THE WAR OF THE AGES .. PART 3: WAR oN EARTHRevelation L2:t3-1713 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the

woman which brought forth the man child.ia And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might flyinto the wiiderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and

times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, thathe might cause her to be carried away of the flood.16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and

swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the

remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the

testimony of Jesus Christ.

IntroductionI. One of the darkest stains on the history of mankind has been the

persistent specter of anti-Semitism (discrimination against or prejudice or

hostility toward Jews).

A. Over the centuries the Jews have faced more hatred and persecution

than any other people.

B. Much of that suffering was chastisement from God

1. To turn the nation away from their sin and unbelief.

2. And back to Him.

C. God repeatedly warned Israel

1. Of the consequences of disobedience (cf. Deut. 28:15-68)

2. And punished them when they failed to obey (cf .2 Kinss 17:7-231.

3. Within God's sovereign purpose for His people,

a. Israel also has suffered constantly and severely at the hands ofSatan, acting as God's instrument.

b. Unlike God, however, Satan's purpose in causing the Jewishpeople to suffer is not remedial (tending to remed)r something), but destructive.

c. He seeks to bring them not to repentance and salvation, but todeath and destruction.

4. Israel faced constant threats from her neighbors during the periods

of the judges and of the kings.

a. Later, first the northern kingdom of Israel (722 b.c.)

b. And then the southern kingdom of Judah (586 b.c.) were

conquered by their enemies.

5. As a result,

a. The Jewish people lost their independence

b. And became subject to foreign powers, including Assyria,

Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

D. In postbiblical times the story has, tragically, been much the same.

1. The history of the Jewish people for the last two thousand years is

filled with prejudice, persecution, and pogroms (an organized massacre,

especially of Jews).

2. The first widespread persecution of the Jewish people in Europe

took place during the First Crusade (1095-99).

a. As they made their way across Europe toward Palestine,

b. Mobs of unruly crusaders destroyed Jewish homes and villages

and massacred their inhabitants.

c. When they captured Jerusalem in 1099,

(1) The crusaders herded Jerusalem's Jewish population into asynagogue

(2) And set it on fire.

d. Most of the Jews perished, and the survivors were sold intoslavery.

3. King Edward I banished all Jews from England in 1290,

a. Thus giving England the dubious honor of being the firstcountry to expel its Jewish population.

b. They would not be permitted to return until the time of Oliver

Cromwell, nearly three and a half centuries later.

4. France followed suit in 1306,

a. Spain in 7492 ironically,

b. The year of Columbus's voyage of discovery to the New World.

5. Throughout the Middle Ages,

a. The Jews were blamed for various natural disasters

b. Most notably the Black Death (1348-50)

c. And savagely persecuted.

6. The nineteenth century saw an outbreak of anti-Semitism in

Russia, where Jews were blamed for the assassination of Tsar Alexander II

(1881).

7 . In the ensuing pogroms of the next four decades,

a. Tens of thousands of Jews were killed,

b. And hundreds of thousands of others driven from their homes.

8. Nearly 3 million more were killed during Stalin's reign, part of the

tens of millions of people massacred by that notorious dictator.

a.. 1894 saw the scandalous Dreyfus affair in France,

b. In which a Jewish army officer, Captain Alfred Dreyfus,

c. Was falsely convicted of treason.

d. Only after twelve years of public turmoil over the case was

Dreyfus exonerated.

E. But the darkest hour in the long history of anti-Semitism was yet to

come.

1. In the early 1930s the Nazi party came to power in Germany

2. And their insane racial theories became public policy.

3. Unlike others who had persecuted the Jewish people,

a. The Nazis and their maniacal leader, Adolf Hitler,

b. Did not merely seek to persecute the Jews,

c. But to eliminate them.

4. In the Holocaust that ensued when the Nazis sought to implement

their "final solution" to the "Jewish problem,"

a. 6 million Jews

b. More than half the Jewish population of Europe were

slaughtered.

F. But despite millennia of savage persecution, the Jewish people still

survive.

John Phillips wrote:

Significantly, the turning point came in Moses' life when he saw, in the desert,

that mysterious burning bush, which flamed and blazed away but, for all the

crackling of the fire, was not consumed. That bush clearly symbolized Israel,

which cannot be consumed despite the ceaseless hatred of her foes, because

God is in her midst. Israel cannot be assimilated into the nations, nor can she

be exterminated by the nations. She is a burning bush in the wilderness.

(Bxploring Reuelation, rev. ed. [Chicago: Moody, 1987; reprint, Neptune, N.J.:

Loizeaux, 1991], 156)

II. It is the fervent hope of the Jewish people that the horrors of the

Holocaust wili never again be repeated.

A. But tragically, however, they will.

B. The Bible warns

1. That a time of suffering lies ahead for Israel

2. That will be worse than anything the nation has endured in the

past.

3. Jeremiah called that time

Jeremiah 3Oz7 (KJVI7 Alas! for that day ls great, so that none ls like it: it is even the time ofJacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

4. Jesus described it as

Matthew 24221

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning

of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

C. The Tribulation will be the worst of times for Israel for two reasons.

1. During that seven-year period

a. God will pour out His final fury on the unrepentant and

unbelieving world

b. Including the unrepentant rebels of Israel.

2. At the same time,

a. satan will make his last, desperate attempt to prevent thepromised reign of the Lord Jesus christ on Israel's throne

b. And thus negate the salvation and kingdom promised to Israel.

3. He will savagely assault the Jewish people,

a. Seeking to destroy both those Jews

(1) Who have already come to faith in Christ,(2) And those who still might.

b. The devil will also do everything in his power to hinder theministries of the 144,OOO Jewish evangelists (7:4) and the two witnesses (1 1:3-

t4).

4. But Satan's efforts will not succeed.

a. His worst fears will be realized when the Jews

Zechafiah 12:1O10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants ofJerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look uponme whom they have pierced, and they shatl mourn for him, as onemourneth for his only soa, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one thatis in bitterness for his firstborn.

b. The believing remnant of Israel will be saved.

Romans tl:25-2925 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye

should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to

Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sionthe Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:27 Fot this ls my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.28 As concerning the gospel, theg are enemies for your sakes: but as touchingthe election, theg arebeloved for the fathers' sakes.2e For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

c. And their promised kingdom will be established (cf. Hos.2:r4-23).

d. The prophet Daniel foresaw this tragic and triumphant time for

Israel in

Daniel L2IL-LLt And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for

the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never

was since there was a nation euen to that same time: and at that time thypeople shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.z And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to

everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.s And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and

they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

a But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, euen to the time of

the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.s Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side

of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.o And one said to the man clothed in linen, which u/as upon the waters of the

river, How long slnll it be to the end of these wonders?7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which uas upon the waters of the river,

when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by

him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when

he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these

things shall be finished.s And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the

end of these things?

s And he said, Go thy w&y, Daniel: for the words are closed up and seaied tilithe time of the end.

10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do

wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall

understand.t t And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the

abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two

hundred and ninety days.

e. Daniel, like Jeremiah and Jesus, saw essentially the same

scenario that John reveals in Revelation 12:

(1) A future time of unparalleled distress, persecution, and

slaughter for Israel.

(2) Two-thirds of the Jews alive at that time will be killed as God

uses Satan to purge the rebels from the nation.

Zechafiah 13:8-98And it shall come to pass, thatin all the land, saith the LORD, two parts

therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therei.n.

s And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is

refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I willhear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

Ezekiel 2O:38ss And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress

against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and

they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am tl;re

LORD.

f. But the elect, believing remnant will enter the Messiah's

kingdom, along with those resurrected O1d Testament saints who at that time

will

Daniel l2:2 (KJ\/lz And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some toeverlasting life,

D. Satan's onslaught against the Jews during the Tribulation will begin

with the rise to power of Antichrist.

1. During the lirst three and a half years of the Tribulation,

2. Satan will work to extend Antichrist's power.

3. And once he becomes the ruler of the world, Satan will make use of

him for his evil purposes.

4. Thus, Antichrist will pose as the protector of the Jews during the

first half of the Tribulation.

E. The covenant mentioned. in Dani el9:27

1. Is a protection pact with the Antichrist

2. That he will break in the middle of that seven-year period.

a. At that point, Antichrist will become Israel's persecutor

b. For the last half of the Tribulation.

3. He will reveal his true nature when he breaks the covenant and

sets up the abomination of desolation three and a half years into the

Tribulation.

Daniel 11:3131And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of

strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the

abomination that maketh desolate.

Daniel L2ztt11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the

abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two

hundred and ninety days.

Matthew 24:tS-t615 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by

Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him

understand:)16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

2 Thessalonians 223'43 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except

there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of

perdition;a Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is

worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself

that he is God.

E. At that time, Antichrist's persecution of God's people, which has been

going on throughout the first half of the Tribulation will focus on Israel and

intensify.

F. This passage describes three attacks that Satan's forces will mount

against Israel during the Tribulation.

I. ATTACK ONE

Revelation l2:13-L413 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted thewoman which brought forth the man child.t+ And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might flyinto the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and

times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

A. The reason is now given for Israel's flight, which was first mentionedin 12:6.

B. Following his defeat by Michael and the holy angels

1. The dragon (Satan) was cast unto the earth.a. Frustrated and enraged by his ejection from heaven and

desperate,

Revelation L2zl2r2c .........because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

b. Left to oppose God's plans before he is incarcerated in the abyss(2O:l-3),

c. The devil furiously persecuted the woman (Israel; cf. I2:I),(1) Which brought forth (gave birth) (I2:2).

(2) The man child (Christ; cf. 12:5).

2. The Greek verb translated persecuted (dioko)

a. means "to pursue," "to chaser" or "to hunt."b. It is used in the New Testament of pursuit with hostile intent

(cf. Matt. 23:34; Acts 26:11)

c. And thus, by implication, can mean "to persecute."

3. Here it describes Satan's hostile pursuit and persecution of the

Jews as they flee into the wilderness (12:6; cf. I3 4-T).

a. The flight of the Jews from Satan's forces should come as nosurprise to anyone familiar with our Lord's olivet discourse.

b. In that sermon on the end times, Jesus warned the Jewishpeople of the desperate danger they wiii face:

Matthew 24:15-22ls When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by

Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him

understand:)16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:t7 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his

house:

18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.te And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those

days!

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of

the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:

but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

c. The only appropriate response to the imminent danger will be

immediate flight;

(1) There will be no time even to return home to gather

belongings.

(2) Pregnant women and those nursing infants will be especially

vulnerable, since it will be difficult for them to flee quickly.

(3) So severe will the peril be that God will intervene and

Matt. 24:22c

.but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

d. Were it not for that intervention, even the elect would perish.

e. Israel's situation,

(1) When the storm of Antichrist's persecution breaks upon

them during the Tribulation

(2) Will be terrifying and tragic.

f. The Jews will be in desperate need of any assistance they can

get and, in God's providence, there will be some people who will help them:

10

Matthew 25:3L-4O31When the Son of man shall come in his 91ory, and all the holy angels with

him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one

from another, as a shepherd divideth hls sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

3a Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my

Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me

drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and

ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an

hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

3e Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

a0 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,

Inasmuch as ye have done lf unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye

have done if unto me.

C. During this time of danger and having to

1. They will receive help from individual Gentiles.

2. Those Gentiles will demonstrate

a. The genuineness of their faith in Christ

b. By their willingness to help the persecuted Jews

c. Even at the risk of their own lives.

D. Not only will God providentially use believing Gentiles to aid the

Jewish people,

1. But He will also intervene directly on their behalf.

2. John saw in his vision that

the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might flyinto the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and

times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

l1

3. This is figurative language that symbolically depicts Israel's escape

from Satan's assault.

a. The striking imagery of the two wings of a great eagle is takenfrom

Exodus l9t4a Ye have seen what I did unto the Egrptians, and hou I bare you on eagles'

wings, and brought you unto myself.

b. God will bring Israel to safety, just as He delivered the nationfrom bondage in Egrpt.

c. Wings in Scripture symbolize strength

Isaiah 40:3131 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall

mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they

shall walk, and not faint.

d. Wings in Scripture symbolize speed.

2 Samuel22zlt1l And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of

the wind.

Psalm 18:1010 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the

wind.

Psalm 104:3s Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds

his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

e. Most commonly wings speak of protection.

Deuteronomy 32:9-lle For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.10 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led

him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

11As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad

her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:

12

Psalm l7z88 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,Psalm 36:77 How exceilent ls thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men puttheir trust under the shadow of thy wings.

Psalm 6t:4+ I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings.

Selah.

d. This is not, of course, a reference to an actuai eagle with literalwings;

(1) Rather, it is picturesque language depicting God's

miraculous assistance of the woman,

(2) That she might fly into the wilderness swiftly into herplace of shelter and safety.

e. The location of the place to which the Jews will flee is notrevealed.

(1) Some have suggested the fortress like city of Petra, carved

into the rocky cliffs of Edom between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.

(2) Approachable only through a narrow gorge, Petra was easy

to defend in ancient times.

f. The term wilderness does not reveal the exact location ofIsrael's place of refuge,

(1) Since that term is a general one often used to describe thedesolate area east of Jerusalem.

Matthew 3:11 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

Mark 1:4a John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance forthe remission of sins.

John 11:54sa Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence

l3

unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there

continued with his disciples.

(2) Jesus' warning to flee to the mountains

(3) Suggests that the place of refuge will not be in the coastal

plain to the west of Jerusalem,

(a) Or the relatively flat Negev (desert region) to the south.

Matthew 24215-16ls When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by

Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him

understand:)16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

g. More likely, it will be in the mountainous region east of

Jerusalem. Daniel 1 1:41 provides further evidence for that view:

Daniel 11:41ar He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many counties shall be

overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, euen Edom, and Moab, and

the chief of the children of Ammon.

h. Perhaps God will spare Edom, Moab, and Ammon, ancient

countries to the east of Israel, to provide a refuge for His people.

4. In her place of safety and refuge,

a. Israel will be supernaturally nourished (fed) by God.

b. Cut off from the worid system, and unable in any case to buy

and sell,

(1) The Jews will need outside help to survi.ve.

(2) And God will supernaturally supply them with food,

c. Just as he did by providing

(1)Their ancestors with manna and quail in the wilderness (Ex.

16 I2ff .),

(2) And Elijah with food at the brook Cherith (i Kings 17:1-6).

5. Certainly it is not incredible that,

a. In a time of devastating miraculous judgments,

b. God will miraculously provide provisions for His people.

t4

E. The duration of Israel's hiding and God's provision is defined as for atime, and times, and half a time.

1. That phrase, drawn from Daniel7 25 and l2:7,a. Refers to the second half of the Tribulation

b. The three-and-a-half year period Jesus called the Great

Tribulation Matt. 24:2 | .

c. It is the same period defined in

Revelation 12z6

o And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared ofGod, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred andthreescore days.

d. And in 13:5 as.

Revelation 13:5s And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and

biasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty andtwomonths.

2. This period, initiated by the setting up of the abomination ofdesolation (Dan. 11:31; I2:ll1' Matt. 24:15; 2 Thess. 2:3-4),

a. Will mark the visibly,

b. Overtly evil career of Antichrist.

F. During that time God will protect Israel from the face of theserpent.

1. Although Satan may know where the Jews are hiding,

2. He will be unable to get at them because of divine protection.

G. Frustrated by this defeat of his first assauit on the Jewish people, the

devil will launch a second attack.

II. ATTACK TWO

Revelation L2215-16ls And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, thathe might cause her to be carried away of the flood.16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, andswallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

15

A. Thwarted in his initiai attempt to massacre the Jewish peopie,

1. And unable to directly assault them in their hiding place,

2. Satan will resort to long-range tactics.

B. Since the serpent is not an actual snake but a symbolic

representation of Satan,

1. The serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood is likely

symbolic as well.

2. TLre imagery once again derives from the Old Testament,

a. Where floods symbolize trouble in general.

2 Samuel22:L717 He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;

Job 2722o20 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the

night.

(Pss. 18:16; 32:6; 69:l-2, 13-14; 124:2-5; 144:7)

b. And an invading, destroying army.

Jeremiah 46:88 Egypt riseth up like a flood, and hls waters are moved like the rivers; and he

saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the

inhabitants thereof.

Jeremiah 4722

z Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an

overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city,

and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of

the land shall howl.

Daniel tLz2626Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army

shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.

3. Satan's attacking force will sweep toward the Jews' hiding place

like a great flood.

C. The devil will seek that he might cause her to be carried away ofthe flood;

t6

1. To be drowned by it,

2. To be consumed and destroyed.

3. But just as He sheltered Israel from satan's initial onslaught,4. So also will God defeat this second assault.

D. In dramatic fashion, and the earth hetped the woman, and theearth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragoncast out of his mouth.

1. The imagery is reminiscent of Moses' description of God's

destruction of Pharaoh's army inExodus l5zl212 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

2. Another old restament parallel is the dramatic story of Korah,Dathan, and Abiram,

a. Whose rebellion against Moses was crushed by God in ashocking, dramatic fashion:

b. Moses said,

Numbers 16:28-3328 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do allthese works; for I haue not done them of mine own mind.2e If these men die the common death of ali men, or if they be visited after thevisitation of ail men; then the LORD hath not sent me.30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, andswallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quickinto the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.31And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, thatthe ground clave asunder that was under them:32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swaliowed them up, and their houses,

and ali the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and theearth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

I7

3. It may be that one of the frequent earthquakes during the

Tribulation (cf. 6:12;8:5; 11:13, 19; 16:18;Matt.24:7) will cause the ground to

split open and swallow Satan's forces.

E. Whatever this symbolic language pictures,

1. It marks the destruction of the attacking army

2. And the end of Satan's second assault.

III. ATTACK THREE

Revelation 12:L7tz And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the

remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the

testimony of Jesus Christ.

A. By now thoroughly frustrated and wroth

1. By his inability to destroy the woman (Israel),

2. The dragon (Satan) will turn his fury toward new targets.

B. Some have identified the remnant of her seed with whom Satan will

make war

1. As the 144,O00 (cf. 7:2-8;14:1-5);

2. Others see them as believing Gentile Tribuiation saints (cf. 7:9-14),

who are sons of Abraham by faith.

Galatians 3:77 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of

Abraham.

3. It seems best to take this as an all-inclusive phrase,

4. Referring to all those who name the name of Jesus Christ.

C. They are further described as those which keep the commandments

of God,

7. Entolas (commandments) is a word used frequently in John's

writings

2. To refer to New Testament commands.

John 14:15ts If ye love me, keep my commandments.

18

John l4z2L21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me:

and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and willmanifest myself to him.

John 15:10io If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept

my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

John l5zL21z This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

1 John 2:3-4 (KJVIs And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.a He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, andthe truth is not in him.

1 John 3:22-2422 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep hiscommandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.2s And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of hisSon Jesus christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.2a And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And

hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

I John 5:2-32 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and

keep his commandments.3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and hiscommandments are not grievous.

D. The phrase and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.1. Is not testimony about Him,

2. But the testimony He gave,

3. The truths He taught that are revealed in the New Testament.

4. These persecuted believers will give further evidence that theirsalvation is real by their obedience to the truth of Scripture.

E. Like his first two attacks directed against Israei,

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1. Satan's third attack on God's people will also fail.

2. At the sounding of the seventh trumpet,

Revelation 11:151s And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven,

saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord,

and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

3. All of Satan's efforts to prevent Christ's kingdom from being

established are doomed.

a. The Lord Jesus Christ will triumph;

b. He will reign on earth,

c. Cnd the surviving Tribuiation saints, both Jews and Gentiles,

will enter His earthly kingdom.

F. For the iong-suffering people of Israel,

1. The darkest hour lies ahead.

2. But it will be followed by a glorious dawn.

3. The elect remnant of Israel,

a. Having survived the most savage persecution in the nation's

long history,

b. Will be saved and enjoy the bliss of the millennial kingdom,

Romans llz26a26aA,1d so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written,

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