Episode Transcript
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He may be seated. I hesitate
because I have a lot of scripture to
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read to you tonight. I'm very
excited about and I want to begin in
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this passage of God's word that we
have been considering in Ephesians, Ephesians,
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chapter six versus ten, ten through
twelve tonight, and then we're going to
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put that in a broader context using
some passages from revelation. So it's we've
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been going through the book of Ephesians. We've been learning from the Lord who
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we are in him, how we
belong together, what it means that the
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Kingdom of God has come through his
son. He's also given us recently,
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in chapter five and the beginning of
six, instructions on how we ought to
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live as Christians in the world,
not just with one another, but in
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the various stations and and callings he
has called us into, and terms of
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our marriages, our parents and children, servants and masters are mentioned as well.
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And now, as we come to
the close of Paul's Letter, the
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apostle, Paul's letter to the Ephesians, the church in Ephesus, he is
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giving us this exhortation to be strong
and to stand firm. Let's hear that
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now, effusion six, verse ten. Finally, be strong in the Lord
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and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God
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that you may be able to stand
against the schemes of the devil. For
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we do not wrestle against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against
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the authorities, against the cosmic powers
over this present darkness, against the spiritual
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forces of evil in the heavenly places. One more, therefore, take up
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the whole armor of God that you
may be able to withstand in the evil
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day and, having done all to
stand firm. In the following verses,
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Paul goes on to give a description
of of this armor of God, as
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we considered last time. We began
by thinking about this section. We began
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by thinking about what it was God
was commanding us to do. Simply put,
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be strong, but not in our
own strength, in his. And
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the reason for that, the why
of that, is because we face a
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great danger, Satan himself, the
schemes of the devil. Paul says,
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we don't wrestle, we don't fight
and struggle against flesh and blood, but
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against something else, something bigger and
something powerful, spiritual forces, cosmic powers,
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I want to open that up a
little bit more to you tonight.
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I'm using some passages in revelation.
Let's begin by looking at a chapter five,
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revelation chapter five. The question were
answering here is, what does palm
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mean when he says wrestling with struggling
with cosmic powers? And perhaps will also
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learn along the way a little more
about what it means to be strong in
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the Lord. We begin in revelation
chapter five or six, where we learn
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that the Lord is a lamb.
Very interesting way to think about strength.
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Right. A bit counterintuitive if I
were to say be strong in the lamb.
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I'm if you were not a Christian, if you had didn't have an
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understanding of how Jesus is, sacrifice
brought about strength, as we just saying
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that he he died so that he
might reign, this image of a lamb
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might be confusing. But, as
we considered this morning in our class,
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it's through suffering that victory comes.
So revelation six, here is our Lord
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and between the throne and the four
living creatures and among the elders, I
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saw a lamb standing as though it
had been slain, with seven horns and
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with seven eyes, which are the
seven spirits of God sent out into all
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the earth. Just notice. There
are a number of things to notice here,
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but one to notice is that the
lamb, who looks like he was
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slain, is standing. Usually,
slain lambs don't stand unless, of course,
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they've risen from the dead, which
is exactly what has happened with our
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Lord, the sacrificial lamb. He
stands, he stands with strength and might.
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Verse Seven. And he went and
took and he went and took the
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scroll from the right hand of him, who was seated on the throne.
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And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty
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four elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and Golden Bulls
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full of Incense, incense which are
the prayers of the saints, and they
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sang a new song, saying worthy
are you to take the scroll and to
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open it seals, for you were
slain and by your blood you ransom to
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the people of God from every tribe
and language and people and nation. You
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have made them a kingdom and priests
to our God, and they shall reign
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on the earth. It just keeps
going from there, but I'll let you
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read that at home. But do
you see the strength with which he speaks,
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of the way in which of this
heavenly court is calling out in praise
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to the lamb of God, because
he rose from the dead, because he
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ransomed his people and he is established
a kingdom through the suffering of the lamb,
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a kingdom of strength has been established. So this tells us about the
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lamb. This is the one in
whose strength we stand. We stand in
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his standing, we stand in him. But though the lamb has risen from
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the dead, though the sacrifice was
effective for God's people and established the Kingdom
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of God, the eternal and permanent
kingdom of God, the Church finds herself
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in a very, very difficult place. As John writes the apocalypse, the
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revelation to the churches, we read
that they are struggling. In revelation to
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versus nine and ten, in his
addressed to the church in Smyrna, John
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writes to these Christians. He says, I know your tribulation and your poverty,
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but you are rich and the slander
of those who say that they are
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Jews and are not, but are
a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear
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what you are about to suffer behold, the devil is about to throw some
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of you in prison that you may
be tested and for ten days you will
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have tribulation. Be Faithful unto death
and I will give you the crown of
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life. He who has an ear
let the let him hear what the spirit
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says to the churches. The one
who conquers will not be hurt by the
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second death. They're referencing the judgment
to come. So you see what he
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says to these churches. He says
you're about to face a tribulation. Some
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of you are going to be thrown
in jail, in prison, you'll will
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be put there. It is going
to be hard, but do not fear.
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Do not fear. Why? One? Because you'll receive the crown of
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life. You won't die, even
if you suffer unto death. Also be
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aware that the forces in which you
are facing, Christians and SMYRNA and Christians
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everywhere who face this persecution, understand
that the persecution you are facing is not
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just those people who say they are
Jews and are not. They are to
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be understood as a synagogue of Satan. Remember what Paul says. The things
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that you are fighting against are not
flesh and blood, but spiritual, cosmic
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powers to the Christians and SMYRNE.
He's saying the saying. John saying the
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same thing. He says what is
behind the persecution that you are about to
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face and that you have already faced? He's Satan himself. Do not fear,
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verse ten, what you are about
to suffer. Behold, the devil
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is about to throw some of you
in prison, but don't fear. Why
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should we not fear? We should
not fear because of what Paul says and
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a Fusian. Six, we stand
in his strength. We should not fear
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because of what John writes here in
revelation. The lamb, who is slain,
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is standing and his kingdom is standing
and powerful. Now one of the
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reasons that the the heavenly court,
is so happy in Effesians are, I'm
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sorry, in revelation five, is
that no one was able to open the
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scroll until the lamb. The lamb
is able to open the scroll. The
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lamb will reveal, will pull back
the curtain so that we can't understand what
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is going on in our lives.
What it is, what the persecution wet
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face and may face is what those
tribulations and trial, what it is when
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Paul says these cosmic powers of this
present darkness, what all of that is
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is revealed to us as the lamb, who is was worthy opens of a
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scroll. What we find is that
these Christians and SMYRNA and in the other
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churches and throughout the world and even
to today, will find success and will
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find victory because of because of the
lamb and because of who he is.
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So now we turn to revelation chapter
twelve, and here we have another picture
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of that, a picture of Satan, of the powers that we face,
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of the of the tribulations we face. It's a way of of God helping
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us to understand what's going on in
my life. It is extremely practical what
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we have here now. It's put
in very profound terms, but he helps
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us to understand what's your revelation twelve
and a great sign appeared in heaven,
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a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet and on
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her head and crown ahead of cry
sorry, and on her head a crown
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of twelve stars, and this woman
represents God's people. She was pregnant and
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was crying out in birth pains and
the agony of giving birth. And another
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sign appeared in heaven. Behold a
great red dragon with seven heads and ten
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horns and on his heads seven diadems. This represents the serpent from of old,
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from Genesis. This dragon is connected
to him, he is Satan himself
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and he is powerful, he is
crowned. He has with these seven diadems.
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First, for his tail, swept
down a third of the stars of
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Heaven and cast them to the earth. And the Dragon stood before the woman
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who was about to give birth,
so that when she bore her child,
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he might devour it. She gave
birth to a male child, one who
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is to rule all the nations with
a rod of iron. But her child
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was caught up to God and to
His throne, and the woman fled into
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the Wilderness, where she has a
place prepared by God which she is to
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be nourished for one thousand, two
hundred and sixty days. What is symbolized
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here is that the Church of God
I'm gives birth, as will God promised
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to this promised seed. This child
was born, this one who is going
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to rule the nations with a rod
of iron, the son of David,
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the son of Abraham, this one
who would establish a kingdom. But there
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is the dragon wanting to devour him, and we saw this in the Lord's
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birth right. The powers and the
governments and the authorities of this world,
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driven behind them by a satanic power, tried to destroy the Christ. You
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remember what Herod did, how we
deceived the wise men, how he how
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he tried to kill all the baby
boys, how Joseph had to take his
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wife and is his son to flee
to Egypt. But Jesus didn't just escape.
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Then, eventually, skipping to the
end, he was caught up to
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the throne of God. Jesus didn't
for his life. Wasn't just preserve for
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a mere moment. Is preserved for
all eternity because of who he is.
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Jesus, sitting at the right hand
of a throne of God, is safe
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and secure and powerful. But what
of the woman? The woman flees into
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the Wilderness, but she's going to
be okay. Why? Because God is
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prepared a place for her. She
is going to be nursed for him by
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him for a time. Continuing on, the scene comes into will all just
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reread for seven now a war.
Now, war arose in heaven, Michael
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and his angels fighting against the Dragon, and the dragon and his angel and
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his angels fought back, but he
was defeated and there was no longer any
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place for them in heaven. And
the great dragon was thrown down, that
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ancient serpent who is called the devil
and Satan, the deceiver of the whole
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world. He was thrown down to
the earth and his angels were thrown down
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with him. And I heard a
loud voice in heaven saying now the salvation
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and the power and the Kingdom of
our God and the Authority of his Christ
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have come, for the accuser of
our brothers has been thrown down, who
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accuses them day and night before our
God, and they have conquered him by
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the blood of the lamb and by
the word of their testimony, for they
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loved not their lives, even unto
death. Therefore Rejoice, Oh heavens,
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and you who dwell in them.
But woe to you, oh earth,
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and see, for the devil has
come down to you in his great wrath
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because he knows that his time is
short. And when the devils are same
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difference. And when the dragon saw
that he had been thrown down to Earth,
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he pursued the woman who had given
birth to the male child, but
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the woman was given to the two
wings of a Great Eagle so that she
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might fly from the serpent into the
Wilderness to the place where she is to
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be nourished for a time and times
and half a time. The serpent poured
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water like a river out of his
mouth after the woman to sweep her away
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with the flood. But the earth
came to the help of the woman and
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the earth opened its mouth and swallowed
the river that the dragon had poured from
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his mouth and the Dragon. Then, the dragon became furious with the woman
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and went off to make war with
the rest of her offspring, on those
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who keep the commandments of God and
hold to the testimony of Jesus. And
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he stood on the sand of the
sea. In the second section, in
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seven through the end of the chapter, we have this what we call a
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recapitulation, a sort of revisiting of
a scene that we saw, parts of
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scenes that we saw in the first
few verses when Satan swept his tail and
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a third were cast from heaven.
From these pictures come up again, the
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woman being chased by the Serpent Dragon
Satan out into the Wilderness and then being
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protected there for a time, time, times and half a times. All
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of these things are repeated here.
The difference is is that we have what
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many scholars believe is a kind of
court room scene where you have a Satan,
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the great accuser. I'm battling in
this legal argument against Michael and his
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angels, and the good news is
that the great accuser, the great liar,
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is cast down. He is is
one commentator put debarred. He loses
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his standing before the throne of God. You see the love it. There's
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a time when Satan can stand in
the Throne Room of God and point at
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you and say this one is worthless, this one is vile, this one
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is despicable and accuse. But once
the blood of Christ comes and covers you
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and washes your sin away, everything
he says is a lie. It's malpractice
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right. He is telling things that
are not true. He has no basis
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for his accusations anymore because the sins
have been paid for. But notice what
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happens in the middle of all of
this scene. We realize what or what
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what we are told and I hope
realize, is that there is victory for
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us in the fall of the devil, in the strength of Christs, and
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this is key. Listen again to
verses ten and eleven, and I heard
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a loud voice in heaven saying now
the salvation and the power and the Kingdom
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of our God and the Authority of
his Christ have come, for the accuser
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of our brothers has been thrown down. Who accuses them day and night before
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our God? How did this happen? How is it that we can know,
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as Paul says, that we can
stand in the strength of the Lord
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and beat the schemes of the devil? How? Because, verse eleven,
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they have conquered past tense, conquered
him by the blood of the lamb and
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by the word of their testimony.
Satan, as we see, is terrifying.
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Write this Great Dragon with many heads
crowned with thorns, and we will
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have we won't read them tonight,
but there are other pictures of him and
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descriptions of him and his power.
The Saints and SMYRNA, saints in other
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places around the world, then and
now, are scared because they're told you
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will go to prison and less you
believe in the beast. Unless you submit
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to the Dragon Deny the Christ,
you will die. They say, you
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will not be able to buy,
you will not be able to live.
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We will hurt you, we will
hurt your families. How do you stay
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strong in that? How do you
say strong in that? You stay strong
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by remembering that, though this one
roars and prows allowed like a dragon and
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a lion, you need not fearing, because he's already been conquered by the
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blood of the lamb and by the
word of their testimony. An amazing thing
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to think about, the strength of
the things that we say have this power
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and effect on Satan. The time
is still difficult. He knows his time
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is short. Verse Twelve says,
and so he battles and he bites and
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he claws and he persecutes any harms
us. Sometimes he we are even put
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to death, but the church is
never extinguished. Another picture in revelation the
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church is pictured. His too,
faithful witnesses that are put to death and
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then come to life again to witness
and to testify to the strength and power
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of God. The reason we are
strong is because Christ is a faithful witness.
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Revelation three says. The reason we
are strong is because he always speaks
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the truth, even when our accuser
speaks lies. The reason we are strong
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is because Christ already has the victory. He is the lamb who is slain,
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who is standing at the throne of
God. This testimony, then,
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that we speak of is a testimony
to his power. When we suffer in
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his name, when we even die
for the sake of his name, as
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we persevere, even unto death,
for the sake of Christ, we are
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not atoning for our sins. We're
not offering ourselves as a sacrifice. We're
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doing what? What does the word
say? We are testifying to the atonement,
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we are witnessing to the atonement.
We are standing not in our strength,
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in our righteousness, but in his
that's why our witness is powerful,
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that's why our fighting is powerful,
that's why our strength is powerful, because
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because we stand in him, life
is very hard sometimes, and it might
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get much harder. The Lord says
don't be surprised by these things, when
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fiery trials come upon you. Don't
be surprised and don't fear them. Don't
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wonder and go to sleep at night
going I don't know, I don't know,
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I don't know, I don't know. Say I know, I know,
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I know, I know, I
know him, I know his strength.
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What all this is teaching us?
In revelation, Paul's exhortation to us
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in Ephesians is that, first of
all, we have a very difficult enemy,
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the Great Dragon Satan himself. We
also learn that suffering is required.
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We are in a battle. You
will not escape it. But if you
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stand in the strength of the Lord, if you stand in the strength of
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his might, because of the blood
that was shed for you, you're suffering
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will become a testimony and a witness
to that Gospel and will go to put
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down the work of Satan even more
because, as we testify, as the
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blood of Christians is shed, what
happens? More people believe the work of
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say Ytan is defeated, all the
more the gospel goes forth and the proof
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of God's work in us is made
evident. You will not face the second
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death. So, beloved, stand
strong, be firm. Your Lord is
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good. He's already won the battle
and he will he will come again to
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bring this time and times and half
a time to an end. This one
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thousand, two hundred and sixty days, that's all just a little time.
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He will bring it to an end. Revelation nineteen, well, VER's eleven.
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Then I saw I heavenn opened and
behold a white horse the one sitting
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on the Horse is called faithful and
true. That's the opposite of liar,
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by the way, faithful and true. And in his righteousness he judges and
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makes war. His eyes are like
a flame of fire, and on his
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head are many diadems, and he
has a name written that no one knows
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but himself. He is clothed in
a robe dipped in blood, and the
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name by which he is called is
the word of God. And the armies
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of Heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, who were were
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following him on white horses. From
his mouth comes a sharp sword with which
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to strike down the nations, and
he will rule them. With a rod
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of iron, he will tread the
winepress of the fury, of the wrath
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of God the Almighty. On his
robe and on his thigh has a name
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written, King of kings and Lord
of Lords. Then I saw an angel
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standing in the Sun and with a
loud voice, he called to the birds
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that fly directly overhead come gather for
the great supper of God, to eat
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the flesh of kings, the flesh
of captains, the flesh of mighty men,
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the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men,
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both free and slave, both great, small and great, and I
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saw the beast and the kings of
the earth and their armies gathered to make
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war against him who was sitting on
the horse and against his army. And
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the beast was captured and with it
the false prophet who, in its presence,
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had done many signs by which he
deceived those who had received the mark
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of the beast and those who worshiped
its image. These two were thrown alive
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into the lake of fire that Burns
with sulfur, and the rest were slain
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by the sword that come came from
the mouth of him who was sitting on
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the Horse, and all the birds
were gorged on their flesh. You don't
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need to be scared about kings and
mighty men. God knows how to vindicate
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himself, how to Take Care of
his saints, and that care for the
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woman in the Wilderness is described then, at the beginning of revelation twenty,
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and then I'll finish with these words
from beginning at verse seven. And when
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the thousand years are ended, that
time, time and half times and half
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a time, Satan will be released
from his prison and he will come out
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to deceive the nations that are at
the four corners of the earth, Gog
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and Magog, to gather them for
battle. Their number is like the sand
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of the sea, and they marched
up over the broad plane of the earth
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and surrounded the camp of the saints
and the beloved city. But fire came
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down from heaven and consumed them,
and the devil who had deceived them was
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thrown into the lake of fire and
sulfur, where the beast and false prophet
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were, and they will be tormented
day and night forevermore. Then I saw
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a great white throne and him who
was seated on it. From his presence,
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earth and sky fled away and no
place was found for them, and
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I saw the dead, great and
small, standing before the throne, and
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the books were opened. Then another
book was open, which is the book
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of life, and the dead were
judged by what was written in the books,
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according to what they had done,
and the sea gave up its dead
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who were in debt in it.
Death and Hades gave up the dead who
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were in them, and they were
judged, each one of them, according
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to what they had done. Then
death and hades were thrown into the lake
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of fire and this is the second
death, or this is the second death
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the lake of fire, and if
anyone's name was not found written in the
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book of life, he was thrown
into the lake of fire. But to
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those who remain strong, to those
who keep the testimony of our God and
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say and point to him, he
is my king, take my life.
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I live for him. He gives
to us the kingdom, the eternal Kingdom
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of God, as he goes on
to describe the new heavens and the new
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earth, eternal a Jerusalem, as
he talks about in revelation seven. Every
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tear will be wiped from our eyes. We will know pain and suffering no
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more. We will live by the
light of the lamb of God. No
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son, no need live by the
light of his glory. This is your
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king to fight. Be Strong,
be courageous. Let's pray
