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Revelation #23

            Have you been at peace in the Lord during the past week? It is time to study the book of Revelation, where the Lord appears to the Apostle John and said, ¶ Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (Revelation 1:3 KJV) Those who believe in Jesus Christ, become God’s children, and become the bride of Jesus Christ while living on this earth are single-minded, cleansed through the blood of the Lord, and through the water and the Spirit in the Word, prepare spiritual bridal adornment, as we live in hope of casting off our corruptible bodies, meeting the Lord in glory and joy, laying down the cross we have been carrying on this earth, and replacing it with a crown when the Lord returns. The Book of Revelation is a blessed word for those who are waiting for the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, the blessed hope of the Lord’s suffering children on earth. But those who love the world more than God, committing spiritual adultery as James 4:4 says, will fear and tremble at the words of Revelation. However, you just need to repent right now and come out of the world and receive Jesus Christ. Also, even if you are saved, those who are in the world can hear these words in the same glorious hope if they now turn and repent, be washed in the blood of Christ, and are filled with the Holy Spirit. We’ve been studying the seven personages in Revelation 12 for several weeks. The first was a woman, the nation of Israel. Second, the red dragon; Satan, the devil. It was Lucifer, the old serpent that came to Eden. The third is a male child, Jesus Christ, and as in Isaiah 66, Israel will give birth to a child before Israel goes into labor during the tribulation. We talked about that in the previous study. Today, we will learn about the fourth, the archangel, and as time permits, we will study about the remnant of the Jewish people. Here’s Revelation 12:7 containing the words about the archangel; And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, (Revelation 12:7 KJV) This is what will happen in the future. It’s gonna happen soon. This will happen during the latter three and a half years of tribulation. God declared a certain war in Genesis 3:15. To the serpent, to Satan who brought sin; And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15 KJV)

He told the serpent that Jesus Christ, the descendant of the woman and the descendant of Israel, would be crucified. However, God declared war on the devil to crush his head. The book of Revelation is the 66th book. Also, we see a war in Revelation 12, which is 6,000 years later. The war ends in Revelation 20. There are only four chapters in the Bible where there is no battle. Genesis 1 and 2 and Revelation 21 and 22. Isn’t it amazing? Just the beginning and the end. There was no war before sin entered mankind, and war will cease only when the new heaven and new earth arrives after the millennial kingdom. In 1948, the United Nations was formed. However, ever since it’s inception, there have been increase of wars on this earth. The world has heard nothing but news of wars and rumours of wars. News of wars continues to be heard onto this day. Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Korea, World War I and II. Wars have never ceased. War will end only when someone wins, and the only one who can win is Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Michael fights for Israel in Daniel 12:1. We can see here that he is a special spiritual being representing Israel in heaven. Therefore, when we see Michael appearing in the book of Daniel, we can see that Michael is the archangel. I’ll read Daniel 12:1  as a reference: ¶ And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1 KJV) These are the remnants. Just as Joshua and Caleb, and the remnant of Israel, born and circumcised in the wilderness were allowed into the promised land of Canaan during their exodus from Egypt, such event as this will happen during the tribulation. Moving onto verse verse 8-9; And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:8-9 KJV) The old serpent deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Ultimately he is the one who killed us too. Here it says he was cast out to earth. Even during Noah’s flood, the sons of God, the angels, came down to this earth. They married the daughters of men and gave birth to giants, and God destroyed them with a flood. In the future tribulation, the devil will be cast out to earth. He’s in the air now, but when he is cast out to earth, his angels will come down with him and great things will happen to this earth. He is the ruler. He’s trying to take over the Earth. This is a huge event that will happen in the future. The purpose of their coming down to earth is to bring the nations together ecumenically into one in the Church of Rome. Religion is unified. The Bible says God will destroy them all at once at Armageddon. It is said that an army of 200 million will die in one day, their corpses will be eaten by birds, as their blood will flow like a river by the length of 200 miles and at a height of a horse’s bridle. In fact, countless number of God’s children were martyred during the 6,000 years of human history. God said he would come to avenge them. (Hebrews 10:30 KJV) says: For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. He’s been patient for a long time just for even one person to repent, believe in Jesus Christ, and be saved. He endures a thousand years as if it were a day, and a day as if it were a thousand years. However it will all come to an end when the Lord comes. It is the dispensation of the fulness of times.

            God’s plan of salvation has a time. Until the rapture. Now, there is salvation only when the saints repent right before going up to heaven and receive Jesus Christ. Otherwise, either you fall into tribulation, receive the mark (666), live for a short time, and then go to hell, or if you do not receive it, you will be persecuted and beheaded, and you will receive salvation later. Those who were beheaded were said to be given the authority to rule in the millennial kingdom. Let’s read verse 10. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (Revelation 12:10 KJV) Right now, the devil is accusing us. ‘Person like You? A child of God?’ He accuses every time we sin. However, Jesus is defending. He’s interceding for us. The devil is cast out to earth during the Tribulation. When he physically comes to earth the entire world will be devastated. There will be more about it in the future chapters. Here in verse 10, Satan is shown as an accuser or prosecutor. In the first chapter of the Book of Job, since it was before he was cast out of heaven, Satan accused Job saying, ‘Job is fearing you God because you’ve blessed him with material goods! However, we can see that Job kept his faith to the end when God allowed Satan to test Job without affecting Job’s life. Let’s keep moving, verse 11; And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. (Revelation 12:11 KJV) There is a scene in which certain people eventually triumph over the devil. They win by faith until the end. They are martyred. These are the people of verse 11. We have already seen through the Bible that, If you are not born again, you will head straight into the tribulation, as you will remember hearing many words (about tribulation), and you will not worship the Antichrist, and you will be martyred by beheading on the guillotine. That is why now is the time to receive Jesus Christ, be born again by the Holy Spirit, and prepare to attend the wedding ceremony when the Lord comes. Therefore, the Bible says that today is the day to receive grace and salvation.

            So, now the devil has been cast out of heaven. ¶ Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. (Revelation 12:12 KJV) It is now the latter three and a half years of the Tribulation. This figure is the Antichrist who claims to be Jesus Christ. He is the anointed one in Ezekiel 28 claiming to be an angel of light. He is also called the god of this world. He is an attractive figure to the people of the world. He comes down to this earth and claims to be the embodiment of God. Christ is God incarnate. The devil claims to be the incarnation of God. When he emerges from outer space, like an extraterrestrial, perhaps even a Martian if you will, every sector of science, philosophy, art, music, life magazine, radio, newspapers, TV, and various media outlets will acclaim him as the greatest and most highly evolved superhuman being. It is highly probable everyone would get down on their knees. Even the president of the United States will kneel. Because he’s superhuman. Because he makes fire come down from heaven. No one has ever seen anything like this before. In this scene, Heaven’s judgment will be Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! Woe to those who are remaining on land and sea not raptured. why? Because the devil has descended. That is why you must be born again by the Holy Spirit and go up during the rapture so that you do not participate in the tribulation. Now is the time for salvation. Those who are born again of the Holy Spirit are children of God because they have the Spirit of God. The bride of Jesus. The Bride of Jesus will never face the tribulation. Even though one did not properly serve as a bride while on earth, rebuking will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Also, all the useless work is burned and there is no reward. These people will meet the Lord like a naked man. ¶ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58 KJV) as such, The Apostle Paul exhorted the saints of Corinthian church to always devote themselves to the work of the Lord. Why the woe? The devil came down to this earth 6,000 years ago and stole the earth given to Adam. He came with sin and stole it from Adam. He then condemned the Son of God to be a sinner and put him to death. He dragged countless people into hell. Probably couldn’t count them all if I tried. Such man is going to come down to earth, as he wants to take everyone to hell. God wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. But the devil steals, kills and destroys. God allows the sheep to have life and have it abundantly, but the devil holds the power of death. That is why the Bible says that Jesus Christ came to destroy the devil. We have learned a lot about the devil so far. In spiritual warfare, we must know the enemy in order to win. The fifth personage, we will study the remnant of the Jews. Let’s read 12:13-17 to see who they are.

            And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:13-17 KJV) There are two things to study as we get to the final verse as we look through this chapter together. First, it is manifested in a special and fierce hatred of Israel. It shows up in history. Human history is the history of persecuting Israel. Israelis are still persecuted. The reason Satan hates Israel is because the Savior came from Israel and the 66 books of the Bible were written about the Israelites. This testimony also comes from the fact that Israel was promised to rule the world. God promised to give Abraham the land of Palestine. And said Christ would rule. Satan is the god of this world. 2 Corinthians 4:4,5 says the god of this world prevents people from receiving the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. Because Satan is the god of this world, he will not just sit and watch the promised people of Israel take it all away from him. Because when the Lord returns, Israel will occupy this earth. They become the nation of priests. Jesus Christ becomes King. Israel will rule Just as America rules now. Because the United States was founded by Christians, it continues to protect Israel to this day. God blesses those who bless Abraham and curses those who curse him. This history has come true. All the countries that cursed Israel, from Babylon in the past to Egypt, Assyria, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, all either disappeared or became feeble. However America still stands strong for helping Israel. That is why we can see that Israel is now openly independent among the Middle Eastern countries, and that it always overcomes foreign invasions. This great biblical truth is completely ignored by amillennialists and post-millennial theologians. These people do not believe Christ will return to this earth to reign for a thousand years. They ignore the fact that Israel is rejected during this time but will be restored later. When our Lord comes, Zechariah 12 says that Israel will weep as they see the God they have pierced. They’ll weep as if they lost their firstborn son. So, the Lord clearly says all Israel will repent and be saved in one day. In John 18:36, Jesus said: My kingdom is not of this world: It will be though when I return. Romans 11:25-28, The Holy Spirit spoke clearly through the apostle Paul: For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: Israel will be saved as a nation. In the present Age of Grace, everyone who believes in Jesus receives salvation personally. The day will come when all Israel will be saved as a nation. as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. All of Israel’s sins will be forgiven. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. (Romans 11:25-28 KJV) Israel is not completely abandoned. Some of them were broken, but we, the wild olive trees, were attached to them. The original main body is Israel. You need to know this. However, in the past 100 years, false theology has been brought in and Israel has been abandoned. It is said that the church received the blessing that Israel received, but that is absolutely not the case. Therefore, post-millennialists and amillennialists are those who say that Jesus will not come to this earth. That’s why the Roman Catholics say that Jesus will never come because the pope is ruling instead him. There are also many Protestant churches that have been influenced by this. You have to come to your senses. This word given through the apostle Paul, the Deliverer, Jesus Christ coming to Zion to remove ungodliness from Jacob, means that Jacob’s sins are forgiven at once. Gentiles from Korea, America, Japan and China were sinners, as we were not God’s people and we did not keep the law, but one day, when we believed in Jesus Christ and repented, all our sins were forgiven. John the Baptist said: Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29 KJV)  So, what would happen when God takes away the sin of Israel? Still, whenever they sinned, they were better than us gentiles at least, for they slaughtered animals and kept the law. He saved even sinners like us, we who are like worms were saved. When Israel repents, they are saved as a nation. Israel has always received blessings or punishments as a nation. If one king made a mistake, Israel as a whole suffered. The entire nation faced disciplinary punishment as a whole. But when the Lord comes, Israel is saved in one single day. Zechariah 12 says they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn. They’ll repent. Then in (Zechariah 13:1 KJV) ¶ In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. 

It’s all written in the Bible. Currently, Israel is the wife whom Jehovah cast out. She’s going through a brief divorce. However, the Bible says they will be restored at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Simply put, God will have fellowship with the Jews again and will cut off fellowship with the Gentiles. Gentiles are neither Jews nor believers in Jesus. Whether they are Gentiles or Jews, if they accept Jesus, they become the church of Christ, to become the bride of Christ. People who are not Jews and do not believe in Jesus Christ, the Gentiles will completely be cut off from God. Since God has not completely severed ties with Israel and will restore them, Satan’s special wrath is directed against Israel in this day and age. Knowing that they would take over the earth, the devil, the god of the world, continued to use people to attack Israel. The spirit of the antichrist continued to enter through Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Sennacherib of Assyria, Darius of Medo-Persia, Cyrus, Alexander of Greece, Caesar of Rome, and Hitler as they attempted to annihilate Israel. Similarly, during times of tribulation, Antichrist, who is the incarnation of a devil worse than Hitler, will try again to completely devastate Israel. But God sends them to Petra and saves them, and when the Lord comes, they enter the millennium, and the remnant continues to prosper for a thousand years, and the Bible says that they will be great like the sand in the sea, as it was in the days of Solomon. When the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, the Jews said, His blood be on us, and on our children. (Matthew 27:25 KJV) Then the Jews left the Lord their God, and the only king they followed was their holy father, the Pope of Rome, Caesar. They chose Caesar. Same thing. Even in times of future tribulation, people will choose the antichrist. Satan’s hatred is targeted toward Israel. Because they have rebelled against their Saviour, as we have studied in Revelation 12:6-7, Satan is unleashing a fierce attack on Israel. Middle Eastern countries continue to hate Israel. Many countries hate Israel including the Muslims. Even people in America don’t love Israel very much. Why? This world is in a continuous spiritual battle between the spirit of Christ and the spirit of antichrist ever since Cain and Abel. This will later be fully revealed at Armageddon, as the armies of Antichrist will be completely destroyed. That’s why now, just as Noah entered the ark during the flood in the past, the ark has three floors, so we must enter into the trinity of God, who is three but one.

            When you receive Jesus Christ, you are saved from the world by entering into the Trinity, our Lord Jesus Christ. It is salvation from sin. And to be saved from Hell. To be saved from the devil’s power of death. To be saved from all curses. That’s why Apostle John said this when he wrote a letter to Gaius: Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. (3 John 2 KJV)  First of all, the soul must be saved so the body is healthy and the work of the body is successful, but it is a curse for those who are not saved to be successful. That’s why John said: I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. On the next podcast, we will continue to study about the remnant of Israel. So far we have looked at examples of Israel’s supernatural history of hatred as a nation. How did the god of the world persecute Israel through people during the 6,000 years of human history? We’ve looked at each of these chronologically. How will this remnant be persecuted again during the Tribulation? As we look at this, we must remember the words, ¶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. (Psalm 122:6 KJV) We must pray for Israel. They became foolish for a little while for our salvation, they became very stubborn, but the day will soon come when Israel will realize that it was God who they pierced when the Lord comes. That’s why everyone! We must pray for the people of Israel for their repentance. Lastly, I’ll read (Zechariah 12:9-10 KJV)  ¶ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. The day will come when they will repent like this. Blessings to you in the name of Jesus Christ that all of you will pray for them. Amen.