We want prophecy to be easily comprehended.

We want prophecy to be easily comprehended.

Revelation 12 starts a whole new section in this book of the Bible. Here's a short excerpt from another study on Revelation that explains it a little more clearly-

'The book of Revelations divides itself into two sections. And due to the artificial chapter divisions that have been placed in the scriptures, 11 chapters are in each section. Now this seminar will be directed primarily to the last section- Rev. 12-22. Now how are we going to study?

We will find that Rev. 12 gives an outline into which all that follows through Rev. 19 is enlarged.

In other words you have in the twelfth chapter of Rev. an outline. And all that follows through the 19th chap. is an enlargement of that outline filling in the details.

Now as far as the first section of Rev. 12 is concerned the majority of that first section of the outline is in the twelfth chapter. But when you come down to the 17th verse it is that verse that is enlarged in the balance of the book through the 19th chapter.

Now in as much as there are interlocking concepts found in both sections, in other words there’s not a hard line or wall of separation between the two sections of Rev. There’s interlocking concepts, and so we will go back and pick up things in the first section as they amplify or need to be understood in relationship to the second section.

Also it’ll be of interest to recognize that a large part of the enlargement that follows Rev. 12 remains yet unfulfilled.'     Revelation Seminar Transcript -  Grotheer

We've already studied Revelation chapters 1-11 and now we begin chapter 12 and it's important to note that chapter 12 isn't merely picking up where 11 left off.  Remember our study in the book of Daniel, how the same vision was a central theme running through the entire book only each time it seemed to be amplified?  The idea of this sort of study, of this sort of prophecy isn't unheard of. If prophecy were meant to be simply read and not deeply studied, then God would have plainly laid everything out.  God chose NOT to plainly lay everything out because it would have been entirely too much to even begin to comprehend especially back when the prophecies were first given. The sheer time span we're dealing with alone would have been overwhelming.  Just imagine that we - today - are told plainly that we have one thousand two hundred and sixty years of oppression to get through- our first thought would be that Christ isn't coming  in my time, or my grandchildren, or my, great, great, great grandchildren's time… approximately 63 generations (each generation beginning at age 20 and having offspring) would have to pass before that time was fulfilled.  Is it any wonder the book of Daniel was shut up? Is it any wonder that the book of Revelation is told in cryptic prophecies to be unraveled as God permits?  God only ever has had our best interests in mind. Those that would be His, He guides. So yes, we are left to feel as if we are floundering as we try to comprehend everything fully. People have come up with many different interpretations to the same thing and God even tells us that many deceptions fill His church.

Jud 1:3  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Jud 1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

2Pe 2:3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

1Jn 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

1Jn 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Deceivers. The world is filled with deceivers and the sad part is- many of the deceivers are deceived themselves and willingly so. No one is deceived by Satan without being given an opportunity to be fully Christ's.

Eve in the garden blamed her sin on the serpent, did that absolve her? No. Did the fact she'd allowed herself to be deceived change anything? Did God say- no problem Eve, I know it's all the serpent's fault and you couldn't help yourself? No. God was angry with the serpent for bringing deception and temptation to Eve and Adam, but that did not excuse what Eve and Adam did. 

Today, just like then, we won't be excused as we allow ourselves to be deceived by Satan. Deception comes in when we take that step to follow man's devices over God's chosen ways. When we allow ourselves to be soothed by man's explanations of God's word rather than studying for ourselves, rather than wresting scriptures ourselves, rather than earnestly praying for enlightenment from the Holy Spirit, we are opening ourselves to deception and Satan will creep in any tiny crack he can find to deceive us. Our only surety is Christ, clinging to our Savior, placing all our trust in Him and Him alone.  No, the truth will NOT be popular. No, the truth will NOT be accepted by mainstream Christianity.  No, the truth will NOT be pleasing to our ears.   We want the truth to be all those things because then it makes life much more easy for us, but the truth is not meant to make our lives here on earth easier in the ways our selfish natures want.

The truth is HOPE in a future with Christ and only there will life become easier- emotionally, mentally, physically, and of course spiritually. Way too many people are ready to blame God for so much. They ask God why He's allowing them to suffer, they're telling God they have all they can handle and can't handle anything more, they feel put upon, they feel abused as one thing after another disrupts their life, terrible things, trying things, things that threaten to ruin their earthly existence. We ARE not promised anything here on this earth, not one thing! We ARE promised eternity with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Jesus asked His Father to keep us from evil- not to take us out of this sin-filled, sad, dark, painful world. To keep us from evil - evil that would keep us from Him, not keep us from trials and tribulations that would come our way- every trial and tribulation is an opportunity to develop still a deeper trust, a deeper faith in God knowing that no matter how horrific the trial, the tribulation, that it is always going to be TEMPORARY TO ETERNITY, even if it feels like the trial is lasting an eternity.

We want prophecy to be easily comprehended.

We want things spelled out for us plainly. We don't want to hear things like- 'No, that's not what that means.' - especially when we've spent years believing that's the way it is. We hate to hear that we might have been wrong about something we've had our heart set on believing. The idea of waiting for certain signs, certain witnesses to come, certain happenstances to come to pass so that we can truly know the time is at hand- is something too many, incredibly way too many, are caught up in. We have to watch the signs of the time and we need to pray, but if we're watching for the wrong signs will that do us any good at all? No. Why? Because if the true signs are passing us by while we are waiting for the wrong signs will we be ready? No.  We are admonished to watch. We are admonished to be watchmen. We are told when 'all these things shall come to pass', we are given so much and yet, so many will be deceived. We can't be among them! When something we've believed in for years is challenged we HAVE to go back to our Bibles, we have to get on our knees in prayer and we have to establish our faith in what we believe all over again and we might have to do this several times.  We cannot be afraid to study and study over and over again the same truths because those truths will stand up to ALL the studying if they are truth. If they fall to close examinations, to the intense studying then they weren't truth to begin with and we were deceived. No one likes to be deceived, no one likes getting caught being deceived. When we realized we've been deceived our first instinct might be to give up believing in anything at all. When the rock we thought we were standing on turns out to be hard-packed sand and it shifts out from under us, we sometimes just want to let ourselves keep falling down into that sand rather than reach for the true rock. We have to cling to our Savior and praise Him for unveiling the deception. We have to cling to the new truth revealed and keep on studying, keep on praying, keep on watching. If the NEW truth revealed turns out to be deception as well- then we need to cling to the newly revealed truth that dispelled the deception. How many times we might be asked to do this is uncertain, but the truth is we cannot afford to dig our heels into deception because it will cost us eternity with our Savior. We must forever keep in the back of our minds the fact that our Savior is going to tell a lot of people that He never knew them, and those people will be shocked because they believe they know Him, they are deceived.

Let's read this excerpt from a Revelation transcript again- and do so truly wanting to study, to understand, to comprehend.  We might not have ever heard this stuff before- but that does NOT make it wrong and we are obligated to study for ourselves to know whether something is of God.

'The book of Revelations divides itself into two sections. And due to the artificial chapter divisions that have been placed in the scriptures, 11 chapters are in each section. Now this seminar will be directed primarily to the last section- Rev. 12-22. Now how are we going to study?

We will find that Rev. 12 gives an outline into which all that follows through Rev. 19 is enlarged.

In other words you have in the twelfth chapter of Rev. an outline. And all that follows through the 19th chap. is an enlargement of that outline filling in the details.

Now as far as the first section of Rev. 12 is concerned the majority of that first section of the outline is in the twelfth chapter. But when you come down to the 17th verse it is that verse that is enlarged in the balance of the book through the 19th chapter.

Now in as much as there are interlocking concepts found in both sections, in other words there’s not a hard line or wall of separation between the two sections of Rev. There’s interlocking concepts, and so we will go back and pick up things in the first section as they amplify or need to be understood in relationship to the second section.

Also it’ll be of interest to recognize that a large part of the enlargement that follows Rev. 12 remains yet unfulfilled.'     Revelation Seminar Transcript -  Grotheer

More tomorrow… by the grace and will of God.

All glory, honor, praise to our Savior and King!

In His amazing love!

Amen.

******* Continuing our prophecy study--  Please GO back and READ the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of where we are if you haven't been following this study daily.  Thank you :)  We are on lesson number 93. God bless you! ******