SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/15/2015
11:00 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Satan’s First Attack PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Revelation 12:13-14
Message
of the verses: “13 And when the
dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who
gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were
given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place,
where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence
of the serpent.”
We looked yesterday at how the
Gentiles would be helping the Jewish people during this attack by Satan, as
this information came from the 25th chapter of Matthew which was a
part of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse that speaks of the Tribulation period. In today’s SD we will look at how these
verses show, (especially verse 14) how God will help the Jewish people from the
attack of Satan. “The two wings of the
great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness
to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time,
from the presence of the serpent.” John
MacArthur writes “This is figurative language that symbolically depicts Israel’s
escape from Satan’s assault. The
striking imagery of ‘the two wings of the great eagle’ is taken from Exodus
19:4: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you
on eagles’ sings and brought you to Myself.’
God will bring Israel to safety, just as He delivered the nation from
bondage in Egypt.”
I will not give some examples from
Scripture that show that “wings” symbolizes strength: Isaiah 40:31 “Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will
run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.” 2 Samuel 22:11 and some others I will add
speak of the wings as being speed: “"And
He rode on a cherub and flew; And He appeared on the wings of the wind.” Psalm 18:10 “He rode upon a cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the wings of the wind.”
Psalm 104:3 “He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He
makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind;” Wings also
speak of protection as we will see from Deuteronomy 32:9-11 “9 “For the LORD’S
portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance. 10 “He found
him in a desert land, And in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled
him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye. 11 “Like an
eagle that stirs up its nest, That hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught
them, He carried
them on His pinions.”
We will not look at a series of
verses from the Psalms which also speak of wings as being God’s protection to
His people:
Psalm
17:8 “Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings.”
Psalm
36:7 “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take
refuge in the shadow of Your wings.”
Psalm
57:1 “Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in
You; And in the shadow of
Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by.”
Psalm
61:4 “Let me dwell in Your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of
Your wings. Selah.”
Psalm
63:7 “For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for
joy.”
Psalm
91:4 “He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek
refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.”
John MacArthur writes “Eagle translates
aetos, which can also refer to the
griffon, or vulture (cf. Matt. 24:28; Luke 17:37). These large birds with enormous wings-spans
serve as a fitting symbol of God’s protection and sheltering of Israel. This is not, of course, a reference to an
actual eagle with literal wings; rather, it is picturesque language depicting
God miraculous assistance of the woman, so that she could fly swiftly into the
wilderness to her place of shelter and safety.”
What I am about to write has been
something that has been thought of for a long time, and that is where in the
wilderness could it be where God will hide His people Israel for protection from
the attacks of Satan. First of all God
could hide them in plain sight and He did not want anyone to harm them they
would not be harmed. However there is a
place that may people believe that God will hide Israel during this last half
of the Tribulation period, and people have even gone there to hide Bibles so
that when Israel gets there they will know what is going on with them. That place is Petra, and although the place
is not told to us this one does make sense.
John MacArthur writes “Some have suggested the fortresslike city of
Petra, carved into the rocky cliffs of Edom between the Dead Sea and the Gulf
of Aqaba. Approachable only through a
narrow gorge, Petra was easy to defend in ancient times. The term ‘wilderness’ does not reveal the
exact location of Israel’s place of refuge, since that term is a general one
often used to describe the desolate area east of Jerusalem (cf. Matt. 3:1; Mark
1:4; John 11:54). Jesus’ warning to flee
to the mountains (Matt. 24:15-16) suggests that the place of refuge will not be
in the costal plain to the west of Jerusalem, or the relatively flat Negev
(desert region) to the south. More
likely, it will be in the mountainous region east of Jeruesalem. Daniel 11:41 provides further evidence for
that view: ‘[Antichrist] will also enter
the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out
of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost
of the sons of Ammon.’ Perhaps God will
spare Edom, Moab, and Ammon, ancient countries to the east of Israel, to
provide a refuge for His people.”
The rest of verse 14 speaks of God
nourishing His people for “a time and times and half a time” which speaks of
three and a half years as we have seen in the book of Daniel along with Revelation. God will protect them “from the presence of
the serpent.” It is possible and perhaps
highly probable that Satan will know where the Jews are hiding, but will make
him nuts as he will not be able to get to them, for God is protecting
them. Why does Satan want to destroy
Israel? Well there are more than one
reason, but if he could destroy them during the time of the Tribulation or even
before then they would not be there to fulfill the kingdom promises that were
made to them by the Lord.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I am
thankful for the protection that God gives to me and to every believer as there
is no place safer than being in the will of God.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To love the
Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to live in the love of
the Lord so that I can show love and mercy to those that need it as God brings
them onto my path.
Answer
to yesterday’s Bible question: “Four.”
Today’s
Bible question: “Out of what did God
make coats for Adam and Eve?”
Answer
in our next SD.
6/15/2015
11:49 AM
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