REVELATION LESSON 23

REVELATION

LESSON 23

ARE WE LIVING IN THE END TIMES?

Revelation 12: 11-12   ¹¹ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

¹² Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

They overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death, therefore rejoice your heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you. He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short.

Now the long activity of Satan in heaven comes to its close and with it the intensified activity of Satan on earth. Those who overcame did so by the blood of the Lamb and by their faithful testimony, and their willingness to be martyrs if necessary.

On earth there would continue to be many martyrs through the great tribulation. Satan knows prophecy and believes his time is short.

Revelation 12: 13-14   ¹³ And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

¹⁴ And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

Further attention is given to the activities of Satan during the great tribulation. When Satan the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

While the woman represents faithful Jews and the male child, Rev. 12:5 represents Christ Jesus. The rest of the children could be a reference here to Jewish believers or most likely all believers.

The statement, the woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days is in reference to Israel being preserved through the great tribulation. Though many will perish, a remnant will be spared.

When Israel arrives, God will take are of her. God will supernaturally provide food, clothing, protection and anything else they need. They will spend the next three- and one-half years, the last half of the tribulation, protected by and hidden by God.

Revelation 12:15-17   ¹⁵ And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

¹⁶ And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

¹⁷ And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

And the mouth of the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away, but the earth helped the woman by opening up and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.

Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against her offspring. Those who obeyed Gods commandments and held to the testimony of Jesus.

Though the power of Satan is tremendous, so is the strength given to believers in that hour who are said to conquer through the Blood of the Lamb and their testimony.

Since this passage has already referred to “symbols” of the woman and the great red dragon, the word flood could be a symbolic picture of all that Satan is doing to destroy Israel. This would include false teaching which in the end time would come like a flood.

Circumstances of the great tribulation also would test their faith sorely in the fulfillment of the promise of the messiahs coming. Satan not only attempts to persecute Israel but all others who obey Gods commandments. This is of course in many other scriptures that speak of the horrors of the great tribulation.

A glance at history reveals a for-glimpse of his consistent hatred and diabolical wrath against Gods chosen people. It would almost seem that all the animosity and hatred he directs toward God in the last days of his freedom will be hurled against Gods beloved nation of Israel.

The final act on the part of Satan will be used of God to cause a worldwide revival to spread throughout Israel.

Revelation 13:1   13 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

In this chapter prophecy focuses on the coming world government. The beast and the false prophet who lead it. John tells us about two power houses of the tribulation period, the anti-Christ, that is, the political power house and the false prophet, the religious power house.

This is in many prophecies throughout the scriptures that speak of this crucial end time of three and a half years proceeding the coming of Christ Jesus.

These two end time dictators will merge Church and State. Todays leaders keep talking about a new world order. The purpose of this talk of the new world order is to bring the world into a one world government.

They have already created the world bank, the world health organization, the two world courts, the international criminal court, and the international court of justice, just to name a few.

Having introduced the main characters of the end time including Israel, the dragon, Christ Jesus and the false prophet, the revelation given to John goes on to describe the important persons that dominate the great tribulation.

Until next time,

Stay in the word,

Brother Andy

REVELATION Lesson 22

REVELATION

Lesson 22

Are We Living in the End Times?

Revelation 12:4   ⁴ And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

Stars are symbols of Angels. The fact that Satan swept a third of the stars out of the sky means that he caused one third of the angels to fall. Satan’s mutiny was a tremendous rebellion involving millions of angels.

Satan has tried to destroy Jesus, or at least Jesus’ mission of dying on the cross many times. When Jesus was on the earth Satan waited for the birth of Jesus because he wanted to destroy Jesus. When Jesus was born Satan stirred the wrath of Herod, the king of Judea to have all male babies in and around Bethlehem killed.

God sent an angel to warn Jesus’ earthly father Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry Satan offered Jesus the kingdom of the world if he would bow down and worship him.

Matthew 4:9-10   ⁹ And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

¹⁰ Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Later when Jesus told his disciples he would die, peter disagreed and Jesus answered saying to Peter, “get behind me Satan”, Satan was working through Peter to tempt Jesus to not go to the cross. This is an example of just how easy it is for Satan to deceive the flesh.

Before Jesus was crucified on the cross, he went to the garden to pray. Satan came against Jesus there with such power that God sent an angel to strengthen Jesus. Satan put Jesus under such pressure that it caused Jesus to suffer such agony and temptation that he sweat great drops of blood. Jesus loved his heavenly father so much and wanted to obey the Father and go ahead with the plan that was laid out in order to save the people of Earth. Jesus prevailed against everything the Devil threw at him.

John predicted that the tail of the beast will throw a third part of the stars “angles” to the earth. This is probably referring to the time of his power in the end time. He will eventually conquer the world at the beginning of the great tribulation.

Revelation 12:5   ⁵ And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

The dragon is pictured as awaiting the birth of the man child to devour it as soon as it is born. This of course refers to the birth of Christ. John then recorded, she gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron rod.

And her child was caught up to God and to His throne. Notice that Jesus will not rule the nations with love, but with a rod of iron. The world at this point is full of people who are in rebellion against God. Because they are following false teachings or religions Christ will crush this rebellion when he returns with a iron rod.

Revelation 12:6   ⁶ And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

The statement, “the woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God where she might be taken care of for 1260 days” is a reference to Israel being preserved through the great tribulation.

1,260 days is the exact length of the great tribulation which will usher in the second coming of Jesus. Israel as a nation will be preserved and rescued by Christ when he comes.

Romans 11:26-27   ²⁶ And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Si-on the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

²⁷ For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Revelation 12:7-8   ⁷ And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

⁸ And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

In the beginning of the great tribulation, which is the last half of the seven-year period, is Israel’s special time of trouble. It is also marked by war in Heaven. John wrote and there was a war in Heaven, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon (which is Satan) and his angels fought back, but the dragon was not strong enough and they lost their place in heaven.

Revelation 12:9-10   ⁹ And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

¹⁰ And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 

The great dragon was cast down, that old serpent called the devil or Satan who leads the world astray. He was hurled to the earth from the second heaven. He and his fallen angels with him.

After being cast to Earth he controls the world government in the time period right before the second coming of Christ Jesus.

The casting of Satan to the earth also marks the beginning of the most awful period in human history. The great tribulation. John recorded the voice from heaven speaking of this event, now has come the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Son, Christ Jesus.

For the accuser who accuses them before our God day and night has been hurled down, and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has gone down to you. He is filled with his fury because he knows that his time is short.

Until the next lesson,

Stay in the word.

Brother Andy.

REVELATION Lesson 21

REVELATION

Lesson 21

ARE WE LIVING IN THE END TIMES?

Revelation 11:16-17   ¹⁶ And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

¹⁷ Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

The announcement that God and Jesus will be taking over caused a tremendous reaction in heaven. From this point on Satan’s days will be drawing quickly to a close. Jesus will begin to exercise the authority over the nations that became his when he died on the cross. He will go forth to conquer the forces of evil and usher in the millennium. The twenty-four elders represent the church from Pentecost to the rapture.

Revelation 11:18   ¹⁸ And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Satan will know his day will soon come to an end. He will stir up anger in the nations and at the same time he stirs up anger, Gods wrath will burn brighter. This will put Satan and Jesus on a collision course, Satan will unite the nations against Jesus. This conflict is referred to as the battle of Armageddon.

The nations were angry and Gods wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and your saints: all those who reverence your name, both small and great, he will destroy those who are causing destruction on the earth.

Everyone is accountable to God. No one will escape His judgement. Even the dead will be judged, but the righteous will be rewarded before the judgement seat of Christ for reverencing the name of Jesus. The wicked will be destroyed for their unrepented sin.

Revelation 11:19   ¹⁹ And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

The lightening, voices, thundering, earthquake, and great hail indicate that the scene in heaven is over and events that have to do with the affairs of men are about to be disclosed. These will be catastrophes and mounting confusion and terror that will come upon the earth. There is one thing left to discuss, how to avoid this awful period in our worlds future, it is by receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior by his own personal invitation. He is waiting with open arms for you to receive Him as Lord and Savior.

Revelation 12:1-2   12 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

² And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

Chapter eleven began this prophet which now continues into chapter twelve. Now we will be learning more about Israel, Jesus, Satan, the Archangel Michael and the inhabitants of the earth. Most of the bad things that happen do so because the world is caught up in a great spiritual battle between good and evil, which is sometimes referred to as the conflict of the ages.

It is a spiritual struggle between God and Satan that will intensify on earth at the end of the age of grace. Jesus clearly taught that it will be worse than anything that has happened on the earth ever before. This great struggle involves a woman, (Israel), a dragon (Satan), a child (Jesus) and the remainder of the woman’s offspring (Christians). The woman is referred to as a great wonder in Heaven. The word “wonder” literally translated from the Greed is “sign” and appearing for the first time in the book of Revelation it indicates that the woman is not to be taken literally as woman, but as a symbolic representation of something.

The woman, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head says she was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Seven things are presented in revelation: the woman representing Israel the dragon or Satan, the man child Jesus, Michael representing the angels. The remnant of Israel represented by the 144,000: the beast of the sea, the world dictator of the end time: the beast of the earth, a religious leader who is a false prophet and supports the world dictator.

If the predictions of this portion of Revelation are to be properly interpreted it is necessary to give close attention to the details concerning each person.

Revelation 12:3   ³ And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

John recorded, then another sign appeared in Heaven. And enormous Red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his head. This sign is called a wonder but the word wonder is not used here. Rather it is a sign in the enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads refers to the Roman Empire.

Just because Rome has sunk beneath the sands of time does not mean that the Roman Government is not in force today. In fact, Roman government today covers a vast amount of the earth’s population. Power in the hands of evil men in the form of government has given license to murders, war, famine, heartache and suffering beyond human comprehension.

This can be attributed to Satan who is using world dictators and key leaders to manipulate the affairs of mankind. the culmination of such practices will reach a climax during the tribulation period.

The dragon spoken of in the bible will have seven heads symbolizing the seven gentile world governments. It will have ten horns symbolizing the ten that will reign with him during the tribulation period. The bible teaches that these ten kings will rise to power and the antichrist will come on the scene in a unified Europe called the European nation.

This must not be taken lightly. A one world government empowered and controlled by Satan is a terrible thought. Some feel that it will make world war two look like a Sunday picnic.

A good example of how this could happen is a proposal that came before the U.N. It called for the nations to surrender their sovereignty to the U.N. The world will be divided into ten regions, the number of permanent members of the security council of U.N. will be increased to ten. One permanent member will be put over each region.

 This is the kind of thing Christians need to be on the watch for.

# 1 one world divided into ten regions with ten leaders called kings, 10 horns,10 crowns.

# 2 The antichrist takes over three regions, leaving ten kings or horns but only seven regions, or seven crowns. Assyria, Egypt, Babylon.

# 3 Antichrist takes over the whole world. He will control ten kings and seven crowns or regions. This will be the kingdom of leaders that will rule with the Antichrist at the end of the age.

Christians don’t worry. As I have said before, we will have been raptured out before most of this happens, however you need to know this. It may help you lead someone to Christ. The word promises a blessing for those who read and study the book of Revelation.

Until the next lesson,

Stay in the word.

Brother Andy.