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God's word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. The Bible tells us there's an ongoing cosmic conflict between God and Satan that impacts our daily lives.
But one day this eternal struggle will come to a dramatic end. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress provides a panoramic view of this ancient war and explains how it fits into end times prophecy. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Just before we get started with today's study in Revelation chapter 12, I'd like to invite you to join me on a magnificent vacation experience. I'm referring to the Pathway to Victory Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise this coming May 2025. The stunning Greek islands of Santorini, Mykonos, and Crete are some of the most sought after destinations in the world. And you'll get to enjoy these quaint ports of call. But the trip is much more than famous beaches and breathtaking views. Amidst all this natural beauty, we will celebrate the one who created it. Now the dates are May 5th through 16th, 2025.
So go to ptv.org, look at the itinerary, and most importantly, reserve your spot today while there's still room. Well, these days we find the news reports from around the world quite shocking. And we're stunned when we see violence breaking out in major cities across America. But in our study in Revelation, we discovered that God is not surprised or caught off guard by the turmoil of our times. In fact, our sovereign God has already crafted the end of the story. The book of Revelation reveals a coming rising of the sun, so to speak, when God's glory will be fully revealed.
This is the overarching theme in my bestselling book called Final Conquest. It's a full-length commentary on the book of Revelation, and I'd be pleased to send you a copy right away when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. We'll have further details about my book later in today's program, but right now let's turn in our Bibles to Revelation chapter 12.
From my teaching series called Final Conquest, I titled today's message, Slaying the Great Red Dragon. Look at verses one and two of Revelation 12. A great sign appeared in heaven, John said. I saw a great sign. The great sign appeared in heaven. A woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and on her head, a crown of 12 stars, and she was with child.
Who is this woman? This was a representation of Israel. And it says in verse two, she was with child, a woman in labor.
As we'll see in a moment, the child is Jesus Christ. This is the sign of the woman. There was a second sign, verses three to six, the sign of the dragon. Look at verse three. Then another sign appeared in heaven, and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. The dragon is Satan himself, as we'll see in a few moments. And notice verse four, and his, that is the dragon's tail, swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman, Israel, who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth, he might devour the child.
From the very beginning, Satan did everything he could to prevent the Christ child from being born. That's what you find here in verse four. Verse five, and Israel gave birth to a son, a male child who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up to God and to his throne. That's a reference to the ascension of Christ. In between the end of verse five and verse six, in all that white space there, are thousands of years.
Because John fast forwards thousands of years since the ascension of Christ into the future, and specifically the final three and a half years of earth's history. Then the woman, who is the woman? Israel. Then Israel fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, so that she would be nourished there for 1,260 days. Do you know how long 1,260 days is?
Three and a half years. And it's going to be a time of persecution for Israel. Now, that is a panorama of the whole cosmic struggle. When we come to the next verse, in verse seven, John is going to zero in on those final three and a half years by, first of all, looking at it from a heavenly viewpoint. What's happening in heaven during these final three and a half years? There is a war in heaven.
Look at verse seven. And there was a war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon, that is Satan. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them, that is Satan and his angels, in heaven. Satan, while he's in heaven, is going to try to rebel against God. In fact, the Greek construction of the text here indicates that it's the dragon Satan who fires the first shot in this battle. What is it that causes him to wage another rebellion against God?
I've heard a lot of speculation. Some people say maybe it was the rapture of the church. Satan saw the rapture take place, saw you and me headed to heaven, and he thought, time is running short. If I'm going to have my worldwide kingdom, this is my last chance to affect it.
Maybe that's what did it. We don't know exactly what happened, but there was a war in heaven, and they lost Satan and his demons. And look at the result, verse nine. And the great dragon was thrown down.
Underline that. He was thrown down. The serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, he was, there you get it again, thrown down. And his angels were thrown down with him. This is what you call a real throw down that takes place here.
This is an ultimate final defeat here. He throws down the great dragon. By the way, isn't it interesting that in this verse, verse nine, you find four of the most common terms for Satan.
I want you to write them down. First of all, Satan, literally, which means adversary. We read that in 1 Peter 5a. For your adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion. That's what the word Satan means.
It means adversary. He's also called the dragon, which refers to his fierce, cruel, and monstrous nature. You know, Satan so many times, I think, loves being portrayed as that cartoon character with the horns, the tail, and the little pitchfork.
Sits on your shoulder and whispers sweet nothings into your ear. Nobody's afraid of that kind of person. No, that's not who Satan is. He's somebody to be feared. He's the great dragon. He's called the serpent of old, which refers to his crafty and subtle nature. He's much too smart to appear as he really is. Instead, many times, he appears as an angel of light.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians, he's appealing in his appearance. And then, finally, he's called the devil. That word devil means defamer, accuser, or slanderer. In fact, as we'll see in a moment in verse 10, what he's doing right now is slandering the brethren, accusing the brethren day and night before God. He's right there in heaven right now, accusing you and slandering you before your heavenly Father. And may I say this, whenever we accuse another Christian, when we ever whisper beyond another Christian's back, accusing him, defaming him, we are doing the work of Satan. We are becoming his mouthpiece. Folks, we've got to realize we're in a war.
We're in a war. We are one army, a Christian army, and we cannot do Satan's work in accusing the brethren. That's what Satan does. He accuses the brethren day and night. But now, the accuser of the brethren has been thrown down to earth. And that's good news for heaven, but it's bad news for the earth. Look at verses 10 to 12. Woe on earth. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven. I think this is the tribulation saints, those who were martyred for their faith in heaven, saying, now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before God day and night. That's what Satan was doing. He was accusing the brethren day and night. That's what he's doing right now.
The throwdown hasn't happened yet. This is still future. Right now, he is in heaven. But fortunately, Satan isn't the only one in heaven. Hebrews 7, 25 says we have an advocate who makes intercession for us day and night. In 1 John 2, 1, John says, brethren, I have written these things to you so that you may not sin, but if you do sin, you have an advocate, a lawyer in heaven who is Jesus Christ the righteous. Aren't you glad we've got an advocate in heaven for us? That's who we have, Jesus Christ the Lord. He accuses them before God day and night.
Thank God he has been thrown down. Verse 11, and they, that is the tribulation saints, overcame him because of the blood of the lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. He's talking about the tribulation saints, and he says, and they overcame Satan. What do you mean they overcame Satan? They got their heads chopped off in the tribulation. They got thrown in the fire because of their faith. What do you mean they overcame?
Well, they didn't end up on earth. They ended up in heaven, and that's why they're victors. They overcame. To overcome means to obey God regardless of the consequences.
They overcame him because of the blood of the lamb. That's why they're in heaven and because of the word of their testimony. And notice this phrase, they didn't love their life even when faced with death. I came across a quote this week.
I hope you write this down. Every time you choose to suffer instead of being disloyal to God, that represents the defeat of Satan. Every time you choose to suffer instead of being disloyal to God, represents the defeat of Satan. That was true of the tribulation saints.
They're overcomers. Verse 12, for this reason, rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. The throwdown of Satan is wonderful news for those who live in heaven or will live in heaven.
But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you having great wrath, knowing that he only has a short time. It's good news for heaven. It's terrible news for earth when Satan gets cast out of heaven for the final time, because now he knows his time is short, and that explains the final battle on earth, which is the focus of verses 13 to 17. What is it that causes the antichrist halfway through the tribulation to suddenly break his covenant with Israel? What's happening on earth is a result of what's happening in heaven. It's that rebellion in heaven and the throwing down of Satan that results in antichrist turning up the heat on Israel. Look at verse 13. And when the dragon, Satan, saw that he was thrown down to earth, he persecuted the woman.
Who is that? Israel, who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to Israel so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place where she was nourished for a time, times, and half a time from the presence of the serpent. There's another illustration of three and a half years. Time is one year. Times is another two years. Time plus times is three years. And half a time, a half a year.
Three and a half years. At this midpoint when the antichrist turns against Israel, Israel will flee, part of her will, looking for a place of protection. And she'll find that place of protection in the wilderness.
Some people have speculated perhaps this is Petra, the mountainous range of Petra in Jordan. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 24? He said, when you see the abomination of desolation, that is, antichrist defames and defiles the temple, flee to Judea. All of you who live in Judea, flee to the mountains so that you can find safety. How do they get there? Is it really on the two wings of a great eagle?
This is all a sign. There's no giant eagle that's gonna carry Jewish people out. This could be a reference to perhaps a tremendous airlift that's going to occur. When they are lifted out of Jerusalem and Judea and taken to this place in the wilderness. Remember the Bible says she is gonna be nourished there. During those three and a half years, Israel will be protected and nourished. There's strong indication that there will be Gentile nations that will join together to protect Israel.
And by the way, this is extra, not gonna charge for it. But in Matthew chapter 25, when Jesus talks about the judgment of the Gentile nations, it's in that context, he says, to these nations when he separates the sheep from the goats. Those who are sheep, a part of his house, are those who treat Israel well during this last three and a half years and help her. It's that context in which he says, I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.
I was naked and you clothed me. That whole context are the Gentile nations helping to nourish Israel during this final three and a half years. The way they will demonstrate that they love God and follow God or by the way they treat God's children, the Israelites.
There's gonna be a persecution for three and a half years. Look at verse 15. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman so that he might cause her to be swept away with a flood. I don't think this is literal water.
Again, this is a sign. And in the Bible, a flood represents judgment, persecution. Verse 16, but the earth helped Israel and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river of persecution which the dragon poured out of his mouth.
We don't know what this means. Perhaps there is an earthquake of some kind that changes the topography of Israel or Jordan that benefits those seeking shelter. Perhaps the earth actually opens up and consumes some of those just like it did in number 16. Remember those who were fighting against Moses, Dothan, Abiram, Korah were all swallowed up by the earth. The Bible says something happens there. Verse 17, so the dragon was enraged with the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her children who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. When the Antichrist sees that he's unsuccessful in gaining access to those who are seeking shelter in the wilderness, it only intensifies his hatred for the rest of the woman's children, that is the Jewish Christians who keep the commandments of the Lord. This is a reference probably to the 144,000 Jewish evangelists as well as those Jews who are saved during the tribulation period of time.
I know this is a strange picture, but remember this is a description of the final three and a half years of earth's history. And Jesus said they are so awful that had they not been cut short, everybody would have died during this final period of time. But they were cut short for the sake of God's elect. Everything we have and experience right now is a result of the unseen but real war going on between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. And I believe every conflict you face in this coming week is a reflection of that unseen but very real war. What principles can we derive from this that will help us through this next week and through the rest of our life as this battle only intensifies the closer we get to the end?
There are two statements I want you to write down, two promises you can cling to. First of all, God never forgets his people. God never forgets his people.
We see in these final three and a half years that God's elect are going to be protected. It doesn't mean they escape problems. It doesn't mean they escape death. But they overcome by being welcomed into heaven.
God won't forget his people, Israel, and he won't forget you either. If you are a child of God, nothing can separate you from his love and his protection. I think about the close of Romans chapter 8, my favorite chapter in the Bible. I think of the way the living Bible puts it. Paul wrote, for I'm convinced that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God.
Death can't and life can't. The angels won't and all the powers of hell itself will not keep God's love away. Or wherever we are, high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, our fears for today or our worries about tomorrow, nothing will ever separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us. Isn't that a great promise? That's the promise God never, never forgets his people.
The second truth that we can hang on to is this. Satan's ultimate defeat is certain. His ultimate defeat is certain. Satan is kind of like a convict on the run right now who knows he's gonna get caught, but he's just trying to wreak as much havoc as he can until the time that he's finally apprehended. The same is true about Satan. He was defeated at the cross of Jesus Christ. His capture is inevitable. But until that time, remember this, Satan has no more power over your life than you choose to allow him to have.
The power, the grip you think he has on your life right now is imaginary. Neil Anderson has written a great book in which he describes how he came to realize that truth. This is a great story.
Listen to it. When I was a boy on the farm, my dad, my brother, and I would visit our neighbor's farm to share produce and labor. The neighbor had a yappy little dog that scared the socks off me. When it came barking around the corner, my dad and brother stood their ground. But I ran.
Guess who the dog chased? I escaped to the top of our pickup truck while the little dog yacked at me from the ground. Everyone except me could see that this little dog had no power over me except when I gave in. Furthermore, it had no inherent power to throw me up on the pickup. It was my belief that put me up there. Because I chose to believe a lie, I essentially allowed that dog to use my mind, emotions, and my will, my muscles, all of which were motivated by fear. Finally, I gathered up my courage, jumped off the pickup, and kicked a small rock at the mutt.
And lo and behold, it ran. Now that's Satan. He has no more power over you than that little mutt does. And every time you stand your ground and say no to him, you lessen the grip you think he has on your life. James said it this way in James 4.7. Resist the devil, and he will what? He will flee from you. These are the valuable takeaway lessons that reward those who study the book of Revelation.
We don't need to fear Satan, but we certainly need to take him seriously. Now, just before I turn things back over to David, I'd like to explain that today's presentation contained a lot of teaching that I didn't get to share with you. My original message was far too long to fit into a half-hour format. But when you request the DVDs and CDs for my study in Revelation called Final Conquest, you'll be able to hear the entire unedited version. David will explain what's required to receive my recorded teaching series in just a moment. I've also written a book for you that contains my complete verse-by-verse study through all 22 chapters of Revelation as well. As you can imagine, this is a hefty volume and one that you'll refer to for many years to come. Plus, you'll be delighted to see how Jesus emerges from all the mysterious imagery in Revelation as your conqueror and king. Jesus is the hero of the Final Conquest, and those who follow him are the recipients of his blessings. I'm pleased to send a copy of Final Conquest with my thanks when you include a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. These are tremendous days of expansion for Pathway to Victory because of faithful and generous support from friends like you. So, keep up the good work. Together, we are piercing the darkness with the light of God's Word.
David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. Today, when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, you're invited to request a copy of Final Conquest. That's the verse-by-verse commentary on the book of Revelation by Dr. Robert Jeffress. Now, along with the book, you'll also get the booklet Bible Prophecy Made Simple. Just call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org.
And when your gift is $75 or more, you'll also receive the complete CD and DVD teaching sets for Final Conquest. That's this month's series on the book of Revelation. To make your request, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. You could write to us, P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.
I'm David J. Mullins. You know, at this very moment, evil forces are working behind the scenes to bring about total destruction. And in the final years of Earth's history, Satan will receive some additional help from two key individuals.
Learn about the diabolical duo. That's Monday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His Word. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
