. To Home Page .......... To Site "Contents" ......... Back to Part One
Notes for
The Revelation
Chapter Twelve
Part Two
15. Revelation 17:15 Waters represent people
And he said to me, The waters which you saw, where the whore [the wicked church] sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Although Satan will unleash the full fury of the world’s population against the small remnant, they will be a safe as Elijah was during his 3 ½ years of isolation.
1 Kings 17:2-6 God’s promise to His saints
And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Get you away from here, and turn you eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that you shall drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.
So he went and did according to the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
"The earth opened her mouth" means that the people of God will need to be in very solitary areas, possibly on their own, mainly in the mountains and deserts, although some will be in prisons. "The earth" is used in contrast to "the sea" or "waters", which describes heavily populated areas.
Although the mountains and deserts are inhospitable and we can carry no supplies with us, we have the word of God that He will look after us. The isolation may be painful but it means that no persecutor will find us. Remember how Obadiah commented on the fact that Elijah could not be found by any of the nations?
See "Elijah, Ahab and Jezebel".
Deuteronomy 33:26-28
There is none like to the God of Jeshurun [the upright one], who rides upon the heaven in your help, and in His excellency on the sky. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and He shall thrust out the enemy from before you; and shall say, Destroy them. Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.
Psalm 62:8
Trust in Him at all times; you people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Back to The Revelation Chapter Twelve
16. Revelation 1:9 John has mentioned the testimony before
I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 19:10 The angel tells us what it is
[John wrote,] And I fell at his feet to worship him [his angel messenger] . And he said to me, See you do it not: I am your fellowservant, and of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy [the ability to prophesy truthfully].
The commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus are united. They are to be clearly presented to the world. One tells us how to behave, the other shows us the result of that behaviour.
Joel 2:28-32 The Spirit will come to all with great clearness
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.
And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
This experience was partially fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.
Acts 2:1-4 The gospel was spoken clearly to all
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:14-16 This was the first fulfilment
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said to them, You men of Judaea, and all you that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known to you, and hearken to my words: for these are not drunk, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day [9am]. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel...
The only safety now is to search for the truth as revealed in the word of God, as for hid treasure. The subjects of the Sabbath (Saturday or Sunday), the nature of man (immortal or not), and the testimony of Jesus (the spirit of prophecy) are the great and important truths to be understood; these will prove as an anchor to hold God's people in these perilous times. But the mass of mankind despise the truths of God's word and prefer fables.
2 Thessalonians 2:10-11
Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved... for this cause God shall send them [or allow them to have a] strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.
This "strong delusion", this monstrous lie, is that there is immediate life after death and that the spirits of the departed come back to talk with those who remain. The most immoral and corrupt are often highly flattered by these Satanic spirits, which they believe to be the spirits of their dead friends, and they are vainly puffed up in their fleshly minds.
For the strongest delusion ever, see "The Greatest Lie in History"
Those who are living amid the perils of the last days, days which are characterized by the masses turning from the truth of God to fables, will have a difficult work to turn from the stories which are prepared for them on every hand, and to gain an appetite to feast upon unpopular truth. Those who turn from these fables to truth will be despised, hated, and persecuted by those who are presenting "fairy stories" to the people for their reception.
The experiences of the past will be repeated. As well, in the future, Satan's superstitions will assume new forms. Errors will be presented in a pleasing and flattering manner. False theories, clothed with garments of light, will be presented to God's people. Thus Satan will try to deceive if possible, the very elect. Most seducing influences will be exerted; minds will be hypnotized by his craft.
Corruptions of every type, similar to those existing among the people before the Flood, will be brought in to take minds captive. The exaltation of nature as God, the unrestrained licence of the human will, the counsel of the ungodly,- these Satan uses as agencies to bring about certain ends. He will employ the power of mind on mind to carry out his designs. The most sorrowful thought of all is that under his deceptive influence men and women will have a form of godliness, without having a real connection with God. Like Adam and Eve, who ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, many are even now feeding upon the deceptive morsels of error.
Satanic agencies are clothing false theories in an attractive garb, even as Satan in the garden of Eden concealed his identity from our first parents by speaking through the serpent. These agencies are instilling into human minds that which in reality is deadly error. The hypnotic influence of Satan will rest upon those who turn from the plain Word of God to pleasing fables.
Satan is at war with the remnant who are endeavouring to keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus. Evil angels are commissioned by him to employ men and women as their agents upon the earth. These can the most successfully exert an influence to make Satan's attacks effective against the remnant whom God calls:-
1 Peter 2:9
"... a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light."
This, Satan is determined to hinder. He will employ everyone who will engage in his service to delay the chosen people of God from showing forth the praises of Him who has called them from darkness into His marvellous light. To hide, to cover up this light, to cause people to distrust it, to disbelieve it, is the work of the great rebel and his host.
While Jesus is purifying His people to Himself, redeeming them from all iniquity, Satan will employ his forces to slow down the work and prevent the perfection of the saints. He does not exert his power upon those who are all covered up with deception and walled in by fables and error, and who make no effort to receive and obey the truth. He knows he is sure of them; but those who are seeking for truth, that they may obey it in the love of it, are the ones who excite his malice and stir his anger. He can never weaken them while they keep close to Jesus; therefore he is pleased when he can lead them in a course of disobedience.
When we sin against God, there is a disposition to fall behind Jesus a day's journey; we seek to separate from His company because it is distasteful, for every ray of light from His divine presence points to the sin of which we have been guilty. Satan therefore exults over the sins which he has induced souls to commit, and he makes the most of all these failures and sins. He repeats them to the loyal angels of God, and taunts them with these weaknesses and failures. He is in every sense an accuser of the brethren, and exults over every sin and wrong which God's people are beguiled to commit.
In the near future we shall see these actions openly fulfiled as the Protestant churches unite with the Roman Catholic power, and then with those who follow spiritualism. After that all will wage war against commandment keepers. The same spirit which actuated papal followers in ages past will lead Protestants to pursue a similar course toward those throughout the world who will maintain their loyalty to God . Church and state are now making preparations for the future conflict. Protestants are even now working in disguise to bring Sunday to the front, as did the Romanists. And the way is preparing for the manifestation, on a grander scale, of those lying wonders by which, if it were possible, Satan would deceive even the elect.
I repeat, the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus are united. They are to be clearly presented to the world. Do you want to help?
Back to The Revelation Chapter Twelve
Back to Home Page ............ Back to Site "Contents"