Gold for the heart - Revelation 12-14

Revelation 12

1 A great sign appeared in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: 2 And having (a babe) in the womb, she cries being in labor, and pained to give birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns with seven crowns on his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her child as soon as it was born.

The signs are constellations (Genesis 1:14, Psalm 19).
Pictographs or word pictures were the first written language of man.
God wrote His story in the stars; astrology distorts it. Virgo the virgin was the sign of the virgin birth when God would become man.
Matthew 2:2 “for we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”) The woman is the nation of Israel (Genesis 37:9).
The red dragon is Satan (Revelation 20:2).
The seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns are the last world ruling empire controlled by Satan.
“Antichrist will conquer three of the ten nations of the revived Roman Empire. Therefore, seven heads and ten horns.” (from John Hagee, The Battle for Jerusalem, p. 188.

The child Jesus was born to rule

God prepared a place during judgment

God wins the battle against evil

He casts his enemies out of heaven

5 And she brought forth a male child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up to God, and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they feed her 1,260 days. 7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And did not prevail; neither was their place found any longer in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world: he was cast out to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The world was offered its perfect ruler when Christ rode into Jerusalem on that donkey.
The nation and world rejected Him and He died on the cross for our sins.
He was caught up to the throne of the Father.

Matthew 22:44 The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool?

His kingdom comes

10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now has come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brothers is cast down, who accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of earth and of the sea! Because the devil has come down to you having great wrath because he knows that he has but a short time.

There are beings that dwell in the heavens. Not the alien monsters portrayed by the movies, but angels. The ones who followed Satan are cast to the earth in verse 9.

Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the male child. 14 And two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman so that she might fly into the wilderness, to her place, where she is nourished for three and a half years from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent cast water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.

Water in scripture often represents great groups of people.
The serpent is the evil ruler, the antichrist. He stirs up the people to kill all the Jews on earth.
The eagle is the national symbol of several nations, America is the largest and most powerful of them at this time.
Aircraft are great wings that can fly to safety.
I can’t imagine real eagles doing this as effectively as the United States Air Force.
God provides escape, protection, and nourishment during persecution.

16 And the earth helped the woman, the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood that the dragon cast out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was furious with the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The earth opened its mouth to swallow rebels against Moses in Numbers 16.
In Matthew 24 Jesus gave Israel the sign of when they were to run and hide in the mountains—the day that the antichrist sets up a statue of himself in the holy of holies in the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14).
The Jews flee into hiding so the anitchrist changes plans and turns the ‘seek and kill mission’ worldwide.
Jews and Christians everywhere will be hunted and killed.
Jesus warned them not to come out of hiding for any reason because all will see His return.

Matthew 24:23 Then if any man says to you, Look, here is Christ, or there; do not believe it. 24 For false Christ’s, and false prophets will rise, and will show great signs and wonders; so much, that if it were possible, they will deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 Therefore if they say to you, Look, he is in the desert do not go out: behold, he is in the secret chambers; do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines to the west; that is how the coming of the Son of man will be.

Revelation 13

God allows evil to sift and purify the nations

1 And I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

In God’s prophecy to Daniel (Daniel 7), He describes world rulers as beasts.
This describes their character because they have no care for the peoples under them. They bite and devour in contrast to the Lord who gathers, feeds, heals, leads, and protects.

Luke 21:8 And he said, Take heed that you are not deceived: for many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draws near: do not go after them.

II Thessalonians 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders

4 And they worshipped the dragon who gave power to the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like to the beast? Who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given to him to continue 42 months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and those that dwell in heaven.

The Lord alone is worthy of our worship.

Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

Romans 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

7 And it was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all tribes, and tongues, and nations. 8 And all that dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If any man has an ear, let him hear. 10 He that leads into captivity will go into captivity: he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

The patience and faith of the saints is to stay under what God says.
God gives all people to reap what they sow, to reap the harvest of their doings.
Those who listen to evil, do evil, and it will destroy them.
Those who listen to God will wait for His promises, be saved, and eternally blessed.

Daniel 11:32 And he will corrupt by flatteries those that do wickedly against the covenant: but the people that know their God will be strong, and do exploits.

Daniel 12:10 Many will be purified, and made white, and tested; but the wicked will do wickedly: and none of the wicked will understand; but the wise will understand.

Isaiah 30:28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, will reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity…

11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceives those that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles that he has power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, to make an image to the beast that had the wound by a sword and lived.

This man makes the people think that he is God’s promised savior by these miracles.
But remember that Jesus’ miracles helped, healed. This one makes the chaos and pain of life, robs the world of the peace and blessing of God.

15 And he had power to give life to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast could both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

Jesus brought people back to life.

Matthew 7:20 By their fruits you will know them.

16 And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 So that no man can buy or sell, unless he has the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is 666.

Alphabetical letters in early history also stood for numbers.
The letters for ‘Latin man or church’ in Greek adds up to 666, ‘Roman kingdom’ in Hebrew adds up to 666. The Latin ‘vicarious filii dei’ which is on the popes hat adds up to 666. (From What’s Behind the New World Order, J.B.E. International Bible.
The Roman Catholic church is identified at this time by the numbers 666 three different ways.
Three is a signature of God. Like Israel, and all of us, the Roman Catholic church has done right and wrong throughout history. This is the worst, killing God’s people.

2 Samuel 23:3-4 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, He that rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. 4 And he will be like the light of the morning, when the sun rises, a morning without clouds; like the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.

Revelation 14

The Lamb of God stands on Mt. Zion with those He redeemed

1 And I looked and saw a Lamb standing on mount Zion, and with him 144,000, having his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the voice of many waters, like the voice of great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpists playing their harps: 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four beasts and the elders: and no man could learn that song except the 144,000, who were redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And no guile was found in their mouth: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

No matter what our lives have been, God can purify us and make us chaste unto Christ.
Rahab the harlot is a vivid example of this. She had been a prostitute. God so changed her life that she is forever in the family of God and in the royal family of the humanity of Jesus Christ (Joshua 2 and Matthew 1:5).

1Peter 1:18…you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold, from your vain way of life received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish and without spot

2 Corinthians 11:2I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

His angels fly through heaven preaching to earth

6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that live on the earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment has come: worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 8 And another angel followed saying, Babylon has fallen, has fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 That one will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever: and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receive the mark of his name. 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are those that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Patience is the word ‘hupomone.’ It means to stay under. To stay under God’s plan rather than evil has often cost people their lives.
They immediately went into the presence of the one who gave His life to save them.
Here they are waiting for Christ’s return.
These refuse to worship the beast or receive his mark, though it means they won’t be able to buy or sell anything.
But they will soon own the whole world.

Psalm 37:9For evildoers will be cut off: but those that wait on the LORD, they will inherit the earth.

Happy and blessed are those who die in Him

He reaps the harvest of earth

13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from this time on: Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labors; and their works will follow them. 14 And I looked and saw a white cloud and on the cloud sat one like the Son of man, having a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in your sickle and reap: for the time has come for you to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 17 And another angel came out of the temple in heaven, also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

This is a harvest of souls. Men are the grapes. The fruit of man’s decisions are fully ripe…some are cleansed and made holy to God, others have hardened themselves against God and are fully set in evil.

Isaiah 5:1My well beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones from it, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress in it: and he looked for grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.

19 And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress up to the horse bridles for 200 miles.

God made everything good, good, and very good. This is the result of man choosing evil.

Joel 3:12Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there I will sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get down; for the press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

Isaiah 63:2 Why is your clothing red, and your garments like him that treads in the winepress?3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and from the people there was none with me: I will tread them in my anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood will be sprinkled on my garments, and I will stain all my clothing. 4 For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed has come.

Revelation 19:11-16And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a garment dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword to strike the nations: and he will rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

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SUMMARY: Revelation 12-14

The child Jesus was born to rule
God prepared a place during judgment
God wins the battle against evil
He casts his enemies out of heaven
His kingdom comes
God allows evil to sift and purify the nations
The Lamb of God stands on Mt. Zion with those He redeemed
His angels fly through heaven preaching to earth
Happy and blessed are those who die in Him
He reaps the harvest of earth