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00:35 We just want to welcome you to Sabbath School Study Hour,
00:40 whether you're around the world 00:42 or here locally at the Granite Bay Church, 00:44 we want to give you a hearty welcome with us today. 00:48 We are going to be going through the Book of Revelation 00:52 in our studies today, 00:54 and you can get one of these if you go online, 00:58 you can visit lesson.aftv.org 01:03 if you want to download a lesson. 01:05 But before we get into the lesson here, 01:08 we want to offer you a free gift 01:12 and the free gift is "Satan in Chains," 01:16 offer number 197. 01:20 And if you text "SH120" 01:26 to 40544, 01:31 you can also call 866-Study-More 01:36 or you can dial direct 01:38 and it's 01:40 866-788-3966. 01:46 We're again so glad you could join us today 01:49 and before we do, 01:51 let's bow our heads before we go into the study. 01:55 Our kind Heavenly Father, 01:57 as we are here today and we embark 01:59 on this wonderful Book of Revelation 02:02 that you've provided for us. 02:05 We just ask that You bless us as we study 02:08 through the pages today, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. 02:14 I'd like to welcome Pastor Shawn Brummund 02:17 as he is going to share this lesson today with us. 02:22 Thanks, Shawn. 02:24 Well, we want to welcome everybody. 02:25 It's a good morning to be able to come together 02:27 and to be able to study here 02:29 in the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church. 02:30 I'd like to invite you to open your Bibles 02:32 as we begin With our first passage 02:34 in the Book of Isaiah in Chapter 14, 02:36 and we're gonna begin with verse 12. 02:39 We're going to start in Isaiah 14:12, 02:42 as we start to introduce and start to unpack 02:45 one of the most important chapters that we can find 02:47 in all of the Book of Revelation 02:49 which is Chapter 12. 02:51 But before we turn to Chapter 12, 02:52 I want to look at two key passages here first today. 02:55 We have a lot to look at so we're just gonna move along 02:58 as quickly as we possibly can. 03:00 Isaiah 14:12, we read a very instrumental verse, 03:04 it says, "How you have fallen from heaven, 03:08 O Lucifer, son of the morning! 03:10 You are cut down to the ground, 03:12 and you have weakened the nations." 03:13 Now very quickly we discover as not only a Bible students, 03:17 but even if you've never been a Bible student, 03:19 you've never opened the Bible, you know, 03:21 immediately and accustomed to the name Lucifer. 03:23 Lucifer is another name that is referring to the devil 03:26 or Satan, the great enemy of God. 03:28 And so very quickly, we discovered 03:30 that God is now pulling back the veil, 03:34 and he's revealing not only the plight 03:35 of this ancient king in Babylon, 03:37 but he's also very clearly revealing the plight 03:40 and the original fall of Lucifer himself. 03:44 And so we continue on in verse 13. 03:48 In verse 13, it says, 03:49 "For you have said in your heart: 03:51 I will ascend into heaven, 03:54 I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, 03:57 I will also sit on the mount of the congregation 03:59 on the farthest sides of the north, 04:00 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, " 04:04 and then we come to the very climax of his fall, 04:07 he said, "I will be like the Most High." 04:11 And, friends, the Bible makes it very clear 04:12 throughout the scriptures 04:13 that the Most High is God Himself. 04:15 And so here we find Lucifer 04:17 at some point in heaven's history 04:19 and the history of the universe, 04:20 he decided that he was going to focus more on himself 04:24 than he was gonna focus on God and the other angels 04:26 in which he abided with in heaven. 04:28 And as a result of that, it tells us that sin 04:30 began to conceive in his heart. 04:32 It tells us that he began to develop an "I" problem 04:36 and he started to again focus upon himself. 04:40 And so very clearly again, we find that, 04:42 that God is revealing an intelligent 04:44 being a powerful enemy of God that was behind the plight, 04:48 behind the fall and the headspace 04:51 of this ancient king in Babylon. 04:54 Now, friends, I want to make it very clear 04:55 that there once was a time when every Baptist, 04:58 every Pentecostal, every Seventh-day Adventist, 05:00 every Presbyterian, every Lutheran, 05:03 every Methodist member of every church 05:06 across the different nations of Europe, 05:07 and across this nation 05:08 and many other nations of the world 05:10 clearly understood that this passage was revealing 05:13 the very plight and the fall of Lucifer himself in heaven. 05:17 And yet today, friends, 05:18 we find almost no one that knows about 05:20 this particular passage, 05:21 almost no one that is coming to it, 05:23 or even if they do come to it, are accepting it as revealing 05:26 the reality of this great enemy. 05:29 And yet, Revelation 12 focuses on this 05:31 more than any other passage that we can find 05:34 in the Book of Revelation. 05:36 I want to invite you to come to another passage, 05:37 it's very similar to this one, it's in Ezekiel, 05:40 and so if you goes to go two or... 05:44 It's actually three pages or three books ahead 05:46 because Jeremiah also wrote 05:48 the little Book of Lamentations. 05:51 So we're going to the Book of Ezekiel, 05:54 and we're gonna go to the 18th chapter 05:57 and as we go to the 18th Chapter, 05:58 again we find there is a prophecy 06:00 that God has given to the Prophet Ezekiel 06:02 concerning a contemporary king. 06:04 In this case, it is the king of an ancient city called Tyre. 06:11 And so, again Ezekiel Chapter 28, 06:13 and we're gonna pick it up with verse 2. 06:15 Now, Tyre is different than the tire 06:18 that we're accustomed to, which is T-I-R-E, 06:20 but it's T-Y-R-E, even though it's pronounced the same. 06:23 Tyre was a very powerful, prosperous, 06:26 very influential port city that was existing 06:29 on the Mediterranean shoreline 06:31 just north of the nation of Israel. 06:33 And God had a message for him, 06:35 regardless of the fact that he wasn't part of His nation. 06:37 It reveals that God is an international God, 06:39 it reveals that God's hand in concern, in guidance, 06:42 in providence is concerning every nation upon the planet. 06:46 And He had a message for the king of Tyre. 06:48 And as we come to this message, 06:50 we discover that not only is the king of Tyre 06:52 in a very dangerous headspace, 06:54 but again very clearly we discover 06:56 that there is another intelligent 06:57 being that is behind the king of Tyre, 07:00 that God is revealing as well. 07:02 Let's see if we can pick it up in verse 2. 07:04 It says, "Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 07:07 'Thus says the Lord God: 07:11 because your heart is lifted up, and you say, 07:14 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, 07:18 in the midst of the seas,' yet you are a man, 07:21 and not a god, though you set your heart 07:25 as the heart of a god.' " 07:27 What kind of headspace was the king in? 07:29 He was in a same headspace that we read 07:31 concerning that being that we read 07:32 in the concerning the king of Babylon 07:34 as well as Lucifer 07:36 who was behind that particular king 07:38 and that is that he began to believe 07:40 that he was God Himself. 07:43 And then we pick it up again in verse 11 07:45 of very same chapter, Ezekiel 28:11, it says, 07:48 "Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, 07:51 'Son of man, take up a lamentation 07:53 for the king of Tyre and say to him, 07:55 'Thus says the Lord God: 07:58 you were the seal of perfection, 08:00 full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 08:02 You were in Eden, the garden of God.' " 08:07 Now let's just hold the boat there for a minute. 08:09 Now, friends, we are talking about Ezekiel 08:11 talking to a contemporary king in a city called Tyre. 08:14 Again this was taking place around the date 500 BC. 08:18 Now the Garden of Eden had been destroyed 08:19 at least by the flood, which was at least 2000 years 08:22 before the king of Tyre's existence. 08:24 Was the Garden of Eden 08:26 existing during Tyre's existence? 08:29 No, not at all. 08:30 So again, very clearly God here is revealing 08:32 that He's beginning to pull back the veil, 08:34 He's beginning to reveal 08:35 that there is an intelligent influence 08:37 that has been leading this king 08:40 down a very dangerous path. 08:42 God is now speaking not about the king, 08:45 but He's talking about this great angelic being. 08:48 "You were in Eden, the garden of God. 08:50 Every precious stone was for your covering: 08:54 The sardius, the topaz, the diamond, the beryl, 08:56 the onyx, and jasper, the sapphire, the turquoise, 08:58 the emerald with gold. 09:00 The workmanship of your timbrels 09:01 and pipes was prepared for you 09:03 on the day that you were created." 09:07 All right, now was the king of Tyre created? 09:10 Well, essentially was in the fact that he received, 09:12 then was procreated by Adam and Eve 09:14 and they're great grandchildren, 09:15 great, great, great, great, great, great, all the way down 09:17 until finally king of Tyre's parents conceived and had him. 09:20 And so yes, in a sense, he is very well to create it, 09:23 but this is talking about somebody 09:25 that was created without birth. 09:26 This is talking about an angelic being 09:29 that does not have a mother 09:30 but does have a heavenly Father. 09:32 In verse 14, it says, 09:34 "You were the anointed cherub who covers..." 09:38 Now this is the golden revelation 09:40 in concern to who God is speaking of. 09:43 We cannot make no mistake about it. 09:44 God is speaking about an angelic being 09:46 at this point and not an earthly king, 09:49 not a human being because He calls him 09:51 the anointed cherub who covers. 09:56 Now what is a cherub? 09:57 As it turns out, the Bible tells us in early chapters 10:00 through the very first author of the Bible, 10:02 the Prophet Moses, 10:03 that indeed a cherub was one of the most exalted, 10:06 positioned, angelic, created beings 10:09 that you can find in all of heaven. 10:11 In fact, for him not only to be called the cherub, 10:13 but the anointed cherub 10:14 who covers is reflecting a very important verse 10:18 in passage in Exodus 25:22. 10:21 In Exodus 25:22, we speak, we hear... 10:27 Sorry, we read about the fact that Moses 10:30 was instructed by God to develop 10:32 and create a sanctuary, an earthly temple. 10:35 And in that particular sanctuary, 10:37 in the very most holy inner room, 10:39 there was the ark of God, 10:40 the golden covered box that God had laid the very law, 10:45 have His government inside. 10:47 He put on top of it a golden covered lid 10:49 that He calls the mercy seat and then above that 10:51 was the Shekinah glory of God Himself 10:54 present within that inner room. 10:56 And, friends, in heaven, it tells us that 10:58 that particular lid also 11:00 what God Has instructed God's people, 11:02 the Israelite to take two carved 11:05 and molded golden statues that were called 11:08 the anointed cherubs who cover. 11:12 And so, friends, we have here the mercy seat, 11:14 we have the throne of God represented, 11:16 the presence of God Himself, and then on the right hand 11:19 and on the left hand of God, 11:20 we also find these two great exalted cherubim, 11:23 these great exalted angels. 11:25 And so this particular verse that we're reading 11:28 in Ezekiel Chapter 28 11:29 is revealing crystal clear for you and I, 11:32 that God is telling us that Lucifer once 11:35 used to be one of the most exalted angels 11:38 that you could find in all of heaven. 11:41 He was at the left hand 11:42 or the right hand of the throne of God Himself. 11:47 And God continues on, He said, "I established you." 11:50 God is the one that positioned him there. 11:52 "You were on the holy mountain of God." 11:55 Well, what does that mean, a mountain? 11:56 Well, as you read through 11:57 the different prophecies of the Bible, 11:58 you discover that a mountain repeatedly 12:00 is used to represent God's throne, 12:02 His power, His kingdom. 12:06 "You were on the mountain of God, 12:07 and you walked back and forth 12:08 in the midst of the fiery stones. 12:10 You were perfect in your ways, 12:12 from the day that you were created." 12:15 Was Lucifer originally perfect, and sinless, and pure? 12:18 Yes, he was, and God is pointing that out 12:20 for you and I, 12:22 until we read that sad into verse 15, 12:24 "Until iniquity was found in you. 12:27 By the abundance of your trading, 12:29 you became filled with violence." 12:30 Of course, referring back to the earthly king of Tyre, 12:34 and it says, "And you sinned." 12:36 And so both Lucifer as well as this earthly king 12:38 were found with sin. 12:40 "Therefore I cast you as a profane thing 12:43 out of the mountain of God and I'll just destroy you, 12:46 O covering cherub 12:47 from the midst of the fiery stones. 12:49 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. 12:53 You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor." 12:58 And so we find here 12:59 that the devil literally sold his soul. 13:01 Now we can't say that he sold the soul to the devil 13:03 in this case, 13:04 but he sold his soul to sin, didn't he? 13:06 He sold his soul to destruction until the point 13:10 where it tells us very clearly, there came a point 13:12 in the heavenly history in which God had told, 13:16 not only Satan is, but we're gonna learn 13:17 in Revelation Chapter 12 as well, 13:19 that there was a third of the angels 13:21 that also were deceived, and they sided with Lucifer 13:24 and all of them, as they forced God's hand, 13:27 God had to throw them out, cast them out of heaven, 13:30 and as citizens of that great place. 13:33 And so again, very clearly, friends, you can walk into 13:35 any Protestant church 100 years ago, 13:37 and every single member would understand very clearly 13:40 that this message in this passage is revealing 13:43 a very real, a very literal enemy of God. 13:46 And yet today, we don't hear it anymore. 13:49 Today we don't hear it in our churches. 13:50 Most of us don't understand. 13:52 You can ask most pastors in Protestant churches today 13:54 and they don't understand 13:56 or know that these passages exist 13:57 and how they are telling us that there is a real enemy. 14:00 Friends, there is an enemy that we need to know 14:03 and understand how he operates, 14:05 that we might be able to stay close to Christ, 14:07 that we might protect our salvation, 14:09 that we might know that we have eternal life 14:11 for all of eternity. 14:12 Amen. 14:13 God is speaking to you and I today, 14:14 as we look at this very important message 14:16 in Revelation Chapter 12. 14:20 And so as we come into Revelation Chapter 12, 14:22 we look at something that is paralleling 14:25 the very passages that we're looking at 14:28 in these two Old Testament passages. 14:31 Revelation 12 lays bare the enemy of our souls. 14:34 It lays bare what sort of headspace 14:36 this particular angelic being is in. 14:40 Chapter 12 is an instrumental one as we come, 14:42 as we continue to make our way through in this quarter 14:45 through the Book of Revelation, 14:46 because it is a pivotal chapter, 14:48 it is a transitional chapter 14:51 in which God is speaking to you and I here today. 14:54 Why? 14:55 Because as we have been making our way 14:56 through the first 11 chapters, 14:58 we call that the historical half of Revelation. 15:01 In other words, 15:02 God repeats Himself through different sevens. 15:05 We have the seven churches, we have the seven seals, 15:08 we have the seven trumpets. 15:09 And as we have discovered in our study, 15:11 those sevens are taking us in different details 15:14 concerning the challenge of Christians 15:15 and the Christian Church, 15:17 from the days of the apostles and the beginning of the church 15:20 until the second coming of Jesus Christ. 15:23 But then when we come to Chapter 12, 15:25 God reveals the great warfare that's taking place 15:27 behind the scenes. 15:29 And He again takes us 15:30 through a sweeping picture of history 15:35 from the days of the apostles 15:36 until the second coming of Christ. 15:37 And He is using that as an introduction 15:40 to the second half of the Book of Revelation. 15:43 Because once we enter into the second half of Revelation, 15:46 as we have begun today, indeed, we will discover 15:49 that God now focus and specializes 15:52 in the very last years of earth's history, 15:55 the end time events, and how the devil is going to operate 15:59 as well as how Christ and His people 16:01 are going to operate in the very last years 16:03 that usher in the second coming of Jesus. 16:06 And so Chapter 12 is no small chapter. 16:09 It is one of the key chapters because of that. 16:14 Chapter 12 answers questions like who, where, when, 16:17 and why does evil exist? 16:19 Why has the world always been so hard 16:22 on the Christian Church and the Jesus it serves? 16:25 So often, I've had the privilege of bringing 16:27 different new converts, 16:28 people that have come to accept Christ, 16:30 to know Christ, to experience Jesus in their hearts. 16:33 They come through the baptismal waters, they're shining, 16:36 they're full of fire, the Holy Spirit of their life, 16:39 and their life has changed and the world looks 16:41 so much more brighter, 16:42 their future looks so much more hopeful, 16:45 and then they come to Sabbath school 16:46 or I visit them in their home and they say, 16:48 "Oh Pastor Shawn, I don't get it. 16:50 I have this wonderful experience 16:51 this great news, 16:53 and when I go out to share with my friends 16:54 and with my colleagues at work, and so on. 16:57 Well, I just get shut down. 16:58 I am so discouraged, I can't believe 17:00 how much resistance I am experiencing." 17:03 Why is that? 17:04 This is a big question, a very pressing question 17:07 in concern to those 17:08 who are in the Christian experience. 17:10 Why is the world always been so hard on the Christian Church 17:15 and the Jesus that it serves? 17:17 And so we're gonna answer those questions here today 17:19 as we turn to Revelation Chapter 12. 17:22 And we're gonna start with verse 1, 17:24 Revelation Chapter 12, 17:30 and we're gonna start with verse 1. 17:32 Now we have some very willing volunteers 17:34 that have agreed to read some of the verses 17:36 that we're looking at here today. 17:38 And so we're gonna ask our first volunteer 17:40 to read verses 1 and 2. 17:43 "Now a great sign appeared in heaven: 17:46 a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, 17:50 and on her head a garland of 12 stars. 17:54 Then being with child, she cried out in the labor 17:58 and in pain to give birth." 18:01 Okay, thank you. 18:03 All right, so at the very beginning 18:05 of this particular chapter, 18:06 we find indeed that God is revealing a woman. 18:09 Is this a literal woman? No, okay. 18:12 It's very obvious it's not a literal woman. 18:13 I know, I've seen some women 18:15 with some pretty nice fancy clothes on, 18:16 they can get pretty glittery sometimes, 18:18 but I've never seen them clothed in the sun, 18:19 and I certainly haven't seen them 18:22 standing on a moon. 18:24 And so very clearly God is here 18:25 revealing what He does most of the time 18:27 through the Book of Revelation 18:28 and that is He's using deep symbols to reveal 18:32 and reflect literal realities, and this is no exception. 18:36 And so here we have a great sign 18:37 that appeared in heaven. 18:39 Now this is not necessarily the heaven of heavens, 18:41 but as the Bible speaks of three different heavens, 18:43 the first heaven being our atmosphere, 18:46 and the second one being the heavens 18:47 of the galaxy around us. 18:50 Indeed, John is looking up into the sky or into space, 18:53 and he's seen this scrape, symbolic woman. 18:58 And so we ask the question, 19:00 well, what does this woman symbolize 19:02 if it's not a literal woman. 19:06 And indeed, the woman all the way through the Bible, 19:09 God has used a woman to represent God's people. 19:14 Before Israel, it was the faithful. 19:16 When Israel came, of course, 19:17 it was his nation of literal civil Israel. 19:21 And then as Israel began to be transitioned 19:23 into what Jesus calls spiritual Israel 19:27 and the Bible prophets call spiritual Israel, 19:29 you find the Christian Church 19:31 is also symbolized here as well. 19:34 In fact, the church is called Israel as well. 19:37 In Matthew 21:43, 19:39 Jesus had said these sad words to literal Israel 19:41 and the representatives of Israel 19:44 that He was speaking to, and He says, 19:47 "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God 19:48 will be taken from you and given to a nation 19:52 bearing the fruits of it." 19:54 And so Jesus very sadly says listen, 19:56 the probation for physical Israel was coming, 20:00 very quickly coming to a close. 20:02 And the great 490 year prophecy of Daniel Chapter 9 20:06 was coming to its conclusion. 20:07 Jesus knew it was coming, 20:09 He gave the prophecies to Daniel. 20:11 But now He knows He's only a few years away 20:13 from its conclusion. 20:14 And so He begins to reveal it to Israel 20:16 through some of these statements, 20:18 as we have just read. 20:20 Now, the symbol of woman that was first used 20:24 using the symbolism is found all the way back 20:26 in the Garden of Eden, in Genesis 3:15, 20:29 Jesus in the garden, He's there with Adam and Eve, 20:31 but He's also there with the enemy of our souls. 20:35 He's there with the serpent of old, the devil and Satan. 20:37 And as He speaks to the serpent that day 20:40 after the fall of Adam and Eve, He says to the serpent, 20:43 He says, "And there will be enmity 20:44 between you Satan and the woman, 20:48 between your seed and her seed." 20:52 You see the feminine woman symbolism there, 20:55 and so God immediately picked up on Eve, 20:57 the mother of all the living as it says later 20:59 in the same chapter of Genesis Chapter 3. 21:03 And He says, and He begins to use Eve as a symbol, 21:06 a woman as a symbol of God's people, 21:09 because God here is revealing in Genesis 3:15, 21:12 that from the time that sin came into this world, 21:14 from the time that Adam and Eve had sinned, 21:16 it open the floodgates of sin to all of humanity, 21:19 to the rest of the world. 21:20 He is telling us that there will be a warfare, 21:22 there will be an enmity 21:24 between the two camps of all humanity, 21:26 those who are on God's side, and those who are not. 21:29 Those who were with Christ, 21:30 and those who are with the devil, 21:31 whether they want to admit it, or acknowledge it, 21:33 or understand it, or not. 21:34 Jesus says, "Either you're with Me 21:35 or you are or against me." 21:38 He says, "There is no fence, there is no third camp. 21:40 There's only two camps that you can be in." 21:42 And so God reveals that 21:43 from the very beginning of the fall, 21:45 and while He does that, He says, 21:46 there is Satan and his seed, 21:48 referring to the sentence that side with him. 21:50 And the woman and her seed, 21:52 referring to those who side with God. 21:55 Do you see that symbolism? 21:57 And so God uses that all the way through 21:59 to Revelation Chapter 12 22:00 as He brings before is this great, 22:03 heavenly womanly figure. 22:06 Now again, she's not clothed with normal clothes, 22:08 she's clothed with the... 22:10 She's clothed with the sun, isn't she? 22:14 She's clothed with the sun. 22:15 Now, what does the sun represent? 22:18 Well, the sun is the greatest source of light 22:20 in our part of the woods, in our neck of the woods, 22:23 in regards to our galaxy. 22:25 And, so if you're looking for the brightest lumens 22:28 that you can possibly find on the planet, you know, 22:30 I just bought a flashlight at Costco the other day, 22:33 you know, I'm getting so tired of these 22:35 little dinky flashlights. 22:36 Well, as I pull out 22:38 and I'm trying to look around the garage, 22:39 I saw this great big flashlight for sale, 22:41 you know, I thought, "Boy, that's not a bad price. 22:43 Finally, I'm going to have something 22:44 that really gives some lumens." 22:45 So I got that thing and the only thing is that, 22:47 you know, it shines great when you're trying to work 22:49 but if you're working with a partner, 22:50 you got to make sure not to shine it in their eyes 22:52 because they'll be seeing dots 22:53 for about two minutes afterwards. 22:56 But, friends, no matter how bright your flashlight is, 22:58 nothing even comes close to the lumens 23:00 that the sun gives, is there? 23:02 And so God here is saying that the woman is clothed 23:05 with tremendous light. 23:08 Jesus, when He stood up in the world, 23:10 He says, "I am the light of the world. 23:11 He who walks with me shall not walk in darkness, 23:14 but have the light of life." 23:17 And the very last words in the last chapter 23:20 of the Old Testament, 23:21 when God speaks to the Prophet Malachi, 23:25 He refers to the Son of God as the sun, S-U-N, 23:29 the sun of righteousness. 23:31 You see, the woman is clothed, not with her own righteousness, 23:35 not with her own power, not with her own goodness, 23:38 but she's robed 23:39 with the righteousness of Christ. 23:42 She understands that there is no good thing in her. 23:44 Their heart is wicked in desperately. 23:47 But, friends, she also understands 23:49 that when she has the Holy Spirit, 23:50 when she's clothed with the righteousness of Christ, 23:53 she's in good stead. 23:55 Amen? 23:56 And so here we have the sun 23:57 and the woman clothed in righteousness. 24:01 And by the way, friends, when you look back 24:03 in some of the Old Testament prophets, 24:04 and this is just about a bit of a preview into the future. 24:07 God not only uses a woman to represent the faithful, 24:11 but He also uses a woman to represent 24:13 in the religious world, 24:14 and the Christian religious world in particular, 24:16 He also uses a woman to represent 24:19 sometimes the unfaithful, 24:21 so these aren't the laws 24:22 that are out in the world in sinning 24:23 and want nothing to do with God, 24:25 but these are those who are attending church, 24:27 these are those 24:28 who are religious in some manner of fashion. 24:30 But as Jesus says, "Depart from Me, 24:32 I never knew you, you who practice lawlessness." 24:37 And so, the Bible reveals 24:39 that there are a number of professed Christians, 24:42 church going folks that aren't necessarily saved. 24:46 And so God categorizes them as a woman as well. 24:49 But in that case, He calls them not a beautiful, wonderful, 24:53 lovely woman, 24:55 but He refers to them as a prostitute 24:57 or an adulterous. 24:58 Why? 24:59 Because they have chosen 25:00 to commit adultery with the world, 25:02 with other religions, 25:03 they are adopting other facets of other false religions 25:06 or just simple pleasures and philosophies in the world. 25:10 You can find that in one of the first examples 25:13 in Jeremiah 6:2, 25:15 where He first refers again like Revelation Chapter 12, 25:18 He refers to the woman as lovely, 25:21 I've likened you as to a lovely and delicate woman. 25:24 But then if you back up three chapters to Jeremiah 3:6, 25:30 we find that Jeremiah is forced very sadly to refer to Israel, 25:33 not as a lovely and delicate woman, 25:35 but as a harlot. 25:37 In verse 6, it says, "Have you seen 25:38 what backsliding Israel has done? 25:41 She has gone up on every high mountain 25:43 and under every green tree, and there played the harlot." 25:48 And so very clearly we find here 25:50 that God reveals not only in Jeremiah, 25:51 but also as we're gonna discover 25:53 in future chapters in Revelation, 25:54 God will refer to groups of professed Christians 25:58 as a harlot, or as adulterous, adulterers. 26:02 In Jeremiah's day, of course, 26:04 when it says under every green tree 26:05 and every high mountain, 26:06 this is where the idolatry was taking place. 26:08 This is where they would set their idols 26:10 and they would give their sacrifices 26:12 to the goddess of fertility 26:14 and all these other different gods 26:17 that represented different blessings 26:19 that were supposed to come into their life or protections. 26:22 So God is saying to Israel, "You are like a harlot, 26:24 you're not like a lovely and delicate woman." 26:29 Friends, I don't know about you, 26:30 but I want to be acquainted 26:31 with the perfect and lovely woman 26:33 that is clothed with the sun, don't you? 26:35 This is where God wants us to be. 26:37 This is what God wants us to understand. 26:38 This is where He's inviting us today 26:41 as we look at this important subject. 26:44 The moon, what does the moon represent? 26:47 Well, the moon represents as most commentators 26:50 would refer to as the Old Testament, the lesser light. 26:53 For indeed the moon 26:54 finds its light from the sun itself, 26:56 we find that the woman is found standing. 26:58 Now, the woman is the church, isn't it? 26:59 It's God's people, it says faithful. 27:02 And we're standing on a foundation called the moon 27:06 which is reflecting the sun of righteousness himself 27:08 because the moon was a foreshadow, 27:10 it was pointing towards many different prophecies 27:12 of the details of the birth, the life, the death, 27:14 and resurrection, ascension of Jesus Christ. 27:17 He was also revealing to us many different truths 27:20 concerning Christ's future ministry 27:21 after His death and resurrection. 27:23 That's why the Book of Hebrews has the main theme as, better, 27:26 the word better repeats itself over and over again, why? 27:30 Because it's trying to tell the early Christians 27:32 that were also Jews that indeed that if you accept Christ, 27:35 you are in a better priesthood. 27:37 Because the priesthood of Aaron 27:39 is now fulfilled in a better priesthood, 27:41 which is Jesus Himself. 27:43 When you come to the New Testament sanctuary, it says, 27:46 "Listen, leave the Old Testament sanctuary 27:47 because now God has offered a better sanctuary, 27:50 not an earthly one, but one made without hands," 27:52 as Hebrews Chapter 8 tells us. 27:54 The better sanctuary which Christ 27:56 is the better priesthood for you and I. 27:58 Don't bring your lambs to the altar anymore. 28:00 Why? 28:01 Because Jesus now is the better sacrifice. 28:04 He is the Lamb of God that takes away 28:05 all the sin of the world. 28:07 It is once and for all the complete on the cross. 28:11 And so no longer do you need to bring the symbol 28:12 of a lamb to the altar, there is a better sacrifice. 28:18 Well, what about the 12 stars on the head? 28:22 What do they represent? 28:26 Well, we have the 12 tribes of Israel, 28:29 as we think of the different number 12 in the Bible. 28:32 And then when we come to the New Testament, 28:34 Jesus had very specifically chosen 28:36 12 apostles to represent, and to lead, 28:40 and put a foundation for the original church. 28:44 And so very clearly the 12 is representative 28:47 of God's kingdom number 28:49 and so here we have these 12 stars. 28:51 In Revelation 1:20, 28:52 it talks about the stars of heaven. 28:56 And so we have the stars representing angels, 28:58 I should say. 28:59 And so in Revelation 1:20 we find that God 29:01 is using stars to symbolize angels. 29:06 Who's the head of the church? 29:09 Somebody said Jesus, okay, over and over, 29:11 especially the Prophet Paul would talk about the church 29:14 being represented as a body, as a human being. 29:17 And then he said, "The body represents you and I." 29:20 But then Paul says, 29:21 "Listen, the head itself doesn't represent you and I, 29:23 the head represents Jesus Christ." 29:26 And so the head of the woman 29:27 will represent none other than, than Jesus. 29:30 And Jesus is the King of kings, is the Lord of lords, 29:32 is He not? 29:33 And so how fitting that we have the 12 stars 29:36 representing 12 angels, 29:38 but also representing His kingdom 29:40 because he is the King of kings. 29:42 He is the Lord of lords. 29:45 And so we have some deep symbolism there. 29:47 But let's move on in verses 4, verses 3-6. 29:52 If we can have a volunteer go ahead and read that for us, 29:54 please? 29:55 "And another sign appeared in heaven: 29:57 behold, a great, fiery dragon 30:00 having seven heads and ten horns, 30:02 and seven diadems on his heads. 30:05 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven 30:07 and threw them to the earth. 30:09 And the dragon stood before the woman 30:11 who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child 30:14 as soon as it was born. 30:16 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations 30:19 with a rod of iron. 30:21 And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. 30:24 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, 30:27 where she has a place prepared by God 30:30 that they should feed her there 1260 days." 30:36 Okay, thank you. 30:37 So now God moves on, and He leaves the woman. 30:39 Now He goes 30:40 and moves to a different symbolic creature 30:43 and this creature is called the fiery red dragon. 30:47 And so we have to ask the question. 30:48 Well, obviously, dragons aren't real. 30:50 They're certainly prevalent in a lot of mythological art, 30:52 and stories, and legends, and so on. 30:54 But where does the original dragon come from? 30:58 Well, as it turns out, 30:59 the original dragon is represented 31:00 right here in the Bible, 31:01 in the ancient scriptures of the Holy Word. 31:04 And so very clearly in verse 9 of the same chapter 31:07 and so let's go to verse 9. 31:09 We're going to come back to verse 9 as well, 31:10 but in verse 9, it says, 31:11 "So the great dragon was cast out, 31:13 that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, 31:16 who deceives the whole world he was cast to the earth, 31:18 and his angels were cast out with him." 31:20 And so very clearly in the very same chapter, 31:22 just a couple of three verses later, 31:23 we find that God reveals crystal clear for us exactly 31:26 who He's talking about when He uses a symbolic dragon. 31:30 It's the very same creature that we saw revealed 31:32 and laid bare in prophecy of Isaiah, 31:35 the prophecy of Ezekiel. 31:39 Is it coincidence that much of the dragon are today 31:42 by the way in history depicts this serpent 31:44 like kind of creature that breathes fire. 31:49 Isn't it interesting, 31:50 especially when you look at Chinese art, 31:51 you find that it's very prevalent 31:53 to have their dragons 31:54 always look like a serpent like creature. 31:57 What is it reflecting? 31:59 Well, it's reflecting the serpent of old 32:01 that we just read here in the scriptures. 32:03 You see much of this mythology, much of this art, 32:06 and these legends 32:07 that come through the different nations 32:09 finds itself being distorted and changed, yes. 32:13 But when we read the Bible, 32:14 we find that we can find the very original 32:16 origins of these particular creatures. 32:19 In this case, we have a serpent in the Garden of Eden, 32:21 do we not? 32:22 In the very beginning of earth's history, 32:25 in the history of mankind, 32:27 we find indeed that there is a serpent. 32:29 And sadly we find that he is also called the dragon, 32:32 he was once Lucifer, Day Star, 32:34 but now he is Satan, the adversary of God. 32:37 He's called the devil, which means the accuser, 32:39 and indeed he is the enemy of our souls. 32:43 And so very clearly we find that the Bible reveals 32:45 who this dragon is representing. 32:47 Now as far as the heads and horns, 32:48 we find better insight into this as we look further 32:51 into the prophecies of the chapters 32:53 following Revelation Chapter 12, 32:55 and so just hold tight on that. 32:56 We are going to come back in future study. 33:00 What about the tail? 33:01 Because it tells us that the dragon was cast out, 33:07 and in Revelation Chapter 12, 33:09 we read that his tail drew a third of the stars of heaven 33:13 and threw them to the earth. 33:18 What does God depict the dragon is using a tail? 33:25 Well, as it turns out the tail 33:27 is not the most flattering part of a creature's existence. 33:33 In fact, God used it when He talked to Israel, 33:35 He said "Listen, when it comes to you 33:36 and the rest of the nation, I want you to be the head, 33:38 and not the tail." 33:41 Because God implying that 33:42 the tail was lesser in importance in value 33:43 than that of the head, Yes. 33:45 He said the head is the most important 33:46 when you come back to very end 33:48 where you have the tail, well, that's not so important. 33:50 It's not quite as valuable. 33:52 And so here we find that in Isaiah Chapter 9 by the way. 33:56 In verses 14 and 15, it reveals very clearly 33:59 that God here is symbolizing a tail 34:02 as that of deception of lies. 34:05 Verses 14 and 15, it says, 34:07 "Therefore the Lord will cut off the head 34:10 and tail from Israel. 34:12 And later on He goes and deciphers that for us 34:14 and He says, "The elder and the honorable, 34:16 He is the head." 34:19 And then He goes on and says, "The Prophet who teaches lies, 34:22 he is the tail." 34:24 And so as we look at scripture 34:25 and put scripture upon scripture here, 34:27 there, little there little, 34:28 we find here that God is revealing to us 34:30 that He is symbolizing the dragon's tail 34:32 as being that which pulled down a third of the stars. 34:35 And again in Revelation 1:20, it tells us clearly 34:38 that the stars used to represent an angel. 34:41 And so a third of the angels were lied to, 34:43 well, more than a third 34:45 but a third of them had bought into the lies 34:47 and deceptions of Satan. 34:48 And has successfully drawn them into his court, 34:52 had successfully drawn them into his influence, 34:55 and to side with him until the point where God 34:58 was forced to both cast him 35:00 as well as the third of the angels out of heaven. 35:05 And then despite the effort, 35:06 the dragon's best efforts to kill Jesus early on, 35:08 he failed multiple times 35:09 until the Lord allowed Himself to be arrested, 35:12 until He allowed Himself to be crucified. 35:15 We find that King Herod as we read here there was a... 35:18 An attempt by the dragon, 35:20 by the devil himself to destroy the male Child, 35:23 to destroy the Christ, as soon as He was born. 35:25 And history as well as the gospel records tell us 35:28 that it was the cruel King Herod. 35:30 This Roman king that was associated and working 35:33 for the Roman Empire was the agent 35:36 that the dragon used 35:37 to be able to try to destroy the Christ. 35:39 But was that the only attempt that he made? 35:41 No, when Jesus went and preached 35:43 in his own hometown, while it tells us 35:45 the whole church got so mad at Him 35:47 that they drove Him out in the madding frenzy, 35:50 and they try to push Him off a cliff and kill Him. 35:51 Do you think the devil is behind that? 35:53 Sure, he was behind that. 35:54 He was hoping that this would be the end, 35:56 he would snap Him out 35:57 before He could sacrifice Himself 35:59 for the sins of the world. 36:00 And we have other examples of that in the gospels as well, 36:03 but breaks up despite all those attempts 36:05 it wasn't until Jesus says, "Okay, now is the time. 36:09 Now is the time." 36:11 You know, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate 36:14 that was kind of watching over the final decision 36:18 and court scene that was taking place 36:20 that early morning on Friday, 36:21 when Jesus was arrested and about to be crucified. 36:24 And Pilate was frustrated with Jesus, and he says, 36:26 "Don't you know that I have the power 36:28 both to release you, 36:29 and the power to kill you, or crucify you?" 36:31 And Jesus basically said, "No, you don't. 36:34 You think you do, but you don't. 36:38 I have the power to both give my life 36:41 and I have the power to both to take it up again." 36:44 And so it wasn't until Jesus had given permission, 36:46 regardless of the dragon's best efforts, 36:49 but then He was resurrected and 40 days later, 36:51 He ascended back to His Father in heaven. 36:53 And that's why we tell, 36:55 that tells us at the end of verse 5, 36:57 "That the male child 36:58 who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron 37:01 and child was caught up to God into His throne." 37:03 This is post resurrection. 37:05 This is Jesus' ascension to the right hand 37:08 of His Father in heaven itself. 37:12 And then the woman flees into the wilderness 37:14 and she's fed there for 1260 days. 37:16 Now in Bible prophecy 37:17 and only in symbolic Bible prophecy 37:20 as Ezekiel 4:8, gives us strong, 37:23 clear evidence to be able to apply a day 37:27 to symbolize a literal year. 37:29 And so we have 1260 literal years, 37:32 in which the woman the Church of God, 37:35 the Christian Church is fleeing to, 37:37 and is fed for 1260 years. 37:39 We're going to come back later if we have time for that 37:41 as we continue on. 37:43 But let's go to verses 9 or 7-9 as we see 37:47 how far we can get here today. 37:49 Okay, Revelation 12:7-9, 37:55 and we have another volunteer today. 37:56 "And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels 38:00 fought with the dragon, 38:01 and the dragon and his angels fought, 38:03 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them 38:07 in heaven any longer. 38:09 So the great dragon was cast out, 38:13 that serpent of old, 38:15 called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, 38:19 he was cast to the earth, 38:20 and his angels were cast out with him." 38:24 But you'd be surprised 38:25 at how many traditional Christians, 38:26 church going Christians are surprised 38:28 when they're first exposed to this particular passage. 38:31 War broke out in heaven, you mean sin began 38:34 not here on earth, 38:35 it didn't begin with the serpent 38:36 in the Garden of Eden, 38:37 it actually began in the Most Holy central headquarters 38:40 of all the universe, 38:41 where the God of gods is existing, 38:43 where the Lord of lords and the King of kings exists. 38:47 It's amazing how shocking it can be to so many of us. 38:49 To me, it was mind blowing. 38:50 I've been a Christian for a number of years, 38:52 never heard of such a concept, 38:54 and yet it very clearly tells us 38:55 hear that sin didn't begin here on earth, 38:57 It didn't begin in the Garden of Eden, 38:58 it began in heaven itself. 39:01 And, of course, as we looked at our original passages 39:03 in Isaiah and Ezekiel, 39:05 it very clearly revealed to us that there, 39:07 it was there that sin conceived 39:09 in the heart of Lucifer himself. 39:11 It was there that the great rebellion began 39:13 and so the war that's been described here is not AK-47, 39:16 it's not M16, it's not talking about tanks, 39:19 and heat seeking missiles. 39:21 No, it's talking about the warfare of the heart. 39:25 It's talking about the war for truth. 39:27 It's talking about truth against error. 39:29 It's the war of darkness against light, 39:31 it's the war of love against hate, 39:33 it's this great war between light and darkness 39:36 that is being described here. 39:38 And we have two sides and two armies. 39:39 The first general is Michael and his angels, 39:42 his army of angels. 39:43 And then we have the dragon and the third of heaven 39:45 becomes his army in heaven as well. 39:49 Now who is Michael? 39:52 Well, friends, there is only two great figures in heaven 39:54 that are at war, 39:56 they're described throughout the rest of Revelation 39:57 as well as through scriptures 39:58 and that is the devil and Christ, God Himself. 40:04 And so this can be another than Christ Himself. 40:06 Now some of us can get very uncomfortable with that 40:08 as Christians, we say, "Well, wait a minute. 40:10 Have you ever read Jude, the book just before Revelation 40:12 and verse 6, it tells us 40:13 that Michael is called Michael the archangel. 40:17 Christ is not an angel, 40:18 He's the Son of God, He's just as... 40:20 He's equal with the Father. 40:22 He is, He's eternally divine, and that's true. 40:26 But has God contradicted Himself 40:27 when He refers to Michael as an archangel to Christ, 40:31 as an archangel. 40:32 Well, not necessarily, not necessarily. 40:36 Now, the word angel is actually the Greek word 40:39 for it is angelos. 40:41 And angelos is a Greek word 40:42 that also refers to John the Baptist. 40:44 Now we were... 40:45 Now, we translated to him as a messenger. 40:48 And that's what the Greek word angelos actually, 40:50 literally means, messenger. 40:53 And so John the Baptist is also an angelos 40:54 according to Scripture. 40:56 And so angelos doesn't mean that you're talking always, 40:59 most of the time it is, 41:00 but not always as the scriptures 41:01 and the prophets talking about a created heavenly 41:05 being that we typically refer to as an angel. 41:10 In 1 Thessalonians, one of my favorite passages, 41:12 Chapter 4:16, we find here 41:14 that it's clearly speaking of Christ coming in glory 41:16 when He returns the second time as He had promised. 41:19 And when He comes on that powerful day, 41:21 it says that He shouts with the voice of an... 41:24 With the voice of an archangel. 41:26 And so we hear, we find that Jesus is very clearly 41:28 also referred to here as an archangel. 41:31 Archangel means that He's the overarching power 41:35 over all the angels. 41:36 He is the king of the angels. 41:37 He's the ultimate leader of the angels 41:39 that are also created, even though He Himself is not. 41:42 In Exodus 3:2-6, we find that Moses is talking to God 41:47 and having this experience in conversation with God, 41:50 as God is speaking through a burning bush. 41:53 But as you read that particular scripture in verse 3 41:55 in particular describes more than just a burning bush, 41:58 it says that the Lord, 41:59 the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a burning bush. 42:04 And if you read the New King James in particular, 42:06 you'll see that the translators put capital A, why is that? 42:09 All the other times they put angel, 42:10 it's always small A. 42:11 Why? 42:13 Because they did the same thing for that angel, 42:14 as they do for every reference to Christ, 42:15 they put a capital in honor of the fact 42:17 that this was Christ Himself. 42:21 And so Christ here is referred to an Angel of the Lord 42:23 appearing to in a burning bush. 42:25 That's why God said, 42:26 "Take off your sandals for the place 42:27 which you stand is holy ground." 42:30 And then later on, He says to Moses 42:32 in the same conversation, I am God. 42:35 And then at the end it says, Moses hid his face, 42:37 he was afraid to look upon God, this was the angel of God. 42:42 This was God Himself. 42:43 In Judges Chapter 13, we find the same thing. 42:46 We find here that Moses, his mom and dad 42:48 both have an encounter with an Angel of the Lord, 42:50 again capital A. 42:52 Why? 42:53 Because as they came to the final conclusion 42:55 of that second epiphany, that second experience, 42:58 and exposure to this Angel of the Lord, Manoah, 43:01 the dad of Samson is on record of concluding 43:04 that they were seeing God Himself. 43:09 And so Christ had appeared both to the mom and dad. 43:14 And so Michael and the... 43:16 And his angels fought with the dragon, 43:18 and the dragon and his angels fought. 43:20 And the war that began in heaven 43:21 when Lucifer rebelled against God 43:23 and his government was now fully completed, 43:26 after heaven had witness Satan lead the way 43:29 and killing the Son of God is described prophetically 43:32 in the first verses of the same chapter. 43:34 It was through King Herod that he tried to kill Him, 43:36 but he eventually succeeded in killing Him 43:39 by having Him crucified on the cross. 43:41 It was there that Satan's any pretense 43:43 that was still remaining in heaven 43:45 and the angels of heaven in concerned to Satan, 43:47 who and who he was, 43:49 was fully and completely removed at that point. 43:52 And all of heaven saw him for who he truly had become. 43:57 And so Satan and the fallen angels 43:59 were now permanently imprisoned here on earth 44:01 until the final judgment is delivered. 44:03 They were cast out of heaven previous, 44:04 but now they had no more access to heaven 44:06 even as the Book of Job had revealed, 44:08 that he had some limited access to the councils of God. 44:12 But now they are permanently imprisoned here on this planet 44:15 ever since the crucifixion and ascension of Jesus Christ. 44:21 And by the way, 44:23 they're imprisoned here until when? 44:26 Until the second coming of Christ, and then after that, 44:29 a 1000 years takes place, 44:31 and then the final judgment takes place upon both Lucifer, 44:34 the Satan, the Devil and all of his angels, 44:37 also called demons. 44:39 Now, does this harmonize in any way 44:40 with the traditional understanding of hell? 44:43 Because the traditional understanding of hell tells me 44:45 that hell is somewhere else, another boat somewhere else 44:48 on the planet in which Satan is in charge of. 44:51 He and his demons are stoking the fires there, 44:54 as they are torturing for all of eternity, 44:56 the lost that are found there that have already died 44:59 and gone to hell. 45:01 Does this harmonize with that particular 45:04 traditional understanding? 45:06 It doesn't, does it? 45:08 It doesn't harmonize at all. Why? 45:09 Because there are many, many misunderstandings 45:11 in concern to hell. 45:13 Hell is not something that's burning right now. 45:15 Satan is not in another place called hell. 45:16 He is right here, and he's very busy. 45:19 He's very busy deceiving the nations, 45:21 as Revelation has just told us in the passage 45:23 that we just read. 45:25 By the way, if you'd like some more information on hell, 45:27 and this is something that you'd like to study further. 45:29 You go to one of my favorite websites Amazing Facts, 45:32 it's called helltruth.com. 45:34 That's hell truth all one word.com 45:37 and you can find yourself doing a very extensive 45:39 well done study 45:41 on that particular biblical study. 45:45 Now notice in the same passage that we read here in verses 7-9 45:48 that it tells us that 45:49 the dragon deceives the whole world, 45:52 and he uses the same technique to bring us down 45:56 as he did with a third of the angels in heaven. 45:57 Just as the tail deceived 45:59 and lied to a third of the angels, 46:00 he also is lying to you and me. 46:03 He's lying to the nations right now. 46:05 And sadly, Revelation 13 onwards tells us 46:07 that there was great global success 46:10 and concern to this particular deception. 46:15 Well, as we continue on through the rest here, 46:17 we're just going to look at some of the highlights 46:18 because I can see that it's time to wrap up 46:20 our study here today. 46:22 And I knew as I went through this 46:23 that we weren't going to get all the way through. 46:26 But, friends, as we read verses 10, 11 and 12, 46:29 we find here that there's a great party 46:31 that's taking place in heaven. 46:32 All of heaven is rejoicing because now Satan 46:35 and his angels have no more access, 46:36 they have no more to do with the great controversy 46:39 that had first begun in heaven. 46:41 And now they are permanently trapped on the earth. 46:44 In verse 12, it says, 46:45 "But woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, 46:47 for the devil is come down having great wrath, 46:49 because he knows that he has a short time." 46:54 And then the woman goes into the wilderness 46:55 for 1260 years representing that great power, 46:59 and time in Europe where the established 47:02 Roman Catholic Church of Europe 47:04 had found itself persecuting 47:06 those who are not with its program, 47:07 those who wanted to follow 47:08 the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 47:10 And we find that they went for religious liberty, 47:13 and they found this great land 47:14 that we're studying here right now, 47:16 the reason that we're sitting here. 47:17 One of the greatest and most motivating reasons 47:19 that we're sitting here, 47:20 and we discovered this particular land from Europe 47:23 is because we are trying to find relief 47:25 from the great religious persecutions 47:27 that were taking place by the established church 47:29 in the Middle Ages. 47:30 And that's what the 1260 year period is referring to. 47:34 She was fed by the two witnesses 47:36 of Revelation Chapter 11, 47:37 the two prophets that represent the Old 47:39 and the New Testament, the scriptures 47:40 that were clothed in sackcloth for 1260 years, 47:43 while the established church was burying the scriptures 47:46 deeper and deeper, 47:47 and burying it in all kinds of manmade traditions 47:50 that were taking its place. 47:52 But she was fed, the faithful still had access 47:55 to the Word of God. 47:56 And that's the great news, that despite 47:58 all the best efforts of the dragon 48:00 to be able to usurp the Kingdom of God, 48:04 to be able to destroy God's people 48:06 in the Word of God, 48:07 God continues to bring victory to His Word, 48:10 does He not? 48:11 He brings victory to you and I, when we read it. 48:14 Indeed we find that the serpent, it's... 48:17 In verse 15, it says, 48:18 "So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth 48:19 like a flood after the woman, 48:22 that he might cause her 48:23 to be carried away by the flood." 48:24 In Revelation 17:5, it clearly tells us 48:27 that water represents peoples, populations. 48:30 And so God gave us relief 48:32 as we came over to North America, 48:33 where there was almost no, in compared to Europe 48:36 it was essentially unoccupied. 48:41 There is tons of open land for us 48:43 to be able to spread out and find some relief 48:45 of the great persecutions that were taking place. 48:49 And then finally verse 17, it says, 48:51 "The dragon was enraged with a woman 48:53 and he went to make war 48:54 with the rest of her offspring 48:55 who keep the commandments of God 48:57 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." 49:01 God brings us all the way 49:03 to the very last years of earth's history, 49:05 and then verse 17, by the way, is unpacked 49:07 from Chapter 13 onward right to the end of the book. 49:11 And so again, that's what makes Revelation such a transitional, 49:14 pivotal, important chapter for you and I. 49:16 And the devil is enraged with the rest of her offspring, 49:22 the remnant of the original church, 49:25 the church of the apostles that followed 49:27 the pure teachings of the apostles, 49:29 and rejected all tradition 49:30 that contradicted the Word of God. 49:35 Friends, that's where we are today. 49:37 The devil is making war with the rest of our offspring 49:40 who keep the commandments of God, 49:41 all 10 of the commandments. 49:43 And by the way, the fourth commandment 49:44 which is coming to light for more. 49:45 Thousands of Christians around the world, 49:47 hundreds across this nation just today alone 49:50 have come to understand the truth 49:51 of the fourth commandment. 49:53 And they have decided to keep the fourth commandment. 49:55 Right now there are hundreds across America 49:57 that are making that decision today, 49:58 and are going to begin 49:59 to make the Sabbath their holy day, 50:01 their part of their life, 50:03 because they have come to see the truth as it is. 50:05 The great commandment of worship, 50:07 these are the people that keep the commandments of God 50:09 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 50:12 The Spirit of Prophecy will once again be manifested, 50:14 it tells us in Revelation 19:10 50:17 that the testimony of Jesus Christ 50:19 is a Spirit of Prophecy, 50:21 the same great Spirit of Prophecy 50:23 that manifested itself through several individuals, 50:25 some Bible writers, some not Bible writers. 50:27 In the days of the Acts, of the days of Acts, 50:30 in the days of the apostles, 50:31 God said that would resurge again, 50:32 and I believe that 50:34 we have already started to experience that 50:35 through one individual by the name of Ellen G. White. 50:38 As I've applied the great test of the prophet 50:40 as John tells us in 1 John, he tells us, 50:42 "Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see 50:45 whether they are true." 50:47 And, friends, I have tested 50:48 the claim to Ellen White's genuine Spirit of Prophecy gift 50:54 and, friend, she passes every single test, 50:56 and I've been tremendously blessed in these churches 50:59 around the world and in many nations, 51:01 because I believe God has manifested that gift 51:03 even as He had prophesied, it would take place. 51:07 I apologize to those of you 51:08 who are new to this particular study 51:10 and I kind of opened up a can of worms 51:12 and a number of things 51:13 that perhaps you've never studied before, 51:15 and so I pray that this 51:17 will not only start to open your eyes, 51:18 but that you'll be motivated to dig into it 51:21 and to find yourself at amazingfacts.org. 51:23 And you can find all kinds of extra information 51:26 on this particular subject, and continue to understand 51:29 these great and important prophecies. 51:30 God bless you. 51:32 We're so glad that you came to join us here today, 51:33 and we look forward to seeing you next week. 51:38 Don't forget to request 51:39 today's life changing free resource. 51:41 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 51:44 you can download a digital copy 51:45 straight to your computer or mobile device. 51:47 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 51:50 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 51:54 or visit the web address shown on your screen. 51:57 And be sure to select the digital download option 51:59 on the request page. 52:01 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word 52:04 with Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, 52:07 and most important, to share it with others. 52:21 We're here on the beautiful coast 52:23 of the island of Puerto Rico. 52:25 And if you were to travel east about 2000 miles, of course, 52:28 you would be out in the middle of the ocean. 52:30 But you'd also be in the middle of a mystical sea 52:33 called the Sargasso Sea. 52:35 It gets its name 52:36 because of this common brown seaweed 52:39 that can be found floating in vast mass. 52:42 The area of the Sargasso Sea is about 700 miles wide 52:46 and 2000 miles long. 52:48 Now the seaweed itself is fascinating stuff. 52:51 It was first observed and called Gulfweed 52:53 by Christopher Columbus. 52:55 It gets the name Sargon from the Portuguese. 52:57 Some people use it as herbal remedies. 52:59 But out in the middle of the Sargasso Sea, 53:02 the water is some of the bluest in the world. 53:04 It's there you can see 200 feet deep in places. 53:08 It also has a great biodiversity and ecosystem 53:11 that surrounds the Sargasso Sea. 53:13 For years, scientists wondered where the American 53:15 and the Atlantic eels were breeding. 53:18 They knew the adult eel swam down the rivers 53:20 out into the Atlantic, 53:21 but they never could find a place 53:22 where they reproduced. 53:24 Finally, they discovered it 53:25 was out in the middle of the Sargasso Sea. 53:28 So it's a fascinating place. 53:29 But if you are an ancient sailor, 53:31 you did not want to get stuck there. 53:35 Being caught in the doldrums was extremely difficult 53:39 for the ancient sailors. 53:40 Of course, their boats were driven by wind and sail, 53:43 and they'd be caught in the vast mass of the seaweed 53:46 that would wrap around the rudder, 53:47 barnacles would begin to grow, it's an area that is notorious 53:51 for light and baffling winds, and so they'd make no progress. 53:55 They get stuck. 53:56 The men would become extremely dispirited. 53:58 Sometimes violence and even insanity would break out 54:02 as people were trapped in the doldrums. 54:05 But, friends, perhaps sometimes you felt that 54:07 you're trapped in the doldrums. 54:08 You've gone through episodes of depression. 54:11 You feel like you're going in circles, 54:12 life seems stifling. 54:14 You know, the Bible offers good news. 54:16 There is a way out. 54:17 Bible talks about a famous character 54:20 that was trapped in a cycle of depression. 54:22 He was low as you could be. 54:24 Matter of fact, he even had seaweed 54:25 wrapped around his head. 54:27 His name was Jonah. 54:28 But God gave him a way of escape. 54:31 In Jonah 2:3-7, we read, 54:34 "For you cast me into the depths, 54:36 into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me, 54:40 all of Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 54:43 Then I said, 'I have been cast out of your sight, 54:47 yet I will look again towards Your holy temple.' 54:49 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul, 54:52 the deep closed around me, 54:54 weeds were wrapped around my head. 54:56 I went down to the moorings of the mountains, 54:59 the earth with its bars closed behind me forever, 55:02 yet you brought my life up from the pit. 55:05 O Lord, my God. 55:07 'When my soul fainted within me, I remember the Lord, 55:10 and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple.' " 55:14 You know, friends, the way that Jonah got out 55:16 of his discouraging circumstance, 55:18 he turned to God and he prayed. 55:20 And if God could hear Jonah's prayers, 55:22 just think about it. 55:23 He was as far away from God as anybody could be. 55:26 He was in the belly of a sea monster 55:27 in the bottom of the ocean in the dark. 55:29 Yet he turned to God and God heard his prayer. 55:32 You know, these ancient sailors, 55:33 when they were trapped 55:35 on the deck of a ship for weeks, 55:36 stuck in the doldrums discouraged, 55:38 sometimes they would have a prayer meeting, 55:40 and pray that God would send a breeze 55:42 that would set them free, and get their boats moving. 55:45 They turn to God in prayer 55:47 and often miracles would happen, 55:48 and the wind would flutter in the sails, 55:50 and bring them out of their seaweed prison. 55:53 Friends, maybe you have been stuck in the doldrums. 55:56 Maybe you've been caught in the cycle of depression. 55:58 If God can do it for Jonah, 56:00 if He can do it for the ancient sailors, 56:01 He can do it for you. 56:03 Turn to the Lord in prayer. 56:04 Trust His Spirit to blow through your soul 56:07 and to set you free. 57:12 "How many of you wish you could get a new start? 57:14 I'd like to live my life over knowing what I know now. 57:16 I don't want to start over 57:17 and just make old same mistakes. 57:19 I want to have my memories 57:20 so I don't make the same mistakes. 57:22 But you do get a new beginning, you become a new creature, 57:25 that feeling of all your sins being washed away 57:27 because God promised us it. 57:29 Isn't that a wonderful concept, friends?" 57:31 "I was thirsty, 57:34 and you gave me drink, 57:40 in as much as you did it 57:42 to one of the least of these, my brethren, 57:45 you did it to me." 57:54 Did you know Amazing Facts has a free Bible school 57:57 that you can do from the comfort of your own home? 58:00 It includes 27 study lessons 58:02 to aid in your study of God's Word. 58:04 Sign up today by calling 1-844-215-7000. 58:09 That's 1-844-215-7000. |
Revised 2019-02-18