The Victory Wrought

Q: What does the Bible say about spiritual warfare?

The Bible describes spiritual warfare as a battle between the forces of good and evil, particularly with Satan and his angels opposing the church. The concept of spiritual warfare is well articulated in various passages of Scripture, illustrating the constant struggle that believers face against spiritual forces. In Ephesians 6:12, Paul emphasizes that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places. This indicates that the battle is primarily spiritual, rooted in the truth of the gospel. Revelation 12 depicts a significant cosmic battle where Michael and his angels fight against the dragon, illustrating this ongoing conflict. The dragon, representing Satan, continually seeks to disrupt the work of Christ and His church. Yet, through the power of God and the proclamation of the gospel, believers are equipped to withstand these attacks and ultimately triumph through Christ, who is our advocate and defender.

Q: How do we know salvation in Christ is secure?

Salvation is secured in Christ through His completed work on the cross and the sovereign will of God. The assurance of salvation in Christ is deeply rooted in the biblical understanding of God's sovereignty and the finished work of Christ. In Romans 8:29-30, we see a clear outline of God's redemptive plan where those whom He foreknew, He also predestined, called, justified, and glorified. This process establishes that salvation is not based on human effort but on God's eternal decree. Revelation 12:10 proclaims that 'Now has come salvation and strength,' indicating that salvation is a present reality grounded in Christ's victory over sin and Satan. Therefore, when we trust in Jesus Christ, our hope rests on God's unwavering promises, assuring believers that they will not be lost and that nothing can separate them from His love.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to understand their identity in Christ?

Understanding our identity in Christ strengthens our faith and empowers us to live in accordance with God's will. Recognizing our identity in Christ is fundamental to the Christian faith, as it shapes how we view ourselves and our purpose in life. As believers, we are described in Scripture as new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17), reflecting the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This identity is rooted in our relationship with Christ, who is our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). By comprehending who we are in Him, we gain confidence to boldly proclaim the gospel and resist the devil's schemes. Furthermore, understanding our identity as children of God provides security and hope, as it reassures us of our position in His family and the eternal life promised to us. Consequently, a firm grasp of our identity informs our practices, decisions, and ultimately leads to a life that glorifies God.

Q: What does Revelation 12 teach us about the church's perseverance?

Revelation 12 illustrates the church's perseverance through divine protection amid spiritual warfare. The church's perseverance is a central theme in Revelation 12, where the narrative describes the conflict between the woman representing the church and the dragon symbolizing Satan. Despite the relentless pursuit of the villainous dragon, the woman is given wings to escape into the wilderness, indicating God's sovereign protection and provision (Revelation 12:14). The period she spends in the wilderness reflects the trials and tribulations believers face while they await Christ's return. Importantly, this passage reassures Christians that even in spiritual warfare, God provides sustenance and refuge, just as He did for His people historically. The call to perseverance suggests that believers can endure suffering and struggles with the assurance of God's faithfulness and the ultimate triumph of Christ and His church over evil.

Revelation 12. John had seen a great sign of wonder in heaven. This is what he saw. He saw the
church seated in the heavens with Christ. This was her character. She was robed in the righteousness
of her Master. Here she was in the world and
in heaven. She walked by faith. And her
crowning glory was the Lord Jesus Christ. And the way that she
walked was the setting forth of Him. who was represented as
a crown with twelve stars. She was a woman that was bringing
forth Him who is her Lord, but constantly
bringing Him forth. And there was another sign, another
wonder in heaven, verse 3, and it was her and her master's opposition. He had seven heads, ten horns
and seven crowns which represented all of the nations of this world
that God has allowed by His good providence to be the instrument
of resistance toward the bride and all for His glory." Over in this chapter, in the
last part of this chapter, in verse 16, I want to read this
one verse to you. It says, "...and the earth,"
well, let's read verse 15, "...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. And the earth, I'm going to show
you, Lord willing, if we get to this part tonight, that that
word earth right there means the world. And it is as described
back in verse 3, the seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns
on His head. These nations, peoples and kings that is rebellion,
that is in rebellion. You know the Scripture that says,
ìLove not the world, neither the things of the world. If the
love of the world is in you, the love of the Father is not
there.î That Scripture is being spoken of in verse 16, ìAnd the
earth, the world, helped the woman, and the earth opened her
mouth.î and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out
of his mouth." Now, we'll go into that verse if we get to
it tonight. If not, we'll go in next time.
But that particular verse is spoken of right here, this dragon
that had these seven heads. In his tale, verse 4, drew the
third part of the stars, the angels that kept not their first
estate and cast him to the earth. And the dragon stood before the
woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon
as it was born." Every time we said this morning that the gospel
of God's free grace is set forth, Christ is delivered. Christ is
set forth. And Satan would constantly be
standing to devour the setting forth of the Lord Jesus Christ. So verse 5, let's just pick up
right there. She brought forth a man-child
who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her child
was caught up unto God and to His throne. Now, in that one
verse, in verse 5, that one mighty verse, the entire birth Life,
death, and resurrection and ascension of our blessed Lord Jesus is
set forth in that one verse. He came forth. We talked about
how Satan tried the entire book of the Old Testament to stop
the Lord Jesus Christ, even to the point when after He was born,
Herod had all the children two years and under. Supposedly,
he wanted them all killed just so he could get this King of
the Jews to no avail. The Lord Jesus came forth through
the lineage of His people, a mighty King who rules with the rod of
His Word. Brother Scott read this morning
in Psalm 23, the Scripture says, Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort
me. This is God's Word, God's rod,
the rod of His Word. So the child was brought forth. He accomplished God's purpose
of redemption for a chosen generation and now sits on the throne of
majesty, our great High Priest, whoever liveth to make intercession
for us. And now, because Satan cannot
get to Him, personally, himself, his rage is turned toward the
woman, the bride, the church, because of her relationship to
her master. Verse 6 says, 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. Now, you know that the woman
is the bride. You know that the bride, the
woman, the church, the mother of us all, the Lord Jesus, we
read this morning in Matthew, said, who is my mother? He said,
look at these, my brethren. You see, those that do the will
of my Father, His people, the church, He said, this is my mother. This is who brings me forth. in the preaching of the gospel. So now the woman, after verse
5, set forth that her child, the Lord Jesus, came into this
world and was taken up. Now she flees into the wilderness. Now this wilderness is actually
this world, this earth, a place that is not her home. A place,
the Scripture reveals, that God has prepared for her. She fled
into the wilderness. She hath a place prepared of
God. Do you remember when the Lord
Jesus Christ prayed in John 17? He said, Father, I pray not that
You take them out of the world, but that You should keep them
from the evil. This world, the woman is a pilgrim
within it. See, she's a sojourner that's
looking for a city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. We're going through this world.
And she's taken care of. She's fed. It says that she has
a place in this wilderness that they should feed her. Now, who
is the they? Well, it's the triune God. God
Himself. Son and Spirit, and this is how
long, 1,203 score days. Now, we've talked about that
time frame, 1,260 days or three and a half months, three and
a half years, time, times and a half time. That is actually
the symbolic number by which God has set forth His appointed
time for her deliverance. Let me show you something in
the book of Luke. Luke chapter 4, verse 25. Luke 4, 25. The Scripture says, let's look
at Luke 4, 24. And He said, Verily I say unto
you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you
of a truth. Many widows were in Israel in
the days of Elias or Elijah when heaven was shut up three years
and six months when great famine was throughout all the land. Now that number, that three and
a half years, three years and six months, 1,260 days, it is
the time, it's the number that sets forth trial for God's people
and the deliverance of His people. It's a picture of God's time
frame. How long is the woman to be in
the wilderness? Well, the Scripture sets forth
that number over and over and over again. I have a theory. I have a thought on why, and
I'll be honest with you, everybody that I've ever read that has
set forth why they think that it's three and a half years. I've never read anything that
really satisfied my mind, to be honest with you. But this
is what I think. Seven is the number of completion,
of perfection. That's seven. This is three and
a half. It's half of it. It means that
a portion during that time before the seven years is completely
done. Time frame, three and a half.
A portion of it. So we're in a portion. We're
here in this world for a certain length of time. But I know that
the woman, as long as she's in the wilderness, God is going
to take care of her. He's going to feed her for the
exact time that she's to be here. And the Scripture says concerning
the woman that was in the wilderness, there was war in heaven. And Michael and his angels fought
against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed
not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. 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." Now,
the Scripture is setting forth here that there was a war that
raged in heaven. Now this particular war that's
being spoken of, or warfare is actually the word, is not the
war that was spoken of back in verse 4 when we looked here it
says, and his tale drew the third part of the stars of heaven and
cast them to the earth and the dragon stood before the woman.
That verse 7 is not just repeating that. That particular event,
when the Lord said, I saw Satan fall from heaven as lightning,
okay, that happened. But now this part right here
is saying there was a war in heaven. This war is actually
the war that rages between the woman while she's in the wilderness,
the woman fled into the wilderness. She has a place prepared of God,
they should feed her 1,203 score years, and there was war in heaven. The bride is in the wilderness,
in this earth, and while she's there, she's kept and fed by
God in her struggle. Now, this war that's being raged,
that war in heaven, and I'll show you in a minute why it says
heaven. There's a war in 2 Corinthians. Chapter 10, 2 Corinthians 10,
3. Paul says, For though we walk
in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling
down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high
thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God and bringing
it into captivity, every thought to the obedience of Christ. The
warfare that is being fought is actually the preaching of
the gospel, the setting forth of Christ Himself. In Ephesians
chapter 6, Ephesians 6, 11, speaking of this warfare, and whether
you realize it or not, there is a battle. There is a spiritual
battle that is going on. Ephesians 6, 11. Paul says, put
on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil, for we wrestle not against flesh and
blood. So obviously, we are wrestling. Whether we realize the depth
of our struggle, there is a struggle. We wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places. Wherefore, take upon you the
whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the evil
day and having done all to stand. Stand, therefore, having your
loins girt about with truth and having the breastplate of righteousness
in your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace and above
all, taking the shield of faith wherewith you shall be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked and take the helmet
of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word
of God. So I know that there's a battle
that's going on. There's a war. There's a warfare.
So back in Revelation 12, there's a war in heaven. But why does
it say heaven? Why does it say there's a warfare?
This word, heaven, refers to the Lord's kingdom. All those
who have been loved, chosen, redeemed, and regenerated. Turn with me to Matthew 13. Matthew
13. This bride, this woman, she's
in the wilderness. And while she's in the wilderness,
there's a war that's going on while she's there. Matthew 13,
47 gives us some real insight into
why the word heaven. Matthew 13, 47. The kingdom of heaven. Now, you'd
think when you first read that, you'd think, well, it's the kingdom
that's up. It's in the heavenlies. The scripture says the kingdom
of heaven is like unto a net. We've read this scripture recently,
but listen to this. The kingdom of heaven is like
unto a net that was cast into the sea and gathered of every
kind, which when it was full, They drew to shore, and set down,
and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away." Now,
listen. There is a battle that is going
on. There's a battle that's being
fought. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. It's not guns
and bows and arrows. It's the preaching of the gospel. This is our weapon. This is the
battle. Here is heaven. Heaven is like,
the kingdom of heaven is like a net, the Lord said. He gave
this explanation of the kingdom of heaven. He said the kingdom
of heaven is like a net that is cast down. And it is drawn
to the shore. And He says all the good is kept
and the bad is kept back. So while we are fighting in this
This world today, there's a war that's being raged in heaven. Especially, heaven refers to
the place of God's majesty or where Jehovah resides. I was thinking a few minutes
ago of that scripture when Moses came and he was on the mountain.
And it says he came and there he noticed a bush that was burning
and the bush was not consumed. And he came to see the sight
and the Lord spoke to him out of the bush and he said, Moses,
take off your shoes because the place that you're standing is
holy ground. You know why? Because God was
there. Heaven is where God is, where
God resides, where God's throne is. The Lord said, Heaven is
My throne. The earth is My footstool. And
we realize that Heaven is where God has been pleased to set His
throne. And His throne is within the
very woman that is within the wilderness. And the war that
is in Heaven is actually being raged or waged upon this earth. right now. This battle is not
being fought in the heavenlies between the angels and the bad
angels. This battle is going on right
now. Paul says, I fought a good fight. It's a battle. But it says concerning
this war, there was a war in heaven. Michael and his angels
fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought His angels. Now, this is an interesting point. The name Michael. The interpretation
of Michael. And I know we read these and
sometimes we think evidently it's like when we were
looking at the cherubim. Michael means one who is God. One who is God. In Jude 9, Jude
9 reveals Michael's title to be the Archangel. Arch means the first. In Daniel 10, 13, if you wanted
to look at that, you can look later. I'll just tell you. It
says concerning Michael, in the Scriptures, it reads like this,
and one of the chief princes." Michael. But actually that sentence
there means the first in rank. It says one of the chief, but
actually interpreted is first in rank. So Michael here is the
one who is God, the first. The Lord Jesus Christ said of
Himself in Revelation 111 that He was. the Alpha and the Omega, the
first and the last. So this battle that is actually
being fought is fought. It's Michael and his angels that
are fighting. Now, his angels that fought against
the dragon. The word angels there is actually
interpreted the messengers, the pastors of Revelation 120 who
Paul said of himself, I have fought a good fight. This battle,
we said, is not a carnal battle. It is a spiritual warfare. Our
weapon, the Word of God, that weapon that is sharper than any
two-edged sword, and the dragon, the Scripture says, fought, and
his angels, or his messengers, or his preachers. Now, these
false preachers, these false prophets, The angels of the dragon
are actually described over in Jude. Turn back to Jude, the
entire book. Jude's got one book, one chapter,
and it speaks primarily of false prophets. Look at Jude 4. Jude
4. There are certain men, cryptian
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. Look at verse 8, Likewise also
these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion,
and speak evil of dignities. Look at verse 10, But these speak
evil of those things which they know not. For what they know
naturally is brute In those things they corrupt themselves. Woe
unto them, for they have gone after the way of Cain, ran greedily
after the error of Balaam for reward, and perishing in the
gainsaying of Corrie. These are spots in your priest
of charity. When they feast with you, feasting
themselves without fear, clouds are they without water, carried
about of winds, trees whose fruit withereth without fruit, twice
dead, plucked up by the roots. raging waves of the sea, foaming
out their own shame, wandering stars, to whom is reserved the
blackness of darkness forever." These false preachers, this war
that is being raged, that is raging and is being waged, is
actually, the Scripture says, fought by Michael and his angels. God Almighty, the Lord Jesus
Christ, has sent forth preachers after his heart, and I'm telling
you that the Scripture sets forth that the battle is actually being
waged from the pulpits. That's where the battle is right
there. And I'm telling you, but for the grace of God, all of
us would be sitting and listening to someone and believing a lie. This thing is serious, this battle
that's going on. But verse 8 speaks of how successful
Satan and his angels were. It says, they prevailed not. Matthew 16, 18, when the Lord
asked His disciples, who do men say that I am? And they said,
some say, You know, Jeremiah, some say different prophets.
And he said, who do you say? And they said, you're the Christ,
the Son of the living God. And he said, I say unto you,
Peter, thou art Peter, and upon this rock, upon what Peter confessed,
I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. So when Michael, the Lord Jesus
Christ, the great defender of his people. And his angels, the
preachers of the gospel that set forth and fought against
the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels, they prevailed
not, neither was their place found any more in heaven." Now
the question here is this, what does their place mean? Their place was not found was
found anymore. Neither was their place. The
word place there means their spot or their position. And the dragon and his angels
held the place as being, well, Satan himself, as being the captor. The captor. Now I'll tell you
this. God's people, like all men, were born. in this world
in bondage to sin, to Satan, to self. But the Lord Jesus Christ,
and He gave great understanding and revelation of the position
that His people were in. Now, what place did Satan hold? He held the position as the captor,
the captor of God's people. The Lord Jesus said in Luke 4.18,
the Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed
Me to preach the gospel to the poor, poor in spirit. He sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives. If He didn't say that
He had come to preach deliverance to the captives, then they wouldn't
have been captive. But they were captive. And why
were they captive? because they believed the lie
of Satan and were in bondage to sin. And he says, "...in the
recovering of sight to the blind and to set at liberty them that
were bruised." So the dragon's place as the great robber of
righteousness, God's people who were poor because of their sin
against Almighty God, Satan who had blinded the minds of them
that believed not, Satan who had bruised them who were in
spiritual darkness, to all those in that condition that were loved
by the Lord Jesus Christ, their place as being the one who held
them in bondage, who had them because they chose to rebel against
God, their place was found no more in heaven. The Scripture
says, "...and the great dragon because he prevailed not, in
verse 8, and his place wasn't found anymore in heaven, the
great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil
Satan which deceived the whole world, cast out into the earth,
and his angels were cast out with him. Oh, listen, I understand. I know that Satan continues to
accuse the brethren, but to what avail? Romans 8.33, Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. When the Lord Jesus Christ at
Calvary said, having taken His soul, made an offering for sin,
when He said, It's finished. When Satan comes up and accuses
the brethren, To what avail is that? Who shall lay anything? And the realized effect of this
conquering of Satan, here is what it was. Look at verse 10.
He said, I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come
salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God and the power
of His Christ for the accuser of our brethren is cast down
who accused them before our God day and night." There was a loud
disclosure, John said. He saw in this great vision.
There was that woman he saw. That's where she was robed. And it was through her, through
the church that the Lord had brought forth the Christ, the
Messiah through the lineage. He was taken up into heaven and
Satan hated her and pursued her in the wilderness and warred
against her But the Lord never left her. Never left her to Himself. He sent preachers. And He taught
them and He kept them by His Word and fed them. And they realized
that now, salvation, there's a loud voice. There's great,
great disclosure in heaven. It says, now is salvation come.
You notice that salvation is never set forth in Scripture
as being a possibility. Here is the loud voice. Now is
come salvation and strength. Salvation is declared to be the
accomplishment by our Lord and our God. I want you to look back
at Romans 8.29. Now this is the way that God
says salvation is. Romans 8.29 and 30. I'll ask you this, how much is
left to chance, Neil? Nothing. They said over in Revelation
12, now is come salvation. Romans 8, 29, for whom He did
foreknow. You remember in Matthew it says
there will be many in that day who will say, Lord, Lord, how
do we prophesy in Your name? Cast out devils. He said, I never
knew you. I never knew you. But I'll tell
you this, those that He did foreknow. For whom He did foreknow. He
also did predestinate. He determined their destination
beforehand. To what? To be conformed to the
image of His Son. That He might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate,
them He also called. And whom He called, them He also
justified. And whom He justified, them He
also glorified." Now let me ask you this, Paul says, what shall
we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? If God is for us, What did they
say back in Revelation chapter 12 verse 10? I heard a loud voice,
a great disclosure in heaven. Now is come salvation and strength
in the kingdom of our God. This is a great, great disclosure
of this heavenly calling that is spoken of in Hebrews 3. The Lord Jesus Christ has shown
Himself to be the strong and mighty Savior. And His kingdom
has been openly manifested in the regeneration of His elect. And the strength of their victory? Look at verse 11. 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. Here it is said,
they overcame Him. They overcame Him. Paul says
in Romans 8, 37, and all things, we are more than conquerors through
Him that loved us. We are conquerors, though the
Scripture says, Paul says, though we are killed all the day long.
We are conquerors. Now, you know that is a strange
way of conquering, isn't it? But that is Christ's way. We
die daily. That's what Paul says, we're
killed all the day long. It doesn't mean, though I do
know that there have been many that were martyred for His namesake
and died physically. But Paul says we all die daily. We die daily to this world and
to self. We do it by the Word of His power. That means we have no confidence
in it. We die to it. No confidence. is by His blood,
and in Him we have triumphed over Satan's sin and death with
great gain, the salvation of our souls. We have a crown of
righteousness that fades not away. Our inheritance is incorruptible. The Scripture says it is undefiled
and it is reserved in heaven. How is this? We are fighting
as a war, this being raging right now. It is a war in heaven. Michael,
his angels, fought against the dragon and the dragon against
them. They prevailed not. Their place as being the captor,
the accuser that had a bite to it, was found no more. Why? Because it was by the blood of
the Lamb. Verse 9, "...overcame him by
the blood of the Lamb, by the word of his testimony." They
loved not their lives. unto death. The Lord says, when
I see the blood, I'll pass over you. Pass over in wrath, for
justice has been satisfied in our substitute, the Lord Jesus
Christ. And God's people overcame by
the blood of the Lamb. They overcame in that they continued
in the preaching of the gospel and overcame in that they continue
in the faith all the days of their life. That's what verse
11, they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the
word of their testimony and they did not love their lives even
unto the death. Believers, verse 12 says, rejoice. Look at this, therefore rejoice
ye heavens and ye that dwell in them and woe to the inhabitants
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." The scripture sets forth that we are to rejoice,
make merry, that is, be in a good frame of mind, because the Lord
Jesus Christ has brought us to bow before Him. Philippians 4
verse 4 says, Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say,
Rejoice. Paul had just spoken to the people
concerning their names having been written in the Lamb's Book
of Life. Rejoice, he said. Rejoice that
God has chosen you in His Son. That Christ has redeemed you
by His blood. and that the Spirit of God has
called you out of darkness and quickened you by His power. Rejoice! But He also said, there
is a warning, Rejoice ye heavens and ye that dwell in them. But
you see this woe right here? This woe is to the same ones
that John had just said rejoice to. Woe to the inhabitants of
the earth and the sea. The devil has come down unto
you. He's got great wrath against
you, against the bride, against the church. Why? Because he knows
that he has but a short time. Though he is defeated, and you
know that he is, the devil's rage is not diminished. He can't harm God's people because
the Scripture clearly sets forth that God's people are They are
kept by the power of God, but still, Satan is like a roaring
lion seeking whom he may devour. He hates Christ, and his hatred
is manifested in his roarings against God's people on this
earth. Why? Because his time is short. How
long is it? Well, I don't know, but I will
tell you this, from the time of Adam's fall, till the second
return of the Lord Jesus Christ is how much time he's got. And
in light of eternity, that's just a short time. You think
we talk about Satan's time from Adam's fall until the Lord Jesus
Christ. How long do you think we've got?
I mean, you're talking about a vapor. His time is short. Just a few
thousand years at best is like a roaring lion. And the Scripture
says, and when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth,
he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man-child.
Now that word persecuted, it's easy for us to look right now
and say, well, you know, I've read of times past where the
church was persecuted and they were boiled in oil or they were
killed or they were thrown to the lions. We're not being persecuted
at all right now. The word persecuted means to
follow after. Persecuted. It means to follow
after or to pursue. Now, that word right there is
the same word that Paul used in Romans 14, 19. He said, Let
us therefore follow after the things which make for peace and
things wherewith one may edify one another." In Matthew 5.11
it says, "...blessed are you when men shall revile you and
persecute you, or follow after, and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely for my sake." Satan, because of his hatred
for Christ, follows after, pursues and persecutes the woman in any
means that he can. We don't realize how many times
he insinuates things to us. How many times he insinuates
things to you against another believer. It's almost like, as
I was reading the word, as if someone was stalking you. And
you're looking outside and you raise your window shade back
and you look out and there they are standing there. They're just
there. They're just always there. Just aggravating and pursuing. He can't get to you. You're in
the house, but it's unnerving, insinuating, accusing, always
there persecuting. Satan's final judgment is coming. His time is short. But though
he is put down, and cast out. The Scripture says, the dragon
saw that he was cast out, he persecuted the woman which brought
forth. He's always there. And to the woman were given two
wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness,
into her place where she was nourished for a time and times
and half a time from the face of the serpent. Now, no doubt,
were given a reason for the bride's protection. The Scripture says
she was given two wings of a great eagle. She was made to be able
to escape. She can't fly of herself. She
has no way of escaping, so she must be given. And to the woman were given two
wings of a great eagle that she might fly. They were bestowed
upon her. She was delivered. They were
received to her. Two wings that she might fly. That word fly there means to
outstrip her pursuer. She could fly into the wilderness.
Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31. gives us some insight into the
safety. I tell you what, let me read
this, let's just read this verse. Our time is up. I hate to just,
you know, there's so much here and I don't want to weary you,
but turn with me to Isaiah 40 and let's just read this and
we'll stop for tonight. Isaiah chapter 40. How does the woman, the scripture
says that to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle that
she might fly into the wilderness and to her place she was nourished
for that time. Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31. 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." This woman, the church, the bride,
she is being pursued, constantly being pursued. Satan is always
ready to accuse her, to insinuate, to remind her, I know, I know
somewhat of my frailty. I know somewhat of the depth
of my sin against the Lord, but I see through a glass dark. I
don't really know. But he's ever ready. He's ever
ready to remind me as a preacher. Brother Scott, I bet you can
enter into this. How many times have I stepped out of this pulpit?
How many times have I thought to myself, That's probably about
the poorest job I ever did. That's pretty pitiful. Linda,
how many times do I say that, huh? Pretty often. I wish I would
have said this. Always there. Just always telling
me. Boy, he'll say, yeah, you did
a pretty poor job. You know what I'm thankful of?
I'm thankful it's not how well. I heard Brother Henry Mahan say
there may be some that can preach the gospel better than I can,
but they can't preach a better gospel than I can. But Satan
is always there. How does she escape? The Scripture
says she was given two wings. And we'll go into how the Lord
just delivered her on the two wings of this eagle. She walks.
She doesn't faint. She runs. She's not weary. She's
kept by the power of God. And Satan, as he sees her, Escaping. He sends out that river that
I was talking about to try to drown her. And the earth opened
up its mouth and protected her. Took the river and helped her,
the Scripture says. Lord willing, we'll go into it
next time. Okay, Gary.

The Victory Wrought

What does the Bible say about spiritual warfare?

How do we know salvation in Christ is secure?

Why is it important for Christians to understand their identity in Christ?

What does Revelation 12 teach us about the church's perseverance?

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The Victory Wrought

What does the Bible say about spiritual warfare?

How do we know salvation in Christ is secure?

Why is it important for Christians to understand their identity in Christ?

What does Revelation 12 teach us about the church's perseverance?

Sermon Transcript

About Marvin Stalnaker

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