BY
PASTOR MIKE TAYLOR
"And
I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the
living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to
whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
Saying,
Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have
sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
And
I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed
an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the
children of Israel.” (Revelation 7:2-4)
Of
all the books of the Bible, Revelation gives the Christian the most
problems with its symbols, word pictures, and prophetic message of
the time we are fast approaching. One must divide the books into two
distinct populations. I believe that God is speaking of the
Church at the beginning of the book, and then makes a dramatic shift
of focus to the rebellious Gentile nations and the nation of Israel.
I see a common thread that flows through the whole of Revelation and
that is, God putting down all rebellion during this period of 7 years
and the refining of Israel and making her ready to accept her
Messiah, at long last.
After chapter 5, the churches and
the redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, are not mentioned again
till chapter 19. Suddenly, the focus is turned to judgment of a world
devoid of God and violating willfully His commandments. Then in
chapter 7, God by His Holy Spirit reveals to John the main characters
of this book. Let us take a look at a common thread that follows in
the coming chapters that point to only one set of people....the
nation of Israel in its borders and scattered around the
world.
144,000
EVANGELIST ORDAINED BY GOD
In
chapter 7, God names the tribes of Israel that are symbolically
12,000 coming from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. In the bible,
numbers are used as signs of perfection. Three is the sign of Divine
perfection, seven is spiritual perfection, ten is the sign of ordinal
perfection, and the number 12 is the sign of government perfection
and is used throughout the bible as that sign of perfection. The
number 144,000 from 12 tribes is 12x12 or 144 and thousand is given
as a great number. Will it be just 144,000 when Israel and the
scattered Jewish people amount to approximately 13 million people?
This symbolism is carried out numerous times within your bible, to
emphasize that the focus of this book is on Israel. Apart from
Israel, during the coming Tribulation, the rest of the nations are
in divine judgment and we read horrific descriptions of the
devastation brought on by this Divine wrath. Notice in the latter
parts of chapter 7, we find these words:
9 “After
this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number,
of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before
the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms
in their hands;
10 And
cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11 And
all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and
the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and
worshipped God,
12 Saying,
Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour,
and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever.
Amen.
13 And
one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are
arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And
I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they
which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore
are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his
temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among
them.
16 They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun
light on them, nor any heat.
17 For
the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and
shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:9-17)
Notice
that they will serve in the Temple of God, night and day, and He that
sits on the throne shall dwell among them. They are not kings and
priests unto God noted in chapter 4 and the 24 elders as the
glorified Church saints are, but are to serve God in His temple
unlike what John then writes in chapter 5 about the church saints
ruling and reigning on the earth,
FOCUS
ON ISRAEL DURING THIS PERIOD
In
verses noted above, John was just introduced to the nation of Israel
and the evangelist that were being sealed with the seal of God,
12,000 from each of the twelve tribes. He then sees a great
multitude that are standing in white robes and “palm fronds” in
their hands. They speak different languages and come from all
portions of the earth. These are the martyred Tribulation saints
of God from all the people of earth, with emphasis on the nation of
Israel that have believed in their Messiah through the seven terrible
years, called the Tribulation.
2 “But
who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he
appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
3 And
he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify
the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may
offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
4 Then
shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord,
as in the days of old, and as in former years.
5 And
I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness
against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false
swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages,
the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from
his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.
6 For
I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not
consumed.” (Malachi 3:2-6)
As
God has called Israel “a people with stiff necks” that would not
follow after what God had commanded, but God will have mercy on a
remnant of modern day Israel when the last of the Gentiles have come
in and are part of the Church, the Bride of Christ. This has been
Israel's demise down through the ages, but God will preserve a
remnant for His Glorious Name.
9” And
he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord,
let my Lord,
I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon
our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.”
(Exodus 34:9)
God
emphasizes that God will have mercy on Israel as He has brought a
multitude of Gentiles to a saving knowledge of what Jesus did on a
cruel Roman cross of torture and death, but He will bring them
through much persecution and 2/3 of the Jewish people will die for
their witness of Jesus Christ during this awful time....Jesus
proclaimed that He would NOT come to their defense, or see them again
until they proclaimed one thing.......
37 O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest
them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold,
your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For
I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say,
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (Matthew
23:37-39)
WE
MUST KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
25 “For
I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery,
lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part
is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And
so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out
of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For
this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”
(Romans 11:25-27)
As
I have identified in past sermons, palms in the hands of these saints
are a sign noted of Israel and obtaining victory. Palm fronds, fig
trees, and olive branches are all interpreted in the Bible as
pointing to Israel as a people. But their salvation came with a very
high price paid.
As
noted in the past messages, the Tribulation is designed for two
reasons, to destroy all rebellion upon this earth and wiping it
clean, and to bring Israel to the knowledge of their Messiah that
they rejected 2000 years ago and crucified out of ignorance and being
used to bring salvation to the world by the shedding of the blood of
Jesus Christ.
KINGS
AND PRIESTS
Then
the Book of Revelation speaks of a different subset of people
redeemed, and that would be us, the Church, the Bride of
Christ.
9 “And
they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and
to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us
to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and
nation;
10 And
hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on
the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10)
Notice
the difference? They have different functions and are a completely
different subset of the redeemed.
Proceeding
on into chapter 8 and 9 and into chapter 10, we see plague after
plague coming down on a rebellious mankind. Here we see the two
witnesses. Again the focus is on Jerusalem and the nation of Israel,
as these men stand in front of the rebuilt temple and prophesy 3.5
years or 1260 days until they are slain by the Beast that comes
up out of the pit. Some hypothesize, and it is not revealed, that
these two witnesses are symbols of Elijah and Moses. Elijah is the
only prophet who called fire out of heaven to accept the offered
sacrifice to God in front of the Ba’al priest, and Moses who spoke
plagues upon ancient Egypt preceding the Exodus. But both are Jewish,
or to be more correct, Hebrew men of the nation of Israel clothed in
sack cloth. Then there is this curious chapter twelve that many feel
was just dropped in as a subset chapter, out of order. I believe God
was identifying who the saints of this period would be and the focus
of the book, Israel being refined as silver is in the fire.
ISRAEL
DEPICTED AS WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE SUN
1 “And
there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the
sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve
stars:
2 And
she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be
delivered.
3 And
there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red
dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his
heads.”(Revelation 12:1-3)
God
goes all the way back to the beginning, to Genesis, where Jacob fully
understood that he was the symbol of the sun, Rachel his wife was the
moon, and the twelve stars were the sons of Jacob who became Israel
renamed during wrestling with the Lord. When Joseph had a dream that
the sun, the moon and twelve stars would bow down to him, Jacob knew
who he was speaking of. This sign was the root of the nation of
Israel. Israel as depicted is a woman in a glorious way, as her
beginning was glorious, and her ending will also be glorious.
Verse
two speaks of this woman with child, which we understand is the
nation of Israel who gave birth to our Messiah and their Messiah.
Notice the symbolism here of the red dragon? It is the same symbol
used to speak of the beast power, 7 heads/crowns or empires with 10
horns being kingdoms within that final empire. Satan thought he had
won when Jesus was crucified and killed, but his victory became his
greatest defeat, as Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to the
Father in Heaven with the keys to death, hell and the grave having
re-purchased His creation.
Satan knows of the promises
made to Israel and if he can just thwart God's plan, then God is a
liar in his warped thinking. He embarks on a campaign to destroy the
seed of Abraham. During this time of the coming tribulation, many of
the children of Israel will be slain for their testimony of Jesus
Christ, but God saves a remnant and sends them into the wilderness on
the wings of a great eagle.
6 “And
the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared
of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and
threescore days.” (Revelation 12:6)
Notice
the time element, 3.5 years or 1260 days? During the destruction of
Israel's temple during the Babylonian invasion it is said that those
who believed God, escaped Jerusalem and went to Petra, a mountain
stronghold in what is now modern day Jordan. Why Petra? From an
excerpt from bible-guidance.com,
“Although the Bible does
not explicitly state that a remnant in Israel will escape to Petra,
this possibility is strongly implied by historical events,
circumstantial evidence, and a prophecy about Jordan’s position in
the tribulation period. Jews who would flee by foot from Jerusalem to
the mountains will, in the interest of their own safety, not go in
the direction of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria or the Mediterranean Sea. The
invading forces of the Antichrist will come from these directions,
and be easily able to encompass and destroy fugitive Jews who might
venture into these regions. They will also refrain from going east in
the direction of Amman in Jordan, as this area has good access roads
on which enemy forces will be able to move quickly in pursuit of the
“rebels.” The only reasonably safe area to move into would be the
mountains along the shores of the Dead Sea – the highest and most
inaccessible mountains being south of the Dead Sea at
Petra.
According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, groups of
Jews fled to Edom and Petra during the Babylonian invasion of Judah
in the sixth century BC, when Jerusalem and the temple were
destroyed. When the Romans destroyed the city and the temple in 70
AD, many Jews fled to the mountains along the Dead Sea. A number of
them made a futile last stand on a mountaintop at Masada. Others
moved further to Bozrah and Petra south of the Dead
Sea.”
Sandwiched between verses of Israel fleeing into
the wilderness, we see this about Satan and his legion demons being
cast to the earth.
7 “ And
there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the
dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And
prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in
heaven.
9 And
the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil,
and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And
I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and
strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ:
for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them
before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:7-10)
God
has cast out Satan and his demons where they are bound to the earth
for the final play of this dramatic scene. Satan is frantic as he
knows that his time is quickly running out and he rushes frantically
in an attempt to destroy the children of Israel.
11 “And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their
testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.(tribulation
saints/Israel and a minority of Gentiles)(My emphasis)
12 Therefore
rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters
of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you,
having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short
time.
13 And
when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted
the woman which brought forth the man child.”(Revelation
12:11-13)
Satan
must kill every man, woman and child that is human with emphasis on
the children of Israel and any believer in his nemesis, Jesus Christ.
He must make God out a liar, but Satan will be ultimately
defeated.
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 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.”(Revelation 12:14-17)
One
can only speculate what this passage means but obviously, it is
supernatural and can only be attributed to God's power. But two wings
of a great eagle reminds me of a verse in Isaiah,
28 “Hast
thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the
LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is
weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
29 He
giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he
increaseth strength.
30 Even
the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly
fall:
31 But
they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall
mount up with
wings as eagles; they
shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not
faint.”(Isaiah 40:28-31)
I
believe this is divine intervention and God's protection of a remnant
of the nation of Israel. During this time, a holocaust will be
inflicted on the Israelite people scattered across the world, even
into Israel, where it is written that 2/3 of the Jews would be
martyred for their belief in Jesus Christ OR just being Jewish by
birth, but a small portion in comparison to the whole of Israel, God
will save from death to enter into the 1000 reign of the Kingdom of
God to repopulate the earth. Those that profess Jesus Christ will
cause the dragon to be wroth with this remnant of her seed and for
their testimony they will be slain. Why did some survive in a
mountain fortress for 3.5 years and others are slain? These who fled,
believed the testimony of the 144,000 evangelist from the 12 tribes
of Israel, and when they saw the abomination of desolation, they
fled. They got out of dodge, so to speak. Those who believed not,
where slain in martyrdom for being Jewish, being a late believer in
their Messiah, or were intent on holding onto Jewish tradition.
Possibly it is a combination of all three.
In the next
installment of Jacob’s Trouble, we will further discuss why Israel
is the focus of the Tribulation, along with unrepentant Gentiles. Now
that is not to say that many people will believe their testimony
preached by the 144,000 evangelist ordained by God from the 12 tribes
of Israel, but the possibility of anyone who is not Jewish by birth
receiving salvation becomes exponentially more difficult as it will
cost you your life, and your head. If anyone thinks that they can
postpone making a decision to accept Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior
of their life, and be so foolish to wait until things get really bad,
then my friend, those folks play a form of “Russian Roulette”, as
Gentiles are not promised that they will even be able to make that
decision for Christ, as God will send a strong delusion to deceive
them that they believe a lie, as Paul wrote in II
Thessalonians:
“And with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the
love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this
cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a
lie:
That they all might be damned who believed not the truth,
but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”(2nd
Thessalonians 2:10-12)
But
as the bible proclaims, all who are found in Jesus Christ will in my
humble opinion and biblical interpretation, not see any of the
carnage that will befall mankind, as God gives us plenty of evidence
that the Church is removed when the Holy Spirit is drawn back and
“THEN” the man of sin will be revealed:
6 “And
now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For
the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth
will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And
then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with
the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming:
9 Even
him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and
signs and lying wonders,
10 And
with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved.” (2nd Thessalonians 2:6-10)
But
those who belong to Jesus Christ will be taken in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, as the Holy Spirit has been removed, and because
we have a deposit of God's Spirit within us, God will remove the last
barrier to Satan having full sway over rebellious mankind, by
removing His Church who He promised never to leave alone without the
Comforter, the Holy Spirit.
50 “Now
this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold,
I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed,
52 In
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and
we shall be changed.
53 For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put
on immortality.
54 So
when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the
saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1st
Corinthians 15:50-55)
Know
this my brethren, and all who read this message, there is a way that
is found in verses that are the microcosm that explains the focus of
the whole Bible which is found in one Person, as it is all about
Jesus and can save you and all who believe to not be subject to what
is coming upon the earth (and possibility very soon, as the signs of
the soon return of Jesus are all around us)
16 For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
17 For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that
the world through him might be saved.
18 He
that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)
Believe
and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord of your life........
8 But
what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy
heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That
if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved.
10 For
with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.
11 For
the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For
there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same
Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved.”(Romans 10:8-13)
When
the Bride of Christ, is suddenly and without warning is removed from
this earth, then the Tribulation known as Jacob’s Trouble will
begin. Woe to the person who is alive to see these coming events. See
you next time for part 2 of this bible study....Israel and all who
finally believe in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, being “refined,
as silver is in the fire”.
This is Pastor Mike Taylor,
praying that you accept God’s grace of eternal life, through Jesus
Christ, the Son of the Living God. If you have any needs for prayer,
counseling, or need just a listening ear, then email me at
realteam1999@sbcglobal.net,
or visit me online for more biblical lessons from the Word of God at
www.pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com,
God bless you all,
till
we meet at Jesus Feet.
