<p>12:12 <em>Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you that dwell in them. Woe for the earth and for the sea Because the Devil has gone down to you, having great anger, knowing that he has but a short time</em>- Those John was observing in &quot;Heaven&quot; could refer to the Angels. But we have just read of some of the latter day faithful being observed being snatched up to &quot;heaven&quot; (11:12; 12:5). Perhaps it is specifically they who are referred to. But this defeat by Divine force, just as Pharaoh experienced, provoked a final burst of wrath by the dragon entity. The earth would refer to the land promised to Abraham; and the sea perhaps to the neighbouring territories.</p><p>&quot;Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many&quot; (Dan. 11:44) is a commentary on Sennacherib's rage (2 Kings 19:27,28).&nbsp;Rabshakeh boasted immediately after the receipt of the &quot;rumour&quot; that Assyria would 'utterly destroy' Israel still (2 Kings 19:11).&nbsp;This is matched by &quot;to<em> destroy</em>, and <em>utterly</em> to make away&quot; in Dan. 11:44. The fury of Assyria against Jerusalem because of their recognition that they only had limited time to destroy it before having to turn their attention against the Arab rebels is the basis of the Jihadist beast of the last days going forth against God's people with &quot;having great anger, knowing that he has but a short time&quot; (:12,17). In the same way as &quot;the king of Babylon heard the report&quot; of the Medes' invasion and was troubled (Jer. 50:43), so the latter-day &quot;king of the north&quot;, while personally present conducting the campaign against Jerusalem, will be troubled by &quot;tidings&quot; of this massive Muslim mutiny against him, and will therefore go ahead in a furious rage to try to exterminate every Jew left in Jerusalem (Dan. 11:44,45). Jer. 51:31,32 stresses how the report of the attack on Babylon will spread like wildfire. This relates to the beast launching a final burst of persecution against God's people, &quot;having great anger, knowing that he has but a short time&quot;.</p><p>If the Devil was cast down in Eden, he has had the opportunity to torment man throughout his long history &ndash; which is hardly having only &ldquo;a short time&rdquo; in which to wreak havoc.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>