Revelation 12-
VERSE 13. And when
the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which
brought forth the man-chiId. 14. And to the woman were given two
wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place,
where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of
the serpent. 15. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a
flood
p 553 -- after the
woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 16.
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth,
and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 17.
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the
remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony
of Jesus Christ.
But little comment
is necessary on the verses last introduced. Suffice it to say that here we are
again carried back to the time when Satan became fully aware that he had
utterly failed in all his attempts against the Lord of glory in his earthly
mission; and seeing this, be turned with tenfold fury, as already noticed, upon
the church which Christ had established. Then we have again brought to view the
church going into that condition here denominated being "in the
wilderness." This must denote a state of seclusion from the public gaze,
and of concealment from her foes. That church which during all the dark ages
trumpeted her lordly commands into the ears of listening Christendom, and
flaunted her ostentatious banners before gaping crowds, was not the church of
Christ; it was the body of the mystery of iniquity. The "mystery of
godliness" was God manifested here as a man; the "mystery of
iniquity" was a man pretending to be God. This was the great apostasy, the
mongrel produced by the union of heathenism and Christianity. The true church
was out of sight; in secret places they worshiped God; the caves and the hidden
recesses of the valleys of the Piedmont may be taken as representative places,
where the truth of the gospel was sacredly cherished from the rage of its foes.
Here God watched over his church, and by his providence protected and nourished
her.
The eagles' wings
given her appropriately signify the haste with which the true church was
obliged to provide for her own safety when the man of sin was installed in
power, together with the assistance God provided her to this end. The like
figure is used to describe God's dealings with ancient Israel. By Moses he said
to them: "Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you
on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself." Ex. 19:4.
p 554 --
(picture omitted)
p 555 -- The mention
of the period during which the woman is nourished in the wilderness as "a
time and times and half a time," the exact phraseology used in Dan. 7:25,
furnishes a key for the explanation of the latter passage; for the very same
period is called in verse 6 of Revelation 12, "a thousand two hundred and
threescore days." This shows that a "time" is one year, 360
days; two "times," two years, or 720 days; and "half a
time," half a year, or 180 days, making in all 1260 days; and this being
symbolic, signifies 1260 literal years.
The serpent cast out
of his mouth water as a flood to carry away the church. By its false doctrines
the papacy had so corrupted all nations as to have control absolutely, for long
centuries, of the civil power. Through it Satan could hurl a mighty flood of
persecution against the church in every direction; and this he was not slow to
do. (See reference to the terrible persecutions of the church in remarks on
Dan. 7:25.) From fifty to one hundred million were carried away by the flood;
but the church was not entirely swallowed up; the days were shortened for the
elect's sake. Matt. 24:22.
"The earth
helped the woman" by opening its mouth and swallowing up the flood. The
reformation of the sixteenth century began its work. God raised up the noble
Luther and his colaboraters to expose the true character of the papacy, and
break the power with which superstition had enslaved the minds of the people.
Luther nailed his theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg; and the pen
with which he wrote them, according to the symbolic dream of the good elector
Frederick of Saxony, did indeed span the continent, and shake the triple crown
on the pope's head. Princes began to espouse the cause of the Reformers. It was
the dawning of religious light and liberty, and God would not suffer the
darkness to swallow up its radiance. Tetzel, the indulgence-peddler, swelled
and bellowed with wrath, and Pope Leo roared with rage; but all in vain. The
spell was broken. Men found that the bulls and anathemas of the pope fell
harmless at their feet, just as soon as they dared exercise their God-given right
to regulate their consciences by his word alone. Defenders of the true
p 556 --
(picture not
included )
p 557 -- faith
multiplied. And soon there was enough Protestant soil found in Switzerland,
Germany, Holland, England, Norway and Sweden, to swallow up the flood of papal
fury, and rob it of its power to harm the church. Thus the earth helped the woman,
and has continued to help to the present day, as the spirit of the Reformation
and religious liberty has been fostered by the leading nations of Christendom.
But the dragon is
not yet through with his work. Verse 17 brings to view another and a final
outburst of his wrath, this time against the last generation of Christians to
live on the earth. We say the last generation; for the war of the dragon is
directed against the remnant of the woman's seed; that is, the remnant of the
seed, or individuals, that constitute the true church; and no generation but
the last can truthfully be represented by the remnant.
If the view is
correct that we have already reached the generation which is to witness the
closing up of earthly scenes, this warfare against the truth cannot be far in
the future.
This remnant is
characterized by the keeping of the commandments of God, and having the
testimony of Jesus Christ. This points to a Sabbath reform to be accomplished
in the last days; for on the Sabbath alone, as pertaining to the commandments,
is there a difference of faith and practice among those who accept the
Decalogue as the moral law. This is more particularly brought to view in the
message of Rev. 14:9-12.
It may be proper to
notice that according to the testimony of this chapter, three powers are made
use of by the devil to carry out his work, and hence all are spoken of as the
dragon, he being the inspiring agent in them all. These are, (1) pagan
Rome; (2) papal Rome; (3) the two-horned beast, our
own government under the control of apostate Protestantism, which is the chief
agent, as will hereafter appear, in making war upon those who keep the
commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus.
*******
The remnant.
17. And
the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of
her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ.
The commandments of
who?
So many wish to
believe God's moral law was made void by Christ. Time and time again I have to
cry out, that's a lie!
Let's do a quick
study on this--
Taken from - Bible
Study Guide by William Grotheer
Lesson #6 -- THE TWO LAWS
p 25 -- Introduction -- Whenever the question
of the Sabbath is studied, a question is raised concerning the Law of God.
Certain texts are cited (Ephesians 2:15;
Colossians 2:14-17) with the suggestion that the Law of God has been
revoked, and is therefore no longer binding on Christians.
This teaching is the result of failing to
distinguish between several groups of laws that are set forth in the Bible.
We, in
this study, will confine ourselves to two laws mentioned in the New Testament.
Romans 7:12 -- The
law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just and good.
Hebrews 7:14-18 The
law of a carnal commandment ... weakness and unprofitableness thereof. Hebrews 10:1 The law
having a shadow of good things to come ... can never with those sacrifices
which they offered.
Note - By comparing these verses it is evident
that ONE LAW cannot be holy AND carnal.
A holy
law being good in itself would not be a shadow of "good things to
come."
By
illustration, one cannot have a fully ripe apple and a "green" apple
all in one apple. It requires two. So also in the matter concerning the law.
TWO LAWS are required to meet the description of these texts.
(Verses
mentioned above)
Eph 2:15 - Having
abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in
ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace
Col 2:14 - Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way,
nailing it to his cross;
Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers,
he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in
drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the
body is of Christ.
Rom 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the
commandment holy, and just, and good.
Heb 7:14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of
Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
Heb 7:15 And it is yet far more evident: for that
after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest,
Heb 7:16 Who is made, not after the law of a carnal
commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
Heb 7:17 For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever
after the order of Melchisedec.
Heb 7:18 For there is verily a disannulling of the
commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.
Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to
come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices
which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Section #2 --THE HOLY LAW
Romans 7:7, 12 -- I had not known sin,
but by the, law, the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. Wherefore the law is
holy.
Note - The law that contains the commandment -
"Thou shalt not covet" - is the Ten Commandment law. This law Paul
declares to be holy.
Exodus 24:12; 31:18; 32:16 -- And the Lord said ... I will give thee ...
a law, and commandments which I have written. And He gave to Moses ... two ...
tables of stone, written with the finger of God. And the writing was the
writing of God, graven upon the tables.
Exodus 25:16, 21 --
And thou shalt put into the ark, the testimony which I shall give thee ... in
the ark thou shalt put the testimony.
Note -
Twice repeated was the injunction to put the law in the ark, the most sacred
object of the Hebrew sanctuary.
Of no
other portion of the entire Bible, did God manifest such care for an accurate
transmission, and preservation as the Ten Commandments.
He
wrote them with His own finger upon stone, spoke them with His own lips from
Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:1). and had it
placed in the most holy object on earth, which in turn was housed in what was
designated as "the most holy place, " the center of His earthly
dwelling. (Exodus 25:8-9)
Exodus 20:1-17 --
The Ten Commandments
Note -
This law forbids, idolatry, profanation, stealing, killing, lying, adultery,
and covetousness. It requires respect of children for their parents, and sets
for the seventh day of every week
p 26 -- as the "sabbath of the Lord thy
God."
Section #3 -- THE CODE OF MOSES
Exodus 20:22 -- The Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say . . .
Exodus 24:3-4 -- And
Moses wrote all the words.
Deuteronomy 31: 24-26 -- Moses commanded ... Take this book
of the law, and put it in the side
of the ark ... for a witness.
Note - In the giving, writing, and disposition
of this book of the law of Moses, the contrast is clear and distinct between it
and the Ten Commandments. Let us note some of the regulations this lesser code contained.
Exodus 23:14, 17 --
Three times thou Shalt keep a feast unto Me in a year. Three times in a year
all thy males shall appear before the Lord God. Leviticus
23:6, 14 (Observe the eating regulations connected with the time of the
annual feasts.) Leviticus 23:24, 32 In the seventh month, in the first day of
the month, shall ye have a Sabbath. It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest ...
in the ninth day of the month.
Note - The Mosaic code regulated aspects of
worship involved in the special feast days, as to time, and what could and what
could not be eaten at those times. Some of these appointed days were called
sabbaths. These were, however, the
Sabbaths of the people in contrast with the seventh day which was the Sabbath
of the Lord. The summary of the contrast is given by Moses in Leviticus 23:37, 38. Note carefully the words -
"These are the feasts of the Lord ... everything upon his day: BESIDE the Sabbaths
of the Lord."
Section #4 -- THE CONTRAST
Nehemiah 9:12-14 --
Thou camest down ... upon Mt. Sinai ... and gavest them ... Thy holy Sabbath, AND commandest them
laws, by the hand of Moses.
Note - Nehemiah in reporting this priestly
chant classifies the sabbath of the Lord with the law given by God directly,
and not with the code of Moses.
II Kings 21:8 -- All
that I have commanded ... and all that my servant Moses commanded.
Deuteronomy 4:12-14
-- The Lord spake unto you, and He declared unto you ... ten commandments. And the Lord commanded me at that time
to teach you statutes ... that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over
to possess it.
Note - The Mosaic code was a statute
of limitations to be done only in the land of their possessions, while the Ten
commandments as given by God were not limited to any locality, but were
worldwide in application.
p 27 -- Summary - The laws and ordinances which
Paul stated were nailed to the cross were the codes given to Israel to be done
only in the land of Canaan. In Christ, the gospel message would go to all the
world, and the center of worship would no longer be a tent or a temple built by
men's hands, but the most holy place would be a man's heart surrendered to the
Lord Jesus Christ. Note carefully Hebrews 10:16-17.
*******
We have to
comprehend that the REMNANT of the woman's seed- the REMNANT of God's true
church, God's true people, those who will be alive and sealed in Him when Jesus
return's- WILL KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD AND… yes, not only will they keep the
commandments of God, they will also HAVE the testimony of JESUS.
Go ahead and believe
that the MORAL TEN COMMANDMENTS are on none effect, it's your right, but it's a
lie. I just read something recently
about why the Sabbath commandment was done away with, why it was changed upon Christ's
death and resurrection, that the Sabbath commandment was ONLY for the
Israelites given to them on Mount Sinai.
That the Sabbath was NOT for Christ followers. That the apostles kept a
NEW day, Sunday, a day they call the Lord's day as if all days weren't
His. Don't people realize that IF the
Sabbath commandment was going to be CHANGED or abolished, that a HUGE deal
would have been made over it? Just as if
the commandment to NOT commit adultery was going to be changed, or the
commandment to NOT worship idols, or the commandment to NOT kill… etc. These were GOD'S commandments, NOT MOSES'
commandments, GOD'S! If Jesus were going
to do away with or change a commandment that GOD gave, wouldn't He have let us
know in no uncertain terms? He wouldn't
have told people they were doing good by keeping a law He was going to do away
with or change.
Read the following-
also from the Study Guide-
Section 4 -- THE LAWGIVER
Nehemiah 9:12-15 --
Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai.
Note - Who is this - "THOU"? Who is
the One that led the children of Israel from Egypt to the promised land? Who is
the One who appeared to Moses in Mount Sinai? Again, we must use the Bible
method of interpretation as outlined by the Holy Spirit - comparing one
Scripture with another.
I Corinthians 10:1-4
-- That Rock was Christ.
1Co 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye
should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all
passed through the sea;
1Co 10:2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud
and in the sea;
1Co 10:3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
1Co 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink:
for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was
Christ.
Note - It was Jesus Christ Himself, who amid
the glory and flame of Sinai, proclaimed the Law of the Council of God - even
the Ten Commandments. Thus Jesus is OUR Creator, Lawgiver, and Redeemer. In
future lessons we shall note Him as our High Priest, and Coming King. The Bible
from beginning to end is the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the
Omega, the one and only true way
to the Father.
Section #5 -- MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF CHRIST
Revelation 14:12 --
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of
God, and the faith of Jesus.
Note - We have heard the expression -"the
communion of saints," or the fellowship of the household of God. Here in
the book of Revelation we have revealed the characteristics of the saints who
compose "the house of Christ" or His body. They keep the commandments
of God and the faith of Jesus. It was Jesus who proclaimed the Law of the
Council of God from Mount Sinai. It was Jesus who came and lived the life of
God before men. He manifested a living faith, that though He had accepted the
weaknesses and nature of fallen humanity, God was able to keep Him from
falling. This same allegiance to God, and faith in Him will be manifest by His
"saints" as they partake of the Bread of Heaven sent forth to feed
the needs of mankind.
2 John 9 --
Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not
God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son.
John 10:16 -- Other
sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there
shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
*******
Christ our Savior
was there at with the children of Israel as they were led from Egypt to Mount
Sinai! THEY drank of that SPIRITUAL ROCK
that FOLLOWED THEM- AND THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST!
So HOW can people
divorce Christ from the very law given by Him! He was there! He was a part of
it all! He agreed with it all! Those
MORAL laws are forever binding! Yet people want to pick apart just ONE of those
laws! They want to accept all the others
as binding, but take that ONE and either disannul it or altar it to something
different. They DARE to believe they can take ONE of the ten and do whatever
pleases them. Why? I don't comprehend the logic behind it. I do comprehend
Satan's aim it in all, but not those who truly desire to be Christ's. The REMNANT WILL KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF
GOD. Why bother making such a
declaration if there weren't a moral law to keep in its entirety? It doesn't say the remnant will keep some of
the commandments of God. It doesn't say the remnant will keep nine of the
commandments of God. It doesn't say the remnant will keep the commandments of
their own devising. Is there ANY wonder
at all that there will be SO few who are truly Christ's? Is there ANY wonder that many will say they
knew Christ and He in turn will tell them to get away from Him, that He doesn't
know them and never knew them! Why wouldn't He know them?! Why?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never
knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
They are WORKING
INIQUITY! And what is iniquity?
Thayer Definition:
1) the condition of
without law
1a) because ignorant
of it
1b) because of
violating it
2) contempt and
violation of law, iniquity, wickedness
They work WITHOUT
the LAW! They violate the LAW! What law? God's LAW!
They think they are
doing wonderful things in Jesus' name!!! They believe they are Jesus'! But they REFUSE THE LAW of GOD!
How incredibly
terrifying to know there are millions and millions who believe they are Jesus'
but in their hearts they are deceived because they CHOOSE to believe not in
God's law, but in man's laws, man's traditions!
LOVE LIVES IN THE
LAW! GOD'S LOVE IS REVEALED IN THE MORAL LAW!
The remnant spoken
of in this book of prophecy, this Revelation of Jesus Christ, will KEEP the
COMMANDMENTS of GOD- all of them and they'll do it THROUGH the HOLY SPIRIT, in
the name of JESUS CHRIST their SAVIOR!
Please, Lord, we
would be YOURS, known of YOU, not as violators of the law!
All in Your name!
Amen.
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