God’s Vision For Israel – Part 2
Zechariah 8:4-8
January 15, 2017

As you know we are in a section in the book of Zechariah
Which was sparked by the arrival of that delegation from Bethel.

A group of men arrived and chapter 7 says
They were seeking the favor of the Lord.
What we are learning here is that they already have it.

And we are learning that they are recipients of God’s favor,
Not because they had done something to earn it,
But because God had chosen by His grace to give it to them.

• We saw the selection of Abraham…
• We saw God’s CHECED in Abraham’s life…
• We saw God stick with Isaac and Jacob and Israel…
• We’ve seen the Exodus…
• And even now God is bringing them out of Babylon…

You’d have to be blind not to see God’s favor on this people.

But beyond all of God’s gracious benefits He has given Israel in her past,
Here in Zechariah 8 God reveals His vision for her future
And it is also full of favor.

Zechariah 8 lists 10 revelations or visions that God has for Israel’s future.

We saw the first two last week.
1) GOD REVEALED HIS PASSION

Namely that He is “exceedingly jealous” for Israel.

And we noted that “jealous” was a term previously used
Referring to God and His own glory.
He told Israel not to worship idols because He is a jealous God
And will most certainly punish anyone who gives His glory to another.

Now we learn that God has that same jealousy for Israel.
He is passionate about her.

We even looked at God’s CHECED
(kindness, loyalty, faithfulness, preference) to Israel throughout her history.

God is passionate about her.

2) GOD REVEALED HIS PLAN

In verse 3 God revealed that His plan is to:
• Return
• Remain
• Renovate

Although God initially did this in the person of Jesus and was rejected,
It still has not changed God’s passion for her
And the fact that He will return again for her.

• No sooner do we have Jesus ascending in Acts 1,
• Then by Acts 2 Peter is reiterating the promise of salvation to the Jews in Jerusalem
• And again offering them “the time of restoration” in Acts 3.

Israel certainly delayed her blessing,
But the plan to give it her never changed.

• God still plans to return…
• God still plans to remain…
• God still plans to renovate them into a “City of Truth”

So we saw God’s Passion
We saw God’s Plan
#3 GOD REVEALS HIS PEACE
Zechariah 8:4-5

Peace in Israel?
That’s a novel idea!

When you read these two verses you must admit
It brings about a certain amount of nostalgia to the heart.

“Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets.”

Zechariah highlights the fact that there will be old people in the city.
Old age may not at first seem preferential,
But in this revelation it is very positive.

“Old men and old women” only reach that status because they have survived.
They have lived a long time.

You know it and I know it,
But there is only one alternative to growing old
And that is dying young.

Here we have men and women in Israel who have survived,
They have lived a long time.

Isaiah 65:17-25 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed. “They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. “They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. “They will not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD, And their descendants with them. “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.”

And that is a remarkable promise from God regarding Israel,
Especially when you take into account the enormous amounts of persecution that they have endured as a people.

Generally speaking, life expectancy for a Jew has never been a good thing,
But the day is coming when it will.

Not only that, but the safety and prosperity of Israel is seen in the fact that “the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets.”

It sounds like Mayberry.
Friendly, safe, joyous, it’s the good ole days except way better.

And the reason is because the Lord will have returned
And renovated that place and made everything wonderful.

Isaiah 11:1-9 “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.”

Because God is passionate about these people
And because His favor is clearly on them,
His plan is to return and renovate that place into a city of safety
Where people live a long time and children play safely in the streets.

God clearly has a wonderful plan for them.
Ezekiel 34:25-30 “I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. “I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. And I will cause showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of blessing. “Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. “They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will live securely, and no one will make them afraid. “I will establish for them a renowned planting place, and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations anymore. “Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord GOD.”

The struggles they currently face are not the final plan of God.
God has a prosperous future in view for them.

In fact God has always had this prosperous desire for them.
• From the day He called Abraham He was reiterating this blessing that He had in store.
• When He brought them out of Egypt He promised them a land flowing with milk and honey.
• And certainly the Messiah was coming to set all things right.

Now each and every time it has been their disobedience
Which has delayed these blessings,
But that does not mean that God won’t do it.

This prosperity; this peace and safety is still the plan
Because God has chosen to put His favor on them.

They certainly do not deserve it, but they will receive it none the less.

God Reveals His Passion, God Reveals His Plan, God Reveals His Peace
#4 GOD REVEALS HIS POWER
Zechariah 8:6

I love this one.
“If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight? Declares the LORD of hosts.”

Let’s be honest.
What God is referring to here frankly seems a little
Too good to be true and a tad bit impossible.

The thought that Israel could one day dwell safely inside her borders with no fear of those around them almost seems like a fairy tale.

The reality is…THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED.

• Abraham went there and was immediately labeled “the Hebrew” (one who crosses over; alien).
• He then had struggles with the kings who kidnapped Lot
• He had struggles with Abimelech who threatened his wife

• When Israel came out of Egypt it was one nation after another throughout the time of the Judges.
• Hittites, Jebusites, Moabites, Ammonites, Canaanites, Termites, Cellulites, etc.

• During the period of the Kings it was the same thing all over again.

• During the post-exilic period again they faced hostility from their neighbors

• Then it was Greece, then Rome

• And throughout present day history it has been England, Russia, Germany, Palestine, and on and on and on.

You are tempted to read about that reality in verse 4
About old people sitting in the streets and children playing in the streets
And it sounds like a fairy tale.

Seems like it will never happen…
Seems like it can’t happen…

And there are even theologies today which say that.

In my Old Testament class in Seminary my professor told us that he was an “Amillennialist”.

That means he doesn’t believe in a literal thousand year reign of Christ.
• So all of those promises (like the one in verses 4&5) will never literally happen.
In addition Amillennialism says that it is over for Israel.
• All of God’s promises were fulfilled in Jesus whom they rejected and so now
it’s only the church.

Point being, there are plenty of people both then and now
Who think the idea of Israel living in safety inside her land
Is impossible.

But God answers that pessimism right here.

“If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?”

“Just because it’s too hard for you, does that mean it’s too hard for Me?”
And of course the answer is NO

Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

There we see the prophetic promise of the kingdom reign of Messiah over Israel and we are even told who will bring it to pass.

“The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
God will make it happen.

By our own efforts Israel’s peace is an impossibility.
As we are learning in Revelation (Satan just won’t let that happen)
But it is well within God’s prerogative to bring it to pass.

You may doubt it that it will happen, but God can most certainly do it.

Isaiah 59:15-20 “Yes, truth is lacking; And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey. Now the LORD saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay, Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the coastlands He will make recompense. So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives. “A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the LORD.”

His vision is for peace in Israel where each man and each woman can live out their days in peace and prosperity and He will bring it pass.

So God reveals His Passion, His Plan, His Peace, His Power
#5 GOD REVEALS HIS PROMISE
Zechariah 8:7-8

And this is where it all hinges.

It all hinges upon the integrity of God to honor His promises.

We just settled the issue regarding whether or not God can do what He says.
• We believe God is omnipotent, we believe God can do it.
• We do believe that “the zeal of the LORD of hosts” is enough to bring it about.

The next issue is “Will He do it?”
• We know He can, but will He keep His promise?

We are those who believe God keeps His word,
And in this belief we find our hope.

Remember what we learned in Hebrews:
Hebrews 6:13-18 “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU.” And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”

We learned through Abraham, all the way into the New Testament
That when God makes a promise you can take it to the bank.

In fact, we learned that God cannot lie.
This gives us “strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”

We believe God will do what He says.
His promises mean everything to us.

And it is that promise we are confronted with here.
“Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.”

That is the equivalent of God saying “I promise!”

Notice all the definitive words there.
• “I am going to save My people…”
• “I will bring them back…”
• “they will live in the midst of Jerusalem…”
• “they shall be My people…”
• “I will be their God in truth and righteousness…”

These are God’s promises.
And if you doubt that it will happen
Then you either have to question God’s power
Or you have to question God’s integrity.

We choose to question neither.
We believe God will do what He says.

We believe God will bring Israel back and settle them securely in their land.
Zephaniah 3:14-20 “Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. “The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts — They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them. “Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors, I will save the lame And gather the outcast, And I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth. “At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the LORD.”

Isaiah 35:8-10 “A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, And the ransomed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

Zechariah 10:8-12 “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. “When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back. “I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them. “And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down And the scepter of Egypt will depart. “And I will strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.”

We either believe those promises or we don’t.

And I might add that salvation is found in believing the promises of God.

• God made a promise to Abraham about the number of his descendants.
• The Bible says that “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as
righteousness.”

It’s not a safe thing to go around questioning the promises of God.

We are those who believe God can and God will do what He says.
• God will bring them back…
• God will put them in Jerusalem…
• God will dwell with them…

And “I will be their God in truth and righteousness.”

This is how we know it hasn’t happened yet.
Israel has often identified with the correct God,
But they have yet to correctly identify with Him.

Someone once said that Christians and Israel worship the same God.
That isn’t true.

• On one hand we believe Jesus is God and they clearly do not worship Him.
• On the other hand even though we both claim allegiance to the God of the Old Testament, they don’t really worship Him.

Isaiah nailed them when He said:
Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”

Jesus said:
John 4:23-24 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Currently Israel doesn’t really worship the correct God.
But there is a day coming in which they will.
God promised it.

They are coming back, they will be Mine, and I will be theirs.

And if you are one of those in the delegation coming to seek God’s favor,
How much clearer could He make it?

This sounds almost like a marriage proposal.
• I am choosing you.
• I am jealous for you; you are the one I want.
• I am coming to you.
• I am going to make life great for you.
• I most certainly can do it.
• And I most certainly will do it.

To me that almost sounds like a groom at a wedding ceremony.
“I take you…to protect you, to provide for you, to cherish you, forever…”

CAN YOU NOT SEE WHAT FAVOR GOD HAS SHOWN?
They should be able to.

NOW PAUSE THERE FOR A SECOND.
Let’s zoom out and look at the situation
So we can make sure we get proper application here.

• When we read these verses we are literally blown away by the generosity of God and all that He plans to do for Israel.

• We would easily look at those people and say, “Wake up man! Can’t you see God’s favor toward you? He clearly cares for your deeply!”

• We have no trouble reading these verses and seeing that.

But back up and look them…

WHAT DO THEY HAVE RIGHT NOW?
I mean what do they have that they can tangibly hold in their hand?

The answer?
A broken city, half a temple,
And piece of paper which contains God’s promise of better days.

And yet, we have no problem telling these people
How much favor they have.

Now look at your own life.
• What do you have?
• What can you tangibly hold in your hand?

A broken world, some earthly possession,
The first fruits of the Spirit
And a paper which contains God’s promise of better days.

Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

1 Peter 1:3-9 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”

Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Can you see that we also are great recipients of God’s favor?

Listen to me here.
We all know what a bank statement is.

We look at our bank statement because
That is where the amount of or money is recorded.

Maybe you have another list of assets which measures how much you have.

But these are NOT the places you look
When you want to measure God’s favor in your life.

• God’s favor is not measured in money…
• God’s favor is not measured in health…
• God’s favor is not measured in earthly prosperity…
• God’s favor is not measured in comfort…

HOW DO WE MEASURE GOD’S FAVOR?
IN PROMISES.

To put it in earthly terms, God writes I.O.U’s
(They aren’t really “I Owe You’s” as much as they are
“I Have Freely Decided to Give You’s” but you get the idea)

God doesn’t demonstrate His favor in earthly prosperity.
God demonstrates His favor in promises of eternal prosperity
When this life is over.

If you have God’s promises you have God’s favor.

That is what these refugees needed to understand.
• No they didn’t have a city…
• No they didn’t have a wall around it…
• No they didn’t have a king…
• No they didn’t have an army…
• No they didn’t have a temple…

But they had something infinitely more valuable, they had God’s promise.

All that was left was to decide whether or not they believed He could
And whether or not they believed He would.

And that is the same for you.

We live in a world that wants God to prove His favor every day
Through temporal blessing, and that is the wrong way to go about it.

For that leaves you discouraged
When life brings its promised disappointments.

Instead understand that God reveals His favor in His promises
And in those we are rich indeed.

2 Peter 1:2-4 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

Though the present life may be difficult,
The payout promises to be well worth it.
This remains God’s vision for the elect.

The Woman Satan Couldn’t Kill
Revelation 12:13-17
January 15, 2017

As you know we are studying through the book of the Revelation,
And most recently we have entered a parenthetical section in the book.

After the sounding of the 7th trumpet all of heaven declared that “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ”
• In short, heaven announced that Jesus wins!
• It didn’t matter how angry the enemy was…
• It didn’t matter how numerous the enemy was…
• It didn’t matter how crafty the enemy was…

The enemy loses and Jesus wins.
That victory is further explained in chapters 12-14.

We’ve already seen:
THE CHILD SATAN COULDN’T STOP
In Genesis 3 God announced that the seed of the woman
Would crush the head of the serpent,
And ever since that day, Satan set out to stop the seed.

• He tried relentlessly throughout history to kill the woman so that the child would never be born, but ultimately he failed.

• He then tried relentlessly to kill the child once He was born, and for a moment it seemed as though he succeeded, but God raised Him up and seated Him at His right hand, so Satan failed there too.

Despite his efforts to stop this child, Satan lost.

Satan then adapted his efforts to attack those the child set out to redeem.
Satan sat out to condemn the elect (it is the current battle we face)

An attempt to accuse the elect before God
And to accuse God before the elect.

And last week we saw that he will fail there as well, as we looked at:
THE BATTLE SATAN COULDN’T WIN

• Satan battled in the heavens, but was ultimately thrown down to the earth, having lost all access to heaven and thus can no longer accuse the saints before God.

And that is where we left off.
Revelation 12:12 “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

AT THIS POINT, REALITY HAS SET IN.
HE WON’T WIN.
He couldn’t stop the child,
And now he has been removed from the heavenlies all together.
The battle is ultimately lost, and his time is short.

But that doesn’t mean he will quit.
In fact, this only spurs on a new battle for him to fight.

This morning we look at the third area of his defeat, we see:
THE WOMAN SATAN COULDN’T KILL

(13) “And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.”
• He is on the earth
• He is extremely angry
• And so he again goes on the offensive
• This time he seeks to destroy the woman.

We already learned back in verse 1 who the woman is, it is Israel.
And here we find that Satan is out to persecute her.

The word “persecuted” translates DIOKO
It literally means “to pursue” or “to chase” or “to hunt”

When Satan gets permanently removed from heaven,
He’s so livid all he can think about is striking a blow against God. Since God is out of reach, Satan goes after God’s chosen people.

He pursues them
He hunts for them
He seeks to chase them down

Now I would remind you of the TIMING of this entire event.

This event was already alluded to up in verse 6.
Revelation 12:6 “Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.”
1260 days is 3 ½ years.

It is the same timeframe here.
(13-14) “And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.”

So the event we are dealing with here is
A persecution that begins at the half-way point of the tribulation
And carries on until the end.

Allow me to bring all of this together for you a little bit here.

TURN TO: MATTHEW 24
• Matthew 24 is what is known as “The Olivet Discourse”
• It was a sermon inspired by the questions of the disciples.

(3) “As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

• To answer that question Jesus then gave His “end times” sermon.

According to Jesus the end times can be characterized by a few common themes.
1) GLOBAL UNREST – wars and rumors of wars
2) DECEPTION – many false christs
3) DEFECTION – many will fall away
4) TRIBULATION – hated by all nations

These are the common themes that one can expect during this end times.

There is ONE EVENT that will kick this thing off
And make it exceptionally horrific.

(READ: MATTHEW 24:15-22)

There Jesus refers to The ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION
• It is the event we have already discussed some.
• It was the event which was depicted in history by Antiochus Epiphanes when he desecrated the temple during the time of the reign of Greece.

But ultimately it is a future event when the Antichrist will enter the temple And declare himself to be God and demand that all people worship him.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

Jesus said, when that event occurs you had better run!
(16-20) “then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Whoever in on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in the house. Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.”

Jesus said this event will be bad.
The Antichrist will be out to kill you.

We linked this event with the second seal back in Revelation 6.
The first seal was that white horse who represented false peace.
It was the rise of Satan’s puppet ruler who rises and rules even over Israel.

But the second seal is characterized by world war and famine and death
In which ¼ of the world’s population ends up dying.

So to sort of bring this all together.
WHAT YOU WILL SEE ON EARTH IS THIS:

There will be a leader arise who will take Israel under his wing and who will rise to control the world with an agenda of peace.

But 3 ½ years into his reign he will completely reverse course.
• He will no longer care about putting up a good front.
• He will no longer care about offering peace.
• He will only care about destroying Israel and dominating the world.

It will be one of the strangest events ever.
• This guy will go from peace to war literally overnight.
• He’ll go from being politically correct to just being a brutal warmonger.

That is what the earth will see.
And to some extent it will be confusing as to why this guy flipped so fast.

Well, we have the luxury of seeing this event from the spiritual side
And now we know why he’ll so quickly flip his script.

• As long as Satan is allowed access to heaven and can work his plan of deception and accusation, he uses this puppet of false peace to deceive the world.

• However, when Satan gets permanently banned from heaven he is so angry he no longer cares about deception, now he only cares about destruction.

• And so Satan manipulates his ruler and sets him on a course of destruction and persecution of Israel.

Jesus saw it coming and warned the Jews ahead of time.
Satan will just be angry and will want to hunt you down and kill you.

That is what we read in Revelation 12
(13) “And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.”

Satan will be so mad at God for defeating him
That he will just seek to vent his fury any way he can.

And it centers around destroying the woman
To whom God had made so many promises.

Let me show you one (we’re studying this on Sunday nights)
Zechariah 8:1-8 “Then the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ “Thus says the LORD, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘ Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. ‘And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares the LORD of hosts. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’”

That is just one of many promises that God made to this woman Israel.
He’s going to return to reign
And they’re going to enjoy it.

So Satan is out to mess that up.
He simply wants to hurt God by hurting those whom He loves.

And this is important to understand even for us.

ARE YOU EVER CONFUSED BY PERSECUTION?
Many in our world are.

A couple of weeks ago “The Wizard of Oz” was on television
And I was watching it with the kids.

At the end when the Tin Man gets his new hear the wizard looks at him and says,
“And remember my sentimental friend, that a heart is not judged by how much you love but by how much you are loved by others.”

There are so many in our churches who actually believe that.
They think the love and approval and affection of others
Is the criteria which proves whether or not they are being a good Christian.

If people love me then I must look like Jesus
And if people hate me then I must be doing something wrong.

That’s just not true.
1 John 3:13-16 “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

John goes on to say that when we love like this (even when being hated)…
1 John 3:19 “We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him”

Being loved is NOT evidence that you are a good Christian.

Jesus said:
Luke 6:26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”

Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

That simply means that you should never let persecution rattle you
As though it is a negative indicator.

What we learn is that Satan hates those whom God loves.
• Satan hates those who glorify God.
• Satan attacks those who glorify God.
• Satan attacks those whom God has chosen.

Satan simply hated the woman because God had loved and chosen her.
It’s as simple as that.

Listen to what Jesus told the disciples:
John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”

John 16:1-4 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. “These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. “But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”

Don’t let persecution surprise you.
The world hates you because it is controlled by Satan
And Satan hates Christ.

We are looking at that same senseless hatred here in Revelation 12.

Satan is angry, he has been removed from heaven,
And so he just sets out through his puppet
To hunt down and kill God’s people Israel.

It’s just pure hatred and rage.

And the Old Testament has promised it for them.
Zechariah 13:8-9 “It will come about in all the land,” Declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. “And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'”

It is going to be horrific.
• Jesus said it will be like no other time before it.
• That means that even the Holocaust under Hitler will not be able to compare to what Antichrist will do to the Jews.

Satan will simply seek to annihilate Israel
Just because they are God’s chosen people.

What we find here is that even in this attack, HE WILL NOT WIN.
God will not allow him to exterminate His people Israel.

Tribulation? Yes
Annihilation? No

(14) “But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.”

Satan will set out to kill her and God will provide supernatural deliverance.

Don’t let the imagery confuse you.
It is a reference to God’s deliverance during the Exodus.

Exodus 19:4 “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.”

Deuteronomy 32:9-11 “For the LORD’S portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance. “He found him in a desert land, And in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye. “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, That hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions.

The nourishment spoken of is no different than the manna
Which God provided throughout the wilderness wonderings.

Satan will set out to annihilate Israel and God will supernaturally protect them just as He did during the exodus from Egypt.

Let me give you another passage to chew on here.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 25

• You already know that the Olivet Discourse begins in Matthew 24 with Jesus outlining the events of the end.

• In Matthew 25 He is still in this same discourse but He is giving parables to describe the magnitude of this time period.

• He gives a couple of parables which deal with readiness for the 2nd Coming (10 virgins, Talents)

But look at (VERSES 31-46)

Does that passage seem a little more understandable now?

• We know that during this time of tribulation Satan is going to be hunting down the Jews and seeking to annihilate them.

• And we know that God will supernaturally protect them and provide for them so that they are not totally annihilated.

• According to what Jesus taught in the Olivet Discourse it appears that the means through which God will deliver them is Gentile believers.

It’s like an UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, through which
God will deliver His people from Satan’s attempt to annihilate them.

SO, SATAN LOSES AGAIN.

But of course, he is not finished.
Israel escapes the initial onslaught so Satan regroups.

(15-16) “And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.”

Here is more symbolism to be rightly understood.
Floods are pictures of destruction.

Since Satan cannot reach Israel due to her having escaped to the wilderness,
He unleashes what is called “water like a river”
To try and sweep Israel away “with the flood”

• We remember the first seal of false peace
• We saw why that transitioned into the second seal of world war.

We now understand that this war had at its root
A desire to annihilate Israel, but God protected them.

• The third and fourth seals were the next efforts of the Antichrist.

Famine and then Death represent that river out of his mouth.

The Antichrist uses famine and wild beast and plague
As a means of long range attack against Israel,
And the attack is so lethal he actually kills ¼ of the world with it.

Because he could not seem to reach them with his army,
He instead unleashes a plan to kill them
By famine and wild beast and plague.

It is an all-out attempt of the enemy to wipe out Israel.

“But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.”

In short, God miraculously causes nature
To intervene and save His people.

When Pharaoh had Israel pinned against the wall, what did God do?
• He split the red sea.

When the wilderness had Israel in danger of dehydration and death due to lack of water, what did God do?
• He commanded water from a rock

How many times in the Old Testament did we see God cause nature to shift in order to deliver Israel?
• We saw hailstones…
• We saw the sun stand still…
• We saw rivers and seas dry up…

In whatever ways Satan tries to remotely kill Israel,
God causes nature to intervene and stop it.

The direct imagery is to the days when Korah sought to rebel against Moses and overthrow him.
Numbers 16:31-32 “As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions.”

That is the kind of deliverance seen here.

SO…
• Satan sets out to kill Israel through war and God intervenes.
• Satan attempts to kill her through famine and plague and God intervenes.
HE SIMPLY CANNOT WIN

God made promises to Israel that He will keep.
Christ will reign and they will enjoy it!

That is the point you should be seeing.
• Satan cannot stop what God is doing.
• Satan’s kingdom has transferred all power to Christ and despite his rage, there is not a thing Satan can do about it.

Martin Luther penned that infamous hymn “A Might Fortress Is Our God”
“And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us. We will not fear, for God hath willed, His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him. His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure. One little world shall fell him.”

Satan cannot totally destroy God’s chosen people.
God has promised them an earthly kingdom,
And He is preserving that promise.
But…
Satan still isn’t done, and he never accepts defeat.

(17) “So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

This verse is really an introductory verse.
It is a verse that is described throughout chapter 13.

We find that when Satan can’t wipe out Israel,
He turns his fury toward those who helped her escape.
(I mean he’s got to kill something)

He turns his fury towards “the rest of her children”
(These are Gentile believers; saved during the tribulation)

This helps us understand why there are so many Gentile martyrs during the tribulation.

Remember what we saw in Revelation 7?
Revelation 7:9 “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;”
Later in that chapter we learned that these were
Those who had been slain during the tribulation.

They are killed because Satan is mad at God
And because God has made Israel somewhat off limits.
It’s just raw, unbridled, senseless rage against God.

One thing important for you to see is how Satan knows who to attack.
How Satan spots a true believer.

• Do you suppose that when Satan goes looking for Christians that he will subpoena churches for their membership records?

• Do you suppose that when he goes looking for Christians that he will look for people with a fish on their car?

• How do you think Satan will go about identifying true believers?

Oddly enough Satan will use Biblical criteria for identifying true believers.
He will look for two attributes in people.

He looks for those “who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

These are the two undeniable characteristics of true believers.
Obedience & Endurance

They obey God, and they persevere until the end.
Those are the byproducts of genuine faith.

These attributes are so indicative of believers
That they are the criteria Satan will use
In his attempts to identify them and kill them.

In fact in chapter 13 that is what you will see.
• Satan will pass laws and make cultural realities that make it impossible to hide
as a believer.
• You will either take his mark or you will be faithful to Jesus.
• You will either obey God or you will obey Satan.

How was it that Satan was able to capture Daniel? (a law forbidding prayer)
How was it that he capture Daniel’s friends? (a law commanding idol worship)
How was it that he captured the apostles? (a law forbidding evangelism)

That is how Satan will make war with the true believers.
He will use their obedience and endurance as the trap.
He’ll use their faithfulness to God against them.

Because he knows that true believers
Would rather expose themselves to suffering than deny their Lord.

I just want you to understand the rules of the battle.
• Persecution comes because the enemy hates Christ.
• Because he hates Christ, he attacks those whom Christ loves.
• And he identifies them by their devotion and loyalty to Christ.

THE ONLY WAY TO ESCAPE THE BATTLE
IS TO BE UNFAITHFUL TO CHRIST.

And those who do that only reveal that
They never genuinely belonged to Christ.

Don’t deceive yourself into believing that your faith is real
If you have no obedience or endurance.

1 John 2:3-6 “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ” I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

James 1:22-25 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”

The Bible says a person who claims to be a Christian
But who doesn’t obey is deceiving themselves.

But you also must have endurance if you claim to be a Christian.
Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

These are the criteria by which Satan identifies believers.
And these are the very actions which will put them in danger,
As you will see in the next chapter.

But even then they overcome…
Revelation 13:7-10 “It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”

Revelation 14:12-13 “Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘ Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”

They will overcome (as we saw last week) because of “the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony, and because they did not love their lives even when faced with death.”

Satan still loses!
• He can’t stop Jesus
• He can’t condemn the elect
• He can’t annihilate the Jews
• He can’t break the genuinely redeemed

There is not a thing he can do, regardless of his rage,
Which will stop the inevitable from occurring
And that is the absolute reign of Jesus Christ upon the earth.

Psalms 2:6-12 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

Jesus will reign…Satan will lose.
Wisdom aligns itself with the winning side
Regardless of the difficulty in doing so.