We just want to welcome you
to Sabbath School Study Hour,
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whether you're around the world
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or here locally at
the Granite Bay Church,
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we want to give you a
hearty welcome with us today.
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We are going to be going
through the Book of Revelation
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in our studies today,
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and you can get one of
these if you go online,
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you can visit lesson.aftv.org
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if you want to
download a lesson.
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But before we get
into the lesson here,
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we want to offer you a free gift
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and the free gift
is "Satan in Chains,"
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offer number 197.
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And if you text "SH120"
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to 40544,
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you can also call 866-Study-More
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or you can dial direct
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and it's
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866-788-3966.
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We're again so glad
you could join us today
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and before we do,
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let's bow our heads
before we go into the study.
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Our kind Heavenly Father,
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as we are here
today and we embark
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on this wonderful
Book of Revelation
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that you've provided for us.
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We just ask that
You bless us as we study
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through the pages today,
we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
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I'd like to welcome
Pastor Shawn Brummund
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as he is going to share
this lesson today with us.
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Thanks, Shawn.
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Well, we want to
welcome everybody.
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It's a good morning to
be able to come together
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and to be able to study here
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in the Granite Bay
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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I'd like to invite
you to open your Bibles
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as we begin With
our first passage
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in the Book of
Isaiah in Chapter 14,
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and we're gonna
begin with verse 12.
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We're going to
start in Isaiah 14:12,
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as we start to
introduce and start to unpack
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one of the most important
chapters that we can find
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in all of the Book of Revelation
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which is Chapter 12.
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But before we
turn to Chapter 12,
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I want to look at two key
passages here first today.
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We have a lot to look at
so we're just gonna move along
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as quickly as we possibly can.
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Isaiah 14:12, we read a
very instrumental verse,
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it says, "How you
have fallen from heaven,
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O Lucifer, son of the morning!
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You are cut down to the ground,
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and you have
weakened the nations."
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Now very quickly we discover
as not only a Bible students,
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but even if you've
never been a Bible student,
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you've never opened
the Bible, you know,
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immediately and
accustomed to the name Lucifer.
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Lucifer is another name
that is referring to the devil
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or Satan, the
great enemy of God.
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And so very
quickly, we discovered
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that God is now
pulling back the veil,
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and he's revealing
not only the plight
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of this ancient king in Babylon,
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but he's also very
clearly revealing the plight
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and the original
fall of Lucifer himself.
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And so we
continue on in verse 13.
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In verse 13, it says,
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"For you have
said in your heart:
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I will ascend into heaven,
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I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God,
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I will also sit on the
mount of the congregation
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on the farthest
sides of the north,
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I will ascend above the
heights of the clouds, "
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and then we come to the
very climax of his fall,
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he said, "I will be
like the Most High."
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And, friends, the
Bible makes it very clear
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throughout the scriptures
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that the Most
High is God Himself.
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And so here we find Lucifer
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at some point
in heaven's history
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and the history of the universe,
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he decided that he was
going to focus more on himself
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than he was gonna focus
on God and the other angels
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in which he
abided with in heaven.
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And as a result of
that, it tells us that sin
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began to conceive in his heart.
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It tells us that he
began to develop an "I" problem
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and he started to
again focus upon himself.
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And so very clearly
again, we find that,
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that God is
revealing an intelligent
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being a powerful enemy of
God that was behind the plight,
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behind the fall
and the headspace
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of this ancient king in Babylon.
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Now, friends, I want
to make it very clear
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that there once was a
time when every Baptist,
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every Pentecostal,
every Seventh-day Adventist,
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every
Presbyterian, every Lutheran,
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every Methodist
member of every church
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across the
different nations of Europe,
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and across this nation
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and many other
nations of the world
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clearly understood that
this passage was revealing
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the very plight and the fall
of Lucifer himself in heaven.
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And yet today, friends,
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we find almost no
one that knows about
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this particular passage,
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almost no one
that is coming to it,
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or even if they do come to it,
are accepting it as revealing
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the reality of this great enemy.
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And yet,
Revelation 12 focuses on this
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more than any other
passage that we can find
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in the Book of Revelation.
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I want to invite you to
come to another passage,
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it's very similar to
this one, it's in Ezekiel,
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and so if you
goes to go two or...
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It's actually three
pages or three books ahead
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because Jeremiah also wrote
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the little Book of Lamentations.
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So we're going to
the Book of Ezekiel,
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and we're gonna go
to the 18th chapter
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and as we go to
the 18th Chapter,
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again we find
there is a prophecy
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that God has given
to the Prophet Ezekiel
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concerning a contemporary king.
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In this case, it is the king
of an ancient city called Tyre.
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And so, again
Ezekiel Chapter 28,
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and we're gonna
pick it up with verse 2.
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Now, Tyre is
different than the tire
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that we're
accustomed to, which is T-I-R-E,
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but it's T-Y-R-E, even
though it's pronounced the same.
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Tyre was a very
powerful, prosperous,
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very influential port
city that was existing
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on the Mediterranean shoreline
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just north of
the nation of Israel.
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And God had a message for him,
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regardless of the fact that
he wasn't part of His nation.
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It reveals that God
is an international God,
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it reveals that God's
hand in concern, in guidance,
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in providence is concerning
every nation upon the planet.
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And He had a message
for the king of Tyre.
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And as we come to this message,
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we discover that not
only is the king of Tyre
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in a very dangerous headspace,
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but again very
clearly we discover
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that there is
another intelligent
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being that is
behind the king of Tyre,
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that God is revealing as well.
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Let's see if we can
pick it up in verse 2.
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It says, "Son of man,
say to the prince of Tyre,
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'Thus says the Lord God:
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because your heart is
lifted up, and you say,
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'I am a god, I sit
in the seat of gods,
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in the midst of the
seas,' yet you are a man,
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and not a god,
though you set your heart
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as the heart of a god.' "
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What kind of
headspace was the king in?
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He was in a same
headspace that we read
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concerning that
being that we read
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in the concerning
the king of Babylon
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as well as Lucifer
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who was behind
that particular king
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and that is that
he began to believe
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that he was God Himself.
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And then we pick it
up again in verse 11
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of very same chapter,
Ezekiel 28:11, it says,
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"Moreover the word
of the Lord came to me,
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'Son of man,
take up a lamentation
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for the king of
Tyre and say to him,
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'Thus says the Lord God:
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you were the seal of perfection,
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full of wisdom
and perfect in beauty.
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You were in Eden,
the garden of God.' "
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Now let's just hold the
boat there for a minute.
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Now, friends, we are
talking about Ezekiel
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talking to a contemporary
king in a city called Tyre.
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Again this was taking
place around the date 500 BC.
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Now the Garden of
Eden had been destroyed
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at least by the flood,
which was at least 2000 years
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before the king
of Tyre's existence.
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Was the Garden of Eden
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existing during
Tyre's existence?
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No, not at all.
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So again, very
clearly God here is revealing
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that He's beginning
to pull back the veil,
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He's beginning to reveal
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that there is an
intelligent influence
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that has been leading this king
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down a very dangerous path.
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God is now
speaking not about the king,
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but He's talking about
this great angelic being.
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"You were in
Eden, the garden of God.
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Every precious stone
was for your covering:
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The sardius, the
topaz, the diamond, the beryl,
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the onyx, and jasper,
the sapphire, the turquoise,
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the emerald with gold.
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The workmanship of your timbrels
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and pipes was prepared for you
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on the day that
you were created."
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All right, now was
the king of Tyre created?
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Well, essentially was in
the fact that he received,
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then was
procreated by Adam and Eve
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and they're great grandchildren,
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great, great, great, great,
great, great, all the way down
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until finally king of Tyre's
parents conceived and had him.
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And so yes, in a sense,
he is very well to create it,
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but this is
talking about somebody
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that was created without birth.
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This is talking
about an angelic being
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that does not have a mother
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but does have a heavenly Father.
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In verse 14, it says,
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"You were the
anointed cherub who covers..."
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Now this is the
golden revelation
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in concern to who
God is speaking of.
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We cannot make
no mistake about it.
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God is speaking
about an angelic being
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at this point and
not an earthly king,
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not a human being
because He calls him
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the anointed cherub who covers.
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Now what is a cherub?
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As it turns out, the
Bible tells us in early chapters
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through the very
first author of the Bible,
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the Prophet Moses,
00:10:02.60\00:10:03.77
that indeed a cherub
was one of the most exalted,
00:10:03.80\00:10:06.33
positioned,
angelic, created beings
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that you can
find in all of heaven.
00:10:09.40\00:10:11.41
In fact, for him not
only to be called the cherub,
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but the anointed cherub
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who covers is reflecting
a very important verse
00:10:14.91\00:10:18.11
in passage in Exodus 25:22.
00:10:18.15\00:10:21.52
In Exodus 25:22,
we speak, we hear...
00:10:21.55\00:10:27.46
Sorry, we read
about the fact that Moses
00:10:27.49\00:10:30.09
was instructed by God to develop
00:10:30.13\00:10:32.33
and create a
sanctuary, an earthly temple.
00:10:32.36\00:10:34.96
And in that
particular sanctuary,
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in the very
most holy inner room,
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there was the ark of God,
00:10:39.20\00:10:40.94
the golden covered box
that God had laid the very law,
00:10:40.97\00:10:45.37
have His government inside.
00:10:45.41\00:10:46.98
He put on top of it
a golden covered lid
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that He calls the mercy
seat and then above that
00:10:49.64\00:10:51.85
was the Shekinah
glory of God Himself
00:10:51.88\00:10:53.98
present within that inner room.
00:10:54.02\00:10:56.28
And, friends, in
heaven, it tells us that
00:10:56.32\00:10:58.09
that particular lid also
00:10:58.12\00:11:00.42
what God Has
instructed God's people,
00:11:00.46\00:11:02.49
the Israelite to take two carved
00:11:02.52\00:11:05.49
and molded golden
statues that were called
00:11:05.53\00:11:08.66
the anointed cherubs who cover.
00:11:08.70\00:11:12.20
And so, friends, we
have here the mercy seat,
00:11:12.23\00:11:14.34
we have the throne
of God represented,
00:11:14.37\00:11:16.44
the presence of God Himself,
and then on the right hand
00:11:16.47\00:11:18.97
and on the left hand of God,
00:11:19.01\00:11:20.44
we also find these two
great exalted cherubim,
00:11:20.48\00:11:23.55
these great exalted angels.
00:11:23.58\00:11:25.61
And so this particular
verse that we're reading
00:11:25.65\00:11:28.05
in Ezekiel Chapter 28
00:11:28.08\00:11:29.62
is revealing
crystal clear for you and I,
00:11:29.65\00:11:32.59
that God is telling
us that Lucifer once
00:11:32.62\00:11:35.06
used to be one of
the most exalted angels
00:11:35.09\00:11:37.99
that you could
find in all of heaven.
00:11:38.03\00:11:41.26
He was at the left hand
00:11:41.30\00:11:42.73
or the right hand of
the throne of God Himself.
00:11:42.76\00:11:47.04
And God continues on, He
said, "I established you."
00:11:47.07\00:11:50.14
God is the one that
positioned him there.
00:11:50.17\00:11:52.27
"You were on the
holy mountain of God."
00:11:52.31\00:11:55.01
Well, what does
that mean, a mountain?
00:11:55.04\00:11:56.64
Well, as you read through
00:11:56.68\00:11:57.71
the different
prophecies of the Bible,
00:11:57.75\00:11:58.88
you discover that
a mountain repeatedly
00:11:58.91\00:12:00.68
is used to
represent God's throne,
00:12:00.72\00:12:02.32
His power, His kingdom.
00:12:02.35\00:12:06.29
"You were on
the mountain of God,
00:12:06.32\00:12:07.59
and you walked back and forth
00:12:07.62\00:12:08.79
in the midst of
the fiery stones.
00:12:08.82\00:12:10.76
You were perfect in your ways,
00:12:10.79\00:12:12.69
from the day that
you were created."
00:12:12.73\00:12:15.16
Was Lucifer originally
perfect, and sinless, and pure?
00:12:15.20\00:12:18.70
Yes, he was, and
God is pointing that out
00:12:18.73\00:12:20.87
for you and I,
00:12:20.90\00:12:21.97
until we read
that sad into verse 15,
00:12:22.00\00:12:24.31
"Until iniquity
was found in you.
00:12:24.34\00:12:27.74
By the
abundance of your trading,
00:12:27.78\00:12:29.04
you became
filled with violence."
00:12:29.08\00:12:30.68
Of course, referring back
to the earthly king of Tyre,
00:12:30.71\00:12:34.18
and it says, "And you sinned."
00:12:34.22\00:12:36.25
And so both Lucifer as
well as this earthly king
00:12:36.28\00:12:38.79
were found with sin.
00:12:38.82\00:12:40.82
"Therefore I cast
you as a profane thing
00:12:40.86\00:12:43.53
out of the mountain of
God and I'll just destroy you,
00:12:43.56\00:12:46.13
O covering cherub
00:12:46.16\00:12:47.23
from the midst
of the fiery stones.
00:12:47.23\00:12:49.30
Your heart was lifted
up because of your beauty.
00:12:49.33\00:12:53.60
You corrupted your wisdom
for the sake of your splendor."
00:12:53.64\00:12:58.21
And so we find here
00:12:58.24\00:12:59.34
that the devil
literally sold his soul.
00:12:59.37\00:13:01.44
Now we can't say that he
sold the soul to the devil
00:13:01.48\00:13:03.28
in this case,
00:13:03.31\00:13:04.35
but he sold his
soul to sin, didn't he?
00:13:04.38\00:13:06.95
He sold his soul to
destruction until the point
00:13:06.98\00:13:10.25
where it tells us very
clearly, there came a point
00:13:10.29\00:13:12.29
in the heavenly
history in which God had told,
00:13:12.32\00:13:16.29
not only Satan is,
but we're gonna learn
00:13:16.32\00:13:17.86
in Revelation
Chapter 12 as well,
00:13:17.89\00:13:19.56
that there was a
third of the angels
00:13:19.59\00:13:21.06
that also were deceived,
and they sided with Lucifer
00:13:21.10\00:13:24.00
and all of them, as
they forced God's hand,
00:13:24.03\00:13:27.17
God had to throw them
out, cast them out of heaven,
00:13:27.20\00:13:30.44
and as citizens
of that great place.
00:13:30.47\00:13:33.14
And so again, very clearly,
friends, you can walk into
00:13:33.17\00:13:35.74
any Protestant
church 100 years ago,
00:13:35.78\00:13:37.91
and every single member
would understand very clearly
00:13:37.95\00:13:40.78
that this message in
this passage is revealing
00:13:40.82\00:13:43.08
a very real, a very
literal enemy of God.
00:13:43.12\00:13:46.86
And yet today, we
don't hear it anymore.
00:13:46.89\00:13:49.19
Today we don't
hear it in our churches.
00:13:49.22\00:13:50.86
Most of us don't understand.
00:13:50.89\00:13:52.19
You can ask most pastors
in Protestant churches today
00:13:52.23\00:13:54.66
and they don't understand
00:13:54.73\00:13:56.00
or know that
these passages exist
00:13:56.03\00:13:57.47
and how they are telling
us that there is a real enemy.
00:13:57.50\00:14:00.77
Friends, there is an
enemy that we need to know
00:14:00.80\00:14:03.41
and understand how he operates,
00:14:03.44\00:14:05.64
that we might be able
to stay close to Christ,
00:14:05.67\00:14:07.38
that we might
protect our salvation,
00:14:07.41\00:14:09.08
that we might know
that we have eternal life
00:14:09.11\00:14:11.05
for all of eternity.
00:14:11.08\00:14:12.21
Amen.
00:14:12.25\00:14:13.35
God is speaking
to you and I today,
00:14:13.38\00:14:14.72
as we look at this
very important message
00:14:14.75\00:14:16.85
in Revelation Chapter 12.
00:14:16.89\00:14:20.36
And so as we come
into Revelation Chapter 12,
00:14:20.39\00:14:22.89
we look at
something that is paralleling
00:14:22.92\00:14:25.36
the very passages
that we're looking at
00:14:25.39\00:14:28.13
in these two Old
Testament passages.
00:14:28.16\00:14:31.07
Revelation 12 lays
bare the enemy of our souls.
00:14:31.10\00:14:34.34
It lays bare
what sort of headspace
00:14:34.37\00:14:36.91
this particular
angelic being is in.
00:14:36.94\00:14:40.44
Chapter 12 is an
instrumental one as we come,
00:14:40.48\00:14:42.84
as we continue to make our
way through in this quarter
00:14:42.88\00:14:45.31
through the Book of Revelation,
00:14:45.35\00:14:46.61
because it is a pivotal chapter,
00:14:46.65\00:14:48.88
it is a transitional chapter
00:14:48.92\00:14:51.75
in which God is speaking
to you and I here today.
00:14:51.79\00:14:54.26
Why?
00:14:54.29\00:14:55.32
Because as we have
been making our way
00:14:55.36\00:14:56.46
through the first 11 chapters,
00:14:56.49\00:14:58.33
we call that the
historical half of Revelation.
00:14:58.36\00:15:01.83
In other words,
00:15:01.86\00:15:02.90
God repeats Himself
through different sevens.
00:15:02.93\00:15:05.27
We have the seven churches,
we have the seven seals,
00:15:05.30\00:15:08.04
we have the seven trumpets.
00:15:08.07\00:15:09.90
And as we have
discovered in our study,
00:15:09.94\00:15:11.44
those sevens are
taking us in different details
00:15:11.47\00:15:13.98
concerning the
challenge of Christians
00:15:14.01\00:15:15.74
and the Christian Church,
00:15:15.78\00:15:17.01
from the days of the apostles
and the beginning of the church
00:15:17.05\00:15:20.02
until the second
coming of Jesus Christ.
00:15:20.05\00:15:23.22
But then when we
come to Chapter 12,
00:15:23.25\00:15:25.12
God reveals the great
warfare that's taking place
00:15:25.15\00:15:27.82
behind the scenes.
00:15:27.86\00:15:29.16
And He again takes us
00:15:29.19\00:15:30.43
through a
sweeping picture of history
00:15:30.46\00:15:35.03
from the days of the apostles
00:15:35.06\00:15:36.26
until the second
coming of Christ.
00:15:36.30\00:15:37.93
And He is using
that as an introduction
00:15:37.97\00:15:40.24
to the second half of
the Book of Revelation.
00:15:40.27\00:15:43.41
Because once we enter into
the second half of Revelation,
00:15:43.44\00:15:46.17
as we have begun today,
indeed, we will discover
00:15:46.21\00:15:49.44
that God now
focus and specializes
00:15:49.48\00:15:52.71
in the very last
years of earth's history,
00:15:52.75\00:15:55.52
the end time events, and how
the devil is going to operate
00:15:55.55\00:15:59.29
as well as how
Christ and His people
00:15:59.32\00:16:01.02
are going to operate
in the very last years
00:16:01.06\00:16:03.53
that usher in the
second coming of Jesus.
00:16:03.56\00:16:06.49
And so Chapter 12
is no small chapter.
00:16:06.53\00:16:09.36
It is one of the key
chapters because of that.
00:16:09.40\00:16:14.94
Chapter 12 answers
questions like who, where, when,
00:16:14.97\00:16:17.64
and why does evil exist?
00:16:17.67\00:16:19.84
Why has the world
always been so hard
00:16:19.87\00:16:22.08
on the Christian Church
and the Jesus it serves?
00:16:22.11\00:16:25.08
So often, I've had
the privilege of bringing
00:16:25.11\00:16:27.35
different new converts,
00:16:27.38\00:16:28.48
people that have
come to accept Christ,
00:16:28.52\00:16:30.12
to know Christ, to experience
Jesus in their hearts.
00:16:30.15\00:16:33.25
They come through the baptismal
waters, they're shining,
00:16:33.29\00:16:36.62
they're full of fire, the
Holy Spirit of their life,
00:16:36.66\00:16:39.23
and their life has
changed and the world looks
00:16:39.26\00:16:41.13
so much more brighter,
00:16:41.16\00:16:42.46
their future looks
so much more hopeful,
00:16:42.50\00:16:45.07
and then they
come to Sabbath school
00:16:45.10\00:16:46.43
or I visit them in
their home and they say,
00:16:46.47\00:16:47.97
"Oh Pastor
Shawn, I don't get it.
00:16:48.00\00:16:50.14
I have this wonderful experience
00:16:50.17\00:16:51.94
this great news,
00:16:51.97\00:16:53.01
and when I go out to
share with my friends
00:16:53.04\00:16:54.64
and with my
colleagues at work, and so on.
00:16:54.68\00:16:57.08
Well, I just get shut down.
00:16:57.11\00:16:58.31
I am so
discouraged, I can't believe
00:16:58.35\00:17:00.25
how much
resistance I am experiencing."
00:17:00.28\00:17:03.59
Why is that?
00:17:03.62\00:17:04.59
This is a big question,
a very pressing question
00:17:04.62\00:17:07.66
in concern to those
00:17:07.69\00:17:08.82
who are in the
Christian experience.
00:17:08.86\00:17:10.93
Why is the world always been
so hard on the Christian Church
00:17:10.96\00:17:15.30
and the Jesus that it serves?
00:17:15.33\00:17:17.57
And so we're gonna answer
those questions here today
00:17:17.60\00:17:19.67
as we turn to
Revelation Chapter 12.
00:17:19.70\00:17:22.74
And we're gonna
start with verse 1,
00:17:22.77\00:17:24.17
Revelation Chapter 12,
00:17:24.21\00:17:26.07
and we're gonna
start with verse 1.
00:17:30.75\00:17:32.01
Now we have some
very willing volunteers
00:17:32.05\00:17:34.82
that have agreed to
read some of the verses
00:17:34.85\00:17:36.62
that we're
looking at here today.
00:17:36.65\00:17:38.29
And so we're gonna
ask our first volunteer
00:17:38.32\00:17:40.12
to read verses 1 and 2.
00:17:40.16\00:17:43.43
"Now a great sign
appeared in heaven:
00:17:43.46\00:17:46.33
a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
00:17:46.36\00:17:50.67
and on her head a
garland of 12 stars.
00:17:50.70\00:17:54.74
Then being with child,
she cried out in the labor
00:17:54.77\00:17:58.31
and in pain to give birth."
00:17:58.34\00:18:01.54
Okay, thank you.
00:18:01.58\00:18:03.58
All right, so at
the very beginning
00:18:03.61\00:18:05.35
of this particular chapter,
00:18:05.38\00:18:06.65
we find indeed that
God is revealing a woman.
00:18:06.68\00:18:09.35
Is this a
literal woman? No, okay.
00:18:09.38\00:18:12.42
It's very obvious
it's not a literal woman.
00:18:12.45\00:18:13.89
I know, I've seen some women
00:18:13.92\00:18:15.16
with some pretty
nice fancy clothes on,
00:18:15.19\00:18:16.66
they can get
pretty glittery sometimes,
00:18:16.69\00:18:18.16
but I've never seen
them clothed in the sun,
00:18:18.19\00:18:19.86
and I certainly
haven't seen them
00:18:19.89\00:18:22.40
standing on a moon.
00:18:22.43\00:18:23.97
And so very clearly God is here
00:18:24.00\00:18:25.50
revealing what He
does most of the time
00:18:25.53\00:18:27.70
through the Book of Revelation
00:18:27.74\00:18:28.87
and that is He's
using deep symbols to reveal
00:18:28.90\00:18:32.27
and reflect literal realities,
and this is no exception.
00:18:32.31\00:18:36.58
And so here we have a great sign
00:18:36.61\00:18:37.91
that appeared in heaven.
00:18:37.95\00:18:38.98
Now this is not necessarily
the heaven of heavens,
00:18:39.01\00:18:41.48
but as the Bible speaks
of three different heavens,
00:18:41.52\00:18:43.82
the first heaven
being our atmosphere,
00:18:43.85\00:18:46.09
and the second
one being the heavens
00:18:46.12\00:18:47.39
of the galaxy around us.
00:18:47.42\00:18:50.23
Indeed, John is looking up
into the sky or into space,
00:18:50.26\00:18:53.06
and he's seen this
scrape, symbolic woman.
00:18:53.09\00:18:58.70
And so we ask the question,
00:18:58.73\00:19:00.07
well, what does
this woman symbolize
00:19:00.10\00:19:02.67
if it's not a literal woman.
00:19:02.70\00:19:05.97
And indeed, the woman all
the way through the Bible,
00:19:06.01\00:19:09.78
God has used a woman
to represent God's people.
00:19:09.81\00:19:14.32
Before Israel,
it was the faithful.
00:19:14.35\00:19:16.38
When Israel came, of course,
00:19:16.42\00:19:17.69
it was his nation of
literal civil Israel.
00:19:17.72\00:19:21.29
And then as Israel
began to be transitioned
00:19:21.32\00:19:23.69
into what Jesus
calls spiritual Israel
00:19:23.73\00:19:27.23
and the Bible
prophets call spiritual Israel,
00:19:27.30\00:19:29.46
you find the Christian Church
00:19:29.50\00:19:31.60
is also symbolized here as well.
00:19:31.63\00:19:34.24
In fact, the church
is called Israel as well.
00:19:34.27\00:19:37.57
In Matthew 21:43,
00:19:37.61\00:19:39.31
Jesus had said these
sad words to literal Israel
00:19:39.34\00:19:41.84
and the
representatives of Israel
00:19:41.88\00:19:44.08
that He was
speaking to, and He says,
00:19:44.11\00:19:47.02
"Therefore I say to
you, the kingdom of God
00:19:47.05\00:19:48.92
will be taken from
you and given to a nation
00:19:48.95\00:19:52.05
bearing the fruits of it."
00:19:52.09\00:19:54.26
And so Jesus very
sadly says listen,
00:19:54.29\00:19:56.62
the probation for
physical Israel was coming,
00:19:56.66\00:20:00.26
very quickly coming to a close.
00:20:00.30\00:20:02.36
And the great 490 year
prophecy of Daniel Chapter 9
00:20:02.40\00:20:06.03
was coming to its conclusion.
00:20:06.07\00:20:07.90
Jesus knew it was coming,
00:20:07.94\00:20:09.20
He gave the
prophecies to Daniel.
00:20:09.24\00:20:11.07
But now He knows
He's only a few years away
00:20:11.11\00:20:13.21
from its conclusion.
00:20:13.24\00:20:14.28
And so He begins
to reveal it to Israel
00:20:14.31\00:20:16.51
through some of
these statements,
00:20:16.54\00:20:18.05
as we have just read.
00:20:18.08\00:20:20.68
Now, the symbol of
woman that was first used
00:20:20.72\00:20:24.05
using the symbolism
is found all the way back
00:20:24.09\00:20:26.32
in the Garden of
Eden, in Genesis 3:15,
00:20:26.35\00:20:29.02
Jesus in the garden,
He's there with Adam and Eve,
00:20:29.06\00:20:31.89
but He's also there
with the enemy of our souls.
00:20:31.93\00:20:35.03
He's there with the serpent
of old, the devil and Satan.
00:20:35.06\00:20:37.90
And as He speaks to
the serpent that day
00:20:37.93\00:20:39.97
after the fall of Adam and
Eve, He says to the serpent,
00:20:40.00\00:20:43.17
He says, "And
there will be enmity
00:20:43.20\00:20:44.77
between you Satan and the woman,
00:20:44.81\00:20:48.58
between your seed and her seed."
00:20:48.61\00:20:52.61
You see the feminine
woman symbolism there,
00:20:52.65\00:20:55.68
and so God
immediately picked up on Eve,
00:20:55.72\00:20:57.85
the mother of all the
living as it says later
00:20:57.89\00:20:59.59
in the same chapter
of Genesis Chapter 3.
00:20:59.62\00:21:03.39
And He says, and He
begins to use Eve as a symbol,
00:21:03.43\00:21:06.90
a woman as a
symbol of God's people,
00:21:06.93\00:21:09.70
because God here is
revealing in Genesis 3:15,
00:21:09.73\00:21:12.13
that from the time that
sin came into this world,
00:21:12.17\00:21:14.50
from the time that
Adam and Eve had sinned,
00:21:14.54\00:21:16.71
it open the floodgates
of sin to all of humanity,
00:21:16.74\00:21:19.37
to the rest of the world.
00:21:19.41\00:21:20.64
He is telling us that
there will be a warfare,
00:21:20.68\00:21:22.61
there will be an enmity
00:21:22.64\00:21:24.31
between the two
camps of all humanity,
00:21:24.35\00:21:26.25
those who are on God's
side, and those who are not.
00:21:26.28\00:21:29.22
Those who were with Christ,
00:21:29.25\00:21:30.35
and those who
are with the devil,
00:21:30.39\00:21:31.39
whether they want to
admit it, or acknowledge it,
00:21:31.42\00:21:33.05
or understand it, or not.
00:21:33.09\00:21:34.32
Jesus says,
"Either you're with Me
00:21:34.36\00:21:35.92
or you are or against me."
00:21:35.96\00:21:38.09
He says, "There is no
fence, there is no third camp.
00:21:38.13\00:21:40.26
There's only two
camps that you can be in."
00:21:40.30\00:21:42.06
And so God reveals that
00:21:42.10\00:21:43.33
from the very
beginning of the fall,
00:21:43.37\00:21:45.03
and while He does that, He says,
00:21:45.07\00:21:46.30
there is Satan and his seed,
00:21:46.33\00:21:47.97
referring to the
sentence that side with him.
00:21:48.00\00:21:50.27
And the woman and her seed,
00:21:50.31\00:21:52.74
referring to
those who side with God.
00:21:52.77\00:21:55.74
Do you see that symbolism?
00:21:55.78\00:21:57.41
And so God uses
that all the way through
00:21:57.45\00:21:59.35
to Revelation Chapter 12
00:21:59.38\00:22:00.78
as He brings
before is this great,
00:22:00.82\00:22:03.25
heavenly womanly figure.
00:22:03.28\00:22:06.35
Now again, she's not
clothed with normal clothes,
00:22:06.39\00:22:08.36
she's clothed with the...
00:22:08.39\00:22:10.69
She's clothed with
the sun, isn't she?
00:22:10.73\00:22:14.10
She's clothed with the sun.
00:22:14.13\00:22:15.93
Now, what does
the sun represent?
00:22:15.96\00:22:18.17
Well, the sun is the
greatest source of light
00:22:18.20\00:22:20.67
in our part of the
woods, in our neck of the woods,
00:22:20.70\00:22:23.30
in regards to our galaxy.
00:22:23.34\00:22:25.11
And, so if you're
looking for the brightest lumens
00:22:25.14\00:22:28.74
that you can possibly
find on the planet, you know,
00:22:28.78\00:22:30.65
I just bought a flashlight
at Costco the other day,
00:22:30.68\00:22:33.01
you know, I'm
getting so tired of these
00:22:33.05\00:22:35.42
little dinky flashlights.
00:22:35.45\00:22:36.82
Well, as I pull out
00:22:36.85\00:22:37.99
and I'm trying to
look around the garage,
00:22:38.02\00:22:39.15
I saw this great
big flashlight for sale,
00:22:39.19\00:22:41.16
you know, I thought,
"Boy, that's not a bad price.
00:22:41.19\00:22:43.02
Finally, I'm
going to have something
00:22:43.06\00:22:44.23
that really gives some lumens."
00:22:44.26\00:22:45.49
So I got that thing
and the only thing is that,
00:22:45.53\00:22:47.60
you know, it shines great
when you're trying to work
00:22:47.60\00:22:49.56
but if you're
working with a partner,
00:22:49.60\00:22:50.93
you got to make sure not
to shine it in their eyes
00:22:50.97\00:22:52.50
because they'll be seeing dots
00:22:52.53\00:22:53.57
for about two
minutes afterwards.
00:22:53.60\00:22:56.37
But, friends, no matter
how bright your flashlight is,
00:22:56.40\00:22:58.64
nothing even comes
close to the lumens
00:22:58.67\00:23:00.71
that the sun gives, is there?
00:23:00.74\00:23:02.74
And so God here is
saying that the woman is clothed
00:23:02.78\00:23:05.28
with tremendous light.
00:23:05.31\00:23:08.48
Jesus, when He
stood up in the world,
00:23:08.52\00:23:10.05
He says, "I am the
light of the world.
00:23:10.09\00:23:11.69
He who walks with me
shall not walk in darkness,
00:23:11.72\00:23:14.02
but have the light of life."
00:23:14.06\00:23:17.66
And the very last
words in the last chapter
00:23:17.69\00:23:20.56
of the Old Testament,
00:23:20.60\00:23:21.60
when God speaks to
the Prophet Malachi,
00:23:21.63\00:23:25.07
He refers to the Son
of God as the sun, S-U-N,
00:23:25.10\00:23:29.14
the sun of righteousness.
00:23:29.17\00:23:31.94
You see, the woman is clothed,
not with her own righteousness,
00:23:31.97\00:23:35.38
not with her own power,
not with her own goodness,
00:23:35.41\00:23:38.61
but she's robed
00:23:38.65\00:23:39.88
with the
righteousness of Christ.
00:23:39.91\00:23:42.12
She understands that
there is no good thing in her.
00:23:42.15\00:23:44.85
Their heart is
wicked in desperately.
00:23:44.89\00:23:47.46
But, friends,
she also understands
00:23:47.49\00:23:49.09
that when she
has the Holy Spirit,
00:23:49.12\00:23:50.59
when she's clothed with
the righteousness of Christ,
00:23:50.63\00:23:53.93
she's in good stead.
00:23:53.96\00:23:55.10
Amen?
00:23:55.13\00:23:56.56
And so here we have the sun
00:23:56.60\00:23:57.77
and the woman
clothed in righteousness.
00:23:57.80\00:24:01.50
And by the way,
friends, when you look back
00:24:01.54\00:24:03.04
in some of the Old
Testament prophets,
00:24:03.07\00:24:04.47
and this is just about a bit
of a preview into the future.
00:24:04.51\00:24:07.58
God not only uses a woman
to represent the faithful,
00:24:07.61\00:24:11.28
but He also uses
a woman to represent
00:24:11.31\00:24:13.25
in the religious world,
00:24:13.28\00:24:14.55
and the Christian
religious world in particular,
00:24:14.58\00:24:16.75
He also uses a
woman to represent
00:24:16.79\00:24:19.09
sometimes the unfaithful,
00:24:19.12\00:24:21.09
so these aren't the laws
00:24:21.12\00:24:22.19
that are out in
the world in sinning
00:24:22.22\00:24:23.66
and want nothing to do with God,
00:24:23.69\00:24:24.99
but these are those
who are attending church,
00:24:25.03\00:24:27.13
these are those
00:24:27.20\00:24:28.20
who are religious in
some manner of fashion.
00:24:28.23\00:24:30.40
But as Jesus
says, "Depart from Me,
00:24:30.43\00:24:32.83
I never knew you, you
who practice lawlessness."
00:24:32.87\00:24:37.44
And so, the Bible reveals
00:24:37.47\00:24:39.51
that there are a number
of professed Christians,
00:24:39.54\00:24:42.44
church going folks that
aren't necessarily saved.
00:24:42.48\00:24:46.11
And so God categorizes
them as a woman as well.
00:24:46.15\00:24:49.35
But in that case, He calls
them not a beautiful, wonderful,
00:24:49.38\00:24:53.89
lovely woman,
00:24:53.92\00:24:55.19
but He refers to
them as a prostitute
00:24:55.22\00:24:57.16
or an adulterous.
00:24:57.19\00:24:58.73
Why?
00:24:58.76\00:24:59.83
Because they have chosen
00:24:59.86\00:25:00.93
to commit
adultery with the world,
00:25:00.96\00:25:02.03
with other religions,
00:25:02.06\00:25:03.13
they are adopting other
facets of other false religions
00:25:03.16\00:25:06.30
or just simple pleasures
and philosophies in the world.
00:25:06.33\00:25:10.84
You can find that in
one of the first examples
00:25:10.87\00:25:12.97
in Jeremiah 6:2,
00:25:13.01\00:25:15.94
where He first refers again
like Revelation Chapter 12,
00:25:15.98\00:25:18.91
He refers to
the woman as lovely,
00:25:18.95\00:25:21.05
I've likened you as to a
lovely and delicate woman.
00:25:21.08\00:25:24.89
But then if you back up
three chapters to Jeremiah 3:6,
00:25:24.92\00:25:29.99
we find that Jeremiah is forced
very sadly to refer to Israel,
00:25:30.03\00:25:33.66
not as a lovely
and delicate woman,
00:25:33.70\00:25:35.36
but as a harlot.
00:25:35.40\00:25:37.17
In verse 6, it
says, "Have you seen
00:25:37.20\00:25:38.77
what
backsliding Israel has done?
00:25:38.80\00:25:41.04
She has gone up on
every high mountain
00:25:41.07\00:25:43.91
and under every green tree,
and there played the harlot."
00:25:43.94\00:25:48.54
And so very clearly we find here
00:25:48.58\00:25:50.25
that God reveals
not only in Jeremiah,
00:25:50.28\00:25:51.91
but also as we're gonna discover
00:25:51.95\00:25:52.98
in future
chapters in Revelation,
00:25:53.01\00:25:54.78
God will refer to
groups of professed Christians
00:25:54.82\00:25:58.09
as a harlot, or as
adulterous, adulterers.
00:25:58.12\00:26:02.72
In Jeremiah's day, of course,
00:26:02.76\00:26:04.13
when it says
under every green tree
00:26:04.16\00:26:05.16
and every high mountain,
00:26:05.19\00:26:06.23
this is where the
idolatry was taking place.
00:26:06.26\00:26:08.20
This is where they
would set their idols
00:26:08.23\00:26:10.27
and they would
give their sacrifices
00:26:10.30\00:26:12.07
to the goddess of fertility
00:26:12.10\00:26:14.77
and all these
other different gods
00:26:14.80\00:26:17.51
that represented
different blessings
00:26:17.54\00:26:18.97
that were supposed to come
into their life or protections.
00:26:19.01\00:26:22.31
So God is saying to
Israel, "You are like a harlot,
00:26:22.34\00:26:24.95
you're not like a
lovely and delicate woman."
00:26:24.98\00:26:29.02
Friends, I don't know about you,
00:26:29.05\00:26:30.12
but I want to be acquainted
00:26:30.15\00:26:31.19
with the
perfect and lovely woman
00:26:31.22\00:26:33.22
that is clothed
with the sun, don't you?
00:26:33.25\00:26:35.62
This is where
God wants us to be.
00:26:35.66\00:26:37.36
This is what God
wants us to understand.
00:26:37.39\00:26:38.93
This is where
He's inviting us today
00:26:38.96\00:26:41.20
as we look at
this important subject.
00:26:41.23\00:26:44.70
The moon, what
does the moon represent?
00:26:44.73\00:26:47.20
Well, the moon
represents as most commentators
00:26:47.24\00:26:50.21
would refer to as the Old
Testament, the lesser light.
00:26:50.24\00:26:52.97
For indeed the moon
00:26:53.01\00:26:54.04
finds its light
from the sun itself,
00:26:54.08\00:26:56.38
we find that the
woman is found standing.
00:26:56.41\00:26:58.25
Now, the woman is
the church, isn't it?
00:26:58.28\00:26:59.81
It's God's
people, it says faithful.
00:26:59.85\00:27:02.08
And we're standing on a
foundation called the moon
00:27:02.12\00:27:06.02
which is reflecting the
sun of righteousness himself
00:27:06.05\00:27:08.39
because the moon
was a foreshadow,
00:27:08.42\00:27:10.59
it was pointing towards
many different prophecies
00:27:10.63\00:27:12.73
of the details of the
birth, the life, the death,
00:27:12.76\00:27:14.60
and resurrection,
ascension of Jesus Christ.
00:27:14.63\00:27:17.37
He was also revealing
to us many different truths
00:27:17.40\00:27:20.07
concerning
Christ's future ministry
00:27:20.10\00:27:21.70
after His death
and resurrection.
00:27:21.74\00:27:23.51
That's why the Book of Hebrews
has the main theme as, better,
00:27:23.54\00:27:26.84
the word better repeats
itself over and over again, why?
00:27:26.88\00:27:30.01
Because it's trying to
tell the early Christians
00:27:30.05\00:27:32.15
that were also Jews that indeed
that if you accept Christ,
00:27:32.18\00:27:35.65
you are in a better priesthood.
00:27:35.68\00:27:37.92
Because the priesthood of Aaron
00:27:37.95\00:27:39.15
is now fulfilled in
a better priesthood,
00:27:39.19\00:27:41.29
which is Jesus Himself.
00:27:41.32\00:27:43.83
When you come to the New
Testament sanctuary, it says,
00:27:43.86\00:27:46.06
"Listen, leave the
Old Testament sanctuary
00:27:46.09\00:27:47.86
because now God has
offered a better sanctuary,
00:27:47.93\00:27:50.27
not an earthly one, but
one made without hands,"
00:27:50.30\00:27:52.93
as Hebrews Chapter 8 tells us.
00:27:52.97\00:27:54.94
The better
sanctuary which Christ
00:27:54.97\00:27:56.84
is the better
priesthood for you and I.
00:27:56.87\00:27:58.67
Don't bring your
lambs to the altar anymore.
00:27:58.71\00:28:00.48
Why?
00:28:00.51\00:28:01.58
Because Jesus now is
the better sacrifice.
00:28:01.61\00:28:04.28
He is the Lamb of
God that takes away
00:28:04.31\00:28:05.85
all the sin of the world.
00:28:05.88\00:28:07.62
It is once and for all
the complete on the cross.
00:28:07.65\00:28:11.09
And so no longer do you
need to bring the symbol
00:28:11.12\00:28:12.85
of a lamb to the altar,
there is a better sacrifice.
00:28:12.89\00:28:18.63
Well, what about the
12 stars on the head?
00:28:18.66\00:28:22.26
What do they represent?
00:28:22.30\00:28:23.77
Well, we have the
12 tribes of Israel,
00:28:26.90\00:28:29.87
as we think of the different
number 12 in the Bible.
00:28:29.90\00:28:32.67
And then when we
come to the New Testament,
00:28:32.71\00:28:34.08
Jesus had very
specifically chosen
00:28:34.11\00:28:36.01
12 apostles to
represent, and to lead,
00:28:36.04\00:28:40.95
and put a foundation
for the original church.
00:28:40.98\00:28:44.42
And so very clearly
the 12 is representative
00:28:44.45\00:28:47.22
of God's kingdom number
00:28:47.26\00:28:49.06
and so here we
have these 12 stars.
00:28:49.09\00:28:51.16
In Revelation 1:20,
00:28:51.19\00:28:52.83
it talks about
the stars of heaven.
00:28:52.86\00:28:56.13
And so we have the
stars representing angels,
00:28:56.16\00:28:58.53
I should say.
00:28:58.57\00:28:59.60
And so in Revelation
1:20 we find that God
00:28:59.63\00:29:01.90
is using stars
to symbolize angels.
00:29:01.94\00:29:06.54
Who's the head of the church?
00:29:06.57\00:29:09.78
Somebody said
Jesus, okay, over and over,
00:29:09.81\00:29:11.75
especially the Prophet
Paul would talk about the church
00:29:11.78\00:29:14.88
being represented as a
body, as a human being.
00:29:14.92\00:29:17.72
And then he said, "The
body represents you and I."
00:29:17.75\00:29:20.09
But then Paul says,
00:29:20.12\00:29:21.16
"Listen, the head itself
doesn't represent you and I,
00:29:21.19\00:29:23.96
the head
represents Jesus Christ."
00:29:23.99\00:29:26.63
And so the head of the woman
00:29:26.66\00:29:27.76
will represent none
other than, than Jesus.
00:29:27.76\00:29:30.77
And Jesus is the King of
kings, is the Lord of lords,
00:29:30.80\00:29:32.70
is He not?
00:29:32.73\00:29:33.74
And so how fitting
that we have the 12 stars
00:29:33.77\00:29:36.20
representing 12 angels,
00:29:36.24\00:29:38.14
but also
representing His kingdom
00:29:38.17\00:29:40.34
because he is the King of kings.
00:29:40.38\00:29:42.88
He is the Lord of lords.
00:29:42.91\00:29:45.38
And so we have some
deep symbolism there.
00:29:45.41\00:29:47.15
But let's move on in
verses 4, verses 3-6.
00:29:47.18\00:29:52.15
If we can have a volunteer
go ahead and read that for us,
00:29:52.19\00:29:54.36
please?
00:29:54.39\00:29:55.46
"And another sign
appeared in heaven:
00:29:55.49\00:29:57.83
behold, a great, fiery dragon
00:29:57.86\00:30:00.23
having seven
heads and ten horns,
00:30:00.26\00:30:02.63
and seven diadems on his heads.
00:30:02.66\00:30:05.27
His tail drew a third
of the stars of heaven
00:30:05.30\00:30:07.77
and threw them to the earth.
00:30:07.80\00:30:09.84
And the dragon
stood before the woman
00:30:09.87\00:30:11.71
who was ready to give
birth, to devour her Child
00:30:11.74\00:30:14.54
as soon as it was born.
00:30:14.58\00:30:16.58
She bore a male Child
who was to rule all nations
00:30:16.61\00:30:19.81
with a rod of iron.
00:30:19.85\00:30:21.42
And her Child was caught
up to God and His throne.
00:30:21.45\00:30:24.85
Then the woman fled
into the wilderness,
00:30:24.89\00:30:27.32
where she has a
place prepared by God
00:30:27.36\00:30:29.99
that they should
feed her there 1260 days."
00:30:30.03\00:30:36.33
Okay, thank you.
00:30:36.36\00:30:37.57
So now God moves on,
and He leaves the woman.
00:30:37.60\00:30:39.50
Now He goes
00:30:39.53\00:30:40.80
and moves to a
different symbolic creature
00:30:40.84\00:30:43.47
and this creature is
called the fiery red dragon.
00:30:43.51\00:30:47.21
And so we have
to ask the question.
00:30:47.24\00:30:48.44
Well, obviously,
dragons aren't real.
00:30:48.48\00:30:50.21
They're certainly prevalent
in a lot of mythological art,
00:30:50.25\00:30:52.81
and stories, and
legends, and so on.
00:30:52.85\00:30:54.95
But where does the
original dragon come from?
00:30:54.98\00:30:57.99
Well, as it turns out,
00:30:58.02\00:30:59.05
the original
dragon is represented
00:30:59.09\00:31:00.32
right here in the Bible,
00:31:00.36\00:31:01.86
in the ancient
scriptures of the Holy Word.
00:31:01.89\00:31:04.73
And so very clearly in
verse 9 of the same chapter
00:31:04.76\00:31:07.86
and so let's go to verse 9.
00:31:07.93\00:31:09.03
We're going to come
back to verse 9 as well,
00:31:09.06\00:31:10.30
but in verse 9, it says,
00:31:10.33\00:31:11.87
"So the great
dragon was cast out,
00:31:11.90\00:31:13.13
that serpent of old,
called the Devil and Satan,
00:31:13.17\00:31:16.57
who deceives the whole
world he was cast to the earth,
00:31:16.60\00:31:18.27
and his angels
were cast out with him."
00:31:18.31\00:31:20.14
And so very clearly
in the very same chapter,
00:31:20.18\00:31:22.04
just a couple of
three verses later,
00:31:22.08\00:31:23.61
we find that God reveals
crystal clear for us exactly
00:31:23.65\00:31:26.58
who He's talking about
when He uses a symbolic dragon.
00:31:26.61\00:31:30.29
It's the very same
creature that we saw revealed
00:31:30.32\00:31:32.45
and laid bare in
prophecy of Isaiah,
00:31:32.49\00:31:35.59
the prophecy of Ezekiel.
00:31:35.62\00:31:39.66
Is it coincidence that
much of the dragon are today
00:31:39.69\00:31:42.06
by the way in
history depicts this serpent
00:31:42.10\00:31:44.73
like kind of
creature that breathes fire.
00:31:44.77\00:31:48.97
Isn't it interesting,
00:31:49.00\00:31:50.11
especially when you
look at Chinese art,
00:31:50.14\00:31:51.87
you find that
it's very prevalent
00:31:51.91\00:31:53.31
to have their dragons
00:31:53.34\00:31:54.38
always look like a
serpent like creature.
00:31:54.41\00:31:57.88
What is it reflecting?
00:31:57.91\00:31:59.21
Well, it's
reflecting the serpent of old
00:31:59.25\00:32:01.12
that we just read
here in the scriptures.
00:32:01.15\00:32:03.82
You see much of this
mythology, much of this art,
00:32:03.85\00:32:06.45
and these legends
00:32:06.49\00:32:07.52
that come through
the different nations
00:32:07.56\00:32:09.22
finds itself being
distorted and changed, yes.
00:32:09.26\00:32:13.16
But when we read the Bible,
00:32:13.19\00:32:14.36
we find that we can
find the very original
00:32:14.40\00:32:16.93
origins of these
particular creatures.
00:32:16.97\00:32:19.80
In this case, we have a
serpent in the Garden of Eden,
00:32:19.83\00:32:21.84
do we not?
00:32:21.87\00:32:22.90
In the very
beginning of earth's history,
00:32:22.94\00:32:25.17
in the history of mankind,
00:32:25.21\00:32:27.11
we find indeed
that there is a serpent.
00:32:27.14\00:32:29.74
And sadly we find that he
is also called the dragon,
00:32:29.78\00:32:32.95
he was once Lucifer, Day Star,
00:32:32.98\00:32:34.65
but now he is Satan,
the adversary of God.
00:32:34.68\00:32:37.12
He's called the devil,
which means the accuser,
00:32:37.15\00:32:39.72
and indeed he is
the enemy of our souls.
00:32:39.75\00:32:43.49
And so very clearly we
find that the Bible reveals
00:32:43.53\00:32:45.59
who this dragon is representing.
00:32:45.63\00:32:47.46
Now as far as
the heads and horns,
00:32:47.50\00:32:48.73
we find better insight
into this as we look further
00:32:48.76\00:32:51.00
into the
prophecies of the chapters
00:32:51.03\00:32:53.30
following Revelation Chapter 12,
00:32:53.34\00:32:54.97
and so just hold tight on that.
00:32:55.00\00:32:56.67
We are going to come
back in future study.
00:32:56.71\00:33:00.28
What about the tail?
00:33:00.31\00:33:01.61
Because it tells us
that the dragon was cast out,
00:33:01.64\00:33:07.45
and in Revelation Chapter 12,
00:33:07.48\00:33:09.85
we read that his tail drew
a third of the stars of heaven
00:33:09.88\00:33:13.42
and threw them to the earth.
00:33:13.46\00:33:18.39
What does God depict
the dragon is using a tail?
00:33:18.43\00:33:22.83
Well, as it turns out the tail
00:33:25.60\00:33:27.57
is not the most flattering
part of a creature's existence.
00:33:27.60\00:33:33.41
In fact, God used it
when He talked to Israel,
00:33:33.44\00:33:35.54
He said "Listen,
when it comes to you
00:33:35.58\00:33:36.85
and the rest of the nation,
I want you to be the head,
00:33:36.88\00:33:38.78
and not the tail."
00:33:38.81\00:33:41.08
Because God implying that
00:33:41.12\00:33:42.12
the tail was lesser
in importance in value
00:33:42.15\00:33:43.85
than that of the head, Yes.
00:33:43.89\00:33:45.32
He said the head
is the most important
00:33:45.35\00:33:46.49
when you come back to very end
00:33:46.52\00:33:47.99
where you have the tail,
well, that's not so important.
00:33:48.02\00:33:50.43
It's not quite as valuable.
00:33:50.46\00:33:52.63
And so here we find that in
Isaiah Chapter 9 by the way.
00:33:52.66\00:33:56.83
In verses 14 and 15,
it reveals very clearly
00:33:56.87\00:33:59.07
that God here is
symbolizing a tail
00:33:59.10\00:34:02.14
as that of deception of lies.
00:34:02.17\00:34:05.64
Verses 14 and 15, it says,
00:34:05.67\00:34:07.08
"Therefore the Lord
will cut off the head
00:34:07.11\00:34:10.18
and tail from Israel.
00:34:10.21\00:34:12.48
And later on He goes
and deciphers that for us
00:34:12.51\00:34:14.78
and He says, "The
elder and the honorable,
00:34:14.82\00:34:16.12
He is the head."
00:34:16.15\00:34:19.15
And then He goes on and says,
"The Prophet who teaches lies,
00:34:19.19\00:34:22.42
he is the tail."
00:34:22.46\00:34:24.39
And so as we look at scripture
00:34:24.43\00:34:25.73
and put scripture
upon scripture here,
00:34:25.76\00:34:27.20
there, little there little,
00:34:27.23\00:34:28.53
we find here that
God is revealing to us
00:34:28.56\00:34:30.47
that He is
symbolizing the dragon's tail
00:34:30.50\00:34:32.57
as being that which pulled
down a third of the stars.
00:34:32.60\00:34:35.70
And again in Revelation
1:20, it tells us clearly
00:34:35.74\00:34:38.34
that the stars used
to represent an angel.
00:34:38.37\00:34:40.98
And so a third of
the angels were lied to,
00:34:41.01\00:34:43.95
well, more than a third
00:34:43.98\00:34:45.05
but a third of them
had bought into the lies
00:34:45.08\00:34:47.42
and deceptions of Satan.
00:34:47.45\00:34:48.65
And has successfully
drawn them into his court,
00:34:48.68\00:34:52.79
had successfully drawn
them into his influence,
00:34:52.82\00:34:55.86
and to side with him
until the point where God
00:34:55.89\00:34:58.13
was forced to both cast him
00:34:58.16\00:35:00.90
as well as the third of
the angels out of heaven.
00:35:00.93\00:35:05.27
And then despite the effort,
00:35:05.30\00:35:06.57
the dragon's best
efforts to kill Jesus early on,
00:35:06.60\00:35:08.67
he failed multiple times
00:35:08.70\00:35:09.90
until the Lord allowed
Himself to be arrested,
00:35:09.94\00:35:12.54
until He allowed
Himself to be crucified.
00:35:12.57\00:35:15.31
We find that King Herod as
we read here there was a...
00:35:15.34\00:35:18.78
An attempt by the dragon,
00:35:18.81\00:35:20.48
by the devil himself
to destroy the male Child,
00:35:20.52\00:35:23.12
to destroy the Christ,
as soon as He was born.
00:35:23.15\00:35:25.75
And history as well as
the gospel records tell us
00:35:25.79\00:35:27.99
that it was the
cruel King Herod.
00:35:28.02\00:35:30.06
This Roman king that
was associated and working
00:35:30.09\00:35:33.80
for the Roman
Empire was the agent
00:35:33.83\00:35:35.96
that the dragon used
00:35:36.00\00:35:37.70
to be able to try
to destroy the Christ.
00:35:37.73\00:35:39.63
But was that the
only attempt that he made?
00:35:39.67\00:35:41.87
No, when Jesus went and preached
00:35:41.90\00:35:43.81
in his own
hometown, while it tells us
00:35:43.84\00:35:45.87
the whole church
got so mad at Him
00:35:45.91\00:35:47.41
that they drove Him
out in the madding frenzy,
00:35:47.44\00:35:50.01
and they try to push Him
off a cliff and kill Him.
00:35:50.05\00:35:51.91
Do you think the
devil is behind that?
00:35:51.95\00:35:53.68
Sure, he was behind that.
00:35:53.72\00:35:54.92
He was hoping that
this would be the end,
00:35:54.95\00:35:56.42
he would snap Him out
00:35:56.45\00:35:57.45
before He could
sacrifice Himself
00:35:57.49\00:35:59.29
for the sins of the world.
00:35:59.32\00:36:00.86
And we have other examples
of that in the gospels as well,
00:36:00.89\00:36:03.63
but breaks up
despite all those attempts
00:36:03.66\00:36:05.46
it wasn't until Jesus
says, "Okay, now is the time.
00:36:05.49\00:36:09.70
Now is the time."
00:36:09.73\00:36:11.67
You know, the Roman
governor Pontius Pilate
00:36:11.70\00:36:13.97
that was kind of
watching over the final decision
00:36:14.00\00:36:18.04
and court scene
that was taking place
00:36:18.07\00:36:20.78
that early morning on Friday,
00:36:20.81\00:36:21.84
when Jesus was arrested
and about to be crucified.
00:36:21.88\00:36:24.78
And Pilate was frustrated
with Jesus, and he says,
00:36:24.81\00:36:26.85
"Don't you know
that I have the power
00:36:26.88\00:36:28.22
both to release you,
00:36:28.25\00:36:29.28
and the power to
kill you, or crucify you?"
00:36:29.32\00:36:31.95
And Jesus basically
said, "No, you don't.
00:36:31.99\00:36:34.49
You think you do, but you don't.
00:36:34.52\00:36:38.26
I have the power
to both give my life
00:36:38.29\00:36:41.40
and I have the power to
both to take it up again."
00:36:41.43\00:36:44.30
And so it wasn't until
Jesus had given permission,
00:36:44.33\00:36:46.63
regardless of the
dragon's best efforts,
00:36:46.67\00:36:49.10
but then He was
resurrected and 40 days later,
00:36:49.14\00:36:51.27
He ascended back to
His Father in heaven.
00:36:51.31\00:36:53.91
And that's why we tell,
00:36:53.94\00:36:55.14
that tells us at
the end of verse 5,
00:36:55.18\00:36:57.85
"That the male child
00:36:57.88\00:36:58.85
who was to rule all
nations with a rod of iron
00:36:58.88\00:37:01.08
and child was caught up
to God into His throne."
00:37:01.12\00:37:03.05
This is post resurrection.
00:37:03.08\00:37:05.09
This is Jesus'
ascension to the right hand
00:37:05.12\00:37:08.12
of His Father in heaven itself.
00:37:08.16\00:37:12.36
And then the woman
flees into the wilderness
00:37:12.39\00:37:13.96
and she's fed
there for 1260 days.
00:37:14.00\00:37:16.26
Now in Bible prophecy
00:37:16.30\00:37:17.47
and only in
symbolic Bible prophecy
00:37:17.50\00:37:20.40
as Ezekiel 4:8, gives us strong,
00:37:20.44\00:37:23.51
clear evidence to
be able to apply a day
00:37:23.54\00:37:27.38
to symbolize a literal year.
00:37:27.41\00:37:29.84
And so we have
1260 literal years,
00:37:29.88\00:37:32.88
in which the
woman the Church of God,
00:37:32.91\00:37:35.15
the Christian
Church is fleeing to,
00:37:35.18\00:37:37.52
and is fed for 1260 years.
00:37:37.55\00:37:39.02
We're going to come back
later if we have time for that
00:37:39.05\00:37:41.29
as we continue on.
00:37:41.32\00:37:43.63
But let's go to
verses 9 or 7-9 as we see
00:37:43.66\00:37:47.96
how far we can get here today.
00:37:47.96\00:37:49.76
Okay, Revelation 12:7-9,
00:37:49.80\00:37:55.04
and we have
another volunteer today.
00:37:55.07\00:37:56.57
"And war broke out in
heaven: Michael and his angels
00:37:56.60\00:38:00.38
fought with the dragon,
00:38:00.41\00:38:01.44
and the dragon
and his angels fought,
00:38:01.48\00:38:03.35
but they did not prevail,
nor was a place found for them
00:38:03.38\00:38:07.82
in heaven any longer.
00:38:07.85\00:38:09.45
So the great
dragon was cast out,
00:38:09.48\00:38:13.09
that serpent of old,
00:38:13.12\00:38:14.99
called the Devil and Satan,
who deceives the whole world,
00:38:15.02\00:38:19.43
he was cast to the earth,
00:38:19.46\00:38:20.83
and his angels
were cast out with him."
00:38:20.86\00:38:24.07
But you'd be surprised
00:38:24.10\00:38:25.10
at how many
traditional Christians,
00:38:25.13\00:38:26.53
church going
Christians are surprised
00:38:26.57\00:38:28.60
when they're first exposed
to this particular passage.
00:38:28.64\00:38:31.51
War broke out in
heaven, you mean sin began
00:38:31.54\00:38:34.24
not here on earth,
00:38:34.28\00:38:35.28
it didn't begin with the serpent
00:38:35.31\00:38:36.38
in the Garden of Eden,
00:38:36.41\00:38:37.51
it actually began in the
Most Holy central headquarters
00:38:37.55\00:38:40.32
of all the universe,
00:38:40.35\00:38:41.42
where the God of
gods is existing,
00:38:41.45\00:38:43.15
where the Lord of lords
and the King of kings exists.
00:38:43.18\00:38:47.06
It's amazing how shocking
it can be to so many of us.
00:38:47.09\00:38:49.39
To me, it was mind blowing.
00:38:49.42\00:38:50.76
I've been a Christian
for a number of years,
00:38:50.79\00:38:52.29
never heard of such a concept,
00:38:52.33\00:38:54.36
and yet it very clearly tells us
00:38:54.40\00:38:55.80
hear that sin
didn't begin here on earth,
00:38:55.83\00:38:57.37
It didn't begin in
the Garden of Eden,
00:38:57.40\00:38:58.60
it began in heaven itself.
00:38:58.63\00:39:01.77
And, of course, as we
looked at our original passages
00:39:01.80\00:39:03.87
in Isaiah and Ezekiel,
00:39:03.91\00:39:05.74
it very clearly
revealed to us that there,
00:39:05.77\00:39:07.91
it was there that sin conceived
00:39:07.94\00:39:09.64
in the heart of Lucifer himself.
00:39:09.68\00:39:11.68
It was there that
the great rebellion began
00:39:11.71\00:39:13.92
and so the war that's been
described here is not AK-47,
00:39:13.95\00:39:16.95
it's not M16, it's
not talking about tanks,
00:39:16.99\00:39:19.85
and heat seeking missiles.
00:39:19.89\00:39:21.52
No, it's talking about
the warfare of the heart.
00:39:21.56\00:39:25.66
It's talking
about the war for truth.
00:39:25.69\00:39:27.23
It's talking about
truth against error.
00:39:27.23\00:39:29.00
It's the war of
darkness against light,
00:39:29.03\00:39:31.10
it's the war of
love against hate,
00:39:31.13\00:39:33.20
it's this great war
between light and darkness
00:39:33.23\00:39:36.67
that is being described here.
00:39:36.71\00:39:38.14
And we have two
sides and two armies.
00:39:38.17\00:39:39.74
The first general is
Michael and his angels,
00:39:39.77\00:39:41.98
his army of angels.
00:39:42.01\00:39:43.21
And then we have the
dragon and the third of heaven
00:39:43.24\00:39:45.45
becomes his army
in heaven as well.
00:39:45.48\00:39:49.65
Now who is Michael?
00:39:49.68\00:39:52.69
Well, friends, there is
only two great figures in heaven
00:39:52.72\00:39:54.96
that are at war,
00:39:54.99\00:39:56.02
they're described throughout
the rest of Revelation
00:39:56.06\00:39:57.56
as well as through scriptures
00:39:57.59\00:39:58.66
and that is the devil
and Christ, God Himself.
00:39:58.69\00:40:04.00
And so this can be
another than Christ Himself.
00:40:04.03\00:40:06.50
Now some of us can get
very uncomfortable with that
00:40:06.53\00:40:08.54
as Christians, we
say, "Well, wait a minute.
00:40:08.57\00:40:10.11
Have you ever read Jude,
the book just before Revelation
00:40:10.14\00:40:12.54
and verse 6, it tells us
00:40:12.57\00:40:13.68
that Michael is
called Michael the archangel.
00:40:13.71\00:40:17.38
Christ is not an angel,
00:40:17.41\00:40:18.51
He's the Son of
God, He's just as...
00:40:18.55\00:40:20.08
He's equal with the Father.
00:40:20.12\00:40:21.98
He is, He's eternally
divine, and that's true.
00:40:22.02\00:40:26.39
But has God contradicted Himself
00:40:26.42\00:40:27.89
when He refers to Michael
as an archangel to Christ,
00:40:27.92\00:40:31.59
as an archangel.
00:40:31.63\00:40:32.89
Well, not
necessarily, not necessarily.
00:40:32.93\00:40:36.10
Now, the word angel is
actually the Greek word
00:40:36.13\00:40:39.43
for it is angelos.
00:40:39.47\00:40:41.47
And angelos is a Greek word
00:40:41.50\00:40:42.67
that also refers
to John the Baptist.
00:40:42.70\00:40:44.41
Now we were...
00:40:44.44\00:40:45.47
Now, we translated
to him as a messenger.
00:40:45.51\00:40:48.74
And that's what the
Greek word angelos actually,
00:40:48.78\00:40:50.68
literally means, messenger.
00:40:50.71\00:40:53.05
And so John the
Baptist is also an angelos
00:40:53.08\00:40:54.92
according to Scripture.
00:40:54.95\00:40:56.58
And so angelos doesn't
mean that you're talking always,
00:40:56.62\00:40:59.05
most of the time it is,
00:40:59.09\00:41:00.49
but not always as the scriptures
00:41:00.52\00:41:01.96
and the prophets
talking about a created heavenly
00:41:01.99\00:41:05.16
being that we
typically refer to as an angel.
00:41:05.19\00:41:10.07
In 1 Thessalonians, one
of my favorite passages,
00:41:10.10\00:41:12.07
Chapter 4:16, we find here
00:41:12.10\00:41:13.97
that it's clearly speaking
of Christ coming in glory
00:41:14.00\00:41:16.74
when He returns the
second time as He had promised.
00:41:16.77\00:41:19.51
And when He comes
on that powerful day,
00:41:19.54\00:41:21.18
it says that He shouts
with the voice of an...
00:41:21.21\00:41:24.41
With the voice of an archangel.
00:41:24.45\00:41:26.25
And so we hear, we find
that Jesus is very clearly
00:41:26.28\00:41:28.65
also referred to
here as an archangel.
00:41:28.68\00:41:31.12
Archangel means that
He's the overarching power
00:41:31.15\00:41:34.99
over all the angels.
00:41:35.02\00:41:36.06
He is the king of the angels.
00:41:36.09\00:41:37.76
He's the ultimate
leader of the angels
00:41:37.79\00:41:39.63
that are also created,
even though He Himself is not.
00:41:39.66\00:41:42.70
In Exodus 3:2-6, we find
that Moses is talking to God
00:41:42.73\00:41:47.94
and having this experience
in conversation with God,
00:41:47.97\00:41:50.47
as God is speaking
through a burning bush.
00:41:50.51\00:41:53.58
But as you read that
particular scripture in verse 3
00:41:53.61\00:41:55.78
in particular describes
more than just a burning bush,
00:41:55.81\00:41:58.21
it says that the Lord,
00:41:58.25\00:41:59.35
the angel of the Lord appeared
to him in a burning bush.
00:41:59.38\00:42:04.22
And if you read the New
King James in particular,
00:42:04.25\00:42:06.29
you'll see that the translators
put capital A, why is that?
00:42:06.32\00:42:09.56
All the other
times they put angel,
00:42:09.59\00:42:10.83
it's always small A.
00:42:10.86\00:42:11.89
Why?
00:42:11.93\00:42:13.09
Because they did the
same thing for that angel,
00:42:13.13\00:42:14.36
as they do for
every reference to Christ,
00:42:14.40\00:42:15.93
they put a capital
in honor of the fact
00:42:15.96\00:42:17.70
that this was Christ Himself.
00:42:17.73\00:42:21.60
And so Christ here is
referred to an Angel of the Lord
00:42:21.64\00:42:23.87
appearing to in a burning bush.
00:42:23.91\00:42:25.27
That's why God said,
00:42:25.31\00:42:26.41
"Take off your
sandals for the place
00:42:26.44\00:42:27.64
which you stand is holy ground."
00:42:27.68\00:42:30.95
And then later
on, He says to Moses
00:42:30.98\00:42:32.48
in the same
conversation, I am God.
00:42:32.51\00:42:35.32
And then at the end it
says, Moses hid his face,
00:42:35.35\00:42:37.52
he was afraid to look upon
God, this was the angel of God.
00:42:37.55\00:42:42.09
This was God Himself.
00:42:42.12\00:42:43.96
In Judges Chapter 13,
we find the same thing.
00:42:43.99\00:42:46.76
We find here that
Moses, his mom and dad
00:42:46.80\00:42:48.76
both have an encounter
with an Angel of the Lord,
00:42:48.80\00:42:50.77
again capital A.
00:42:50.80\00:42:52.23
Why?
00:42:52.27\00:42:53.30
Because as they came
to the final conclusion
00:42:53.34\00:42:54.97
of that second epiphany,
that second experience,
00:42:55.00\00:42:58.71
and exposure to this
Angel of the Lord, Manoah,
00:42:58.74\00:43:01.48
the dad of Samson is
on record of concluding
00:43:01.51\00:43:04.95
that they were
seeing God Himself.
00:43:04.98\00:43:09.85
And so Christ had appeared
both to the mom and dad.
00:43:09.88\00:43:14.46
And so Michael and the...
00:43:14.49\00:43:16.22
And his angels
fought with the dragon,
00:43:16.26\00:43:18.56
and the dragon
and his angels fought.
00:43:18.59\00:43:20.46
And the war that began in heaven
00:43:20.50\00:43:21.90
when Lucifer
rebelled against God
00:43:21.93\00:43:23.67
and his government
was now fully completed,
00:43:23.70\00:43:26.13
after heaven had
witness Satan lead the way
00:43:26.17\00:43:29.47
and killing the Son of
God is described prophetically
00:43:29.50\00:43:32.07
in the first verses
of the same chapter.
00:43:32.11\00:43:34.81
It was through King Herod
that he tried to kill Him,
00:43:34.84\00:43:36.95
but he eventually
succeeded in killing Him
00:43:36.98\00:43:39.35
by having Him
crucified on the cross.
00:43:39.38\00:43:41.25
It was there that
Satan's any pretense
00:43:41.28\00:43:43.82
that was still
remaining in heaven
00:43:43.85\00:43:45.55
and the angels of
heaven in concerned to Satan,
00:43:45.59\00:43:47.72
who and who he was,
00:43:47.76\00:43:49.02
was fully and completely
removed at that point.
00:43:49.06\00:43:52.03
And all of heaven saw him
for who he truly had become.
00:43:52.06\00:43:57.30
And so Satan and
the fallen angels
00:43:57.33\00:43:59.07
were now permanently
imprisoned here on earth
00:43:59.10\00:44:01.44
until the final
judgment is delivered.
00:44:01.47\00:44:03.14
They were cast out
of heaven previous,
00:44:03.17\00:44:04.87
but now they had no
more access to heaven
00:44:04.91\00:44:06.71
even as the Book
of Job had revealed,
00:44:06.74\00:44:08.68
that he had some limited
access to the councils of God.
00:44:08.71\00:44:12.01
But now they are permanently
imprisoned here on this planet
00:44:12.05\00:44:15.35
ever since the crucifixion
and ascension of Jesus Christ.
00:44:15.38\00:44:19.19
And by the way,
00:44:21.92\00:44:22.99
they're
imprisoned here until when?
00:44:23.02\00:44:26.06
Until the second coming of
Christ, and then after that,
00:44:26.09\00:44:29.33
a 1000 years takes place,
00:44:29.36\00:44:31.50
and then the final judgment
takes place upon both Lucifer,
00:44:31.53\00:44:34.80
the Satan, the Devil
and all of his angels,
00:44:34.84\00:44:37.17
also called demons.
00:44:37.21\00:44:38.97
Now, does this
harmonize in any way
00:44:39.01\00:44:40.91
with the traditional
understanding of hell?
00:44:40.94\00:44:43.75
Because the traditional
understanding of hell tells me
00:44:43.78\00:44:45.91
that hell is somewhere else,
another boat somewhere else
00:44:45.95\00:44:48.38
on the planet in
which Satan is in charge of.
00:44:48.42\00:44:51.29
He and his demons are
stoking the fires there,
00:44:51.32\00:44:54.26
as they are
torturing for all of eternity,
00:44:54.29\00:44:56.73
the lost that are found
there that have already died
00:44:56.76\00:44:59.19
and gone to hell.
00:44:59.23\00:45:01.13
Does this harmonize
with that particular
00:45:01.16\00:45:04.47
traditional understanding?
00:45:04.50\00:45:06.37
It doesn't, does it?
00:45:06.40\00:45:08.07
It doesn't
harmonize at all. Why?
00:45:08.10\00:45:09.60
Because there are
many, many misunderstandings
00:45:09.64\00:45:11.77
in concern to hell.
00:45:11.81\00:45:13.51
Hell is not something
that's burning right now.
00:45:13.54\00:45:15.18
Satan is not in
another place called hell.
00:45:15.21\00:45:16.75
He is right here,
and he's very busy.
00:45:16.78\00:45:19.71
He's very busy
deceiving the nations,
00:45:19.75\00:45:21.35
as Revelation has
just told us in the passage
00:45:21.38\00:45:23.32
that we just read.
00:45:23.35\00:45:25.42
By the way, if you'd like
some more information on hell,
00:45:25.45\00:45:27.59
and this is something that
you'd like to study further.
00:45:27.62\00:45:29.82
You go to one of my
favorite websites Amazing Facts,
00:45:29.86\00:45:32.13
it's called helltruth.com.
00:45:32.16\00:45:34.10
That's hell
truth all one word.com
00:45:34.10\00:45:37.53
and you can find
yourself doing a very extensive
00:45:37.57\00:45:39.93
well done study
00:45:39.97\00:45:41.10
on that
particular biblical study.
00:45:41.14\00:45:45.14
Now notice in the same passage
that we read here in verses 7-9
00:45:45.17\00:45:48.54
that it tells us that
00:45:48.58\00:45:49.61
the dragon
deceives the whole world,
00:45:49.64\00:45:52.38
and he uses the same
technique to bring us down
00:45:52.41\00:45:55.98
as he did with a third
of the angels in heaven.
00:45:56.02\00:45:57.82
Just as the tail deceived
00:45:57.85\00:45:59.25
and lied to a
third of the angels,
00:45:59.29\00:46:00.89
he also is lying to you and me.
00:46:00.92\00:46:02.99
He's lying to the
nations right now.
00:46:03.02\00:46:05.56
And sadly,
Revelation 13 onwards tells us
00:46:05.59\00:46:07.96
that there was
great global success
00:46:07.96\00:46:10.17
and concern to this
particular deception.
00:46:10.20\00:46:15.10
Well, as we continue
on through the rest here,
00:46:15.14\00:46:16.97
we're just going to look
at some of the highlights
00:46:17.01\00:46:18.87
because I can see
that it's time to wrap up
00:46:18.91\00:46:20.61
our study here today.
00:46:20.64\00:46:22.31
And I knew as I
went through this
00:46:22.34\00:46:23.88
that we weren't going
to get all the way through.
00:46:23.91\00:46:26.48
But, friends, as we
read verses 10, 11 and 12,
00:46:26.51\00:46:29.55
we find here that
there's a great party
00:46:29.58\00:46:31.55
that's taking place in heaven.
00:46:31.59\00:46:32.89
All of heaven is
rejoicing because now Satan
00:46:32.92\00:46:35.16
and his angels
have no more access,
00:46:35.19\00:46:36.76
they have no more to do
with the great controversy
00:46:36.79\00:46:39.33
that had first begun in heaven.
00:46:39.36\00:46:40.96
And now they are permanently
trapped on the earth.
00:46:41.00\00:46:44.63
In verse 12, it says,
00:46:44.67\00:46:45.73
"But woe to the inhabitants
of the earth and the sea,
00:46:45.77\00:46:47.70
for the devil is come
down having great wrath,
00:46:47.74\00:46:49.67
because he knows
that he has a short time."
00:46:49.70\00:46:54.08
And then the woman
goes into the wilderness
00:46:54.11\00:46:55.84
for 1260 years
representing that great power,
00:46:55.88\00:46:59.91
and time in Europe
where the established
00:46:59.95\00:47:02.55
Roman Catholic Church of Europe
00:47:02.58\00:47:04.55
had found itself persecuting
00:47:04.59\00:47:06.05
those who are
not with its program,
00:47:06.09\00:47:07.46
those who wanted to follow
00:47:07.49\00:47:08.49
the Bible and the
Gospel of Jesus Christ.
00:47:08.52\00:47:10.89
And we find that they
went for religious liberty,
00:47:10.93\00:47:13.46
and they found this great land
00:47:13.50\00:47:14.66
that we're
studying here right now,
00:47:14.73\00:47:16.13
the reason that
we're sitting here.
00:47:16.16\00:47:17.77
One of the greatest
and most motivating reasons
00:47:17.80\00:47:19.83
that we're sitting here,
00:47:19.87\00:47:20.90
and we discovered this
particular land from Europe
00:47:20.94\00:47:23.17
is because we are
trying to find relief
00:47:23.20\00:47:25.77
from the great
religious persecutions
00:47:25.81\00:47:27.58
that were taking place
by the established church
00:47:27.61\00:47:29.81
in the Middle Ages.
00:47:29.84\00:47:30.95
And that's what the 1260
year period is referring to.
00:47:30.98\00:47:34.15
She was fed by the two witnesses
00:47:34.18\00:47:35.98
of Revelation Chapter 11,
00:47:36.02\00:47:37.42
the two prophets
that represent the Old
00:47:37.45\00:47:39.25
and the New
Testament, the scriptures
00:47:39.29\00:47:40.56
that were clothed in
sackcloth for 1260 years,
00:47:40.59\00:47:43.83
while the established church
was burying the scriptures
00:47:43.86\00:47:46.06
deeper and deeper,
00:47:46.09\00:47:47.66
and burying it in all
kinds of manmade traditions
00:47:47.73\00:47:50.03
that were taking its place.
00:47:50.07\00:47:52.00
But she was fed, the
faithful still had access
00:47:52.03\00:47:55.14
to the Word of God.
00:47:55.17\00:47:56.74
And that's the
great news, that despite
00:47:56.77\00:47:58.81
all the best
efforts of the dragon
00:47:58.84\00:48:00.58
to be able to
usurp the Kingdom of God,
00:48:00.61\00:48:04.38
to be able to
destroy God's people
00:48:04.41\00:48:06.25
in the Word of God,
00:48:06.28\00:48:07.35
God continues to
bring victory to His Word,
00:48:07.38\00:48:10.29
does He not?
00:48:10.32\00:48:11.29
He brings victory to
you and I, when we read it.
00:48:11.32\00:48:14.22
Indeed we find that
the serpent, it's...
00:48:14.26\00:48:17.13
In verse 15, it says,
00:48:17.16\00:48:18.33
"So the serpent
spewed water out of his mouth
00:48:18.36\00:48:19.93
like a flood after the woman,
00:48:19.96\00:48:22.03
that he might cause her
00:48:22.06\00:48:23.10
to be carried
away by the flood."
00:48:23.13\00:48:24.60
In Revelation
17:5, it clearly tells us
00:48:24.63\00:48:27.57
that water
represents peoples, populations.
00:48:27.60\00:48:30.64
And so God gave us relief
00:48:30.67\00:48:31.97
as we came over
to North America,
00:48:32.01\00:48:33.64
where there was almost
no, in compared to Europe
00:48:33.68\00:48:36.75
it was essentially unoccupied.
00:48:36.78\00:48:41.05
There is tons
of open land for us
00:48:41.08\00:48:43.22
to be able to spread
out and find some relief
00:48:43.25\00:48:45.49
of the great persecutions
that were taking place.
00:48:45.52\00:48:49.49
And then finally
verse 17, it says,
00:48:49.52\00:48:51.26
"The dragon was
enraged with a woman
00:48:51.29\00:48:53.50
and he went to make war
00:48:53.53\00:48:54.73
with the rest of her offspring
00:48:54.76\00:48:55.90
who keep the commandments of God
00:48:55.93\00:48:57.90
and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ."
00:48:57.93\00:49:01.70
God brings us all the way
00:49:01.74\00:49:03.37
to the very last
years of earth's history,
00:49:03.41\00:49:05.24
and then verse 17,
by the way, is unpacked
00:49:05.27\00:49:07.64
from Chapter 13 onward
right to the end of the book.
00:49:07.68\00:49:11.31
And so again, that's what makes
Revelation such a transitional,
00:49:11.35\00:49:14.05
pivotal, important
chapter for you and I.
00:49:14.08\00:49:16.82
And the devil is enraged
with the rest of her offspring,
00:49:16.85\00:49:22.26
the remnant of
the original church,
00:49:22.29\00:49:25.39
the church of the
apostles that followed
00:49:25.43\00:49:27.46
the pure
teachings of the apostles,
00:49:27.50\00:49:29.10
and rejected all tradition
00:49:29.13\00:49:30.57
that
contradicted the Word of God.
00:49:30.60\00:49:32.37
Friends, that's
where we are today.
00:49:35.14\00:49:37.94
The devil is making war
with the rest of our offspring
00:49:37.97\00:49:40.08
who keep the
commandments of God,
00:49:40.11\00:49:41.41
all 10 of the commandments.
00:49:41.44\00:49:43.18
And by the way,
the fourth commandment
00:49:43.21\00:49:44.41
which is coming
to light for more.
00:49:44.45\00:49:45.95
Thousands of
Christians around the world,
00:49:45.98\00:49:47.75
hundreds across this
nation just today alone
00:49:47.78\00:49:50.05
have come to
understand the truth
00:49:50.09\00:49:51.49
of the fourth commandment.
00:49:51.52\00:49:53.15
And they have decided to
keep the fourth commandment.
00:49:53.19\00:49:55.12
Right now there are
hundreds across America
00:49:55.16\00:49:57.39
that are making
that decision today,
00:49:57.43\00:49:58.79
and are going to begin
00:49:58.83\00:49:59.86
to make the
Sabbath their holy day,
00:49:59.89\00:50:01.83
their part of their life,
00:50:01.86\00:50:03.37
because they have come
to see the truth as it is.
00:50:03.40\00:50:05.90
The great
commandment of worship,
00:50:05.93\00:50:07.64
these are the people that
keep the commandments of God
00:50:07.67\00:50:09.90
and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
00:50:09.94\00:50:12.14
The Spirit of Prophecy
will once again be manifested,
00:50:12.17\00:50:14.88
it tells us in Revelation 19:10
00:50:14.91\00:50:17.78
that the
testimony of Jesus Christ
00:50:17.81\00:50:19.58
is a Spirit of Prophecy,
00:50:19.61\00:50:21.62
the same great
Spirit of Prophecy
00:50:21.65\00:50:23.02
that manifested itself
through several individuals,
00:50:23.05\00:50:25.25
some Bible writers,
some not Bible writers.
00:50:25.29\00:50:27.86
In the days of the
Acts, of the days of Acts,
00:50:27.89\00:50:30.03
in the days of the apostles,
00:50:30.06\00:50:31.33
God said that
would resurge again,
00:50:31.36\00:50:32.93
and I believe that
00:50:32.96\00:50:34.00
we have already
started to experience that
00:50:34.00\00:50:35.06
through one individual by
the name of Ellen G. White.
00:50:35.10\00:50:38.07
As I've applied the
great test of the prophet
00:50:38.10\00:50:40.34
as John tells us in
1 John, he tells us,
00:50:40.37\00:50:42.94
"Do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to see
00:50:42.97\00:50:45.87
whether they are true."
00:50:45.91\00:50:47.04
And, friends, I have tested
00:50:47.08\00:50:48.41
the claim to Ellen White's
genuine Spirit of Prophecy gift
00:50:48.44\00:50:54.38
and, friend, she
passes every single test,
00:50:54.42\00:50:56.95
and I've been tremendously
blessed in these churches
00:50:56.99\00:50:59.55
around the world
and in many nations,
00:50:59.59\00:51:01.52
because I believe God
has manifested that gift
00:51:01.56\00:51:03.89
even as He had
prophesied, it would take place.
00:51:03.93\00:51:07.30
I apologize to those of you
00:51:07.36\00:51:08.70
who are new to
this particular study
00:51:08.73\00:51:10.53
and I kind of
opened up a can of worms
00:51:10.57\00:51:12.27
and a number of things
00:51:12.30\00:51:13.37
that perhaps you've
never studied before,
00:51:13.40\00:51:15.57
and so I pray that this
00:51:15.60\00:51:17.17
will not only
start to open your eyes,
00:51:17.21\00:51:18.47
but that you'll be
motivated to dig into it
00:51:18.51\00:51:21.18
and to find
yourself at amazingfacts.org.
00:51:21.21\00:51:23.88
And you can find all
kinds of extra information
00:51:23.91\00:51:26.08
on this particular subject,
and continue to understand
00:51:26.11\00:51:29.35
these great and
important prophecies.
00:51:29.38\00:51:30.95
God bless you.
00:51:30.99\00:51:32.02
We're so glad that you
came to join us here today,
00:51:32.05\00:51:33.56
and we look forward
to seeing you next week.
00:51:33.59\00:51:35.42
Don't forget to request
00:51:38.39\00:51:39.43
today's life
changing free resource.
00:51:39.46\00:51:41.60
Not only can you receive
this free gift in the mail,
00:51:41.63\00:51:44.03
you can download a digital copy
00:51:44.07\00:51:45.50
straight to your
computer or mobile device.
00:51:45.53\00:51:47.77
To get your digital
copy of today's free gift,
00:51:47.80\00:51:50.51
simply text the
keyword on your screen to 40544
00:51:50.54\00:51:54.78
or visit the web
address shown on your screen.
00:51:54.81\00:51:57.45
And be sure to select
the digital download option
00:51:57.48\00:51:59.91
on the request page.
00:51:59.95\00:52:01.22
It's now easier than ever
for you to study God's Word
00:52:01.25\00:52:04.52
with Amazing Facts
wherever and whenever you want,
00:52:04.55\00:52:07.69
and most important,
to share it with others.
00:52:07.72\00:52:10.63
We're here on
the beautiful coast
00:52:21.87\00:52:23.71
of the island of Puerto Rico.
00:52:23.74\00:52:25.47
And if you were to travel east
about 2000 miles, of course,
00:52:25.51\00:52:28.78
you would be out in
the middle of the ocean.
00:52:28.81\00:52:30.55
But you'd also be in
the middle of a mystical sea
00:52:30.58\00:52:33.05
called the Sargasso Sea.
00:52:33.08\00:52:34.98
It gets its name
00:52:35.02\00:52:36.15
because of this
common brown seaweed
00:52:36.18\00:52:39.29
that can be found
floating in vast mass.
00:52:39.32\00:52:42.36
The area of the Sargasso
Sea is about 700 miles wide
00:52:42.39\00:52:46.53
and 2000 miles long.
00:52:46.56\00:52:48.70
Now the seaweed
itself is fascinating stuff.
00:52:48.73\00:52:51.53
It was first
observed and called Gulfweed
00:52:51.57\00:52:53.60
by Christopher Columbus.
00:52:53.64\00:52:55.20
It gets the name
Sargon from the Portuguese.
00:52:55.24\00:52:57.47
Some people use it
as herbal remedies.
00:52:57.51\00:52:59.61
But out in the
middle of the Sargasso Sea,
00:52:59.64\00:53:02.01
the water is some of
the bluest in the world.
00:53:02.04\00:53:04.55
It's there you can see
200 feet deep in places.
00:53:04.58\00:53:08.15
It also has a great
biodiversity and ecosystem
00:53:08.18\00:53:10.99
that surrounds the Sargasso Sea.
00:53:11.02\00:53:13.36
For years, scientists
wondered where the American
00:53:13.39\00:53:15.82
and the Atlantic
eels were breeding.
00:53:15.86\00:53:17.99
They knew the adult
eel swam down the rivers
00:53:18.03\00:53:20.40
out into the Atlantic,
00:53:20.43\00:53:21.46
but they never
could find a place
00:53:21.50\00:53:22.80
where they reproduced.
00:53:22.83\00:53:24.00
Finally, they discovered it
00:53:24.03\00:53:25.57
was out in the
middle of the Sargasso Sea.
00:53:25.60\00:53:28.04
So it's a fascinating place.
00:53:28.07\00:53:29.77
But if you are
an ancient sailor,
00:53:29.80\00:53:31.34
you did not want
to get stuck there.
00:53:31.37\00:53:35.94
Being caught in the
doldrums was extremely difficult
00:53:35.98\00:53:39.25
for the ancient sailors.
00:53:39.28\00:53:40.78
Of course, their boats
were driven by wind and sail,
00:53:40.82\00:53:43.49
and they'd be caught in
the vast mass of the seaweed
00:53:43.52\00:53:46.32
that would wrap
around the rudder,
00:53:46.35\00:53:47.92
barnacles would begin to grow,
it's an area that is notorious
00:53:47.96\00:53:51.19
for light and baffling winds,
and so they'd make no progress.
00:53:51.23\00:53:55.06
They get stuck.
00:53:55.10\00:53:56.26
The men would become
extremely dispirited.
00:53:56.30\00:53:58.83
Sometimes violence and
even insanity would break out
00:53:58.87\00:54:01.97
as people were
trapped in the doldrums.
00:54:02.00\00:54:05.04
But, friends, perhaps
sometimes you felt that
00:54:05.07\00:54:07.11
you're trapped in the doldrums.
00:54:07.14\00:54:08.91
You've gone through
episodes of depression.
00:54:08.94\00:54:11.11
You feel like
you're going in circles,
00:54:11.15\00:54:12.81
life seems stifling.
00:54:12.85\00:54:14.62
You know, the
Bible offers good news.
00:54:14.65\00:54:16.28
There is a way out.
00:54:16.32\00:54:17.85
Bible talks about
a famous character
00:54:17.89\00:54:20.16
that was trapped in
a cycle of depression.
00:54:20.19\00:54:22.46
He was low as you could be.
00:54:22.49\00:54:24.43
Matter of fact,
he even had seaweed
00:54:24.46\00:54:25.79
wrapped around his head.
00:54:25.83\00:54:27.20
His name was Jonah.
00:54:27.23\00:54:28.70
But God gave
him a way of escape.
00:54:28.73\00:54:31.20
In Jonah 2:3-7, we read,
00:54:31.23\00:54:34.94
"For you cast
me into the depths,
00:54:34.97\00:54:36.91
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me,
00:54:36.94\00:54:40.58
all of Your billows and
Your waves passed over me.
00:54:40.61\00:54:43.81
Then I said, 'I have
been cast out of your sight,
00:54:43.85\00:54:47.02
yet I will look again
towards Your holy temple.'
00:54:47.05\00:54:49.58
The waters
surrounded me, even to my soul,
00:54:49.62\00:54:52.52
the deep closed around me,
00:54:52.55\00:54:54.29
weeds were
wrapped around my head.
00:54:54.32\00:54:56.56
I went down to the
moorings of the mountains,
00:54:56.59\00:54:59.33
the earth with its bars
closed behind me forever,
00:54:59.36\00:55:02.83
yet you brought my
life up from the pit.
00:55:02.86\00:55:05.53
O Lord, my God.
00:55:05.57\00:55:07.14
'When my soul fainted
within me, I remember the Lord,
00:55:07.17\00:55:10.71
and my prayer went up to
You, into Your holy temple.' "
00:55:10.74\00:55:14.71
You know, friends,
the way that Jonah got out
00:55:14.74\00:55:16.58
of his
discouraging circumstance,
00:55:16.61\00:55:18.58
he turned to God and he prayed.
00:55:18.61\00:55:20.62
And if God could
hear Jonah's prayers,
00:55:20.65\00:55:22.48
just think about it.
00:55:22.52\00:55:23.62
He was as far away from
God as anybody could be.
00:55:23.65\00:55:26.05
He was in the
belly of a sea monster
00:55:26.09\00:55:27.76
in the bottom of
the ocean in the dark.
00:55:27.79\00:55:29.79
Yet he turned to God
and God heard his prayer.
00:55:29.82\00:55:32.63
You know, these ancient sailors,
00:55:32.66\00:55:33.86
when they were trapped
00:55:33.90\00:55:35.06
on the deck of a ship for weeks,
00:55:35.10\00:55:36.63
stuck in the
doldrums discouraged,
00:55:36.67\00:55:38.63
sometimes they would
have a prayer meeting,
00:55:38.67\00:55:40.44
and pray that God
would send a breeze
00:55:40.47\00:55:42.80
that would set them free,
and get their boats moving.
00:55:42.84\00:55:45.61
They turn to God in prayer
00:55:45.64\00:55:47.01
and often miracles would happen,
00:55:47.04\00:55:48.74
and the wind would
flutter in the sails,
00:55:48.78\00:55:50.51
and bring them out
of their seaweed prison.
00:55:50.55\00:55:53.42
Friends, maybe you have
been stuck in the doldrums.
00:55:53.45\00:55:56.15
Maybe you've been caught
in the cycle of depression.
00:55:56.18\00:55:58.85
If God can do it for Jonah,
00:55:58.89\00:56:00.29
if He can do it for
the ancient sailors,
00:56:00.32\00:56:01.86
He can do it for you.
00:56:01.89\00:56:02.99
Turn to the Lord in prayer.
00:56:03.02\00:56:04.49
Trust His Spirit to
blow through your soul
00:56:04.53\00:56:07.03
and to set you free.
00:56:07.10\00:56:08.46
"How many of you wish
you could get a new start?
00:57:12.46\00:57:14.30
I'd like to live my life
over knowing what I know now.
00:57:14.30\00:57:16.56
I don't want to start over
00:57:16.60\00:57:17.60
and just make old same mistakes.
00:57:17.63\00:57:19.13
I want to have my memories
00:57:19.17\00:57:20.37
so I don't make
the same mistakes.
00:57:20.40\00:57:22.50
But you do get a new beginning,
you become a new creature,
00:57:22.54\00:57:25.37
that feeling of all
your sins being washed away
00:57:25.41\00:57:27.64
because God promised us it.
00:57:27.68\00:57:29.01
Isn't that a
wonderful concept, friends?"
00:57:29.04\00:57:31.08
"I was thirsty,
00:57:31.11\00:57:34.65
and you gave me drink,
00:57:34.68\00:57:40.72
in as much as you did it
00:57:40.76\00:57:42.16
to one of the least
of these, my brethren,
00:57:42.19\00:57:45.73
you did it to me."
00:57:45.76\00:57:47.83
Did you know Amazing
Facts has a free Bible school
00:57:54.54\00:57:57.34
that you can do from the
comfort of your own home?
00:57:57.37\00:58:00.14
It includes 27 study lessons
00:58:00.18\00:58:02.28
to aid in your
study of God's Word.
00:58:02.31\00:58:04.48
Sign up today by
calling 1-844-215-7000.
00:58:04.51\00:58:08.98
That's 1-844-215-7000.
00:58:09.02\00:58:12.29