Bible Study No 21 of Revelation

Well, good evening, brethren. Welcome to our next set of studies on the book of Revelation.

And as a matter of brief revision, we studied the seven letters which cover the seven eras of God's church age. We then also saw that those seven letters also refer to seven basic attitudes which can be present today in any of us individually. And in fact, through our lives, we may move our own situation in our lives from one type of attitude, which is symbolic of the first church era or the second or so on. We also covered the various seals that were open, and we've covered to the opening through of all seven seals. We went through that. We also looked at the events to watch for before the Great Tribulation, including the importance of us watching ourselves. We then went through the significance of the abomination of desolation. We saw then that a portion of God's church will be protected before the Great Tribulation.

We saw that the Great Tribulation will run for three and a half years, basically in parallel with the witnessing of the two witnesses. We then saw that after two and a half years from the beginning of the Tribulation, there would be God's heavenly signs, which signal the beginning of the Lord's Day for one year, that last year of the three and a half years of the Great Tribulation.

That last year is also referred to as the Lord's Day, or the Day of God's wrath, or the wrath of the Lamb, or also is the seventh seal of the seven seals of the Book of Revelation.

So the seventh seal then we saw consists of seven trumpets, which these seven trumpets are symbolized by the Day of Trumpets. In other words, the meaning of that is symbolized by that day, that holy day, the Day of Trumpets, and then within those seven trumpets Christ will come on the last or the seventh trumpet. However, we also saw that before God allows the first four trumpets to blow and cause damage to a third of the earth, a third of the sea, a third of the rivers, and a third of the lights that affect the earth, that's the sun, the moon, and the stars, God will then seal those who have repented during the Great Tribulation.

All right, now we're going to move today and we're going to start reading on the 12th chapter of the Book of Revelation. Now, the 12th chapter of the Book of Revelation is an inset chapter, which gives a rapid overview of what Satan has done to attack God's people, more specifically God's Church, and with particularly emphasis on the end time. So that's what we're going to cover today. Now, we're also going to cover a little bit of history about Satan as well. So it is important to understand, therefore, as an introduction to the study on the 12th chapter of the Book of Revelation, that Satan led a rebellion against God when he possibly got to the point that he understood God's great plan for humanity, and that was well before mankind's creation. So that's also important to understand, to put all this into context. So to basically cover that, we're going to go back to Genesis 1, Chapter 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Yeah, it says God created. So it is the word created, and it shows that God created the heavens and the earth. The other words created the universe, the whole universe in which the earth is part of this universe. And it says God created the heavens and the earth, and everything was stunningly beautiful. We get that from when Job was asking God certain questions, and God asked him. And in Job 38, so let's look at Job 38. Job 38, let's just get to it.

Job 38, verse 4.

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Tell me if you have understanding. So Yah is God asking Job, where were you? I mean, that you Job are so smart and he's questioning me, God is saying, where were you when I actually created the earth? And the foundations, what do you mean by the foundations of the earth? You see, how is the earth placed in the heavenly group of stars and planets, etc., how does it stay there in its place? You know, all the inertia and gravity and the movements of the earth around the sun and of the moon around the earth. Where were you when I made this and I made how I created this? Tell me if you have understanding. He says in verse 5, who determined its measurements? Surely you know. Nowadays, we understand that the size of the earth affects the distance of the earth to the sun and the tilting of the earth. It's so precise that any variation in that will cause to a point that will cause mankind to not be able to have life on planet earth. Everything is being so finely tuned. The measurement, the sizes, the distances, the speeds are so accurate. So he says, surely you know. Or who stretched the line upon it? Who works out the speed and how it all moves? You know, verse 6, to what? Where its foundations fastened? We know that the earth is not fastened to anything. It's rotating around the sun. How is it fastened? What laws of gravity, of inertia, of all the laws of science that keeps it there? Who has laid its cornerstone? How is it there? And in verse 7, it says, when the morning stars sang together. That's the angels and all the sons of God shouted for joy. And Yah is the word bien as part of the family, but they're not family-begotten children of God, born of God. But they were God's children because He created them all. They were God's children. So God created all those and created, and when He created the angels, when they saw the earth, in other words, when God created the earth and the universe, the angels sang together and shouted for joy. So it was absolutely beautiful.

Everything was stunningly beautiful. Therefore, the angelic beings were present when God created the earth. Therefore, God created the angels first, and then He created the universe.

Otherwise, this would have been impossible. All right, let's move on.

We know that Jesus Christ, the Word, was the God-being that created the angels, and the universe under the delegated authority of God the Father. Where do we get that? From various scriptures like John 1 verse 1. So let's just read it. John 1 verse 1.

It says, In the beginning was the Word. So in the beginning, when the beginning came to be, the Word already was, so already existed. So it was before the very beginning of anything that was created. And it says, And the Word was with God, with the Father, who became the Father.

So the Word that became flesh, which is Christ, was there. And the Word which became Christ, flesh, was God, was of the God-family, was a God-being. He, the Word, verse 2, was in the beginning with the God, the Father. All things were made through Him, through Christ, through the Word.

And without Him, nothing was made that was made. So everything was made through the Word. So therefore, Christ was right at the beginning, the Word, and He is the God-being that created everything, the whole universe. Now, if we add Colossians chapter 1, verse 16 through 18, Colossians chapter 1, verse 16 through 18, it says, For by Him, it's talking about the Christ, all things were created, there are in heaven, and there are on earth, visible and invisible, all things, all beings, visible and invisible, and invisible beings, is the angelic domain, the angels. And it says, With the throne of the medias, of the principles, of powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. He is above all things, and in Him all things consist, and He, that's Christ, is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning. He is the beginning. He is the one that did the beginning under the delegated authority of God the Father. He is the beginning. He is the one that did. He then, He became flesh, and He from the died and from the dead, He became the firstborn from the dead. It was the first one to resurrect from the dead to Spirit-being, that in all things He Christ may have the preeminence.

And then we read in Hebrews chapter 1. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 2 just says basically the same thing, but in different words. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 2 talking about, He, God, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed here of all things, through whom also He made the walls. So the walls were made through Christ. And then in verse 6, in verse 8 through 9, Yah is God the Father talking to the Son to Christ, and He says, You're throne, O God. God the Father is calling Jesus Christ God. He says to the Son, that's to Christ, the Father says, You're throne, O God. And look at verse 9. He says, Therefore God, You're God has anointed you. So God, that's Christ, you're God, the Father, has anointed you. So Jesus Christ, the Word, was the God Being, because even the Father calls Christ God, Yah, who was the God Being, the Being of the God Family, the Being of the Kingdom of God that created the angels. That was Christ. And He created the angels, and then He created the universe, the heavens and the earth. And when He created the universe, the heavens and the earth, the angels shouted for joy. So therefore, before all creating acts, God preplanned, designed, and architected the whole creation.

Before all creating acts, God planned all this. He designed it. He architected it.

He worked out the mathematics of exactly how everything would work. Its full pre-plant was not created as chaos, accidents. Now, and therefore, part of God's design, because this is all part of the great plan to create sons and daughters of God in the Kingdom of God. This is God's plan to bring many sons to glory, as we read in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 10. And part of that plan would require the creation of the earth, which would be the cradle for humanity as a training round, as it is now physically as a training round, for His children to qualify and to become a children of God. But all this required pre-planning. Now, when I see it as a cradle for mankind, for people to become children of God, would mean that people would have free moral agency.

And if they have free moral agency, they would sooner or later do something wrong against God's law, and the wages of son is death. So, mankind would die. Therefore, it required a payment to buy man-people, mankind, back from death, and that payment was to be the very creator God, because His life is far more worthy than all their lives. The creator God is Christ. Therefore, the very creator God being had to die for us so that He could pay for our lives. That's why Christ had to be also the creator God being, the God being that created us, so that His life could pay for our lives. And this was all pre-planned, designed, and architected before the foundation of the world. That's what we read in Revelation 13 verse 8. The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world, right from the beginning, right when it was before it happened, from before the foundation of the world. In 1 Peter 1 verse 18-20, talking about that you and I were not redeemed of corruptible things, not with money, not with gold, not with silver, but we are redeemed, in other words, bought back from death, with the precious blood of Christ as a Lamb, without sin. And He, Christ, as a Lamb, indeed, was for ordained, was for designed, was for planned, was for architected, for Him to die, as our Lamb, before the foundation of the world.

Now, you know, we know, how painful it is when we see people suffer. And for how long a time we suffer when we see people suffering, and it hurts our hearts. And as things are in the world, it hurts our hearts seeing people suffer. Do you know that Christ knew and the Father knew that Christ had to suffer the most excruciating death for millions of years before the creation of the world, of the universe? And also in 2 Timothy 1 verse 9 says that this is all according to His own purpose and grace, which is given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

So, God had this plan. Christ knew about it before time began. Now, when did the time begin?

Well, time began when the universe was created, because the universe and the movement of the Son and the Earth around the Sun and the Moon around the Earth and the tilting of the Earth and all that, and the rotation of the Earth around its axis, gives us the hours, gives us the months, gives us the years. So, time, as we understand, began when the universe was created. And Christ, as we say, the Lamb was slain before time began, before time, as we understand it, with the movements, physical time, as we understand it, began. Why? Because God knew that mankind sooner or later would sin and would require a Savior. So, that's all part of the plan. It's all part of God's plan. But we read in Ezekiel 28, starting in verse 12. So, let's go to Ezekiel 28. Ezekiel 28, starting in verse 12, Yah is a section from verse 12 through to this section, which is verse 19.

In this section is addressed to the King of Tyre, whilst Ezekiel 28, verse basically 2 to verse 10, is addressed to the Prince of Tyre. Basically, the difference is the following. The Prince of Tyre is the physical leader of Tyre. The King of Tyre, in this case, is Satan. So, and now we see in verse 12, it says to the King of Tyre, that's the Spirit being, it says, you are the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. When God created this angelic being, it was perfect, full of wisdom, and extremely beautiful.

Then we read in verse 13 and 14, you were in Eden in the Garden of God, and that is the spiritual Eden, before everything was created. So, it was in the spiritual realm, before it was created. Verse 14, you were the anointed carob who covers. You were the anointed carob who covers. If you read in Exodus 25, verse 20, it's talking about the building of the tabernacle, and it shows that there are two carobs, two carobim, and that are over the ark. Two carobim cover the mercy seat, which is symbolic of God's realm of mercy. It's not God's realm of being harsh. No, it's God's throne of mercy, the mercy seat. That's what God sits on, the mercy seat.

He's the God of grace, of kindness, of mercy. And so, we had these two carobim coverings, symbolically. And here in verse 14 says, you were the anointed carob who covers.

I established you. You were in the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. So, you was in the very throne of God. Verse 15, you were perfect in your ways from the day you were created till the iniquity was found in you. When God created him, he was perfect, but he was created as a free moral agent. You see, he was one of a robot. He was not a robot. He, like mankind, and all kinds of beings above man. So, we got the human kingdom, then you got the angelic kingdom, then you got the kingdom. All human beings and angels, and in the God kingdom, we will be in the God kingdom. We all have free moral agents. And this being that was created perfect was not yet called Satan, but he, as free moral agents, he could make his own choices and his decisions. And he made wrong decisions. And that's why he's wrong with decisions.

That's when iniquity was found in him, that he made the wrong choices. And in verse 16 says, by the abundance of your trading, you became filled with violence within, and you sinned.

The abundance of your trading. Basically, he sold his competitive ideas and convinced the third of the angels to follow him. That is the trading, you know, like a salesman. He's negotiating these things. His trading is selling his ideas of competition. Competition leads to violence from within. And he convinced the third of the angels to do that. So he, Satan, became an accuser and an adversary of God. And by extension, an accuser and adversary of everything and everyone that he is on God's side. So continue now reading in verse 17.

Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. In other words, pride and arrogance, thinking, I'm so great, I'm so wise, I'm so competent, I'm so capable, you became proud, lifted up, and you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.

I cost you to the ground with obviously those angels, no demons. And therefore, what happened? He was cost to the ground, but he was cost to the, he will be cost to the ground twice. There's a duality. Once he's in the past, that happened, and another will be in the future. Once happened already, and during the second time, still future, but soon to occur, you will actually be expelled, as we will see in the short while in Revelation 12.

So the first time he was not expelled, he was cost, he fell down, he was cost to the ground, but he was able to get back up. And that's why we read the story in Job that he appeared before God, and God asked him, where have you been? And he says, walking to and fro. And God says, have you considered my servant Job? And then from there continues with verses 18 and 19, which is still future. So I'm not going to cover that today, but it is very interesting to read that because it's events still future. Going back to also Isaiah 14, Isaiah 14, verse 12 through 15, Isaiah 14, verse 12 says, how are you fallen from heaven? You see, he fell down, he was cost, but he was not cost out. He fell down, he was fallen from heaven. Aulousaphur, the Hebrew word is halo, which means the shining one or a bright star or a morning star. The Latin Vulgate translates it as Lucifer. The King James Version, therefore, uses the word from the Latin Vulgate, Lucifer. And it says, yeah, that O star in some Bible versions refers it as O star, which might be more accurate than the word Lucifer. But anyway, it says O star is fallen from heaven.

How are you cut down to the ground? You wicked the nations. So, and then it says, I will do this, I will do that, I will do that. So that shows pride. Pride. Note here that the Bible says it was the fall of Satan, not the fall of Adam and Eve. So when the religions say, oh well, yeah, it was the fall of Adam and Eve.

And then people kind of with that kind of get the feeling, well, God has got to now correct this disaster, because Adam and Eve now have fallen and God has got to create a plan to fix things up. No, because the lamb was slain from the beginning, before the beginning of time, before the foundation of the world. So that God knew that Adam and Eve would sin sooner or later. Sure, maybe Satan just gave them a push and accelerated the facts, but God knew that sooner or later they would sin. God knows that all of us sooner or later do sin. You read in Romans 1, no man is right, no, no, just, we all sin. So, what do we have here? Is that when Satan was cast out to the earth, this represents, you know, not cast out, fell down to the earth. That's how I should say more accurately. This was the result of a war in which the earth, which was a beautiful jewel, because remember, the angels shouted for joy when they saw the earth, and it was so beautiful, and they were so happy, and this earth was so beautiful. But then, because of this rebellion and this war of Satan, the earth became to you and both you, utter chaos and confusion. And we know from Isaiah 45 18, he says that God did not create the earth in vain, in toil, in confusion. God created it to be inhabited, and therefore he created it beautiful. God makes everything decently and in order. He then creates the earth being an absolute mess.

The result of being a mess is satanic destruction, is war. Warfare creates an environment to be a mess. That's what it is. So, therefore, then after this war, we see in Genesis chapter 1 verse 2, and it says, and the earth was or became without form, and void, an indistinguishable ruin, and darkness was on the face of the earth.

So what do we have? It was like this, like a nuclear explosion war that actually created a huge nuclear cloud, a dark cloud, that light could not come through to planet earth, and it became absolutely dark. It was dark on the face of the earth. There was no light whatsoever.

And then God, after some time, we don't know how much longer, but after many, many, probably millions of years, God, through his power, through the Spirit of God, started acting on the face of the waters, because they were waters, so there was a flood. So this is the first flood, remember? We quite often don't think that there were actually two floods upon the earth. This is the first flood. The flood during the days of Noah was a second flood. So the Spirit of God, God's power, capability, started working under God's instruction, under the instruction of Jesus Christ, because he sustains everything, and that power started doing its work.

And so what do we have is God restores the earth to its beautiful status.

That's the restoration of the earth. God's plan, therefore, required that the earth should be used as a cradle for mankind, for humanity, and that the angel of great authority, that orange star, which became Satan, he would be a light to help humanity grow in the carrot of God, where he failed because he rebelled, and therefore he lost his opportunity to do what he was his mission, lost his crown. So the earth now became chaos and ruin, and God had to restore the earth to its former state of beauty. And so we read in the second half of verse 2, where he says, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the world, and God started recreating or restoring the earth to its state of beauty, to remaking it.

And we read, right, for instance, in verse 5, and it says, there was evening and morning. The fact that it is evening and morning since the first day of the recreation or of the restoration of the earth, it reconfirms that the earth was already rotating around its axis, and that the sun already existed, but the sun and the stars were not yet visible from an earthly perspective because of the pollution. But God started removing that pollution and allowed sunlight to pierce through this darkness. And therefore it says, it allowed daylight to be day and night. Why? Because the earth was rotating around its axis within this 24-hour rotation of the earth around its axis. So it shows the sun and the moon and the stars were already in existence. Of course they were, because they were created, as we can see, in verse 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then the earth became, or was, because it became, it was completely disaster. Then God had to really clean it up, and then light stopped shining through. And that was the first day. And evening and morning. Why? Because the sun and the moon and stars were already there.

So then God then proceeded with doing the other acts of making things until, for instance, as we know, later on, on the fourth day, He completely cleaned the atmosphere. That then we could see the light of these great lights. That's what we read from verse 14 of Genesis 1 onwards. So, and then the word created, remember the word created, is only used again in verse 21. So the word created was used in verse 1, and is now only used again, God created, when He started creating living beings on the earth. So, so there, there it is, this act of creation, because the other acts was more of restoration. And then God proceeded with His plan to create mankind in His image, as we read in verses 26 and 28, in His image and likeness. So God created mankind.

That's what we see in God's image. So let's now go back to Revelation 12.

Revelation 12. So we're going to start with verse 1. Revelation 12 verse 1. Now, a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the morn under her feet, and her head a garland of twelve stars. A woman, this is called a double meaning.

In the Old Testament represents the Israelites. In the New Testament represents God's church, the true Israel above. So the story begins with the Old Testament events and then progresses to the New Testament events. It's basically a history of the church, and our scepter has tried to destroy God's church. If we read, for instance, in Genesis 37 verse 9 and 10. Let's look at that. Genesis 37 verse 9 and 10.

And then He's talking about Joseph's dreams, and then He says, and He dreamed about his brothers, and then He's talking about his family, and the sun, and the moon, and the eleven stars, both down to me. So you can see that relationship of the sun and the moon as being this family of Abram, and in this case, talking about the family of Joseph having his dream, and thinking about his father Jacob and his mother. And this is what it ties in with relation 12. This is the Israelites, the 12 tribes. So the 12 tribes of Israel.

So you can see that ties in with the Old Testament symbolism. Then continue in verse 2, and it says, then being with child, that's Israel, with child being this nation, which came out of Egypt from the time of the patriarchs, and finally becoming an independent nation. This nation from this Israelites, there was a child which was Christ. Christ came out through that genealogy. So it's a very short, quick summary of where Christ came from. Christ came from, physically speaking, through this genealogy of Joseph and Jacob. Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. So it's this Israelites nation. So there is this woman, which then also ties in, in a sense, a woman being a child, being a native being a child, but it actually is talking about Israel. And then we go on to verse 3. And another sign appeared in heaven, Behold, a great fiery red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. So what is that? It's this Satan, a great fiery red dragon. He's Satan. And Satan rules on earth through the beast power. And you remember, we spent time looking at Daniel 2 and Daniel 7, Revelation 13 and 17, when we looked at the charts of the nations. And that shows that this beast has seven heads and ten horns and all these analogies, which basically shows Satan is influencing the world at this time through this Roman empire at the time of Christ. And so on. That is developed through all the way till the time of the end. Satan will work through this group, this group of people that is the resurrected Holy Roman Empire that then comes up to be what we call a future to be resurrected United Europe to come up and will become the beast. So we went through that previously.

So we'll continue now in verse four. So now he's showing in parallel the story now of Satan that there's this dragon, right, and he's going to act on earth through the beast power. And then in verse four it says, "... his style drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth." That means Satan threw his convincing powers and part of that early war that I mentioned to you, that I showed to you in Ezekiel and in Isaiah, he covers the third of the angels.

That's where we get a third of the stars of heaven. That's a third of the angels and all of them lost their position of being angels and became demons. So it's an analogy to that. Now we know when you read, for instance, in Luke chapter 10 verse 18, Christ said, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

How could Christ see Satan fall like lightning from heaven? Because Christ was the world long before he restored the earth and he saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. He saw that. He was there. But understand, he was not yet expelled, cost out from heaven. You see, he fell, but it was not cost out. Indeed, Satan convinced the third of the angels, now demons, to follow him. And as I explained, that was when the earth turned to chaos and ruin, tow you and bow you before the restoration of the earth in seven days, as we showed in Genesis chapter 1.

Now continue to read in verse 4 and the latter part of verse 4, and the dragon stood before the woman, was ready to give birth, to devour a child as soon as it was born. And we know therefore Satan tried to influence Herod to kill Christ, right, a serious born. And you know, then Christ had to flee to Egypt under the inspiration of the angel, and then you know that those children in that area were two years old or younger were killed. You know that. That's part of a part of history there.

So that's in verse 4. Sorry, let me just see. Now the story therefore, yeah, is the story is advancing to Jesus Christ's birth. All right, now we go a little bit further, because now we move into the time of the New Testament, right? It's Christ's birth. Now we move from the Old Testament to the New Testament. So what do we have? Revelation 12 verse 5, she, Israel, the Old Testament, through the Israelites of the Old Testament, came out the male child who was to rule all nations of Erotavian. In other words, at the Senate, as the Son of Man, came from the tribe of Judah, Christ, and through that Israelites line through Mary, the physical line, Son of Man through Mary, bore a male child who was to rule all nations with Erotavian.

And her child, that Jesus Christ, was caught up to God and his throne. What do we mean by that? It means that Christ, after he died, he resurrected, after three days and three nights, being in a grave, and then he was caught up to God and his throne. And those are prophecies that we know.

I don't have to go through them now. So continue now, reading in verse 6. There the woman fled into the wilderness. Now, who's the woman now? Now, the woman is the New Testament, because for the woman now is the New Testament Israel, the true Israel, which is the Church of God. Because after Christ resurrected, who flees into the wellness was the Church of God. And he says, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed their 1,260 days.

A day for a year, 1,260 years. God's Church had to flee during the Middle Ages for 1,260 years from AD 325, from the time of the Catholic sale, until about the 16th century. I went through that when we had those charts, which run about 18, no, till about... Anyway, I can't remember now the year, but I had those charts. I went through all that for you, which is basically the time of the Protestant Reformation.

And when the Protestant Reformation came out, then the grip of the Catholic Church started to reduce, or began to reduce, and therefore God's people that were hiding in the mountains could flee. And that period we went through it during the messages to the seven churches correlates to the era of firetire, of the church in firetire.

So, all that we covered before. Alright, so now we go to verse seven, Revelation 12 verse 7 and 8. And it says, And war broke out in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought.

But they did not prevail, nor was it a place found for them in heaven any longer. You see, now the eyes of the second war. You see, the first war happened long ago when the earth became toe you and bow you. Now we have a second war. And now they have no place in heaven any longer. Now they don't just fall, but they are cast out. They are kicked out of heaven. God, no more in heaven. That is a parallel to Daniel 12. So, let's go and look at Daniel chapter 12 starting in verse 1. Daniel chapter 12 in verse 1.

At that time, Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of the people, and there shall be a time of trouble. That's the great tribulation. When he stands up, that's when there's going to be the time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time, your people shall be delivered. That will be a time of the... everyone was found written in the book. So that's that time. So, yeah, there's going to be a time of great tribulation. Why? Because there's this war. Michael stands up. The Satan is kicked out of heaven, and therefore it comes to the earth, and there's a time of trouble like never before, and he now starts the great tribulation. Why? Because he has great wrath. He has great wrath. Now, in Daniel 12, it's very synoptic, a very brief summary. So basically saying at that time, that's at the end time, that's when we will be delivered. Yeah, so it'll be a little bit of time, but we'll be delivered during this end time period. Everyone is written in the book. Now, let's go back to Revelation chapter 12. Revelation chapter 12, and we're going to read verse 9. So we have the story. There was the war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels, that means the demons, fought with Michael and Satan and the demons lost, and they no more found place for them in heaven. Now, the great dragon, therefore, was cast out. He wasn't just in the fall now. He was actually cast out of heaven. No more to go to heaven. God cast out that serpent of old called the devil and cited, who deceives the whole world. He was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with evil. So, yeah, it is a very clear description of the history of the satanic rebellion or fight against God's plan.

Right. So now, let's read verse 10. Then I 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 for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. You see, he had access to heaven because he still has access, because he's accusing us before God day and night. Day and night. He's there accusing us before God. In time, you and I have a defense attorney, which is Jesus Christ, our mediator, who is our defense attorney before God's throne.

And so now, it's talking about also the brethren, because it says, the brethren, because he says, and they, that's the brethren, overcame Satan. We overcome Satan. How? By the blood of lamb, because he buys us and forgives us, and by the word of their testimony, because we encourage one another, and the word of the testimony of the apostles, and the Bible, and the testimony that we have in the Bible, and all this helps us to overcome Satan.

And, I don't know why you've overcome Satan, is that we do not love our lives to the death. In other words, we are prepared to die for what we believe, and this means we overcome Satan all the way from death. That's it. We are overcoming Satan. Verse 12, Therefore, rejoice, O heavens, and you dwell in him. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows he has a short time. You see, when he's kicked out of heaven, he knows exactly how many days he's got. The days are counted. The days are counted. We see that counting in Daniel 12. He has a short time. So now it's the time of Satan's wrath, which is also the time of the Great Tribulation. And remember, I'll put that in the milestones to watch, because that's when there's this abomination of desolation, and then it's the fifth seal. It's the Great Tribulation, which continues until Christ's coming. And that is Satan's wrath, the time of Satan's wrath.

Right. Let's continue now in verse 13. Now, when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman. The woman? Yes. Now, the true spiritual Israel, which is God's Church, who gave birth to the child. Yes. Israel, Israel through Judah. But the true Israel now is the one who's going to be persecuted, because understand, now it's talking about taking time in those last three and a half years. So he's persecuting the woman.

And in verse 14, but the woman, in other words, God's Church. But it's a portion of God's Church, which we could define the Philadelphians, whoever they are. God knows the heart and decides who is who, who is worthy to be in this group and who is not. So the woman, a portion of the Anton God's Church, that's the Philadelphians, was given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she's nourished with a time and times and half a time. That's three and a half years from the presence of Satan. So, we'll not be under the influence of Satan and of this satanic world. There's going to be a place where she's nourished for that period of the Great Tribulation. And the only four will be a protection. And that's why we read, for instance, in Luke 21, it says, watch and pray that you may be accounted worthy to escape and to stand before the Son of Man. Verse 15, so the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood, possibly an army, after the woman, after the church, which is basically symbolic of Israel. Remember how Pharaoh, Hamid, persecuted the Israelites through the Red Sea and the sea opened up and the Israelites went through safely and then the army followed them and closed upon them and disloyal them. It's the same thing he had, but now it'll be the actual earth. And he says, so the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood, after the woman, he might cause her to be carried away by this flood, this army, to destroy her by this army. But the earth helped the woman and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed this army, swallowed up this flood. If it is army, I think it probably is an army. I'm speculating it. I'm putting that between the equation of army. So it destroyed this military power, or this military group or section of military, that was chasing the church. Those that God counted worthy to escape before the Great Tribulation. So he says, and swallowed up the flood, that's the army, which the dragon had spewed out of its mouth. So it was part of the dragon's inspiration. This is what happened. Verse 17, and the dragon was enraged with the woman. Yeah, he was mad with the church, and he went to make war with the rest of the woman. It was the rest of God's people. That's the loudest ears. Those that had to buy, because they thought they would reach and increase their goods, and Christ said, I counsel you to buy gold, thrive in the fire. It was the Great Tribulation. And those are people that keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. So what is the difference between the loudest ears and the Philadelphians? Well, the very clue might be the name Philadelphians, which is the Church of Bradylila. And it's people that have very possibly a lot more love in their conduct and in their care for one another. So, brethren, that with that completes today's Bible study. I hope you have enjoyed and look forward to be with you at the next lesson.