SNBS - Revelation Part 9 - Chapter 12 with Pastor Josiah

Whitten Baptist Church

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SNBS - Revelation Part 10 - The Antichrist

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Just real quick logic. Why do I believe this hasn't happened yet? Well, verse 3 was describing before Adam and Eve.

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Well, if verse 7 through 10 is still describing that, who was Satan accusing before Adam and Eve?

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Good evening and welcome to Sunday Night Bible Study with Pastor Josiah Shipley of Witten Baptist Church.

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We are in part 9 on our series of the book of Revelation. Part 9, we are in chapter 12.

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So if you will, open your Bibles to Revelation chapter 12 and let's get started. Revelation 12,

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I'm going to start reading in verse 1. If you're new to this, this is part 9. We've been doing a whole series on this.

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Please feel free to go back to Witten Media Ministry on YouTube. I think there's still some on Facebook and go back and watch these parts in order.

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It can help you. You can change the playback speed to get through them faster. Yada, yada, yada. All right, so we're in Revelation 12 and chapter 12 before I begin reading is one of those chapters in Revelation that covers thousands of years in one chapter.

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I'm going to show you how in just a little bit. But the Bible, when it does prophecy, does this a lot, where it will, in one sentence, skip forward 2 ,000 years.

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You know, the Bible does this a lot. So we got to be mindful of that as John is watching and recording this sign, this vision in heaven.

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All right, Revelation chapter 12, starting in verse 1. And a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars.

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She was pregnant and crying out in birth pains and agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and on his head seven diadems.

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His tail swept a third of the stars from heaven and cast them to earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore the child, he might devour her.

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She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was caught up to God and to his throne.

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The woman fled into the wilderness when she was to a place prepared by God in which she was to be nourished for 1260 days.

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Verse 7, war rose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.

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But he was defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the ancient serpent, who's called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.

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He was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,

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Now the salvation, the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of Christ has come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our

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God day and night. So let's stop there. We'll pick up in verse 11 in just a little bit. Well, let's stop right there for a minute and let's read from there.

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Let's explain what we just read. First off, let's take a look at the characters. Now, when

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I say characters, don't hear me say that like this is a story in a fairy -tale book.

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These are real events in history, future history, some of it.

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So when I say characters, maybe just the main players, because these are real people. I don't want to say characters and you think it's a fairy -tale.

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And I understand that because this is a vision, sometimes it's hard to see it and you're just seeing dragons and all, but each person is represented here by a sign that John sees.

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For example, verse 9 says the great dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan.

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We don't have to guess who the dragon in Revelation is. Revelation 12 9 says it's Satan, the ancient serpent.

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Remember the Garden of Eden? Who is the devil and Satan? It's Satan. Okay, so when we look at chapter 12, let me help you and let's read back into it.

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So first off, the woman. The woman is Israel. Israel, the nation Israel.

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How do I know that? Well, first off, she gave birth to the Son and the male son is Jesus. Jesus came from the line of Judah, the line of David.

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Also, look at verse 1. Clothed with the sun, the moon, and the twelve stars. Do you remember

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Joseph's dream? Joseph with a little coat of many colors and all that stuff. Do you remember his dream?

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With the sun and the moon and the stars bowing down to him. It's exactly the same thing here.

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John is writing that. The woman with the sun, the moon, and the twelve stars, twelve tribes, the woman represents

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Israel. And the male child is obviously Jesus. Now the dragon is

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Satan and then Michael in verse 8, Michael's the archangel.

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He's actually the only one called with the title archangel in the Bible. He's called that in Jude verse 9.

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And Michael was assigned to protect Israel. If you go back to Daniel 12 1,

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Michael's job was to protect Israel. Israel in Daniel 12 1. So going back, let's read again verse 1.

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A great sign appeared in heaven. A woman, this is Israel, was pregnant, verse 2, and crying out with birth pains and agony to give birth.

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And a great red dragon, seven heads and ten horns on his head and seven diadems.

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We'll talk more about those horns and all that later, but horns and heads typically represent kings and kingdoms in the

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Bible. His tail swept a third of the stars of heaven and cast them down to earth.

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And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth so that when she bore a child, he might devour it.

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Now, the male child is Jesus. Do you remember what happened when Jesus was born?

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Herod tried to kill Jesus. And how did he do that? Do you remember? That's right. I can hear your answer now.

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By killing every male child under the age of two. Because remember the wise men had come later on.

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So they didn't get there when he was born. It took them a couple years to get there.

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So he's like, all right, just to play it safe, every male child under the age of two killed him in Judea. So she gave birth to a male child anyway.

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Israel gave birth to Jesus in that sense. And he was to rule all the nations with the rod of iron.

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Notice he hasn't done it like that yet, but he will in the thousand -year reign. But her child was caught up to God in his throne and his ascension, right?

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And the woman fled into the wilderness. She was prepared to be placed by God in which she would to be nourished for twelve hundred sixty days. Okay, that part hasn't happened yet.

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So remember we went over this a couple weeks ago. Twelve hundred sixty days, three and a half years, times, times, and a half.

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Said many forty -two months. It's explained many times in the Bible. This is the second half of the

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Tribulation, when the Antichrist is revealed, that second half of the seven -year period.

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So three and a half years, half of seven, three and a half years, where things get really bad. Now, I want you to understand that in verse three, when the dragon was thrown out of heaven with a third of his angels, okay, that could easily represent

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Satan's rebellion before Adam and Eve sinned. He was the first rebellion.

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Right, his pride, not Adam and Eve. Okay, however, what we know is, although Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven, they were allowed,

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Satan was allowed to return, okay? What I mean by that is this. You can read in Job and Zechariah 3, that Satan sometimes comes into heaven to accuse us before God, to accuse us.

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In fact, if you remember in Job 1, sons of man, sons of God, are given an account before God, and Satan comes in with them, right?

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And he tries to accuse Job. Well, if you look in Zechariah 3, we have the

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Father there, we have Jesus, the angel of the Lord, and Satan there. And Satan's trying to accuse

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Christians, and Jesus tells them, shut up. I'm not gonna hear it. I know they're guilty, but I have declared them innocent and put my righteousness on them.

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It's called imputation. Well, it appears that Satan is still allowed to enter into heaven and accuse us even now.

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So verse 3 is when he was first thrown out. Verse 7 is where he's finally thrown out and not allowed to go accuse anymore.

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See, I believe verse 7 hasn't happened yet, where he's thrown out forever. Verse 7, war rose, and Michael and his angels fought against a dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated.

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There was no longer a place found for him in heaven. Verse 10, I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,

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Now salvation, power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of Christ come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before God day and night.

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Just real quick logic. Why do I believe this hasn't happened yet? Well, verse 3 was describing before Adam and Eve.

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Well, if verse 7 through 10 is still describing that, who was Satan accusing before Adam and Eve?

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Nobody, because it wasn't anybody. So that's why I think verse 7 through 10 hasn't happened yet. Does that make sense?

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So, Satan right now is allowed access into heaven to accuse us. One day,

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God is going to say, Enough, get out, and don't ever come back. That's what verse 10 is. And Michael will defeat him, throw him out, and he'll never be allowed back to accuse.

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Now, when he's thrown down, he will be very angry, because he knows his time is very, very short.

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Verse 11, And they conquered him by the blood of the land, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives, even unto death.

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So, our brothers, Christians who are alive during this time, they will conquer

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Satan, not with a sword. They will conquer him by the blood of the land, and by the word of their testimony, because they loved not their lives, even unto death.

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Therefore, rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down on you with great wrath.

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Thumos is the word. It means to hyperventilate with anger. He's breathing passionately. He's so angry, because he knows his time is short.

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That's Revelation 12, 12. I see God's sovereignty in that verse. You ask me how?

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The word God is not in the verse. The word sovereign is not in the verse. Because it doesn't say

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Satan thinks his time is short. It says he knows his time is short. Now, how does

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Satan know that? If he's at war with God, because Satan already knows he's gonna lose.

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He's already read the end of Revelation. He knows how powerful God is, and he will not win.

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So why is he fighting? Because misery loves company. Guys, any notion you have that Satan will be in a red jumpsuit with a pitchfork and horns, and he will be ruling hell, is not true.

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Satan has never been to hell, but he will be one day, and he'll be tortured like everyone else. He will not be the ruler of it.

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Satan will not be the ruler of anything. He'll be thrown into hell and tormented day and night for eternity.

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Now, when the dragon saw the human thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to a male child.

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But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle. She might fly from the serpent into the wilderness to a place where she'd be nourished for a time, times and a half.

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Okay, verse 6 and 14 are the same thing. Verse 6 and 14. When she's fled into the sea, that's what

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I mean, it jumps. It goes from the birth of Jesus to his ascension to all the way to a future event that hasn't happened.

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I believe, remember last week we talked about when the two witnesses die? When they die, great persecution will break out on in Jerusalem on believing

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Jews. Now, this Israel is Israel, but believing Israel. Jews who are

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Christians. Ethnic Jews who are Christians. And the 144 ,000

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Jewish evangelists will have been witnessing to them this whole time, also in the two witnesses. Now, they're gonna flee

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Jerusalem, and they're gonna go into the wilderness. Now, this is believing ethnic

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Jews. So, real Jewish people who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior in this time.

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And for three and a half years or 42 months or 1260 days, whatever John wants to call it this time around, they're gonna go into the wilderness to protect themselves.

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And Satan will try to kill them. The serpent, verse 15, poured water like a river out of his mouth after a woman to sweep her away in the flood.

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But the earth came to help her, and the earth opened up its mouth and swallowed up the river, and the dragon poured out from his mouth.

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I don't know how, I don't know exactly what that's describing, but somehow with water, Satan will try to kill them, and the earth,

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God, using the earth, will save them. Some type of fortress, some type of barrier, I don't know.

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The earth opening up, whatever, and Satan will be unsuccessful, and they will be protected during that three and a half years.

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Verse 17, then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, comma, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus, and he stood on the sand of the sea.

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Okay, so we have ethnic Israel, and we have the children of Abraham from the promise, believing people.

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Okay, so you can be an ethnic Israel and not be saved, or you can be an ethnic

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Israel and be saved. I am part of spiritual Israel. I'm not part of ethnic

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Israel. Okay, so the first part of this section with the woman going into the wilderness to be protected, those are believing

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Jewish people that God will protect. But here in verse 17, when it says he'll make war with the rest of their offspring, that's referring to all

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Christians, any part of spiritual Israel, if you want to think of it that way. How do I know that? Because it defines who they are.

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Those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. That's the rest of us.

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So though the rapture has already happened, there will still be people getting saved after that event.

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They will be living through this. And Satan will go and make war on them. How will he go make war?

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Well, that's for next week. He'll be using his boy, the Antichrist. So, there's a rundown of Revelation 12.

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So again, the woman is Israel, the male child is Jesus, the dragon is Satan, Michael's the Archangel, and God protects the believing

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Jews who flee to the wilderness after the two witnesses are killed. So then

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Satan turns his attention to the rest of the Christians on the planet, and he uses the Antichrist to do that. These are

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Christians who got saved after the rapture, who are going to be living through the Great Tribulation. Now, next week we're going over the

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Antichrist. And guys, look, some of you maybe have been mistakenly mistaught or misunderstand all the things about the

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Antichrist. God's part of the Bible. It's the Word of God. There's no magical mysticism to it.

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It's the Bible, and we need to treat it seriously like that, but not be afraid to study what

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God has revealed to us. So next week, we'll be going over the Antichrist. He's called actually a lot of different things in Scripture.

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We'll go over all his names, and who he is, and also who he's not. So to get rid of some of the silly ideas you may have about this person.

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All right, next week is the Antichrist. Tune in next week at 6 p .m. for that. I hope this was helpful to you and beneficial in some way.