The Real Threat is a sermon teaching us to realize that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Key verses:
Revelation 12:1-17

I’m going to ask you to take your Bible now and turn with me to Revelation chapter 12, Revelation chapter 12. I don’t know if you keep track of this sort of thing, but we used this passage not as the primary text, but we used it in a recent message a few weeks ago but didn’t do the entire chapter, and hopefully, we will do the entire chapter this evening. I want to share with you and talk to you about the real threat we have.

Who is the Threat?

People say the real threat is a world leader. If I mention the name, everybody here will recognize it. A world leader said recently in a speech that the real threat in the world today is climate change, and that is the real threat today. Others mention other people.

You know, I’ve heard two people. One person said this to me personally, and then I heard it from the news from another person. The gentleman said to me, personally, “You know the problem in the world today is evangelical Christians.” And then a member of Congress said this week, and perhaps late last week, that the big threat in the world today is fundamentalist Christians. You think about that. A member of Congress said that.

Now, I told you this morning you need to pray for these folks. You do. You need to pray for them. You need to pray for God to work in their heart, and their life, their mind. Need to pray for their souls to be saved. You need to pray for them.

Of course, in the news recently, it’s been largely dominated by news of war. There’s the war in Ukraine, which is kind of taking a backseat to the war in the Middle East. I was reading this afternoon that the organization Hezbollah, which centers itself in Lebanon, has chosen not to attack Israel at this time, although they’ve already done some attacking. And they don’t want Israel to attack them because they don’t want the war to spread.

Well, I’m going to make a statement here. I’ve made it often. I’ve never made it in the pulpit before, as far as I can remember. I might have and forgot about it, but I made it often in other places, and this may sound a little bit bias to some of you, but trust me. This is wisdom in your life, and this is true across the board. It’s just good wisdom to never pick a fight with a fighter. I mean, just don’t do that. You pick a fight with a fighter you’re going to get a fight. You are, and so just don’t do that. That’s what I call a Michael McClureism. What’s a Michael McClureism? It’s something that I came up with, not quoting somebody else.

Old Testament Threats

Throughout history, there have been numerous and there are ongoing attempts to totally eliminate the people of Israel from the face of the earth or, at the very least, to subdue them and enslave them. Now, you think about that. The people of Israel, who were descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, are the people through whom God chose to reveal himself to the rest of the world. Through Israel, we have the Holy Scriptures, the Bible. All of the authors of the Bible, with the possible exception of Luke, were of the house of Israel. Through Israel, we have the Messiah, the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

What if there was someone who did not want the world to know about God? What if someone did not want the world to know about Jesus Christ? What if someone didn’t want the world to have the Bible? We’re going to read about that in a moment.

But let me just take you through a little bit of history. If you recall, in the Garden of Eden, Satan tempted the woman to disobey God. Now, it was Adam who got the credit for that, and I’m not saying he shouldn’t have. Don’t misunderstand. He should have gotten the credit for that because he was the one in charge.

Let me interject something else here. This is not original to me, but it’ll help you some. A lot of people think they want to be the boss. They want to be the person in charge. They want to. And I’m going to tell you, it’s not all you think it is to be. Because when you’re the one at the top, you’re responsible for everything. Just think about that next time you criticize your boss and say you want to trade places, “Yeah, I like to trade places with him (or her). They get paid more, and yeah, they get more responsibility too.”

So, Adam should have received the blame, and he did. But down through history, there have been so many attempts to eliminate Israel. The pharaoh of Egypt enslaved the people of Israel, and he had no intention that they would ever be anything else but slaves. Moses was sent by the Lord to lead them out, but in their journey through the wilderness, they came up against enemies. They came up against one who would not let them pass through their land to get to the Promised Land. Once they got into the Promised Land, the fighting actually began. There was battle after battle, and that never really stopped.

You go through the Book of Joshua, and you go through the Book of Judges. The Book of Judges tells you about nation after nation. Many times, the same group, but not always, would rise up against Israel to destroy them, conquer them, and destroy them.

In the Book of Genesis, Abraham, we looked at this recently, led his people to war. But in Judges, battle after battle. And what would happen? An oppressor would rise up. They would conquer the people, and they would be under oppression until they called out to God. Then God would send a judge to deliver them, and things would be good for a while. And then they would turn away from God, and another oppressor would come. It’s a cycle that continues throughout the Book of Judges.

Then, you get into the period of the Kings. And I’ve told you this before. This is not new, but I just want to remind you the only king of Israel who didn’t have war was Solomon, the only one. Isn’t it interesting that his name means Prince of Peace? He was the Prince of Peace. He had peace. The only king who didn’t have wars. His father did, his son did, the king before his father did, and all the kings after Solomon had wars until the final king was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar. So, there’s been attempt after attempt. Now, we’re in the Old Testament. Let’s go to the New Testament.

New Testament Threats

Jesus Christ is born. King Herod gets news of the birth of Christ, and he sends his police force, as it were, down to attack and destroy all the male babies. Do you remember in Egypt, Pharaoh did the same thing, wanted to destroy all the male babies? Why destroy the male babies? If you destroy the male babies, the nation ceases to exist. So, it was Herod in the New Testament period.

You have the Babylonians and then the Persians. That’s still in the Old Testament. In the New Testament period, the Greeks and the Romans conquered Israel. That’s why the trade language of the world at the time of Jesus was Greek because the Greeks had conquered all of that.

The Romans came behind them. The Romans finally destroyed Jerusalem. Their intent was that the people of Israel had been rebellious against the Roman leadership, and then Caesar decided he was going to put that down once and for all. There’d be no more rebellion. Well, there wasn’t anymore in the days of the Roman Empire. Now, that area, since the Roman conquest, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, has changed hands, changed ownership, changed rulership many times, many times, since then.

You get up into the 19th and 20th centuries, early 20th century, and the British are ruling that area. They were far from the first. But in the 20th century, and it’s been said that the 20th century was the bloodiest century in history, and that’s probably true. You had the Holocaust, which was an attempt, as it was called by Adolf Hitler, the final solution. What does he mean by the final solution? He means he was getting rid of the people of Israel once and for all. They wouldn’t exist after his efforts.

Now, we have today, and antisemitism is growing. It’s growing worldwide, it’s growing in our country, it’s growing in other countries, and it’s growing worldwide. Public figures are coming out and calling for the end in the destruction of Israel. I don’t mean just the Islamic people. I mean other people as well. So, who is the real threat? What is the real threat? Is it the Islamic terrorist? Well, they’re a part of it, to be sure. I want to make a comment about terrorism. It is the work of Satan. It is, and I’m going to say more about that in a little bit here.

Present Day Enemies

So, what if there was someone who wanted to destroy the people of Israel because he didn’t want the rest of the world to have knowledge of God? He didn’t want the people to have the Holy Scripture. Or what if he can’t destroy the Holy Scriptures because they’re so widely dispersed in our day and age? What if he just wants to make it look as though the Bible isn’t true?

Do you realize that if you can destroy Israel, it makes it look like the Bible’s not true? What if that same person wanted to invent these things and present them to the world? Wanted to invent new revelations of God and present them to the world? What if that same one wanted to hurt the people of Israel in order to keep them from being used to spread the truth?

So, we’ve already talked about the Egyptians. We’ve talked about others: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites, Moabites, Midianites, Ammonites, Philistines. Let me share with you something about the Ammonites. The king of the Ammonites was Ammon. That was his name, Ammon. There is a city today called Aman. They don’t pronounce it Ammon. They pronounce it Aman. It is named for the king of the Ammonites because it is where the Ammonites live. What country is that? Jordan. Now, thus far, in the Middle East conflict, Jordan has stayed out of it. I understand that, though, and I read this. I don’t know if this is fact. It’s something I read that 85% of the Palestinian people live in Jordan, not in what’s called Palestine. It’s interesting.

I met a man one day a couple of years ago who was from Jordan. And I said to him, “I’ve never been to Jordan, but I’ve seen it.” He thought about that for a moment, and then he said, “You’ve been to Jerusalem?” I said, “That’s right.” Because from Jerusalem you can see Jordan, you can. It’s just across the river. Now, those are the ancient enemies.

Present-day enemies of Israel would be Palestine, Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon. Yemen has already entered into the fighting. Sudan, Algeria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia to a lesser degree, but still, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Morocco, Tunisia, Afghanistan, and others. Now, realize that the whole country of Israel, geographically speaking, could fit in the State of Florida. Do you understand that? It’s no bigger than Florida, the whole country, and it’s surrounded by these countries with populations far larger, who are the enemies.

That is why when I was there, now, I have to explain to you that it’s been 30 years since I was there, but when I was there, and I assume it’s the same way, almost everybody in the country carried a gun. “Oh, wasn’t crime awful over there?” No. At that time, it might be now, it might be different now, but when I was there, the worst street crime, pretty much, that happened was a pickpocket, and they did have pickpockets. You had to be aware of that. But as far as mugging attacks on the street, they didn’t happen. Why not? Almost everybody carried a gun.

When you go to a restaurant, you don’t see this so much anymore, but you used to see it. When laws were changing about smoking and so forth, you walk into a restaurant, and some other public buildings have a picture of a pack of cigarettes with a circle and slash over it. Does anybody remember that? Okay, the buildings there, you went into a restaurant that had a circle slash over the pack of cigarettes, and next to it had a circle slash over a picture of a gun because you were supposed to check your gun at the door when you came in and pick it up on the way out. “Well, why did everybody carry a gun? Are they that evil and hateful towards each other? No, absolutely not. They carried the guns because of the terrorists because they knew they were surrounded by enemies.

An Ancient Enemy

But none of these people have been the enemies of Israel or are the enemies of Israel. None of them are as ancient or as vehemently opposed to Israel as the one described here in Revelation 12.

Let me say this, and then we’re going to get into it. Some people look at the events of Revelation 12 and see it as all prophecy and all future. I’m going to tell you part of it is a future prophecy, and part of it is history. It’s already happened. It happened a long time ago. Now, I’ll share with you, as we go along, why I think that way. But the enemy that’s the chief enemy of Israel is mentioned often in the scriptures. He’s described in Isaiah 14:12-5 and Ezekiel 28:1-9. Matthew shows us some of his work in Matthew 2:16-18. We already made reference to that, but let me read it to you.

Matthew 2:16: “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.”

Listen:

Matthew 2:17: “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,”

Matthew 2:18: “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.”

Jesus speaks of this enemy in Luke 10:18. Listen carefully to His words:

Luke 10:18: “And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.”

He said I watched Satan like a bolt of lightning fall from Heaven. In Isaiah 14 it says:

Isaiah 14:12: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”

“How art thou fallen … O Lucifer, son of the morning,” – keep those references in mind. Let’s look at the text now.

The Woman

Revelation 12:1: “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:”

Let’s stop right there. On her head was a crown of 12 stars. The number 12 is significant in the Bible. Numbers are used with meaning in the Bible. Let me help you with this. So, some people go to extremes with numerology, and they start telling fortunes by it and all that. We’re not talking about any of that. What we are talking about is this. The number seven is generally considered the number of completion. The number 40, which you see often, is the number of judgment. Forty days did the rain come in Noah’s time, and in other cases, usually, a number associated with judgment.

But the number three is very significant because it is the number of the Trinity. Now, 12, 3 * 4 is 12, and so you have 12, a significant number. Now, I want you to think about that. Let’s read the description again in verse one:

Revelation 12:1: “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:”

Now, think about that number 12. Where in the Bible is 12 significant? There are 12 tribes of Israel, and then Jesus, when he began his ministry, called 12 apostles. Well, this doesn’t refer to the 12 apostles. It refers to the 12 tribes of Israel, 12 stars. This is not Mary. This woman is not Mary. Mary is related, but this woman is the nation of Israel, if you read Isaiah 7:14 or Isaiah 9:6. Isaiah 7:14 is where it says, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 9:6 is where it says, “And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” So, verse two:

Revelation 12:2: “And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.”

So, the woman brings forth a child. Paul writes:

Galatians 4:4: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,”

Galatians 4:5: “To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

The Red Dragon

Verses three and four, there’s another wonder in Heaven. Look at it:

Revelation 12:3: “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.”

Revelation 12:4: “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.”

“And the dragon stood before the woman.” Watch it. “Which was ready to be delivered.” Why? “For to devour her child as soon as it was born.”

Now, if Israel is the woman, who is the child? Well, that would be the Messiah, that would be Jesus. The great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, remember those numbers seven and ten. You’ll see them again. The dragon stood before the woman, waiting and watching to destroy the child as soon as it was born. Herod’s Slaughter of the Innocents in Bethlehem was a desire to eliminate the child. There’s no question about it. There’s a desire to stop the coming of the Savior into the world.

It was the same thing Pharaoh wanted to do when he was in Egypt, destroying all the male babies. See, the promise of the Messiah was given in the Garden of Eden. Do you think Pharaoh knew about the Messiah? I doubt it, but he wanted to wipe out the people of Israel. Well, if he didn’t know about it, how does that play into the story of getting rid of the child? Well, there was somebody else who knew about it. Verses five and six:

Revelation 12:5: “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.”

“And she brought forth a man child.” This isn’t just any man-child. Look at it. Look at the description.

Revelation 12:5: “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 child was to rule all nations. That’s Messiah, the prince. He rules with a rod of iron. His rule is to be with great authority and great strength. He’s caught up to the throne of God. When Stephen was stoned to death, he was the first martyr for Jesus Christ. Steven, just before he died, looks up and sees into Heaven, and he sees the Savior standing at the right hand of the throne of God.

War in Heaven

So verse six:

Revelation 12:6: “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.”

“A thousand two hundred and threescore days” is approximately three and a half years, just short of 1,260 days, just short of three and a half years. Now, that is speaking of the Tribulation period, which is yet to come. That period is seven years. So, 3 and 1/2 years in is halfway through. It’s the dragon that we’re talking about tonight. Go to verse seven:

Revelation 12:7: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,”

Now, back up to verse four. It says his tail, the dragon’s tail, drew the third part of the stars of Heaven. These stars of Heaven refer to the angels of Heaven, and he took a third of them with him. “How do you know that?” I read the rest of the chapter. So, verse seven again, “There was war in heaven.” Michael fights. Michael is the great warrior angel of Heaven.

Of all the angels of which we’re told, there is an innumerable company of all of them. We only know the names of three. There is Lucifer. There’s Gabriel, the great messenger angel who appears to Daniel, appears to Joseph, appears to Mary, appears to Zachariah, and then there’s Michael, the great warrior angel. In the book of Jude, it says Michael was in a dispute with Satan over the body of Moses, but he dares “not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”

Now, why would they be in a dispute over the body of Moses? When Moses died, his body was hidden. God buried Moses, and why did He do that? Well, it doesn’t say specifically, but I think the answer is pretty obvious. If we knew the location of Moses’ burial spot today, folks would make an idol out of it. They would. They would go there, and they would worship there, and they would make an idol out of it. God said I’m not having that. So, He hid the body of Moses. Only God knows the burial spot. Read verse seven again:

Revelation 12:7: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,”

“How do you know that the third of the Stars means angels?” Well, he, the dragon, has angels:

Revelation 12:8: “And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.”

When this war occurred, and I believe this is history, it’s past tense, occurred a long time ago. Their place was not found in Heaven. They are tossed out of Heaven. “Well, why do you think this isn’t in the future? Why do you think it’s in the past?” You read your Bible all the way through, starting with Genesis. Whenever you find Satan mentioned, where is he? He’s always on the earth. Never once is he mentioned of being in Heaven, except for Isaiah 14, and in this passage, it says he’s cast out of Heaven. He is always on the Earth.

In Job, the Lord says to Satan, “Where have you been, Satan?’ He says walking to and fro in the Earth, up and down in it. Peter writes:

1 Peter 5:8: “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

That’s not in Heaven, that’s on earth. Scripture calls him the god of this world and the prince of the power of the air. He is not in Heaven and hasn’t been for a very long time. So, he has an army, a third of the angels, to assist him. We call those demons or demonic spirits. God promised Abraham protection and his seed. God says:

Genesis 12:3: “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

So, again, verse seven:

Revelation 12:7: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,”

Revelation 12:8: “And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.”

And the great dragon was cast out. Now, we’ve mentioned this several times, but in Genesis is the first appearance of Satan, and he appears in the form of what? A serpent. Look at verse nine:

Revelation 12:9: “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.”

“That old serpent,” not a coincidence. He was cast out into Hell. Is that what it says? What does it say? “Into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Now, that is the origin of demons or demonic spirits, and that is God’s history of how Lucifer became Satan and how demonic spirits came to Earth.

End Times

Verse 10:

Revelation 12:10: “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

Who’s the accuser of the brethren? Satan. Who’s the brethren? You. Verses 10 and 11 talk about the future.

Revelation 12:11: “And 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.”

Do you want to overcome Satan? This is how you do it: by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of your testimony. Your testimony of salvation.

Revelation 12:12: “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters 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.”

Why does he know that he has but a short time? The Savior has come. He’s come, and He’s purchased our salvation. After the resurrection of Christ and the day of Pentecost, the period of the end times begins. “Well, my goodness, preacher, that’s been over 2,000 years now.” It has been. “Well, don’t you think that’s a bit long?” No. I think it’s in God’s hands. It’s in God’s timing.

But understand this. The authors of the New Testament thought they were living in the end times. They did. You read the writings of Paul and Peter, and they thought the end was near in their time. They thought the return of the Lord was near. They had reason to think that.

So, in this chapter, so far, we’ve seen how God used Israel to bring the Messiah, the Savior, into this lost world. We saw how Satan tried to destroy the Savior. In Matthew chapter four, in Satan’s temptation of Jesus, he tried to get Jesus to jump off the pinnacle of the temple. He tried to get Jesus to worship him. He tried to do everything to keep him from fulfilling his work as Messiah.

You may remember in Matthew where Jesus talked about how He was going to be crucified, and Peter stepped up and said, “No, no, may it never be.” And what did Jesus say to Peter at that point? “Get thee behind me, Satan.” Now, is Peter Satan? No, but what He’s saying is he was doing the work of Satan to try to keep Him from going to the cross. In this chapter, we see that there’s war in Heaven. Satan and his followers are driven out.

Satan’s Revenge

In the last five verses of this chapter, we’re going to see Satan’s revenge on the people of Israel. Look at verse 12 again:

Revelation 12:12: “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters 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.”

Revelation 12:13: “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.”

He persecuted the woman. Who is the woman in this chapter? That is Israel. There’s no doubt about it. He will attack Israel. Now, let’s talk about terrorism. I said we would. A terrorist is a coward. “Oh, that’s dangerous to say.” Well, it’s true because let me tell you how terrorists operate. You see, armies fight against armies. Armies attack armies, and they have war. A terrorist is a person who, in many cases, has already been part of an army going to war. Not in every case, sometimes they’ve never been in a war – that is, in an army in a war.

So, they know that the battle has already been fought, and they could not overcome. Their army could not overcome. So, the terrorist comes in, and he doesn’t try to launch an all-out attack like with an army because he doesn’t have an army that can do it. The terrorist comes, and he attacks that which you love, that which is dear to you. That’s why they’re called terrorists because when they kill the people you love when they destroy the things that you love, that causes you to have terror. Then, it intimidates you, and it’ll cause you to give in.

So, Satan attacks that which God loves. In this case, that would be Israel. Not only Israel, but it would be Israel. Listen to Jeremiah 31:3, God says to Israel:

Jeremiah 31:3: “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

So, God loves Israel. He [Satan] already had the war against God. He didn’t win and was cast out. So, now he attacks that which God loves.

Merriam-Webster defines terrorism as violence or threat of violence used as a weapon of intimidation or coercion, especially violent or destructive acts committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands. That’s not my definition. That’s the dictionary definition. That’s what Satan does to the people who are the object of God’s love. They cannot hurt or harm God directly, but they can wound the heart of God by attacking that which God loves. And my friends, that is Israel, but that’s also you. God loves the people of Israel. So, out of a heart of revenge, Satan attacks the people of Israel.

The first promise of the Redeemer, as we’ve already said, is given in Genesis 3:15. From that point on, there are prophecies telling us that the Savior is going to come from the nation of Israel, be born of a virgin, be born in Bethlehem of the tribe of Judah, of the family of David.

Daniel 9:25 tells us that the time of the coming of the Messiah would be 483 years from the going forth of the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem. The promises and the prophecies regarding the coming of the Savior have been fulfilled, and they cannot be changed. So, Satan turns to revenge. By the way, from the going forth of the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem, 483 years later, Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Throughout the history of the world, there have been events that have threatened the people of Israel. Some of these are obvious, some are far more subtle, but the effort goes on. Now, what’s Satan’s motive for revenge? Well, he was cast out of Heaven, having failed in his rebellion. Isaiah 14 tells us he wanted to ascend up into the heavens, into Mount Zion, into the most high. He basically wanted to sit on the throne of God. Keep that in mind later on as you read chapter 13 of Revelation.

Satan comes and attacks Jesus, trying to prevent Him from fulfilling His work. And Jesus says you shall hear of many:

Matthew 24:5: “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”

We see that today, there are many deceivers in the world.

Matthew 24:6: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

Matthew 24:7: “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”

Did you hear about this? I didn’t. I heard about it late. It happened long before I heard about it. Just a couple of days ago, I heard they had a huge volcanic eruption in New Zealand. How many of you have heard about that? A few of you did. Okay. I didn’t hear about it until a couple of days ago. Did you hear that about a week or two ago, they had earthquakes in California? I know what you think, what’s new. Jesus said all these are the beginning of sorrows. They shall deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you. You shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. Now, look at chapter 12, verse 13:

Revelation 12:13: “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.”

He can’t destroy the man-child. He can’t destroy the Savior. He can’t destroy Christ. He tried, but he failed. So, what does he do? Attacks that which He loves, attacks the people of Israel. It says in verse 13 again:

Revelation 12:13: “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.”

Revelation 12:14: “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.”

“A time, and times, and half a time.” There are seven years in the Tribulation period. One time (one year) + times (two years) + half a time = three and a half years. Wings of a great eagle, into her place. In Exodus 19:4, God says:

Exodus 19:4: “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.”

Isn’t that interesting?

Isaiah 40:31: “But 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.”

So, she’s in her place for 1,260 days, three and a half years, half of the Tribulation period, a time, a time, and half a time. Israel will flee from the face of the serpent who is persecuting her. Now, all of these persecutions of the people of Israel throughout history have not been by the same people groups. They’ve certainly not been by the same individuals, but they have all been the work of Satan. Antisemitism is satanic, it is.

I wrote this the other day; maybe some of you saw it, and maybe some of you didn’t. It’s okay, but I wrote this. You can’t call yourself a Christian and be antisemitic for the simple reason that the word “Christian” means Christlike, and it is absurd to think that Jesus Christ hates the people of Israel. That’s absolutely absurd. So, if you’re Christlike, you can’t hate Him either.

This is Satan getting his revenge. His revenge is twofold. It’s against God, an ongoing attempt to thwart prophecy to try to prove that the Bible is false and unreliable.

A Flood of Armies

In verse 15 it says:

Revelation 12:15: “And 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.”

Revelation 12:16: “And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.”

This flood is a flood of armies. It’s not just a flood of water; it’s a flood of armies. How do you conclude that? Well, it’s consistent in biblical prophecy. Listen to Isaiah 8:7-8:

Isaiah 8:7: “Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:”

The king of Assyria and his armies are called in Isaiah 8:7-8, and they are called a great flood. Verse eight:

Isaiah 8:8: “And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.”

“Emmanuel” –  God With Us.

Isaiah 17:12: “Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!”

Isaiah 17:13: “The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.”

Jeremiah 46:7: “Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?”

Jeremiah 46:8: “Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.”

So, this flood from the serpent’s mouth is not just water; it’s a massive military attack upon the people of Israel, but look at verse 16 again:

Revelation 12:16: “And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.”

Let me read to you from Ezekiel 39:12-13. This talks about the attack described in Ezekiel 38 of a league of nations. A league of nations, not the League of Nations, a league of nations attacking Israel. In chapter 39:12- 13, it says:

Ezekiel 39:12: “And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.”

Who are they burying? Those who attack them for seven months.

Ezekiel 39:13: “Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.”

The Remnant

Now, verse 17:

Revelation 12:17: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Now, if they have the testimony of Jesus Christ, these are believers. These are believers. So, Satan’s going to continue to attack the people of Israel, but God always has a faithful remnant, throughout the scriptures, those who keep the commandments of God. Satan is the enemy of God, and by extension, he’s the enemy of the people of God. Paul writes in Romans 1:16:

Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Satan will attack the people of Israel through whom God has revealed himself to the world. He will continue to try to avoid prophetic promises in God’s Word. He is the enemy of God’s people. We mentioned already 1 Peter 5:8

1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober [be serious], be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

Listen to verse nine:

1 Peter 5:9: “Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

The Real Threat

So, who or what is the real threat? Satan. There is a war going on, a terror war, that Satan has been carrying on for thousands of years. What is his goal? His goal is to turn as many people as possible away from God.

Now, if Israel survives and succeeds, stays strong as a nation, then that belies in the minds of many people the promises of God. If he [Satan] can erase the church, that belies in the mind of many people the promises of God. That’s exactly what Satan would like to see happen. But I’m going to tell you the good news. In the end, God wins. The battle goes on, but God wins.

We didn’t turn there; we were in Revelation 12. You turn over a little later in the Revelation, and you’ll find Satan and his followers cast in the lake of fire. God wins. I like to sing that song sometimes. We’re not going to sing it tonight. We sometimes like to sing the song “Who is on the Lord’s Side.” It’s exactly what it’s about.

We’re going to pray. We’re going to sing a hymn of invitation. If you need prayer, you need anything else, spiritually speaking. If there’s a spiritual need in your life, this is your time to come.

~~~~~~~

Father, thank you for blessing us. Thank you for your Word, which is so clear and so plain. Help us, Lord, to realize that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness in high places. Lord, we are in the battle. We are in the fight, but the real threat, the real threat in this world, is the evil of the evil one. Lord, let us realize that we find hope, we find help, we find victory in Christ alone, and that we know whom we have believed. We are persuaded that He is able to keep that which you promised until that day of his return.

Bless and move now in our invitation time. Move in our hearts. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

---

Watch the prerecorded live version of the entire service and sermon, The Real Threat, on Facebook.

The Real Threat — Related Sermons

You may also want to listen to or view these sermons:

Faithful to the End of the Road

Heaven or Hell?