

"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write..." etc.

But from chapter four on the text shifts and it is no longer Jesus giving John the exact words to write. The words are straight from John’s pen as he attempts to describe what he’s seeing, and he is no longer writing the words from Jesus’ mouth. Why should John have to use the word “church” to describe the Church? It’s arbitrary to claim he must. They’re his thoughts and he can write in any style he wishes as long as it coincides with the vision he is seeing.

Some would say that John starts his letter by addressing the Church. But is this really the case?

“To the seven churches in the province of Asia:” Rev. 4:4

John is not addressing the Church, as in the universal Church, but is addressing “the seven churches” in Asia. John is addressing seven groups that are segments of the universal Church, and he is simply addressing them in the same manor that Jesus told him to:

“Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches.” (Rev. 1:11)

When John began choosing his own words in chapter four, as in the word “saints,” his message was not limited to the seven churches, or seven segments of the Church—he was writing to the universal Church! So why would the term “saints” somehow, all of a sudden, not mean the universal Church? The word “saints” is used 48 times in the NASB before the book of Revelation. Every time, except maybe three where it refers to angels or Old Testament saints, the word refers to the Church, so why ascribe some new, pre-trib dispensational meaning to a word that we already all know the meaning to?

And guess what? As soon as John’s vision of the end is over, the text shifts again. And it should be no surprise that as soon as the text shifts so that John is no longer writing of the events with words of his own choosing, but is writing the words that are straight from the lips of Jesus, the word “churches” reappears and is used to conclude the book of Revelation!

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches.” (Rev. 22:16)

I bet the true believers within the seven churches listened when they were told that the words were for them. Maybe pre-tribbers should listen, also.

Don't Ignore the Details: Revelation Does NOT Reveal Who Jesus Is

Because of the first five words in the first chapter of Revelation people have concluded that the book was given to us to reveal who Jesus is. Those words are, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” This thought process is then built upon to the point where most Christians believe that the book of Revelation cannot be understood, and that we are not supposed to get caught up in the details anyway because, "It’s not a road map,” they say, “It’s about Jesus.”

But somewhere down the road, one step at a time, things have evolved so that many Christians view the book as an alien form of literature that’s not even worth attempting to unlock. My wife’s NIV Study Bible actually says in its introduction to Revelation that we should “resist the temptation to become overly enamored with the details.” Bull.

I don’t believe that the words “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” are referring to the revealing of Jesus. Certainly Revelation displays His qualities, wrath, mercy, justice, grace, forgiveness, sovereignty and more, but these things and His perfect character have already been “revealed” to us in great detail throughout the rest of Scripture, and there is little within the pages of Revelation concerning Jesus and His character that has not been revealed previously.

If we read beyond the first five words the verse actually tells us what the book is about and why it was given to us. And it doesn’t tell us that it’s about Jesus being revealed.

Revelation 1:1 NASB
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place…

Revelation was given to us to show us what must soon take place! The Amplified Bible really brings out the true meaning.

Revelation 1:1 Amplified
[This is] the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries]. God gave it to Him to disclose and make known to His bond servants certain things which must shortly and speedily come to pass in their entirety.

I think that a similar correlation to the meaning of, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ," would be Joe Diddly writing a book called "The Teaching of Joe Diddly." The title wouldn’t be implying that the teaching is ABOUT Joe Diddly, it would be conveying that the teaching IS Joe Diddly’s, just as The Revelation is Jesus’. And if this is the true meaning of "The Revelation," and if it's true that the book was given to us so that we will know what will soon take place, the box that we keep our end times thoughts in should be broken wide open because there are great implications involved.

Jesus gave us this information so that we will know what must soon take place (but I’m not limiting it to this reason). We, no matter what anyone tells us, should definitely become “enamored” with the details of this awesome book. Even if it’s against the advice from someone so important that their opinions are within the pages of the NIV Study Bible.

Synonyms for the word “enamored” are “infatuated,” “captivated” and “smitten.” These words perfectly describe what we should be when it comes to the details within Revelation, and within the Bible as a whole. I find it very ironic that we have been told by many that we should not be captivated by prophetic details. They are there for a reason.

Click HERE to download chart, or click chart to enlarge.

Matthew 24:6
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

It's Gettin' Hot in Here

'An Inconvenient Truth' Documents Al Gore's Efforts To Raise Alarm on Effects of Global Warming

PARK CITY, Utah -- Has ever a little indie film faced a greater hurdle? Imagine this sales pitch: Babe, it's a movie about global warming. Starring Al Gore. Doing a slide show. With charts.


Believe it or not, Al Gore and Sundance Films have put together a little movie to evangelize America about global warming and the inevitable destruction of civilization. Well, it’s supposedly inevitable unless we stop using gas powered automobiles and a few other things. Not only does he say that this issue is the most important item on the world’s agenda, he claims that we may only have ten years left to stop the snowball, and that we may only have as little as fifty years left as a human race. The film is called 'An Inconvenient Truth,' and it’s playing in select areas.

I admire his gumption, but I’m pretty sure that it’s time wasted. As followers of Christ we know how it will end, and it won’t be because of global warming, but because of sin. Ford, Chevy, and even imports like Nissan and Toyota can rest easy, because since the fall of Adam the end of the world has always been inevitable. It’s not their fault.

The end may come within the next ten years, but it may not be for another ten thousand. Either way, I love knowing that God has let me in on what’s seemingly becoming His little secret.

Off Topic: Da Vinci Hype

I’m not sure if it’s just the way the media is portraying it, or if it’s the majority of our public Christian “leaders” dominating the issue as usual, but it's made to appear as if Christians are “up in arms,” and that Christ followers across the U.S. are demanding that the movie be banned because of the lies (fiction) within the film “The Da Vinci Code.”

Maybe the majority of American Christians really are outraged at the content of the new movie by Ron Howard. Maybe most of Christendom is angry that Christ is being portrayed as being less than Divine (there's nothing wrong with that). Maybe we do want to insist that sweet little Opie (Ron Howard) is a heretic for directing the movie, and that no Christian should give “one red cent” to ticket sales of such a devilish movie (others-not me).

But I suggest we take a much different approach. I believe it’s a perfect time to be a mature Christian with a strong conscience, and that it’s time we quit being suckered into the contrived hype that the media produces. It’s time we quit being sucked in by an American Christianity that teaches us that we must loudly proclaim evil at every corner, point the fingers at everyone that isn’t behaving in a biblical manner, and in turn, create an even larger separation between Christians and the unchurched, all the while driving nonbelievers even further from the search for truth.

I understand that Dan Brown, author of “The Da Vinci Code,” claims that most of what we’ve been taught about Christ is wrong. I know that the book and movie fictionally claim that Jesus was married to, and had children with, Mary Magdalene. As I listen to talk radio, I even seem to be the only one that understands that Jesus created us, and because of this He would be nothing short of an incestuous pervert having sex with His own children if He were, in fact, married to Mary Magdalene.

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisibly, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Col. 1:16-17)

But as a believer in Jesus I am unafraid. God is in control, and as one who understands sovereignty I am confident that God is unafraid, also.

Instead of getting angry and reacting impulsively, complaining, or feeling good about ourselves because we’ve spotted the heretics, I believe we should see the opportunity and take advantage of it. Americans love movies, and what better time is there to discuss with our friends and neighbors a particular movie that everyone is talking about? Instead of picketing the film or telling neighbors to avoid it, I claim that we should actually see the film. Why not watch it and search for times to discuss the movie and ponder ways to naturally articulate who Jesus really is with those close to us?

The Day of the Lord by Mo Dardinger

Just what is the Day of the Lord? This topic is generally overlooked in our churches today. Have you ever heard a sermon preached about it? Most haven't. Yet it fills the Scriptures. The Lord our God has a great deal to say about the Day of the Lord, and that makes it a topic which should concern us, His followers.

I attended the first session of a conference on biblical prophecy at a local church recently. The speaker had been assigned the topic “When Does the Day of the Lord Begin?” He briefly but accurately described seven different views of the End Times and the timing of the Rapture. (I really appreciate it when speakers and writers “get it right” concerning views other than their own. No one likes to be misrepresented, and as Christians we ought to be extremely careful to be accurate in what we say about our brothers and sisters, however misguided we may think them.)

This well-known teacher of biblical prophecy then gave us his view on when the Day of the Lord begins, how long it lasts, and what characterizes that Day. But he never gave us the signs that will signal that the Day of the Lord is about to begin. This surprised me greatly, since these signs are mentioned repeatedly in the Old Testament and are also described in the New Testament. If you want to know when the Day of the Lord begins, you must look for the signs the Lord has given us.

We have been studying Joel, which mentions the Day of the Lord in every chapter and which – as discussed in our last study – describes the signs to look for that will tell us that Day is about to begin. You and I must do better than the teacher that I heard. We must “know the code.” We must know the signs.

Signs that Herald the Day of the Lord

These are the Old Testament verses that mention the signs associated with the start of the Day of the Lord:

Isa 13:9-10
9 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming,
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation;
And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash forth their light;
The sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.



Joel 2:10-11
10 Before them the earth quakes,
The heavens tremble,
The sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
11 The LORD utters His voice before His army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For strong is he who carries out His word.
The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome,
And who can endure it?


Joel 2:31-32
31 "The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
32 And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Will be delivered;
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who escape,
As the LORD has said,
Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.”


Joel 3:14-16
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
16 The LORD roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem,
And the heavens and the earth tremble.
But the LORD is a refuge for His people
And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.


Mal 4:4-6
4 "Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.
5 Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.
6 He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse."


What are the signs? Could they be any more obvious?

∑ Elijah the Prophet returns.
∑ The sun is darkened.
∑ The moon is darkened.
∑ The stars are darkened.

If you come up with a different list, let me know.

The Character of the Day of the Lord

So we know what to look for when the Day of the Lord is about to begin. But what is the Day of the Lord? What does it accomplish?

From my studies, I would say that this Day is a time period when God is reclaiming the Land of Israel for Himself and for the People of Israel, the Jews. It is a time of vengeance on Israel's enemies, and yet it is also a time when many Jews will be suffering and dying, most of them in unbelief. So even though they are in the process of being delivered physically and saved spiritually, the Day of the Lord is still a time for mourning and distress for Israel.

Some Bible teachers extend the Day of the Lord through the Millennium. They do this largely on the basis of 2 Peter 3:7-13, which implies that the Day of the Lord will see the end of the Old Heavens and Old Earth and the creation of the New Heavens and New Earth. They also generally take End Time passages which talk about the Day of the Lord and then use the phrase “in that day” to mean that the “in that day” events are a part of the Day of the Lord. Some of these events are clearly Millennial events.

I do not extend the Day of the Lord into the Millennium, however. The descriptions that I find of the Day of the Lord all indicate that it is not a time of joy, peace, and prosperity like the Millennium is. Read them and see for yourself just what will characterize the period of time that the prophets call “the Day of the Lord”:


Isa 13:6-9
6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore all hands will fall limp,
And every man's heart will melt.
8 They will be terrified,
Pains and anguish will take hold of them;
They will writhe like a woman in labor,
They will look at one another in astonishment,
Their faces aflame.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming,
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation;
And He will exterminate its sinners from it.


Ezek 30:2-5
2 "Son of man, prophesy and say, "Thus says the Lord GOD,
"Wail, "Alas for the day!'
3 "For the day is near,
Even the day of the LORD is near;
It will be a day of clouds,
A time of doom for the nations.
4 "A sword will come upon Egypt,
And anguish will be in Ethiopia;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They take away her wealth,
And her foundations are torn down.
5 "Ethiopia, Put, Lud all Arabia, Libya and the people of the land that is in league will fall with them by the sword."


Joel 2:1-2 NKJV
1 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For the day of the LORD is coming,
For it is at hand:
2 A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
A people come, great and strong,
The like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any {such} after them,
Even for many successive generations.


Amos 5:18-20
18 Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD,
For what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you?
It will be darkness and not light;
19 As when a man flees from a lion
And a bear meets him,
Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall
And a snake bites him.
20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light,
Even gloom with no brightness in it?


Obad 15
15 "For the day of the LORD draws near on all the nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you.
Your dealings will return on your own head.”


Zeph 1:14-18
14 Near is the great day of the LORD,
Near and coming very quickly;
Listen, the day of the LORD!
In it the warrior cries out bitterly.
15 A day of wrath is that day,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of destruction and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of trumpet and battle cry
Against the fortified cities
And the high corner towers.


1 Thess 5:1-11
1 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.
2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
3 While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.


2 Peter 3:7-13
7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.


What is your conclusion, brothers and sisters? The Day of the Lord is a day of gloom and destruction, right? It is a period of time that will be difficult, full of warfare and bloodshed. It will be a time of sorrow, a time of distress and destruction.

Copyright (c) 2006 Mo Dardinger - all rights reserved

Scripture taken, unless otherwise noted, from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Updated Edition (NASU), © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Bible text designated NKJV is from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

History Lesson—Ralph E. Woodrow Weighs In

Excerpted from Great Prophecies of The Bible by Ralph E. Woodrow. Copyright © 1971.

George Ladd, seminary professor, after making a survey of church history says: "Every church father who deals with this subject expects the church to suffer at the hands of Antichrist...we can find no trace of pretribulationism in the early church: and no modern pretribulationist has successfully proved that this particular doctrine was held by any of the church fathers or students of the word before the nineteenth century."

This is quite a sweeping statement, but one, which we believe, will stand up under investigation. The Didache, one of the earliest pieces of Christian literature written after the New Testament, stated that Antichrist would come, that many would be offended and lost, and the resurrection of the just would follow this time of woe. The Epistle of Barnabas, written about the same time, says: "When the Son comes, he will destroy the time of the Wicked one and will judge the godless"-thus placing the coming of Christ after the reign of the Wicked one, not before. He did not hold to an any moment return of Christ, for he expected the Roman empire to fall first.

Justin Martyr (100-165) spoke of the coming of the Lord in these words: "He shall come from heaven with glory, when the man of apostasy, who speaks strange things against the most High, shall venture to do unlawful deeds on earth against us Christians, who, have learned the true worship of God from the law, and the word which went forth from Jerusalem by means of the apostles of Jesus." Christ "shall come from heaven with glory, accompanied by his angelic hosts, when also he shall raise the bodies of all men who have lived, and shall clothe those of the worthy with immorality."

Irenaeus (130-202) spoke of the resurrection of the just, which takes place after the coming of Antichrist....But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world...then the Lord shall come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom." He spoke of kings whom "shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put the church to flight. After that the coming of our Lord shall destroy them.... In the end the church shall be suddenly caught up: and, having overcome, will be "crowned with incorruption."

Tertullian (160-240) believed that Antichrist would rise to power and persecute the church. He affirmed it was customary for Christians to pray for a part in the resurrection to meet Christ at the end of the world.

Hippolytus (170-236) spoke of the four empires of Daniel and that the breaking up of the fourth empire (which was then in power) would bring on the dreaded Antichrist who would persecute the church. He believed the second advent would be the time that the dead would be raised, Antichrist destroyed, and the saints glorified. Cyprian (200-258), a Christian bishop and martyr, believed Antichrist would reign, after which Christ would come at the end of the world.

Lactantius (260-330) believed the Antichrist would reign over the world and afflict the righteous, but that God would send a Great King to rescue them, to destroy the wicked with fire and sword, to raise the dead and renew the world.

Cyril (315-386), bishop of Jerusalem, wrote: "We believe in Him, who also ascended into the heavens, and sat down on the right hand of the Father, and shall come in glory to judge the quick and dead...at the end of this world, in the last day. For of this world there is to be an end, and this created world is to be re-made anew. It is evident from various statements, that he believed Antichrist would come to power and persecute the church before the second coming of Christ.

Satan: Who is he?

Other names/descriptions of Satan
Lucifer (KJV, Latin = shining one); Isaiah 14:12
Son of the Dawn (NASB); Isaiah 14:12
Morning Star (NIV); Isaiah 14:12
The devil; Matthew 4:1
Beelzebub the ruler (NASB) / prince (NIV) of demons; Matthew 10:25, 12:24
Murderer, Father of lies; John 8:44
The ruler (NASB) / prince (NIV) of this world; John 12:31
The evil one; John 17:15
The god of this age; 2 Corinthians 4:4
Belial; 2 Corinthians 6:15
The Prince of the Power of the Air; Ephesians 2:2
The tempter; 1 Thessalonians 3:5
The enemy; 1 Timothy 5:14
Dragon / Serpent of old (NASB), Ancient serpent (NIV); Revelation 12:9
Accuser of our brethren; Revelation 12:10

Who owns what?
Man’s loss of earth rulership / rulership handed over to Satan
Genesis 3:6-7
3:22-24
Satan’s rulership
Luke 4:5-6
1 John 5:19
Christ claims positional rulership through the cross / Satan defeated positionally
Colossians 2:13-15
Christ’s final, literal rulership and Satan’s defeat completed
Revelation 20:1-4, 7-10
Revelation 21:3-4

Satan’s Characteristics
Matthew 13:19
John 8:44
2 Corinthians 11:14
1 Peter 5:8
1 John 3:8

Satan’s history
Isaiah 14:12-15 (Historical king of Babylon and probably Satan as double meaning)
Ezekiel 28:12-15 (Historical leader of Tyre and probably dual reference to Satan)
Matthew 4:1
Luke 10:18
Luke 22:3
John 12:31
John 16:11
Hebrews 2:14
1 John 3:8
Jude 1:9
Revelation 12:3-5

Satan’s Future
Matthew 25:41
Romans 16:20
Revelation 12:6-17
Revelation 19:11-21
Revelation 20:1-4; 7-10

Satan and believers
1 Chronicles 21:1
Job 1:6-9
Job 1:12
Job 2:1-7
Zechariah 3:1
Luke 22:31
2 Corinthians 12:7
1 Thessalonians 2:18

God’s protection
2 Thessalonians 3:3
1 John 4:4
1 John 5:18-19

Stand against/avoid the devil
Psalms 119:11
Matthew 4:10
Romans 13:11-14
1 Corinthians 7:4-5
2 Corinthians 2:10-11
2 Cor 6:3-10
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Ephesians 4:26-27
Ephesians 6:10-18
1 Thess. 5:5-8
1 Timothy 3:6
1 Timothy 3:7
1 Timothy 5:13-15
James 4:7

Satan used to bring repentance
1 Corinthians 5:5
1 Timothy 1:20

The Christian's position: Present light vs. former darkness
Acts 26:18
Romans 5:10
Ephesians 2:1-10
Ephesians 5:8
Colossians 1:13