Watchman on the Wall

Southwest Radio Ministries: Welcome to Watchman on the Wall, a daily outreach of Southwest Radio Ministries and swrc.com. God is still on the throne and prayer changes things.

Today Donald Perkins continues helping us understand the book of Revelation, and then a little later Josh Davis will discuss the Christian's view of Israel in today's world. Our weekly television program Prophecy in the News is now on the CTN network.

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Prophecy in the News television is made possible by your prayers and financial gifts. Thank you, friends, for your continued support. To learn more, visit swrc.com. Time to get our Bibles out and open to the book of Revelation. Donald Perkins is here, ready to help us truly understand this important book of the Bible.

Donald Perkins: We're continuing our series "Understanding the Book of Revelation." This is part 33. Last time I was with you, we were in chapter 12. We closed up looking at the war in heaven. So I want to pick up looking again at the war in heaven.

We talked last week about this great red dragon representing Satan. We talked about him having seven heads and ten horns and what that represented. But now we're moving into this event where Satan himself, the literal devil himself, and his angels are about to go into a war with Michael and his archangels.

And what's going to happen? The scripture lets us know—this is found in Revelation chapter 12, I'm going to bring in our chart again—it's right at the midpoint of the Great Tribulation. Last week I talked about at this point, Satan is now on a downhill trajectory toward eternal judgment. So in chapter 12 here, we again find Satan being cast to the earth.

So I want to pick up with the text again just to remind you of what we're looking at here. Revelation chapter 12, verses 7 through 9. John wrote, "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was there place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

Now, we talked last week that at this point, again at the midpoint of the tribulation, Satan now will be lowered. God's going to lower his realm of influence. Today his kingdom is in the lower heavens. I shared last week he's not in hell. He does not control hell. His kingdom is in the lower heaven, the sky, or the universe. He does not abide in the third heaven.

But God is going to dispatch Michael the Archangel to war against him. We looked also last week in chapter 12 of Daniel, and chapter 12 of Daniel talked about Michael being the chief prince, or this great warrior angel who's coming on behalf of the children of Israel. So I want to read that text as well again.

Daniel 12, verse 1. Daniel wrote, "And at that time..." I want to stop for a second. That term "at that time" is a time term. It's talking about the time of the Great Tribulation. It's talking about at the midpoint of the Great Tribulation. "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people."

He's talking about this angel is going to stand up for Daniel's people, Israel, the Jews. Look what it says: "And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time." This gives reference to the midpoint of the tribulation when Israel is in travail. She's in a time that she's never been in. And at that time is when this war in heaven is going to take place.

God is going to cast the devil from his lower perch. It goes on to say, "And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." And we'll talk a little bit more about that, because at this time at the midpoint of the tribulation, this is also when Satan empowers the Antichrist. We'll see in chapter 13, Satan empowers the Antichrist, and at that point the Antichrist will desecrate the Jewish altar.

And then the Bible said Jesus warned his Jewish brothers: when you see the abomination of desolation that takes place, when you see that abominable thing, he said flee to the mountains. So the Jewish people at that time will have to flee. But the latter part of Daniel says here that they will be delivered, those whose names are found written in the book. And again, those that will flee and run at that time, God's going to protect them, and we'll look at that as we go forward in the study.

Now again, I like to quote scholars in regards to this. So I want to quote here Dr. Clarence Larkin from his book, *The Book of Revelation*. And listen to what he says in regards to the war in heaven. Listen to this. He said the opposing commanders of chief of the war in heaven will be Michael and the dragon, Satan. We are first introduced to Michael in the book of Daniel, and his appearance here is a confirmation that this part of the book of Revelation is Jewish and a continuation and supplement to the book of Daniel.

Michael is called, I love this, in the book of Daniel he's called the chief prince or one of the chief princes. This is Daniel chapter 10, verse 13. He's also called your prince, talking to Daniel. He's your prince, Daniel. He's the prince of the Jews. Daniel chapter 10, verse 21. He's that chief angel that God has assigned to Daniel's people, Israel. And then he's called the great prince which standeth for thy people. This is Daniel chapter 12, verse number one.

So Michael is on assignment to protect the nation of Israel during the time of the tribulation. Now Dr. Larkin goes on to say this: that is, Michael has been chosen from among the chief princes that stand before God to be the protector of Daniel's people, the Jews. In Jude 9, he is called the Archangel, and as there is but one Archangel spoken of in the Bible, Michael must be he.

He also has something to do with the resurrection of the dead, for he is associated with the resurrection mentioned in Daniel chapter 12, verses one and two. And he contested with the devil dealing with the resurrection of Moses in Jude 9. And the voice of the Archangel that will be heard when the dead in Christ shall rise—this is First Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 16—will be the voice of the Archangel.

So at the time of the rapture, the Archangel's voice will declare, he'll blow the trump and the church will be raptured. So Michael the Archangel, God will use him in the latter days, but his main assignment is that he is called as the protector of the nation of Israel. And during the tribulation, he's going to protect Israel. There will be events that will take place that will be supernatural, and we know that God's influence will be there to help many of the Jews that come to Christ during that time.

Now I want to look at something here in the passage, because we're going to see something here that is so good. In Daniel chapter 12, verse 9, as John writes this as Jesus tells him what to write, we're going to see four different titles given to the devil or given to Satan here. And what I want to do, I want to read the text for you here in Revelation chapter 12, verse 9.

John wrote this: "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Now Revelation chapter 12, verse 9 gives us four names or four titles for the enemy of our soul. Here he's called the great dragon, he's called the old serpent, he's called the devil and Satan.

And I believe that this also gives us reference to him. Now this same terminology is also given in the book of Revelation; we find it again in Revelation chapter 20, verse number two. I'm going to read this. Verse 2 of chapter 20, Revelation, says this: "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years." Now we're going to learn more about this. This will be the binding of Satan right at the beginning of the millennial kingdom. Satan will be bound. But again, the scriptures give us the four names that's associated with the enemy of our soul.

So I want to quote here from the book *Revelation Unveiled* by the late Dr. Tim LaHaye. Listen to what he says in regards to these four titles. He said then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his head. Revelation 12:3. The world today does not believe in a literal devil, except merely an evil principle from without.

But the Bible teaches an evil personality from without called the devil. The passage alone details several things about him. And again, we're going to look at these four different titles. So first, he's called the dragon, the great red dragon, or an enormous red dragon. Here he is red because he is the motivating force behind much of the bloodshed in human history from Cain to the present time.

And again, I like that understanding of it because he's a red dragon. Murder is part of the devil's MO. The Bible calls him a thief. He's a killer. He steals, kills, and destroys. He is a red dragon symbolizing blood. He's also called the serpent or the ancient serpent. And you kind know where this is going already. But this refers to the first time the devil is seen in the Bible, in the Garden of Eden.

He's called the great serpent or the serpent or the deceiver. Satan deceived Eve into biting the fruit that damned her soul. And again, Adam, he willingly partook of that, but the deceiver, the old serpent, he's called the serpent. So here in the book of Revelation we are still dealing with the enemy that was in the garden in the beginning. Same devil, same MO.

Now he's called the devil. This is also found in verse 9 of chapter 12 here. This is the name used in the gospel for the enemy of God. It means slanderer and accuser. Satan is a slanderer, the devil, he's an accuser. And again, this devil, he doesn't like you. The devil is not your friend. You gotta understand that. People today think that they can be friends with the devil. No, you can't. The devil is evil, and we should have nothing to do with him.

Jesus conquered and defeated him at Calvary, and we need to stand in that victory that Christ has given us. Now let me give you the last name: Satan. This is also found in verse number 9. This name means adversary. The devil is the adversary of all of God's children. The accuser of our brethren, verse 10. This indicates his work before the throne of God today, seeking to discredit the saints before God.

Now he's called the accuser of the brethren. The devil accuses you day and night before God. But you know something? In chapter 12, we're going to find out that the accuser of the brethren, at the time of Revelation 12, he will no longer be able to accuse mankind before God ever again. God is limiting Satan's influence. God is casting him to the earth, and what's going to happen when Satan is cast to the earth at this time? He's coming down, the Bible says, with great wrath because the devil understands that the time clock is winding up. God is limiting his influence in the earth.

Now I want to give you another verse in reference to the adversary. This is found in First Peter chapter 5, verse 8. Peter wrote this: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." I love this. Peter said, be sober, Christian, in these times because you have an adversary. You have an enemy. You have the devil, and he's seeking to devour those that are weak. He's going through the land. This is the devil's MO. It's part of his name, it's part of his character, it's part of who he is.

But you know what I love so much about the book of Revelation? The book of Revelation gives us the demise of the devil. You heard me say when we first started this program that I was taught that you should never study the book of Revelation. I was taught that if you study that book, you could lose your mind. I was taught that in church. And as a matter of fact, when I first started reading the Bible, I would never go to the book of Revelation because I didn't want to lose my mind.

But you know what? I found out that the devil had lied to me. My adversary told me a lie in regards to the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation shows us the demise of the devil. And I really love that here. We see that the devil has a time that is winding down and God is taking control over him. We're going to see that as we go forward.

Now let's move back to the text, Revelation chapter 12, and we're going to pick up here starting at verse number 10 and 11. Look what John wrote. He said, "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. And they overcame him"—they overcame the devil—"by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."

This is an amazing text to me. Here in chapter 12, verse 10, as Satan is cast down to the earth, the Bible is letting us know here that a cry goes out in the heavens. The scripture says a loud voice saying, 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. The praises in heaven, the rejoicing in heaven because Satan will no longer be allowed to accuse the brethren before God.

It says the accuser which accused them before God day and night, 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. Here Satan is coming down with great anger, vengeance. He's angry because God has limited his influence, and but the Bible says that rejoicing will take place in heaven as a result of it. God is limiting this devil, and I'm so glad that he is.

Now I want to pick up at verse number 12. Look what he says: "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." As Satan is cast down, as Michael the Archangel and his angels take control over the devil and his angels and he casts Satan from his lower perch to the earth, the Bible says woe to the inhabitants.

Woe means curse be unto. And again, this is at the midpoint of the tribulation. This is why it's going to get worse and worse from the midpoint of the tribulation on. Jesus told his brother it's going to be a time that this world has never seen nor never ever will see again. Satan is coming down with great wrath. He's angry, he's mad because God has limited his time. But he's even mad because he realized that the clock is ticking on the wall. His days are numbered. His day where he will literally go into his eternal judgment, the lake of fire, is at hand. As I shared from my last week's program, the devil at this point is on a downhill trajectory. The scripture says woe to the inhabitants, curse be the inhabitants of those that are existing during that time.

Now I want to quote Dr. Clarence Larkin in reference to again what's going to happen here. He said here the war in heaven is started by the attempt to expel the dragon and his angels from the heavenlies. So Satan will be cast from the heavenlies. That dragon or Satan and his angels were not cast out of heaven at the time of his rebellion.

Now this gives reference to when Satan was cast out the first time. When Satan was cast out the first time, he was cast out of the third heaven, which was God's abode. But he wasn't cast out of the universe and the lower heaven. So that means that the devil had influence and access to that, to the present earth. He goes on to say that he said for he or Satan, he's had liberty to visit the Garden of Eden and to tempt Adam and Eve.

He has had access to God in heaven in the days of Job—this was nearly 2,000 years before Christ—Job 1:1 and Job 2:8, where Satan and God were talking. Satan was discussing. So he had access to go to and fro back then. And he was not totally cast out of the lower heavens. He was free to visit the earth in Christ's day to tempt him in the wilderness and later to sift Peter.

His origin is more or less shrouded in mystery, but one thing is certain: he is a created being and of the most exalted type. He was before his rebellion the anointed cherub that covereth, that is, he was the guardian or the protector of the throne of God. He was perfect in all his ways from the day that he was created until iniquity was found in him. In him was the fullness of wisdom and the perfection of beauty.

Now the devil, he really messed up. He gave up a lot. In him was the fullness of wisdom, he was perfection of beauty, he was the protector of the throne of God. But the scripture says iniquity was found in him, and that cast him out of the third heaven, and his kingdom was in the lower heaven. And I always like to reiterate that because again, we've been taught so many times that the devil is in hell or the devil is controlling his empire and kingdom from the regions of hell. You know, I hear people say all the time that came from the pit of hell. No, it didn't. It never came from the pit of hell. Satan's kingdom was never in the pit of hell. That's a coming judgment where God is going to judge the devil.

Southwest Radio Ministries: Donald Perkins will return on future programs to continue his teaching series on the book of Revelation. To enhance and grow your understanding of Revelation, we have several resources for you today. First, the book *No Uncertain Future: A Study Guide Commentary of Revelation* by Dr. Larry Spargimino; the DVD *Revealing Revelation* by J.R. Church; and Noah Hutchings' classic book, *Revelation for Today*.

All three of these resources are available right now when you call 1-800-652-1144. You can also order on our website swrc.com. *No Uncertain Future*, *Revealing Revelation*, and *Revelation for Today*. 1-800-652-1144. Two verses from Jeremiah are often listed among Christians' favorite verses in the Bible, but are some Christians taking these verses out of context? Josh Davis is here to explain.

Josh Davis: There's two verses out of the book of Jeremiah that are among some of the favorite verses in all the Bible for some Christians. And as soon as I read these verses to you, you'll say, "Yes, yes, that's a beautiful verse. That's a wonderful verse." And in fact, they truly are.

But my question to you today is: do some Christians pull these verses out of their original context and the intention with which God spoke these words and give it a meaning that is totally foreign to the original context? The first verse I want us to consider today is Jeremiah chapter 29 and verse 11. And some of you, as soon as I say Jeremiah 29:11, you know what that verse says. It's something that you've gone back to many times.

And perhaps as I read this verse, that you will think about the many messages that you have heard on this particular portion of scripture. This is what the verse says: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." We understand that the expected end there implies a hope and a future, that God thinks thoughts towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you this hope, to give you this future.

My goodness, what an encouraging verse of scripture that this truly is. But what's the context of this passage? The verse right before it, Jeremiah 29, verse 10, says this: "For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you."

That's Jeremiah 29, verses 10, 11, and 12. The context of this passage is about Israel and about how God was going to send them into the 70-year Babylonian captivity. And by the way, Daniel discovered this passage of scripture while he was in Babylon in captivity. It caused him to reflect on what God was doing, and it caused him to worship God.

Now if you want to read more about that, look at Daniel chapter number nine and you can see how Daniel understood Jeremiah's prophecy in a literal manner. And so yes, some Christians love Jeremiah 29:11, but then they have a different view on God's plan for Israel. Why do we take the promise of God in Jeremiah 29:11 as so literal and so encouraging for our souls, but then the context for Israel is just set aside?

And God forgot about Israel. God didn't have plans for Israel. God has fulfilled those in the church, or God has replaced the church with Israel and we just make it say something that it doesn't say. We want to take the good parts and apply it to our lives, but then we neglect the whole context of the verse. Now, I promised you two verses that we were going to be talking about.

The other one is also found in this book of Jeremiah, and over in chapter number 33. Jeremiah 33, verse 3 tells us: "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." And as Christians we apply this verse to our prayer lives and we claim this verse and we say, "Oh yes, God has said if we call unto him that he's going to answer us and he's going to show us great and mighty things that we do not know. He's going to reveal hidden things to us."

And we love to apply this verse to our lives. Again, what is the context of this passage? It is emphasizing Israel. This whole section—Jeremiah 29, 30, 31, 32, 33—is emphasizing the restoration of Israel. And in fact, in chapter 33, God is promising that he is going to restore Israel. If you look at the very end of Jeremiah chapter number 33, there's a whole section that is just so powerful and filled with promises of God to Jeremiah. And it's just amazing to consider some of these verses that God has said that he has not cast them away.

Now if we accurately understand the application of these scriptures, then it can have a full, rich meaning to us who are alive today. We know that God does have a future and a hope for his people, and that God is doing a mighty work in our day and that God is on the throne and prayer changes things.

Southwest Radio Ministries: Donald Perkins' series "Understanding the Book of Revelation" is now available. This 24-DVD set contains all 71 lessons going verse by verse studying through the book of Revelation. Order "Understanding the Book of Revelation" by Donald Perkins today when you call 1-800-652-1144. You can also order on our website swrc.com.

71 lessons on 24 DVDs. "Understanding the Book of Revelation." 1-800-652-1144. The removal of Iran's regime brought key Bible prophecies into sharper focus. Josh Davis explains what these prophecies say on tomorrow's Watchman on the Wall program. So be sure to tune in on your favorite radio station, online at swrc.com, or by downloading our free SWRC mobile app. Watchman on the Wall is a production of Southwest Radio Ministries and is supported by faithful friends like you. Visit swrc.com.