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FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END

PART 9

THE WOMAN OF MYSTERY

MAY 1991

CHAPTER 4

WE INTERRUPTED THIS MESSAGE ON THE WOMAN OF MYSTERY IN OUR FEBRUARY ISSUE; IN ORDER TO INSERT A MESSAGE PREACHED WHILE THE DESERT STORM WAR WAS GOING ON. WHAT WE INSERTED, JUST SORT OF BROUGHT THE MIDDLE EAST PICTURE UP TO DATE PROPHETIC WISE; AND ALLOWS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR READERS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHY THE MIDDLE EAST IS IN SUCH A TURMOIL AT THIS PRESENT TIME. WE HAVE SEEN THAT GOD IS CLEARING THE WAY AND GETTING ISRAEL INTO POSITION TO GET THE REST OF HER LAND BACK. SHE HAS TO HAVE IT BACK IN HER CONTROL BEFORE THE 70TH WEEK OF DANIEL CAN BECOME A FULLING REALITY; BECAUSE THE FIRST HALF OF THAT WEEK OF YEARS WILL BE A TIME OF PEACE; AND THE LAST HALF, ISRAEL (THE WOMAN) WILL BE RUNNING FOR HER LIFE, GETTING AWAY FROM THE WRATH OF THE ANTICHRIST, WHEN HE KILLS THE TWO PROPHETS OF CHAPTER 11, AND DETERMINES TO RID THE EARTH OF JEWS.

WE DO WANT TO KEEP OUR SERIES OF MESSAGES RUNNING THOUGH, UNTIL WE PROJECT THIS BIBLE PICTURE ALL THE WAY INTO THE NEW CITY, RECORDED IN REVELATION, CHAPTER 21; SO AT THIS POINT WE WILL PICK UP WHERE WE INTERRUPTED OUR FEBRUARY MESSAGE. WE WERE LOOKING AT A PROPHECY IN ISAIAH 49, VERSES 11-21; AND WE WERE READY TO READ VERSE 14. WE WILL REREAD VERSES 11-13, AND THEN CONTINUE WITH THE COMMENTS AS WE GET BACK TO VERSE 14.

ZION SAYS-THE LAND ITSELF SPEAKS

You can look at your February issue, page 5, and catch up with where we are. Isa. 49:11 says,"And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. (12) Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim. (13) Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted." God is going to show mercy unto His afflicted nation. Verse 14, takes on a different tone. Zion begins to speak. Zion is the mountain area on which Jerusalem, the city of God sits. This spot was chosen by King David; and in a sense he chose it because of its strategic importance; but he was divinely guided by God Himself, to take it from the Jebusites. God caused him to do a certain thing; and right there is where God chose to place His name. Just notice how this prophecy is speaking in behalf of this geographical spot, Zion, and the city that sits on it. (14) "But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me." Since 69 A.D. when the Jews were carried away from there by their captors, there has been no Jews there singing Psalms and worshipping at the temple. That particular spot became a place for Gentiles, from that time on. Only the Lord Himself knows how the Gentile powers of the world have fought over that little piece of land. They have fussed, fought and killed for it; and for what reason? We know why the Jews want it, it is part of their inheritance; and their Capitol city. With the Jews out of there for almost two thousand years, scattered to the four winds, the land cries out, "The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me." You certainly cannot say the land has been without habitation all this time. There have been Arabs, Greeks, French, Germans, Russians, and who knows what, dwelling there during that time. Wealthy people went there and retired; just simply to live and die in the land of sentimentality and antiquity. But Zion languished. Zion wept. Verse 15, "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee." Oh brother, God has been looking at that little spot of ground for almost 2000 years, remembering those to whom He had given it. No matter how that old city has been treated, desecrated, made to stink like a hog pen many times, God knows all about it; and He certainly knows all of those who belong there in it, and how to get them back there from wherever they may be presently. Notice verse 16, God is speaking concerning that spot and city. "Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." He has seen those walls when they were not even there. He saw them when they were rubbish. He saw them as the Crusaders rebuilt what they thought would suffice; but that is not what the Lord was looking at. He was looking at her old dimensions, where there will again be walls that will fulfill the prophetic picture the way He wants it. He even has a prophecy that tells how He is going to do it; but to do that, these other things have to be set in motion. Verse 17, I like this one. First He says, I have engraved thee upon the palm of my hand; (still talking to the land) but now, listen to this, "Thy children shall make haste; (This lets us know that is to be a generation of Jews somewhere in time, that God is to definitely deal with, to bring back to inhabit that place on Zion. There will be a time come when they will make haste to make their presence there. That is the way you have to see it.) thy destroyers and they that made thee waste (This is talking about the Arabs that live there.) shall go forth of thee." That is the stalemate today, in the peace process in the Middle East. Israel stopped when she took Jerusalem proper. She stopped at the western wall. She would not enter the temple grounds, for fear that the whole world would pounce upon her and say, "Oh you have turned it into a holy war." You know you cannot do that. Therefore for the sake of what world pressure might be, she stopped short. That took place 23 years ago; but at least it brought the Gentile flags down. That fulfilled what Jesus had said. No more, will Gentiles feet trod the city of Jerusalem while flying their flag there. It is just that little spot, the temple ground, that is the focal point. For the last 23 years now the bickering has been, If Israel wants peace, she must not only give up east Jerusalem, (which is the old Zion city) she must give up the territories of the west bank also. That would be basically, land belonging to the tribe of Judah. Israel, from a political standpoint, is divided. Her politicians cannot agree upon a proper stance for them as a nation to take. Never has there been an era of time that they were as divided as they are right now. They know the Arab pressure inside their society is just about to explode like a stick of dynamite. They know on one hand they have to do something, but they have world pressure whispering in their ears, You cannot do that. Unless you do thus and so, we will not do this and that. She is caught between the cross fires of what the Arabs say; and whatthe the rest of the world is saying. That is why I say, We may as well make up our mind, it takes a condition like that for God to show His hand. I want you to know, Pharaoh was not an agreeable character. He was a dirty, stinking, lying, conniving character. One minute he would be sitting crying, and saying, Go ahead, get on out of here. An hour and half later he had called his men in and forgotten all about it. You just have to realize, that if God is going to show His hand so that Israel will know assuredly, I am on your side, then He has to bring it about in a way that will cause them to recognize His hand in what takes place. They are going to triumph over the liberal, peace now philosophy that says, Give up, give back, go back, anything just to have peace. It will not work that way. God will not let it go that way. That is why He will bring about conditions that will require the governors of Judah to be compelled to get their heads together and look at their existence, and their future, from the standpoint of, We either do thus and so and survive, or we compromise and eventually be nothing. Time just in front of us, will tell what that will all lead to. This prophecy thrills my soul though; just listen to how it is worded. (17) "Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee." You know, as well as I do, that this is not going to be brought about in an election. This is not a picture of the Israeli parliament saying to the east Jerusalem Arabs, We will give you an option. We are going to have a free election, so you can vote to stay, or you can vote to leave. Such an idea is pure nonsense. Those Arabs that are in that east city are definitely determined that they are going nowhere. Do not forget, when this thing started back in December 1987, it started in Old Jerusalem and the Gaza strip, the two areas pertaining to the prophecy of our hour of time. Right where it started is where the prophecy said they would eventually leave. Therefore that lets me know, George Bush, Jim Baker, Gorbachev, nor anyone else in the west, is ever going to change the picture through negotiations. It can look like it is not going to be according to this prophecy; but I imagine, that if you had stood in Pharaoh's court and heard the conversation between Moses and him, you would probably have said it looked pretty dark then also. When God got through working in the situation, that bunch of Egyptians were ready to say, Go ahead, get out of here. Leave. The quicker you go, the better. When this thing is just right, those Arabs are going to leave east Jerusalem; because there will be nothing left for them to do but get out of there. They are going to leave the Gaza strip also, just as sure as you are sitting here listening to me say so.

WHY JEWS ARE GOING HOME

I really like this next verse. Did you ever drive down a country road and see an old farm house that looked more or less deserted? As you looked it over, you could see that at one time it had been a beautiful homestead. Maybe two stories, wrap around porch, a house that could have accommodated a large family. You say in your mind, A well to do family was raised there. Maybe two, three, or four generations of people have been born in that house. You said, If that house could talk, it would no doubt have a story to tell. That is what Zion is doing. This prophecy tells us Zion has a story to tell. (Isaiah 49:18) "Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, (the city shall clothe herself with them all) as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth." This pertains to Jews coming home in an appointed time. Jews that are ordained by God to eventually inhabit the new occupation. It will be Jews coming home with a vision. Jews coming with an outlook, we are coming because our Messiah is coming. We want to beautify the city. The Arabs could not care less how it stinks; because they have no prophecy that encourages their heart to do anything for the city; but the Jews do have. In that appointed time, when those Jews that are ordained to be its new inhabitants do come home, they come with a vision. They will not just come expecting a free ride, they will have something to contribute to the overall picture. The prophecy is telling how the city should clothe herself with them as though they were ornaments. She will adorn herself with them. (19) "For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away." Because of these prophecies, there is destined to come a great mass exodus, and flow of immigrants into the land of Israel. Russia, and our the State Department is telling Israel, Now this aid we are giving you, you cannot use it to establish these new immigrants in the west bank and occupied areas. That includes east Jerusalem, the old city. Well regardless of what anyone says, this prophecy tells us they are going to do just exactly what they are cautioned not to do. By that, we know that somewhere on up the road there is going to be some diplomatic, political shaking taking place. I cannot help but believe, that when the hand of God has shaken this other thing and got it all lined out the way He wants it, we will see some action here. When that door is propped open so that it fulfills that part, then He is going to start preparing the land to really receive the influx. It will be very interesting to see what happens here; for what I have just read, plainly tells us how that in that hour the land will be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed it up shall be far away. That lets us know that the new population of Jews that are eventually to settle that city, will be so many, that it goes on and tells us in this next verse how they will cry, Make place for me. (20) Notice, "The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell." Let me tell you in my words, what this is actually saying. The population that will occupy you when you are restored, shall be greater in number than that society that occupied you when you were destroyed and carried away from here. That is what it means. I am a seed of David also; so I want to live in this city. When we see that take place, it can help us understand why the rural areas of Judah had to be reestablished first. That establisheds a foothold; an area of protection, so that when God does fulfill the city part everything will be as it should be. We will realize that this is a picture of the reestablishing of the whole house of Israel; not just the two southern tribes. It comes about, all at the same time. (21) "Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, (This is Zion speaking) and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?" That is how she has been for the last 1900 and some years. Not desolate because of not having people dwelling there, but because it was not Jewish people. Brothers and sisters, when you and I live in a generation that is privileged to see all of this coming up, it is almost like projecting a picture on a screen that is a little out of focus. All it needs is to be brought into focus. At a certain time, it will all clear up. It is still a blurred object now; but after awhile, the projector brings it all into perspective with a proper focus. Then you will look at it and have to say, How beautiful it is. We are living in the hour of time, and the generation of this world, that will see all of this come about. Yes, Zion the city, will say, Where have these been? They have been in a lot of different places; but now they are home, praise God. They are right where their Creator wants them to be, at this present time.

IT IS TIME FOR A RENOVATION

We could go a little further in the rest of this 49th chapter; but I want to take you to the 60th chapter of Isaiah. This is the chapter that deals with the building of Jerusalem, beautifying, renovating, building the temple, and getting everything set for the coming of their Messiah. The temple cannot be built in a city that is hostile to such a thing. That is why the three fourths Arab population has to go. The Jews know it; but they also know that world political pressure will not let a thing like that be done before the proper time. When the time is right, the Jews will be pressured by the hand of God to do it; and when those Arabs are out of there God will show Himself in such a marvelous way. As we look at this 60th chapter, it covers the same period of time, so let me just go right to verse 9. You can read the preceding verses, because all of it is pointing to this period of time in which we live. Here, is what verse 9 says, "Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because He hath glorified thee." What is God talking about, He hath glorified thee? That Means, He has taken possession of old Jerusalem. He is getting the city ready to take on that renovating era wherein that city is going to be beautified and renovated for the coming of the Messiah. Then, as that city goes ahead in that great renovation, the temple will also be started. Remember this, God said He will shake all nations. He will shake everything that can be shaken. What will He shake all nations for? To line them up, and set everything in order for the fulfillment of His word. He will shake A-L-L nations; not just the Communistic part of the world. He is going to shake Uncle Sam so badly, it will cause a lot of people to do drastic things. Naturally I do not know what our shaking will incorporate; but this country will be shaken like you have not seen before. God will shake the high places, He will shake the low places, He will shake the Arabs, and the whole Middle East, until He gets everything lined up for the finish. As God promised to shake all nations remember this, that shaking is not something that happens in six months; and then everyone can take a breathing spell. This shaking is something that keeps going on, evolving, bringing about sudden changes you never thought could have been possible. Suddenly there it is. All of that shaking will eventually lead to the fact that God is establishing peace. Peace to what? The whole earth. What has man been trying for the last forty years to do? Establish his own carnal, lucrative, bureaucratic era of peace. God only knows the numbers of innocent people that have suffered and lost their lives, to carry out some of the diabolical, political schemes that have been presented under the disguise of peace. The millions that have been spent, just literally taken away from poor people, to carry on these miserable programs of self centered politicians have not gone unnoticed by the Creator. There is a payday coming. That is why God has let them go. He has let them do their little thing, and they think they are going to keep on going. One of these days He will reach out and strike something and begin to set it in motion the way He wants it to be. There is truly going to be a Jewish temple built; and it will be built upon the very spot of ground where the first temple stood, regardless of what world opinion may be right now. If there is going to be a temple built, what is it built for? It is going to be built for a Messiah to sit in, and rule from. Not a carnal one, but the one God's word speaks of. That temple will not be built in the midst of an old dilapidated run down hog smelling cesspool, like it is now. You would need to have been there yourself, to know what I mean when I say that. Those who have occupied that land for centuries, have not been concerned with maintaining the beauty, the majestic splendor that God will require for the Messiah to come to. God is going to beautify that city, and He will not be forty years in doing it. It tells us right here in the Bible how He is going to do it. Let me read this verse 9, again. "Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee." After reading in the Jerusalem Post, how Israel was seeking to establish direct flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow, to help bring the immigrants home, it let me know, this is not just a nonchalant happening, it is serving a prophetic purpose of God. Russia does not know what is really taking place; and neither do most of the one's that are involved in making the arrangements to facilitate the immigration; but we know what it will all eventually lead to; because we see it in God's word. Hallelujah! Even knowing what we know, I believe we all may be in for a surprise, as time gets closer to the hour for God to wrap the whole thing up. One thing we do know though, is that this shaking will lead to the reshaping of world thinking; and to the eventual rebuilding of Jerusalem, renovating it, dedicating it, and getting it ready for the appearing of their Messiah; and for a Messianic reign. Verse 10 says, "And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee." This is not talking about Jews; nor is it talking about 13 year old kids either. Who are the the sons of strangers that will build up the walls? It is professional contractors, professional construction men who have modern, twentieth century equipment and ability. Once that old Jerusalem is in the hands of the Jews, and the world is made to know it is now Jews who have the say so, you will see a completely different picture. You are going to see the hand of God work in such an outstanding way, Gentiles will know that God is on the side of the Jews. They will plainly see Him working on their behalf. He will be fulfilling things in Israel; and those who recognize what is happening will want to have a little part in it. When the six day war was going on, and the Jewish relief agency was having their drives to collect money, Hollywood actors, and people from all walks pledged money. (I know they do not live right; and that they cannot buy salvation; but God can cause the richest men on earth to walk up and say, I will give a million dollars to the cause of Israel.) Why will they do such a thing? Because as the Lord prophesied through Haggai saying, (Haggai 2:7) "And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts," this lets us know what the end result of all of this shaking will be. If it were left up to politicians to build that city, they would take up the next hundred years trying to decide what kind of tax they need to put upon the working people to raise the money for it; but when God does it, He just creates a condition that shows His hand, and you will have Gentile construction men, and wealthy people of every sort saying, I will dedicate my resources for six months to help with that work. Suddenly some will say, I am going to Israel! Others will say, Why, to do what? To help rebuild Jerusalem. Why? There is something going on and I want to have a little part in it. Will that bring about a world conversion? Absolutely not. We do not look at it that way. This will just be God's way of getting the job done. But why will He look to worldly people to do His work? Why not? If, as the Bible says, all the silver and gold belongs to God, and He has allowed them to use it in this life, why should He not get a return from it? It is not a matter of anyone buying salvation or favor with God; that only comes through personal faith and trust in the finished work at Calvary; it is just a simple matter of God using what is His. Just as Isaiah prophesied, "And their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, (That is what He did.) but in my favour have I had mercy on thee." Rumania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, all those Communist states that was so locked up with Russia, as soon as they threw out the Communist system and established their own, they immediately contacted Israel to set up diplomatic relationships. For what reason? A few little Jews in every one of those nations, and now they are standing out, because they know they have the opportunity to go home. Those new governments are going to stand by, to see that they get to go there. I like this next verse, verse 11. "Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought." This is not referring to armies of military forces. This is material forces, material means, material equipment. Why? Everyone has his eye on something in that hour. As the little song says, Something is going on in Mt. Zion. I love that little song. There is something going on in Mt. Zion; and it is going to cause the world, one day, to sing. The Mafia will not rejoice; but if God wants them to give up some of that filthy money, He sure knows how to get hold of it. In other words, elements of the world, for a period of time, are going to bring their material means to the Jews, for them to use. The next verse lets us know how God looks upon Israel in that hour when He has gathered them homhome for the fulfillment of His purpose. (12) "For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. (That is the end result.) The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, (What in the world does Lebanon have left now, after all she has gone through with? Let us read further.) the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; (That is the temple.) and I will make the place of my feet glorious." (still talking about His temple.) What is the glory of Lebanon? When we were there, we learned that high on the Lebanese mountain range, ten thousand feet above sea level, is an ancient national park. They claim there are so many ancient cedars, and they say they are close to five thousand years old. Of course you cannot prove that by me; but these cedar trees are old; and they are the remains of what was once the giant cedar forest that King Solomon got the cedars from, as well as ship builders along the Mediterranean, for hundreds of years. I have read a little about that cedar forest. In order to preserve it, not to lose the identity of what that particular forest was known for, Lebanon turned it into a national park. There is no more timber cutting in there. They still talk about the oldest cedar trees on the face of this earth, growing on top of the Lebanese mountain range. Therefore if God wants a few cedars, you have to realize, He will not have to get them from the state of Washington; nor the state of Colorado. Somehow or other, someone in Lebanon, (not the street cleaners, but Lebanese government officials) when they see what the hand of God is doing in Israel, and how it is all coming about, will want to have a part in it. God is going to force nations to say within their political decision making, We want to have a little part in this thing that is going on. This scripture goes on and tells us how the city will be rebuilt, and how the temple is going to be built. Let us go ahead and read this scripture pertaining to the temple. The 16th verse tells us how God will treat the Gentile forces; but we may as well read the other verses that go with it. (Isaiah 60:14-17) "The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee; The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. (15) Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. (16) Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. (17) For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness." What does it mean, "Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles?" When you put that in proper language for our day, that does not mean He is going to turn the dairy herds over to them. He will just cause them to commit their economic potential to Israel for a little while. As you consider the temple and its contents, just keep in mind, it is not a large building. You are not looking at a huge building that will take years to build; you are looking at a beautiful building; that could be built in just a few short months. That is what you need to realize. Notice also that all of the former material used will be upgraded. "For brass I will bring gold, (Now King Solomon used a lot of brass in the making of door knobs and things like that. Whatever King Solomon used in making beautiful brass ornaments and such like, this temple is going to be replaced with gold which of a much greater value.) and for iron (for iron that rusts.) I will bring silver, and for wood (Yes, where they formerly used wooden beams, He would bring something of greater quality) brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness." Brothers and sisters, we know in ancient times the buildings had stones, with their walls ever so thick. That is the way they did it. However for this latter house He will bring Iron But why did He say, for stone He would bring iron? Look at the Empire State Building. That thing is built of iron piling driven deep down into the ground, and then that steel girder work goes up, to form the structure of the dimensions of the building, and then that is veneered with Bedford limestone. I read that in an article. The best quality of limestone in the world comes from up here in Bedford. Can you not just almost see them driving the piling for a temple. Instead of building a wall ever so thick with just stone, you put down the iron, and then prefab the rest of it. That will not take many truck loads of that kind of stone, to prefab such a structure.

We will return to Revelation 12:6, now that we have examined some of the events that need or needed to transpire between verse 5, and verse 6 where the woman is seen fleeing into the wilderness on the two wings of an eagle. We have titled this message, The Woman of Mystery of Revelation 12, because for centuries of time church people have debated about who the woman is. Well we know who the woman is, who the man child of verse 5 is, and why the woman is pictured fleeing into the wilderness in verse 6; but we do not know the exact time when verse 6, will be fulfilled. We do not need to know the exact time; but there are some prophecies of the scriptures that must be fulfilled before then; and that is what we have been looking at. We have seen how, in the last 40 some years God has been fulfilling prophecies related to how He would bring Jews back from dispersion; and we know why they need to be back in the land; that is the only place where they can hear the two prophets of chapter 11, that will appear there when this Gentile age is drawing to a close. Verse 5 was fulfilled when the Jesus the Christ was received up into heaven in a cloud, after His resurrection from the dead. He fulfilled the promises of the scriptures concerning a coming Messiah to Israel; but the nation as a whole rejected Him as their Messiah; and opened up the way for us (Gentiles) to become partakers of a great blessing from God; a plan whereby lost sinners of every race may have opportunity to become loving sons of the living God. Let us read the first five verses of chapter 12 again, to get them fresh in our mind; and then we will continue on with the rest of the thought. (Revelation 12:1-5) "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." (We have thoroughly covered that; and I believe every one of you have had a chance to understand that all of this description has been represented in the Roman Empire as it passed through various stages of evolution; as it evolved from what it was before the birth of Christ, to what it is today, with the Roman Catholic pope sitting in the seat of the old caesars, just awaiting the hour when he will conduct himself as they did in centuries past. (4) "And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them 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. (the woman being the nation of Israel, and the child the baby Jesus) "And 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." The Romans crucified Him; but it was the Jewish Sanhedrein court that condemned Him to death. They were the ones that stood in the streets crying, Crucify Him, Away with Him, Let His blood be upon our shoulders, and upon our children. For two thousand years, generation after generation of Jews in various nations of the world have been persecuted. Many of them no doubt have wondered, Why are we so persecuted, what did we ever do to deserve to be treated like this? Their ancient forefathers brought it upon them; when they cried, Let His blood be upon our shoulders, and upon our children. Jewish people, are a proud race of people. I am not saying these words to humiliate any Jew, if he or she should ever read this or see this video. We are living now, 1900 and some years after the descent of the Holy Ghost, which came on the day of Pentecost, in an upper room in Jerusalem. That experience was first given to Jews that would receive it. God set in motion the fulfillment of something; and even today it is not completely fulfilled. Certain Jews received and accepted that prophetic blessing; but the nation as a whole rejected it. Then God gave it to the Gentile people, to fulfill scriptures that related to you and me. The Jews do not yet understand why Gentiles received Jesus Christ as their Savior, when the Jews could not see Him as their Messiah. Well the apostle Paul explained how blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. Well we have just about run our course. Gentiles have just about had their last call. Jesus is still on the mercy seat; but the fast way so many prophecies are now being fulfilled, He is destined to soon step forth with the little scroll open in His hand, calling for those whom He has redeemed with His own blood. When that time comes, the Holy Spirit will from that time forth to the end, work exclusively with Jews. No Gentile will even have an opportunity to believe the gospel and be saved. For 1900 and some years, we have had the gospel of Jesus Christ; just about as long as the Jews had the Law dispensation and the prophets, from the call of Abraham to the birth of Christ. Our time is running out. Yet you cannot tell the Gentile church world time is running out; they are still looking for a great worldwide revival. All you have to do is look across the waters, at what is going on in Israel; and if you know your Bible, you will know that Gentile time is running out. We realize of course, that many of the Jews that are there in Israel today, are as secular minded as any Gentile anywhere. They are not there to get ready for a Messiah; they just want a place, a nation where they are economically and racially allowed to function as a people, and be left alone. Well that is one standpoint; but we realize that all scriptures have to be fulfilled. We can see from the past forty years, how prophecies of Isaiah, Zechariah, and those have come about, by the regathering and birth of the nation, up until now, and as we brought in about prophecies that are now in the making, of bringing back the rest of the remnant of Israel, basically the ten northern tribes, somewhere in front of us in a little short interval of time, and then this will all lead to the rebuilding of Old Jerusalem, cleaning it up, restoring it back to its original city of glory, as it is supposed to be for the coming of the Messiah, as well as the building of the temple. At that time, as we have already shown you from the prophecies, the people now that occupy that old part of the city, which we know also, are Arabs, for some reason or other, they are going to have to pick up and leave. The world will say, You just simply cannot do that; those people were born there. Well the world is not running everything else; and they have already said what they want to do; but God Himself is running this; and He is going to show some people what it is like, when prophecies of the scriptures are fulfilled in a way no one can deny that it is the hand of God doing it. As we stated some time back, this verse 1, of Revelation 12, is a panoramic picture of the nation of Israel, through all time; coming from the Law Age, right on into her Millennial glory. From the time they rejected their Messiah and God cut them off and scattered them, the Jews have existed only as a people, not as a nation. However for the last forty some years He has been bringing them back, getting them ready to pick up verse 6. They have got to be restored as the real nation, geographically and spiritually, to be in a position for verse 6 to be a reality. Therefore as we see her (Israel) in this heavenly scene, this is God's unique way of telling a whole story with one picture, to those who will allow the Holy Spirit to open their eyes to see and understand truth. Seeing her clothed in the sun, lets us know that this is her glory in the Millennium age which is just ahead. That is when Israel will shine as the nation in which God, ruling in and reigning in and through the person of His Son, the Messiah, draws the attention of the whole world; and knowledge shall go forth from the Lord, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. All nations shall flow unto Jerusalem to worship the Lord of hosts. For the sake of what some critics may be led to say concerning the Zionist movement, I want to say this, Yes, I too know what the Zionist movement has been. I know what their philosophy was, according to their own writings. They were going to try to fulfill prophecies based solely upon a carnal objective. Well God let certain parts of it come about, to set in motion certain things that He wanted to use; but when that objective reached a certain point, He just simply reached out and cut it off. There will be a Messianic reign in Israel; but Israel as a nation, will not reign over Gentiles. That is right. Jews will not rule over Gentiles. To the Jew who would hear me, your Zionist philosophy that the Jewish nation will rule the world, is not according to the plan of God. Your own prophets have prophesied how it is to be. It is the Jewish Messiah that will rule the world; not the Jewish people. Furthermore your Jewish Messiah will not be a mortal man that you have selected; It is going to be one who is immortal, coming back to earth from above, where He has been for the past almost two thousand years. The one your forefather's rejected two thousand years ago, and crucified, putting scars in His side and in His hands, one day will be asked by you, Whence come these? He will say to you, In the house of my friends, I received these scars. The one you crucified is the very one who will be your Messiah; and you will not dictate to Him where He is to rule. He will tell you where you belong; and He will have a Gentile wife which at this time, you do not even see. His wife will not be bureaucrats, elected by a Gentile bureaucracy. She too will be an immortal people. They will come from heaven with Him; and they are divinely appointed by the God who chose her to be the wife of His Son. Through His wife, which is His true Church, which you Jews also fail to see, the Gentiles will be ruled. That is God's theocracy government, the way it is set up in the Bible.

ANOTHER PANORAMIC VIEW--WHAT IS IT?

As we look at this great red dragon in verse 3, we understand that this also is a panoramic view of something else. It represents the Roman Empire from its beginning all the way through to its ending. It is pictured as a great red dragon because of that conquering and devouring spirit that has always been present in it. When the Roman Empire first came upon the scene, it did not yet have seven heads nor ten horns; but it was still called a beast nonetheless. As I stated before, We have to associate those other characteristics as connected to the various evolution that took place through political changes. As we are made aware of this reflection in the heavens, we need to realize that whatever the heavens reflect, somewhere down on earth geographically, it has to come into fulfillment. Have you ever stopped to think, that for the past forty years while Israel has been in the process of being restored, and enjoying her rebirth as a nation, a nation out of which a certain element will flee from the clutches of the Antichrist, there has been another restoration taking place also. During that same time there has been a move in the air bringing about the reviving and restoration of the Roman Empire, just as prophecy said it would be. It was Rome before there was a Christ. It was Rome when there was a Christ. It was Rome after He was crucified and taken away. It was Rome when the Church was born in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. It was Rome that ruled right on into the Dark Ages; and Rome will again rule, just as she did in the Dark Ages. The point we need to be sure we understand, is HOW Rome ruled during the Dark Ages, when Roman rule was no longer seen in the form of the ancient caesars. It was through the power of the Roman clergy. They were first called bishops, then popes; but their form of rulership was just as diabolical as any Roman Caesar that ever lived. Bro. Jackson, why are you always talking about the Catholic Church? How else can I help you, if I do not tell you the truth? I am not talking about individual Catholic people; I am talking about a system of religion that is as diabolical as the Mafia; and affects the lives of more people than the Mafia could ever touch. Any person that will close their eyes to history, and try to look somewhere else for the antichrist, is scripturally blind and insensitive to truth. I say that, realizing that some doctor of divinity might get hold of a paper or a tape; and want to take issue with what we teach. I do not argue with anyone about these things; but if anyone is willing to bring a Bible, and try to convince me by the scriptures that I am wrong, I can be easily found. Ever since WW2 ended, we have been witnessing the restructuring of the continent of Europe, and today all those horns are there, economically and politically tied to the geographical area that was once part of the Roman Empire. When the Reformation struck the world around 1520 A.D., it was the sword of God coming against that power that kept all of Europe in such a state of darkness and bondage. What was it directed against? The power of the papacy of course. It was that papal head that was wounded by a sword with what looked like a deadly wound; but was healed. First came Martin Luther with the revelation that the just, or justified shall live by faith in God, not by the power of the pope of Rome. Then there came Huss, Swingley, John Knox, Calvin, and finally a man by the name of John Wesley, out of the church of England, a system of religion that was half sister to Roman Catholicism, adding an even more deadly blow to that already wounded head. These Reformation preachers attacked the power of the hierarchy of Rome enough, that when in 1887 A.D., Napoleon of France dethroned the pope and declared that there would never be another pope sit in that chair, that would have power to exercise authority over the temporal heads of Europe, it looked like the power of the papacy was a thing of the past, never to be reinstated. According to secular history, from that time until just a few short years ago, the popes were little more than just figure heads. Through the order of the Jesuit priest, Catholicism still carried on their underhanded political tactics, always trying to undermine those who did not bow to their dictates; but the power of the pope was no more a threat. They pit system against system, waiting their hour and time to come out on top. When WW2 was fought, no matter what good deeds you may have read about, that Catholic nuns or priests did in a humanitarian way, it was all in the interest of the spirit of that system. That has been their tactics for centuries. They will build a hospital and give medical service to all kinds of people in a humanitarian way, just for the chance to undermine the politicians of that city; and twist their politics around so their purpose will be served. Can you honestly tell me that true Christianity has any calling from God to do such things? Is that the way to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ? You know it never was meant to be so. I am not against helping needy people; I am just against anyone trying to buy human souls with such carnal tactics. It is all a front, a disguise. Anyhow the pope is back in the place where he needs to be, in order to fulfill his role in prophecy for the future. When the reformation struck Europe, and Napoleon did what he did, that fulfilled Revelation 13:3 "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; (Then when Europe was restored and the pope brought back into the spotlight, we can see how the rest of that verse fits the occasion.) and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." It is in history, that even Catholic writers, after Napoleon had done that, wrote one article that said, (I have copies of it.) The power of the papacy is wounded, and not one finger is lifted to heal the wound. After that, the horns of Europe, France, Germany, Belgium, were all free to do as they pleased. That old pope is not going to tell us where we can go and what we can do any more. That was the era of colonialism. Our young people read all about colonialism in school today. Do you know what allowed it to be? The wounding of the power of the pope. Then that is why we had WW1. It set the stage. It turned the tide. Then when WW2 came, mankind was moving close to a point where prophecy must again pick up; so God pressed the button that released the time mechanism; and the old clock started ticking again. When WW2 came to a close, what has the past forty some years been? The release of those ten horn nations of Europe from all their colonial territories throughout the world. England came home from India. The Dutch came home from the Dutch East Indies. France came home from Vietnam. Belgium came from the Congo. Germany came from central Africa. Portugal came away from that little place, Bangladesh, Pakistan. Why? Because they all must come home, bringing their power back home for the fulfillment of these end time prophecies. God was weakening them to such a point that the only time they will ever shine again, is in the hour of Revelation 13. Therefore for the past forty years, while Israel, as a nation, has been rising to a restored position, Europe has slowly been reconstructed also. When their power of colonialism was cut off over here in these other areas, it only forced them to come home and be realigned in the continent of Europe. Therefore a year ago, when President Bush went to the NATO conference in Brussels, and stood there making his speech, he said words that fit right into prophecy. At that time he was going to offer Gorbachev this sort of gesture, If you will be prepared to pull back certain conventional forces and you will go that far, we will take out of Europe so many thousands of troops also, as a token that we believe Europe can be rid of all this massing of armament, and the fear of another war. As the ten horn nations sat there listening to him, every one of their leaders were smiling. There seemed to be a unified spirit come on that gathering. The words were said, Greater Europe is in the making. That is a twentieth century name for the beast of Revelation 13. When you read it, (Rev. 13:1) "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy." That is the same old Roman Empire that had went down, wounded and defeated, in the closing of the Dark Ages; and it stayed in that wounded state for a hundred and some years. Now they are all unified and tied together once again. Every last one of these political leaders, when it comes time to make a move of some kind, the first thing they do is run to the Vatican and talk with the pope. Saints, I want you to know, The Vatican is not God's holy seat. The Vatican is not God's church headquarters. It is Satan's strong hold. The pope sits today in Rome, right where Caesar Augustus and Tiberius and Claudius, and Nero used to sit. It is the same spirit of Satan, only his men wear a different cloak. The caesars were temporal powers; and the pope represents ecclesiastical power; but they are all of the same spirit. The pope of Rome is not looking for the coming of Jesus. He might let you think he is, but behind the scene, he does not believe this world is ever going to be ruled by the Messiah, the way you and I believe it. As we see Europe coming to the surface and entering this era she is destined for, she has not yet come to the point of requesting that the pope become the administrator of this new, greater Europe envisioned for mankind; but she will. Remember the article I read last year, written and compiled by a bunch of Charismatic church men, and a copy sent to the pope, suggesting that he receive the Prince of Peace Award. That is how this carnal minded church world thinks today. We hear much today about men receiving This award or That award; especially the Nobel Peace Prize; but that is not what they are suggesting the pope receive. It is another type of prize altogether. They envision that this should be brought about, at least by two years from the time that letter was written. Well we know already, that the economic market has 1992 as their focal year for setting things in motion. We can see how, for the past forty years the west has fortified Europe, and spent millions of dollars rebuilding it financially, and we can see what it is all leading to. As I sat watching, when President Bush made the speech suggesting what he did, I said, Europe will never fight another war among themselves. Fighting is gone from them. They have no will to fight any more. Why? They see a new era. They actually want to be brother helping brother. They are yielding themselves to this vision. As they yield themselves to this, you cannot help but see it is a Europe in which economists are now saying, Europe is the next great industrial power the world will be forced to contend with. The United States is a dying industrial nation. Europe is coming alive now, as the new world order our President spoke of, is being ushered in. As Europe came on with this, just all of a sudden, within the same year of time, as Europe was beginning to rejoice with such a hope, what happened? The hand of God began to strike the great Communist empire. The thing that had stood there as a scare crow for forty years, making Europe do what she has been doing, all of a sudden God just reached out and blew it all to pieces. That is why I say, You Assemblies of God, and you charismatic preachers who have preached for years that Communism is the Antichrist, where is your revelation now? Even Gorbachev had to come and stick his cheek against the pope, like they were brothers. Something is wrong somewhere down the line.

Continued