Tonight we want to look at primarily verse 6, but just to put it in its context and remind us of what we've been looking at for the last month or so, let's begin reading in verse 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. And she being with child cried, travailing in birth and pained to be delivered. 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. 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 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 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." Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this portion of Scripture. We ask that your Holy Spirit would teach us. Father, help us to understand your plan for the future and for Israel in particular. Just guide our thoughts as we meditate on your Word tonight. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. So we've noticed in this chapter that we have a continuation of that ongoing conflict, that battle between the serpent and the woman and her seed. And this we see began way back in Genesis chapter 3 in verse 15. But here we have a description of this in three specific phases, and we saw in verse 4 the first phase. The first phase of this attack, this satanic attack, is when Satan led in his rebellion against the Lord, and he drew a third part of the stars or the angels of heaven in his rebellion against God. So, Satan fell, and he drew a third of the holy angels, and they are now what we would call demons, and that was the first part of this attack. And in that rebellion against God, Satan was cast down morally and spiritually. And that occurred, his fall, Satan's fall, occurred just before the fall of Adam and Eve. And so this takes us way back, way back to almost right after... the creation. And so this is the very first phase of this rebellion against God. It happened in the heavens with Satan leading a third of the holy angels in his rebellion against the Lord. And then we looked in verses 4 and 5, and we see a second phase to this satanic attacks against mankind and God. And in the second phase, It took place during Christ's first coming. There's a long time between the creation of the world and the first coming of Christ. And we see in verses 4 and 5 that when the woman whom we have identified as Israel, the woman was ready to give birth to the man-child, the Messiah, who came from the seed of Abraham through the line of David, when the woman was ready to give birth in the first century, John describes the devil poised there, ready to devour that man-child as soon as he was born. And we also see that Herod was tricked by the wise men. And they didn't lead him to where the Messiah was because an angel told them to go back a different route. And as a result, and he was influenced by Satan, Herod was a Roman government official who was influenced by Satan. And this instigation of Satan caused Herod to try to kill all the babies in Bethlehem, two years old and under. He looked like a madman from Earth's perspective, but this was very calculated from Satan's perspective. He wanted to get the seed of the woman, the man-child, Jesus Christ. But Satan was unsuccessful in his attempts to to kill the Lord Jesus, to devour that child as soon as he was born. So he went on in the first century, and we see behind the scenes working, Satan was influencing Roman soldiers, he was influencing the religious leaders in Israel to put Jesus to death. And so yes, this was the work of evil men who plotted to kill Jesus, but it was also instigated by the devil. And John is the one who reveals that to us. And of course he failed, and even though Satan was successful in having the Lord Jesus crucified, but in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, when the serpent bit the heel of the Messiah, the Messiah crushes the head of the serpent. And so on the cross, Jesus conquered death and Satan. as well as the world system. So Satan is a defeated enemy now. And so this is what happened in the second phase, where John describes Satan ready to devour Christ in the first century. And now we have the third phase of this satanic attack in Revelation chapter 12. And here, Since the man-child was crucified, and then we're told also by John that he was caught up into heaven in the ascension, and because Christ was taken out of this earthly scene, and he was now in heaven, Satan, the god of this world, because Jesus is gone, focuses his attention on the seed of that woman, Israel, the seed of Abraham, the Jewish people. And now we see Satan attacking God's people in his attempt to thwart God's program. And why was Satan so obsessed? Why was he so determined to destroy Israel at this point? Well, if you look back, we mentioned this earlier in Revelation chapter 11 in verse 15. When the seventh angel sounded, at this point in the tribulation period, when the seventh angel sounded, the seven seals have come and gone, the seven trumpets have now blown with the seventh, it says there were great voices in heaven saying, the kingdom of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he, the Lord Jesus Christ shall reign forever and ever." So this was the announcement of the seventh trumpet. Now Satan knew that if that kingdom was established, then Satan must be cast out of that kingdom. And he will be cast out. And if Jesus takes back the rule over the world, which Satan usurped from Adam and Eve right after creation, then that means that Satan is going to be cast into the bottomless pit. And that's exactly what we'll see when we get to Revelation chapter 20. So with the blowing of the seventh trumpet, Satan is working furiously to destroy Israel in hopes of thwarting or preventing the kingdoms of this world, which are under the grip of Satan right now, to prevent the kingdoms of this world from being taken away from Satan's grip and ruled by Christ. So Satan has a vested interest in destroying Israel in that day. You know, part of the Abrahamic covenant was that those who curse Israel will be cursed. And so Satan is seeking to curse Israel And he is only going to bring about judgment upon his own head and also bring judgment on the nations that Satan instigates to turn against Israel. But that's the theme of Revelation chapter 12. And look in verse 6. It says, and this is where we pick it up from last time, 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 three score or sixty days. So this is the theme of this section, that Satan is now, in the first century, he was poised to attack the child, Jesus, when he was born, and now we fast forward into the tribulation period, and Satan is poised to prevent the kingdom from being established, and the way he does that is to destroy Israel, Israel is the center of the kingdom. That will be the headquarters of the kingdom. And so Satan seeks to destroy the woman in hopes of thwarting God's plan. And so we read, the woman fled into the wilderness. Now let's just think of the chronology of what we've seen in Revelation 12 so far. There is a chronology, a clear chronology here, but there are gaps in the chronology. And there are some very sizable gaps in this chronology. For example, the first gap we see in verse 4. Look back in verse 4. And his tail drew a third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them down to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman ready to be delivered. So here is a gap between Satan dragging a third of the angels down with him in his original fall, shortly before the fall of Adam and Eve, and then the next thing that we read is the birth of Christ. Thousands of years in between the fall of Satan and the birth of Christ. But John skips right over them. And then, if you look in verse 5, a second gap. So in verse 5, we see There is a gap between events which took place in the first century, Christ's child was born, the man-child was born, and his ascension into heaven, he was caught up into heaven, and then, next we read about Israel in the wilderness during the tribulation period fleeing. And the child will rule all nations. So, massive gaps. that John just skips right over. A couple of reasons for these gaps. One is because between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel, From Israel's perspective, the 70th week happens immediately after the 69th week, but we know that there is the gap of the Church Age that exists between the end of the Jewish Age and the final week of that, the Tribulation Period. The Church is a mystery. It wasn't revealed in the Old Testament. And so there is a gap. Another reason for this gap is because what John is describing for us here, when he sees in verse 3, another wonder in heaven, that great dragon we know to be Satan, having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns, and we'll be looking at that in much more detail in chapter 13, but it pictures for us Satan working behind the human governments on earth, and in particular the Roman government. And Satan was working behind the scenes turning the Roman government and people and high places in Israel against Jesus Christ to put him to death. So Herod's apparent insanity was not insanity from Satan's perspective. It was a calculated plan. But Satan was working behind the scenes. And then we jump forward, we just skip right over the entire church age, and we look into the Roman Empire in the last days. And that's what we'll see in Revelation chapter 13. And Satan is behind, he's working behind, not just the Roman Empire in the first century, but it's Satan is working behind the scenes in the Roman Empire that's revived in the last days. Same source, Satan. Same hatred against the serpent's hatred against the seed of the woman, Israel. One took place in the first century. The other could happen very shortly. So let's review the chronology of events here. John tells us that Satan tried to kill the baby Jesus when he was born. He was unsuccessful. He was successful in instigating the murder of Jesus, but he was unsuccessful in fulfilling his plan because God raised him from the dead, and he was caught up into heaven, and from there he established the church, and he's coming again to rule and reign and take that title deed and rule. and take Satan's power over this world away from him. So the child, the Lord Jesus, was caught up into heaven, and the next stage that we know of, the Church Age began. John doesn't mention it here because it's a parentheses in the chronology. And all during the Church Age, Israel is on the back burner until the Church Age is over. So now, if an Israeli wants to be saved, they become a member of the body of Christ. And so, as far as Israel was concerned, the next step in her prophetic program after the first coming of Christ is the tribulation period. Old Testament, works all the way up to Daniel's 69th week. The 70th week is the Tribulation period. So as far as Old Testament Jews were concerned, right after the events in the 69th week, we see the Tribulation begins. And when the Tribulation begins, the kingdom is once again at hand. That's the message Jesus preached and John the Baptist preached, because in the first century, the kingdom was at hand. And then Israel rejected their Messiah. Israel was put on the back burner, and the kingdom is not at hand today. The thing that's at hand today is the rapture of the church. But after the church is raptured, the kingdom will once again be at hand. And so here is the chronology that John is laying out for us. And what we really want to focus on tonight is Israel's persecution, the beginning of Israel's persecution in verse 6. And the woman fled into the wilderness. This is satanic attack. The woman we have seen is the nation of Israel. She gave birth to the Messiah, the man-child. And now, that same Satan that was seeking to destroy the woman and her seed in the first century, we see that same evil spirit being, Satan, seeking to destroy the woman, Israel, and prevent Christ from establishing his kingdom. That's always been Satan's goal. He has a hatred and a wrath. And Israel, throughout the Old Testament, was that special object of satanic wrath. And Israel will once again be that special object of satanic, of Satan's wrath and hatred. And why? Because now the seventh angel has blown the seventh trumpet, and that means that the kingdom is at hand. The kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, the kingdoms of this world are about to become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. And so Satan knows that he has a very short amount of time left. How much time? 1260 days. That's not long for a creature who has been around ever since Adam and Eve. And so Satan is fighting for his life. And now that the Lord Jesus is no longer on the earth, he ascended into heaven, Satan's focus, after the church age, is now like a laser beam on the nation of Israel. And we see in verse 6 that Israel is forced out of the land and she flees into the wilderness. And here this word, wilderness, is the Greek word that means a desert. Now some see a contradiction here. Because here in Revelation we're told that the woman flees into the desert, but in Matthew 24, speaking of the same time period, the same event, Jesus says that the woman, Israel, is to flee into the mountains. Can you imagine somebody would think that that was a contradiction? Have you ever been to Arizona? There are mountains in a deserty area, so it doesn't have to be a contradiction. It certainly isn't. But let's turn there for a moment, turn to Matthew chapter 24. Matthew chapter 24 and verse 15. Here Jesus is speaking to his disciples, and he says in verse 15, When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth, let him understand. Then let them which be in Judea in that day flee into the mountains. So here, Jesus tells the Jews that in the future, there will be a generation of Jews that will see an abomination that is placed in the temple, in the tribulation temple, and Jesus tells them, when you see that, run for your life. Any Jews that are in Judea, run for your life. Head for the mountains, head for the hills. Now this was not intended to, this was not directed to the disciples that were sitting with Jesus in the first century. If you look in verse 3 of that chapter, Jesus and his disciples were on the Mount of Olives and it says, And as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples, the disciples that were with him in the first century, came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when? They wanted the time frame. When shall all these things be? Jesus was talking about the horrific events during the tribulation period and the disciple says, when is that going to be? And what will be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? What will things be like? When will it happen and what will things be like? And so that is, those are the questions that precipitated verse 15. Jesus said about that future generation of Jews that will be alive in Judea in the middle of the tribulation period, when you see the abomination of desolation set up in the holy place in the tribulation temple, run for your, head for the hills. Israel was commanded to flee into the wilderness. And this is to occur when they see that abomination, the abomination that Daniel spoke of, then let him which is in Judea flee into the mountains. And why is that? Because in the middle of the tribulation period, and we'll look at this in more detail in chapter 13, but Satan possesses the Antichrist. And the Antichrist, a satanically possessed individual, we read in Daniel 7, in verse 21, that this same horn, the Antichrist, makes war with the saints. So, the saints in Daniel's day referred to the Jewish saints. And so the Antichrist is going to make war with the Jewish remnant and it says that he prevails against them. Daniel 7 25 says that the Antichrist speaks great swelling words against the Most High and he shall wear out the Saints of the Most High. He's going to wear them out. He's going to hunt them down and overcome them. Wherever Jews can be found, the Antichrist will have his armies, he'll have power over all the armies of the world, and they are sent to attack and kill the Jews. So Jesus wasn't kidding when he told the Jews in this prophecy about the future day, when he tells those future Jews in the tribulation period, when you see that abomination of desolation set up by the Antichrist in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, flee, flee. And so Daniel and Jesus speak of the very same timing. They connect it to the middle of the tribulation period. That's when the abomination of desolation will be set up in the holy place, in the temple in Jerusalem. And here in Revelation 12 and verse 6, this time period is described as, it says that the Jews, Israel, this woman will be nourished or fed in the wilderness for 1260 days. That's variously described as three and a half years, and this happens to be the second half of the Tribulation. And how do we know that? Because it begins with the abomination of desolation, which is in the midst of that week, the middle of that seven-year period, according to Daniel 9. And there are several reasons why we would place this 1260 days in the second half of the Tribulation period. The first reason is that in Revelation, it appears after, John describes this after, the seven seals have been opened and the seven trumpets have already blown, sounded. And so this takes us past the middle and into the second half of the tribulation period. So this is just background information that John is giving us that events that are taking place in the background as all of these judgments are falling from heaven. Another reason why we believe that this 1260 days happens in the second half of the Tribulation is because, according to Daniel 9.27, he, the Antichrist, will confirm a covenant with many, meaning in Israel, for one week. So the Antichrist, at the beginning of the Tribulation period, makes a covenant with Israel for seven years. And in the midst of that week, Daniel tells us, in the midst of the week, he causes the sacrifice and oblation, which he gave them permission to begin, offering sacrifices in that tribulation temple. He causes those sacrifices to cease. And for the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate, even unto the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." In other words, there is going to be something when the Jewish sacrifices are commanded by the Antichrist to cease, they are going to be replaced with something which will be so despicable and despised by the Jews. And we'll see later on, the Antichrist sets up an image of himself to be worshipped. And that happens right in the middle of the seven-year period, this tribulation period. So, the first three and a half years of this tribulation period, Israel is at relative peace. There's turmoil taking place in the world, but the Antichrist has promised to provide protection and security for Israel and now for the first time they are safe and secure. Until the middle, until the abomination of desolation. So they're safe and sound for the first 1,260 days, but the second 1,260 days, that's when the Antichrist makes war with them, he broke the covenant with them, and he hounds them unto the uttermost parts of the earth to put them to death. And a third reason for placing this 1,260 days in the second half of the tribulation period is what we read in verse 6, what takes place there. Israel flees into the wilderness, and they have a place that's prepared for God, and God takes care of them. So, it's the second half of the tribulation period when Israel will really need protection, divine protection, from the most powerful man the world has ever seen, the Antichrist, that controls the armies of the world, the economy of the world, the religions of the world, And Israel will be in desperate shape, and God will supernaturally protect them. This is truly the great tribulation, the second half of the tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble. And we'll read in Revelation 13 in verse 7 that the Antichrist will make war with those saints. And then look down in Revelation 12 to verse 14. You're just kind of skipping ahead here. But John tells us something interesting about how the woman flees from Judea to the wilderness or to the mountains. 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 one year, times two years, that makes three, and a half time. Three and a half years, or 1260 Jewish days, or 42 months. And notice that she's fleeing from the face of the serpent. Satanic attack. So here in verse 14, John is still talking about the woman under satanic attack, who flees into the wilderness, But we skipped a section. We'll look at this in the coming weeks in verses 7 through 13. And so John is describing in verse 6, the woman flees into the wilderness, and verses 7 through 13, the scene shifts from earth, from Israel on the earth running for her life, and the scene shifts into the heavens. And there's war in heaven between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels. And we'll look at that in the weeks to come. But then once the scene shifts back down to Earth again... John continues to describe Israel's plight into the wilderness. And it says in verse 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, times, and halftime from the face of the serpent." So let's think about this flight of the woman. given two wings of a great eagle." Now, how do we tell when language is figurative? If the literal sense makes sense, then don't seek any other sense. But can a nation actually sprout wings? I don't think so. So this is obviously Figurative language. A nation cannot fly, a nation cannot sprout wings. And there are two ways we can understand this figurative language. I think they're both sensible interpretation, but I'll share with you what I think John meant. One way to understand this, and I know some good men that hold this view, I'm not one of them, But some believe that when John said that Israel is taken into the wilderness on the wings of an eagle, that John was using the vocabulary that he had in the first century to describe something God showed him in a vision. And so some believe that John was using the language that he had to describe An airplane, massive airplanes taking, I mean, how would you, if you lived in the first century, how would you describe an airplane? You didn't have a word for airplane. Airplanes hadn't been invented, so you'd have to use something you were familiar with, a massive bird that flies with great wings. I think that's possible. We know that John does use that kind of language elsewhere in the Book of Revelation. He uses terminology that he had with him at the time, and he describes, in the best way he can, parts of a vision of the future that he could not otherwise describe. So he has to use figurative language. He has to use, he has to say, it was like this, or it was like a locust, or it was like a bird. So that's a possible way. But I think what John was doing was the same thing that he did earlier in chapter 12 when he was describing that woman. And there is figurative language described to the woman, the stars on her head, and she's the moon under her feet, and the sun, she's clothed in the sun. Well, those are figures of speech. that John borrowed from Moses way back in the book of Genesis in chapter 37. We don't want to take time to look at that. We did in some detail earlier. But I think that's just what John is doing again in the same chapter in the same context. He's quoting or he's using the language that Moses used, figurative language from the Old Testament. And let's turn to Exodus chapter 19. In Exodus chapter 19, we have Moses' account, now think of this, Israel with a world empire that's chasing them, the Egyptian army, after their exodus out of Egypt. So here's Israel, the woman, fleeing for their lives, backs against the Red Sea, the most powerful empire in the world is chasing them, and God rescues them, and God brings them out of that dangerous place and into the wilderness where they will be taken care of by God. So in Exodus chapter 1, it says, and in the third month when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, which is very dangerous for them at that point, the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. So somehow Israel traveled out of Egypt and into the wilderness. Just like we see in Revelation 12. And Moses continues, he goes on, and he further describes this in figurative language as to how they traveled. And John tells us, using the language of Moses, that God was behind it. And here's how Moses described it in his day. Look in verse 4 of Exodus 19. So God is speaking to the Jews. He's describing how they made it out of Egypt, out of that dangerous place against the world empire that wanted to destroy them and into a safe place in the wilderness. And God said to them, you have seen what I did, what God did unto the Egyptians. God destroyed the Egyptian army to protect his people. God did that. and how I bear you on eagles' wings and brought you unto myself." So here Moses uses figurative language to describe the fact that God was the one who carried them figuratively like a mother eagle taking her little chicks. God was the one who bare them on eagles' wings. God was the one who sovereignly kept them safe against the world empire so that they were able to flee the danger of Egypt and they were able to flee into the wilderness where God would care for them. And so Moses was describing that flight, the exodus, He wasn't describing an airplane taking the Jews from the Egypt and into the wilderness. He was describing in figurative poetic language that it was really the Lord that protected them and got them from point A to point B. And he says it was as if they were flying on eagle's wings. In Moses' day, God didn't use some modern device to transport them on an airplane. Most of them walked. And so the point of Moses using that kind of figurative language was not to describe the means of transportation, but to describe the one God who protected them and safely delivered them out of danger in Egypt, being chased by a world empire, and into the safety of the wilderness where he would care for them. So I don't know whether they walked or whether they rode on donkeys or how they got there, But that's not the point of the figurative language in Exodus, and that, I don't believe, is the point of the figurative language in Revelation chapter 12 either. God sovereignly protected Israel as she fled, just as if he was providing safety and protection, like flying them in eagle's wings to get them into a safe place. And I think that's the best way to describe John's use in Revelation 12 of Moses' figurative language in the Old Testament. And John uses Moses' language twice in just this first section of Revelation chapter 12, from Genesis and Exodus. So how exactly are they going to be transported? We don't know for sure. We don't know how they'll get there. Maybe they'll walk. Maybe they'll have some other transportation. But John does tell us that they're going to, in verse 14, that they're going to find that place that God has for them. That place that God has prepared for them in the wilderness. Now, we don't know exactly where that place is. We're not told exactly which deserty, hilly region they end up fleeing to. Many believe it's Petra. It's a possibility. That's a city that's carved into a stone cliff. It's in Jordan, modern-day Jordan, southeast of Jerusalem, and I googled it. With light traffic, it's a three-and-a-half-hour drive. So that would be a long walk if they walked to Petra. But it's well-equipped. It has narrow canyons with narrow entrances on each end, and it would be very easy to protect. But we don't know where it is, and I guess one place is as good as another. It's conjecture on our part. But what we do know, and this is the important part, that God has prepared a place for them where God will preserve and nourish the remnant in Israel. They have a place prepared of God. God can do anything. We don't know what he will do. He could open up the earth. He could create a great chasm between Israel and his enemies. We know in the kingdom, God is going to, he describes his protection over Israel. He says, I'll be like a wall of fire about them. We don't know. The important part to note is that at that point in history, future, in that point, God is going to protect his people. And he's going to get them away from the bloodthirsty murderous Antichrist who has an insane hatred for Jewish people and he's going to protect them outside of Jerusalem. And he's going to protect them in that future day. They will see the abomination of desolation set up in the holy place in Jerusalem, and Jews will run for their lives, and they will end up in somewhere in the wilderness, and God will protect them. And look back in Revelation 12 in verse 6. And the woman fled into the wilderness. We don't know how she got there, but she makes it there, where she hath a place prepared of God. Special place God has prepared. God could create a wall around them. He could create some protective barrier. But there's going to be a place that God has specially prepared to preserve and to care for the remnant of Israel. And it says that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days. That's for the whole second half of the Tribulation. And this word feed means to, it's used of rearing a child. And it includes more than just feeding them food, it includes that, but it's really taking care of a child. And that's the term that God uses to care for the physical needs of his Jewish people for the last three and a half years of the Tribulation period. And you know, if you look back at the connection that John already made back to the Exodus, I believe he made to the Exodus, quoting the words of Moses, God prepared it, provided for Israel in the wilderness too. Only it wasn't just 1260 days, it was 40 years. And God provided all of their needs. He provided manna from heaven. Quail, he got from the wind, water out of a rock, their shoes didn't wear out, and all of this was supernatural work of God in providing for and caring for his people in the wilderness. And this will be critical for Israel. in the second half of the tribulation period. Great tribulation, worldwide tribulation. And these Jews, this remnant of Jews will be, the Antichrist will be declaring war against them. And God will supernaturally have a wall around them. Somehow, he's going to protect them, and he's going to provide for all of their physical needs in the wilderness. And he's done it before, he can do it again. And it will be critical, especially in light of the fact that the Antichrist won't allow them to buy or sell anything. They'll be cut off from the economy, cut off from all stores and buying food and anything else. They will be absolutely desolate and dependent upon God's provision and protection. And so God provides for the nation of Israel as he did so many centuries ago at their exodus from Egypt. And God provided for Elijah in the wilderness as well. He brought him youth birds to bring steak. I think I'd rather have steak than manna, but... So we don't know exactly how God is going to take care of the Jews in the wilderness in that day, but we do know that he will. He'll provide all of their physical needs, he will protect them from the rage of the Antichrist, and they will be protected for 1260 days until a remnant is preserved to enter into the kingdom. And you know why God does that? Turn to Psalm 23. Psalm 23. And put yourself in the shoes of a Jew, a believing Jew, who is trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. Even if it means beheading, he's put his faith in Christ. He's trusting in the Lord to take care of him. And imagine reading Psalm 23. The Lord, they're out in the wilderness. God's sheep are out in the wilderness. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I will lack nothing. He'll provide all of our needs. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside still waters. 1260 days, he'll be feeding them, nourishing them, providing water somehow in that desert. And he'll also providing green pastures and vegetation, things that they can eat. He restoreth my soul. Imagine the anxiety, the fears, Imagine the worries, the concerns that this remnant of believing Jews will have in the worst period of human history when the whole planet turns against them. Not just one nation, not just Egypt or Germany or some other nation, the whole world turns against them. And God will restore their souls. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. He got them right to that place of safety that he prepared for them. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, death was all around them. More than half the earth's population has been killed at this point. And yet, in the midst of all of that death and destruction, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me. He provides for all of our needs. There's a table there out in the wilderness prepared by God. And notice this, in the presence of mine enemies, but they can't get to them. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Not long after this, the millennial temple will be built. And these believing Jews will be able to enter into that sweet communion and fellowship with the Lord who protected them, and they will worship Him in the house of the Lord, that newly built millennial temple. So, God has a wonderful plan for His people Israel in the future. The tribulation is designed to humble Israel, to bring them to their knees, It's a form of judgment. They're under judgment today. This is the indignation, the period of indignation, the times of the Gentiles. But notice that even in the worst period of judgment, we see expressions of God's grace. There's a remnant of his people that God still protects. He still cares for them. against a madman possessed by Satan who seeks to wipe them out, the son of perdition. Remember how God allowed Satan to test Job? Satan meant it for evil. He wanted to devour Job, but God meant it for good. God intended for Job to come through that tribulation like gold. God intended that trial, that struggle, that pain, those difficult years, to work good in him. But even during that time of trial and tribulation, God put limits on what Satan could do. And so during those last days, the Jews will be protected in the wilderness. And to use the words of Fanny Crosby, they will be safe in the arms of Jesus. God preserves a remnant. And what a great God we have. And you know, we won't be alive in the Great Tribulation period. We won't be there in any portion of it. But we'll have troubles and struggles and trials in this life. But this is our God. He takes care of His own. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you, Heavenly Father, for the truth of it. And Lord, we do pray that you would help us to appreciate your shepherding of our souls, how you meet our physical needs, you meet our spiritual needs. And God, we just thank you for all that you are to us. Help us to walk worthy of our high calling in Christ. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.