We have a lot of
information to cover tonight,
00:00:14.50\00:00:17.67
and I'm not just whistling
Dixie, does everyone have
00:00:17.70\00:00:21.06
the study guides,
you're going to need that,
00:00:21.09\00:00:23.57
and do you have a
pen? Okay, you might want
00:00:23.60\00:00:26.01
to flex your wrists and
stretch your fingers, and do
00:00:26.04\00:00:28.94
all of that. If you
didn't get a study guide
00:00:28.97\00:00:31.04
raise your hand and we'll
have our ushers bring you one.
00:00:31.07\00:00:33.17
It should say Nr.5: The
War Behind the Wars, Part 1.
00:00:33.20\00:00:37.70
We're going to being with
a word of prayer, and we're
00:00:37.74\00:00:42.18
going to dive right in
at top speed, let's begin.
00:00:42.21\00:00:45.73
Father in heaven,
please, as we spend this time
00:00:45.76\00:00:49.20
together this evening, we
are anticipating a blessing.
00:00:49.23\00:00:53.07
Not just because of a
man, hardly Father, in fact
00:00:53.10\00:00:56.57
tonight we are asking that You
will bless in spite of this man,
00:00:56.60\00:01:00.20
we ask that You will open
our hearts as we open Your word,
00:01:00.23\00:01:03.84
and we may understand
with clarity and with Biblical
00:01:03.87\00:01:07.31
accuracy the war that is
taking place behind the wars.
00:01:07.34\00:01:11.78
We ask this in the name
of our Saviour, Your Son,
00:01:11.81\00:01:14.73
Jesus Christ, let
everyone say amen.
00:01:14.76\00:01:18.60
Let's go directly to our study
guide, The War Behind the Wars.
00:01:18.64\00:01:23.77
It says, reading the first
paragraph: We live in an age
00:01:23.80\00:01:27.90
in which, sadly, war is
common. All war is ugly.
00:01:27.93\00:01:34.26
The loss of life and resources
from war is inestimable.
00:01:34.30\00:01:38.61
Even so called "just wars" leave
a trail of residual suffering
00:01:38.64\00:01:42.48
and death that extends
beyond the punishment directed
00:01:42.51\00:01:45.27
towards the offender.
The pain and despair created
00:01:45.30\00:01:48.88
stretches for years and
decades into future generations.
00:01:48.99\00:01:52.75
In the last 150 years
this planet has witnessed
00:01:52.78\00:01:55.41
the most deadly
and terrible wars ever.
00:01:55.44\00:01:57.53
We spent a little time talking
about that the other evening
00:01:57.56\00:02:01.11
in our signs of the
times survey. It goes on:
00:02:01.14\00:02:04.01
Yet, as horrific as these
wars were and are, they are
00:02:04.04\00:02:08.21
comparatively insignificant
to the first war ever fought.
00:02:08.24\00:02:12.37
This first war had the
most terrible ramifications
00:02:12.40\00:02:16.49
and consequences. In
fact, all wars since that war
00:02:16.52\00:02:21.15
are the direct result of
the first war. Worse yet,
00:02:21.19\00:02:26.78
that first war is still
being fought and the battle
00:02:26.81\00:02:31.96
is intensifying, not
abating. In order to understand
00:02:32.00\00:02:37.08
the book of Revelation was must
grasp the profound significance
00:02:37.12\00:02:41.74
of this first war, it
really sets the backdrop
00:02:41.77\00:02:45.12
for the entire book, this
is exactly what we'll attempt
00:02:45.15\00:02:48.58
to do in this lesson.
We will discover that we
00:02:48.61\00:02:51.57
are all very involved in
this great war, the war behind
00:02:51.60\00:02:57.22
the wars. The last time we were
00:02:57.25\00:03:00.00
together we looked at
this individual named Lucifer;
00:03:00.03\00:03:03.75
an exalted angel
who, by his own choice,
00:03:03.78\00:03:08.84
became Satan, or
"satan", the fallen foe.
00:03:08.87\00:03:12.21
You remember that the
word "Satan" comes from
00:03:12.25\00:03:15.55
a transliteration of the
Hebrew word "satan", it means
00:03:15.58\00:03:19.00
"enemy", or "adversary",
"one who's is against".
00:03:19.03\00:03:22.24
We made that remarkable
statement, it might have sounded
00:03:22.27\00:03:25.08
a little bit shocking to
you, we said God did not create
00:03:25.11\00:03:29.36
Satan, rather, God created
Lucifer, and Lucifer by his own
00:03:29.39\00:03:33.60
choice became Satan.
00:03:33.63\00:03:36.30
The book of Revelation,
as we have already discussed,
00:03:37.63\00:03:41.85
contains: [text on screen]
00:03:41.88\00:03:43.99
That's more than 2
thirds, it means if we're
00:03:49.80\00:03:52.14
going to understand the
book of Revelation, we have to
00:03:52.17\00:03:55.32
remember those keys that
we learned in our opening
00:03:55.35\00:03:58.47
presentation. Key
Nr.1- the book of Revelation
00:03:58.50\00:04:01.88
rests upon the broad
foundation of the Old Testament.
00:04:01.91\00:04:08.62
And who is the focus
of the book of Revelation?
00:04:08.65\00:04:12.11
It's a
Revelation of Jesus Christ.
00:04:12.14\00:04:15.22
So tonight what we're going
to try and do is understand
00:04:16.33\00:04:19.64
one of the most pivotal,
important chapters in all
00:04:19.67\00:04:22.82
of Revelation.
You might be saying:
00:04:22.85\00:04:25.11
"Wait a minute, we're studying
the book of Revelation,"
00:04:25.14\00:04:28.03
"we should
start in chapter 1:1."
00:04:28.06\00:04:30.57
We've already said this but
it probably bears repeating:
00:04:30.60\00:04:33.37
the book of Revelation is
not organized chronologically,
00:04:33.40\00:04:36.14
there are chronological
elements, but for the most
00:04:36.17\00:04:39.45
part the book of Revelation
is organized thematically,
00:04:39.48\00:04:42.89
that is topically, or
along themes, and many scholars
00:04:42.92\00:04:46.25
and commentators agree that
probably the chapter more than
00:04:46.28\00:04:49.72
any other chapter that really
sets the tone and the theme
00:04:49.75\00:04:52.97
of the book of Revelation
is Revelation 12, and that's
00:04:53.00\00:04:56.19
why we're beginning
there. So open your Bibles to
00:04:56.22\00:04:58.78
the last book of the New
Testament, the wonderful,
00:04:58.81\00:05:01.34
sometimes
mysterious book of Revelation.
00:05:01.37\00:05:04.40
You'll notice we're moving
quite fast because we have
00:05:04.43\00:05:07.24
a lot of information to
cover tonight, Revelation 12.
00:05:07.27\00:05:10.01
We're going to do something
a little unusual, I'm going to
00:05:10.04\00:05:13.04
read the entire chapter
through. The reason we're going
00:05:13.07\00:05:16.12
to do that is it's going
to give us an airplane view
00:05:16.15\00:05:19.82
of what to expect in this
chapter. There are 17 verses,
00:05:19.85\00:05:23.09
and as we read through it
I want you to allow your mind
00:05:23.12\00:05:26.95
to try and grasp, use your
imagination to try and grasp
00:05:26.98\00:05:31.20
the profoundness of the imagery,
and the amazing, fantastic
00:05:31.23\00:05:35.42
images found there.
We're in Revelation 12:1,
00:05:35.45\00:05:39.02
I will read quite quickly,
but you can follow along.
00:05:39.05\00:05:42.26
It says: "Now a great
sign appeared in heaven,"
00:05:42.29\00:05:45.77
"a woman clothed with
the sun, and the moon under"
00:05:45.80\00:05:48.94
"her feet and on her
head a garland of 12 stars."
00:05:48.97\00:05:52.31
Notice, the stars, the
moon, and the stars, verse 2:
00:05:52.34\00:05:55.60
"Then she being with child
cried out in labor and in pain"
00:05:55.63\00:05:58.58
"to give birth, and another
sign appeared in heaven."
00:05:58.61\00:06:03.09
"Behold a great fiery,
red, dragon having 7 heads"
00:06:03.13\00:06:07.61
"and 10 horns and 7
diadems on his heads."
00:06:07.64\00:06:10.24
"His tail drew a third
of the stars of heaven"
00:06:10.27\00:06:12.77
"and threw them to the
earth, and the dragon stood"
00:06:12.80\00:06:15.14
"before the woman, who
was ready to give birth"
00:06:15.17\00:06:17.63
"to devour her child
as soon as it was born."
00:06:17.66\00:06:20.05
"She bore a male child who was
to rule all nations with a rod"
00:06:20.08\00:06:23.29
"of iron, and her
child was caught up to God,"
00:06:23.32\00:06:26.09
"and to His throne. Then the
woman fled into the wilderness,"
00:06:26.12\00:06:29.13
"there she has a place prepared
for her by God, that they"
00:06:29.16\00:06:32.13
"should feed her there
1260 days." Just very quickly,
00:06:32.16\00:06:36.01
that is one of the most
important time elements in all
00:06:36.04\00:06:39.09
of the Bible, we'll
spend more time on that later.
00:06:39.12\00:06:42.09
Verse 7: "And war broke
out in heaven, Michael and His"
00:06:42.12\00:06:47.75
"angels fought with the dragon,
and the dragon and his angels"
00:06:47.79\00:06:50.91
"fought, but they did
not prevail, nor was a place"
00:06:50.94\00:06:53.72
"found for them in
heaven any longer." Verse 9,
00:06:53.75\00:06:56.46
Notice carefully there is 1 word
that occurs 3 times in verse 9,
00:06:56.49\00:06:59.86
see if you can pick it
up: "So the great dragon was"
00:06:59.89\00:07:02.18
"cast out, that serpent of old,
called the Devil, and Satan,"
00:07:02.21\00:07:05.48
"who deceives the whole
world. He was cast to the earth"
00:07:05.51\00:07:08.12
"and his angels
were cast out with him."
00:07:08.15\00:07:10.03
Did you pick the
word up? What is it?
00:07:10.06\00:07:11.86
Cast. Verse 10:
"Then I heard a loud voice"
00:07:11.89\00:07:14.67
"saying in heaven, Now salvation
and strength in the kingdom"
00:07:14.70\00:07:17.43
"of our God and the
power of His Christ have come"
00:07:17.46\00:07:19.74
"for the accuser of our brethren
who accused them before"
00:07:19.77\00:07:22.35
"our God day and night has
been cast down", there it is
00:07:22.38\00:07:25.53
again, verse 11: "and they
overcame him", - being Satan,
00:07:25.56\00:07:28.68
"by the blood of the
Lamb and by the word of their"
00:07:28.71\00:07:30.29
"testimony, and they did not
love their lives to the death."
00:07:30.32\00:07:33.78
"Therefore rejoice O heavens,
and you who dwell in them."
00:07:33.81\00:07:37.23
"Woe to the inhabitants
of the earth and the sea,"
00:07:37.26\00:07:39.64
"for the Devil has come
down to you having great wrath"
00:07:39.67\00:07:41.97
"because he knows he
has a short time." Verse 13:
00:07:42.00\00:07:45.87
"When the dragon saw that
he had been cast to the earth",
00:07:45.90\00:07:49.24
there it is 5 times,
"he persecuted the woman"
00:07:49.27\00:07:51.65
"who gave birth to the
male child, but the woman"
00:07:51.68\00:07:53.99
"was given 2 wings of a
great eagle that she might fly"
00:07:54.02\00:07:56.56
"into the wilderness to her
place where she is nourished"
00:07:56.59\00:07:59.21
"for a time, times, and
half a time from the presence"
00:07:59.24\00:08:01.85
"of the serpent. So the
serpent spewed water out of his"
00:08:01.88\00:08:04.46
"mouth like a flood
after the woman, that he might"
00:08:04.49\00:08:06.84
"cause her to be
carried away by the flood,"
00:08:06.87\00:08:09.24
"but the earth helped the
woman, and the earth opened"
00:08:09.27\00:08:12.46
"its mouth and the swallowed
the flood which the dragon"
00:08:12.49\00:08:15.65
"had spewed out of his
mouth." Verse 17, the climax
00:08:15.68\00:08:18.47
of the entire chapter,
"And the dragon was enraged"
00:08:18.50\00:08:21.62
"with the woman and went
to make war with the rest"
00:08:21.65\00:08:25.03
"of her offspring who
keep the commandments of God"
00:08:25.06\00:08:28.41
"and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ."
00:08:28.44\00:08:32.68
A very powerful chapter.
Look at your study guide,
00:08:32.72\00:08:36.67
and what we're going to
discover here is that there are
00:08:36.70\00:08:38.73
essentially 5 major
elements in Revelation 12,
00:08:38.76\00:08:42.56
that is 5 major elements
that if we can understand
00:08:42.59\00:08:45.75
these elements, we can
get our hands and our fingers
00:08:45.78\00:08:48.82
wrapped around what is
being communicated in this
00:08:48.85\00:08:51.86
pivotal chapter. The
first thing that we are
00:08:51.89\00:08:54.71
introduced to is the woman.
Remember, she was standing
00:08:54.74\00:08:58.23
on the moon, she was clothed
with the sun, and she had
00:08:58.26\00:09:01.72
a garland of
stars upon her head.
00:09:01.75\00:09:03.82
What does a woman
represent in Bible prophecy?
00:09:03.85\00:09:09.03
Well, there are several
passages that we could look at,
00:09:09.07\00:09:11.35
just very quickly
you can write these down,
00:09:11.38\00:09:14.37
I will quote them for
you. 2 Corinthians 11:2,
00:09:14.40\00:09:17.61
the apostle Paul says:
"I have espoused you as a"
00:09:17.64\00:09:20.77
"chased virgin to Christ",
in other words the New Testament
00:09:20.80\00:09:23.53
church he says was a
woman. In the Old Testament,
00:09:23.56\00:09:26.80
Jeremiah 16:2, the
prophet Jeremiah says:
00:09:26.83\00:09:29.67
"I have likened the
daughter of Zion to a comely"
00:09:29.70\00:09:32.96
"and delicate woman." So
in both, the Old Testament
00:09:32.99\00:09:36.48
and the New Testament,
God's people were symbolized
00:09:36.51\00:09:39.97
by a woman. What we
find in Revelation is
00:09:40.00\00:09:44.16
that a pure, chased woman would
represent God's true people,
00:09:44.20\00:09:47.60
or God's true church,
and a harlot woman would
00:09:47.63\00:09:51.70
represent an
unfaithful or an untrue church.
00:09:51.73\00:09:55.76
We've already seen a powerful,
pivotal interpretive mechanism,
00:09:55.80\00:10:00.00
an interpretive
device, a woman represents
00:10:00.03\00:10:03.23
God's people, but we
go on, the second element
00:10:03.26\00:10:06.53
is the wily dragon.
Notice that this dragon
00:10:06.56\00:10:09.75
is described as being a hideous
creature, having 7 heads,
00:10:09.78\00:10:13.75
and 10 horns, he's a
hideous, grotesque creature,
00:10:13.78\00:10:17.70
contrasted with the
beautiful chastity and sublimity
00:10:17.73\00:10:21.61
of the woman that
we saw in verse 1.
00:10:21.64\00:10:24.68
The next element that we
are introduced to, the dragon,
00:10:24.71\00:10:27.33
is Satan according to
verse 9, you can read that
00:10:27.36\00:10:29.81
in Revelation 12:9, "so
the great dragon was cast out,"
00:10:29.84\00:10:33.67
"that serpent of old,
called the Devil, and Satan."
00:10:33.70\00:10:37.25
The next element we are
introduced to is the war.
00:10:37.28\00:10:40.76
Look at verse 7, this
verse is almost hard to believe,
00:10:40.79\00:10:44.60
it's very difficult for
us to understand, it says:
00:10:44.63\00:10:48.41
"and war broke
out in Afghanistan".
00:10:48.44\00:10:52.52
That wouldn't be
surprising at all, would it?
00:10:52.56\00:10:55.05
"And war broke out in
Afghanistan", "war broke out"
00:10:55.08\00:10:58.13
"in the Middle East", [Yawns],
yeah, we've heard that before,
00:10:58.16\00:11:01.33
but notice what it says:
"There was war in heaven."
00:11:01.36\00:11:04.93
Of all places for there
to be war, war in heaven.
00:11:04.96\00:11:08.46
Here is a critical point, I
want you to make a note of this
00:11:08.49\00:11:11.54
on your study guide, notice
that this war begins in heaven,
00:11:11.57\00:11:15.76
but this war finishes on earth.
Did you notice that transition?
00:11:15.79\00:11:19.94
Verse 7 says war broke out
in heaven, but then jump down
00:11:19.97\00:11:23.06
to verse 17: "The dragon
was enraged with the woman",
00:11:23.09\00:11:26.14
who's the woman? It's
God's people, the church,
00:11:26.17\00:11:28.66
"and went to make war
with the rest of her offspring"
00:11:28.69\00:11:31.58
"who keep the commandments
of God, and the testimony"
00:11:31.61\00:11:34.46
"of Jesus Christ."
That is a critical point
00:11:34.49\00:11:37.20
that we will exploit further
as we get into our study.
00:11:37.23\00:11:40.80
This war began in heaven,
but this war will be finished
00:11:40.83\00:11:44.36
right here on earth. The
third element is the war.
00:11:44.39\00:11:47.22
The 4th element is one
that's not mentioned exactly
00:11:47.25\00:11:50.04
by name, but it is
there. Look at verse 11,
00:11:50.07\00:11:53.48
how is it that God's faithful
people overcome the dragon,
00:11:53.51\00:11:57.09
and overcome Satan? Verse
11: "...they overcame him"
00:11:57.12\00:12:00.66
"by the blood of the
Lamb." Who's the Lamb?
00:12:00.69\00:12:04.42
Jesus Christ, "behold the
Lamb of God that takes away"
00:12:04.46\00:12:07.74
"the sin of the world", that's
what John the Baptist said
00:12:07.77\00:12:10.76
when he was standing up to
the waist in the muddy waters
00:12:10.79\00:12:13.75
of the River Jordan,
"behold the Lamb of God".
00:12:13.78\00:12:16.65
That word "Lamb" occurs 26
times in the book of Revelation,
00:12:16.68\00:12:19.77
and every time except 1
it refers to Jesus Christ,
00:12:19.80\00:12:22.67
that probably got your
curiosity up, you're going
00:12:22.70\00:12:25.49
to go and try and find the
one that doesn't refer to Jesus,
00:12:25.52\00:12:28.34
I'll give you a hint,
it's in Revelation 13.
00:12:28.37\00:12:30.93
But the weapon by which
we use to overcome Satan
00:12:30.96\00:12:33.44
is not our hands, it's not our
strength, it's not our fists,
00:12:33.47\00:12:36.51
it's the blood of Jesus Christ.
00:12:36.54\00:12:39.30
Notice it says in the rest
of that verse: "And by the word"
00:12:39.34\00:12:41.73
"of their testimony they did not
love their lives to the death."
00:12:41.76\00:12:46.10
Revelation's weapon is
the cross of Jesus Christ,
00:12:46.13\00:12:50.40
and the Christ of that cross,
we'll spend more time on that
00:12:50.44\00:12:53.89
in our next lesson. The
5th element is the winners,
00:12:53.92\00:12:58.23
hallelujah, the Devil is
not the victor in the final
00:12:58.26\00:13:01.85
analyses, there are many
times today when the Devil
00:13:01.88\00:13:05.36
definitely gets the upper
hand, there are many times today
00:13:05.39\00:13:07.88
when it appears as though
the Devil wins the battle,
00:13:07.91\00:13:10.83
but here's the good news:
though he may win a battle
00:13:10.86\00:13:13.75
here and there, he is
not going to win the war.
00:13:13.78\00:13:18.55
God is going to finish
what he started, you see
00:13:18.58\00:13:22.95
that in verse 17: "And
the dragon was enraged",
00:13:22.99\00:13:27.33
the old King James
says: "wroth", it means
00:13:27.36\00:13:30.36
"absolutely, totally
furious with the woman",
00:13:30.39\00:13:33.29
that is the true people of
God, "and he went to make war"
00:13:33.32\00:13:36.24
"with the rest of her offspring
who keep the commandments"
00:13:36.27\00:13:39.16
"of God and have
the faith of Jesus".
00:13:39.19\00:13:41.91
Notice at the bottom of
your study guide it says:
00:13:41.94\00:13:44.22
What does a woman
represent in Bible prophecy,
00:13:44.25\00:13:46.65
you tell me what it is.
It's a church, or if you
00:13:46.68\00:13:49.27
prefer it, the people of
God. I sometimes don't say
00:13:49.30\00:13:51.86
the church, and the
reason for that is a woman
00:13:51.89\00:13:54.69
was also a representative
of God's people in
00:13:54.72\00:13:57.44
the Old Testament, but
really, the church is more of a
00:13:57.47\00:14:00.28
New Testament phenomenon, I
prefer to say "God's people".
00:14:00.31\00:14:03.08
The winners will be
God's faithful people.
00:14:03.11\00:14:05.92
If we can understand
these 5 elements, the woman,
00:14:05.95\00:14:08.93
who is she? The
dragon, who is he?
00:14:08.96\00:14:11.04
The war, what's it all about?
The weapon, how do we employ
00:14:11.07\00:14:14.04
that weapon? And
the winners, who in
00:14:14.07\00:14:16.74
the final
analyses will overcome?
00:14:16.77\00:14:19.37
This will really help us
to get our fingers wrapped
00:14:19.40\00:14:22.43
around this
monumental and pivotal chapter.
00:14:22.46\00:14:24.96
I'm on page 2 of the
study guide, the 2 supporting
00:14:24.99\00:14:27.89
texts that you would write
down are 2 Corinthians 11:2
00:14:27.92\00:14:30.79
and Jeremiah 6:2.
Literally, we could give
00:14:30.82\00:14:33.32
another 20 texts to show
that a woman in Bible prophecy
00:14:33.35\00:14:37.02
represents God's people on
earth, but that should suffice.
00:14:37.05\00:14:40.69
According to verse 9,
what does the dragon represent?
00:14:40.72\00:14:44.17
Satan. And more
than any other chapter
00:14:44.20\00:14:46.65
in the book, Revelation
12 describes the great battle
00:14:46.68\00:14:50.35
that is waging between the
forces of light and darkness,
00:14:50.38\00:14:54.01
good and evil.
This chapter pulls back
00:14:54.04\00:14:56.69
the curtain the separates
the seen from the unseen
00:14:56.72\00:15:00.08
and enables us to see what
is going on behind the scenes.
00:15:00.11\00:15:03.44
In order to grasp
Revelation as a whole,
00:15:03.47\00:15:05.95
we must understand this chapter,
many scholars and commentators
00:15:05.98\00:15:10.54
agree that this chapter
represents the focal point,
00:15:10.57\00:15:13.74
the pinnacle of the
entire book of Revelation.
00:15:13.77\00:15:17.23
Now let us go to the
"Eden to Eden" subheading.
00:15:17.26\00:15:20.07
In the beginning, as
we've already discussed,
00:15:20.10\00:15:22.84
everything was good, very
good. We spent time on that
00:15:22.87\00:15:26.63
our last time together,
we looked at it and it says
00:15:26.66\00:15:31.65
7 times in Genesis 1,
"God saw that it was good."
00:15:31.68\00:15:35.66
In the beginning it was
very good, here's something
00:15:35.69\00:15:39.56
absolutely remarkable: if you
take your Bible and hold it up
00:15:39.59\00:15:42.52
just like this, why don't
you do that, hold your Bible
00:15:42.55\00:15:45.60
up just like
this: [shows action].
00:15:45.63\00:15:48.40
To the uninitiated, the
Bible looks like a single book,
00:15:48.43\00:15:51.88
but it's not a single book,
as a matter of fact, the Bible
00:15:51.91\00:15:55.31
is more like an encyclopaedia
than a single book.
00:15:55.34\00:15:58.06
There are 66 books,
39 in the Old Testament,
00:15:58.09\00:16:02.67
27 in the New, here's
something remarkable, this is
00:16:02.71\00:16:05.81
a very powerful,
interpretive device.
00:16:05.84\00:16:09.63
If you go this side,
that is the Genesis side,
00:16:09.67\00:16:12.77
the first 2 chapters of
the Bible, Genesis 1 and 2,
00:16:12.80\00:16:17.06
we find a perfect
God in perfect communion
00:16:17.09\00:16:20.68
with a perfect people
in a perfect environment,
00:16:20.72\00:16:23.48
that's Genesis 1 and 2,
before the entrance of sin.
00:16:23.51\00:16:26.17
Again, a perfect God in perfect
communion with a perfect people
00:16:26.20\00:16:30.17
in a perfect
environment, no sin,
00:16:30.20\00:16:33.69
but here's something
that's absolutely remarkable
00:16:33.73\00:16:36.33
if you go to this side
of your Bible, and you go
00:16:36.36\00:16:38.76
this direction, that
is the Revelation side,
00:16:38.79\00:16:41.11
the last 2 chapters of the Bible
depict the very same thing.
00:16:41.14\00:16:46.45
A perfect God in perfect
communion with a perfect people
00:16:46.49\00:16:51.79
in a perfect
environment. In other words,
00:16:51.82\00:16:55.74
on this side of the
Bible you have Eden,
00:16:55.78\00:16:59.63
and on this side of the
Bible you have Eden restored.
00:16:59.67\00:17:06.37
So in a very real
way, these 2 Edens function
00:17:06.40\00:17:09.98
like book ends, you know
how that is when you have
00:17:10.01\00:17:12.71
a whole line of books
and you don't have a wall
00:17:12.74\00:17:15.37
or something to stack them
up against, you have a book end
00:17:15.40\00:17:17.91
on this side and a
book end on this side,
00:17:17.94\00:17:20.36
and that's what we find on
either side of these 66 books
00:17:20.39\00:17:24.17
in the Bible, a perfect
God in perfect communion
00:17:24.20\00:17:26.84
with a perfect people
in a perfect environment,
00:17:26.87\00:17:29.44
and here on the Revelation
side the very same thing:
00:17:29.47\00:17:32.18
a perfect God in perfect
communion with a perfect people
00:17:32.21\00:17:34.88
in a perfect environment.
00:17:34.91\00:17:37.66
So everything in between
these 2 Edens is God trying
00:17:37.70\00:17:43.11
to get His people from where
they fell, they began there
00:17:43.14\00:17:47.88
and they will be restored
there. Go to your study guide.
00:17:47.91\00:17:52.34
The Bible is more easily
understood against the backdrop
00:17:52.37\00:17:56.73
of the original state
of man and this planet,
00:17:56.76\00:18:00.44
that's what you write in there,
00:18:00.47\00:18:02.61
as contrasted with the fallen
state of man and this planet.
00:18:02.64\00:18:09.16
In the beginning
before the entrance of sin
00:18:09.19\00:18:12.30
we see a perfect
couple in a perfect communion
00:18:12.33\00:18:15.34
with a perfect God, that's
what you'd write in there.
00:18:15.37\00:18:19.32
This is described in Genesis
1 and 2, the couple lived
00:18:19.35\00:18:23.26
in the Garden of Eden,
significantly when we move
00:18:23.29\00:18:26.35
from the first 2 chapters
of the Bible to the last 2,
00:18:26.38\00:18:30.36
Revelation 21 and 22, we
find the very same thing.
00:18:30.39\00:18:34.16
Namely, a perfect people
in perfect communion with a
00:18:34.19\00:18:37.93
perfect God. The
next paragraph says:
00:18:37.96\00:18:40.70
Note the following
diagram. The left line, the left
00:18:40.73\00:18:44.38
vertical line would represent
Eden, you can write that there.
00:18:44.41\00:18:50.20
The right vertical line
would represent Eden restored.
00:18:50.23\00:18:56.23
So just as we have 2 on
either side of the Bible,
00:18:56.26\00:18:59.04
we have Eden and Eden
restored, so too on our diagram.
00:18:59.07\00:19:01.96
Eden on the left,
Eden restored on the right.
00:19:01.99\00:19:05.32
The cross in the center
symbolizes the death of Jesus
00:19:05.35\00:19:09.34
Christ that rescues believers
from the downward spiral of sin.
00:19:09.37\00:19:14.31
Tracing a line downward
towards the cross from the left
00:19:15.80\00:19:18.74
represents man's downward spiral
into sin, selfishness and death;
00:19:18.77\00:19:23.91
tracing a line upwards
from the cross to the top
00:19:23.94\00:19:26.65
of the right line symbolizes
man's potential recovery,
00:19:26.68\00:19:31.28
if the salvation secured
for him or her, on the cross is
00:19:31.32\00:19:36.12
personally received, that's
what you'd write in there.
00:19:36.16\00:19:40.93
Beloved, never forget
this, you will be saved as
00:19:40.96\00:19:44.72
an individual, you will be
saved because of a personal
00:19:44.75\00:19:48.96
relationship with God.
00:19:48.99\00:19:53.52
You can't go to heaven on
the coat tails of your spouse,
00:19:53.56\00:19:58.55
neither can you go to heaven on
the coat tails of your family.
00:19:58.59\00:20:01.65
Sometimes I ask people, I'll
say: "How long have you been"
00:20:01.68\00:20:04.71
"a Christian?" and they'll
say: "I was raised a Christian."
00:20:04.74\00:20:07.61
You weren't raised a Christian,
no one is raised a Christian,
00:20:07.64\00:20:10.47
in the sense that God
does not have grandchildren,
00:20:10.50\00:20:13.47
God only has
children, does that make sense?
00:20:13.50\00:20:16.98
We make our own decision,
our personal choice to entrust
00:20:17.01\00:20:20.27
our case to Christ. so
when Christ died on the
00:20:20.30\00:20:24.15
cross 2000 years ago,
that is a historical event,
00:20:24.19\00:20:27.91
but we must accept that
historical event personally
00:20:27.94\00:20:32.02
in order for it to benefit
us in the ultimate sense.
00:20:32.05\00:20:35.27
We are not Universalists,
the Bible does not teach
00:20:35.30\00:20:38.30
universalism, that
everyone will be saved, hardly.
00:20:38.33\00:20:41.25
In fact, Jesus on one occasion
said there's a great big,
00:20:41.28\00:20:43.63
wide way and many
people are going that way
00:20:43.66\00:20:46.09
and it leads to destruction,
and then there's a narrow way
00:20:46.12\00:20:48.87
and it leads to eternal life.
00:20:48.90\00:20:53.03
That's Eden to Eden
restored. Go to the third page
00:20:53.07\00:20:58.82
of your study guide, this
is awesome, hang in there.
00:20:58.86\00:21:02.93
This where things get
really amazing, I'm reading
00:21:02.96\00:21:06.98
from the study guide:
Not only are there 2 Edens,
00:21:07.01\00:21:10.65
like book ends on the
entire Bible, there are also
00:21:10.68\00:21:14.26
2 battles that act
very much the same way.
00:21:14.29\00:21:21.72
You can go ahead and fill
in the blanks, I'll explain it
00:21:21.76\00:21:23.90
without looking
at the study guide.
00:21:23.93\00:21:25.44
Just imagine with me
for illustration's sake that
00:21:25.47\00:21:28.09
over here on this side of
the stage, this is Genesis,
00:21:28.12\00:21:30.70
then we'd walk all
the way through the Bible,
00:21:30.73\00:21:33.22
through Psalms, through Isaiah,
00:21:33.25\00:21:35.62
through the New Testament,
and over here is Revelation.
00:21:35.65\00:21:38.36
So what's over here? Revelation.
00:21:38.39\00:21:40.78
And what's over here? Genesis.
00:21:40.81\00:21:43.12
So here we have Eden, and
over here we have Eden restored.
00:21:43.15\00:21:46.80
Over here Eden is Genesis 1
and Genesis 2, a perfect God
00:21:46.83\00:21:50.12
in perfect communion with
a perfect people in a perfect
00:21:50.15\00:21:53.41
environment. If I
stepped 1 chapter this way
00:21:53.44\00:21:59.50
from Eden, what
chapter would I be in?
00:21:59.53\00:22:03.09
Genesis 3. Open
your Bible to the book
00:22:03.12\00:22:06.65
of Genesis 3.
00:22:06.68\00:22:13.70
Beginning in verse 1, a familiar
story: "Now the serpent"
00:22:15.20\00:22:19.06
"was more cunning then
any beast of the field"
00:22:19.09\00:22:21.45
"which the Lord God had
made, and he said to the woman,"
00:22:21.48\00:22:24.60
"Has God indeed said you
shall not eat of every tree"
00:22:24.63\00:22:27.71
"of the garden?" Genesis 3:2:
00:22:27.74\00:22:31.25
"And the woman said to
the serpent, We may eat"
00:22:31.29\00:22:34.09
"from the trees of the garden,
but of the fruit of the tree"
00:22:34.12\00:22:37.17
"which is in the midst
of the garden, God has said"
00:22:37.20\00:22:39.79
"you shall not eat it,
neither shall you touch it"
00:22:39.82\00:22:42.37
"lest you die. Then the
serpent said to the woman,"
00:22:42.40\00:22:44.99
"You will not surely
die." God had said: "In the day"
00:22:45.02\00:22:47.58
"though eatest thereof
thou shalt surely die."
00:22:47.61\00:22:50.88
But Satan here
inserts a word, doesn't he?
00:22:50.91\00:22:54.10
"Thou shalt not surely
die". Verse 5: "For God knows"
00:22:54.13\00:22:58.43
"that in the day that
you eat of it your eyes"
00:22:58.46\00:23:01.08
"will be opened and you
will be like God, knowing good"
00:23:01.11\00:23:04.49
"and evil." The
serpent basically says
00:23:04.52\00:23:07.19
to the woman: "God is
keeping something away from you"
00:23:07.22\00:23:10.21
"that would be in your
best interest to have."
00:23:10.24\00:23:12.84
Never forget this: that is
the oldest lie in the book,
00:23:12.87\00:23:15.82
the Devil wants you to believe
that God is a withholder,
00:23:15.85\00:23:18.76
but the Bible teaching
is that God is a giver.
00:23:18.79\00:23:21.63
That's the first lie, he says:
"No, God is keeping something"
00:23:21.66\00:23:24.86
"back from you", and
this is frankly what keeps
00:23:24.89\00:23:27.77
many people out of making
a full commitment to Christ,
00:23:27.80\00:23:30.55
a full commitment to God, a
full commitment to the Bible,
00:23:30.58\00:23:33.30
they think: "Well,
you know, I'm not sure,"
00:23:33.33\00:23:35.97
"I'm afraid of what
I'll have to give up."
00:23:36.00\00:23:38.56
Beloved, it's not about
what you give up, it's about
00:23:38.59\00:23:41.22
what God gave up
when He sent His Son.
00:23:41.25\00:23:43.89
The great truth of the Bible
is not that God is a withholder,
00:23:43.92\00:23:46.54
He's not trying to
keep thing back from you,
00:23:46.57\00:23:49.02
anything that is in
your best interest to have
00:23:49.05\00:23:51.43
He will give to you, but
Satan says no, "He knows that"
00:23:51.46\00:23:54.19
"you'll become as
God's, knowing good and evil."
00:23:54.22\00:23:56.91
Verse 6: "When the woman
saw that the tree was good"
00:23:56.94\00:23:59.66
"for food, that it was pleasant
to the eyes, and a tree"
00:23:59.69\00:24:02.38
"desirable to make one
wise, she took of its fruit"
00:24:02.41\00:24:05.10
"and she ate, she gave
also to her husband with her"
00:24:05.13\00:24:07.78
"and he ate",
you know the story.
00:24:07.81\00:24:10.17
Adam eats of the
tree, Eve eats of the tree,
00:24:10.20\00:24:12.90
God comes down into the
garden and we read verse 8:
00:24:12.93\00:24:15.93
"And they heard the sound
of the Lord, God, walking"
00:24:15.96\00:24:18.84
"in the garden in the
cool of the day, and Adam"
00:24:18.87\00:24:21.68
"and his wife hid
themselves from the presence"
00:24:21.71\00:24:24.45
"of the Lord, God, amongst
the trees of the garden."
00:24:24.48\00:24:27.29
Where normally they
would run to God to greet Him
00:24:27.32\00:24:29.98
as their Father, now
they're running from God,
00:24:30.01\00:24:32.50
terrified in fear. God
comes down into the garden
00:24:32.53\00:24:34.94
and there are 3 parties there.
You have Adam, you have Eve
00:24:34.97\00:24:40.37
and you have the
serpent. God turns His attention
00:24:40.40\00:24:43.37
to Adam, He asks him 3
questions: where are you?
00:24:43.40\00:24:46.31
Who told you
that you were naked?
00:24:46.34\00:24:50.05
And why did you eat of the tree?
00:24:51.21\00:24:56.94
Then He turns to Eve
and He asks her 1 question:
00:24:56.98\00:24:59.71
"What is this
that thou has done?"
00:24:59.74\00:25:02.53
And then He turns to
the serpent and he doesn't
00:25:02.56\00:25:05.12
ask any question, why?
Because the serpent already
00:25:05.15\00:25:08.12
knew the answers, he preaches
a sermon to the serpent.
00:25:08.15\00:25:12.10
Look at it in Genesis
3:14: "So the Lord, God, said"
00:25:12.13\00:25:16.05
"to the serpent,
Because you have done this"
00:25:16.08\00:25:18.67
"you are cursed more than
all cattle, and more than"
00:25:18.70\00:25:21.58
"every beast of the field,
on your belly you will go"
00:25:21.61\00:25:24.46
"and you shall dust
all the days of your life",
00:25:24.49\00:25:26.93
notice verse 15 because
it's the first promise of Jesus
00:25:26.96\00:25:30.06
in all of the Bible, the
first messianic prophecy,
00:25:30.09\00:25:34.39
verse 15, God speaking to
the Devil: "I will put hatred"
00:25:34.43\00:25:38.77
"between you and the
woman and between your seed"
00:25:38.80\00:25:41.70
"and her seed, he will bruise
your head and you will bruise"
00:25:41.73\00:25:47.66
"his heel."
Fascinating isn't it?
00:25:47.69\00:25:50.77
Basically what's
happening is that Adam and Eve
00:25:50.81\00:25:55.21
had changed loyalties.
God had said "in the day"
00:25:55.24\00:25:58.94
"that thou eatest
thereof, thou shalt surely die",
00:25:58.97\00:26:02.57
the Devil had said "you
will not surely die", question:
00:26:02.60\00:26:05.67
who did Adam and Eve
believe? They believed Satan,
00:26:05.70\00:26:10.33
and in believing the words
of Satan over the words of God
00:26:10.37\00:26:13.77
they had effectively changed
their loyalties and changed
00:26:13.80\00:26:17.15
their allegiance, so God
comes down into the garden
00:26:17.18\00:26:20.02
and this is the picture
I'll try to paint in your mind
00:26:20.05\00:26:22.85
so you can sort
of understand it,
00:26:22.88\00:26:24.34
the Devil's got his arm
around Eve, he's got his arm
00:26:24.37\00:26:26.59
around Adam, and they're just
hanging out, good old buddies.
00:26:26.62\00:26:32.33
God comes into the garden and
He asks Adam the 3 questions,
00:26:33.81\00:26:36.67
He asks Eve the 1
question, and then He looks
00:26:36.70\00:26:39.38
at the Devil and says: "You
know what, you think you've"
00:26:39.41\00:26:42.55
"won the day. It looks as though
My beautiful, dear children"
00:26:42.58\00:26:45.19
"are all your friends now,
they believed you more than"
00:26:45.22\00:26:48.68
"believing Me, but I'll
tell you what, a day is coming,"
00:26:48.71\00:26:51.96
"I'm going to put enmity
between you and this woman."
00:26:51.99\00:26:55.20
"You think she's your
best bud now, you think"
00:26:55.23\00:26:58.60
"she's your best friend now,
but I'm going to put enmity"
00:26:58.63\00:27:01.42
"between you and this
woman, and that enmity is going"
00:27:01.45\00:27:04.18
"to crush your head, but
you will bruise his heel."
00:27:04.21\00:27:06.94
That enmity, the
promised enmity that would crush
00:27:06.97\00:27:09.66
the head of Satan is
Jesus Christ Himself.
00:27:09.69\00:27:14.61
Naturally, every one of us in
our own hearts, in our natural
00:27:15.19\00:27:19.34
condition, we are the friend
of Satan and the enemy of God.
00:27:19.37\00:27:23.46
You're saying: "What?!
Did he really just say that?"
00:27:23.49\00:27:26.63
That's exactly what I
just said, when we are born
00:27:26.66\00:27:29.76
we have built into us
an inward selfishness.
00:27:29.79\00:27:36.87
It's a carnality that's
against the principles of God
00:27:36.91\00:27:40.90
and of His law, and of His love,
this is easily illustrated.
00:27:40.93\00:27:44.58
I have 2 beautiful
little boys in the room
00:27:44.61\00:27:47.34
just across the
hallway. I love them very much
00:27:47.37\00:27:50.03
and they are innocent,
but you know what I mean
00:27:50.06\00:27:52.64
when I say innocent, they're
only relatively innocent.
00:27:52.67\00:27:55.54
Those little boys are as
selfish as the day is long,
00:27:55.57\00:27:58.41
and they didn't
learn it from their papa,
00:27:58.44\00:28:00.86
an they didn't
learn it from their mamma,
00:28:00.89\00:28:03.27
they learned it from Adam.
00:28:03.30\00:28:05.13
Think about that, you
might have had the best child
00:28:05.16\00:28:07.95
in the world, but what do
you have to teach your children?
00:28:07.98\00:28:11.15
Do you have to
teach them how to share,
00:28:11.18\00:28:13.33
or how to keep some back
for themselves because they're
00:28:13.36\00:28:16.17
so busy giving everything
away? [Audience laughs]
00:28:16.20\00:28:18.96
You have to teach them how to
share, so you put little Sammy
00:28:18.99\00:28:21.73
in little Sally's crib, and
if little Sally has a banana,
00:28:21.76\00:28:24.54
little Sammy, you don't
have to teach him how to pick up
00:28:24.57\00:28:27.30
the tonka truck, hit her over
the head and take the banana,
00:28:27.33\00:28:30.02
[audience laughs]
that's right in the hard drive,
00:28:30.05\00:28:32.78
he knows that, that's part
of what it means to be a child.
00:28:32.81\00:28:35.71
Well where did he get
it from? The answer is:
00:28:35.74\00:28:38.28
he got it from his parents,
who got it from his parents,
00:28:38.31\00:28:41.51
from his parents...all the
way back to the first parents
00:28:41.54\00:28:44.71
who changed their
allegiance and their nature
00:28:44.74\00:28:47.96
was basically transformed.
To put it in the words
00:28:47.99\00:28:51.20
of the apostle Paul,
he said "the carnal mind"
00:28:51.23\00:28:54.36
"is enmity against God, for
it is not subject to the law"
00:28:54.39\00:28:58.17
"of God, neither indeed,
can be." In another place
00:28:58.20\00:29:03.12
the apostle Paul, Ephesians
2, he says that by nature
00:29:03.16\00:29:08.04
we're the children of wrath.
That is to say when we're born
00:29:08.08\00:29:12.51
the most important
thing in the world is me.
00:29:12.54\00:29:16.29
Does that make sense?
I'm the most important thing
00:29:16.33\00:29:19.85
in the world, and is this world
basically exists to serve me
00:29:19.88\00:29:23.97
and my desires and my
purposes, that's what happened
00:29:24.00\00:29:26.97
in the Garden of Eden.
There was a transformation
00:29:27.00\00:29:30.16
in the nature of man, so
God comes into the garden
00:29:30.19\00:29:33.28
and He says: "You think
that she's loyal to you Satan,"
00:29:33.31\00:29:35.91
"you think that
he's loyal to you Satan,"
00:29:35.94\00:29:38.76
"but I'll tell you
what, I'm going to put hatred"
00:29:38.79\00:29:41.23
"between you and the serpent,
I'm going to put hatred"
00:29:41.26\00:29:44.14
"between the woman and
the serpent and that hatred"
00:29:44.17\00:29:47.02
"will crush your head."
00:29:47.05\00:29:50.60
I want you to notice
that this is the first battle
00:29:51.76\00:29:55.50
between Christ and Satan; the
first battle on planet earth.
00:29:55.53\00:30:00.96
Now let's go back
to our illustration,
00:30:00.99\00:30:02.70
remember here, what's
on this side of the stage?
00:30:02.73\00:30:05.84
Genesis, Eden;
and what's over here?
00:30:05.87\00:30:09.27
Revelation. So in
Eden, Genesis 1 and 2,
00:30:09.31\00:30:12.67
if we step one chapter
this way we're in Genesis 3,
00:30:12.71\00:30:17.54
and here we find the first
battle between God and Satan
00:30:17.58\00:30:22.38
on planet earth.
00:30:22.41\00:30:25.07
What chapter would we be in
if we stepped 1 chapter this way
00:30:27.77\00:30:30.92
from Revelation 21
and 22? Revelation 20.
00:30:30.95\00:30:34.00
Open your Bible
to Revelation 20,
00:30:34.03\00:30:40.61
absolutely
remarkable. Revelation 20.
00:30:43.38\00:30:49.42
It says in Revelation 20:9:
"They went up on the breadth"
00:30:51.15\00:30:56.98
"of the earth and surrounded
the camp of the saints"
00:30:57.01\00:31:01.24
"and the beloved city.
Fire came down from God"
00:31:01.27\00:31:05.04
"out of heaven and devoured
them." Look at verse 10:
00:31:05.07\00:31:10.80
"The Devil who deceived them
was cast into the lake of fire"
00:31:10.84\00:31:15.21
"and brimstone, where the beast
and the false prophet are,"
00:31:15.24\00:31:19.08
"and they will be tormented day
and night for ever and ever,"
00:31:19.11\00:31:22.91
"thus ends the
history of Satan."
00:31:22.94\00:31:25.90
Do you see it? It's so powerful.
00:31:25.93\00:31:28.85
Over here we have Eden,
over here we have Eden restored,
00:31:28.89\00:31:32.93
these are like 2 book ends
on the Bible, but if we come
00:31:32.96\00:31:37.06
just 1 chapter this way we
have the first battle between
00:31:37.09\00:31:41.02
Christ and Satan, and if we
come just 1 chapter this way
00:31:41.05\00:31:45.32
we have the last battle.
So here we have a big picture
00:31:45.35\00:31:49.58
overview of how to
understand the Bible.
00:31:49.61\00:31:52.20
[text on screen]
00:31:52.23\00:31:54.37
Everything in between is God
trying to get His people back
00:32:02.82\00:32:11.56
to the Garden of Eden
where He can live with them
00:32:11.59\00:32:15.05
in face to face
communion. In fact, that's one
00:32:15.08\00:32:18.37
of the great promises in
Revelation 21:4, it says:
00:32:18.40\00:32:21.65
"and they shall see
His face." Powerful.
00:32:21.68\00:32:26.31
Living in face to
face communion with God,
00:32:26.34\00:32:29.96
so we have Eden to
Eden, but more than that,
00:32:30.00\00:32:33.58
there is this battle
theme, and all through the Bible
00:32:33.61\00:32:37.11
we find this wrestling,
not against flesh and blood
00:32:37.14\00:32:40.57
but against principalities
and powers, against the rulers
00:32:40.60\00:32:43.83
of the darkness of this
world, to quote Ephesians 6.
00:32:43.86\00:32:47.11
Go back to your study
guide. Did you get all of those
00:32:47.14\00:32:50.36
blanks filled in
there? Should be pretty easy.
00:32:50.39\00:32:53.33
Look with me at the 6 stages
of Revelation's great battle.
00:32:53.36\00:32:59.30
I'm reading, now we
will trace 6 distinct phases
00:32:59.33\00:33:04.07
of this great battle, and the
eventual and promised victory
00:33:04.11\00:33:07.88
of Jesus Christ right
through the entire Bible.
00:33:07.91\00:33:10.83
You will be amazed as you
see this unfold right before
00:33:10.86\00:33:13.65
your eyes. This is
no make believe battle,
00:33:13.68\00:33:17.25
it is as real as the
chair you're sitting on,
00:33:17.29\00:33:20.85
write out the 6 stages
and give the Bible references
00:33:20.88\00:33:23.95
for each one.
00:33:23.98\00:33:25.77
We'll do our very best
to try and walk you through
00:33:25.81\00:33:29.29
the 6 stages.
We've already said:
00:33:29.32\00:33:31.67
the Bible is best
understood with the backdrop
00:33:31.70\00:33:34.39
of an Eden to Eden perspective,
and with a first battle,
00:33:34.42\00:33:38.01
last battle perspective.
I want to hear a resounding
00:33:38.04\00:33:41.23
"amen" if that makes
sense. [Audience replies] Amen.
00:33:41.26\00:33:44.30
Okay, fantastic, then
let's look at the 6 stages
00:33:44.33\00:33:47.85
of the great battle.
Nr.1- the victory is declared.
00:33:47.88\00:33:51.33
The Scripture text we've
already look at, Genesis 3:15.
00:33:51.36\00:33:55.11
The victory is declared,
that's where God stepped there
00:33:55.14\00:33:59.36
into the garden and He
says: "You have won the battle,"
00:33:59.39\00:34:03.53
"but you will not win the war."
So the first stage of the battle
00:34:03.56\00:34:08.97
is that the victory is
declared. The second stage
00:34:09.00\00:34:15.34
is the victory is begun in
the earthly ministry of Jesus.
00:34:15.38\00:34:21.48
Open your Bibles to Luke 11,
third book of the New Testament,
00:34:21.52\00:34:27.59
Matthew, Mark, Luke. Luke 11.
00:34:27.62\00:34:32.42
There are several
passages that could be cited,
00:34:32.46\00:34:34.42
we'll look at 1, Luke 11.
00:34:34.45\00:34:37.31
Luke 11:14: "And He was casting
out a demon and it was mute,"
00:34:39.66\00:34:46.94
"so it was, when the demon had
gone out that the mute spoke"
00:34:46.98\00:34:52.23
"and the multitudes were
amazed, but some of them said,"
00:34:52.27\00:34:57.49
"He casts out demons
by Beelzebub, the ruler"
00:34:57.52\00:35:00.31
"of the demons, others
testing Him sought from Him"
00:35:00.34\00:35:03.40
"a sign from heaven, but
He, knowing their thoughts"
00:35:03.43\00:35:06.45
"said to them",
listen carefully to the words
00:35:06.48\00:35:09.18
of Jesus, this is
incredible, verse 17:
00:35:09.21\00:35:11.79
"Every kingdom divided against
itself is brought to desolation"
00:35:11.82\00:35:15.47
"and a house divided against
a house falls." Verse 18:
00:35:15.50\00:35:19.29
"If Satan also is divided
against himself, how will his"
00:35:19.32\00:35:23.07
"kingdom stand?
Because you say I cast out"
00:35:23.10\00:35:25.58
"demons by Beelzebub, if I
cast out demons by Beelzebub,"
00:35:25.61\00:35:29.70
"by whom do your
sons cast them out?"
00:35:29.73\00:35:32.06
"Therefore they will be
your judges, but if I cast out"
00:35:32.09\00:35:36.09
"demons with the finger of
God, surely the kingdom of God"
00:35:36.12\00:35:39.65
"has come upon you", and then
He tells a story, a parable,
00:35:39.68\00:35:43.73
verse 21: "When a strong man,
fully armed, guards his own"
00:35:43.76\00:35:48.92
"palace, his goods are in peace,
but when a stronger than he"
00:35:48.95\00:35:54.11
"comes upon him and overcomes
him, he takes from him"
00:35:54.14\00:35:57.66
"all his armor in which he
has trusted, and he divides"
00:35:57.69\00:36:01.15
"his spoils." Do you
follow Jesus' analogy?
00:36:01.18\00:36:05.11
Very simple, Jesus heals this
boy who was demon possessed,
00:36:05.15\00:36:08.84
he was mute, he couldn't
speak, and Jesus walks up
00:36:08.87\00:36:11.28
and He casts the demon out.
People said: "Oh, you're doing"
00:36:11.31\00:36:13.33
"this in the name of
Beelzebub, you're doing it by"
00:36:13.36\00:36:15.93
"Beelzebub's power." Jesus says:
"You're not even thinking,"
00:36:15.96\00:36:18.58
"think it through, if
I was casting out demons"
00:36:18.61\00:36:21.13
"by Beelzebub, that would
mean that the Devil is against"
00:36:21.16\00:36:24.21
"the Devil, and a house divided
against itself can't stand."
00:36:24.24\00:36:27.61
He says: "When a strong man
guards his house, his goods"
00:36:27.64\00:36:30.97
"are safe, but when a
stronger than him comes"
00:36:31.00\00:36:34.76
"and overcomes him", what Jesus
is saying is that the Devil
00:36:34.80\00:36:41.25
is being overcome.
00:36:41.28\00:36:45.13
So that's what we see in
the earthly ministry of Jesus,
00:36:45.70\00:36:48.98
the victory which was
promised in Eden is begun;
00:36:49.01\00:36:52.54
Jesus was healing the blind,
Jesus was casting out demons,
00:36:52.57\00:36:56.17
Jesus was saying to the
paralytic "rise, take up"
00:36:56.20\00:36:59.07
"your bed and walk", and
what I see in my mind's eye
00:36:59.10\00:37:01.89
is a picture of Jesus reclaiming
what was rightfully His.
00:37:01.92\00:37:07.77
In fact, we actually
looked at this in Luke 13:10-16,
00:37:07.81\00:37:13.65
we don't have to
look at the whole chapter,
00:37:13.68\00:37:16.18
the whole passage,
because we've already read it.
00:37:16.21\00:37:19.10
Remember, Jesus heals that woman
and the ruler of the synagogue
00:37:19.13\00:37:22.06
said: "What? There are 6 days
on which mean aught to work,"
00:37:22.09\00:37:24.91
"come and heal on one of those
days, and not on the Sabbath",
00:37:24.94\00:37:27.72
then remember what Jesus
said: "You hypocrite, does not"
00:37:27.75\00:37:30.32
"everyone of you lose
your ox or your donkey"
00:37:30.35\00:37:32.99
"on the Sabbath? Aught not
this woman being a daughter"
00:37:33.02\00:37:36.58
"of Abraham", do you
remember those 4 words?
00:37:36.61\00:37:40.74
"Whom Satan has
bound", "think of it", He says,
00:37:40.78\00:37:44.19
"Whom Satan has bound
these many years, be loosed"
00:37:44.22\00:37:47.56
"from this burden
on the Sabbath day."
00:37:47.59\00:37:49.88
So what we find in the earthly
ministry of Jesus is that
00:37:49.91\00:37:53.07
the victory that was promised
in Eden, Jesus is reclaiming
00:37:53.10\00:37:56.53
a brother, Jesus is reclaiming
a woman, Jesus is reclaiming
00:37:56.56\00:37:59.95
a child. In
John 11 He goes there
00:37:59.98\00:38:02.70
to Lazarus' tomb, He
goes "Lazarus come forth",
00:38:02.73\00:38:05.38
He was
reclaiming even from death.
00:38:05.41\00:38:08.32
The victory was begun in
the earthly ministry of Jesus.
00:38:08.36\00:38:13.97
Jesus reclaiming His own, but
the third stage of the victory
00:38:15.94\00:38:21.00
is that the victory
was achieved on the cross.
00:38:21.03\00:38:28.14
Open your Bibles to
the gospel of John 12.
00:38:28.17\00:38:35.25
The victory was declared
in Eden, the victory was begun
00:38:36.89\00:38:40.34
in the earthly ministry
of Jesus, and the victory was
00:38:40.37\00:38:43.76
achieved on the cross.
00:38:43.79\00:38:49.27
I'm in John 12:31.
00:38:49.31\00:38:54.75
Jesus speaking, He
says: "Now is the judgement"
00:38:54.79\00:38:58.60
"of this world, now the ruler
of this world will be cast out."
00:38:58.63\00:39:05.62
For you Bible students that
are really paying attention,
00:39:05.65\00:39:08.58
you're saying: "Whoa,
that's interesting, that sounds"
00:39:08.61\00:39:11.48
"just like
Revelation 12", remember?
00:39:11.51\00:39:13.92
5 times "he's cast out".
00:39:13.95\00:39:16.48
[hits microphone]
00:39:16.51\00:39:19.11
Maybe I've got to move
like that, I'll be careful
00:39:20.78\00:39:23.83
not go to here [Audience laughs]
00:39:23.86\00:39:26.38
Okay, so He's cast out,
5 time in Revelation 12,
00:39:26.41\00:39:29.25
notice what Jesus says
here, look at it again, John 12.
00:39:29.28\00:39:31.74
You don't worry about
me, I'll unbuckle my suit,
00:39:31.77\00:39:34.29
maybe that'll help so I'm not
running into it [the microphone]
00:39:34.32\00:39:37.33
Does that help
Joel? Okay, so John 12:31,
00:39:37.36\00:39:40.80
[hits microphone
again] I'll hold still,
00:39:40.83\00:39:44.23
that's going to be very
difficult, [audience laughs].
00:39:44.27\00:39:46.66
Okay, Lord Jesus help me.
"Now the ruler of this world..."
00:39:46.69\00:39:51.85
[hits microphone again]
Bring me up that microphone
00:39:51.88\00:39:56.96
and I'll just use
that thing, verse 32:
00:39:56.99\00:39:59.73
Jesus says: "And I, if I
am lifted up from the earth"
00:39:59.76\00:40:04.38
"I will draw
people's unto myself."
00:40:04.41\00:40:08.80
Nathan, you're a
saint, look at that, okay.
00:40:08.84\00:40:11.45
We're good to go
there, there we go, I feel
00:40:11.48\00:40:13.99
like I'm straitjacketed now,
I've got something in my hand.
00:40:14.02\00:40:16.82
Okay, notice what He
says: "Now is the judgement"
00:40:16.85\00:40:19.89
"of this world, right here
right now, Satan is cast out",
00:40:19.92\00:40:24.13
and then He says in
verse 32: "When I'm lifted up"
00:40:24.16\00:40:26.99
"on the cross, the Devil is
judged, the Devil is cast out."
00:40:27.02\00:40:33.73
There are several
passages that I could quote,
00:40:33.76\00:40:36.00
but just write these
down very quickly, John 14:30,
00:40:36.03\00:40:43.94
and John 16:11, so
all of them are in John,
00:40:43.97\00:40:48.18
John 14:20 and John 16:11.
So notice, the victory was
00:40:48.22\00:40:52.50
declared in Eden, the
victory was begun in the earthly
00:40:52.53\00:40:57.24
ministry of Jesus, the victory
was achieved on the cross.
00:40:57.28\00:41:01.98
In fact, let me show
you a text to that effect.
00:41:02.01\00:41:04.53
When Jesus cried out on the
cross according to John 19:30,
00:41:04.56\00:41:08.59
He said: "It is finished."
The victory was achieved.
00:41:08.62\00:41:15.00
At the cross, Satan
was dealt a death blow.
00:41:15.03\00:41:19.68
We're going to be talking a
lot more about that, in fact,
00:41:19.72\00:41:21.87
we're going to see something
in Revelation 12 that is
00:41:21.90\00:41:23.95
so totally powerful, we'll see
how much of it we can get into
00:41:23.98\00:41:27.34
tonight, and we'll finish up
what we can't tomorrow night.
00:41:27.37\00:41:31.02
Look at this, Colossians
2:15, I really appreciate this
00:41:31.05\00:41:34.67
particular
translation, Colossians 2:15,
00:41:34.70\00:41:37.98
notice what Paul
says: [text on screen]
00:41:38.01\00:41:41.29
Is that powerful?
The imagery is absolutely
00:41:57.04\00:42:00.21
incredible, basically what
he's saying is, on the cross
00:42:00.24\00:42:03.63
Jesus made a fool out
of the Devil. Powerful!
00:42:03.66\00:42:07.45
You say "How, what
happened on the cross?"
00:42:07.49\00:42:11.24
Well let's try and unpack
that, but before we do that
00:42:11.28\00:42:13.99
let's go to the
rest of the 6 stages.
00:42:14.02\00:42:17.99
So the victory was declared
in Eden, it was begun in
00:42:18.03\00:42:21.10
the earthly ministry of Jesus,
it was achieved on the cross,
00:42:21.13\00:42:24.72
and the victory was
proclaimed in the resurrection.
00:42:24.75\00:42:31.17
Go to Acts 2, you're in
John it's the very next book.
00:42:31.20\00:42:37.62
Acts 2, here we
find the apostle Peter,
00:42:37.65\00:42:43.50
what's his name? Peter,
00:42:43.53\00:42:45.70
and he's preaching on the
day of Pentecost, the word
00:42:45.74\00:42:48.54
"pentecost" means
"fifty", "fifty" days after
00:42:48.57\00:42:52.11
the crucifixion. We'll
pick it up in verse 22,
00:42:52.14\00:42:55.64
Peter is preaching about
the resurrection, he says:
00:42:55.67\00:43:01.05
Acts 2:22, "Men of Israel hear
these words, Jesus of Nazareth,"
00:43:01.09\00:43:07.09
"a man attested by God to
you, by miracles, wonders,"
00:43:07.12\00:43:10.59
"and signs which God did
through Him in your midst"
00:43:10.62\00:43:14.02
"as you yourselves
know. Him being delivered"
00:43:14.05\00:43:17.49
"by the determined purpose
and foreknowledge of God,"
00:43:17.52\00:43:20.33
"you have taken by lawless
hands and have crucified"
00:43:20.36\00:43:23.14
"and put to death,
Whom God raised up,"
00:43:23.17\00:43:32.02
"having loosed the pains
of death because it was not"
00:43:32.06\00:43:35.32
"possible that He
should be held by it."
00:43:35.35\00:43:38.05
"For David says concerning Him",
and now he quotes from David
00:43:38.08\00:43:41.13
in the Old Testament, "I foresaw
the Lord always before my face"
00:43:41.16\00:43:44.17
"for He is at my right hand
that I should not be shaken,"
00:43:44.20\00:43:46.90
"therefore my heart rejoiced
and my tongue was glad,"
00:43:46.93\00:43:49.59
"moreover, my flesh
also will rest in hope,"
00:43:49.62\00:43:52.51
"for you will not leave my
soul in Hades, nor will you"
00:43:52.54\00:43:55.53
"allow Your Holy One to see
corruption, You have made known"
00:43:55.56\00:43:59.11
"to me the way of life,
You will make me full of joy"
00:43:59.14\00:44:05.21
"in Your presence." Powerful.
00:44:05.24\00:44:07.97
Basically, Peter stands
up on the day of Pentecost,
00:44:08.01\00:44:10.86
he begins to preach,
"Yes, Jesus was crucified."
00:44:10.89\00:44:14.88
"Yes, He was buried,
but God raised Him up."
00:44:14.91\00:44:18.86
Powerful, in fact, G.B.
Hardy in his book "Countdown",
00:44:18.90\00:44:22.93
said this: "There are
only 2 essential requirements."
00:44:22.96\00:44:26.94
"Nr.1- has anyone
ever cheated death?"
00:44:26.97\00:44:29.61
"And Nr.2- is it
available to me? Let us survey"
00:44:29.64\00:44:33.34
"the historical record:
Buddha's tomb - occupied;"
00:44:33.37\00:44:37.00
"Confucius' tomb - occupied;
Mohammed's tomb - occupied;"
00:44:37.03\00:44:42.22
"Jesus' tomb - empty!" And then
he said: "Argue as you will,"
00:44:42.26\00:44:47.07
"but for me and my purposes
there is no point in following"
00:44:47.10\00:44:51.85
"a loser." When he
said the word "loser"
00:44:51.88\00:44:54.96
he wasn't calling names,
like "nanny nanny boo boo",
00:44:54.99\00:44:57.86
what he was saying is
this: there's this great enemy
00:44:57.89\00:45:00.68
called "death", and we all will
face it, and he wants to know
00:45:00.71\00:45:06.27
has anyone ever cheated
death? When he says that Buddha
00:45:06.30\00:45:08.93
was a loser, and Confucius
was a loser, he's saying
00:45:08.96\00:45:11.48
they lost the battle with
death, but Jesus was victorious
00:45:11.51\00:45:16.75
over death, as Peter
says, it was not possible
00:45:16.78\00:45:20.15
that death could
hold on to Him, why?
00:45:20.18\00:45:22.50
Because He never sinned,
so death had no rightful claim
00:45:22.53\00:45:25.66
to Him. Powerful!
00:45:25.69\00:45:28.19
So the victory was
declared in the Garden of Eden,
00:45:28.23\00:45:31.54
He said: "One day I
will crush your head."
00:45:31.57\00:45:35.13
The victory was begun in
the earthly ministry of Jesus
00:45:35.17\00:45:38.11
when He, as a stronger
man, began to take back
00:45:38.14\00:45:40.99
the goods that
Satan claimed as his own.
00:45:41.02\00:45:43.17
Nr.3- the victory was achieved
on the cross when He made
00:45:43.20\00:45:47.29
a fool out of the Devil.
Nr.4- the victory was proclaimed
00:45:47.32\00:45:51.37
in the resurrection.
00:45:51.40\00:45:54.08
The resurrection of Jesus Christ
was the victory proclaimed,
00:45:55.69\00:45:59.38
here's the 5th stage of the
battle, the victory is continued
00:45:59.41\00:46:04.07
in the church, the victory
is continued in God's church.
00:46:04.10\00:46:08.70
You're still there
in Acts, go to Acts 26.
00:46:08.73\00:46:13.34
I know that you're
trying to keep up with me,
00:46:13.37\00:46:17.91
do the best that you
can, if I go too fast tonight
00:46:17.95\00:46:20.73
go out there and tell them I
went too fast and get yourself
00:46:20.76\00:46:23.62
a free CD, okay?
[Audience laughs]
00:46:23.65\00:46:26.24
You say: "I couldn't follow
that message", no problem,
00:46:26.27\00:46:29.05
hey listen, I want
you to understand this.
00:46:29.08\00:46:31.68
So if you don't get it,
come back tomorrow night,
00:46:31.71\00:46:34.53
say: "Hey listen, he went
too fast, I need a free CD",
00:46:34.56\00:46:37.51
they won't give you a hard time,
they'll give you a free CD.
00:46:37.54\00:46:40.42
Acts 26:16, here's the
apostle Paul is recounting
00:46:40.45\00:46:43.56
his conversion experience
when he was on the road
00:46:43.59\00:46:46.92
to Damascus, he was
knocked off his horse by Jesus
00:46:46.95\00:46:52.57
of Nazareth, Acts 26:15:
"I said, Who are you Lord?"
00:46:52.61\00:46:58.23
"He said, I am Jesus
whom you are persecuting,"
00:46:58.26\00:47:02.11
"but rise and stand on
your feet for I have appeared"
00:47:02.14\00:47:05.44
"to you for this purpose
Saul, to make you a minister"
00:47:05.47\00:47:08.62
"and a witness, both of
the things which you have seen"
00:47:08.65\00:47:11.76
"and of the things
which I will reveal to you."
00:47:11.79\00:47:14.55
"I will deliver you from
the Jewish people as well"
00:47:14.58\00:47:17.36
"as from the Gentiles,
to whom I now send you."
00:47:17.39\00:47:20.09
Look at verse 18,
this is the powerful verse:
00:47:20.12\00:47:22.76
"to open their eyes, in order
to turn them from darkness"
00:47:22.79\00:47:25.97
"to light, and from
the power of Satan to God."
00:47:26.00\00:47:30.20
Why? "So that they may receive"
00:47:30.23\00:47:32.66
"the forgiveness of sins
and an inheritance among those"
00:47:32.69\00:47:36.76
"who were sanctified by
putting their faith in Me."
00:47:36.79\00:47:40.52
Isn't that powerful?
You see what He's saying
00:47:40.55\00:47:43.38
He says: "Get up off your
feet, I've got a plan for you."
00:47:43.41\00:47:46.29
"You're going to be a minister
and a witness, I need you"
00:47:46.32\00:47:49.16
"to go tell these
Gentile folks that I'm real,"
00:47:49.19\00:47:51.88
"that I'm alive, that I'm
raised, that I'm resurrected."
00:47:51.91\00:47:54.58
"Turn them from darkness
to light, and from the power"
00:47:54.61\00:47:57.25
"of Satan to the power of God."
00:47:57.28\00:47:59.66
So the victory is
continued in the church.
00:47:59.69\00:48:03.48
If I could be very,
very frank with you,
00:48:03.51\00:48:09.27
the victory is to be
continued in your life.
00:48:09.30\00:48:14.99
God has called you in the
very same way as He called Paul,
00:48:15.03\00:48:18.55
God has called you to
communicate the great good news
00:48:18.58\00:48:21.55
of the risen Christ to
your co-workers, to your family
00:48:21.58\00:48:24.85
members, to your friends,
to your grocer, to your banker,
00:48:24.88\00:48:28.12
to whoever! Let
them know that Jesus
00:48:28.15\00:48:31.10
is alive. [Audience claps]
00:48:31.13\00:48:33.86
Victory declared, hallelujah.
The victory was declared
00:48:33.90\00:48:37.26
in Eden, "I will
crush your head."
00:48:37.29\00:48:40.29
The victory was begun in
the earthly ministry of Jesus,
00:48:40.33\00:48:43.64
the victory was achieved on
the cross, never forget that,
00:48:43.67\00:48:48.44
the victory achieved on
the cross; the victory was
00:48:48.47\00:48:50.90
proclaimed in the resurrection,
the victory is continued
00:48:50.93\00:48:55.11
in the church, and
the victory is concluded
00:48:55.14\00:49:00.36
in Revelation, and
we already read that,
00:49:00.39\00:49:05.57
when the Devil himself, is
cast into the lake of fire.
00:49:05.61\00:49:11.44
There are the 6
stages of the great battle.
00:49:11.47\00:49:15.18
Powerful: [text on screen]
00:49:15.21\00:49:17.89
The end of Satan and the
victory will be concluded.
00:49:24.46\00:49:27.20
You say: "We made it
through", no, my timer says
00:49:27.23\00:49:29.88
I've got 7 and a half minutes
left, so look at the last page.
00:49:29.91\00:49:34.61
You thought we were
stopping and you were wrong.
00:49:34.64\00:49:37.08
Last page of your study
guide. Buckle your safety belts,
00:49:37.11\00:49:40.13
here we go, back
to Revelation 12.
00:49:40.16\00:49:45.74
I told you we had a lot to
cover, but by the grace of God
00:49:45.78\00:49:49.03
you're going to understand
it, you're going to like it
00:49:49.06\00:49:52.25
whether you like it
or not. [Audience laughs]
00:49:52.28\00:49:56.62
Revelation 12, look at
this, I'm reading directly
00:49:56.66\00:50:00.32
from the study guide: Did
you catch the significance
00:50:00.35\00:50:03.94
of the 3rd stage? It
is essential that you do,
00:50:03.97\00:50:08.59
remember Revelation
12:9, what word occurs 3 times?
00:50:08.63\00:50:13.26
"Cast" or "cast out",
note also that the same word
00:50:13.30\00:50:17.86
appears in verse 10 and 13
as we've already said, 5 times,
00:50:17.90\00:50:22.05
clearly this is
an important truth.
00:50:22.08\00:50:24.58
When did this event take
place? We've already read that
00:50:24.61\00:50:29.13
in John 12:31,32, I'll
quote it for you again.
00:50:29.16\00:50:34.63
Jesus said in John
12:31: "Now", what's that word?
00:50:34.67\00:50:40.11
"Now". Let me
ask you just a quick
00:50:40.14\00:50:43.04
question so we can be
clear on this: who wrote
00:50:43.07\00:50:45.64
the gospel of
John? John, good for you.
00:50:45.67\00:50:48.38
Who wrote the
book of Revelation?
00:50:48.41\00:50:51.05
- [Audience replies]
John. - That's exactly right.
00:50:51.08\00:50:54.16
And if you read Revelation
and you read the gospel of John
00:50:54.19\00:50:57.39
you'll see that there
are many similarities in
00:50:57.42\00:51:00.34
the language,
have you noticed that?
00:51:00.37\00:51:03.28
So notice this,
here it says, John 12:31
00:51:03.31\00:51:06.21
"Now is the judgment of
this world, now the prince"
00:51:06.24\00:51:09.27
"of this world will be cast
out. And I, when I am lifted up"
00:51:09.30\00:51:13.10
"from the earth, I
will draw all men unto Me."
00:51:13.13\00:51:17.41
Jesus says in the
context of the cross, the Devil
00:51:17.44\00:51:21.67
was cast out of heaven.
You say: "Wait a minute!"
00:51:21.70\00:51:25.86
"I thought he was cast out
of heaven long before that."
00:51:25.90\00:51:28.51
Look at Revelation 12:9.
00:51:28.54\00:51:33.92
"So the great dragon was
cast out, that serpent of old"
00:51:33.96\00:51:37.11
"called the Devil, and Satan,
who deceives the whole world."
00:51:37.14\00:51:42.46
"He was cast to the earth
and his angels were cast out"
00:51:42.49\00:51:46.08
"with him. Then I heard a
loud voice saying in heaven,"
00:51:46.11\00:51:49.63
what's the next
word? "Now", same word,
00:51:49.66\00:51:53.10
"Now", what has
come now? "Salvation."
00:51:53.14\00:51:56.13
Question: when
did salvation come?
00:51:56.16\00:51:59.01
On the cross, of
course, salvation comes to us
00:51:59.05\00:52:02.27
from the cross, he
goes on to say: "Salvation,"
00:52:02.30\00:52:05.42
"and strength, and the
kingdom of God and the power"
00:52:05.45\00:52:09.08
"of His Christ have
come." Think about it,
00:52:09.11\00:52:11.92
when did all of those things
come: salvation, and strength
00:52:11.95\00:52:14.89
and the kingdom of our God,
and the power of His Christ.
00:52:14.92\00:52:17.82
Where were all of
those things manifested?
00:52:17.85\00:52:20.66
On the cross,
that's exactly right.
00:52:20.69\00:52:22.81
Salvation, strength, the kingdom
of our God, and the power
00:52:22.84\00:52:25.63
of His Christ; it goes
on to say "...have come"
00:52:25.66\00:52:27.97
"for the accuser of our brethren
who accused them before"
00:52:28.00\00:52:31.03
"our God day and
night, has been cast down."
00:52:31.06\00:52:34.48
Look at this, verse
11, "and they overcame him"
00:52:34.51\00:52:38.07
"by the blood of the
Lamb." Where was the blood
00:52:38.10\00:52:41.62
of the Lamb shed? On the cross.
00:52:41.65\00:52:44.59
"And by the word of their
testimony, and they did not"
00:52:44.63\00:52:47.26
"love their lives to the death."
00:52:47.29\00:52:50.83
Now, verse 12 begins
with the word "therefore",
00:52:50.87\00:52:56.23
does everyone see
that? Beloved, when you see
00:52:56.27\00:53:00.35
the word "therefore" in
the Bible, ask yourself:
00:53:00.39\00:53:03.99
"Hey, what's that
'there for'?" [Audience laughs]
00:53:04.02\00:53:07.95
Did you get that?
When you see the word
00:53:09.75\00:53:12.43
"therefore" say: "Hey
what's that 'there for'?"
00:53:12.46\00:53:16.37
The word "therefore"
is a concluding remark.
00:53:16.41\00:53:20.27
Think about it, if I say: "point
Nr.1, point Nr.2, point Nr.3."
00:53:20.31\00:53:23.52
"Therefore", you know
that what I say after that
00:53:23.55\00:53:26.27
is based on what
I said before that.
00:53:26.30\00:53:30.75
So look at verse 12, what's
the first word of verse 12?
00:53:30.79\00:53:33.53
"Therefore",
watch this: "Rejoice!"
00:53:33.56\00:53:37.47
Be careful, don't rejoice
yet, rejoice who according
00:53:37.51\00:53:42.01
to that verse? Whoa,
00:53:42.04\00:53:45.28
"Rejoice O heavens,
and you who dwell in them",
00:53:45.32\00:53:49.79
"but woe to the
inhabitants of the earth."
00:53:49.82\00:53:54.53
How many of the people
here today live on earth?
00:53:54.57\00:53:57.48
- [Audience laughs]
- Just raise your hand.
00:53:57.51\00:53:59.81
Okay, anybody
here live in heaven?
00:53:59.84\00:54:02.41
I didn't say in heavenly
places, I said "in heaven".
00:54:02.44\00:54:05.42
According to that verse
then, should we be rejoicing,
00:54:05.45\00:54:08.40
or should we be saying: "whoa"?
00:54:08.43\00:54:10.51
According to that verse
it says "Rejoice O Heavens,"
00:54:10.54\00:54:13.22
"but woe to the inhabitants of
the earth and of the sea", why?
00:54:13.25\00:54:17.41
"Because the Devil
has come down to you,"
00:54:17.44\00:54:19.49
"having great wrath." Why?
00:54:19.52\00:54:22.75
"Because he knows
he has a short time."
00:54:22.79\00:54:25.89
Question: how does he
know that he has a short time?
00:54:25.92\00:54:29.42
Because of the
cross. He died on the cross,
00:54:29.45\00:54:32.37
Jesus was raised,
and he suddenly knows:
00:54:32.40\00:54:35.28
"Oh oh, this
game is almost over."
00:54:35.31\00:54:40.04
Look in verse 13, powerful,
it says: "Now when the dragon"
00:54:40.08\00:54:45.42
"saw", that is when the dragon
perceived, "that he had been"
00:54:45.46\00:54:50.77
"cast to the earth,
he persecuted the woman"
00:54:50.80\00:54:54.86
"who gave birth
to the male child."
00:54:54.89\00:54:56.95
He went with all of his
energy, with all his vigour,
00:54:56.98\00:55:00.56
with all of his
enthusiasm after the church.
00:55:00.59\00:55:04.93
In verse 17 this Satanic
attack reaches its logical
00:55:04.97\00:55:10.14
and pathetic climax:
"And the dragon was enraged"
00:55:10.17\00:55:14.25
"with the woman, and went
to make war with the rest"
00:55:14.29\00:55:18.33
"of her offspring, those who
keep the commandments of God"
00:55:18.36\00:55:21.96
"and have the faith of Jesus."
00:55:21.99\00:55:26.50
Did you get all of
the blanks filled in there
00:55:26.54\00:55:29.31
in the first paragraph?
Look at the second paragraph.
00:55:29.34\00:55:33.07
I'll help you fill them in,
it says: Because at the cross
00:55:33.10\00:55:36.80
perfect love and
perfect hate stood face to face,
00:55:36.83\00:55:39.75
the holy character and
nature of God stood in direct
00:55:39.78\00:55:42.66
contrast with the
selfish character and nature
00:55:42.69\00:55:45.72
of Satan. Perfect
love and perfect evil
00:55:45.75\00:55:48.25
had a stare down, and
perfect love in the face
00:55:48.28\00:55:51.98
of Jesus Christ
prevailed. Can you say amen?
00:55:52.01\00:55:55.60
Here's what we're going
to do, we're going to pause,
00:55:55.64\00:55:59.12
you're going to say:
"What? He can pause?"
00:55:59.15\00:56:01.80
Yeah, I can pause
until tomorrow night.
00:56:01.83\00:56:04.40
We're going to hit the
pause button because remember,
00:56:04.43\00:56:07.48
this is "The War Behind the
Wars", what are those next 2
00:56:07.51\00:56:10.53
words? "Part 1",
00:56:10.56\00:56:12.56
and tomorrow night is "The
War Behind the Wars, Part 2",
00:56:12.60\00:56:15.38
but beloved, let's be crystal
clear on what we're saying
00:56:15.41\00:56:18.13
tonight. Nr.1- there is a great
00:56:18.16\00:56:20.87
cosmic conflict
between Christ and Satan.
00:56:20.91\00:56:24.02
That war began in heaven
and will be finished on earth.
00:56:24.05\00:56:28.47
We saw the Eden to Eden, and
the battle to battle perspective
00:56:28.50\00:56:32.55
Then we looked at those 6
stages, but we're doing now
00:56:32.58\00:56:35.76
is we're honing in on
that third stage, the victory
00:56:35.79\00:56:40.04
achieved on the cross. At
the cross Satan was cast out.
00:56:40.07\00:56:44.35
You say: "Well, what
does that mean for me today?"
00:56:44.38\00:56:46.82
Tomorrow we will
unpack this still further,
00:56:46.85\00:56:50.51
and Revelation 12
will literally come alive,
00:56:50.54\00:56:53.59
but as for me
tonight, I want to with Joshua:
00:56:53.62\00:56:57.60
"As for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord".
00:56:57.63\00:57:01.64
[Audience claps and says amen].
00:57:01.67\00:57:05.07
Let's pray together as
we close. Father in heaven,
00:57:05.11\00:57:07.86
tonight you've been with us,
it's been a high energy meeting,
00:57:07.89\00:57:12.62
but Father, we've made
it through and many of us
00:57:12.65\00:57:14.72
have a clearer understanding
of this great cosmic conflict
00:57:14.75\00:57:19.23
between Christ and
Satan. We see that it's not some
00:57:19.26\00:57:22.86
manufactured battle, not
some make believe battle.
00:57:22.89\00:57:26.70
It's a battle that we
are right in the center of.
00:57:26.73\00:57:30.47
Father in heaven, we want to
be victorious, and we believe
00:57:30.50\00:57:33.70
by faith in Jesus Christ
that we will be victorious.
00:57:33.73\00:57:37.99
But Father, bring us
back tomorrow so we can
00:57:38.02\00:57:40.32
understand still more
thoroughly, more completely,
00:57:40.35\00:57:44.03
more Biblically, and more
powerfully, just what this war
00:57:44.06\00:57:48.62
behind the wars entails.
We ask it in the wonderful,
00:57:48.65\00:57:53.20
righteous, holy name
of Jesus our Saviour,
00:57:53.23\00:57:57.37
Your Son, let all
of the people say amen.
00:57:57.41\00:58:01.52