You Can Have Hope Again!

As we continue through the Book of Revelation, it is really important not to rush through it and realize how it is speaking to us in our own personal relationship with Jesus if we have one today. It should be an ongoing personal checklist to how we're doing in our relationship with Jesus. If you don't have a personal relationship with Him, than how can you say you're a Christian. It's just religion if you are simply going through the motions. The questions we need to be asking ourselves today is:

Is this real in my life?
Am I really a Christian?
How are you doing in this world?
Are you relying on the blood of Jesus Christ and His faithfulness day by day?
Have you placed your entire existence upon the altar of God?
How is your faith?
How is your hope?
How is your love?

Never underestimate man's own ability to justify his own sin. Remember that appearances are everything to the Christian life and how others perceive us. Just because you're living together to save money for your wedding and you aren't sleeping with one another, people who don't know you, believe that you are. How can you justify that as a Christian?

Will you fight temptations so that you can stay strong today?

2 Corinthians 9:8 ~ "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

Ephesians 3:20 ~ "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us."

Lamentations 3:32-33 ~ "Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men."

God's not setting out to ruin your day today. 

Hebrews 6:19 ~ "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain."

Have you put all your hope and trust in God? Some might be putting all your trust in money. Realize that it can never buy you great health.

Psalm 42:5 ~ "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. "

You are not hopeless. Your hope is in God, no matter what happens to you. It is the only thing that will get you through to the end. People who are dying want and will cling to the Word of God. Maybe what you're losing or have possessed, isn't what is important for you right now.

Psalm 146:5-6 ~ "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them - the LORD who remains faithful forever."

Got problems? Give them to the LORD.

1 Peter 1:3-4 ~ "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you."

Our hope is alive, because Jesus rose from the dead! That is the deep assurance and hope of a Christian despite circumstances.

Romans 15:13 ~ "May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Titus 2:13-14 ~ "while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."

To look for, means to anticipate something. It may look to some like they are fretting or worrying sometimes, like sprinters before a race walking around the track aren't worrying about the race, but anticipating the sound of the gun and finishing the race.

Let each moment we have count, regardless of what is going on around you. Jesus paid for the cost of our sins, past, present and future sins through His death on the cross. That is how He redeems us from all wickedness and purifies us for Himself when we put our faith and trust in Him.

God knows how special you are. He is so in love with you and will be with you always. He will never leave you. He loves us because He is love. It has nothing to do with what we can do for Him. That is not love. God's love for us is unconditional. Eager to do what is good is easy to do when you are a Christian, because we can't wait to do something to give God all the glory, honor and praise. That is what being a Christian is all about.

We will pick up our study into the Book of Revelation 13 tomorrow but through today, consider just how much you are loved by God and how wonderful you are to Him. Be blessed through the love and hope that can be found only in Jesus Christ.

The World is Not Falling Apart, It's Coming Together!

When God intervenes, He uses His natural creation to do so. Like in dealing with Pharaoh, God gave Moses and Aaron the power to call forth the power of the earth's elements and even dealing with Korah's rebellion, God used the earth and the heavens at His beck and call to administer justice and judgment. He created them, they are His to use.

We remember in our study yesterday of the use of the phrase "like a river or like a flood" depending on which Bible version you are using to describe the type of manifestation that the Antichrist will use in dealing with the nation of Israel once he has been expelled from heaven. We are not sure if this will be the literal use of a water feature or simply an army like would look like a flood to a remnant intent on escaping their enemy.

Revelation 12:15 ~ "Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away like a torrent."

Have you ever taken a wild animal and confined it to a cage? It is not a pretty sight nor one I would recommend you try. There is nothing worse to see than that. Satan has now been banned to the earth and he is not happy. Antisemitism will be on the rise, more than ever before in the history of the world. We are seeing a rise of that happening even now in Germany, Austria and even Russia and it will only grow in intensity as Satan's time grows shorter. Remember this is a future event, but we are seeing the stage being set even now.

Revelation 12:16 ~ "But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth."

Could this be an earthquake maybe? We know from reading the Old Testament that it is not unheard of for God to open the earth and swallow His enemies up. In fact in Numbers 16, you see that rebellion that happened between Korah and Moses. Korah felt that Moses shouldn't be the one to judge the nations any longer and called into question his authority. Moses drew a line in the sand and asked all those who sided with Korah to stand on one side and supporters of Moses stand on the other. Moses asked God to judge between them both and God opened the earth and swallowed up Korah and all who complained along with him. This is reminding Israel to put its faith in God because He had done it before and will do it again.

Revelation 12:17 ~ "Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring - those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus."

We know that this verse is referring to the 144,000 witnesses and the Tribulation Saints who are left to ride out the remainder of the Tribulation period. The world is not falling apart despite how it make look around you today, but simply that the stage is being set, the storm is brewing. We see with the many beheadings happening around the world, the rise in Christian churches being attacked over any other religious institution are simply the beginnings of what has to happen.

The mode of the Antichrist to kill his enemies are to behead them. Prior to 9/11, we wouldn't even think that such things like this would be happening all over the world, now it is becoming so common, people don't even think twice about it. It's like old news. The world is simply coming together just as Jesus said it would be in the last days. A rise in wars and rumors of wars means global wars not local ones. He said there would be a rise in ethnic issues and we already see that happening on a scale like never before. Now there are political philosophies happening globally, earthquakes in various parts of the world with growing frequency and intensity. If you don't believe me, google Cal Tech and search for frequency of earthquakes. You will see that they have risen unbelievably since the 1950's. When is the last time we had a really good one here in the United States? It's been a while.

Based on Daniel 11:41, we know that a remnant from the nation of Israel will head to the mountains in Jordan to a place I believe is known as Sela or Jordan. We see the warnings but are we listening? Are we paying attention?

What about issues involving children, women and churches today? Is anyone paying attention or really listening?

What about the warning against supporting Israel?

We can have hope however like that found in 1 Corinthians 10:13 ~ "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

Just remember God is providing a way out, will you take it?

Hope in the Midst of Evil

The one thing I believe I want you to take away from this study more than anything is that God never rejects us. It is us that rejects God. We don't want Him telling us what to do, what is wrong versus right and we simply want to be left alone to manage things as we see fit and what works for us. If you reject God, it is you doing the rejecting not Him. When bad things happen, like earthquakes, school shootings, murder and violence across the world, we shouldn't be blaming God. It's evil. It's not of God. God doesn't approve or sanction it. That's evil and it comes from from Satan and the influence of the world.

Remember that it was humanity the rejected God. We can be grateful that God is not fair. If He were we might not be getting the opportunities we have now. But God in His grace and mercy keeps on extending those opportunities for us to come to have that personal relationship with him. As we dive deeper into our study today and finish up Revelation 12, we need to remember a few things. This is a chapter of a battle and a war that is both past and future tense.

We need to understand the woman represented here is the nation of Israel.
The Son she gives birth to is Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
The great dragon is none other than Satan.
The believers mentioned here are the ones that come to Christ, Jews first and then Gentiles following during the Tribulation Period.

Do not let anyone confuse you and tell you that this is referring to the church. The church was removed from the earth during the rapture in Revelation 4:1. All the believers that will come to Christ at this point are Tribulation Saints.

In verses 1-6 of Revelation 12, we studied how this is a war that started on earth and is still affecting earth and it's inhabitants since the creation of the world, the fall in the Garden of Eden and through the birth of Jesus Christ.

One thing to consider is the ancient Roman Empire was never conquered. No one ever defeated the Roman Empire. It simply fragmented into the world. It's a rule that went away for a time, but it will be resurrected in the last days. To know where, we simply need to look back on a history map to see where the ancient Roman Empire existed and we know that it was in Europe. This is where it will all happen. It will come out of Europe with Rome as it's capital base. We know this place as the EU or European Union or as some have called it the US of E or the United States of Europe. 10 leaders will rise from the group with 3 of them being the final key players.

Christians will not be on the earth when that happens but we are beginning to see the assemblance of this beginning to happen. The last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation is when Satan and his angels are cast down from heaven for the last time to earth. They will no longer have heavenly access. That has been revoked. There is no race, no people, no nation, that is hated and persecuted in all of human history like the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. Israel has experienced more wars in their territory than any place in history as well as the Valley of Armageddon which is right in Israel's backyard. Jerusalem is the most hotly contested piece of real estate in the entire world.

Revelation 12:13-17 ~ "When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and her offspring - those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus."

The offspring referred to here is any of those believers who hold onto the truth of God's Word. A time is coming of unprecedented persecution to the nation of Israel but that has not happened yet. It will be far worse than anything they have experienced up to this point.

2 Peter 1:4 ~ "Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."

It is God and God alone who is faithful and He is ever present to help us. God have given the Jewish people a time of unbelief to allow for the Gentiles to come to faith. God will NOT forsake Israel. The time clock began moving forward on May 14, 1948 when the nation of Israel became a nation in one day for the second time.

Hebrews 4:14-16 ~ "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Revelation 12"13-14~ " "When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach." 

On the onslaught of an enemy attacks against Israel, God always gives them hope.

Isaiah 40:31 ~ "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

God will swoop down and rescue a remnant of His people. He rescued them from Egypt and He will do it again.

Revelation 12:15 ~ "Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent."

Notice the words "like a river" this mean it is not an actual river but something that acts like one. It is something that comes from the order of the serpent (Antichrist). a security detail or an army who will go after the Jewish people.

Remember Tribulation saints will be called to die for their faith but as Church Age believers, we are called to live for our faith as a church. Let's make sure we stay busy sharing the good news and our testimony along with a healthy dose of prayer daily. We will pick back up again in this study tomorrow.

We Are All In A War, What is Your Role?

Will God let us see what is happening on earth during the Tribulation Period? We will probably have an awareness of what is happening but the Bible is silent on that issue. So often when bad things happen in the world, people are quick to point the blame on God. But that is so wrong. The Bible tells us exactly who is to blame.

1 John 5:19 ~ "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one."

John 10:10 ~ "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." 

So if we want to place blame for all the evil things happening in the world, let's make sure to place the blame in the right place.

God told us prophecy in advance, not to scare us but to prepare us to know Jesus Christ, personally. You can find Jesus in a church, but we need to call out to Him alone. We need to divorce ourselves from religion and develop a personal relationship instead.

As we studied yesterday, about Satan's request to sift Peter as wheat and Jesus' response was that He would pray for Peter. Satan has that right today in your life and mine. The question we need to ask ourselves in situations like Peter and Job is did they win in the end? The answer should be an emphatic YES!!

Isaiah 54:17 ~ "no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me, declares the LORD."

If you want to grow as a Christian, know this, God will bring you right to the brink of things before giving you His grace and mercy. It's tough, but its how we grow. Sometimes as believers we have more problems than non believers do and a lot of times it is because they (non believers) are waiting to see what you will do when hard times come. Is your faith something that can be trusted when you are tested? That can sometimes be worth more than simply offering to take someone to church in hopes they might believe.

Remember this however, that Satan's days are numbered. Our victory is an overwhelming victory because our true enemy is overwhelmingly defeated.

Revelation 12:9 ~ "The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled down to the earth, and his angels with him."

Notice how many references to Satan are found in simply this one verse. The "serpent" is a reference to the Garden of Eden where it all began. The "devil" or diablo is one who slanders or accuses. "Satan" is our chief adversary, and the "great dragon: is ruling over kingdoms and politics of the world. Let's rephase that verse now with a little more clarity.

The one who rules over the kingdoms and politics of the world, the one who started all of this in the Garden of evil, the one who accuses and slanders, our chief adversary, was hurled down to the earth and his angels with him.

In the New King James Version, this verse begins, "So the dragon was cast out." It is interesting to say it regardless where you put the reference on the word "SO." As a result of Satan's ways, so he was cast out.

1 John 5:19 ~ "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one."

If you don't know Jesus personally, you are still lost and blinded by Satan's powers. This control can only be broken by the One who defeated Satan and that is Jesus Christ.

Beware of legalism, which is simply trying to live up to certain expectations within a church or religious group in order to gain favor with God. It's heresy and it won't work.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ~ "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

Our true desire is overwhelmingly fulfilled and our destination is heaven. We see in this chapter those who have died, the Tribulation Saints or martyrs of the faith, as we draw close to the end of the Tribulation period.

Revelation 12:10 ~ "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down."

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 ~ "However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit."

Our victory is an overwhelming victory because our true accuser is overwhelmingly stopped. Satan is constantly reminding God about all the condemnation of the human race both saved and unsaved before the throne room of God. Salvation is the victory of God.

This victory comes at a great price. This gift of salvation is of the Lord.

Revelation 12:11-12~ "They overcame him 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, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows his time is short."

The word of their testimony - is telling people what God has done and is continuing to do in our lives, that the Word of God is true. No one can say your lying about what changes you have seen God doing in your life. That is why the enemy tries so hard to keep you from sharing Jesus with others. He understands just how powerful our life stories can be.

There is no room in heaven for people who don't come there through Jesus Christ and that makes the world mad. He is the prescription for eternal security and spiritual victory. They had given up, surrendered to God so that He could live through them. That's how a Christian wins!

Those in heaven will rejoice!
The church having been raptured.
The Old Testament believers.
Those who are martyred.
All of these will rejoice in heaven!

This victory comes at a great price, this gift rejected leaves man no other hope.

By what means will you redeem yourself? How? Why is Jesus Christ such an issue for you? Why?

Acts 4:11-12 ~ "He is the cornerstone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

This gift is a once in a lifetime chance to escape. In order to get to hell, you have to willingly rejected Jesus. There is no other way out for you.

The meaning of this message must be that there is an epic battle being waged and we're in it.

The question is, what role are you playing?

 

Gaining a Heavenly Perspective

Things are not always how they appear. Having the right perspective is how we view those in heaven will see spiritual things that we are studying in Revelation 12 in the war between Michael and his angels and Satan and his fallen angels. The Bible is silent however on whether or not we, who are in heaven, will be able to see things going on in the earth. What is interesting is that if we, in heaven, are giving God's perspective on things, we would not see things happening below to our loved ones as sad. We would know why there are happening and thus not be sad.

Daniel 10:12-13 ~ "Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the King of Persia."

In a nutshell, the prayer Daniel prayed, was possibly in the process of perhaps being answered by Gabriel and he was dispatched from heaven the day Daniel prayed it. However, because he (Gabriel?) was delayed by a fallen angel identified as the prince of the Persian kingdom, it took Michael coming to help him before he could deliver the answer to prayer to Daniel. He was being held up in the spiritual realm. If you want an idea of what goes on in the spiritual realm and our own physical world, read Piercing the Darkness from Frank Peretti! Too often we fail to recognize and forget that there are demonic influences happening in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

Matthew 25:41 ~ "Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

Hell wasn't created for humans, it was created for Satan and his angels. Humans wind up there on their own choices to reject God and do what they want.

Isaiah 24:21 ~ "In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below."

We need to remember that our most effective weapon we weld as a Christian is prayer, We need to pray and pray again in those desperate hours in our lives.

Ephesians 6:12 ~ "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

This is where our battle is, not with the people we encounter. Pray and pray always in all things.

Ephesians 6:18 ~ "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

We need to enforce the fact that means "apply the Bible through prayer/" This is the only way to affect the spiritual realm. This is how Christians weld weapons.

Daniel 12:1 ~"At this time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people - everyone whose name is found in the book - will be delivered."

"At this time" is the time referred to in Revelation 12:7 with the war in heaven between Michael and Satan. Michael stands up to act and to defend. Fighting the right battle, wins us the victory, there is a victory that is fully guaranteed us.

Revelation 12:8 ~ "But he was not strong enough (Satan), and they lose their place in heaven."

Jesus took his disciples to a place in Caseara Phillipi where it was not a place for Christians to go. In fact, during that time, it was the biggest place of Satanic worship and demon activity. It was a place carved out of rock where places were that you could worship your god of choice, declare allegiance to them and then sacrifice your child by throwing them into the river below. The place still exists today and you'd be surprised at what it is called, "The Gates of Hell." (See pictures contained in this post). We pick up the story and see how this changes our perspective in what we have read all along now.

Matthew 16:18 ~ "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not over come it."

This was one of the darkest places on the planet. Pan was worshiped here. It was known as Pan - Ick. Worship of Pan, declare their name, worship him and then sacrifice your children to him." These rocks in Casarea Philippi are called the Gates of Hell. This is the reason that Jesus told Peter and his disciples in that location, that the gates of Hell will not prevail against His church, no matter what happens in the world. No matter how dark or evil it might look.

John 10:27-29 ~ "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's Hand."

Jesus gives eternal life for free, it is not something any of us can attempt to earn. Once we have it, we need to rest in that assurance that we belong to Jesus and nothing that happens to us in this life will ever take away the promise of eternal life He have given to those who call Him Lord and Savior.

Philippians 1:6 ~ "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Psalm 138:8 ~ "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; you love, O LORD, endures forever - do not abandon the works of your hands."

Jude 1:24 ~ "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy."

John 16:11 ~ "and in regards to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."

Hebrews 2:14-15 ~ "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humility so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death -  that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."

Satan either wants you to fear death or simply never to think about it. There is a victory that is absolutely final.

Revelation 12:8 ~ "But he was not strong enough (Satan), and they lost their place in heaven."

Luke 22:31-32 ~ "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

Isn't it interesting what Simon might have been thinking when Jesus posed this to Simon. I'm sure he was probably saying, "Why didn't you just tell Satan, No and then we'd would move forward without anything happening to me. I mean prayer is fine and all that, but really?"

When Satan asks to "sift you as wheat," that is not a good thing. People masquerade all the time in their faith, carrying their Bible, attending church, but they'd rather enjoy the pleasures of this world over what Jesus has promised and are not true followers of the faith. Why would anyone want to follow them?

The world right now belongs to Satan and his followers but as we have studied in Revelation 12, that will not always be the case. Jesus is coming back and that will soon change. 

Satan Gets Expelled

As we have been continuing our study into the Book of Revelation it is important to understand that this is for a 7 year duration period once the church is removed from the earth in Revelation 4:1. What we need to understand is that the final 3 1/2 years is known as the Great Tribulation period, one filled with atmospheric disturbances, wars, plagues and geological events. The believers we find scattered through these chapters are simply Tribulation Saints, ones that responded to the message in faith after the rapture of the church. Church Age Saints or Believers have been in heaven up to this point.

From Revelation 12 to Revelation 19, the Bible takes the reader into the microscopic details of the events we see coming to the earth during the final 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation period. As we studied in previous posts we learned that the nation of Israel and the Jewish remnant will flee to the wildness and we have deciphered that this is located in Jordan, and we believe it will be in the city of Petra. During the Tribulation period, the Antichrist will have Jordan as their enemy and thus he will not be able to touch them.

Daniel 11:41 ~ "He (the Antichrist) will also invade the Beautiful Land (Jerusalem). Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand."

Right now the European Union has been stockpiling food supplies and resources in Jordan in an undisclosed location but reportedly not far from Petra in the event of a global war that would impact Europe or the Middle East. It is slated to contain enough food for 2 million people. If you attempt to search for this, you will not find any information on the Internet but those who are involved in the process can't comment on what is happening or where the supply location is. This would be perfect to align up with Revelation 12:6 ~"The woman (Israel) fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days (or 3 1/2 years)." This means that Jordan will supply the food to enable this to happen. 

Revelation 12:7-12 ~ "And there was a war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him 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, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But 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."

This details the eviction of Satan out of his access from heaven. Remember that this is a detailed look at what is going on during the Tribulation period in a behind the scenes kind of way. This is during those final 3 1/2 years known as the Great Tribulation.

Matthew 24:21 ~ "For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again."

Fighting the battle, wins us the victory. There is a victory that can only come from war despite how we may feel. No one wants war, but if you want to stop your enemies from attacking you on your own soil, you have to attach them on their own soil. You can't wait for them to get here. We all want peace, but in order to achieve it, sometimes war is necessary. Think about what happened if the US had opted to stay out of the war when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor or when Germany invaded Europe. The world would be a drastically different place.

Behind earthly wars, there are first spiritual powers at play. The Bible tells us there are nations that are stirred up by demonic and heavenly warfare. Salvation is the absolute victory and purpose of God and Satan wants to do anything he can to prevent that from happening.

We know in reading the Bible that there are 3 levels or types of heaven. We have the (1) heaven which consists of ground zero to where our atmosphere ends and space begins. Then the (2) heaven is from all the space and beyond to include all the planets and stars, suns and galaxies as far as it exists. The (3) heaven is the very abode of God. When we read that there was a war in heaven, this is all three heavens rolled into one.

During the Tribulation Period, Satan is expelled from heaven and the Throne Room of God where he has been accusing believers since the creation. Why does God even allow him access? Satan likes to pick fights, he's been doing it all along and even through the Tribulation period because he knows his time is limited. We see in our study today that a war is breaking out in heaven between Michael and his angels and Lucifer (Satan) and his angels.

This is an incredible sight to fathom because when we consider angels, they are not the cute chubby cheek cherubs. Whenever they have appeared throughout the Bible, people are afraid when they show up, and are often sick for days. Here we see Michael versus Satan. Jesus does not have an equal opponent. This is a battle in the spiritual realm of heaven and one we will look at in greater detail tomorrow.

Why Doesn't Satan Give Up If He Knows He Loses in the End?

As we wrap up our study today in Revelation 12:1-6, we need to understand that in regards to verses 5 and 6, we are right in the middle of those two verses. We are living in a time after verse 5, but before verse 6.

Revelation 12:5 ~ "She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne."

We know in prior studies that "she" is in regards to the nation of Israel>Mary who would bring forth a son, Jesus Christ, who will one day rule the nations with an iron scepter during His 1000 year millennial reign. In reference to being "snatched up" this is the same word in Greek and Hebrew that is the same reference to where we get the term rapture. It is the same word used when Enoch and Elijah were "taken or snatched up." Jesus ascended back to heaven and has been there for the last 2000+ years.

During this period, we know that Jesus has ascended back into heaven, the church is on earth still, the Tribulation has not happened yet, Israel has not been deceived by the Antichrist yet and will one day flee into the wilderness. Now let's look at verse 6 to see how wonderfully these two verses fit together.

Revelation 12:6 ~ "The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God where she might be taken care of for 1260 days."

We know that the woman is the nation of Israel, and we will figure out where Israel will flee to as we pull verses from previous scriptures and the Old Testament to map these clues perfectly. We understand the reference of 1260 days to be the biblical standard for 42 months or 3 1/2 years. This is a future event that will occur during the Tribulation period.

Matthew 24:16-25 ~ "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be a great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, "Look, here is the Christ!" or, "There he is!" do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect - if that we possible. See, I have told you ahead of time." 

We need to understand that the "elect" referred to here is the believing remnant of Israel during the Tribulation period. We know that the nation of Israel will flee to the mountains. It will be such a time of initial rush that no one will have time to go back and get anything, they will need to leave right away.

Psalm 23:4-5a ~ "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies."

We know that David wrote this Psalm and we, as Gentiles hold fast to the promises of this Psalm but it was the Jews who have the rights to this promise first. This will be important later in our study.

In Jordan, there is a crack in the earth in which the city of Petra resides. In some place the cliffs are 200 feet high and are so small that a man on horseback can not fit inside the paths. Yet once you are in there, there is an amphitheater that can easily hold 10,000 people. The country of Jordan is right next door to Israel and in order to get there you have to cross over the mountains. Speculation?

Daniel 11:41 ~ "He (the Antichrist) will also invade the Beautiful Land (Jerusalem). Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand."

Edom and Moab are located with the nation of Jordan as well as the city of Ammon. Jordan is the "they" that will feed Israel when it flees into the city of Petra during the Tribulation Period. It is not hard to see how wonderfully God is connecting the dots if we are only willing to look and study His Word.

We need to understand that Satan hates it whenever we pray, attend church or share the gospel with the lost world. He is losing his hard fought battles because he lost the war a long time ago. Read Isaiah 9, Micah 5, Daniel 12, Ezekiel 40-44 and Isaiah 56-66 for more information). It's all about Jesus!!!

We know that Jesus ascended and is in heaven because He promised that when He got there, He would send us a helper, His Holy Spirit. So how do we know Jesus arrived in heaven? He sent His Spirit as promised on the Day of Pentecost and it is with us even today. When the church is raptured from this world, the Holy Spirit will simply step aside so that evil can run rampant on the earth. He does not leave with the church.

Satan's reason for not giving up even though he knows he won't win in the end is simple. He knows if he can affect you, he affects the heart of God. As a Christian, his plan is to neuter you or sterilize your power. It's to make you goofy. No wonder your spiritual life is not making a difference. God's got your soul, but Satan has your vitality!

You won't impact anyone and in fact you can impact the church negatively when people judge you and your Christianity based on your words and actions alone. Why would anyone want to be a Christian when they see you? People shouldn't be deceived. They shouldn't be following Christians, they should be following Christ, and we as believers, should be letting them see what Christ is doing in our lives.

Satan is fighting but those battles that he wins are battles that are handed to him. We let Satan win when we allow him to continue to attack our lives. We need serious, desperate prayers for our country, marriages, homes, churches and government leaders.

Matthew 24:35 ~ "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."

When you read the Bible, you're reading God's Word, God's message to man. The Word of God, the Bible is indestructible.

According to the Bible, in obedience to God, every Christian is commanded to support and pray for Israel. It's always been about Israel.

Genesis 22:17-18 ~ "I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of the enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

Joel 3:2 ~ "I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land."

2 Chronicles 7:12-17 ~ "the LORD appeared to him at night and said, "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. When I shut up the heavens so there is no rain, or command locusts to destroy the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. As for you, if you walk before me as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws,"

Isaiah 40:1 ~"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God."

There is a satanic, religious jihad, a global agenda that is under way that is designed to:

1. Economically disable the USA (west).
2. Intimidate the Christian church to silence.
3. Annihilate the nation of Israel.
4. All of this, to establish a New World Order.

Ephesians 6:10-18 ~ " Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breast plate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

The Bible tells it perfectly - Satan loses big in the end. Jesus is coming back.

1 John 4:4 ~ "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."