Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:13-17
#churchleadership #faith #jesus #Messiah #salvation #SignsOfTheTimes #spiritualwarfare
https://lightforthelastdays.co.uk/articles/christians-issues/spiritual-warfare/
#churchleadership #faith #jesus #Messiah #salvation #SignsOfTheTimes #spiritualwarfare
https://lightforthelastdays.co.uk/articles/christians-issues/spiritual-warfare/
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LearningTranscript
00:00Thank you, Q1. It's actually Tim Diepp. He's quite an expert on Islam and Christianity and other things.
00:12So if you're interested to come along next Sunday evening, be speaking on the kind of assault on Christianity in this country and the answers in Jesus.
00:22So that'll be a good meeting to come along to.
00:26Just another point for prayer. We heard that Mike Sargon, who used to come here, he's now leading a church in Harrow.
00:34He's had a heart problem. He's in hospital at the present time. So just ask to pray for Mike.
00:41Lord, we do thank you that you can look after our needs and we do commit Mike Sargon to you and Pat.
00:47And we just pray that you'll have your hand upon Mike. Pray for your healing hand upon him.
00:51And that you bring him through this time of trouble in his heart and pray that you'll strengthen his heart and bring him safely through this time.
01:00And pray for your complete healing in the name of Jesus, be made completely whole and that you'll enable him to continue with his ministry there at the church in Harrow.
01:09In Jesus' name. Amen.
01:11Amen.
01:13Amen.
01:15Somebody suggested that I should give some teaching on spiritual warfare.
01:19So we're actually going to read a passage from the book of Revelation.
01:23So if you'd like to turn to Revelation and chapter 12.
01:37I'll read the whole chapter.
01:38Now a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.
01:49Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.
01:53And another sign appeared in heaven, behold, a great fiery dread dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads.
02:02His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth, and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born.
02:13She bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and her child was caught up to God and his throne.
02:21Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God that they should feed her their 1,260 days.
02:30And war broke out in heaven.
02:32Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was the place found for them in heaven any longer.
02:41So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.
02:49He was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
02:53Then they heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come.
03:01For the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down.
03:05And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
03:13Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them.
03:17Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.
03:26Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.
03:32But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times, and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
03:44So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.
03:52But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood, which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
03:59And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
04:11Passage from the book of Revelation, dealing with the time of the end, but also a passage which speaks about the whole battle between God and Satan during this present age.
04:22One of the subjects which I look at in my magazine, Light for the Last Days, which you can take copies of after the meeting here,
04:31is the fact that we are living in the last days, and in the last days we're heading towards a time which the Bible calls the Great Tribulation,
04:38in which there'll be a time of intense trouble upon the earth,
04:41and it will lead to the second coming of Jesus Christ, when he'll reign, I believe, for a thousand years,
04:47as prophesied in the book of Revelation.
04:51So there's bad news and there's good news.
04:54The good news is that our man wins, Jesus Christ wins.
04:59The bad news is that Satan comes down with great wrath, because he knows his time is short.
05:04And we can see the evidence of Satan coming down with great wrath.
05:07We can see all the troubles which are coming on the earth.
05:09We can see the beginning of the sorrows time, which is spoken of in the book of Matthew by Jesus.
05:14And we can see things happening, which are shaping us up for the time of the end, the time of the Great Tribulation.
05:23And so, let's have a look at this passage in the book of Revelation.
05:28Quite a mysterious passage, quite a fascinating passage.
05:32There are different ways to interpret the Revelation.
05:36Just briefly, they are what's called the Preterist view,
05:39which means that these events in the book of Revelation were actually fulfilled in the time they were written, roughly,
05:46in the time of the Roman Empire and the battle between the Christians and the Roman Empire,
05:50and reached their conclusion with the fall of Jerusalem in the year A.D. 70.
05:55Personally, I don't take that view.
05:56I don't think it makes any sense, actually, of the whole passage.
06:00You also have what's called the Historicist view,
06:02which is that the passages, particularly the passage between Chapter 6 and Chapter 19,
06:08Chapter 6, which is the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse going out,
06:12Chapter 19, which is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ,
06:15that refers to the whole period of the age until the Second Coming.
06:19So, it has reference to forces of Antichrist coming up,
06:23which often the Historicists actually identify with being the Roman Catholic Church,
06:28but that's another story I'm not going to go into at the present time.
06:30But you have the picture of the ongoing battle between good and evil,
06:34between God and Satan during this age.
06:36You have the Futurist view, which actually I do hold to,
06:39which is that the passages, particularly from Chapter 6 through to Chapter 19,
06:43deal with the final time of the Great Tribulation,
06:47which would be the seven-year period before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ,
06:50in which all these things will be fulfilled.
06:54Having said, I believe the Futurist view.
06:56I also believe that there is a sense in which the Historicist view is also true,
06:59that there are things which you can learn from this passage,
07:02which deal with the whole spiritual warfare between God and Satan,
07:06which involves the Church during this age,
07:09which we'll be looking at as we look at this particular study.
07:14First of all, we have to recognize that this passage and others reveal that
07:18there is an ongoing spiritual battle between the Lord and his angels,
07:25and the devil and his angels, or his fallen angels, in other words, the demons.
07:30An unseen war which will reach its climax in the last day's events
07:33before the Second Coming of Jesus,
07:36but is also continually going on during this time in which we're living in.
07:39The good news is it's going to end with a total and absolute victory to the Lord,
07:45and the absolute defeat of the devil and his forces.
07:49Revelation 11, 15 says that the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God,
07:53and of his Christ, of his Messiah, and he shall reign forever and ever.
07:58Bad news is that there's going to be a time of trouble,
08:00and the world today is in the grip of a build-up, if you like, to this time of trouble.
08:06You can see things happening, even what's happening in Iran today,
08:09what's happening in various conflicts,
08:12what's happening in the environmental problems, in the economic problems,
08:15all things which are building up to a time of trouble,
08:18which the Bible says will come at the end of this age.
08:22And so we have a look at this passage.
08:25As I said, to sum up, it operates on two levels.
08:29First of all, a specific prophecy of events which will take place
08:32in the latter half of the Great Tribulation period,
08:35immediately before the second coming of Christ.
08:38And also a general insight into the spiritual war between God, Jesus Christ,
08:44Michael and the good angels, and the devil and his fallen angels.
08:48Now, a lot of people are sceptical even about the existence of the devil,
08:52and even about the existence of God.
08:56Some Christians are trying to play down the devil,
08:58that he sort of just, it's a bad sort of inclination, and so on.
09:02But I was very clear that there is a personality who is revealed in Scripture,
09:07who is Satan, which means the adversary, who's the opponent of God,
09:10who's the adversary.
09:12He exists.
09:13He's there to work through people who are under his control.
09:17So why do you have demonically inspired leaders in various countries of the world today?
09:26Why do you have a culture which is clearly anti-Christ, which actually glorifies evil?
09:30Because Satan is working through his people on the earth.
09:33And if you try to explain it any other way, you have a problem.
09:36You have to ask, well, where does evil come from?
09:38Why do we choose evil rather than good?
09:39There is a malignant power which is working behind the scenes to bring to pass things which are evil.
09:46And he's called, by Jesus actually, he's called the God of this world.
09:51In other words, he's the God who this world is worshipping.
09:54And all the evil which is going on in the world is caused by him.
09:57We shouldn't have the idea that he is equal to God.
10:01He is actually a created being who has fallen.
10:04And in the end, when it comes to the ultimate contest between God and Satan, it's really no match.
10:09I mean, it's total victory to the Lord.
10:12But we shouldn't also have the idea that he's not there and he's not powerful.
10:16He has two strategies to people.
10:17One is to sort of try and make them think that he's not there.
10:20And the other is to be so obsessed with him that they become kind of looking for demons under every single little illness which you have, which is not the case.
10:29But we have to recognize that he is there, he is active, and he is the enemy.
10:34And looking at this passage here, we see that it speaks about various signs and various symbols.
10:42One of the other preachers about the book of Revelation is it uses a lot of symbols, a lot of signs.
10:48You don't take them literally.
10:49Firstly, first verse actually says,
10:51A great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.
10:58He's not saying one day you're going to look up in the heavens and you're going to see this woman.
11:01There, it's a sign, it's a symbol.
11:04And one of the features of the book of Revelation is it uses symbols continually.
11:09And often those symbols are interpreted by scriptures which have gone before.
11:13But Arnold Fruchtenbaum says that he's found 500 references in the book of Revelation
11:17to passages in the Old Testament, in the Hebrew prophets, and in the Torah.
11:24So there are passages which, there are signs which go back to the Old Testament which you can interpret when you look at the book of Revelation.
11:30Which is interesting when you come to this sign, the first one, which is the woman.
11:36And I'm going to say actually that the woman can represent in Roman Catholicism, Mary.
11:43And you often see pictures of Mary in Roman Catholicism with twelve stars around her head.
11:48And I think that actually that is the wrong interpretation, which we're going to show in a moment.
11:54I believe actually that the woman actually represents the one through whom the man-child, who's obviously Jesus, comes.
12:02And ultimately Jesus comes physically through Mary, but he comes also through the whole revelation given to the people of Israel
12:10in the scriptures, beginning with the Torah, then the prophets, and he comes out of that revelation which is to look forward to the coming of the Messiah.
12:19So you can say actually that there are possibilities, and this is what I'm going to use today, that the woman actually represents Israel
12:27which is going to have a purpose also in the last days with the restoration of Israel and the last battle
12:33which will focus on the restored state of Israel and the status of Jerusalem
12:37and the coming of the Messiah to Jerusalem to set up his messianic kingdom from Jerusalem.
12:45The dragon clearly represents Satan, and the man-child clearly represents Jesus.
12:51And you have also the angel, Michael, as the head of the angelic hosts.
12:55And you have the offspring of the woman, which is spoken of later in this chapter,
13:00which represents those who come to faith in Jesus, particularly, I believe, in this context,
13:05those who come to faith in Jesus during the Great Tribulation period.
13:10You go on to chapter 13, and it speaks about the beast who comes out of the sea,
13:13who represents the Antichrist, the world ruler, who's under Satan's power at the end of days,
13:18and the beast of the earth who represents the false prophet, who promotes the Antichrist.
13:25Okay, so let's come back to the woman with the twelve stars.
13:28As I said, in Roman Catholicism, Mary is often depicted as this woman.
13:33If you see pictures in Roman Catholicism of Mary, you see her with the twelve stars around her head.
13:38But there are difficulties with it being Mary.
13:41Obviously, Mary did give birth to Jesus, who clearly is the child who's spoken of in verses 2 to 5.
13:48But if you go to the rest of the chapter, verses 6 to 17,
13:52it doesn't make much sense if it's talking about Mary.
13:54Now, the view which I take is actually the woman does connect to Israel,
14:00and there are good reasons for making this connection.
14:04David Guzik, in his commentary on this passage, he said,
14:08quote,
14:08The woman clothed in the sun should be identified with Israel according to Joseph's dream in Genesis chapter 37.
14:16Remember, Joseph had a dream when he saw the sun and the moon and the stars bowing down to him,
14:22and that was representing his father, Jacob, his mother, Rachel, and his eleven brothers,
14:30who had become the twelve tribes of Israel.
14:34So he says,
14:34Guzik says then,
14:36In that dream, the sun represented Jacob, the moon represented Joseph's mother, Rachel,
14:40and the eleven stars were the sons of Israel which bowed down to Joseph.
14:44In this sign with twelve stars,
14:46Joseph is now among the other tribes of Israel,
14:49representing the patriarchs and the twelve tribes of Israel.
14:52So they then give birth to the child who is Jesus.
14:57It says,
14:58Being with child.
15:00Later, this child is,
15:01in this chapter, it's clear that the child born is Jesus.
15:06She bore a male child who was to rule all nations with the rod of iron.
15:10It also says,
15:11Being with,
15:11She cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.
15:15There was some kind of pain involved in the birth of the Messiah.
15:19And when you look in the Gospels,
15:21there is some pain involved in the birth of the Messiah.
15:24Travel and pain associated with the circumstances of Jesus' birth.
15:28You have the Roman occupation,
15:30you have the census,
15:31you had the journey to Jerusalem,
15:33the no room in the inn,
15:35and then the attempt of Herod to kill him after the birth.
15:39So you have some kind of travel and pain associated with this birth,
15:43which is also associated with the spiritual battle,
15:45because Satan wants to get him out of the way.
15:46He doesn't want this birth to happen,
15:47because he knows when this child comes into the world,
15:50that's the beginning of the doom of his kingdom.
15:52And so you come to the second sign,
15:57which is the red dragon,
16:00a fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns,
16:03and seven diadems on his heads.
16:06Now the dragon clearly represents the nature of the devil,
16:11or Satan, Satan.
16:13Satan actually means the adversary.
16:16Diabolos, the devil, means the accuser.
16:19And as I've said, the devil exists.
16:20The Bible is very clear that there exists a personality
16:23who is opposed to God.
16:26He is Satan, he's the devil.
16:29And he has power, he's fearful.
16:32He has fires on his head.
16:34So there's fires speaking of destruction.
16:36So he's speaking of someone who is powerful, who is evil,
16:39who is opposed to the human race and opposed to God.
16:44He has horns, and horns in the Bible are a symbol of power,
16:49particularly political power.
16:51You go to Daniel chapter 7,
16:52the horns on the beast represent his power.
16:55So he's a powerful figure.
16:57He has some representation in the power structures of this earth.
17:02He also has crowns on his head.
17:05So again, crowns representing his claims to some kind of authority,
17:11authority actually against the true king, who is God.
17:15And he wants to be considered as some kind of a power person,
17:18with power and taking power over the affairs of this earth.
17:23You have a similar description actually given to the one who is the beast
17:27or the antichrist in Revelation chapter 13,
17:29and the parallel references in Daniel chapter 7.
17:35And from this you can see that he's speaking here about some final satanic empire
17:39which will take power over the powers of the earth in the time of the great tribulation.
17:46Verse 4, it says that the dragon looks to the earth.
17:50His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.
17:54The dragon stood before the woman who is ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born.
18:01So a third of the stars, stars again is a symbol used in Revelation for the angelic hosts,
18:07so a third of the angelic hosts became fallen angels, became demons.
18:11They rebelled against God, joined in the devil's rebellion,
18:14and now become demonic spirits in league with the devil.
18:20You have a bit of a question which people then ask,
18:22Well, if God is good, and God created all things, where did evil come from?
18:30How was it that Satan became, or he went from being a good angel,
18:35praising the Lord, to becoming the devil and the opponent?
18:40You ever ask that question?
18:43Do you want to know the answer?
18:45I don't know.
18:48Actually it's not, well it is revealed, it is revealed to us how he felt,
18:51but where the thought of evil actually comes from is not there in the Bible.
18:57Paul speaks about the mystery of lawlessness,
18:58so there are certain things which we have to accept happened,
19:02but we don't actually have a full explanation to where they came from
19:06and how it was possible that God who created everything good
19:09could have created something which became evil.
19:12But we do have to accept that good and evil exists.
19:14And actually a lot of things in theology which God says,
19:17I'm not giving you the full answer to it,
19:19you just accept that this is how it is, this is what exists.
19:23And so we have to accept that there is a being who was personally,
19:28who was beautiful, who was powerful, who led the praises of God,
19:31who became the fallen angel, became Lucifer.
19:34And we have one passage which does deal with this in Isaiah 14.
19:38If you want to follow it, but I'll just read it to you in Isaiah 14, verse 12.
19:44It says,
19:45How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning?
19:48How are you cut down to the ground, you who weaken the nations?
19:52If you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven,
19:54I will exalt my throne above the stars of God,
19:57I will also sit on the mount of congregation on the farthest sides of the north.
20:02I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.
20:05Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the pit.
20:13The fall of Lucifer in the book of Isaiah.
20:17Notice he says he wants to exalt his throne above God.
20:20He wants to be like God.
20:23So he wants to take the place of God.
20:26Just a little word about Lucifer.
20:28The word Lucifer is actually not there in the original.
20:31Lucifer is a made-up name, if you like, which was used by the translators in the AV originally.
20:39It's taken from two Latin words, Latin word for light and for bearing, so it means light-bearer.
20:45So Lucifer means the light-bearer.
20:48In Hebrew, the word which is used here is helal ben shachar.
20:51Helal means the shining one, or the sun of the dawn, or the mooning star, morning star.
21:00So you have already there the idea of Satan as the angel of light.
21:04Not someone who looks horribly evil, but someone who is beautiful, who is light, who is powerful, but who becomes evil.
21:11Lucifer.
21:12Ezekiel 28 also gives a passage concerning his origin.
21:16I'm not going to read it, but it shows how he became proud of his beauty.
21:20He wanted to be worshipped like God, and through that he therefore introduced the evil principle to the earth through the temptation in Genesis chapter 3.
21:32So you have one who is proud, who is lifted up, who is beautiful, wants to be worshipped as God, and who falls from that position.
21:42Genesis chapter 3 tells us how he brings then this rebellion to the earth.
21:47And again, many people say this is just myth, this is just story.
21:54I take the creationist view that I believe that these things really happened.
21:58And actually the rest of the Bible makes not much sense if you take out the fact that there was a literal fall,
22:04and there was a literal event which took place by which sin came into the world through the activity of Satan.
22:10Satan comes to indwell the serpent, and again it's interesting, the Hebrew word for serpent is nachash.
22:21Nachash can also mean divination.
22:25Also, interestingly, it is a word which is used for bronze,
22:29and bronze is, and one of the subjects for it is shining one.
22:33So an idea of shining, of beauty.
22:36Remember also that Moses made the image of the bronze of the serpent.
22:41So there's some kind of connection there with some shining, something beautiful.
22:46So it appears also that when he appeared, he was actually not this horrible slithering snake,
22:51he was something which looked beautiful,
22:53and was then, as a result of God's curse upon him,
22:56became the slithering snake which we all flee away from.
22:59But there must have been something which was attractive to Eve when he saw him.
23:04We'll just read the passage from Genesis 3.
23:06The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.
23:10He said to the woman,
23:11Has God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
23:15And the woman said to the serpent,
23:16We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden,
23:19but of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden,
23:22God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.
23:26Then the serpent said to the woman,
23:27You shall not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it,
23:31your eyes will be opened, and you'll be like God, knowing good and evil.
23:36Notice that phrase, you'll be like God, knowing good and evil.
23:40So she said it was, she saw that the tree was good for food,
23:44pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise.
23:47She took of its fruit and ate.
23:49She also gave it to her husband with her, and he ate.
23:52Then the eyes of them both were opened,
23:53and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together
23:57and made themselves covering.
24:00Up until this point, they only knew good, because they only knew God.
24:04Once they'd taken of the forbidden fruit,
24:06of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,
24:08they then came to know evil as well.
24:11And as a result of that, they placed themselves under the power of Satan.
24:15And that power was continued from generation to generation,
24:19so that Satan became the power, the God of this world,
24:22as a result of sin, of falling into that temptation.
24:27Now, as I said, the Bible doesn't tell us how he became evil,
24:31or even where the thought of evil came from.
24:33It just tells us that it is there, that it exists.
24:38In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul actually speaks about the mystery of lawlessness.
24:42And the mystery is something which is there,
24:45but you don't actually have the full explanation from it.
24:48Maybe when we get to heaven, we'll have the full explanation, I don't know.
24:51But probably by the time we get to heaven, we won't worry anyway,
24:55because Satan will be in hell, and everything else will be finished.
24:58But basically, there are things which we don't fully understand,
25:02but we have to accept that they exist as they are.
25:04There was a theologian called Joseph Sice,
25:10wrote in the 19th century, so the language is a bit old-fashioned,
25:13but I'll read what he says.
25:14He said,
25:15He said,
25:45In other words, they had a choice to make, and they made the wrong choice.
25:50And that's how it was.
25:53As they come back to the text in Revelation,
25:57we see that the dragon was then to devour the child as it was born.
26:03Herod's attempt to kill the baby Jesus at birth was the first attempt.
26:08And continuing through the time that Jesus was on earth,
26:11we see the opposition to the Lord.
26:13We see the conflict with Satan,
26:16evidenced in the temptation in the wilderness,
26:19leading up to the cross.
26:21Interestingly, at the moment of his arrest,
26:23Jesus said to the people arresting him,
26:26When I was with you daily in the temple,
26:28you did not try to seize me,
26:29but this is your hour and the power of darkness.
26:32This is your hour and the power of darkness.
26:34He says,
26:35Now, at this point,
26:36I'm handing myself over to your power,
26:39which is the power of darkness,
26:40which is the power of the devil.
26:43Working through the opposition to Jesus,
26:46who would then put Jesus on the cross?
26:48Now, the irony is that actually in putting Jesus on the cross,
26:53they were fulfilling the prophecies of the suffering servant Messiah,
26:57in order that the Messiah should bear our sins,
26:58and actually defeat Satan through the resurrection of Jesus,
27:03which would follow.
27:05And there's a verse where Paul actually says this.
27:09He says,
27:12We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery,
27:15which hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
27:19which none of the rulers of this age knew,
27:22had they known,
27:22they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
27:26In other words,
27:26Satan thought he was getting the victory and putting Jesus on the cross.
27:29He used all the evil forces within the Sanhedrin,
27:33the Roman Empire,
27:34to put Jesus on the cross.
27:35He thought he got the victory,
27:37but actually that became his absolute defeat
27:39when Jesus rose again from the dead
27:41in triumph over all the powers of darkness.
27:45Which again tells you something about the spiritual battle,
27:47because Satan sometimes thinks he's on the winning side,
27:50maybe he thinks he's on the winning side now
27:51with all the evil that's taking place,
27:53but actually it's going to lead to his ultimate defeat
27:55when Jesus comes back and he sets up his messianic kingdom.
28:00He's got limited knowledge.
28:02He has got some knowledge,
28:03but he hasn't got full knowledge.
28:05Praise the Lord.
28:06And God has all knowledge,
28:07and God's going to bring the victory.
28:10And God can even use Satan in his purposes,
28:14which in a sense he did with the crucifixion,
28:17in order to bring out his ultimate victory,
28:20which would come through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
28:23and open up the way for us to be born again
28:25into the kingdom of heaven,
28:27and to escape from the power,
28:29be delivered from the power of evil.
28:30It goes on to say she bore a male child
28:34who was to rule over the nations with a rod of iron.
28:37And her child was caught up to God and his throne.
28:42The male child who was going to rule the nations
28:44with a rod of iron.
28:47Now again, clearly this refers to Jesus,
28:49Christ, the Messiah.
28:51He's going to rule the world with a rod of iron.
28:54He's also going to be caught up to the throne.
28:56What happened after the crucifixion,
29:00after the resurrection,
29:01Jesus appeared for 40 days.
29:0240 days later he was ascended to heaven,
29:05where he's now seated at the right hand of the Father.
29:07So he's caught up to the throne.
29:09He's going to come back again.
29:10He's going to rule the world.
29:11He's going to rule the world with a rod of iron.
29:14In other words, he's going to rule with power
29:15over the world.
29:17He's going to have his will be done.
29:20He's prayed the Lord's Prayer.
29:22Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
29:23So, it's not being done on earth right now.
29:27But the day coming when it will be done on the earth,
29:29when Jesus is reigning,
29:30and he's going to reign with a rod of iron.
29:32He's going to rule with a kind of benevolent dictatorship,
29:35if you like.
29:36It'll be a dictatorship in that you won't be able to do
29:39the kind of bad stuff which people do today.
29:41There won't be any pornography, any drugs, any wars,
29:44any things which are evil.
29:46But would you like to live in a world
29:47in which there's no pornography, no drugs,
29:49no evil, no wars?
29:51Because I think you would, and I would as well.
29:54And Jesus is going to rule in that world
29:56because that's how he's going to bring
29:57peace and justice to the world.
29:59He's going to have all power of God this time
30:00to rule over the earth.
30:02There are passages in the Old Testament
30:04which speak about that,
30:06particularly in the book of Psalms,
30:07chapter 2, verse 9.
30:12I read from verse 7, actually.
30:15Psalm 2, verse 7, it says,
30:16So God's speaking there prophetically to the Son
30:35that one day he's going to come
30:36and he's going to rule over the nations
30:37and he's going to break the power of evil.
30:39He's going to rule with a rod of iron.
30:41Revelation chapter 19,
30:45which describes the second coming of Jesus
30:47to the earth.
30:49It says in verse 15,
30:52Out of his mouth goes a sharp sword
30:54that with it he should strike the nations
30:56and he himself will rule them
30:58with a rod of iron.
30:59He himself treats the winepress
31:01and fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God.
31:06So it's saying there that there's a time coming
31:08when Jesus will return,
31:10this time with all power at his disposal,
31:12not to suffer, to die, not to be opposed,
31:15but this time to rule with all power over the earth.
31:19Now a lot of the churches
31:19actually deleted this from the agenda.
31:22They don't believe it's going to happen.
31:25I believe that it is going to happen
31:26because the Bible says it's going to happen.
31:28And also it means that there's going to be a good end
31:30to history on this planet.
31:33If it ends with the Antichrist
31:34and the tribulation and great destruction,
31:36then we have a bad end.
31:38Some people say it's going to end
31:40with the church ruling the nations
31:42through a great revival.
31:43I don't think that's going to happen.
31:44I don't see that from Scripture.
31:46But I do see Jesus,
31:47I do see the many people coming to faith in Jesus
31:50during the last days.
31:51But in the last days,
31:52we're going to see the rise of the Antichrist
31:54and the powers of darkness
31:55over the face of the earth.
31:57But Jesus is going to come back
31:59at the end of this time
31:59and he's going to rule the world
32:01with peace and justice
32:02and bring an end to all the conflicts
32:04and all the violence
32:05and all the evil things
32:06which are taking place
32:07on the earth right now.
32:10So actually,
32:11just in these two verses,
32:13John has referred to
32:15the events of Jesus' birth
32:16and the events of his second coming.
32:20So the implication is that
32:21everything else in between that
32:22is going to be fulfilled.
32:25So beginning with the beginning
32:29and the end of Jesus' earthly work.
32:32So Jesus then,
32:33as the man-child,
32:35the one who the woman gives birth to,
32:38is going to be the one
32:39who will bring this into power,
32:41into being.
32:46Okay, so we'll look at then
32:47the following verses.
32:52Beginning with verse 6,
32:53the woman fled into the wilderness
32:55where she is placed prepared by God
32:57that they should feed her there
32:591,260 days.
33:04Now the woman
33:05gives birth to the man-child.
33:11You've got to ask your question,
33:12who is this woman referring to now?
33:14What are you giving you
33:15one or two answers?
33:16Some people say it's actually the church,
33:17but it can't be the church
33:18because the church,
33:20Jesus gives birth to the church,
33:22not the church giving birth to Jesus.
33:23It can be Mary,
33:27but Mary doesn't flee into the wilderness
33:29for 1,260 days.
33:32That really doesn't figure.
33:35If it is Israel,
33:36then it does actually make sense.
33:38Makes sense of prophecy.
33:41Because you go back to the Old Testament,
33:43you have a number of prophecies
33:44which speak about the rebirth of Israel
33:47before the last days.
33:48you have a period of war and conflict
33:50over Israel,
33:51and you have an assault upon Israel
33:53in the final period of history.
33:57And when Israel faces the wrath
33:58of the nations,
34:00particularly it appears
34:01the wrath of the Antichrist
34:03or the man of sin.
34:04you have scriptures
34:06in Jeremiah chapter 30,
34:08Zechariah 13,
34:10many other passages
34:11which deal with
34:12the great tribulation period
34:13and deal with the time
34:15of Israel being under assault
34:16under the remnant of Israel
34:18being under assault
34:19from the world forces
34:21in the last days.
34:24You also have a reference here
34:25to 1,260 days.
34:27In prophetic terms,
34:29that's actually a period
34:30of three and a half years.
34:32You have to take my word for that,
34:33but that is what it is.
34:35The final tribulation period
34:37speaks about a period
34:39of seven years
34:40divided into two halves.
34:42The latter half,
34:42which would be the most severe part,
34:44which would be the time
34:45of the great tribulation
34:46leading up to the second coming
34:47of Christ,
34:49which is two halves,
34:50which are two halves
34:51of three and a half years.
34:52And some have said
34:57that during the time
34:58of the tribulation
34:59when you have the abomination
35:00of desolation,
35:01the persecutions of Israel,
35:03then Israel will flee
35:04from the Antichrist.
35:06Even though some have said
35:07that there'd be a literal flight
35:08to somewhere
35:10in the wilderness.
35:11Some have put it
35:11Petra in Jordan,
35:13but some people have even
35:14put Bibles in Hebrew
35:15and into Petra
35:17to prepare for the Jews
35:18coming there.
35:19I'm not totally sure
35:20about that,
35:20but it does speak about here
35:21a place of protection
35:22for the woman
35:24during this time.
35:27A place of protection
35:29in order to survive
35:30during this time of trouble,
35:32which is survivalism necessary
35:34because at the end
35:35of this time
35:35there's going to be
35:36the revelation
35:36of the Messiah
35:37and the greeting of him
35:39for his return
35:40described in the book
35:41of Zechariah,
35:41chapter 12,
35:42verse 10,
35:42when it says
35:43that you look upon me
35:44whom they have pierced
35:45and mourn for him
35:46as for an only son.
35:48Jesus said,
35:48you will not see me again
35:49until you say,
35:50Baruch haba,
35:50beshem Adonai,
35:51blessed is he who comes
35:52in the name of the Lord.
35:53In other words,
35:54that Israel has to be in place
35:55and has to call upon the Lord
35:58to return.
35:59So God's going to protect them
36:00during this time
36:01and protect them
36:02until they call upon the Lord
36:03and then Jesus
36:04is going to come back
36:05in person,
36:07not to London,
36:08not to Moscow,
36:09not to Washington,
36:11but to Jerusalem,
36:13to the Mount of Olives
36:14just outside Jerusalem
36:15at the time
36:15of global conflict
36:16described in Zechariah,
36:19chapter 14
36:20and in Revelation
36:21chapter 19.
36:23So there will be
36:24some kind of war
36:25over Israel,
36:26there will be some protection
36:27given to Israel
36:28and some recognition
36:30by Israel
36:30of the Messiah
36:31which will call upon
36:32the Lord
36:33to return.
36:37Okay,
36:37moving on,
36:38I'm going to go through
36:38this fairly quickly,
36:39there's a whole lot
36:40I could say about this
36:41but just to keep in time
36:43I'll give you the bare bones
36:44of this passage.
36:45He then speaks about
36:46a battle in heaven.
36:48This is an interesting part.
36:50It says,
36:50War broke out in heaven,
36:51Michael and his angels
36:52fought with the dragon
36:53and the dragon
36:54and his angels fought
36:55but they did not prevail
36:57nor was a place found
36:58for them in heaven
36:59any longer.
37:01So the great dragon
37:02was cast out,
37:03that serpent of old
37:03called the devil
37:04and Satan
37:04who deceives the whole world.
37:06He was cast to the earth
37:07and his angels
37:08were cast out with him.
37:12Now we have an interesting
37:13section here.
37:14What does this mean?
37:15Is there some literal battle
37:17which takes place in heaven?
37:19Is there some literal
37:20falling of Satan
37:21to the earth?
37:25If there's a battle in heaven
37:26what do we understand
37:28by heaven?
37:29What part of heaven?
37:30Is it in heaven
37:31where God dwells?
37:33There are a few issues
37:34which are difficult
37:34to work out
37:36but if you're going to try
37:37and take it
37:38kind of literally.
37:40One of the interesting things
37:41you have about heaven
37:43Hebrew word is shamayim
37:45which is plural
37:45so heaven means heavens
37:48and you have different
37:50references to what heavens
37:53actually mean.
37:54The heavens declare
37:54the glory of God.
37:56That means the heavenly
37:57the universe
37:59the stars
38:00declares the glory of God.
38:02You have the third heaven.
38:04Paul spoke about
38:05being caught up
38:05to the third heaven
38:06where he saw
38:07things unspeakable
38:08and things which he
38:09couldn't communicate.
38:11It appears that that
38:11would be the place
38:12where God dwells.
38:13He had some
38:13supernatural experience
38:15in which he was caught up
38:16into the heavenly realms
38:17and he saw things
38:19which were forbidden
38:20actually for us to see
38:21in the normal circumstances.
38:24Had that experience.
38:28We also have reference
38:29in the book of Ephesians
38:32to the heavenly realms
38:33where the devil operates.
38:36Chapter 6 of Ephesians
38:39and verse 11
38:41it says we do not
38:42wrestle against flesh
38:42and blood
38:43but against principalities
38:44against powers
38:45against rulers
38:46of the darkness
38:47of this age
38:47against spiritual hosts
38:49of wickedness
38:50in heavenly places.
38:52Okay so there's
38:53some place
38:53in the heavenly realms
38:55where Satan
38:55and the demons operate.
38:58Now it occurs to me
38:58if there are three heavens
38:59you've got the universe
39:01number one
39:02you've got the third heaven
39:04where God dwells
39:05is this second heavens
39:07this other realm
39:08where Satan
39:09and the demons dwell.
39:11Again this is kind
39:12of speculation
39:12and we can't prove this
39:14but it's kind of
39:15a deduction
39:16you can make
39:16from passages
39:17in the scriptures.
39:19So there's some place
39:20where Satan
39:20has been cast
39:21out of the heaven
39:22where God dwells
39:23into some realm
39:25which is unseen
39:26but which really exists
39:28from where he can operate
39:31and he operates
39:33as Ephesians 2 verse 2
39:37the prince of the power
39:38of the air
39:39the spirit who now dwells
39:41works in the sons
39:42of disobedience.
39:44So that's where Satan
39:45is now.
39:46Sometimes you see pictures
39:47of Satan sitting
39:48on a fiery throne
39:50in hell
39:50with a pitchfork
39:51and that's not actually
39:53biblical.
39:54When Satan's in hell
39:55in the lake of fire
39:56then our troubles
39:57are over
39:57as far as Satan
39:59is concerned.
39:59The Bible seems to indicate
40:01that he is now
40:01the prince of the power
40:03of the air
40:03the spirit who now works
40:05in the sons
40:05of disobedience.
40:07So wherever this realm
40:08is in the air
40:09he has some access
40:10to the earth
40:13and he also has
40:15even implication
40:16in the book of Job
40:17he has access to God.
40:19There's a very interesting
40:20passage in the book
40:21of Job chapter 1
40:22where it says
40:23the day when the sons
40:24of God came to present
40:25themselves before the Lord
40:26and Satan also
40:27came among them
40:28and the Lord said
40:29to Satan
40:29where do you come from?
40:31So Satan answered
40:32from going to and fro
40:33on the earth
40:34and walking back
40:34and forth on it.
40:37So Satan actually
40:38appears before God
40:39and God says
40:40where have you come from?
40:41He said I've been
40:41walking to and fro
40:42upon the earth
40:43your earth
40:44the one you created
40:44and it's under
40:45my control now.
40:47So a bit of a
40:48sort of snub to God
40:49and God says
40:49have you considered
40:50my servant Job
40:51and Job who does
40:54righteousness
40:54so it's again
40:56God's looking for
40:56people on the earth
40:57who are doing
40:58righteousness
40:59who are doing
40:59his will
40:59but this passage
41:02indicates that there
41:03is some kind of way
41:04in which Satan
41:04can move from
41:05this heavenly realm
41:07which he's in now
41:08A to the earth
41:10and B
41:10to God.
41:12Now
41:12I don't try to explain
41:14that to you
41:14I'm just telling you
41:15what the Bible says
41:16so you can
41:16take it or leave it
41:18but that's what
41:18the Bible says.
41:20The implication is
41:21that
41:21God tells him
41:23that he can
41:23have power over Job
41:25but only not take
41:26his life
41:26so Satan went
41:27out from the
41:28presence of the
41:28Lord.
41:30So Satan has
41:31some access
41:31according to
41:32heaven and to
41:33the earth.
41:36His access to
41:36heaven
41:37he's described
41:38in Revelation
41:39here as being
41:39the accuser
41:40of the brethren.
41:43So some
41:43part of his role
41:44is to accuse
41:45God's people
41:46before God.
41:50Now again
41:50we don't
41:51fully understand
41:52what that means
41:53but it must
41:53mean something
41:54because it
41:55says that he
41:56is then cast
41:56out
41:57and he's
41:58cut out
41:59from the
41:59situation
42:00and according
42:01to this
42:02passage in
42:02Revelation
42:03he no longer
42:03has access
42:04to God
42:04and he's
42:06now confined
42:06to the earth.
42:08It says
42:08he has great
42:09wrath because
42:10he knows
42:10his time
42:11is short.
42:13There are
42:13another three
42:13and a half
42:14years in
42:14which he's
42:14going to
42:14be confined
42:15to the
42:16earth
42:16before he's
42:18actually sent
42:19into the
42:19abyss
42:20according to
42:20Revelation 20
42:21during the
42:22thousand year
42:23reign of
42:23the Messiah.
42:24That's another
42:25story.
42:25I don't get
42:26into that one
42:26too much
42:27at this
42:27present time.
42:29But if you
42:29see there is
42:30a sort of
42:30series of
42:31falls of
42:32Satan.
42:32He falls
42:32from heaven
42:33then he
42:33goes to
42:33this area
42:34where he
42:35is now
42:35and then
42:36it says
42:36that there's
42:37going to
42:37be this
42:38war in
42:38heaven
42:38as a
42:40result of
42:41which he
42:41is cast
42:41down to
42:42the earth.
42:44Now the
42:44war in
42:45heaven is
42:45described in
42:46other parts
42:46of the
42:46scriptures.
42:49You have
42:49it in
42:49the book
42:51of Daniel
42:51it speaks
42:52about
42:52Michael
42:53rising up
42:54in the
42:55last battle
42:56in the
42:56war and
42:57acting on
42:59behalf of
42:59God's
43:00people during
43:01that time
43:02and having
43:03victory over
43:04Satan.
43:09So he
43:10knows his
43:10time is
43:11short and
43:13he comes
43:13down to
43:14the earth
43:14and this
43:15would be
43:15the time
43:15of the
43:15final period
43:16in my
43:17futurist
43:17view this
43:18is the
43:18time of
43:19the last
43:19three and
43:20a half
43:20years before
43:21the second
43:21coming.
43:26Now the
43:26interesting
43:29passage and
43:30we can also
43:31say that this
43:32is a picture
43:33also of the
43:34ongoing battle
43:34that's why I
43:35say that you
43:35see this
43:36passage which
43:36has a
43:37future
43:37application
43:38it also
43:39has an
43:39application to
43:40the continuing
43:41battle between
43:42good and evil
43:43between God
43:44and Satan.
43:45So Satan
43:46exists, he's
43:47now accusing
43:49God's people
43:50before the
43:50throne of
43:51God and
43:52he's active
43:52upon the
43:53earth.
43:54Now even
43:54you take
43:55aside the
43:55futurist
43:56view, that's
43:57already the
43:58situation.
44:01Now going
44:01on it says
44:01that in this
44:02war there
44:02will be
44:02those who
44:03overcome
44:03him,
44:05overcome
44:05him by
44:06the blood
44:06of the
44:06lamb and
44:07the word
44:07of their
44:07testimony,
44:08they love
44:09not their
44:09lives unto
44:10the death.
44:12And here
44:13we can see
44:13something which
44:14is a
44:14universal
44:15application,
44:15it also
44:16has an
44:16application to
44:17the end
44:17times, but
44:18it has a
44:18universal
44:19application to
44:19us in
44:20our battle
44:21with the
44:21evil one
44:22today.
44:25They
44:25overcome
44:26him by
44:26the blood
44:26of the
44:27lamb.
44:28Why the
44:29blood of
44:29the lamb?
44:31The blood
44:31of the lamb
44:31actually speaks
44:32about the
44:32crucifixion of
44:34Jesus Christ
44:35where he shed
44:35his blood as
44:36a sacrifice for
44:37the sin of
44:37the world.
44:39When Jesus
44:39shed his
44:40blood as
44:40a sacrifice
44:40for the
44:41sin of
44:41the world,
44:41he took
44:42the punishment
44:42for our
44:43sins,
44:43which we
44:43deserve
44:44upon
44:44himself,
44:45in order
44:45that we
44:45might be
44:46redeemed and
44:47delivered from
44:48the power of
44:48the evil
44:49one,
44:50delivered from
44:50the punishment
44:51which should
44:54righteously come
44:54to us because
44:55of our sins,
44:56because that
44:56punishment was
44:57placed upon the
44:58Lord Jesus.
44:59He took the
44:59punishment that we
45:00deserve, that we
45:01might be redeemed,
45:02so that we might be
45:03saved from the
45:04power of sin and
45:05death and the
45:05devil and redeemed
45:06unto God.
45:07God, so we
45:09have the blood of
45:10the lamb, we
45:10believe in the
45:11blood, we
45:11believe in the
45:12blood of Jesus
45:13cleanses us from
45:14all sin.
45:15So our first
45:16reference, our
45:17first means of
45:17defense against
45:18the devil and
45:19his power is to
45:21put our trust in
45:21Jesus Christ who
45:23shed his blood in
45:24order to redeem
45:24us.
45:26So when the
45:27devil comes to
45:27attack you and
45:28comes to condemn
45:28you, you point
45:30him to the blood
45:30of Jesus, you
45:31point him to the
45:31cross and say
45:32that Jesus took
45:32my sins upon
45:33the cross, I
45:35am redeemed
45:35through the
45:35blood of
45:36Jesus, I
45:36have power
45:37over you because
45:37Jesus died for
45:38my sins and
45:39rose again from
45:39the dead and
45:40defeated you, you
45:41are a defeated
45:42foe.
45:43Praise the
45:43Lord.
45:45He also says we
45:47are overcome by
45:48the word of our
45:49testimony.
45:51In other words,
45:51we confess our
45:52faith that Jesus
45:53Christ is Lord.
45:55Romans chapter
45:5610 verse 9
45:58tells us the
45:59power of this.
46:01Romans 10,
46:03we're going to
46:03turn to this
46:04one.
46:04Romans 10
46:05verse 8.
46:12Romans 10,
46:12what does it
46:13say?
46:13The word is
46:14near you in
46:14your mouth and
46:15in your heart.
46:16That is the
46:16word of faith
46:17which we
46:17preach, that
46:18if you confess
46:18with your
46:19mouth the
46:19Lord Jesus
46:19and believe
46:21in your
46:21heart that
46:21God has
46:22raised him
46:22from the
46:22dead, you
46:23will be
46:24saved.
46:25With the
46:25heart one
46:25believes unto
46:26righteousness,
46:27with the
46:27mouth confession
46:28is made unto
46:29salvation.
46:30The scripture
46:31says whoever
46:31believes on
46:32him will not
46:32be put to
46:33shame.
46:33There is
46:34no distinction
46:34between Jew
46:35and Greek
46:35for the
46:36same Lord
46:36over all
46:37is rich
46:37to all
46:38who call
46:38upon him.
46:39Whoever
46:39calls on
46:40the name
46:40of the
46:40Lord shall
46:41be saved.
46:43So there's
46:43power in
46:44our testimony
46:44as we
46:45state that
46:46we believe
46:46that Christ
46:46died for
46:47our sins,
46:47was buried
46:48and rose
46:48from the
46:48dead,
46:50and we
46:50confess that
46:51before God,
46:53before the
46:53devil,
46:54and before
46:54the world,
46:55then we
46:55have power
46:56to overcome
46:57the power
46:57of Satan.
46:59There's a
46:59power in
46:59the confession
47:00that we
47:01make.
47:01And in
47:02that confession
47:03we're
47:03identifying
47:03with the
47:05fact of
47:06Jesus'
47:06death and
47:06resurrection
47:07and his
47:08victory over
47:08the powers
47:09of darkness.
47:10So there's
47:11power in
47:12that faith.
47:14And those
47:14who believe
47:15this are
47:19stating before
47:19God what
47:20they believe.
47:21They're also
47:22stating before
47:22the devil what
47:23they believe.
47:24And this
47:24actually infuriates
47:25the devil because
47:26he doesn't want
47:26anyone to confess
47:27this message
47:28because they're
47:29escaping from
47:30his clutches
47:31into the
47:32kingdom of
47:32God and
47:33into eternal
47:33salvation.
47:35So believe
47:35on the
47:36Lord Jesus
47:36Christ,
47:37confess your
47:37faith,
47:38believe in
47:38Jesus.
47:39It's also
47:40why we
47:40encourage people
47:41to be
47:41baptized on
47:42confession of
47:42their faith.
47:43So once you
47:44have believed
47:44this, you
47:45should be
47:45baptized in
47:46water as
47:47a confession
47:48that you
47:48believe in
47:49Jesus,
47:49that you're
47:50identifying with
47:51his death,
47:51his resurrection,
47:53and the new
47:53life that he
47:54gives to you.
47:56You need to be
47:56filled with the
47:57Holy Spirit as
47:57well to receive
47:58the power of
47:59the Holy Spirit
47:59to speak out
48:00God's word and
48:01to live his
48:02life to his
48:03praise and
48:04glory.
48:06There's a
48:07third thing,
48:07actually there's
48:08a chorus which
48:08says we
48:09shall overcome
48:09by the blood
48:10of the Lamb
48:10and the word
48:10of our
48:11testimony and
48:12it misses out
48:12the third
48:12one, which
48:14actually most
48:15of us want
48:15to miss out
48:15because it
48:16says they
48:16love not
48:16their lives
48:17unto the
48:17death.
48:19In other
48:19words, there's
48:20something which
48:20is relating to
48:21this confession
48:22which may bring
48:23you into a
48:24conflict, it
48:25may even bring
48:25you to your
48:26death.
48:27And there
48:28are places
48:28in the
48:28world today
48:29where if
48:29you confess
48:30this faith
48:30publicly, you're
48:33lining yourself
48:33up to trouble
48:34and even for
48:35death.
48:37And we need
48:38to pray for
48:38the persecuted
48:39church around
48:39the world
48:40because this
48:41is a reality
48:42of life.
48:43In particular,
48:44if you take the
48:46futuristic view
48:46also that this
48:47is relating to
48:48the last days,
48:49to the time of
48:50the Great
48:51Tribulation,
48:52during that
48:52time the
48:53Antichrist
48:54will be going
48:54around and
48:55he'll be putting
48:55to death those
48:56who believe in
48:56Jesus.
48:57So there'll be
48:57a cost in
48:59putting your
49:00trust in
49:00Jesus Christ.
49:02They love not
49:03their lives
49:03unto the
49:03death and
49:05if once you
49:05understand the
49:06gospel, you
49:08know that death
49:08isn't the worst
49:09thing which can
49:09happen to you.
49:10Those people in
49:11the world, the
49:12thing which they
49:12want to avoid
49:12above everything
49:13else is dying
49:14and they want to
49:16protect their
49:16lives so that
49:17they can live
49:17on in this
49:18life.
49:19But if you
49:19believe in
49:19Jesus, you
49:21want to
49:22preserve your
49:22life, you
49:22want to use
49:23your life for
49:23the praise and
49:24glory of God.
49:25You don't
49:25want to throw
49:25your life
49:26away.
49:27Certainly you
49:28don't want to
49:28end your
49:28life unnecessarily.
49:30But we know
49:31that if our
49:32life does come
49:32to an end and
49:33if it comes to
49:33the choice, are
49:34you going to
49:34deny Jesus and
49:37live or you
49:38confess Jesus
49:39and die, you
49:41are going to
49:41confess Jesus
49:41and die.
49:42Because if you
49:43confess Jesus
49:44and die, you
49:44are going to
49:44leave this body
49:46of death and
49:46you are going to
49:46be with the
49:47Lord forever in
49:48a much better
49:49place and a
49:49much better
49:50situation for
49:51all eternity.
49:52death is
49:54released from
49:54bondage of
49:55this life to
49:55eternal life in
49:56the presence of
49:57the Lord.
49:58So you should
49:59be willing to
49:59die rather than
50:00to deny the
50:01Lord.
50:02Jim Elliot, the
50:03missionary who
50:04was famously
50:05martyred by the
50:07Uyghur Indians,
50:08he said he is
50:09no fool who
50:10gives what he
50:10cannot keep to
50:11gain what he
50:12cannot lose.
50:17Okay, so just
50:18to sum up, the
50:19details of the
50:20outworking of
50:20this can be
50:21debated but
50:21some facts are
50:22relevant to
50:24all of us
50:24from this
50:25passage.
50:26First of all
50:26that the
50:27supernatural realm
50:27exists.
50:29There is a
50:29battle between
50:30God and the
50:30good angels
50:32versus the
50:34devil and the
50:35fallen angels
50:36or the
50:36demons.
50:37There is a
50:38battle in the
50:38heavenly realms
50:39between the
50:39powers of
50:40darkness and
50:40the power of
50:41God and this
50:42also plays out
50:43on the earth.
50:45Second point,
50:46Jesus Christ
50:46came as the
50:47Messiah, the
50:47Saviour, in
50:49human form as
50:49the man-child but
50:51also God.
50:52He has also
50:53triumphed over
50:54the devil at
50:54the cross, became
50:55the Saviour from
50:57sin and death and
50:58hell.
50:59Those who
50:59believe in him
51:00have the power
51:01over the devil to
51:02overcome him
51:02through faith in
51:03Jesus Christ.
51:05Now he is risen,
51:06ascended and
51:07glorified in
51:07heaven from
51:08where he will
51:09return to the
51:10earth at his
51:10second coming.
51:13Third point, in
51:14this age the
51:15devil is at war
51:16with those who
51:16keep the
51:16commandments of
51:17God and have
51:18the testimony of
51:19Jesus Christ.
51:20That's what it
51:21says in
51:21Revelation, the
51:22passage we
51:22read, and
51:24that war is a
51:25continuing war.
51:27We can't escape
51:27from it, it's
51:29real, but we're
51:31on the victory
51:31side.
51:33The devil is at
51:34war with those
51:34who keep the
51:35commandments of
51:35God.
51:38End of the
51:39passage it
51:39says, the
51:40dragon was
51:41enraged with
51:41the woman, he
51:42went to make
51:43war with the
51:43rest of her
51:44offspring who
51:45keep the
51:45commandments of
51:46God and have
51:46the testimony of
51:47Jesus Christ.
51:50The devil
51:50doesn't like
51:51you.
51:52He doesn't
51:53like it that
51:53you come to
51:54church and
51:54you praise
51:54God.
51:56He doesn't
51:56like it that
51:56you confess
51:57Jesus Christ
51:58as saviour.
51:59But we don't
52:00like him anyway,
52:00so don't really
52:02worry about what
52:02he thinks of
52:03us.
52:04But he wants
52:05us to be
52:05faithful to
52:05the Lord.
52:06God wants
52:07us to be
52:07faithful to
52:07him and to
52:08trust him.
52:10And this war
52:11will actually
52:11intensify in
52:12the events of
52:13the last days
52:14and become
52:15really intense
52:15in the final
52:16period before
52:17the second
52:17coming of
52:18Jesus Christ.
52:20There's a
52:21question about
52:21whether we're
52:22going to be
52:22there or not
52:22with the
52:23rapture of
52:23the church,
52:23which I'm
52:24not going to
52:24get into
52:24at the
52:24present time,
52:25but either
52:26way, we
52:27need to
52:27put our
52:27trust in
52:28Jesus, the
52:28Messiah, and
52:29be ready to
52:30meet with
52:30him.
52:32The war
52:33will intensify,
52:34it will
52:34continue, but
52:37there's a
52:37coming to
52:37an end.
52:39Revelation 20
52:40tells us the
52:40devil is going
52:41to be taken
52:42at the second
52:43coming of
52:43Jesus, bound
52:44and thrown
52:44into the
52:45abyss, from
52:46where he
52:46will be
52:46unable to
52:47deceive the
52:48nations during
52:48the thousand
52:49year reign of
52:49the Messiah.
52:50He'll be
52:51loose for a
52:51little while at
52:52the end with
52:52his final
52:53futile rebellion
52:54against God,
52:55at which point he
52:55will then be
52:56thrown into the
52:57lake of fire
52:57where he'll be
52:58forever and
52:59ever.
53:00They said he's
53:00not there at the
53:01present time, but
53:02he will be at the
53:03end of days, and
53:04he knows that, he
53:05wants to escape
53:06that.
53:08There is a time
53:09coming when he
53:10comes down to the
53:10earth with great
53:11wrath in the final
53:12period of the
53:13seven-year
53:14tribulation
53:14period, and
53:15he's getting
53:16his forces
53:16ready for that
53:17time.
53:19Ready, he's
53:20in wrath against
53:21the saints who
53:21hold to the
53:22truth of the
53:22gospel.
53:24He's against
53:25Israel being in
53:26place, ready
53:27for the
53:28revelation of
53:28the Messiah,
53:29which will
53:29precede the
53:29second coming
53:30of the
53:30Messiah, and
53:31prepare the
53:32way for the
53:33return of the
53:34Lord to
53:34Jerusalem at
53:35the last
53:36battle, Armageddon
53:38and the second
53:39coming of Jesus
53:39to the earth.
53:40finally, the
53:42present global
53:43conflict, the
53:45present time of
53:46wars and rumors
53:46of wars, of
53:47nation against
53:47nation, kingdom
53:48against kingdom,
53:50famines in
53:50various places,
53:52the rise of
53:52false prophets
53:53preparing the
53:54way for the
53:54time of the
53:54end, persecutions
53:57in much of the
53:57world, rise of
53:59antichrist
54:00ideologies like
54:01Islam, communism,
54:03nationalism, all
54:05nations facing the
54:06kind of crisis which
54:07we're facing
54:08economically, etc.,
54:10all these things
54:11tie up with the
54:12Bible prophecies.
54:14How long it's
54:14going to go on
54:15for?
54:15Only God knows, but
54:16we can see things
54:17happening which are
54:18shaping up for the
54:19end of days scenario.
54:23And that's why we
54:24need to be on the
54:25right side of the
54:26Lord.
54:27We need to be
54:28offering salvation
54:29also to the
54:31world through
54:32faith in Jesus
54:34Christ.
54:35There is a great
54:36shaking coming on
54:37the earth.
54:38We can't stop it
54:39from happening.
54:40But we can offer
54:42salvation to the
54:43people of the
54:44earth.
54:45You can take the
54:46magazine, you can
54:46take the leaflets
54:47we've got, you can
54:48use your own
54:49testimony to just
54:50talk to people and
54:51tell them that there
54:52is danger ahead, but
54:54you can find safety
54:55if you follow these
54:56steps, follow the
54:57steps to follow the
54:58Lord Jesus Christ.
55:00And that's the good
55:01news.
55:02There is bad news, I
55:03can't get away from
55:04it.
55:06But there's good news
55:06as well.
55:07And the good news
55:08is that our man
55:09wins.
55:10And the kingdoms of
55:11this world will
55:11become the kingdom
55:12of our God, his
55:13Messiah.
55:14He shall reign
55:15forever and ever.
55:16And all those who
55:17put their trust in
55:17Jesus now have an
55:19eternal place in his
55:20eternal kingdom and
55:22nothing can separate us
55:23from the love of God
55:24which is in Christ
55:25Jesus our Lord.
55:26So put your trust in
55:27Jesus, believe on the
55:29Lord Jesus Christ and
55:29you shall be saved.
55:30believe in him and we
55:34are on the victory
55:35side.
55:36Praise the Lord.
55:37Jesus is coming.
55:39Father we thank you
55:40for your word, we
55:40thank you for the
55:41truth, we thank you
55:41that you have overcome
55:42sin and death and
55:43hell, thank you that
55:44this devil is a
55:45defeated foe, thank
55:47you that you are the
55:47victorious Lord of
55:49glory.
55:50We thank you Lord for
55:50your great love which
55:51you showed to us in
55:52reading yourself and
55:54coming to this earth
55:55to suffer, to die for
55:56us, to rise again from
55:57the dead.
55:58We thank you for your
55:59ongoing concern, for
56:00your people that you
56:01ever lived to make
56:02intercession for us.
56:03We pray that you keep
56:04us faithful to you, help
56:05us to confess our
56:06faith before people and
56:08to bring your word to
56:11the lost people of this
56:12earth and we pray for
56:13many people in these
56:13last days to be saved,
56:15to turn from their
56:16sins and to believe on
56:17the Lord Jesus Christ.
56:18Be ready for your
56:19return.
56:20We ask this in Jesus
56:21Christ's name, amen.
56:25Amen.
56:26Though God so loved the
56:28world that he gave his
56:29only begotten son,
56:30that whoever believes in
56:31him should not perish but
56:33have eternal life.
56:34Amen.
56:34Amen.
56:34Amen.
56:35Amen.
56:35Amen.
56:35Amen.
56:35Amen.
56:35Amen.
56:35Amen.
56:35Amen.
56:36Amen.
56:36Amen.
56:36Amen.
56:36Amen.
56:36Amen.
56:36Amen.
56:37Amen.