1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,000 Church, can we show our appreciation to the praise team? 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:11,080 Can we do that? They blessed us, even though it 3 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:14,000 might have been a little awkward to see a few faces just kind of 4 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:19,000 staring into the to the space. But technology has its 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,480 advantages, but it often times betrays us. 6 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,400 And that's why I'm a huge advocate of physical things, 7 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:28,600 like a physical Bible. I never have to worry if this 8 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:30,960 Bible is going to die in terms of the battery. 9 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:32,800 I never have to worry if I'm going to be interrupted by 10 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:37,400 notification. And so I champion a real copy of 11 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:39,760 God's Word in your hands. And I would. 12 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:41,560 You can get excited about that, too. 13 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:45,040 Yeah, sure. And so I, I really hope and I 14 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,800 know we are a church that loves the Bible, and I pray that we 15 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,840 would also hold to the tradition of keeping the physical copy of 16 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:54,400 God's Word accessible and at our disposal. 17 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,160 It's a gift from him. And so if you have a Bible with 18 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,640 you, let's go together to Revelation chapter 12. 19 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:07,840 Revelation chapter 12. The Kingdom of the world has 20 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,560 become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and He shall 21 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:16,040 reign forever and ever. That is the message that the 7th 22 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:18,320 trumpet in the Book of Revelation announces. 23 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:21,880 And we looked at that together at the end of Revelation Chapter 24 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,600 11. It really is a declaration of 25 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:28,680 the coronation and the triumphant return of the Lord 26 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:32,400 Jesus Christ who will come back to rule and reign over all 27 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,160 things. And that is something a true 28 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:39,680 Christian believes in and more than just believes in longs for. 29 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:42,360 Now here's what's so interesting. 30 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,200 What follows this electric, electrifying vision in 31 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:51,080 Revelation 11, surprisingly, are not the judgments that are 32 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:55,800 connected to it. In other words, the final set of 33 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:00,080 judgments, which are known as the bowls of God's wrath, will 34 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:02,160 not be interacted with. What will not be something that 35 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:06,320 we see right away? Those set of judgments will be 36 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:09,600 poured out to pave the way for the second coming of Christ, but 37 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:14,880 they don't appear until Revelation chapter 15 and said 38 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:19,520 What we have in Revelation 12 through 14 is a description of 39 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:24,760 the struggle between the Kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of 40 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:28,520 God, especially during the Tribulation period. 41 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,760 It's as though the Holy Spirit is reminding and informing us of 42 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,320 crucial details related to this ancient battle. 43 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:40,640 And as we come to this new chapter, God is going to give us 44 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,880 a different perspective on it. One that centers on and relays 45 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:49,680 relies heavenly upon listen Satan's experience. 46 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:55,840 The purpose of this section, when we come to the end of it, 47 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,960 is that despite all his efforts to thwart the promises of God, 48 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:06,080 the evil one will fail and Christ will win. 49 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,600 That is the impression that we're going to be left with as 50 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,920 we explore these verses in the coming weeks, and it will all 51 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:15,920 begin with a very curious vision. 52 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:19,640 I have to say that when I realize what we'll be looking at 53 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,560 this Sunday, I became even more excited, especially when we're 54 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:25,320 considering the Christmas season that we're in. 55 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,120 Revelation is not frequently referenced this time of the year 56 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:32,480 in churches. However, I think we're going to 57 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:34,920 be pleasantly surprised to discover just how relevant 58 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:39,120 John's vision here is to the truths many are being prepared 59 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:41,000 to celebrate. And so I invite you to come to 60 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:43,400 Revelation 12. Look at verse one, and let's 61 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,520 read down through verse 6 together. 62 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:50,560 Revelation 12, verse one reads. And a great sign appeared in 63 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:54,360 heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her 64 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,920 feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars. 65 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:02,040 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony 66 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:04,840 of giving birth. And another sign appeared in 67 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:09,120 heaven. Behold a great red dragon with 7 68 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:13,080 heads and 10 horns, and on his heads 7 diadems. 69 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:17,399 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast 70 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:20,760 them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the 71 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,200 woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her 72 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:28,720 child, he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, 73 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,520 one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. 74 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:35,240 But her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the 75 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:39,440 woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place repaired 76 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:44,960 by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1260 days. 77 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:53,560 Let's pray together, Lord, we know that these truths already, 78 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,120 just by reading them, declare your victory, Your victory over 79 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:01,760 all things, including Satan. And we pray that as we look at 80 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:05,960 these passages, You would be exalted in our hearts, that you 81 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:08,840 would draw out of us greater affection and adoration. 82 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:12,280 And that, Lord, ultimately you would be blessed by the 83 00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:16,040 faithfulness of our obedience to Your Word. 84 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:19,480 And as we come now, Lord, we pray that you would be our 85 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,560 teacher and that you would help us understand everything that we 86 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:25,200 will look at now. In Jesus name we pray. 87 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:28,880 Amen. Seems quite cryptic, doesn't it? 88 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:37,200 Planets, Dragons, numbers. Well, the best thing that we can 89 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:41,240 do to properly interpret this portrait of Scripture is by 90 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:43,480 underscoring what John says. Right from the beginning. 91 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:47,360 John tells us that these are signs. 92 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:52,280 Look again at verse one and a great sign appeared in heaven. 93 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:56,560 Similar language is found in verse 3 and another sign 94 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,800 appeared in heaven. So it's clear that what we are 95 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,480 presented in this section is not meant to be taken completely 96 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:07,240 literally. Instead, there are many symbolic 97 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:10,160 representations that point to literal realities. 98 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,280 And so once that's established, then we can begin to identify 99 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:16,840 certain things. And right away what we can 100 00:06:16,840 --> 00:06:21,400 acknowledge is that there are at least two major signs, two major 101 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:26,400 pictures here. The first is this woman, and the 102 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:30,160 second is this dragon. Now, there are other details 103 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,440 that we will examine, but these are the main characters before 104 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:36,280 us. And of the two, the most hotly 105 00:06:36,280 --> 00:06:40,160 debated is the woman. Who is she? 106 00:06:40,840 --> 00:06:44,400 Who does she represent? Why is she being presented here? 107 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:49,280 And the most prominent views that you will hear concerning 108 00:06:49,280 --> 00:06:54,520 this woman are that she might represent the Virgin Mary. 109 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:59,360 That is a view that is proposed by the Roman Catholic Church 110 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:03,280 called Mary gave Birth to Jesus. And not only that, they would go 111 00:07:03,280 --> 00:07:07,960 beyond such an observation and say the fact that she is exalted 112 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:11,720 in the cosmos speaks of her heavenly exaltation. 113 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,120 And there are others who say, no, this can't be the Virgin 114 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:18,840 Mary. It in fact speaks of the Church 115 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,280 of Jesus Christ who has been persecuted and harassed by the 116 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:27,360 devil since her beginnings. Well, I I want to take the time 117 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:31,600 to address those two main alternative views and hopefully 118 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,000 clarify how none of it holds water. 119 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,520 None of these actually makes sense when we consider the 120 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:40,480 context carefully. And so let me first, by 121 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:46,560 explaining the details here, show why this cannot #1 be about 122 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:50,360 the Virgin Mary or Mary. There's some observations here 123 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:54,040 that are inconsistent with the Marian dogma of the Roman 124 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:58,520 Catholic Church. First, if you consider how the 125 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:01,440 Roman Catholic Church teaches about the Immaculate Conception 126 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:07,120 of Mary, that Mary herself was born without a sin nature, then 127 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:10,360 you run into a problem right away because it would seem 128 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:16,120 strange for John here to describe Mary suffering pain in 129 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,920 labor. Look again in verse 3 it says, 130 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,880 hear what? That she was pregnant in verse 2 131 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,760 rather and was crying out in birth pains in the agony of 132 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:28,680 giving birth. Now why is that an issue? 133 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,280 Well, because according to Genesis 316, these kind of 134 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:38,000 agonizing pains are considered a curse, a curse that comes from 135 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:42,000 sin entering into the world. And the Roman Catholics believe 136 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,120 that even when Mary did give birth, there was no pain because 137 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:49,800 she was immaculately conceived. And so some Catholics would 138 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:52,320 usually deny this, referring to physical pain, and would instead 139 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,000 say that this is actually just a metaphor of spiritual struggles, 140 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:58,920 the difficulties that Mary experienced before and leading 141 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,520 up to the birth of Christ and even afterwards. 142 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:06,120 However, this is just one of many interpretive challenges. 143 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,720 A second observation that can be made is later in this chapter. 144 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:14,680 Scroll down to Revelation 12/17 and it says here that the dragon 145 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:17,440 became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the 146 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,080 rest of her offspring. Highlight that the rest of her 147 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:24,160 offspring and those who keep the commandments of God and hold to 148 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:28,080 the testimony of Jesus and he stood on the sand of the sea. 149 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:32,120 So even if you're vaguely familiar with the basic 150 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:36,400 doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church considering Mary, here's 151 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:41,200 what you have to ask. If Mary is a perpetual virgin, 152 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:44,360 then why is she described as having other offspring in this 153 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:47,200 verse? It's there, isn't it? 154 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:51,600 She has other offspring. And usually the answer you'll 155 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:53,560 receive is that this is not Speaking of literal children. 156 00:09:53,560 --> 00:09:58,040 This is a spiritual seed. Mary being what? 157 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:01,040 The mother of all believers. That's what's often proposed. 158 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:05,000 So you can see how there can be debates back and forth around 159 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:07,480 these issues. But if you want to just not have 160 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:11,160 any lengthy conversations, you can skip to the main thought 161 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:15,360 that I believe dismisses Mary from being the candidate, at 162 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:17,120 least the primary one in this vision. 163 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:19,960 Look back at Revelation 12, verse 5. 164 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:24,120 She gave birth to a male child who is to rule all the nations 165 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:27,320 with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and 166 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:31,120 to His throne. Look at verse 6 now and the 167 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:35,200 woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared 168 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:40,320 by God in which she is to be nourished for 1260 days. 169 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:43,280 Verse 5 undeniably speaks of who? 170 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:46,040 Christ. No debate. 171 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:51,880 How do you make sense of verse 6 though when it comes to Mary's 172 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,640 role in all of this? Even with the wide scope of 173 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:58,680 beliefs from the Catholics about Mary, there is no way to 174 00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:01,480 accommodate this description in verse 6 with her. 175 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:06,760 There is no hint historically. There is no vague impression 176 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:11,360 biblically that Mary at some point fled into the wilderness 177 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:15,360 for 3 1/2 years. That did not happen after the 178 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:17,280 birth of Christ. That didn't happen at the 179 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:22,000 ascension of Christ. This alone suffices to show that 180 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,040 she cannot be considered a candidate for the interpretation 181 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:28,400 of this woman. It just doesn't fit, and that's 182 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,880 why some believe instead that this woman in Revelation 12 183 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:36,200 typifies the Church. You'll find that opinion among 184 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:39,400 Church fathers, and even a minority among a minority of 185 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:45,280 modern interpreters today. But there's one obvious detail 186 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:49,200 that even disqualifies the Church from being the woman 187 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:53,200 here. Look again at verse 5. 188 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:57,280 She gave birth to a male child who is to rule all the nations 189 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:00,160 with a rod of iron, But her child was caught up to God and 190 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:03,200 to His throne. This woman gives birth to the 191 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:08,720 child who is undeniably Christ. Scripture clearly teaches us 192 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:11,400 that it is Christ who gives birth to the church and not the 193 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:14,320 other way around. The church doesn't give birth to 194 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,400 Christ. Nowhere in the Bible do we find 195 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:19,760 the church bringing the Incarnate Son of God into the 196 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:21,280 world. And that alone should end the 197 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:25,880 debate. And so if it's not Mary, and if 198 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:29,800 it's not the church, then we're only really left with 1 credible 199 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:33,600 answer, that the woman speaks of the nation of Israel. 200 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:37,880 And I want to tell you why. There are two things that we 201 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:39,720 have to highlight about this woman. 202 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:46,800 Number one, her clothing and #2 her condition, her clothing. 203 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:48,960 Look at the raiment. It's exalted, right? 204 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:51,480 The sun, moon, and stars. We see it in verse one. 205 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:58,520 What will those pictures merged together is strongly alluded to 206 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:03,080 in Scripture. This motif of these celestial 207 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:08,000 elements together are found in one other place in all of the 208 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,920 Bible. And John by the Spirit expects 209 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,760 us as we've come to the end of the Bible to remember since 210 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,520 we've been faithful reading the rest of it and say, OK, I've 211 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:19,680 seen this before. And the only other place where 212 00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:23,680 you'll find sun, moon and 12 stars mentioned together is back 213 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:28,480 in Genesis. Genesis 37 verse 9 to 10, where 214 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:33,040 Joseph explains his second dream to his brothers and he tells 215 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:38,360 them, I saw the sun and I saw the moon and I saw eleven stars 216 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:42,680 bowing before me. Now why 11 stars and not 12 like 217 00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:44,080 what we see here in Revelation 12? 218 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,080 Because Joseph would be counted as a 12. 219 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:53,120 Now Jacob, the father of Joseph, upon hearing this is a little 220 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,520 upset and he interprets the dream himself. 221 00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:00,800 Jacob understands. He represents the son, his wife. 222 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,880 Joseph's mother Rachel represents the moon, and his 223 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:08,040 sons speak of the stars and would later become the tribes of 224 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:10,960 Israel. And he rebukes Joseph. 225 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:17,280 It's amazing how the Holy Spirit takes that image and brings it 226 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:21,640 to this vision because he wants to make the connection. 227 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,680 If you read Genesis 37 and understood how Jacob interprets 228 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,680 it, then you would know that those things together symbolize 229 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:31,720 the early stages of the nation of Israel. 230 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:37,440 Now it's resurfacing here because it's intended to convey 231 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:41,040 the similar truth. What we have here with all of 232 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,840 these things in the early stages of Revelation 12 is the history 233 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:48,400 and the people of Israel pictured as a woman. 234 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:52,760 It doesn't end there though. You have more here. 235 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:58,640 Israel as a nation is frequently brought to our attention in the 236 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:03,600 Scriptures depicted as a woman, as a woman, and I believe we are 237 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,040 acquainted enough with the Old Testament to understand that. 238 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:09,680 But where we might be unfamiliar is how the Bible even shows 239 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:14,920 Israel as a woman in labor in some instances, especially in 240 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:16,960 times of distress and discipline. 241 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,080 So these are two scriptures worth turning to and writing 242 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:23,840 down in your notes. Consider Isaiah 27 or 26. 243 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:32,320 Excuse me, Isaiah 26 verse 15. But you have increased the 244 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:35,960 nation, O Lord, you have increased the nation. 245 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:39,920 You are glorified. You have enlarged all the 246 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,920 borders of the land. Oh Lord, in distress they sought 247 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:46,040 you. They poured out a whispered 248 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:49,480 prayer when your discipline was upon them. 249 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:55,560 Like a pregnant woman who rise and cries out in her pangs when 250 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:59,080 she is near to giving birth, so were we. 251 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:02,800 Because of you. Oh Lord, you see it? 252 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:06,520 Well, there's an end there. Consider Jeremiah. 253 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,600 Jeremiah chapter 4 and look at verse 31. 254 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:17,400 Jeremiah 431 reads for I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, 255 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:20,920 anguish as one, giving birth to her first child. 256 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:26,880 The cry of the daughter of Zion, gasping for breath, stretching 257 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,960 out her hands. Woe is me, I am fainting before 258 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:34,720 murderers. So shouldn't be strange to us 259 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:38,760 then, that John now is describing Israel in a familiar 260 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,280 fashion. But what's the larger message? 261 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:45,560 Why is that being presented here? 262 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:48,800 Well, again, look at the context in Revelation 12. 263 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:54,560 She's in pain for a reason. And the reason is because she's 264 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:59,720 ready to give birth. She's ready to go into labor and 265 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:01,120 bring into the world a male child. 266 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:03,680 And so when you take all these features, all these ingredients 267 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,319 and put them together, the message is undeniably clear. 268 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:09,960 What John is seeing here with the clothing of the woman and 269 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:13,000 the condition of the woman speaks of the distress of the 270 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,079 nation of Israel that they've known throughout the ages, as 271 00:17:16,079 --> 00:17:20,000 they have been long, longly waiting and anticipating the 272 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:25,319 arrival of the Messiah. All the sin, all the evil, all 273 00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:30,840 the wars, all the chastisement, all the promises as they become 274 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:34,240 more and more clear throughout redemptive history, yet not 275 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:39,720 being realized, contribute to the angst and the turmoil and 276 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:42,520 the challenges. When will he come? 277 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:44,960 When will he arrive? When will the son of David make 278 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:49,560 everything right? And as soon as we get acquainted 279 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:52,440 or reacquainted with this picture, we are suddenly 280 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:55,640 introduced to a new character and the second major one in this 281 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,760 vision, the great red dragon. Now let's look at the great red 282 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:01,120 dragon. It's not difficult to understand 283 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:04,560 who he represents, but just in case there's any confusion, look 284 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:07,640 at verse 9 of Revelation 12. We are told exactly who the 285 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:10,520 dragon is. And the great dragon was thrown 286 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:15,200 down, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, 287 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:19,520 the deceiver of the whole world, this is Satan. 288 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:25,240 And again, this is a symbolic picture, but we're given the 289 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:28,880 description, we're given the interpretation of who he is. 290 00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:33,280 But where things get a little cloudy are the details about 291 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:35,360 this great dragon. What are they? 292 00:18:35,360 --> 00:18:38,560 Look again at verse 3. Behold the great red dragon in 293 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:44,080 the middle of the verse with 7 heads and 10 horns, and on his 294 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:47,120 heads 7 diadems, which are crowns. 295 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:51,680 Now if you're just left with this, we're in trouble. 296 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:55,160 This can mean 1000 different things, but what do we do? 297 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:57,200 We interpret Scripture with Scripture. 298 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:00,120 And so just like we did with the woman and the sun, moon and 299 00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:03,320 stars, we have to try to investigate and evaluate the 300 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,920 rest of the Bible and ask where else have we seen these things 301 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:09,760 mentioned together? And we don't actually have to go 302 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:11,840 very far. We could go to the book of 303 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:15,720 Daniel, but we just have to stay in Revelation actually, because 304 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:18,960 clarity is provided later on. Now, I don't want to overwhelm 305 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:21,840 you, but we have to do this. Here's what's going to happen, 306 00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:24,480 John. And Revelation 17 is going to 307 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:26,040 see yet another vision. He's going to see many of them. 308 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:30,120 And in this vision, though, he's going to see a beast, not a 309 00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:32,760 dragon. And with this beast, he's going 310 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:38,680 to find the same details given to him, not the dragon, but a 311 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:42,000 beast with these same number of horns and the same number of 312 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:45,640 crowns and heads. And here's a short explanation. 313 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:47,600 The reason why it's going to be found on the beast is because at 314 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:51,960 some point the dragon, who is Satan, is going to hand these 315 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:55,840 things over to the beast. That's the simple explanation. 316 00:19:56,440 --> 00:20:00,280 But as John is looking at this, he's actually given the 317 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,320 understanding of these things. This is where we have to turn 318 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:05,800 now. Look at Revelation 17, verse 9. 319 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:15,200 Here's our answer. Revelation 17, verse 9. 320 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,120 This calls for a mind with wisdom. 321 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:24,200 The seven heads are 7 mountains on which the woman is seated. 322 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:29,600 There are also 7 kings. Highlight that five of them whom 323 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:31,920 have fallen. One is, the other has not yet 324 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:35,280 come, and when he does come, he must remain only a little while. 325 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:40,040 As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth, but it 326 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,760 belongs to the seven, and goes to destruction. 327 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:48,240 Verse 12 and the horns that you saw are 10 kings who have not 328 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:51,960 yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as 329 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:54,600 kings for one hour together with the beast. 330 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:58,080 A lot of detail. I know it's a mouthful. 331 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,840 Just take a breath with me. All you and I need to understand 332 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:08,040 at this point is that these heads and these horns on this 333 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:12,200 dragon refer and represent political leaders and their 334 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:14,760 empires. That's all you need to know for 335 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:16,760 now. And the reason why they are 336 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:22,240 associated and even attached to this dragon is because we are to 337 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:27,600 understand that Satan ultimately has dominion over these empires 338 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:30,200 and leaders. He's the one who's really at 339 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:35,200 work. He's the puppet master over what 340 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:40,080 the whole world really and Satan's control, the whole earth 341 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:43,840 has been a reality ever since the fall and it will continue to 342 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:48,640 remain so until the return of Christ and we learn how the evil 343 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:55,120 1 is able to govern this vast planet with such amazing 344 00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:57,720 influence. Go back to Revelation 12. 345 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,240 What do we see here in verse 4 after reading that? 346 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:04,120 He has these heads and these horns that speak of nations and 347 00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:08,200 speak of confederacy of governments under his control. 348 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:10,000 Look what we read here in verse 4. 349 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:15,760 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast 350 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,120 them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the 351 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:20,520 woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her 352 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:30,680 child, he might devour it. This tale we're told sweeps not 353 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:32,960 something on the earth, but something in the heavenlies. 354 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:39,160 Now, is this speaking about Satan wishing down 1/3 of the 355 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:42,720 stars in in space as they come crashing to the the earth? 356 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:46,000 That can't be. We've seen many stars, actual 357 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,440 stars falling on the Earth up to this point in Revelation. 358 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:51,240 But the context doesn't suggest that. 359 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:56,560 You know this very well, that in certain passages stars can can 360 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:00,160 symbolize angels. And that's what seems to be 361 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:02,640 proposed here. Let me show you why. 362 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:04,400 Look at verse 7 of Revelation 12. 363 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:09,320 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against 364 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:14,440 the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 365 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:17,800 Look at verse 9. And the great dragon was thrown 366 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:20,360 down, that ancient serpent who was called the devil, and Satan, 367 00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:23,240 the deceiver of the whole world, he was thrown down to the earth, 368 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:26,920 and his angels were thrown down with him. 369 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:31,440 This is fascinating. We're told that Satan has his 370 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:36,800 own angels. How can I be when he himself is 371 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:40,640 a created heavenly creature? Well, we're giving the 372 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:47,440 explanation of verse four, that in his original rebellion he 373 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:50,400 took down with him a third of the angels. 374 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:56,920 You see that his tail swept down a third of the stars which speak 375 00:23:56,920 --> 00:24:01,640 of these angels who joined them in his defiance against the true 376 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:05,520 and living God, and they've been working for him ever since. 377 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:10,960 Now some might be curious to to wonder, well, how many angels 378 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:14,560 exactly followed Satan. We don't have an exact number, 379 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:19,760 but we know, if you remember our study of the trumpet judgments, 380 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:24,400 that one of the final judgments in that set is that there will 381 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:30,280 be hundreds of millions of demons who will assist for 382 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:34,320 leading demons and destroying 1/3 of the human population. 383 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:38,400 So based on that insight, we know that there are at least 384 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:44,240 hundreds of millions of demons who are working for the Kingdom 385 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:49,440 of Darkness, and we're being reminded of that here. 386 00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:53,840 They have been tormenting and deceiving humanity since the 387 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:57,560 beginning of time, and one of the strongest displays of 388 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,040 Satan's dominance over this world was seen at the birth of 389 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:02,440 Christ. You see how now this is going to 390 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:05,400 tie into the Christmas message. It's not the only Christmas 391 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:09,960 message, so don't worry. What do we read in the rest of 392 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:12,720 verse four? That after we heard about these 393 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:16,560 stars that fall down with Satan, the dragon stood before the 394 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:20,960 woman who was about to give birth, so when she bore her 395 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:29,720 child, he might devour it. We're just a few days away from 396 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:33,160 Christmas. Did you know that there's a 397 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:38,360 dragon in the Christmas story? That's what Revelation says. 398 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:42,080 And you might object and say, well, I I've read the Gospel 399 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:43,480 accounts. I haven't found a dragon 400 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:47,120 anywhere. Actually, you have. 401 00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:52,560 You just didn't notice it. Remember, if this dragon has 402 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:55,600 seven heads and 10 horns that speak of governments and rulers 403 00:25:55,600 --> 00:26:02,840 and Princess and politicians, then you know exactly what 404 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:07,360 happened near the birth of Christ that relates this truth 405 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,560 to that point. Did we see any rise of 406 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:15,200 governmental powers at the birth of Christ? 407 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:21,960 Of course, Herod. Herod, that evil man who 408 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:26,320 commanded that children under the age of 2, especially male 409 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,560 children in Bethlehem and around the region, would be slaughtered 410 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:34,600 in his attempt to snuff out this prophecy of the King of the 411 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:38,480 Jews. So you see a man with his ego 412 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:41,560 trying to do something vile and despicable, and now you come to 413 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:43,400 Revelation. You realize, oh, there's a 414 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:49,680 spirit behind that operation. The Herod was just a human 415 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:54,240 vessel, but there's a great dragon behind such efforts, and 416 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:59,560 it's a reminder to all of us that there are evil spirits, 417 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:02,440 evil forces that stand behind agendas and crimes at the 418 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:05,360 highest levels. It didn't just happen when 419 00:27:05,360 --> 00:27:08,560 Christ came into this world. It happens all the time, even 420 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:10,840 today, and it's been happening since Genesis. 421 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:13,840 But here's the encouraging truth. 422 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:17,680 No matter what kind of sway Satan has, he failed to destroy 423 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,760 the long expected Jesus. He was right there ready to 424 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:24,560 devour the child and he was hoping to extinguish God's 425 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:29,200 faithfulness and he failed. He failed. 426 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:32,480 That's what we find in verse 5 that she gave birth to a male 427 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:36,560 child and one who has to rule all the nations that that's his 428 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:38,800 destiny. But we also learned that he did 429 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:41,880 what he was caught up to God and to his throne. 430 00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:45,920 The speaks of what the the ascension of Christ, the 431 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:49,760 exaltation of Christ. Satan couldn't Vanquish it. 432 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:54,480 Satan could not stop it. That's really one of the 433 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:59,000 messages of Christmas. Satan was defeated. 434 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:01,400 He thought that he could succeed. 435 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,320 He's so arrogant, so filled with pride and hatred. 436 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,880 He actually thought that he can overcome God's redemption for 437 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:13,320 the world, and he didn't. And we might think that this is 438 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,560 a good place for the scene to end, but it doesn't. 439 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:18,240 Something interesting happens between verse 5 and verse 6. 440 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:22,680 So in verse 5 it's clear we have here a description of the birth 441 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:25,760 of Christ, and not just the birth of Christ, but his 442 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:29,520 ascension and his exaltation. He is now sitting at the right 443 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:32,960 hand of God, and he is to come to rule all the nations with a 444 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:37,640 rod of iron. But then you look at verse 6 and 445 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:41,280 something, something doesn't seem right, at least when you 446 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:44,160 consider the timeline verse 6 says. 447 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:47,680 And the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place 448 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:52,160 prepared by God in which she used to be nourished for 1260 449 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:57,240 days. What is that have to do with 450 00:28:57,320 --> 00:28:58,880 everything that we just heard? Up to this point? 451 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:05,400 We've been hearing about Israel and the promised Messiah and 452 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:08,720 Satan trying to stop the first Advent and he failed. 453 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:11,400 And all of a sudden we're we're back to the woman and her 454 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,400 running into the wilderness where God's going to take care 455 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:19,640 of her for 3 1/2 years. God is so gracious to us because 456 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:23,040 He has not left us in the dark. He's given us a very strong clue 457 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:25,440 in verse 6. And that is the timing. 458 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:28,120 That is the duration. That is that number there again, 459 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:30,480 1260 days. Have we seen that before? 460 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:32,520 Yes, you have. We have. 461 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:38,080 Go back to Chapter 11. Look at verse 2, Revelation 11, 462 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:42,520 verse 2 do not measure the court outside the temple. 463 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:46,280 Leave that out for it is given over to the nations and they 464 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:50,280 will trample the holy city for 42 months and I will grant 465 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:56,000 authority to my 2 witnesses and they will prophecy for 1260 days 466 00:29:56,240 --> 00:30:02,200 clothed in sackcloth. Remember, Revelation 11/1 to 467 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:07,000 three describe and prophecy key events that are connected to the 468 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:12,840 people of Israel for 42 months. Jerusalem will be severely 469 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:16,680 oppressed for that same amount of time, God will raise up two 470 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:21,240 powerful prophets that will preach to them and to the rest 471 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:24,400 of the world. So what we have here again is a 472 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:28,760 description of what's to come in this particular period of time, 473 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:33,600 which really described the final years of the Tribulation period. 474 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:38,800 And clearly God is not finished telling us more about what's to 475 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:41,600 take place during that same time frame. 476 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:44,920 Yes, the Holy City will be trampled upon. 477 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:47,760 Yes, there will be two preachers who will be preaching for that 478 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:50,280 same duration of time. And as we come to chapter 12, we 479 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:57,000 realize there's more. This woman, clearly, who speaks 480 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:00,480 of Israel will be fleeing into the wilderness. 481 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:04,680 How do we make sense of this? Here's what it means. 482 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:10,640 We see that this woman will be so oppressed that she will 483 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:13,400 actually have to escape for a season. 484 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:17,920 And when we read the rest of Revelation 12, we'll see exactly 485 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:20,200 who's the one oppressing her. It will be the dragon. 486 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:24,200 He will actually chase her. So hold on, let's step back for 487 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:26,320 a moment. How do we make sense all? 488 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:30,520 Here's how we make sense of it. Since Satan failed in his 489 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:34,520 attempt to thwart God's promises concerning the first coming of 490 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:36,800 Christ, he will seek to stop the 2nd. 491 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:42,200 And one of the ways he will try to do this is by destroying the 492 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:48,880 Jewish people, a people whom the Lord promised to pour His spirit 493 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:53,000 upon in the last days to be saved living in a land of the 494 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:55,760 Lord said he would physically rule from forever and ever upon 495 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:59,240 his return. And the devil and his great 496 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:01,760 pride will do everything he can to make sure that none of that 497 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:06,320 happens. And so history also has shown us 498 00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:08,440 that the great dragon has been trying to do exactly that for 499 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:13,440 centuries, but to no avail. So the great dragon turns his 500 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:18,760 attention away from the child, the male child, and will now 501 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:22,960 pursue the woman. And what's interesting is from 502 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:25,240 verse 5 to verse 6, we were talking about the birth and 503 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:28,520 ministry of Christ. And we skip over to the last 504 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:32,800 days, nothing in between. Why? 505 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:35,480 Because in our understanding of Revelation and the rest of 506 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:38,840 Scripture concerning the end times, Israel plays a major 507 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:42,160 role. And when we look at it from 508 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:45,800 Satan's perspective, he understands what some people 509 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,480 don't even believe, that there is a connection between the 510 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:52,080 Jewish people and how Christ will come back again. 511 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:58,520 And so this woman will flee into the wilderness for a period of 512 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:02,120 time. And this is where we're going to 513 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:03,840 end. We have to consider this final 514 00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:06,200 thought. It could very well be that some 515 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,520 of these Jews will flee at this point of the Tribulation. 516 00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:10,960 Do so in obedience to the words of Jesus Christ. 517 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:15,000 Do you remember what Christ taught in the Olivet Discourse? 518 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:18,280 Let me remind you, in our final passage this afternoon in 519 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:24,080 Matthew 2415 to 21, we read Jesus saying, so when you see 520 00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:27,480 the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel 521 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:31,360 standing in the holy place, let the reader understand. 522 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:37,400 Pause for a moment. Matthew 2415, Jesus says, let 523 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:39,000 the reader understand. You know what that tells me? 524 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:41,120 Understanding the last days is possible. 525 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:44,360 Don't let other people tell you otherwise. 526 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:46,360 There are some people who will never touch the Book of 527 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:49,240 Revelation because they think that it's not understandable. 528 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:51,840 It's too cryptic, it's too mysterious, it's too 529 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:57,120 overwhelming, it's too symbolic. And yet here's my Jesus saying, 530 00:33:57,120 --> 00:34:00,200 let the reader understand, understand what this concept 531 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:01,840 called the abomination of desolation. 532 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:07,000 So it's knowable. We just have to do the work. 533 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:10,360 And that's what we've been doing, flipping from passage to 534 00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:14,199 passage. This is what will make us mature 535 00:34:14,199 --> 00:34:16,760 Christians. What do we read later? 536 00:34:17,639 --> 00:34:19,800 We saw it early in the passage. Revelation 17. 537 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:26,400 This calls for wisdom. So there is an effort on our 538 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:29,800 part to know these things. And I think the one of the 539 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:31,679 reasons why people don't know them is because they don't want 540 00:34:31,679 --> 00:34:33,960 to put in the work. We're going to put in the work. 541 00:34:35,159 --> 00:34:38,040 So Jesus says when you see the abomination of desolation spoken 542 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:41,960 of by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place, let 543 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:44,960 me remind you, the abomination of desolation speaks of an 544 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:48,639 individual who will come into the physical temple in Jerusalem 545 00:34:48,639 --> 00:34:52,199 and desecrate it. How will he desecrate it? 546 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:56,320 He will claim himself to be God. He will demand worship. 547 00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:00,320 He will sit in that place and expect the world to honor him 548 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:04,400 and to deify him. And Jesus says, listen, when you 549 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,360 see that, then he gives these instructions here, what's fast? 550 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:10,680 Here's what's fascinating. He localizes these instructions. 551 00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:14,720 Up to this point in Matthew 24, He's been giving insight to the 552 00:35:14,720 --> 00:35:17,520 whole world about the world. But then when you come to this, 553 00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:20,040 it's a turning point. Listen to what he says in verse 554 00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:24,760 16. Then let those who are aware in 555 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:31,480 Chicago, in Judea, let those who are in Judea do what? 556 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:35,440 Flee. Flee to the mountains. 557 00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:38,880 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take 558 00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:41,840 what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not 559 00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:45,200 turn back to take his cloak. And alas, for women who are 560 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:48,000 pregnant, for those who are nursing infants in those days, 561 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:51,520 pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath, for 562 00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:53,840 then there will be great tribulation, since has not been 563 00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:55,480 from the beginning of the world until now. 564 00:35:55,680 --> 00:36:00,440 No and never will be. What you saw in Revelation 12, 565 00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:05,880 verse 6, the woman fleeing into the wilderness, is an expansion 566 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:10,560 of what Jesus taught here. And it could be again, it could 567 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:16,440 be that some of these Jews who will run, remember Jesus's words 568 00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:20,440 are doing so in accordance with what Christ commanded. 569 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:25,960 Here's what this means. As you and I continue in 570 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:29,800 Revelation, we are witnessing the Jewish people coming closer 571 00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:35,520 and closer to putting their trust in Messiah, to putting 572 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:40,400 their trust in Jesus of Nazareth as their savior. 573 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:45,720 Now, this woman fleeing into the wilderness for this period of 574 00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:50,320 time is going to be expanded on in the rest of Revelation 12, 575 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:57,200 but for now, I'll end here. Does this description of God 576 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:03,360 supernaturally providing for his own in a wilderness for this 577 00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:05,320 same period of time sound familiar to you? 578 00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:09,960 It should. Do you remember a man named 579 00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:13,840 Elijah? Elijah was one of the greatest 580 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:18,480 prophets in Israel's history. And Elijah confronted an 581 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:23,720 apostate nation and he, through his prayers, caused a drought to 582 00:37:23,720 --> 00:37:26,200 take place in Israel. For how long again? 583 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:32,360 3 1/2 years according to James. But what you read in First Kings 584 00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:37,000 17 is that when Elijah pronounces this judgement, God 585 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:39,600 tells him to do what? Flee. 586 00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:44,320 Flee to the brook, Careth. And there I will take care of 587 00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:46,200 you. I've commanded Ravens to feed 588 00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:50,040 you. And by faith, God was taking 589 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:52,520 care of his servant. And at the right time, he says, 590 00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:55,240 now go to a widow, she's going to take care of you. 591 00:37:55,560 --> 00:38:00,160 A widow, really. Yes, go. 592 00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:03,040 And he did. And God took care of him and at 593 00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:04,240 the right time, according to James. 594 00:38:04,240 --> 00:38:09,720 Again, after 3 1/2 years, he appears once more and he 595 00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:12,840 continues his ministry. I was meditating on this last 596 00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:13,800 night, and here's what I thought. 597 00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:17,760 This God who governs the nation's, this God who according 598 00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:20,160 to Revelation 12, will take special care of Israel. 599 00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:21,560 Why? Because he promised to save 600 00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:26,160 them, is the same God who cares about the One. 601 00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:32,920 He took care of Elijah in the same way that he takes care of 602 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:36,560 this entire country. And I'm here to tell you today 603 00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:41,440 that he cares about you. This one who is supreme over all 604 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:47,160 things, who will rule all the nations with a rod of iron, has 605 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:49,920 his eye on you. You. 606 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:54,440 Yes, you. You say, well, I'm not a 607 00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:56,280 prophet. I can understand God taking care 608 00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:58,840 of Elijah, but who am I? Well, let me remind you what 609 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:01,320 else James said. Elijah was a man like us. 610 00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:05,120 He has the same nature. He had a St. the same 611 00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:09,080 temptation, same discouragement. Elijah actually barely made it 612 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:12,760 in ministry. He submitted his resignation to 613 00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:15,840 God because I'm I'm done, Lord, and Lord said, no, I'm not going 614 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:18,400 to accept it. You still have some things for 615 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:21,920 me to do through you. God looks at you. 616 00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:23,840 God looks at me. That's what I thought of. 617 00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:27,600 Oh, Lord, you're taking care of this woman who is exalted in 618 00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:30,520 your sight, but you're also, as I remember the Old Testament, 619 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:36,200 willing to shepherd the one. Brothers and sisters, why is 620 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:42,560 this important? Because how we interpret this 621 00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:44,680 ultimately determines how we view God. 622 00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:48,120 And here's the Christmas message at this point. 623 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:52,800 Satan lost. Satan lost, Christ came in. 624 00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:55,440 He's exalted. He's ready to return, but he is 625 00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:58,760 so foolish he thinks he can still win. 626 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:00,680 And here's what Revelation tells us. 627 00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:02,120 He's actually going to lose again. 628 00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:05,000 He's going to lose again. We have already won. 629 00:40:05,240 --> 00:40:07,320 We're a victorious people. We're just waiting to see it 630 00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:10,400 happen. And so you and I can know, we 631 00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:13,280 know the end of the story. We are going to be redeemed. 632 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:16,960 Christ is going to conquer and we will be with him forever and 633 00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:24,960 ever and ever. Merry Christmas to you, Lord, we 634 00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:29,200 thank you. How even Revelation 12 can 635 00:40:29,200 --> 00:40:31,120 actually speak to us at this time of the year. 636 00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:35,400 It's amazing, Lord, how if we just go through Your word, it's 637 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:40,120 timely. And Lord, we just want to 638 00:40:40,120 --> 00:40:43,320 rejoice in Your presence because You've given us that much more 639 00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:47,440 light that You've used this church family with the hunger 640 00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:50,040 for Your Word to bring us that much closer into our 641 00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:52,480 understanding of who You are and Your ways. 642 00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:55,840 And so, Lord, we just pray that You would always keep us in the 643 00:40:55,840 --> 00:40:59,760 truth that no matter what popular opinions are out there, 644 00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:03,560 that we would always say, thus says the Lord, that no matter 645 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:06,040 what kind of opposing views may come our way, we would say, but 646 00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:09,240 it is written. So Lord, we pray your blessing 647 00:41:09,240 --> 00:41:12,040 over Maranatha Bible Church to remain and every other church 648 00:41:12,040 --> 00:41:14,720 that's represented here, that we would be people of the book, 649 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:17,320 that we would always go to Scripture, that we would always 650 00:41:17,320 --> 00:41:20,120 understand your mind through these verses, and that we would 651 00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:22,400 always submit to what your word says. 652 00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:25,240 So Lord, we do thank you today. We thank you that you've shown 653 00:41:25,240 --> 00:41:28,640 us in this text that Satan, even though he might have convinced 654 00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:33,680 hundreds of millions of angels to obey him, and though he has 655 00:41:33,680 --> 00:41:36,920 seven heads and though he has 10 horns, though he does hold sway 656 00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:39,200 over this entire world, he will never win. 657 00:41:39,720 --> 00:41:43,360 He lost 2000 years ago and he will lose again in the days to 658 00:41:43,360 --> 00:41:45,080 come. And for this we say thank you 659 00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:47,520 because we belong to you and to you alone. 660 00:41:47,720 --> 00:41:51,080 In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Let's stand church.