Those who refuse to acknowledge the reality of Satan and his demonic hordes residing in the invisible spiritual realm, do so at their own peril. Modern society is lawless, worldwide. This means they are not subject to God's spiritual laws -- paganism and immorality rule over the masses. Societies at large have been kidnapped by Satan who has directed their path to his home in Hell -- and eventually the Lake of Fire...Rev. 20:15.
God's kids are especially singled out for persecution on planet Earth. Why? Because they carry the message of the Cross. Jesus shed His blood on a cruel bloody cross to pay for the sins of mankind - those who repent of their sins will be forgiven and live eternally in Heaven with Him. Satan couldn't kill Jesus, so he viciously went after His kid's.
How can the saints of God overcome the injustice they must endure, and all the assaults hurled at them in this immoral and pagan world? 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...Rev. 12:11. How do we overcome Satan and his relentless harassment and persecution on our earthly journey? We tell those we meet that the blood of Jesus Christ paid the full price for our sins, (death), and He welcomes all into His heavenly kingdom, who repent of their sins and receive His free gift of salvation. And...we must not love our lives more than the will of God, even when faced with death for our devotion (allegiance) to Him!
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds...casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ...II Cor. 10:4-5. We can avoid being kidnapped by Satan by using the spiritual weapons provided by God. With our advanced telecommunications in the 21st century, which spiritual weapon is used most abundantly?
For the answer simply turn on any mainstream media, read any mainstream newspaper, or check out Twitter or Facebook -- it is the tongue! Have you been humiliated lately, insulted, or treated with contempt and hostility? If so, you have experienced someone's tongue used as a weapon. The major media across the world is using their tongues as weapons of mass destruction - WMD's. This aught not be so, because the tongue can also be used as a blessing and encouragement to other's.
It is always our choice to be a blessing or a curse when we speak to others. Death or life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit...Proverbs 18:21. In other words, if you speak life - blessings, hope, kindness & encouragement - into someone's life, those words will create the same for your life. But, if you choose death - insults, humiliation, unkind words of contempt and hostility - into someone's life, those words will create the same for you. We must choose our words carefully.
Christians must daily overcome the temptations of Satan and his demonic hordes by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, telling what Jesus has done for us. While assaults, injustice, and vicious attacks will be experienced daily by God's kids on our earthly journey, we can only have spiritual victory, by applying the spiritual weapons of our warfare provided by God.
As we continue our study of Revelation chapter 12, we find...when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child...but the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times, and half a time, from the presence of the serpent...verses 13-14.
The Great Red Dragon realized that he had been unable to the kill the Christ child who now has grown up, and begun His ministry. This text is revealing how God protected Jesus and His apostles during that specific period of time, called the wilderness, by preventing Satan from intruding until their message had been proclaimed...for a time and times, and half a time. Remember, the term wilderness is a metaphor to describe a place of isolation and safety from outside intrusion.
The woman was nourished for a...time and times, and half a time. What does this symbolism mean? The woman symbolizes Israel, represented by the 12 apostles. Jesus nourished His apostles by teaching them truths from the Law & the Prophets regarding Himself -- how He is fulfilling all Messianic prophecies. Jesus and His apostles ministered for 3.5 years or 42 months. Each of these figures equals 1260 days.
In Blog 3 of this series we learned that Prophetic Calendar calculates a year to be 360 days. Biblical historians have agreed...
time symbolizes 360 days
times symbolize 720 days
half a time symbolizes 180 days
total 1260 days
1260 days is the amount of time that Jesus spiritually nourished (enlightened) His apostles, while they ministered publicly.
What does the text mean when it says...the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
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