What is happening when God's people are
delivered? Daniel 12:1
There will be a time of
NOTE: The book of Daniel reveals that there is
a major conflict occurring at the time of Jesus's coming. Daniel 11:44-45 describes this as a
great battle by the king of the north against God's people. It also
calls it a time of great distress, as Satan seeks to annihilate God's
remnant people. If Satan could conquer them, his supremacy of the world
would be complete. Thus he wages the final battle against the remnant.
In what words does the book of Revelation
describe this same event? Revelation 12:17
And went off to make
NOTE: The book of Revelation describes exactly
the same event as portrayed in Daniel 11:45 - 12:1. It pictures the
devil as waging one final, gigantic war against the rest (or remnant
[KJV] or the last) of God's people.
With whom is the Devil angry? Revelation 12:17
The dragon was enraged at the
NOTE: God's people, His Church, is symbolized
in Scripture by a woman. A pure woman represents the true church,
whereas a corrupt woman represents the false or apostate church.
Is the woman described in Revelation 17 a
symbol of the true church, or of the false church? Revelation 17:3-6 Does the woman described in Revelation 12
refer to the true or false church? Revelation 12:1-2
The
GOD'S PEOPLE
THROUGH HISTORY
Describe the woman of Revelation 12 .
Clothed with the The A crown of She was
NOTE: The sun is used here as a symbol of
Jesus, the Son of righteousness ( Malachi 4:2 ; Psalm 84:11 ). The moon has no light
of its own; it only reflects the light of the sun. The moon therefore
suggests a shadowy system of types and ceremonies that pointed forward
to the reality which was to come in Jesus -- an apt symbol of the
Sanctuary system ( Hebrews 10:1 ). The crown of twelve
stars represent the twelve patriarchs. The child whom the woman is
about to bring into the world is none other than Jesus ( Revelation 12:5 ; 19:15, 16 ; Psalm 2:7, 9 ).
Here, then, is a picture of the church at the
very beginning of the Christian era. It shows that God's church of the
Old and New Testaments is one. The New Testament church and the Old
Testament are both founded on the teachings of the Sanctuary; that's
why the moon is under her feet. The New Testament church is built on
that solid Old Testament foundation, but it clothes that foundation
with the glory and reality of the gospel of Jesus
Who sought to destroy the woman and her child
as soon as he was born? Revelation 12:3, 4 Who is this dragon that seeks to destroy the
man child? Revelation 12:9
NOTE: The dragon had seven heads and ten horns ( Revelation 12:3 ). Since Satan has
used various political powers to persecute God's people throughout
history, it would be logical to assume that the seven heads represent
the outward organizations through which Satan worked. In this case it
was pagan Rome through which Satan worked in his attempt to destroy
Jesus as soon has he was born by having Herod pass the decree that all
the babies should be killed.
Was the devil successful in his attempt to
destroy Jesus? Revelation 12:5
Her child was
NOTE: Very quickly the prophecy portrays the
life and ministry of Jesus and His ascension into heaven. Jesus is
victorious. The Devil fails.
As a result of the crucifixion and
resurrection of Jesus, what has happened to the Devil? Revelation 12:7-12
The great dragon was hurled
NOTE: By virtue of Calvary, Satan is a defeated
foe. No longer can he accuse God's people in heaven. His activity is
now limited to this earth.
When the Devil was cast down to this earth,
whom did he begin to persecute? Revelation 12:13
The
NOTE: Having been denied access to heaven by
virtue of the victory gained by Jesus on the cross, the devil now turns
his vicious attacks upon the church that Jesus left upon the earth.
During the first 300 years of the Christian
era, the Christian church remained relatively pure. During this time
there was incessant persecution. Christians were thrown to the lions in
the arena at Rome, many were burned alive as living torches, others had
their limbs pulled from their sockets or their eyes gouged out. Yet
they remained faithful to Jesus.
When the devil saw that he could not accomplish
his objective by persecution, he sought to destroy the church by
corrupting it from within. In the fourth century, after the conversion
of Constantine, great changes took place in the Christian church. It
was during this time that
the worship of saints was incorporated,
taking the place of the household gods of paganism, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was elevated to
take the place of the female goddesses of paganism, pagan festivals were turned into Christian
festivals and holy days, the sacrifice of the mass developed in place
of the beautiful symbolism of the Lord's supper, the doctrines of eternal torment and natural
immortality were introduced into the church to provide a basis for
urging people into submission to the authority of the church. Sunday-keeping began to spread as Roman
Christianity began to exercise its authority over the rest of
Christianity. In fact, it was Constantine who passed the first civil
Sunday law in which he declared that all should rest on the venerable
day of the sun.
Thus the Christianity at the end of the fourth
century was quite different from the Christianity at the beginning of
the fourth century. Many Christians were greatly disturbed. They had
been willing to die for their faith, and now they saw their faith
compromised and changed.
Where did the true church flee at this time? Revelation 12:14 How long was the church to remain in
obscurity in the wilderness? Revelation 12:6, 14
NOTE: With Roman Christianity becoming the
religion of the majority, the true church of Jesus went underground.
For 1260 years, from 538 to 1798, the true church was in hiding in the
desert wilderness. During this time there were always people
who were faithful to the true gospel of
Jesus, who were obedient to His word and who kept the Sabbath.
In fact, one of the obstacles that Rome faced
when it conquered some peoples and forced them to submit to Roman
Christianity was that some of them were keeping the seventh-day Sabbath
on Saturday. Rome was unable to eliminate completely the true light of
Jesus. It was in obscurity, but the truth was kept alive by the
wilderness church
What did the devil seek to do to the church
in the wilderness? Revelation 12:15
Then from his mouth ...
NOTE: The devil sent a flood of persecution in
his attempt to flush the church out of the wilderness. Rome was not
content as long as some refused to acknowledge her supremacy. She sent
her armies out to the Piedmont valleys and other places where the
wilderness church was hiding. Through vigorous persecution she almost
eliminated the church. But then the light of the Reformation under
teachers such as Martin Luther opened the minds of people once again so
that the true gospel could be proclaimed. Rome incessantly persecuted
the reformers. During this terrible period of 1260 years came the
Inquisition, in which thousands upon thousands lost their lives because
of their allegiance to the truth of God.
How did the earth help the woman? Revelation 12:16
By opening its mouth, and
NOTE: The earth is associated in prophecy with
the United States ( see Lesson 22 ). At the end of the 1260 year period, the United States
opened her doors and became a refuge for the persecuted and distressed
of all ages. Here was a place where people could come and worship God
according to the dictates of their own conscience. It provided a place
and time for the remnant church to gain strength for the final
conflict.
In the last days, what will be Satan's
attitude toward the church? Revelation 12:17
The dragon was
NOTE: The devil was intensely angry that God's
church found this place of refuge. His response is a final vicious
attack against the church.
WHO ARE
Against whom does Satan specifically wage war
in the end times? Revelation 12:17
The dragon ... went off to make war with the
NOTE: The word "rest" (translated as remnant in
the KJV) here means the remaining part of something, such as the
remnant of a roll of carpet. Carpet remnants are what is left over at
the end of the roll. The end of the roll looks exactly like the
beginning of the roll. Likewise, the remnant church will look exactly
like the church of the first century. It will believe the same thing as
the church of the first century. The bible clearly identifies the
"rest" mentioned in Revelation 12:17. As we learn the identity of the
"rest", let us keep in mind that God has faithful people in all
churches. They love, honor and serve Him, yet He is calling them to
come out of Babylon ( Revelation 18:4 ). Those whom He
calls out of Babylon, the false system of worship, He calls into the
remnant, the true system of worship in the last days.
When does the true church come out of the
wilderness? Revelation 12:6, 14
at the end of the
NOTE: The true church stays in hiding in the
wilderness for 1260 years. Only after 1798 can the remnant emerge.
Remember that the remnant is not a new church coming on the scene of
action in 1798; it is the true church coming out of the wilderness. Its
roots go all the way back to the apostles and to Jesus. Its history is
not traced through a line of prominence, but through the obscurity of
the wilderness.
The first mark of identification is that the
remnant church will arise sometime after 1798.
How will the remnant church be identified? Revelation 12:17
Those who obey God's
NOTE: The remnant church will be a
commandment-keeping church. In fact, Revelation 12:17 indicates that
commandment-keeping will be THE distinguishing mark of the remnant
church. To be a commandment-keeping church, the church must be keeping
all TEN of the Ten Commandments, including the fourth commandment,
which requires the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath on Saturday.
Thus the Remnant church will be a Sabbath-keeping church. Revelation
12:17 indicates that this is to be a special mark of identification of
the last-day church.
The second identification mark is that the
remnant church will keep the commandments, including the Sabbath.
What other mark of identification does John
give us in Revelation 12:17 ? What is the testimony of Jesus? Revelation 19:10
The testimony of Jesus is the
NOTE: The remnant church will hold in its midst
the spirit of prophecy, and through this gift will bear testimony to
Jesus. Lesson 25 will explain about the spirit of prophecy.
Prophecy is the third identification mark of
the last days church.
What special message will the remnant church
be proclaiming? Revelation 14:6-12
The message of the
NOTE: The remnant church will proclaim this
special three-fold message:
The hour of God's judgment has come. It will
proclaim the beginning of the judgment in 1844. Babylon is Fallen. It will proclaim the
second angel's message, that Babylon is fallen, and call God's people
to come out. It will warn people against receiving the
mark of the beast and worshipping the image of the beast.
The fourth identification mark of the remnant
church is that they will preach the three angels' messages.
What is the center of every one of the three
angels' messages? Revelation 14:6
The eternal
NOTE: Everyone of the messages that the remnant
proclaims are to be gospel-centered. The message of the judgment
beginning in 1844, the message of Babylon being fallen, and the message
of the mark of the beast are all proclaimed to focus people's attention
on the everlasting gospel.
The fifth identification mark of the remnant
church is that it is a Christ-centered, gospel-proclaiming movement.
How far will the remnant proclaim their
message? Revelation 14:6
To every
NOTE: The remnant will be a worldwide movement.
It will be found in every nation of earth, proclaiming the good news
and the full message of truth for the last days.
The sixth identification mark of the remnant is
that it will be a worldwide movement.
Do you know of any Christian church or group
that fulfills all 6 of the identifying marks of the Remnant? , The
NOTE: While God has people in every
denomination, there is a
church group today that meets every one of
these marks of identification.
What is the ultimate fate of the beast and
the dragon that seek to destroy God's people? Revelation 19:20
Both the beast and the false prophet were
"thrown alive into the fiery lake of
NOTE: The final battle in the great controversy
will be fought against the remnant church. If you should decide to be a
part of God's remnant church, you will face the ire of the adversary,
Satan. The Bible says he is waging an all-out warfare against the
remnant. If he could conquer them, his supremacy of the world would be
complete. Instead the devil and those who side with him will be
destroyed in the lake of fire while God's people will be delivered ( Daniel 1:12 ).
God still has many people in Babylon who are
not a part of the remnant church. What message does He sent them? Revelation 18:4
Come
NOTE: Today God is calling His people to come
out of Babylon and to become a part of the remnant church. The final
plagues of God are about to be poured out upon this world. Before they
are poured out, God in mercy sends this message, warning His people
(You!) to get out of Babylon so they (You!) will not receive the
plagues. Will you heed the warning and come out?
So, where are you at?
