Where Will Jews Flee During the Tribulation? Revelation 12

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Okay, let's turn right back to the book this time and back to chapter 12 of Revelation, because I just suddenly realized that last half hour program we didn't have time to explain where these Jews are going to flee to when they leave Jerusalem as Jesus admonished them there in Matthew chapter 24. So if we can pick them up back here in Revelation chapter 12, and remember this is going to be the midpoint of the Tribulation. When the Antichrist will come in and defile the Temple, he's going to turn on the Jew who for the most part have enjoyed a semblance of religious freedom in that first three and a half years. Although it's not going to be a Sunday school picnic for the world, not by any means, because you want to remember there's going to be a lot of war, famine, pestilence, and a lot of turmoil. But at the midpoint it's going to reach the triggering of the last half, which is going to be beyond human description, and that's what Psalms 2 refers to as the wrath and vexation of God. He's going to pour out His wrath upon Christ, rejecting mankind, and remember also as we've seen in our previous studies, that it's at this same midpoint that Satan will be cast out of heaven, his access to heaven, and he too will pour out his wrath knowing that he only has three and a half years left. So I just call it a double barreled attack on mankind. The wrath of God, the wrath of Satan, and all of nature is going to feel it. But remember the end result of all this is to pay off the curse so that the earth can come out from under it, be delivered from it, and go into the Millennial reign of Christ. Now someone was just telling me, I think this morning or since we've been here, that they had a tape on Mt. St. Helens showing the miraculousness of how fast the ecology recovered after that tremendous volcano. You remember when the whole top of the mountain blew away? Well I've referred to it over the years in my classes that that's a good example of how quickly God can prepare the planet for the Millennium, even after the ravages of the Tribulation. It wasn't but just a year or two after the event happened that scientists were amazed at how fast the fauna and the herbs and the life came back. Now what is it, fourteen years ago already? I guess it's almost more beautiful than it was before, but someone told me they had a videotape of that, and I said by all means I want to see that. So anyway at the midpoint of the Tribulation, the ones we talked about in our last program fleeing from Jerusalem, that cross section of Israeli society, and they will flee to the mountains we think to the southeast of Jerusalem. Some feel it might be the ancient city of Petra. Personally I don't think that's going to be big enough, but it's a possibility, and I think the direction is probably apropos. But now here in Revelation chapter 12 you remember, Israel of course is the woman in this chapter, and dropping down to verse 3, there appeared another wonder in heaven, behold a great red dragon, which of course is Satan, having seven heads and ten horns, indicating his power, and seven crowns upon his head. Verse 4, His tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and I have to think that that reverts back to Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14, when he said, I will be like the Most High, I will ascend above the sides of the north, I will be like God. In his fall, in his rebellion, evidently a third of the angelic host followed him, those are the angels that you'll find in the little book of Jude then who left their first estate. But anyway the red dragon here, his tail draws the third part of the stars of the angels, verse 4 continuing on, And he did cast them to the earth, and the dragon stood before the woman, that is Israel, which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. Now that's speaking of Christ being born at Bethlehem, and how was He standing ready to devour it? By Herod's decree to kill all the boy babies under the age of two, in order to stop God's plan of redemption. And then verse 5, She the nation of Israel brought forth a man child, the Christ, who was to rule all nations, which of course He will do at His return and setting up His kingdom. And her child, that is the Son, the Christ, was caught up unto God, that is at His ascension of course in Acts chapter 1, and to His throne. Now verse 6, And the woman, this is the cross section of Jews in Matthew 24, the woman fled into the wilderness, in other words into a more or less uninhabited area. The woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place, now watch this language, prepared of God. The Israeli government isn't going to do it, the rabbis aren't going to do it, but God is. And He's going to prepare a place for this escaping remnant, that they should, that is the Godhead, that the Godhead should feed her, the remnant, a thousand, two hundred and sixty days, that's three and a half years. So here you have the remnant of Israel having escaped in a place where God is going to protect them, and He's going to provide all their needs. Now remember I said in the last program, that all of this is a direct parallel with the Exodus from Egypt, and just as surely as God providentially and miraculously brought the nation out under Moses, took them into the wilderness, and what did He do? He provided all their food needs, provided their water, their shoes didn't wear out, their clothes didn't wear out, and He sustained them there for that forty years. Well if He could do that with several million people and all their livestock for forty years, then I have no trouble believing that He can do it with a smaller remnant for three and a half. And so He will totally protect them from all the ravages that will be going on around them. Miraculously that little portion of the planet won't come under the upheaval of the volcanic earthquake activity that will be taking place everywhere else, but they're going to be in total safety and security for three and a half years. Then you come across the page, at least in my Bible, to verse 13, and when the dragon came, it was at the same midpoint that Satan indwells the man Antichrist. At the crucial point, now just reflect back a moment, those of you who know your Bible, when did Satan indwell Judas? What particular moment? Do you remember? It was at a crucial moment when Satan entered into the man Antichrist, and from that moment on Judas then became an instrument of Satan. That's why he was able to betray Him in the Garden, and then when he tried to resist the power of Satan and throw the silver at the feet of the priests there at the temple, what happened? Well I'll explain that more in detail if we have time to go into the book of John a little bit before we go to Acts. But see the language is kind of confusing. In one Scripture it says that he went out and hung himself, but in another place it says that he fell headlong and his innards actually gushed out. Well now that doesn't equate does it? But I think what really happened when he tried to rebel against Satan, Satan actually just almost exploded the man. In fact the language is such that he was catapulted. And as he was catapulted of course he burst asunder, but I think as a result of it he ended up hanging on a pole. And so Scripture was fulfilled that he hung himself, and yet he fell headlong and burst asunder. And that was because of the power of Satan as he was leaving Judas. But anyway we have the prelude of this, that Satan can indwell a man, and he will this man Antichrist. He will just literally indwell him, and from that point on everything the Antichrist says and does is going to be a word and an act of Satan himself. So here we have the midpoint now. Satan has indwelled the man Antichrist, he becomes almost a super human being, and when he saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman that is Israel, who brought forth the man-child, and to the woman this remnant of Israel now that is surviving. Remember all the rest I think from Zechariah are going to lose their lives, but now this remnant of Israel are given two wings of a great eagle. Now we covered all this several weeks or a few months ago. The American Air Force, the NATO Air Force is not going to come in with helicopters and pick up these Jews and transport them. It's going to be a supernatural walk. They're going to go out on foot, albeit I think that somehow or other God is going to transport them along, even as I have to feel He did with Israel under Moses. So they were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, the one that was prepared of God, where she is nourished, taken care of, sustained for a time, singular one year, and times plural for two years, that's a total of three, and for another half a time, so we've got three and a half years. Just exactly what it said over in verse 6 that the Godhead would feed her there for 1,203 days, or three and a half years. And so she is given the wings of a great eagle, and she's going to be nourished and taken care of for three and a half years, and then verse 15 backs up a little bit that when the serpent, or the Antichrist, cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away, or to be destroyed of the flood. Now the language of course here is rather hard to understand unless again you flash back to the Exodus out of Egypt. Now as Israel was leaving Egypt under Moses, just as soon as word got to Pharaoh that indeed these Jews were all leaving, what command did Pharaoh put out? Destroy them! And so he sends his army. Now I know Cecil B. DeMille shows Pharaoh at the head of it, but anyway the Egyptian army goes after these Israelis who are escaping, but what happens to the Egyptian army? Well it's engulfed in the Red Sea. You know the account. Now we're going to have a perfect analogy of the Exodus from Egypt and this escaping remnant in almost all the details. Here again just as soon as word gets back to the authority, this time not the Pharaoh but the Antichrist, he too will send out a command to some armed force to go out and destroy every last one of those Jews. That's the flood. So he sends a flood out of his mouth. Now that's symbolic language for he merely sends the command to destroy those escaping Jews. Now just like the Red Sea covered Pharaoh's army and his chariots, so God is going to do something in like manner here, only instead of using water, He's going to open the earth because remember we're going to have a lot of earthquakes about this time, and it's not going to be anything unusual at all. And so what happens? The earth helped the woman, that is this escaping remnant of Jews, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood, that armed force, whether it's a regiment or whatever, that is pursuing these Jews, the earth will just open up by virtue of earthquake or whatever, and it swallowed up the flood, or this armed force which the dragon from Jerusalem had commanded to destroy them. Now you've got that perfect parallel. Ephesians 2.1 Pharaoh was drowned in the Red Sea, and Israel came out on the other side untouched. The Antichrist sends his army after the escaping remnant of Jews, the earth opens up and buries every one of them, and Israel goes on into her place of safety. Now the reason I use this constant parallel is because, now look at verse 14 a moment, and look at the words, that to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly. Now come back to Exodus chapter 19, and here's why I tie the two events together, because the language is almost identical as well as a lot of the other details. Now in Exodus chapter 19, beginning in verse 3, they are now at Sinai, and Moses is ready to go up into the mountain and talk to God, and Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Exodus 19.1 Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel. Now verse 4, God says to tell Israel, Exodus 19.2 You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and drowned them in the dead sea, and how I bear you on eagles wings. Well now my big question always is, did those Jews sprout wings and fly? Well you know they didn't, what did they do? They walked. They took their flocks and their herds with them, but I have to feel that considering the space that they covered, I think God sort of moved them along providentially. He must have to take that many people and all their livestock that far in that period of time, supernaturally. But whatever, they didn't sprout wings and fly, they walked. And the same way with this escapee remnant. They're not going to get in a convoy of army trucks. There's not going to be a bunch of helicopters swooping down and picking them up, but they're going to walk. And that's why Jesus said back in Matthew 24, Pray that it's not on the Sabbath, so that they wouldn't be limited by how far they could walk. He said, pray they don't be in the winter, and as Dr. Bellamy pointed out, that's also the time when the Jordan River is at flood, if it's in the springtime and late winter. That's when they get all their rain and their moisture. And then of course just simply the misery of trying to negotiate those miles under cold, wet, and windy conditions. But there's the parallel. Just as surely as Israel came out of Egypt and was pursued, and God providentially and sovereignly destroyed the Egyptians, so this escaping remnant of Jews that come out of Jerusalem will also be providentially escorted and protected, that nothing or anyone can touch them or harm them for that next three and a half years. Now I hope we've clarified that. That came up at break that I didn't have time to show where this escaping remnant will go, but somewhere in the mountains south and east of Jerusalem, and God will providentially watch over them until the end of the tribulation is run. All right, now then if you'll come back with me once again, we want to move on. I thought I told the people here in the studio that I was going to finish Matthew today, but no way. I suppose there will be at least one more taping and maybe even two, and I'd also like to spend at least a program or two in the Gospel of John before we go into the book of Acts. But we'll see how the Lord leads in those things. All right, now if you'll come back with me to Matthew 24. Let's drop down to verse 27, and remember these are all spoken by the Lord Himself to the Twelve as they are now on the Mount of Olives, and this is prophecy. He's telling the things that are going to happen before the age ends. Now verse 27, He says, As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even to the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Now He uses an analogy that everyone as rural as the Israelis were at that time, and as I am today, and I make no apology for it. In fact most of us in small towns we watch the weather closer than big city people do, and we are all aware that when a storm has gone over, and we see the lightning now flashing in the eastern sky, do we run for cover? Hey, the worst is past, because once your storm is in the east, it's not very apt. It has happened once or twice in the 20 years I've been in Oklahoma that it has backed up from Arkansas and come back over. But under normal weather patterns everything moves from west to east, southeast to northeast. And so the climate in Israel is identical to ours. In fact those of you who aren't aware of the geography, you want to remember that Jerusalem is at the same latitude as Waco, Texas, and the temperature and everything is almost the same as Texas. And so Jesus is using weather analogy that they all understood. That when you see lightning in the east, you know the storm is past. Well what's the storm He's talking about? The tribulation. See it's over, it's done, it's gone. So He says, "...even as that is the way it is in weather, so it will be in these spiritual events, that when the tribulation is past, the storm is over, then for wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together." That's the cleanup after all the carnage of Armageddon and all the other things that have taken place. Then verse 29, "...immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see..." Now I think at the Rapture it's going to be a silent, unknown event. The world isn't going to know that we've gone. It's going to be instantaneous, it's going to be silent, and there's going to be no trumpet sound that the world will hear. But here at the Second Coming the survivors, now there won't be all that many, but there will be survivors, and we'll touch on them if we have time. The survivors this time are going to see Him. They're going to see His glory, they're going to see Him coming here at His Second Coming, and they're going to see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and with great glory. "...He shall send His angels with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." And again remember Isaiah says that there will be a few survivors of the tribulation all around the planet, and they're going to have to be gathered. Now the point I'd like to make again, as I've been making for the last several programs if not months, is there anything in here of Church language? Not a word. Not a word. Jesus didn't know? Of course He knew! But what was it? It was kept secret. He's kept secret, and He does not divulge anything about 1900 and some years that Israel is not going to be involved. But this is all Jewish. Everything He says is regarding the nation of Israel. So indeed as soon as the tribulation has run its course, part and parcel of those final hours will be that the sun and the moon are going to be affected. Now let's turn over to Acts chapter 2. I want you to see how that Peter is in perfect accord with the Jewish program, and that he doesn't know anything else. As a rule when I've had time, I'll put the timeline on the board with regard to the Old Testament program out of Psalms chapter 2. You remember how I've laid it out that Psalms chapter 2 speaks of the Old Testament prophecy being fulfilled with the coming of the Messiah. They crucify Him, He's resurrected, He ascends back to glory to sit at the Father's right hand, and then the nations would go into derision, and then would come the wrath of God, and then would come the Kingdom. What did I leave out? 1900 and some years of the church age. Why did I leave it out? Because the Old Testament does. It's not packed there, because they didn't know anything about a 1900 year period of grace. They just saw all these things coming down as it was prophesied. Now in Acts chapter 2 Peter is in the same boat, and in the same mode of language that Jesus is using. He's quoting out of Joel, an Old Testament prophet. In Acts chapter 2 verse 15, for Peter says these are not drunken, I remember they accused these Galileans of having had too much wine, and because of that they were able to speak in all these languages. And Peter says, No way, they're not drunken. It's only nine o'clock in the morning, but this is that, and what's he pointing back at when he says that? The prophecies of Joel. Now this is that which was spoken of Joel the prophet, and here he quotes word by word out of Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. On my servants, and on my handmaidens, I will pour out in those days of my spirit. Now that's Joel writing prophecy that some future day would happen. Had this happened the day of Pentecost? Sure. These things have happened. The Spirit came, and they began to prophesy, and they had this special gift of the languages. But now read on. Peter doesn't stop there like Jesus would have when He was reading in the synagogue in Luke chapter 4. You see Jesus stopped when He came to the end of His ministry, and He didn't continue that verse in Isaiah that spoke of the coming tribulation in the Kingdom. But now Peter doesn't know, and so what does Peter do? He goes right on with that prophecy as if this is the way it's going to happen. Now let's look at verse 19. And I will show wonders and signs in heaven, the earth beneath, blood, fire, vapor of smoke, the sun turned into darkness, the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come. What was that? The Second Coming, just exactly like you saw in those verses we read in Matthew. But did Peter have any idea that that would be interrupted by two thousand years? No way! Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kenta, OK 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kenta, OK 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supported and your gift is appreciated. Thank you and be sure to tune in next time for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.