"13 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she *was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. 17 So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus."
The purpose of God in chastening the nation Israel is and has always been to bring them to repentance and salvation. Satan's purpose however, is not to bring them not to repentance and salvation but to destroy them, by bringing them to death. So, for centuries, Israel has continued to suffer in these two ways. And, as bad it has been, the worst is yet to come. The great persecution, the judgement of God and the fury of Satan, is yet to come. God has always judged His people for their disobedience with the purpose of bringing them to repentance. Throughout the ages, God certainly has allowed Satan to be quite effective in his persecution of Israel. During the time of the Tribulation, Satan will do all he can to go after the Jews as a nation with full force and fury in an final attempt to halt to the plans of God. But rest assured, God will preserve a remnant so that they can enter into the Kingdom alive.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for Your Word and for these eternal truths. May they penetrate very depths of our hearts and give us an understanding of our own sinfulness. Lord, we are grateful that to You that we were not appointed unto wrath but unto glory. We ask and pray that You will use these truths to bring conviction to the hearts and minds of those who do not yet know You, who do not confess Christ as Lord and Savior. Use this message to touch theirs of all who come across it. May it all bring honor and glory to You.
In Jesus' name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: A War For The World - Part III
In Ezekiel 37, the Lord promised to restore His covenant people Israel to their land in unbelief and then restore them unto Himself in belief. The dramatic prophecy there is of a valley of dry bones that will come to life. Today, millions of Jews have returned to their homeland, as prophesied and they have literally transformed the land, agriculturally, economically, militarily, even architecturally. However, though they have returned physically, they have not returned to life spiritually.
Ezekiel 38 says "I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord."
Verse 13, “And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth,
he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.”
The persecution will begin before the midpoint of the tribulation, but the midpoint is when it focuses on Israel. Remember, initially, there’s a seven year treaty between antichrist and Israel, for the first time in modern history Israel will actually go to an
international negotiating table and not have to give up something. Which will be broken after three and a half years. When he realizes his time is short, Satan promotes his attack against Israel. That’s when the full-blown persecution really starts.
Now, verse 13 says he persecuted, the Greek verb means to pursue, to chase, or to hunt. The implication is with hostile force.
In Matthew 24, Jesus warned about this first attack, "Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them."
Jesus is saying you’ve got to run because he’s going to come after you. So in this pursuit, as the Jews flee for their lives. I believe one of the ways Satan is going to try to lure these Jews back out of
their security is with false christs, false prophets and false signs and
false wonders. Jesus warned, don't be fooled!
Mark 13, verses 14 through 23, speaks of the same event. Satan is thrown down to the earth, and he goes after the woman. And they need to run. Remember, he’s not thrown down until the midpoint of the tribulation. Some have suggested they will hide in the fortress city of Petra, the city of ancient Edom, a
city that is protected by massive mountains and cliffs and a very
narrow entry way, but we certainly can't be dogmatic. I have read however, that some people have stashed Bibles in the caves there for the Jews when they get there. It reminds me when the shekinah glory of God that led the children of Israel when the Egyptians were chasing them. A pillar of cloud went from the forward part of the company to the back
and separated the Egyptians from the Israelites which protected them.
In verse 14, it says that God is going to come to their aid, and the two wings of
the great eagle were given to the woman in order that she might fly into
the wilderness to her place where she was nourished for a time and
times and half a time from the presence of the serpent."
In Scripture, wings speak of strength, and of speed but they also speak of protection and a flight to safety. This imagery is actually taken from Exodus chapter 19, "I picked you up, as on the wings of an eagle and flew you to safety." The term "eagle" is likely making a reference to a bird that in ancient times was called gryphon. It was four feet long with a ten-foot wingspan. This is a grand imagery that the Lord Himself is going to provide some way of escape.
The Lord spoke of that day when He will hide them through Jeremiah in chapter 30. This is referring to the greater David in David’s dynasty, the Messiah,
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the fulfillment of the covenant promises in II
Samuel seven that God gave to David. It was the three and a half years, when God presented Israel with their Messiah offered them forgiveness from their sin and they rejected it. When the Lord Jesus returns, He will bring salvation to His apostate people. What an incredible picture of grace bestowed upon those who have refused to believe. This is also a picture of your life and mine!
Psalm 130 says "O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption."
Many have sought to find salvation, with a blatant disregard for Christ. One must first look to Christ our Redeemer, in order to find salvation. Notice Jesus said "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Coming to Christ is always the first step.
Next John writes "so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she *was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent." The Lord will once again care for his people, nourishing, which literally means feeding them. Perhaps He will use manna, as He did when they were in the wilderness, or quail, we just don't know. By the way, the term "wilderness" generally referred to land east of Jerusalem. When I think of how this compares with Daniel, I believe that He’s going to protect the elect, those who have come to Christ or perhaps before they’ve even become believers.
Verse 15, "And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood." I believe that Satan can’t get to this great multitude of elect that are in the place God has for them, so he has to resort to long-range war tactics. So the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman. In general, the imagery of a flood is found in Scripture to be emblematic of impending catastrophe. Although in various passages we read how it symbolizes an invading force that is sweeping towards a vulnerable foe. In fact, we see this in Jeremiah 46.
And, in verse 16, we again see the Lords protection, "But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth." In Daniel 11, he speaks of an army that overflows with destruction,
that just floods the land. The dragon is figurative, and the serpent is
figurative, so we assume the mouth is figurative and therefore, if the
mouth is figurative, it’s possible that the river is also figurative. But, we know that attack number two, is some great force comes like a flood, attacking the people of God in the place where they are being protected. Perhaps the Lord will use some kind of a massive earthquake to eradicate them. He did that before in Exodus 15. God has opened up the earth to swallow up His enemies before. The point here is, Satan’s forces under the rule of the Antichrist will meet a similar fate. And, his nefarious scheme to destroy the Jews in the wilderness will be thwarted. Satan is relentless, he won't stop there. We'll see attack number three in verse 17.
Psalm 124 says "Had it not been the Lord who was on our side," Let Israel now say, "Had it not been the Lord who was on our side when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, when their anger was kindled against us; Then the waters would have engulfed us, the stream would have swept over our soul; Then the raging waters would have swept over our soul."
And, Isaiah 59 says, "So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream which the wind of the Lord drives."
That brings us to verse 17, "So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus."
I believe it's the hundred and forty-four thousand, and all who are the sons of Abraham by faith, and anybody else who’s naming the name of Jesus Christ all over the earth. Literally everyone who holds to the testimony of Jesus. These two phrases, "the commandments of God" and "the testimony of Jesus"
are what we call subjective in Greek meaning they could well be translated "the commandments which God gave" and "the testimony which Jesus bore." In other words, Satan will go after those who preach and teach the New Testament.
In Closing..
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I urge you to repent and ask for His forgiveness, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because His return is imminent, as are His inconceivable judgement!
I must say, as I study these truths, I am repeatedly overwhelmed that God has chosen to save me.I am grateful that I will never have to experience these horrific events of the future. May we all, rejoice in the One who has saved us by His amazing grace!
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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