DRAGON CAST DOWN TO EARTH

 

DRAGON CAST DOWN TO EARTH Continuing a Study of Revelation The book of Revelation switches gears at this point and introduces us to monsters and beings that will play a huge role in the final days of earth.  REVELATION 12.1 A great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 12.2 She was with child. She cried out in pain, laboring to give birth. 12.3 Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns. 12.4 His tail drew one third of the stars of the sky, and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. 12.5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. Her child was caught up to God, and to his throne. 12.6 The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her one thousand two hundred sixty days.  REVELATION 12.7 There was war in the heavenlies. Michael and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war. 12.8 They didn’t prevail, neither was a place found for him any more in heaven. 12.9 The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. -WEB Bible. The woman with the crown of twelve stars is the nation of Israel. The twelve stars represent the twelve tribes of Israel. Her child is Jesus Christ, who was born a Jew. This vision is a brief summary of who Israel is: the mother of the Messiah, and protected by God. When the dragon is thrown down to earth and only has a short time left, he will try to destroy the woman with the crown of stars. Hostility against Israel will intensify in the last days. The nations, principalities and spiritual powers will all be obsessed with destroying Israel, but God will miraculously preserve her.  JEREMIAH 31:35 Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, who divides the sea when the waves roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: 36 If those ordinances depart from before me, says the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever. God promised in antiquity that the earth would remain as long as Israel continues to exist. If Israel goes, so do we all. Israel is the timeline for human history.  Human existence on earth is tied in with the nation of Israel. It’s not because Israel deserves such an honor: it is simply because God has chosen them to be the object lesson for us all. And, through Israel the world has been blessed with our Savior Jesus Christ. WAR IN HEAVEN. Revelation 12:7-9 describes a war in heaven. This is a real war: an epic battle of heaven’s warriors against the dragon and all his demons. This battle in the heavenlies rages at the same time as disastrous events are taking place on earth. Even after Satan is cast down to the earth, his rage will continue to seek and destroy anything he can. His focus is on Israel, but he doesn’t care how many will die in his obsessive effort to annihilate the Jews: and thus destroy God’s promises so they can’t be fulfilled. This study of Revelation will continue on Thursdays. IMAGE CREDITS: The Virgin of the Apocalypse, by Miguel Cabrera, 1760 A.D. The Woman Clothed with the Sun Flees from the Dragon, by Benjamin West ca. 1797

 

POWER TO RAISE

 

POWER TO RAISE The LORD opens the eyes of the blind, the LORD lifts those who are weighed down, the LORD loves the righteous. Psalm 146:8 If I am bowed down with sorrow or burden, I should remember this promise from the Lord: It is His way, His custom, and His delight to lift up those who are bowed down. Whether it’s a sense of sin or a heavy heart that weighs me down, Jesus is ready to raise me up and give me rest. O Lord, lift me up for Your mercy’s sake! Whether it’s grief, loss, or a fall in circumstances, the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, is there to console us. What a mercy that one person of the Trinity has taken on the role of Comforter! With such a glorious One caring for us, we can trust that He will do His work well. Some burdens are so heavy that only Jesus can lift them: but He can, and He will. He can restore us to health, hope, and happiness. He has done so in the past, and He remains the same Savior today. Those of us who are bowed down and sorrowful will one day be lifted up, and those who mock us now will be ashamed. What an honor it is to be lifted up by the Lord! By Charles H. Spurgeon

 

COFFEE THOUGHTS

 

COFFEE THOUGHTS  Sip... Happy Tuesday!! This amazing GREAT salvation isn't great because I have a great faith. It isn't great because of any abilities I have at all. It is great because He is a GREAT Saviour. When I wander, He gently reproves. When I'm the sheep lost in the storm He comes looking. What He authors, He finishes. Looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of His faith authored in me. Hebrews 12:2 Not of works lest any one should boast. Ephesians 2:9 The journey home continues. What a Saviour! Gerald D Hochstetler Jr. #coffeethoughts on Facebook Used with Permission

 

THE GOD OF ALL TIME

 

THE GOD OF ALL TIME I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten. Joel 2:25 I've been thinking about regrets, bad memories etc. and wondering what kind of inspiration there is to help us with that? People struggle so much with tormenting thoughts… all the foolish, stupid, insensitive, selfish, clueless things we've done: they seem to pile up over the years and they don't let us forget it.  But I also thought of the verse in Joel where God told the Jews he would restore what the locust had eaten. And that's exactly what the bad memories feel like: constant pestering, gnawing and chewing on our minds and spirit. I focus on this one thing: forget the past and instead, look forward to what lies ahead. Philippians 3:13 In this verse, the Apostle Paul tells us "Don't look back."  He had good reason for saying that; the Bible tells us how Paul persecuted Christians until Jesus literally stopped Paul in his tracks and changed his direction. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 And here we have this wonderful revelation in Hebrews: Jesus is the LORD of all TIME; past, present and future! God is not restrained by time: He can work in our past, present and future to give us healing and restoration and forgiveness. Jesus has the same glorious power no matter where or when you need Him. Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You! Jeremiah 32:17 So, what does Jesus say about my past? What is He doing about it? There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2 When we are overwhelmed by our regrets, let's look to Jesus instead and see the incredible power that He has! The God of all time doesn't want you struggling with your past. He promises to restore what was destroyed. It's well within His power to pull the plug on all condemnation. Jesus promises freedom from that poison. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Romans 12:2 Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Ephesians 4:23 Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth. Colossians 3:2 God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

 

QUOTES FROM J.C. RYLE

 

QUOTES FROM J.C. RYLE John Charles Ryle (1816-1900) was an English Anglican bishop, preacher, and writer. The only way to be really happy in such a world as this, is to be ever casting all our cares on God. Beware of manufacturing a God of your own: A God who is all mercy, but not just; A God who is all love, but not holy; A God who has a heaven for everybody, but a hell for none; A God who can allow good and bad to be side by side in time, but will make no distinction between good and bad in eternity. Such a God is an idol of your own, as truly an idol as any snake or crocodile in an Egyptian temple. The hands of your own fancy and sentimentality have made him. He is not the God of the Bible, and beside the God of the Bible there is no God at all. Our prayers may be weak, stammering, and poor in our eyes. But if they come from a right heart, God understands them. Such prayers are His delight. Let us seek friends that will stir up our prayers, our Bible reading, our use of time, and our salvation. No one ever said at the end of his days; “I have read my Bible too much, I have thought of God too much, I have prayed too much, I have been too careful with my soul.” If you love Christ, never be ashamed to let others see it and know it. Speak for Him. Witness for Him. Live for Him.