Revelation 12

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast, making Theology Central. Good morning everyone. It is Monday, June the twenty fourth, twenty twenty four. It is currently nine forty nine am Central Time, and I am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. And ladies and gentlemen, I know you are excited. I know you have been waiting with great anticipation. Okay, I know you've been like, what is going on? What is going on? You've been calling friends and family, going when is he going to do another episode of Theology Central Radio. It's been forever. I need another episode of Theology Central Radio. Well, it is time for another episode of Theology Central Radio. And if for some weird reason, you don't know what that means, so let me explain. Theology Central Radio is episodes in which I walk over to the door, open the door, walk down all of the stairs, there's a lot of them, down into the archives, the Theology Central Archives, and I look around, I blow the dust off everything, and I grab something from the past, a sermon from the past, and I play it in the present. And the main reason we do. That is because when you've got thousands and thousands of hours of audio, you know

1:34 a lot of time that that a lot, not just a lot of time. Most of the time, those old broadcasts are rarely found and listened to. Like I get the statistics, I get the numbers for what people even on the Church one platform, Sermon's two point zero platform, even on all the podcasting apps, rarely are people going all the way through all of your you know files. They're not going through episode after episode after episode, going We're going to go all the way to the first one I can find here. They're not going to do that. So those old, the older things just become well forgotten. They collect dust, and it's like, well, I did the work on those. I want them to still be utilized in some way, shape or form. So what happened is the other day I came across a one gigabyte little jump drive thumb drive, right, things very very small, and I'm like, I wonder what's on this. I haven't seen this thing. I don't even know what. I found it in some box somewhere. I'm like, oh, I wonder what this is. So I plugged it in and I'm like, oh wow, there's some old files on here, so I just grabbed one. They weren't labeled like the name of sermons. They were just labeled like Sunday morning, Sunday school, Sunday night, Wednesday, and just the date. So this one, I don't remember the date on the file. It was like, I don't know, twenty something, twenty fourteen, twenty thirteen, I don't know, twenty twelve, twenty, I don't know, two thousand and seven. I don't know.

3:05 These are old files, but it appeared that we were in the Book of Revelation. I just started listening to the very beginning because I believe I tell everyone to turn to the Book of Revelation and Revelation I think chapter twelve. So we're just going to go back and listen for this episode of the Theology Central Radio where we go well pull out from the archives things from the past, so hopefully someone can find some benefit for it in the present. That's that's all I'm attempting to do. I mean, just if you look on the sermon's two point oh app just just do you spend the day looking around with typically when you're when you're looking around and now for the Sermon's two point oh app challenge. I'm always telling you to look up something and just choose random sermons. In that case, you may be finding some of the older sermons look at the dates of the sermons you're listening to. But most of the time, if you're using the sermons too two point oh app on a regular consistent basis, you're probably looking. I mean, I don't know how you find things. I have. Most things in my feed, well that's the newest message from whichever broadcaster I'm following. So I'm just listening to new and new and new and new and new, and rarely do I go back and go, oh, these are If I go to all the broadcasters that are currently in my feed today on the Sermon's two point oh app, there's not one of them. I've went back and started looking at all their older broadcasts. I don't so those broadcasters are just sitting there just collecting, in a sense dust. Same thing with many of your favorite podcasts. Most

4:38 of the podcasts you listen to. How much do you really go back and listen to everything in their archives, especially because podcasting apps are trash is when it comes to old content, you just have to scroll down at least on the church one app and even on a sermon's two point oh app if you look up a broadcaster, at least everything is broken down into series, which is a greater chance someone will find the series and then go listen to those old broadcasts. So I'm always bothered by that, you know, at least for me, because I know the hours of work that goes into preparing for a sermon and then the the you know, the preaching of it, and then you're like okay. But then what you don't realize is, oh, you know what, as soon as that sermon is over, you know what you have to do immediately forget that sermon. You got to start making getting ready for the next sermon, and then you got to get ready for the next sermon, and then you got to get ready for the next sermon.

5:32 It's just always the next sermon. The past sermon. Most people forget by, you know, by Sunday night if you preach it Sunday morning. I mean, all the statistics say this, most everyone forgets that sermon by Sunday night. By Wednesday, it's almost completely gone. So then it's like, what did I even really accomplish in preaching it, it can become very discouraging. Well, when I know I've got thousands and thousands and thousands of hours of content, it's like, well, you know, well, when I've always said whenever I'm done broadcasting, whenever I'm done, don't know when it's going to be, I'm just deleting everything. I don't want anything left behind. It's just going to be gone, because really the content is only for the here and now, and I'm just you know, there's no point in keeping it around. It's just going to be deleted and done and throw it all away and move on. And whatever happened while I when I was broadcasting happened and it's over. So but in the meantime, while I'm still broadcasting, then there's times we'll turn on a microphone, go live and say, hey, for Theology Central Radio, let's reach in to the library, to the archives. And here it is. I have the little thumb drive right here, one gigabyte of sermons. Well it's not one gigabyte because there's a lot of them on here, but it's not full, it's not completely full.

6:55 And then I found another jump drive word that I put that one. It looks like a key, looks like a little key, silver key, And I thought, ooh, this one looks full. But it's just it's just notes, notes after notes of things that I was working on studying, just devotional notes, just note after note after note after it's just a I mean, I don't even know. I mean, probably two three thousand, just notes that just little things, maybe devotional thoughts, just little thing so that. But there's no audio on that one. There's no audio on that one. But here we go. Are you ready? Let's do this.

7:36 Let's go back to two thousand and something. I don't know exactly what year I should have written the year down. I know it was a it was the Sunday morning service, so Sunday school had ended, so now we're doing the Sunday morning service. I know that it says Sunday morning eight. So it was the eighth day of some month. Don't know what month, and don't know what year. But and it may not even be any good, Okay. The reason it may be on a jump drive it never went anywhere else is because it's trash. I don't know. Here we go, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to go to the sanctuary. Victory Baptist Church somewhere in the past to listen to a message and the present that hopefully that past message will have some present benefit. Thank you for listening. Here we go all right this morning for Sunday School we deal with indoctrination, manipulation, dogma, propaganda, and now we turn our attention to Revelation chapter twelve, where we've tried our best to the Book of Revelation to avoid and doctrination, manipulation, propaganda. We have tried to be dogmatic on a few issues. But if you consider we've been looking at eschatology for what now multiple years, and we have how many things written down is dogmatic? About eight? I think that's that's pretty small considering every other church. Ten. We're up to ten dogmatic things, where any other church everything that they would have said for three

9:07 years they would believe is dogmatic. So I think that that's I think I would just want you to see the different approach, because in most churches, every sermon is preached as if it is dogma. And what I try to teach you here is that I may say a lot in an hour, but there may only be one thing dogmatic in the entire six months that I preach okay, which drives some people crazy or no, it drives some people crazy, and others don't get it because others think everything I'm saying I'm claiming is dogmatic because they don't understand that a lot of times, I'm simply challenging the way you think. But that's you know, if you have to explain what you're doing, then at some point there's just no point. Okay, So I don't usually explain what I'm doing. I just hope that you'll catch on.

9:52 But in Revelation chapter twelve, we're going to once again try to avoid those negative things and see if we can be well. We haven't really been dogmatic about it about anything other than the We haven't really put it down as dogma, but we I think we feel pretty dogmatic on the identity of most of the of the main characters in chapter twelve. Who are what are the name the main characters? For me? We have the woman, we have the dragon, and the child. Out of those three we've carefully looked at two, have we not? We've looked at the woman. We had three basic options to identify the woman, and those three options were Israel, the Church, and Mary the one that we can be pretty dogmatic about throwing out.

10:37 Why can we throw that one out? The woman gives birth to Christ? To Christ, okay, to the Church did not give birth to Christ. So we can throw that one out and we can be relatively dogmatic. Whateveryone agree on that. I don't think there's any disagreement there. If you think the church gave birth to Christ, then you know than I we got we got some problems, all right, So everybody got that it being marry? What what? What's some of the issues with it being married? Yeah, unless we try to put the fling into the wilderness when when she took the child of Jesus into Egypt? Right, But we don't know how long they were there, and so we would have because here specifically says they were there for how long? Three and a half years, So we would have to specifically say that they were to prove that she was there for three and a half years, which I don't know if we can accomplish that, and that because if we if we don't make that three and a half years literal, then we're left with well, if that's not literal, then then what is literal? So that Remember, we've been down that path before, so we think that there's a pretty good argument by making the woman Israel for what what were some of the reasons We think it fits the description? Right, Remember that description with the sun. The moon takes us back to Genesis.

12:09 Okay, where we have a description of the brothers. We have the description of the father and of the mother, and the father's name Jacob was changed to Israel, and the brothers are the tribes of Israel. So it definitely fits that was Israel described as a woman. Yes, over and over and over again. We talked about all of that all right, So that I just want to stress that I think we were pretty confident of that. With the dragon, we don't have any major issues with the dragon. I don't think anyone does. What's probably the most important thing, the kind of the thing that there's lots of assumptions. Let's go to verse two or verse three, And there appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

13:01 I read from a commentary that kind of explained what those horns and crowns could represent. There. I'm not gonna be dogmatic on in any way, shape or form. I'm not gonna be. I'm not even gonna pretend to be dogmatic about it. The horns tip typically, though, we think, are used to describe what kings, kingdoms, right, kingdoms, nations, authority right, okay? And crown typically represents some type of ruling or authority as well, So we have some type of ruling connected with earthly kingdoms. Would everyone at least think that that's probably a fair assumption. In other words, we don't have to get specific. In other words, some people will try to identify which each horn represents. I think we can say crowns and horns represent authority and earthly kingdoms or possibly nations. Everybody, okay with that?

13:54 Okay, we can look at that. Well, let's go to Revelation seventeen nine through twelve. That may give some confirmation to this idea. Which the more confirmation we have, the better. Right. And if you look at verse twelve, and the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, everybody see that the ten horns are ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet, but received powers kings one hour with the beast. See the idea. So I think we can be pretty pretty fair with that in Revelation twelve. So we kind of have an idea that this dragon, right, who we believe is Satan, has with him the control of what he has authority over.

14:41 It appears nations, which is somewhat we would believe is biblical. Right. What is he sometimes referred to as in the Bible the prints of the air, but with another term, okay, sent a tradition God of this world? Do theody know that phrase? Do they know where that phrase is located? Let's see if we can find it. See if we can find it, because you may want to write that down as a cross reference here. We'll see who can find it first. You'll get fifty dollars from Bobby, not for me. I would start, possibly with a Pauline epistle.

15:26 That would probably narrow it down. That needs you don't need Matthew, Mark, Luke and John okay, don't need acts. Don't need Revelation first, John or Peter Okay, we'll throw out Hebrews as being written by paul even though if Becka was here, she would argue that it was okay because she's a heretic, all right, So that leaves you, that leaves you not too many? Right? Okay, how about looking do what very good? I'd see that those Second Corinthians four four, those handheld devices sure make Bible study unfair these days. Okay. Back in my day, we didn't have this crazy electronic stuff and we had to look it up. Okay, did that? Does that sound like old people? Okay? Second Corinthians, chapter four, verse three. But if our gospel be hit, it's hit unto them that are lost. Okay, why is it hid? Okay? In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe, not most believe. That's a reference to whom Satan. So if he's the god of this world known as the Prince of the Air, then we could argue that Satan seems to have some influence and control over nations, which seems to fit. Why does it seem to fit he offered Jesus kingdoms. That's good, that's a good argument. But in both passages that some people believe

16:59 refer to the fall of and Isaiah and Ezekiel, who is utilized as an illustration earthly kings. Remember King of Tire, So I remember that? So so that seems to me that Satan can work out his power on this earth through what through earthly kingdoms? Now, I want to make sure you get that through your it's in your head this morning, okay, through your thick skulls this morning. Okay. I want to make sure everybody gets this. This is a very critical way of thinking that puts us like can make us look like kooks from the world's perspective. In other words, when we see the world at work and we see nations at work, we believe that it is possible that those nations can represent and clearly be instruments of Satan to fulfill and move forth his agenda. Now, what's the danger of beloe leaving that?

18:03 Yeah, you can start thinking everyone is controlled by Satan, which we don't have any evidence of that. But well let's let's let's so when we think of earthly kingdoms, I want us to consider. May write this down, Just write down earthly kingdoms. I want you to write down the following points. Okay, First and foremost, what's the number one influential factor in nations and in kings? Depravity? What everyone agree with that the number one influential thing inside a nation and inside kings are is depravity? Why because what is the how does the Bible describe the human heart desperately wicked and deceitful above all things? So guess what nations are? Leaders of nations have inside of them depravity. So when you so, whenever we look at the political world and we look at what's happening in the world, what do we see at work? Depravity? We see selfishness, selfishness, we see greed, we see you know, all kinds of things. That's why. That's how come there is a tendency in the in our world that the world is never going to come together and work together because everyone has depravity. And what's the very essence of depravity? What's the middle letter of sin I greed, selfishness us me. So that's that's how that takes place. So that's that's one of the most important of factors and influence and a nation and in kings is depravity.

19:38 What would be a second great influence upon a nation or a king. Cultural philosophy. Nations tend to be influenced by what the cultural philosophy that is dominating the times and the majority of people. What's one of the cultural philosophies that is clearly dominating society today in twenty seventeen. Moral relativism. Okay, right, so we see that a lot of times in nations. You see a very kind of weird moral relativism that sometimes makes no sense. Giving an example, a great example in our country. And of course this is not a this can't be applied to every state because some states different. But just consider the weird way laws are written in our country. Right, if a woman gets pregnant, she and our country is legally has a right to go to an abortion clinic and have that pregnancy terminated, which we believe is killing the baby. However, if a man is married to a woman she gets pregnant, and it's a Friday night, and they get in a fight and he begins to beat her and she loses the baby, the man can be charged with Now that's kind of cuckoo for cocoa puffs, because the issue isn't

21:11 on who made the choice to terminate the pregnancy. The issue is what is being terminated. Is is it alive or is it not alive. If it's alive, then it's murder no matter who terminates it. But when you have moral relativism. Then guess what happens. You have inconsistency and morality. You have everyone's doing right in their own eyes. So whoever, whoever's agenda dominates the the nation. That's where the nation goes with. Well, there was a large push to you know, accept a certain practice. Do you see how that works? So so, and and you have to understand within a nation, moral relativism is the is the way a nation operates because the nation constantly changes its views based off the majority opinion, and morality determined by the majority opinion leads nations to be engaged in some pretty messed up stuff. Do we need to get a history book and start reading it? Nations do.

22:15 And you're like, how could they have done that in the nineteen forties, How could we as a nation have done that in the eighteen and the seventeen hundreds? How could we have done that to the Native Americans? How could we have enslaved people? How could we have done this? How could we have done that? Because if the society as a whole accepts a certain behavior, that behavior becomes what it becomes moral, So then the nation operates that way. And if the nation is made up of depraved people. That's going to greatly call into question that the morality found within the nation. Do you see the problem? Okay? All right? And then the third major controlling factor of nations would be what Satan? Now does Satan have to do?

22:59 A lot doesn't really have to be that like specifically involved. And the reason I'm trying to show you those two factors before Satan is because sometime, especially on prophecy teaching, they'll be like, this nation is a tool of Satan. I'm like, yeah, but America could be considered a tool of Satan for a lot of things we've done, right, I mean, because all nations have, So you got to be careful before you say that. And then I want to throw a fourth one in because this one is where Christians we struggle. Just this has nothing to do with anything. But you know what I hate about my kindle is as soon as it turns off, it shows advertisements for books. And as soon as I see advertisements for books, I stop thinking about anything you people care about, and I'm like, I need to read that book. I need to write that down. Okay.

23:45 So I hate when it turns off because there's not a I can't see an advertisement for a book that I don't want to read. Okay, literally, okay, so that's bad. So I think that they can put those advertisements for people like me and like a buy that book, buy that book, buy that book, buy that book. And they're like, you've and a million dollars. You're now in debt. So Amazon owns my life. Right. So, But a fourth thing that helps control a nation that we have to kind of see a conflict here is God's sovereignty. Now here's the weird thing and a roundabout way. If we go from Genesis to Revelation, we have a story of two opposing ideas. On one hand, we have man's depravity, man's moral relativism, Satan all working together to do things that are completely contrary to what God true. That's that That entire history from Genesis following ever since Adam and Eve send every everything is just a constant struggle of it can be a person, or it could be a nation going and completely opposite to God's law, God's standards. Everything and are in conflict with God.

25:10 In the Book of Revelation, all of these competing ideas come to they merge together. Right. I don't know how many movies you watch, but or books you read. But sometimes in a book or sometimes in a movie, you will the movie starts and you have like three or four it seems unrelated stories or ideas all being presented, and you're kind of like, it goes from here. Then it flashes to hear, and it flashes to hear, and it flashes to hear and you don't really quite understand. But before it's all over, it does what. It brings them all together. The quality the talent of the writer is the ability to keep you interested in all four and then have a way to merge them together. The Bible merges these two new ideas together. What do we find in the Book of Revelation? Well, who starts showing prominence over how nations are being run Satan? But who's gonna ultimately step in? God? So it's almost like God's life. You can run around, but guests who's gonna step up? This is a very similar to Psalm's chapter two, Right, good and turn a Psalm two.

26:23 You can kind of see the concept here. Psalm chapter two, verse one, Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a v ainything? The kings of the Earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, let us break their bands asunder, cast away their chords from us. But how does God react to all of this? And what is he? Ultimately? What does God do? He sets a king? Who's that king? God says Jesus Christ, And I will declare thee. The Lord has sent it to me. Thou art my son this day? Have I begotten thee? Please note that can lead to lots of major false teachings of Jesus. Just understand that. But what does he do? Ask for me? And I shall give thee a heathen for thine inheritance. And they are in most parts of the earth for thy possession.

27:23 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Please note those words carefully. They're going to come back to play quickly here in the Book of Revelation. All right, that God realizes the world is out of control. He has sovereignly allowed a lot of this, probably restricted certain aspects. You have depravity, you have moral relativism, you have satan. And then all of a sudden who's going to come in and be placed to stop all of it, Christ who will establish a earthly kingdom. You see how all of the stories run together. That's that I want to make sure you understand that. So when when you go to the Book of Revelation or in the Book of Daniel and you hear the beast and it has this many horns and this many crowns, and you're trying to figure out, well, well, that could be Russia, and that could be China, and that could be this, and that could be that, and that could be a revived Roman Empire and that could be You'll you'll go cuckoo for coco puffs trying to determine the nations and you'll be like, okay, wait where are those nations? To say, oh wait, the European Union, the European Remember at one point everybody thought the European Union was that, and then there was too many nations and then there were nations who left and they're like, well now there's not enough nations, so now it doesn't fit. Don't get caught up in all of that. You'll go crazy. What do you just simply need to understand Satan has power and authority to influence nations. That's what you need to take from it. If you start trying to identify the nations you'll like, it'll your chart will have

28:55 to be written in pencil, because the nation you think now is the nation we need to focus on be a nation. I mean, at one point everyone thought we were gonna be nuked by Russia, right, the whole world was scared of Russia. Then Russia kind of went to insignificant. Then everyone was worried about China. Now everyone's worried about North Korea. Okay, I mean, not much of a threat, and the big scheme of things. They're a big threat maybe to Guam or to South Korea. Who's the bigger threat China if we make If we go after North Korea and we make chinamed, they own most of our debt, they bankrupt the United I won't get into je politics, but okay, a lot of issues there to consider that most people don't even think about. Right, they own a good portion of our debt, so they could literally, like help destroy America without even firing a missile. Okay, that's a frightening thought. Okay, when you get into debt to foreign nations, that puts you. What does the Bible say about debt makes you a slave? Oh wow, that's interesting. Okay, so but please see how all that works. So sometimes the nation that everyone has panned, that's the bear, or that's this or that's the third horn.

30:03 Those prophecy teachers typically end up looking what foolish. Don't play that game when you see the horns. I know your first side is I must identify them. No, you simply have to realize it's picturing Satan having power and influence over Has everybody got that? All? Right? Now we can go back to the Book of Revelation. That was all free. You didn't have to pay any extra for any of that. But just when you're talking to people not Christians, just be careful but you start throwing out Satan in charge of nations, because they're going to think you're cuckoo for cocoa puffs. You can focus on depravity and moral relativism and then maybe at some point we're not afraid of it. But just when you say, oh, Satan is in control of that nation, First, don't identify the nations because you don't know.

30:56 And second, just that can sound really crazy, but it does change how you perceive the world. Would you agree you believe there's another force operation? You believe there are two forces in operation that a lot of people in the world don't acknowledge, and that that can make you look a little crazy. All right, now, all of that, then what happens. He's got the crown, he's got the heads. But here's the verse four, who is very critical. His tell drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and it cast them to the earth. I'll stop right there. What is probably most significant about that action? There's a good Bible student.

31:36 What's the most significant thing about the action as described there in that verse? I'm going to argue the timing of this becomes critical. Why. Well, because we're trying to identify We can understand the drawing a third of the angels away the stars. We understand that to be some form of a rebellion. What every one seemed to agree that that's how it's described. So it's not really hard to interpret the action. The issue is trying to interpret maybe which when did this occur? Well in the text, what's the chronology of the occurrence? What does it come before it comes? It happens before Jesus is brought into the world, So that means it has to happen before the birth of Christ, all right, Now, why is that critical? Because that means this is not some future battle in heaven that occurs later, So we can put this where somewhere in the past. Does that make sense? That's critical because there's going to be another war that's mentioned later on, right, So are they the same war or are they different? That's what I'm trying to set you up to consider. Can somebody see that this one we have a timetable, do we not? I don't think there's any disagreement here.

33:05 Everyone agrees that there's a clear timetable set there. He draws, he draws it away because what's going to happen. He draws the third part of the stars of heaven. And they did cast him to the earth. And then the dragon stood before the woman, which was ready to be delivered for to devour her child as soon as it was born. So the dragon was already here. Now, when as soon as Satan begins his earthly ministry, who shows up? But in fact, before he begins his earthly ministry, Satan shows up to tempt him. So the dragon clearly is already present. And what else does Jesus encounter throughout his earthly ministry deemingly possessed people, clearly demonstrating the stars had fallen and come to earth. Soybody got that? So that that makes it? Uh, that makes it absolutely essential to the story.

33:53 All right, so far, so good. All right, now here I'm gonna be again to go through what the this commentary has to say. They give us verse five and six. Verse. Let's read verse five. And she brought forth a manchild who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Stop right there, that's a reference to Psalm chapter two. That's critical. Now why is it critical that this child is going to rule the nations? Remember one of the major things in Bible studies compare and contrast.

34:39 What was the major emphasis on the dragon, crowns and horns? Right? This seems to be connected to what ruling in nations? But I remember that. Okay, she brings forth the child. The child is going to rule how many nations? Right? Does it say ten? Does say seven? No? What's that? Seem to imply that the authority of Satan is going to be what made subservient to this child who's going to rule over all the nations, and how is he going to do so with a rod of iron?

35:24 That is a very specific illustration, is it not. Do you see there these right here in Revelation? All the story of the Bible is now comes it collides. You've had nations and people operating in opposition to God. God now has said, okay, he's laughed at all of these attempts. In Psalm chapter two, here's his son, and at some point he steps in and says, now I take over. You've had your ability, Now I take over. Now. Some could read that and be not very happy with that. Well, that's an egotistical God who's afraid of people's freedom.

36:04 Or others can say about time you showed up, because nothing but chaos has been going on for thousands upon thousands of years, and there's been pain, suffering and death. I wish you would have shown up earlier. Okay, But everyone should have a reaction to that. That verse should cause a reaction in you one way or the other. Right now, let's see what they have to say. There's a lot more we could take apart, but we'll get there. In spite of all Satan's relentless efforts to prevent it. The woman Israel gave birth to a son, the incarnation of the male child, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was born of a descendant of David. According to the Flesh, was the fulfillment of prophecy Israel brought forth the Messiah.

36:50 The Bible emphasizes that Jesus was of Jewish lineage. He was a son of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Judah, and the descendant of David. I'm not going to quote all the scriptures to prove all of that. If you need to prove all of that, I don't know what just said. So let's go through that again. The idea is that the Israel gives birth to the to the son, and the reason why is over and over and over. It's emphasized that Jesus came from the from Israel, from the Jews, and let's go through them. He was a son of Abraham, right Matthew, Chapter one, verse one. If you need to look at that, just if you want to look at it quickly, just to make sure you realize I'm not making stuff up, because you may think I'm crazy, and who knows what you think. Half the time, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of all Right, there you go, clear, Okay, son Abraham, he was a member of the tribe of Judah. Okay, everybody know that. We can we can find that if we go from Genesis to Mica to Revelation, we can demonstrate that he was a descendant of David. We just read that in Matthew one one. Everybody got that. So please note that's clearly demonstrating the Messiah comes from whom Israel that destroys the woman being the Church. Ready, got that? All right, now, so just let me back this up and read this all again. Israel brought forth the Messiah. The Bible

38:21 emphasized that Jesus was of Jewish lineage. Nor will Satan be able to hinder Christ's coronation. He will rule all nations with a rod of iron during his earthly kingdom. All right, let's look at a number. Let's go back to Revelation twelve. Revelation twelve, look at verse ten. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ. For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

39:09 Clearly, what's demonstrating again is what Satan is put down. Christ is exalted, the one with all its power, with the one who had the control of nations. He loses everything, and Christ is put in the right, rightful place. Any any questions there no good, Okay, I'm not gonna go. They quote all kinds of verses in Revelation seeing this exact same principle. We've already looked at Psalm chapter two. They quote Psalm chapter two. We've already looked at that. This indicates that this rule is a breaking, a shattering work of judgment. In fact, the verb here carries the coronation of the connotation of destroy as it does in other parts of the Bible.

39:57 So he's coming to rule to destroy, He's coming to take it. In other words, it's not going to be a peaceful change of power, which we've already seen in the Book of Revelation. Right has there been a lot of peace going on. There's been Plagu's death and destruction. So he's taking it back. The Messiah will come to destroy all the nations go to Revelation chapter nineteen. Just to see how complete this will be. Revelation chapter nineteen. I want you to really drink this. In what we're about to read, I saw heaven opened. I behold a white horse, And he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as flame a fire. On his head were many crowns. He had a name written that no man knew, But he himself was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. And his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed and fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth go with a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron.

41:28 Does that sound familiar? Right? See, I'm trying to read slow because I read too fast. I'm trying. And he treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. You know, reading that slow? How painful that is. I really really want to start crying right now, Okay, because I could read this whole book like than ten minutes, all right, And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying, to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, come and gather yourselves together onto the supper of the Great God. Now that's a disturbing verse when you have an angel saying, hey, birds, I need you all to come to a certain location because you're getting ready to eat. And what you're getting ready to eat is not going to be bird seed. What are they getting ready to eat of that? You may eat the flesh of kings. Now, sometimes people are like, I don't like certain movies because they're too gory.

42:39 This is pretty gory here, Okay, that's pretty You're gonna eat the flesh of whom. I want you to just emphasize that whom kings. Satan has crowns and horns that represent authority and kingdoms. The kings are getting ready to be eaten by birds, right, not the Hitchcock film, but okay, right, those special effects are really bad, okay. And the flesh of captains and the flesh of mighty men going after what they're gonna eat, the flesh of authority, right, what else? Yeah, poor horses.

43:20 I'm glad Jessica's not here this morning because Jessica would not like this. Okay, all right, yeah, I mean the horses. That then the flesh of all of all men, both free bond, both small and great. The birds are coming to partake of everyone. That's a horrific image. You're like, there's no way to to you know, let's hate kids. Let's draw a picture of this for Sunday School. You're like, that's not the art people hand out Sunday School for kids to draw, but it's it's there. And what is this demonstrating the Satan with all his power, with all his authority, and the earth can run around with all their moral relativism, they can run around doing everything they want, but the time is coming that heaven is going to open, and the one that God has established as the true king is going to come and lay waste to everyone that they now become simply bird food. That's a disturbing image. Verse nineteen and I saw the beast and the kings of the Earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him that set on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, that which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and then that worshiped the image that were cast alive into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone. All right, all, so, what two powers is being destroyed here? Earthly and spiritual? What did the beast have crowns

44:55 and horns which represents his spirit ritual of power over earthly power? What's now him? What is Christ getting rid of? Both right and the remnant were slain with the sword of him that set upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth, and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. And then immediately after all the earthly powers are destroyed, after Satan is thrown and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. Then what takes place in chapter twenty a new kingdom is established, A new kingdom is established.

45:35 So this child is the one who's going to bring everything under subjection to him? Which is that not what we read in the Bible about Christ, that God is going to make all of his enemies his footstool, that he that everything is going to be brought under him. Now, just think this through. You only have two options and how this happens. Option number one the a millennial option that all happens when and where we're a part of it. Right now, that's happening right now in the church. Do you see the church having power and influence over all the nations of the world, Give me a break. Especially, we have a little less now than we've ever had in history the church. I mean, nations have become Look, go to the UK. There are churches now they're just they've turned into all kinds of some of them will become mosque. Okay. The church in the UK has lost all influence and power. In the United States, the church is almost a laughing stock, right, I mean, the church is running around like, oh, we'll make the world love us by having you know, seeker sensitive, and we've lost everything. But the point so there's no way to say that this is the church, that the church it's going. It's the idea that the church is emphasizing. It's that we're in the millennial Kingdom.

46:50 Now we're not in the millennial Jesus hasn't come out of heaven and destroying everyone, and that people aren't being eaten by birds through the through the preaching of the church. Okay, if that's the preaching of the church, man, I've better start becoming a lot meaner in my preaching because I need job to be so destroyed that birds come in and start eating you. Okay, that's okay, that that people think I'm mean. I was just trying to be a good millennialist, That's what I was trying to do. I was trying to preach this way. Okay, So that's that's not happened. And what's the other way of it occurring literally? And if it's literal, well we got it's not happened yet, all right, anybody there? And iron, iron rod is also one that cannot be broken. Just just as all of Satan's past efforts to hinder have feled, so also will his future efforts fell. The phrase rod of iron speaks of his resoluteness of Christ rule.

47:45 He will swiftly and immediately judge all sin and put down any rebellion Between christ incarnation and his coronation. Came his exaltation when he was caught up to God and to his throne at his ascension. Christ exaltation signifies the father's acceptance of his work of redemption. Go back to chapter twelve. You can kind of see what they're referring to here. He brought forth a man child who was to rule all nations with a rot of iron. Note who was to note? Who was to when he came, he was to do that. It didn't happen yet, right, and he and the child was caught up under God and to his throne. So you have the incarnation and then you have the ascension, right, any problem there? And from there he's going to come back to do what, to take over and to rule right what?

48:43 But please note, okay, oh man, this is good, this is good. All right. If y'all don't act like like this is the most awesome thing you've ever heard, I'm going to be offended and I'm never coming back, okay, because it just hit me the thought, right, think of how this worked. Satan came into the garden, right, and he caused Adam and Eve to fall. Right. By causing them to fall, he established what kind of authority over man spiritual? Because now man became depraved he established a spiritual authority right at that point. Once that is, once he established the spiritual authority, then he began to work in and through governments and nations to establish a earthly power and earthly rule. Christ came the first time as a child to die to establish a spiritual authority over man. Through men being born again and dwelt with the Holy Spirit, he will come again to do what establish a earthly power and authority. See the contrast between the two. See how that works. You have to first establish the spiritual right before you can have the earthly. A millennial kingdom ruled with people who are

50:13 not regenerate would is going to be a pretty bad millennial kingdom, right, everybody got that heaven without regenerate people, I mean, or they're glorified people. So I think I think this is bringing out that contrast. I don't know, I don't know if you've ever considered that contrast, but I think that's a pretty awesome Okay, good Diana, at least, well we'll we'll, we'll appease my male ego. Okay, Right, I think that's I think that's I really think that's a very important in spiritual spirit Okay, that's when he started, because the spiritual always precedes the earthly right there, and that establishes the spiritual rule. And then he starts working through nations because you don't have any nations yet with your Satam? Does that make sense? And it gets how bad? Does it get? Right? Well, get to Genesis six. He's now he's taken over the whole earth and around it, and so God has to step back in at different times, and and you can go on and on and uh, when Egypt, how bad was Egypt?

51:21 I mean they were gonna start drowning people's babies, right, that's pretty evil. When go on and on and on and on and on and on Satan constantly but he what, how how is Satan able to accomplish the earthly control through spiritual? Spiritual control must precede the earthly control. That's the way it must work. It's it's the that's the Christian philosophy on on. Uh, societal change. Societal change does not come simply by establishing an earthly rule. What happens so many times we've seen that earthly dictators establish an earthly rule. But what typically happens to earthly dictators They get overthrown. In many cases people rise up and kill them. Right, what's the way to produce change?

52:12 Spiritual change that occurs within now makes it the ability for people to obey and follow certain ideas. Does that make sense? Like prohibition wasn't going to work because prohibition was an external law and forced upon depraved people. If people are regenerate and changed, I would hope one of the key signs of regeneration would be a different approach to alcohol. I would hope at least some point there would at least be moderation. Okay, you know, if not avoidance, I think there would be a massive change, like a Christian like does that? Everybody see how that works? So what Satan? Did he establish the spiritual boom? Now you're depraved. Now I can come in use that depravity to establish my earthly Jesus came, died to establish a spiritual kingdom, and that what we're all a part of a cant That's the all millennialist argument all the time. It's not an earthly kingdom, it's not You're right, it wasn't an earthly kingdom. It was a spiritual kingdom made up of regenerate people. Right, But guess what, He's gonna come back and set up in earthly just like Satan did. That's that's good stuff here. That's that's really good stuff, all right. That's that wasn't even in my notes, not that I have any notes, because I don't. Who needs notes, all right, So I just my brain, Okay. So I think that if you get anything from this morning, take that concept with you, because we haven't fleshed it out. We haven't. We haven't. I mean, I kind of just gave you the skeleton there of an idea. But if

53:43 you start putting the flesh on that, I think you can really that can really change the way you perceive a lot of things, the way you perceive everything. I'll try to finish the rest of the section. But though he is a defeated folk speaking of Satan, Satan will not give up. Unable to stop Christ's birth a sense or rule, Satan still assaults his people. He has already instigated the genocidal massacre of Jews in Europe, as well as the death of countless thousands throughout history. During the Tribulation, Satan will increase his efforts to destroy the Jewish people so that the nation cannot be saved, as the Bible promises, right, and so that there will be none left alive to enter the millennial kingdom. He will seek to kill believing Jews.

54:25 As always, Israel will be his prime target. And a brief glimpse of of what will be described more fully later on in the chapter, John noted that the woman fled into the wilderness well where she had a place prepared by God, so that she would be nourished for one thousand, two hundred and sixty days. Now, what is critical about when the woman flees? When does the woman flee after the ascension? Why is that critical? It's not that that removes it from being married, right, because the one time we know Mary flee, they flee, they go into Egypt, and that's when he was still a child, all right, So that seems to destroy that idea. See the time. You see why I've said so many times when we first started Revelation, I heard you to read and write down all time references, right, because chronology helps with your interpretation. If you establish a chronology, the chronology eliminates other possible interpretations. That's why so many, so many systems of harmoneutics wants to tell you that there's no chronology in the Book of Revelation. If there's no chronology, then you can interpret it more freely.

55:37 Once you establish chronology, you then begin to destroy some means of interpretation. I hope everything makes sense. All right, We'll stop right there, because I think I've already given you a lot of good stuff to think about, right, any questions, So what I want you to hopefully I help you feel the impact that in a roundabout way, when you get to Revelation twelve. Like let's say you have just read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation twelve. When you get to chapter twelve and you start seeing this description, it's almost like it's all it's like finding the climax to the book, Like it's all coming to a conclusion. The dramatic end is happening, right, And every story, the key of the story is what the conclusion. Right, The conclusion of the story is the most dramatic part. That's the most dramatic part. And when you get when you read your book. When you read a book, I hope you don't get to the last chapter. Ah, don't really care about that last two chapters. Yeah, I just read eight hundred pages. I don't really care to see how it ends, you hope, and if it doesn't end, you're pretty upset, are you?

56:45 Not? Right? It's true in every form of storytelling. Every tonight the pay per view, a story that's been on now for almost a year finally comes to a conclusion. And I'm not going to be here tonight because I'm gonna watch it. Like no, I'll be here tonight, okay, okay, but I'm gonna be there, and I have no idea how they're gonna write the story, but it better be good, okay, or I'll write them a long worded letter telling them how they should have written us into the story. So that that's how storytelling works. And in the Bible it uses that same idea. Earthly are spiritual power, earthly power satan. We have nations, and now, all of a sudden, who steps in the king.

57:27 He starts as a child, but he's coming with a rod of iron, and he's gonna do what He's gonna make all the nations his kingdom. Some people think that's good news. Some people don't like that news. But guess what, it doesn't matter if you like it, doesn't matter if you hate it. The issue is is it true? And let me tell you this, and I'm gonna use this in the most graphic way possible. You have two options. You're either gonna be the bird food. Are you gonna get to enter into the millennial kingdom? Don't know about you. The bird food option is not quite one of my on my priority list. That's the reality of it. It's ugly, it's not pretty, but that's the reality every every kid, teenager, parent, adult needs to consider if this is true. That's where it's coming down to, because if you're in opposition to his kingdom, he's not when he shows back up, he's not giving you an option at that point. When he shows back up, it's not like, oh, would you like to come into my king No, he kills you. That's that's a disturbing time. Like when whenever the heaven's open and he comes out, it's over. He's not coming with he's not coming to get back on a cross. He's coming with a rod and death. That's

58:59 a frightening like we're getting to a frightening conclusion of the book. But on some ways it's good news because all the evil and out of control stuff that we see in our world is all going to be brought under control, all right, So we'll stop there, lordgo, We come before you this morning, a powerful section of scripture, some powerful thoughts, some powerful ideas. I doubt that we will probably appreciate this as much, maybe as we should. But I hope that we will at least leave here discussing these concepts, because we just barely touched the surface, and I think that there's a lot here to explore and to consider. Changes how we view our world, It changes how we view a lot of things. But I think it's important for us to consider. And we asked this in Jesus name, and Gus people said, mah, you've been listening to another episode of Theology Central Radio where I pull from our vast archives. That was from twenty seventeen. I didn't know the when we started because I didn't have it written down, but the year twenty seventeen, the eighth day of some month in twenty seventeen. We were working, obviously in the Book of Revelation, and that was a part of Revelation chapter twelve. I think there's some important concepts there, some important ideas. Hopefully you'll take what we were discussing in twenty seventeen and give it serious thought in this well June of twenty twenty four. That's one of the

1:00:30 goals here for these episodes of Theology Central Radio. All of these old files audio files, how can we get use of them in the present. And again I say all the time, one of the reasons we're doing the Sermons two point oh app challenge is the same thing I'm telling you to choose random sermons on the Sermon's two point oh app. Hopefully you're stumbling upon older messages so that many of those other broadcasters, their older messages are being heard as you're work, you know, doing the Sermon's two point zero app challenge. But because so many times, especially on the podcasting apps, the old stuff is almost never listened to. It's just like, okay, what are you going to do next? What are you going to do next? What are you going to do next? What are you going to do next? And the old stuff just becomes forgotten. So it's trying to get make it's trying to be a good steward of those old audio files. And I've got a lot of them, So hopefully you found that somewhat interesting somewhat beneficial. I hate I hate hate hearing myself. I hate it so much. So yeah, because I'll be like, well, I should have said this, I should have done this, I should have done this. But hopefully that was beneficial. I wish I had. If I come across some of the other files from Revelation chapter twelve, I'll try it. We'll use them for a future episode of Theology Central Radio. But hopefully that was beneficial. You can contact me in twenty twenty four. Well, just like you could have detected

1:02:00 me since really the year two thousand at newsif at yahoo dot com. NEWSI f at Yahoo dot com. That's news I f at Yahoo dot com. And well, hopefully that was beneficial. So thank you for tuning in to another episode of Theology Central Radio. Have a great day. God bless