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Psalms
108:1-13 O God, my
heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. Awake,
lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise You, O LORD, among the
peoples, And I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your mercy is great above the heavens, And Your
truth reaches to the clouds. Be
exalted, O God, above the heavens, And Your glory above all the earth; That
Your beloved may be delivered, Save with
Your right hand, and hear me. God has spoken in His holiness: "I will rejoice;
I will divide Shechem And measure out the Valley of Succoth. Gilead is Mine; Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet for My head; Judah is My lawgiver. Moab is My washpot; Over Edom I will cast
My shoe; Over Philistia I will triumph." Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead
me to Edom? Is it not You, O God, who cast us off? And You,
O God, who did not go out with
our armies? Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless. Through
God we will do valiantly, For it is
He who shall tread down our
enemies.
Father God I ask that you grant patience to all that read
this message. Help us to be still in times of opposition and allow you to fight
for us. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
Revelation 12:10-17 NKJV
Last
week the lesson was about the fall of Satan and also the war in Heaven that
will take place during the Tribulation resulting in Satan and his followers being
thrown out of Heaven, not to step foot there again. Verses 10–12 of this week’s
lesson is about the overcomer’s, the Jews in Israel that come to recognize who
Jesus is and they give their lives to Jesus. Verses 13-17 is about the Devils
wrath toward these overcomer’s in the last half of the Tribulation because he
realizes he lost the war in Heaven and is no longer allowed in Heaven to accuse
believers before God’s Throne.
10 Then I
heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the
kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of
our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast
down.
Then
I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and
the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come; This loud voice isn’t one loud voice
it is a voice of many speaking in unison. The souls under the altar, those in
Heaven with glorified bodies, and angelic host of all types are rejoicing and
shouting out as if it were one voice. Do you understand why they will be
rejoicing? Verse nine of last week’s lesson tells us why; Revelation 12:9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent
of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast
to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. They are rejoicing not only because Satan
is cast to earth, but because of this event they also know the end is very near
and Jesus will be returning soon to earth to remove evil, corruption, and
unbelievers so the next 1,000 years there will be peace on earth.
This is the peace many
people pray for on a daily basis. It will be peace like earth has never seen
and it will be because Jesus will be ruling with an iron rod. A rod of justice
and no gray areas, it will be guilty or not guilty and nothing in between.
There will be no plea bargaining like what goes on today in our judicial
system; like I live the lifestyle I do because that is how I was raise; or I was
born with that gene; or I was abused as a child; or I never had a father or
mother; or I was raised with two women or men; these excuses will not mean
anything to Jesus, because we are all born with the knowledge of God, but as
human beings we have free will and can chose to live for God or live to please
ourselves in a sinful lifestyle. Romans
1:18-21 For the wrath of God is
revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who
suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in
them, for God has shown it to
them. 20
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that
are made, even His eternal
power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because,
although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their
thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
For
the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night; The accuser referred to is Satan and
this phrase also tells us he is before God day and night making false proclamations
about believers on earth. Aren’t you glad God is all knowing so that Satan’s
claims are all washed away by the saving blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ? I
know I am I thank God daily for sending Jesus to die on the Cross in my place
so that I, as a believer, can accept God’s gift of grace, eternal bliss.
Please do remember this
chapter is about the woman that represents Israel. Brethren is mainly directed
at the Israeli nation, God’s chosen people.
Has
been cast down; This
refers to Satan and his host of followers being thrown out of Heaven.
11 And they
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and
they did not love their lives to the death.
And
they overcame him; Meaning
Satan, the sin nature.
By
the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; What this phrase is all about is being
Born Again, having that Spiritual Birth that Jesus tells us we must witness in
order to go to Heaven. John
3:5-6 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of
water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit. Anyone
that repents, gives their heart to Jesus, and witnesses a change in their life
has been Born Again. You have to experience a change in your life to proclaim
you have had a Spiritual Birth. One must understand why Jesus died on the Cross
for you and me. It was the only way because the blood of animals was
insufficient and always had to be repeated. Jesus is pure and spotless and he
defeated Satan for us because we have the sin nature that Satan inflicted upon
us and because of that, one belongs to Satan unless they are Born Again. It is
only under the umbrella of Jesus pure blood that one can obtain the gift of
grace from God Almighty. Romans
6:14 For sin shall not have
dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
By
the word of their testimony;
This is referring to the Gospel being preached and taught, also by sharing experiences
that has occurred in the life of the one giving the testimony. All Born Again
Saints has an experience to tell what God has done for them by setting them
free.
They
did not love their lives to the death;
This phrase is stating that a Born Again Saint will not deny Christ. They will
die for Him.
12 Therefore
rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the
earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath,
because he knows that he has a short time."
Therefore
rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them; There will be great rejoicing in
Heaven when Satan and his clan get thrown out of Heaven. Hmmm, with this verse
one could get the idea that Satan caused havoc in Heaven like he does on earth,
but actually the rejoicing is because the end is near, evil will be cast away,
and God’s righteousness will rule.
Woe
to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to
you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time; Chapter 11:14 states the third woe is
coming quickly. Is this the third woe, Satan’s rage upon the earth? Yes it is,
because Satan is going to give it all he has to destroy God’s children. You see
Satan knows the scripture, but doesn’t believe it because he thinks he can
influence Scripture and alter the truth.
13 Now when
the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who
gave birth to the male Child.
With this happening it
will anger Satan so much that the result will be the Antichrist breaking his
peace agreement with Israel. This will happen at the midpoint of the
Tribulation, resulting in the last 3 ½ years of great persecution of the
Israeli people. The verse states Satan will persecute the woman, but remember
the woman is Israel. Who is the male child? It will be the Jewish people that
accept Jesus as the Messiah. No doubt it will be the 144,000 but also others
that accept Jesus as their Saviour. Daniel prophesized this event many
centuries ago. Daniel
9:27 Then he shall confirm a
covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring
an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one
who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured
out on the desolate."
14 But the
woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the
wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a
time, from the presence of the serpent.
This verse doesn’t mean
that a great eagle will come and sweep the woman away, what it means is that
God will provide a way for His people to escape the wrath of Satan by going to
Petra. There God will provide for His children; protection, food, and water for
3 ½ years until the battle of Armageddon. How will this happen? Is there a
supply of food and water there now? We don’t know how this will happen all we have
to do is believe that it will because the Bible states this.
15 So the
serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he
might cause her to be carried away by the flood.
With this verse we have to
keep in mind when all this takes place and why. It happens at the midpoint of
the Tribulation when Satan is barred from Heaven, which in turns causes him to
turn violently on Israel through the Antichrist. The Antichrist will defeat
Israel by means of war, which will be the first time since 1948, which is when
Israel became a nation. War like we know war and not Spiritual war. This will
cause the Israeli people to flee with the Antichrist pursuing them, and I’m
speaking literally now. The Serpent is the Antichrist and the water from his
mouth is the Antichrist armies. The symbol of the flood is not uncommon in the
Bible. An attack is described at times as an overflowing flood Jeremiah 46:7-8; Jeremiah
47:2; Isaiah 8:7-8.
16 But the
earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the
flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
With the flood of water
representing the Antichrist’s army pursuing Israel, this is emblematic of the
flight of Israel from Egypt. We know the earth has been used by God to protect
his people by means of a sea parting or the earth opening up to swallow the
wicked. Here the earth opens again, probably by means of an earthquake and
swallowing some of the Antichrist army. This is part of that great eagle
mention in verse 14 above. This allows Israel to escape into the wilderness
just as their ancestors did. Numbers
16:31-33 Now it came
to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart
under them, 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed
them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. 33 So they
and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over
them, and they perished from among the assembly.
17 And the
dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her
offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ.
And
the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of
her offspring; The
events of verse 16 will anger Satan and he will then turn on Jews where ever he
can find them along with Gentile believers. No Born Again Saint of God will be
safe.
Who
keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ; This refers to Jew and Gentile alike
that keep the commandments through the power of the Holy Spirit and the
testimony meaning the Gospel of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.
Next
week we will start Chapter 13. This chapter will allude to some things being
proclaimed by present day nation leaders. It will be all about the Antichrist.
Woman with the Wings of an Eagle
Art used; by Pat Marvenko
Smith, copyright 1992.
Dragon Spewing Water
Art used; by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992.
All things were created through Him
and for Him.Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God."
Sinners
Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a sinner. I confess my sins to you; I am sorry for my
sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful lifestyle.) of all my
sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness of all of my sins. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.” (John 3:16,17;
Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1
John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom.
1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
