The Great Escape

First phrase in verse 11 and they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, not holy water from the Jordan River, not some heavenly gem hanging from your rearview mirror.

The victory of the believer is not binding.

Satan or some demon with an incantation or rebuking him of some magic prayer. Our victory is through and by means of the life-giving sacrificing of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world. Look at that today were also going to see the deliverance that God brings. We need to understand that Satan is our enemy as well. He wants to attack us and if he could he would destroy us.

He brings accusations about you to God and he brings accusations about God to you. We need to be able to overcome the tricks and attacks of our enemy in order to learn how to do that today. This is wisdom for the heart.

The Bible teaching ministry of Stephen David Velez, and Stephen has for you today is entitled the great state. John wraps up his description of the red Dragon.

The enemy Satan the devil as he attempts to hinder the word and work of God was to go back and get a running start beginning with verse nine and the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old was called the devil Satan, who deceives the whole world.

He was thrown down to the earth as angels were thrown down with them in our loud voice in heaven, saying of the salvation of power the kingdom of God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, that is dismissed from the heavenly court.

He could who has accuser accuses them before our God day and night to John is not talking about how to escape the dragons prosecution and he gives us the final ending part of the story that is yet to come.

As is prosecution in now for our study today. Notice the amazing revelation provided for us that overcomes the enemy in even for us today. Verse 11 and they overcame because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. Who are they in this text to overcome the antecedent today is this phrase the brethren, both those who have been martyred during the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation.

Those who will still be yet killed or martyred in the final days of the tribulation, but it can also include every believer because were being accused even now, every believer who has been accused by Satan before the presence of God the brother, and then actually would include you and me. Verse 10 says, whom he accuses before our God day and night, that a question is what overcomes him. What is it that strips him of his legal power and accusation against us. What is it that disarms him finally.

But yet even now practically were given answer in three powerful statements that will be true of the believer in the tribulation, but also every believer throughout redemptive history.

Even those of us who will be rapture one day.

So let's slow down. Let's go through these three statements and I'll give them to the principal form. First, they rested in their perfected forgiveness. They rested in their perfected forgiveness noticing in the first phrase in verse 11 and they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, not holy water from the Jordan River, not some heavenly gem hanging from your rearview mirror. The victory of the believer is not binding.

Satan or some demon with an incantation or rebuking him with some magic prayer. Our victory is through and by means of the life-giving blood shedding sacrificing of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world.

So Peter would write you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold not even may I add gold dust that fell from heaven know you are redeemed with precious blood, as although I am unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. First Peter 118 and 19.

So when Satan and his fallen angels accusers even in this dispensation before God and accuse God before us and they can they conspire or do they not want their own fallen/for the victorious believer, then his forgiven status is the roots of his victory from which everything else grows and flourishes. Not only do we see them here resting in their perfected cleansing and thus following their example. Secondly, they resonated with a public confession.

Notice verse 11 and the overcame them because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony.

So you have for some of the principle of perfected forgiveness or cleansing which will ultimately defeat the enemy to defeat some now even our lives today.

Would you have next, the principle of public confession, which Daly defeats the strategies of the enemy not only in your life but in your world. They trusted because of the word, the lot DOS is the word here of their testimony, they might read this text and think, well, you know, it sounds like it's all up to me again. Is the blood away with it is also my perfect testimony know the emphasis here, by the way, is not all the words their testimony, the emphasis is on the words because of the lot DOS because of the word.

In fact, you could literally translated to mean this in fact followed carefully as a reader and they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and the word of God to which they have borne testimony see the emphasis we overcome the Dragon because of who we are related to, and because of what we have revealed to us in the word of God and we testified that it is the truth. It is his lot DOS for us because of that we can joyfully testify to the truth so the victorious believer lives in light of his forgiveness. He claims it. He Daly rejoices and it victorious believer lives by the truth of the word of God which he then has joyful freedom to deliver to testify that it is in fact the power of God unto salvation. This is in God is spoken.

The answer is here and it is the power of God. It is sharper than any two-edged sword. It is the weapon of the spirit of God in our hands as we deliver the truth in our world. So you have defeated the serpent as it were, through salvation.

That's theological truth. You defeat the serpent as you deliver the gospel to your world, testifying to its truth and that's practical truth as well. We decided to print up a little track is with people asking about. In fact we had attracted and ran out for whatever reason, didn't reordering we got absolutely new one fact on the back with had printed Colonial Baptist Church with the phone number and of the website is attracted is very very easy to pass out because of what it says on the front how to get to heaven from North Carolina is just perfect. Nobody can turn you down. This is so easy it's small you can put with your tip.

You can leave it behind you give it to somebody affect its very easy to have an effect on just popping a volunteer member volunteer thank you. I know you had good all right I just show you how easy does it. I like to give you a free roadmap how to get to heaven from North Carolina. Take it.

See how easy that was missing and there a lot of maps in the world and there a lot of maps to take you to North Carolina. But this is the most important one. This will take it to heaven if I can ever help you if you want to read that through sometime I be glad to. There's a phone number on the back.

I get permission giving incident thank you very much. Oh these volunteers okay you know something, my friends, the average Christian has never ever passed out a gospel tract. The average Christian and the church is never mentioned the name of Jesus Christ to somebody to work with.

I never forget the tears, the hot tears of course down the cheeks of a man. I was at a funeral. He came up to me after he said I rode to work. We carpooled every day for 25 years and I never told that man. I belong to Jesus Christ and one of the simplest things to do is pick up these.

These are located in the bookstore there free take this opportunity to deliver the gospel. It is the overcoming power over the Dragon who hates the sound of Christ's gospel delivery is it will not clever enough. What you know and you never know how edgy and respond never to have Bill or Susie or whatever they get a look at you or maybe they will look at you, maybe to walk away but you attempt to deliver the gospel to them and you say, what are they asked me a question. I'm getting it stop.

Let me assure you, you will get stopped. Okay you don't decide to become a testimony for Christ. We have all the answers. Now I am a walking Bible encyclopedia, and now I will deliver the truth of the you'll never do it. Be willing to be stomped in the say you want to go back to the Bible to find that answer will come back to you with an answer of the testimony of Dr. Charles Fienberg, a well respected professor Old Testament I was commentaries in my library longer with the Lord.

He was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home. Both parents choose very committed to Judaism. In fact, they hired a woman to come in and clean their home on Saturday because they do more work or cook or clean their wealthy enough to do it.

She was referred to as a Sabbath Gentile Gentile and they didn't mind putting to work on the Sabbath day. She happened to know Christ.

No education.

She just knew the Lord and she would come in on Saturday and she would just cook and clean and with her quiet testimony unnerved this family to finally young Charles once asked her the source of her peace. She told him the gospel of Christ, and he would later believe. In fact, enter the ministry you have the foundation of perfected forgiveness. You have the practice of public confession. Thirdly these victorious believers focused on their permanent glory.

Look at the last part of verse 11 says here in the love their own life, even when faced with. For this reason, rejoice heavens, and you dwell in. They loved Christ more than their own lives. They were willing to put it all on that offer, so to speak. For the sake of this one of whom they testified let me let me quickly review these three principles of victory for the believer in the first point, the blood of the Lamb. Yet the principle of permanent cleansing in the second point, the word of their testimony of the principle of public confession and then in the final point, they did not love their own lives.

You have basically the principle of personal concentration. They focused on eternal glory defeats the enemy in your own life. When you focus on your future. You focus on eternal glory. He will have a selfie name and he will have a self focused, everything is about. I me and mine with those who claim the blood of Christ.

Those who will testify of the Lord, saving power, those who will love him more than themselves will live daily victorious lives by John Phillips puts it this way.

What did Satan do with the likes of the lock them up in prison and they convert their jailers torture that may become partakers of Christ's sufferings and heirs to even a greater word martyr them and I go straight to be with Christ and turn them loose and they evangelize their world. This is the outworking of the dragon's downfall like missionary Karen Watson wrote about recently was martyr for Faye, just a couple of years ago before going to serve Christ in Iraq.

She left a letter with special instructions and it would be read by her pastor at her funeral. The letter began. You are only reading this if I died. The letter included gracious words to family and friends and in this closing summary and notice, her concentration and focus. She wrote in a quote or to obey him was my objective to suffer was expected his glory is my reward.

These are they who escape the dragons prosecution and so shall we say weapons now will watch them escape the dragons persecution notices. Verse 12 in the middle part. Woe to the earth and sea because the devil is come down to you. It is now is disbarred from heaven is come down to you, having great wrath, knowing he only has a short time, he knows his time is short versus six 1014 tell us it's about 3 1/2 years left the latter part of this tribulation. So now, having been disbarred from heaven thrown the worth he can no longer accuse the brethren before God he's enraged he's enraged beyond words because of the limitations now placed upon his freedom. One author said he picks himself up from the dust of the earth. He shakes his fist at the sky and glares around choking with fury for ways to vent his hatred in his spine upon humankind. He has been checkmated and mastered by the one he hates most of all.

So what is he do verse 13 tells us, and when the Dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman as Israel who gave birth to the male child. That is, he now goes in with even greater fury persecutes the nation which delivered the Jewish Messiah. 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 a time, from the presence of the server. That's Daniel's terminology for 3 1/2 years.

The Revelation continues to use figurative language here goes back to referring to his role as the woman he speaks of the Dragon, the water will come from the Dragon's mouth. He speaks figuratively of the rescue of the woman on the wings of an eagle. This is language.

By the way to God is already used to speak of Israel's escape factor uses this language to speak of their escape from Egypt. In Exodus 19 is as you yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on Eagles wings and brought you to myself John here is referring to the midpoint of the tribulation were Jews will once again face the potential of another Holocaust and they believe Jesus Christ predicts that this is yet a future he speaks in the matter how the discourse of this moment in the future when Jews will flee after the antichrist desecrates the temple in Jerusalem.

We know that happens at the midpoint of the tribulation.

He ends his false peace with Israel, he desecrates the desolate's. We called the abomination of desolation in the temple probably doing what Antiochus epiphanies did pre-shadowing him centuries earlier. He sacrifices the pig perhaps on the altar. He makes the Templeton New Orleans void.

It's useless.

It's meaningless to the Jew at that moment, when the antichrist desolate sort desecrates the temple. The Jews then with her peace ended.

Flee the snow what Jesus Christ said what happened. In fact, he warns them in Matthew 24 he says when you see this happen when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things that are in the house and I was going to attack whoever is in the field. Don't even go back to get your cloak for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world. Matthew 24, 15 to 21 John informs us here in Matthew or in Revelation chapter 12 that once the Jewish people recognize that false pieces and that they see with the antichrist doesn't desolate in the temple. They who are able escape they run an enemy nourished and protected by the Lord that were not exactly told where they run the Israelite remnant fleas for safety. Many Bible scholars conjecture that that the place they run to is the ancient city of Edom. It's a city literally carved out of rock known as petro. That's Latin for rock. In the course of closely equivalent to that Greek language that many of the buildings in this ancient city are literally carved out of the sandstone of the development of this amazing city began at least a thousand years before the birth of Christ, and I don't have in your mind. This is some primitive polarized these buildings were not just primitive carvings dug into the size of the mountain. They are intricately and beautifully crafted these buildings, which have now stood for centuries, historians record for us that an earthquake in the sixth century A.D., cause the city to be abandoned. Evidently, for fear that the mountains would collapse upon them.

And of course the buildings would collapse with future earthquakes. So Petra was then abandoned it began to be excavated again in 1812.

So we say was rediscovered and intense excavation since then has been carried on in fact, even to this day with University of Brown University was caring about what makes a city all the more fitting and why many scholars believe that using a run here is that it can be easily protected. Many of these buildings can be accessed only by writing camel or a donkey or maybe one Jeep at a time were marching single file between huge sandstone cliffs.

As a result of being surrounded by these sheer cliffs and many of the buildings of petro are easy to guard relatively easy to protect its here in Petra.

Perhaps the believing remnant of Jews will be protected is the Dragon unleashes unbelievable fury upon the verse 15 of Revelation 12 informs us that the serpent will send a river out of his mouth after the woman so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood does he track her down and then sends a river effort. He may very well try to flood them out by diverting a river of water toward the language, even though the figurative context seems to indicate that a literal destruction by water is his intention. It's interesting to discover from the sources that I have read about the city, built in the Rocky sandstone mountains. Even at this point in time in the 21st century, only about 10 to 15% of the city is even been discovered yet to be excavated.

We know enough about it to know.

However, the river would be the perfect way to end its resistance wouldn't be be perfect way.

Perhaps the enemies through some sort of engineering feat will tap into an underground river which are common in this region and is able to divert that water source to rush like a flood toward petro by which he hopes to drown out the Jewish people, they would have anyway out because his water would fill every crevice and cavern. But God provides a miracle of this provision by doing something he's already done several times in the Old Testament.

Exodus chapter 15 and Numbers chapter 16 speak of what he may do here. He causes the earth to open up and literally drain off the water. Look at 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 its mouth so the dragon was enraged with the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her children and already stymied. So now he goes after the rest of her children. Her offspring proceed. Obviously, this woman can't be married because were told that the Dragon is off to fight her offspring, the sons and daughters born to Mary and Joseph. After Jesus half brothers and sisters. Of course of our Lord in Matthew chapter 13 verse 55 were given the names of his brothers half-brother.

There certainly not alive here and they're not in view here. Furthermore, that the woman cannot be the church is the church as we study did not give birth to Christ.

Christ gave birth to the church. This woman is Israel who delivers the Messiah a Jewish descendent of David and the Dragon now envision here is disbarred from heaven he said to earth he stymied in Petra.

He knows his time is short. He turns his final fury that upon the children of Israel, the offspring of the woman Satan now through his puppet Christ unleashes what he hopes to be the final extermination. The last Holocaust against the Jewish people that I would agree with those scholars believe his target is broadened beyond that you simply because you notice that John implies, such as he says here in the latter part of verse 17 that he will go after all who obey the commandments of God that word until he commences a reference to the Old Testament 10 commitments is a reference to the commandments of God in relation to Jesus Christ the end totally of God the commandments of God is released to Christ and noticing your text and all of those who hold to the testimony of Jesus.

This would include not only believing Jews who didn't make it to the safety of the city, but also to the believing Gentile who lives throughout the world. Having come to believe the testimony of God's word after the rapture has occurred.

So Revelation chapter 12 then concludes with an amazing description of this first and foremost face of evil Dragon Revelation 12 is not your conflict will be ours but the enemy hasn't changed that for thousands of years affect Ephesians 6 tells you how to get dressed out for battle, read it sometime and remember your enemy is ruthless.

He is bloodthirsty he is unmerciful he can have your soul, but he will have your testimony you will have your confidence you will take away from your mind. The root of your shirt because for the throat. He throws insults and accusations against you before God brings them about God before you. So how do you overcome this gives us the clue.

Remind him of the blood of the lamb blood for sinners like remind him of the word of God in your testimony that it is true and love Christ more than your own life, and while you're at it. Remember, remember this, Satan is already read his future. Don't let him keep you pin down in defeat. In the meantime with his empty threats and accusations you have seen… And then focus on your everlasting future with Jesus Christ as you are on your way to heaven.

I hope that truth brings comfort and boldness today as you face whatever God has for you. This is wisdom for the hearts, our ministry is rooted in the belief that the Bible is God's word and that it has the answers we need for godly living. In addition to these daily Bible lessons. We have other resources for you including our monthly magazine and devotional guide heart-to-heart call us for information on how you can get a copy of our next issue. Our number is 86 648 Bible 48664824253 I'm Scott Wiley and for Steven and all of us here. Thanks for listening. Join us next time more wisdom for the