Oh my what a wonderful time of singing we've just had. Isn't it great to be able to give expression to the doxologies of our heart because of God's grace, that which he has wrought within us by the power of his Spirit through the gospel? Will you take your Bibles and turn to Daniel chapter 12s , as we continue to make our way through this amazing book. This morning, we are going to be looking at verse one. But I'm going to also take you into Revelation Chapter 12, for much of our time, because they are linked together. This is the first part of a series entitled Israel's final deliverance. And may I remind you as we open up the Word of God that the Lord fixes his gaze and lavishes his blessing in a very special way upon those who are aware of the profound impact their sin has had on themselves, and certainly in violation of God's law. Those who know that they are unable to stand in the presence of his holiness on their own. Therefore those who have an all-consuming heartfelt desire to worship the Lord their God, he looks especially at those people, we're reminded of this in Isaiah 66 and verse two, he says, "'But to this one I will look.'" In other words, this is the one that gets my attention. "'To him who is humble,'" a term that literally means willing to take the lowliest position before God. "'To him who is humble and contrite of spirit.'" "Contrite" in the original means to be lame, to be disabled. And also "'who trembles at My word.'" "Trembles" carries the idea of being stricken to the absolute core of your being because of your sin, and because the glory of His Word. So I trust this is the state of your heart and your mind this morning, as we come before the word of God. Anything less is a mockery of God. And it is certain proof that you are not right with Him.

Now today, we return to Daniel's prophecy. We're going to see much of where the world is heading. And I want to remind you that this is Daniel's fourth, and his final vision; a magnificent, prophetic panorama that is first introduced in chapter 10. And chapter 12 is really a continuation of the angelic response to Daniel's prayer of confession and of intercession on behalf of His people Israel; that they might be delivered from Babylonian captivity and restored to their land. And as you will recall, God sent an angel--l we believe it was probably Gabriel, to answer his prayers. But his answer encompassed far more than just delivery from Babylon, but rather, it moves to a magnificent plan to deliver his people from their sin, a remedy that can only be accomplished through the death of Christ and will ultimately come to fruition when he returns.

Moreover, his answer looked beyond the present the current Gentile oppressors of Babylon, to a final day when they will be delivered from all earthly oppressors, and enjoy the triumph that will be accomplished when Christ returns in power, and in great glory. So again, here in Daniel 12, we have a continuation of Gabriel's response that began all the way back in chapter 10, about verse 20. And goes through, actually verse four of chapter 12, where we're at and then as we will see, in coming weeks in verses six through eight, Daniel has some questions. Gabriel responds again in verse seven, and then beginning in verse nine through the end, he continues his response.

Now, again, bear in mind that the theme of the previous chapter, chapter 11, is the focus of the rule of the Antichrist. But now in chapter 12, the attention shifts to those who are going to be ruled by the Antichrist, which will include the whole world. But ultimately the focus is upon Israel, those who must endure his rule during the Great Tribulation, the pre kingdom judgments, as I like to call them. Daniel 70th week, all of those terms are synonymous. So let's examine the word of the Lord through his angelic messenger, recorded by his prophet Daniel. Daniel 12, verse one. "'Now at that time, Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress, such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time, your people, everyone who's found written in the book will be rescued.'" Now let's look closely at what the Spirit of God has revealed to us here. Notice the phrase "now at that time," again, a reference to the Great Tribulation, under the rule of the Antichrist, the subject of the previous chapter, the one who, according to Daniel 11:46, will "pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain." In other words, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea, there on Mount Zion. "Yet he will come to his end and no one will help him." Now, may I remind you that Jesus also elaborated upon this future day in Matthew 24, in his Olivet Discourse, beginning in verse 21, he says, "'For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.'"

Now back to verse one of Daniel 12. "'Now at that time, Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise.'" Alright, let's think about who is Michael? Well, you may recall earlier in chapter 10, Michael was the angel that God dispatched to assist the angel Gabriel, who was, according to verse 13, battling the prince of the kingdom of Persia, a powerful demon, perhaps even Satan himself, "'who was withstanding me for 21 days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me.'" The term Michael, the name Michael means who is like God, and we know biblically that he is one of the most powerful, perhaps the most powerful of all of the angels. He is the one that leads and protects the people of Israel, according to chapter 10 and verse 21. In Jude nine, we read how that Michael is the "archaggelos," the Ark Angel, which means the chief angel or first angel, so we have a little sense of who he is.

Again, "'Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people will arise.'" Now, prophetically, this includes the final victory of Michael over Satan. That will occur 1260 days or three and a half years, according to Revelation 12, verse six and verse 14, right before the Messiah returns, as we will see in a moment. Look again at the end of verse one there, “'And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was the nation until that time.'" Again, the intense suffering at the hands of the Gentiles will occur during this, this time of tribulation, Daniel's 70th week. In fact, Jeremiah spoke of this in Jeremiah 30. In verse seven, he said, "'Alas! for that day is great, there is none like it, and it is the time of Jacob's distress. But he will be saved from it,'" referring to Israel.

So again, Daniel 12 one at the end, it says" there will be a time of distress, such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time, your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.'" So here we see that the Messiah King, the Lord Jesus Christ, will rescue Israel. We know later on in verse two, he is going to resurrect the dead. And also in verse three, he is going to reward the righteous. Now what about this book of life? What is that all about? Well, that is God's record of the righteous redeemed his record of the elect. We read about that, for example, in in Psalm 69, verse 68, those who have been elected by his grace, those who have been justified in his sight. Jesus said in Luke 10 and verse 20, "'rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.'" Aren't you thankful that we serve a sovereign God that has accomplished our redemption, and is made certain that it will stand throughout eternity? If it were left up to us, it would never happen. These are those according to Acts 13:48, who were quote, "appointed to eternal life and who will believe." At the the Great White Throne Judgment, we read in Revelation 20 and verse 12, John says, "And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds."

So given this, let's look at this first verse of Daniel 12, as a whole. "'Now, at that time, Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people will arise. There will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who was found written in the book will be rescued.'" Now, this is obviously a season of unparalleled suffering for Israel, that is being described here. And it was also described in Daniel's first vision, you may recall, in Daniel chapter seven, beginning in verse 21, we read, "'I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints in overpowering them until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One. And the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.'" That horn, by the way, referring to the Antichrist, verse 25, of Daniel seven, he goes on, and says, "'He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.'" In other words, three and a half years, the last three and a half years of the tribulation. This is also described in Daniel's third vision, Daniel 9:27, "'And he,'" referring to the Antichrist, '"will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week,'" in other words, in the middle of the seven years, '"he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering, and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed is poured out on the one who makes desolate.'" Beloved, I believe that it is during this time of unparallel suffering for Israel, during the Tribulation, that Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the people of Israel, will arise.

Now, let's back up for a moment and look at the big picture, because I get a lot of questions along this line. And this may help to give you a sense of where these things probably fit in a little summary here of events, as I understand them from Scripture, the next event on the prophetic timetable, the prophetic calendar, is probably the rapture of the church, the snatching away of the church. He will remove the church and once again focus on Israel. And it also could be a time when the battle of Gog and Magog takes place Ezekiel 38 and 39. With the rapture maybe occurring sometime thereafter, we're not sure. But eventually the Antichrist will sign a peace agreement with Israel to be their protector and to be their ally and so forth. But it will be a phony piece, but that signing of that covenant will be the trigger of Daniel's 70th week. The trigger of the tribulation, and that will set into motion the seal and then the trumpet. And finally, the bowl judgments that are described in Revelation six through 19. And in the middle of that tribulation, the Antichrist is going to desecrate the temple. He's going to set him up, set himself up to be God. He's going to demand to be worshipped at that point, the Jews will know they have been taken, and the persecution will begin to mount upon them. And many new Christians at this point now, many Jews are going to come to saving faith in Christ. Revelation seven, we know that God will raise up at that time, he will raise up and seal 144,000, Jewish evangelists, 12,000 Jewish men from each tribe. In Revelation 11, God is also going to raise up what is called two witnesses, two prophets, to preach a message of judgment to the world that is enduring these amazing events. And they are going to do that, according to Scripture, 1260 days or 42 months, or three and a half years. During that time, many will be saved. In Revelation 13, God is also going to dispatch three angels, who according to the text says, will fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth. So you can imagine what is going to happen during that day. And with so many coming to faith in Christ, and giving their full allegiance to him, the Antichrist is going to be apoplectic, he will be infuriated with all that is going on and seek to destroy the remnant of Israel and all Christians. In fact, we know that only a third will survive. We read about this, for example, in Zechariah, 13, beginning in verse eight, "It will come about and all the land that declares the Lord, that two parts in it will be cut off and perish, but the third will be left in it. And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them; I will say 'They are my people.' And they will say, 'The Lord is my God.'" At the end of all of that, then you have the battle of Armageddon. And you have the King of kings and Lord of lords descending in power and great glory to judge the nations, win that battle and so forth, and establish His glorious kingdom.

Now, let's back up. Where does Daniel 12 one fit into all of this? Well, Revelation chapter 12, if you'd like to turn there, Revelation, chapter 12, verses six through 17, helps us understand the chronology here. And basically, the answer is Michael is going to arise sometime around the midpoint of the Tribulation, when he casts Satan, the dragon out of heaven. This is a fascinating promise, a fascinating passage of scripture. Let me set this up a little bit--after suffering his defeat at the hands of Michael as we're going to see, Satan is going to vent his spleen against Israel, knowing his time is short, he is going to want to eradicate the pernicious and perfidious Jewish people once and for all, removing any possibility of them or anyone else inheriting the Messianic Kingdom with the coming of Christ. Satan's ultimate doom, however, will follow the events of the end of the seventh trumpet and bowl judgments that are described in Revelation 15 through 18. So let's take a little excursus here, let's go into Revelation Chapter 12, for a moment. Again, background is everything. So let me give you a little bit of background and we're just jumping right into the middle here of Revelation. So I want you to know where you're at, in this text, Revelation 12 through 14 those chapters is basically as a parenthetical section in the book that provides a chronicle of Satan's career. And it actually recapitulates what had been said earlier in Revelation chapter six through 11. So we have a little parenthesis here that chronicles Satan's career. And the first six verses of chapter 12 provide a sweeping overview of Satan's ancient rebellion and war with God as well as his covenant people Israel, and they are symbolized, by the way, as the woman. That's a reference to Israel and her son, reference to the Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, the scene in Revelation 12 describes Israel during this last first half of the Tribulation, notice verse six, "Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for 1260 days." So here we see that during the Tribulation, Satan will increase his efforts of Jewish genocide through the reign of the Antichrist, and thereby try to prevent anyone from populating the millennial kingdom. But God arises again as the defender of his people, to hide them and to nourish them for 1260 days, or in other words, three and a half years. Again, Jeremiah 30, verse seven, this is the time of Jacob's trouble or Jacob's distress, and God's going to protect them in some undisclosed place there in the wilderness. And frankly, it's reminiscent, is it no,t of the 40 year wandering in the wilderness where God provided for his people? We know prophetically that many of the Jews are going to remain in Jerusalem, they're going to remain close to the temple, they're going to try to survive, many will be saved through the testimony of the two witnesses, and so forth, yet many are going to be slaughtered.

And then next, in verses seven through 12, John records this amazing battle in heaven. And probably like most men, I love battles, especially when my guys win. Right? I love it. So this is a battle in heaven, where Michael is used to permanently expel Satan from the presence of God; he's going to cast him to the earth. And soon thereafter, we know he's going to be cast into the, into the abyss, the Lake of Fire, which will be his eternal dungeon. I also want to add a little footnote here. All of this is future, though grammatically, you will notice that it is presented in the past tense. This is a literary device that is commonly used to describe a future event in such a way as to indicate that it is already an accomplished fact. It's to emphasize the certainty of an event. grammarians call it a proleptic aorist. Indeed, much of John's vision here is proleptic, where future events are so certain, they can be described in the past tense, as if they have already occurred, the very important concept that you need to understand in order to have the proper hermeneutic to interpret Bible prophecy.

Now let's notice closely this war in heaven, verse seven of Revelation 12. "And there was a war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging with the dragon." Now, you know that throughout history, Satan has waged war against God and his holy angels. We know that beyond the veil of our senses, is a war that's going on--a vast spiritual war. Untold conflicts happening all the time, even at this very moment. I am always aware that when I come into this pulpit, and we meet here, in this place, that there are angelic beings that are unseen that are protecting us. Remember, again, as well, Satan has a highly organized army of demons that he commands. Ephesians 6:12 speaks of this, including those that are in charge of nations, in charge of empires, like the prince of the kingdom of Persia in Daniel 10. In fact, without question, we could say that most of our political leaders here in the United States are Satan's puppets; highly influenced by demons and all of the false teaching and false philosophies that have been building up down through the centuries. So this is not the first time Michael and his forces have encountered this enemy. Now, I wondered in my own mind, many, many years ago, I wonder how they fight you know, what does that look like? You know, do they have these Star Wars sabers? I mean, you know, what do they do? Well, guess what? The Bible doesn't tell us. You know, it just doesn't say. Scripture is silent regarding how they wage war. So the actual tactics and the kinds of casualties, all of that remains a mystery to us. But here we see God dispatching Michael once again, and along with undoubtedly, a celestial army that he leads to wage war with the dragon. And this is what we believe is going on here in Daniel 12 one. Now grammatically, if we look at Revelation 12, seven, the phrase "Michael and his angels waging with the dragon," that reveals to us grammatically in the original language that it is Satan, that is the instigator of this conflict. In fact, the phrase could be translated, "Michael and his angels had to fight the dragon." Now, we want to ask the question, What triggered this attack? It's a good question for any student of the Bible. Well, we can't be sure. But when we put all of the things together, it might be, I mean, we know that it's happening in the middle of the week after Israel has fled into the wilderness for the final three and a half years, according to Revelation 12, six. But the trigger may well be a combination of these supernatural victories that are occurring at the hands of the two witnesses on earth that God has dispatched, along with the sealed 144,000 that are that are protected and proclaiming the gospel, many people coming to saving faith in Christ. Also the three angels of chapter 14, verses six through 11, are flying in mid heaven, making various warnings to those on the earth during that tribulation period. And so all these things combined could be what energizes Satan's attack, because he does have a diabolical plan to destroy God's people and prevent the establishment of the millennial kingdom. He has done this throughout redemptive history in various ways.

But notice, again, in verse seven, at the end, it says, "The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven." So here, beloved, we see how the cleansing of heaven is now complete, right? They're no longer in heaven. But they're really remains a purification on Earth, so now they're on Earth. And we begin to understand in verse nine, what happens with respect to Daniel's defeat. Notice verse nine, "And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him." "Thrown down," he says it three times. I want you to notice as well here, the Lord describes the enemy of our souls, this wicked fiend in five ways he's called the great dragon, underscoring the vicious cruelty of this monster. He's also called the serpent of old, identifying him as the serpent in the garden that tempted Eve and brought sin into the world. He's also called the devil, the slanderer, or the maligner, the one who roams the earth collecting evidence to accuse saints before God's holy bar of justice, as Scripture reveals to us. He's also called Satan, transliteration of the Hebrew word Satan, referring to our superhuman adversary, and he's also described as the one who deceives or misleads the whole world. Indeed, he is a genius in seducing people to believe that which is false. And then when he causes them to fall, he accuses them before God. Can there be anything more evil than that? What a, what an exceedingly dangerous and vile creature.

Notice again in verse nine, the Lord uses the phrase "thrown down." It literally means to cast down or to forcibly remove or expel. In this context, it carries the idea of being manhandled. Are you familiar with that? He's manhandled here. This is a supernatural body slam. That's what's going on here. I love it. When he’s slammed from Heaven down to earth. I mean, that's a that's a big slam. Right? This underscores the humiliating ignominious defeat, and the method of his expulsion. He's going to be overwhelmed by a vastly superior force and physically hurled from heaven to earth. You know, I was thinking about this. I've been thrown out of places before. I know what that's like, maybe you have been to, but I've never had anybody pick me up and throw me. Especially that far, right? I mean, it's an amazing thought that that's what's going to happen and I confess I, I find great satisfaction when I contemplate this theme. You know, I can imagine Michael saying, come on, make my day. So here we learn of the dragon's inevitable defeat.

But notice the reaction. Oh, how I love this verse 10. "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, 'Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God, day and night.'" So here the glorified saints in heaven erupt in song. And undoubtedly, this will be us dear friends. A glimpse of our future. The accuser of the brethren has been thrown down. And obviously his relentless and slanderous accusations fell on deaf ears. Because we have a great mediator at God's bar of justice. Because we have a faithful high priest. Because we have been declared righteous; Romans five verse two, "having been justified by faith," we have what? We have "peace with God." Despite all of the accusations, despite all of our sin, we have peace with God because we have been declared righteous on the basis of the imputed righteousness of Christ. That's justification. "Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exalt in hope of the glory of God." And beloved, this heavenly celebration erupts because faith has become sight.

Now, let me give you an overview, once again, a possible progression of events. As we look at Scripture, from a literal grammatical perspective, probably soon after the rapture of the church. A Russian-Arab coalition will launch a massive attack against Israel. That could happen before, but we can't say for sure, that is the battle of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Israel being a key ally of NATO, and the United States will be under attack. And that group of European nations will probably be this Revived Roman Empire that the Antichrist will lead; an alliance of nations that will most likely feel threatened as well, from this north/south coalition of Russia, and the Arab nations coming against Israel. And although God is going to destroy this coalition, utterly defeat them on the mountains of Israel, which by the way, you should keep in mind as you watch the Russian army coming into, into Ukraine, know that eventually that army is going to be destroyed, which by the way is heartbreaking. I've got a number of dear friends in Russia, a lot of believers, a lot of them were out of the KGB, were saved from that and were saved from the Russian military and they're pastors. Lord willing, I don't know, we may see some of them at the shepherd's conference; we usually do every year. But believe me, many of the men fighting for Russia don't want to be there. It is a wicked, barbaric army. But anyway, they will be defeated on the mountains of Israel. The entire world at that point will be amazed. The Islamic world will be stunned and they will be forced to admit what they have denied for centuries. And that is that the God of Israel is the one true God; there is no other and Allah is a figment of their imagination of satanic deception.

At that point, according to Ezekiel 39 and verse nine, it will give them seven years to burn the weaponry, seven months to bury the dead in order to cleanse the land. Then all of the nations of the world will suddenly view Israel in a way that they never have before, a power to be reckoned with. And after describing the supernatural defeat of the Russian-Arab Alliance, we know that God spoke through the prophet of Ezekiel, and says this, in Ezekiel 38:23, "'I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations, and they will know that I am the Lord.'" Right now, that is an absolute joke to the majority of the people in the world. Verse seven of chapter 39 of Ezekiel, "'My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people, Israel, and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore, and the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.'" Indeed, many will know, not all will bow. In fact, people in hell will blaspheme him forever, knowing full well who he is.

So after this defeat, the Arab-Muslim world will be powerless to prevent Israel from destroying their sacred Dome of the Rock, there in Jerusalem building their own temple. Israel's newfound power, combined with the political and economic upheavals in the world, would be the perfect storm for the Antichrist, for a world ruler to come to the forefront and provide peace, for everyone. Satan's aid, the Antichrist, representing a European confederacy--which is rapidly by the way, becoming a Muslim confederacy, I hope you understand that in Europe--he will see the need to ally himself with Israel. He will negotiate a covenant of peace with her. I think about this day and it's fascinating. Israel typically comes to a peace table with everyone discriminating against her. But for the first time in modern history, she will actually come away with an international blessing, so to speak, something that they have never, never seen. But the signing of this covenant will be the trigger that will set into motion the, the time of Daniel's 70th week and the first half of the Tribulation. Israel will experience peace. The world will experience some peace. But it will be a false peace; a calm before the storm. And during that time, God will begin to set into motion wrath that will be poured out upon the nation's-- the seal and then eventually the trumpet, and finally, the bowl judgments of Revelation six through 19, resulting in millions of casualties both of unrepentant Jews and Gentiles. And many people that will come to saving faith in Christ. But by the middle of the tribulation, we believe it is there, where Satan will be cast out of heaven. This again is where Michael comes on the scene. Enraged by his humiliating defeat, and knowing whose time is short, to prevent the establishment of the Kingdom, upon the earth that he now rules, he will begin again to vent his fury against the 144,000, the indestructible two witnesses, and all of this will cause Satan to influence the Antichrist to invade Jerusalem. Daniel spoke of this, again back in Daniel 11, beginning of verse 44, "He will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many. He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain." This is as Daniel prophesied again in Daniel 9:27. This is consistent with what the Lord Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:15, and the apostle Paul, in Second Thessalonians two four. The Antichrist is going to invade the Temple Mount, put an end to all of their worship, and he is going to seat himself in the Holy of Holies, displaying himself as being God. The Scripture says, that is "the abomination of desolation." The temple in the land at that point, will be ritually defiled and many Jews will flee into the wilderness where God will protect them, where God will nourish them. And all of this will set into motion when Satan is thrown down out of heaven to earth.

Now let's go back to Revelation 12 verse 13. Notice the dragons pursuit of the woman. "And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman referring to Israel, who gave birth to the male child." "Persecuted" here, in the original language literally means to chase, or to hunt, to pursue with the intent, to do violence. And here Satan is depicted as this dragon monster, chasing a woman, Israel who gave birth to the male child, the Lord Jesus. And this is consistent with other Old Testament prophecies, especially Daniel's prophecy, of which the Lord referred to in his Olivet Discourse regarding this time, remember what Jesus said in Matthew 24, beginning in verse 15. "'Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken up through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.'" This, by the way, is the region to the east of Jerusalem, the wilderness mountain regions. Daniel 11:41, again speaks of this, "But these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon." Goes on to say "'Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. Whoever is in the field must not run back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are pregnant. And to those who are nursing babies in those days! But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.'" You must understand that travel on Shabbat, on the Sabbath day, is a violation of the law and legalistic Jews would be furious and would try to impede travel. Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 24:15, as I've read earlier, "'For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.'" The scene, we know, is one of a surprise attack. Israel is not going to expect her ally, the Antichrist, and all that he commands, to suddenly come against them. After all, they've been promised peace and safety. And unlike any other city in the world, Jerusalem has already been besieged 27 times. And unless they're besieged again prior to this time, that will make 28. And this will be the final season of judgment upon the stubborn and stiff-necked people. And during the siege of Israel, of I should say of Jerusalem, we read that the Lord of hosts will strengthen Jewish soldiers Zechariah 12, verses five through nine, Micah 4:11 through chapter five and verse one. And according to Zechariah 14 and verse two, the Antichrist will be able to only recapture half of the city. That will probably be the eastern half of the city since later when the Lord returns according to Zechariah 14 four, the Mount of Olives will split into each side of the mountain moving north and south. And this will allow an East/West escape route for his remnant. They will cross the Kidron Valley directly through the Mount of Olives; an amazing thought, allowing them to join many others in the Judean wilderness who had been protected there since the mid tribulation flight.

I want you to notice the word "split," which translates the Hebrew word, "baqa." It's the same verb used in another magnificent split that allowed God's covenant people to flee to safety from another army pursuing them. When God "split" the Red Sea. In Exodus 14, we read it in verse 16, as well as 21. So some future day the Jews will read these texts I believe, and they will immediately understand the connection. It's interesting you think back to Egypt; Pharaoh was a type of the Antichrist, the Antichrist being the antitype. And even as God blocked the pursuit of Pharaoh's Egyptian charioteers at the Red Sea, once again, he's going to block the armies of the Antichrist in this great split. In fact, his armies will be prevented from fleeing north and south leaving them utterly vulnerable. In the Kidron Valley, which is also known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat, "Jehoshaphat," meaning "God will judge" and there they will be utterly destroyed.

So here in verse 13, we see Satan pursuing Israel through the Antichrist. Verse 14, "But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half the time, from the presence of the serpent." In other words, the last three and a half years of the tribulation. Notice the woman's flight here, Israel's flight, he uses the phrase, "the two wings of the great eagle." Now that was a familiar concept to the Jewish people. It would have been a familiar concept to John, it certainly has nothing to do with an airplane as some people want to assert. In fact, the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv is 30 miles west of Jerusalem. That's going to be where the forces of the Antichrist are going to be kept; it has nothing to do with that. This phrase is in keeping with other terms and concepts of Israel's former deliverance from Egypt. Exodus 19, verse four, we read "You yourselves, have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle's wings, and brought you to Myself." So once again, the Lord is going to miraculously deliver his people in ways that we are not told. And the imagery here also of wings, is emblematic of speed, and of great strength. We read this in other Old Testament passages. But it's ultimately a picture of divine protection. In fact, Moses' great song of deliverance speaks of this describing what happened to the Egyptian charioteers. Deuteronomy 32, verse nine, "'For the Lord's portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him. He guarded him as the pupil of His eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions.'" Again, Revelation 12:14 doesn't tell us how he does all of this, but it clearly will be through some miraculous intervention. And he will somehow recapitulate something similar to what he did in the splitting of the Red Sea. And this may well be another example of Daniel 12 one, when Michael, the great prince who stands over the people of Israel will arise, God will dispatch a division of his angelic forces, under the leadership of Michael.

But notice verse 14, again, "the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time from the presence of the serpent." So many of the Israeli remnant will be supernaturally transported into some region of the wilderness mountain area east of Jerusalem. And there, the Lord will once again care for his covenant people, nourishing them, feeding them perhaps manna, once again, as he did 3400 years earlier, in their desert wandering; assuming that this will happen in the near future, which we do not know.

And finally, the dragon redirects his animosity here in verse 15. "And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood." This symbolizes this invading force that will just sweep upon the vulnerable. But notice the Lord's glorious protection, verse 16, "But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth." Now, we can't be sure, but when we look at the context and the symbolism of the Earth, swallowing up this approaching hoard, it seems to indicate that God is going to use a massive earthquake to accomplish this eradication of the enemy, just as he used the waters of the Red Sea to destroy the Egyptian charioteers. In fact, in Exodus 15:12, Moses said, "'You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them.'"

So here we learn that Satan's forces, under the rule of the Antichrist, are going to meet a similar fate. And because he is once again prevented from carrying out his nefarious scheme, he redirects his animosity towards another group, verse 17. "So the dragon was enraged with the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus." Here we see that who he goes after now are believers out of Israel. The rest of the children, literally the seed. This will include Jews who will remain under siege in Jerusalem, but also the 144,000 Jewish evangelists that continue to fearlessly preach the gospel, as well as all believers who, I love this "keep the commandments of God, and hold to the testimony of Jesus." By the way, grammatically, the two phrases "the commandments of God" and "the testimony of Jesus," are both what we call "subjective." Meaning they can be translated "the commandments which God gave," and "the testimony which Jesus bore, the truth that he taught." So this is more than just a testimony about Jesus dear friends. What is being described here are the divine truths that were revealed and taught in the New Testament. So Satan will go after those who preach and teach the New Testament. And this will include what I'm teaching today, from the "Apokalypsis lesou Christos," the revealing of Jesus Christ, the book of Revelation, that reveals Satan's defeat and Messiah's triumph. If you think this is politically incorrect, now, just think what it will be like in those days. And I believe with all my heart that there will be people in those days, who will turn and hear what I have said today and other preachers have said today, or who've taught on these things, and will understand more clearly what the Word of God has revealed, and what a comfort that will be to them.

Dear friends, I hope as you read these things and study these things, your heart will be filled with praise and adoration for our sovereign God. Isn't it great, especially given all of the insanity that's all around us, isn't it great to know that we serve a holy and a sovereign God that has redeemed us by the blood of the Lamb and His promise to deliver us, ultimately, from all of these things, and that one day, one day, people will bow before my Savior and my king? And they will do that, either in terror or in triumph. And I pray that it will be triumph for each of you. If you don't know Christ, dear friends, you need to get serious about the tragedy of your own sin and come to God in saving faith and ask him to save you. And for the rest of us, let's just pray that Jesus will come soon. Right? Amen.

Father, thank you for these eternal truths. While there are many things we don't fully understand, and, and we can't be dogmatic about a lot of things, nevertheless, we have your word. And then when we look at the normal meaning of language, we can begin to piece together some sense of what you're up to, and what will happen. But Lord, it's not all of the details that matters. It's the big picture that matters and the big picture is that you are the Holy God Of Israel, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that we as Gentiles have been grafted into the root of Abrahamic blessing, that covenantal blessing, in such a way as to make us part of the family of the redeemed the church. Lord, we celebrate all of this. And we thank you that we can find such comfort from your Word, especially in these dark and chaotic days, knowing that you have a plan and you are working it perfectly, to the praise of your glory, as well as for our eternal good. So we thank you and we give you praise in Jesus name. Amen.