Hello, once again, this is Dr. Phil Fernandez, founder of the Institute of Biblical Defense and the academic dean of Feruson Theological Seminary. Today's lecture is eschatology lecture number six. It's lecture number six on the end times. We'll be discussing the apostasy in a false church. We'll be talking very briefly on the two witnesses of Revelation 11 and the 144,000 Jews of Revelation 7. as well as the saved Gentiles in the tribulation also of Revelation chapter 7. So let's discuss right now the apostasy and the false church. The apostasy is the falling away from the faith. The apostasy is the falling away from the faith. I do not believe that a person could lose their salvation, but what you have is many professing believers, the professing church falling away from the faith. Look at 1 Timothy chapter 4. 1 Timothy chapter 4, verses 1 to 3. 1 Timothy chapter 4. and verses 1 to 3. For the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. By means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared shared in by those who believe and know the truth. But what I want to key on is that there will be a falling away from the faith in the last days when men will pay attention to deceitful spirits and the doctrines or teachings of demons. And so here it is discussed there that people listening to the teachings of demons, I think we have today with the channeling What used to be called spiritism now is called channeling. You have the ramp and sack being channeled. Demons being asked to indwell people and use them as their mouthpieces and speak through them. Shirley MacLaine has publicized this with the New Age Movement. And so you have a falling away of the faith and a listening to and accepting of the doctrines of demons through New Age channeling. You have many cults today. The Mormon church claims to be the true Christian church, when in fact it is not. And the Joseph Smith received revelations from supposed angels, they were probably demons. You also have the Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian scientists, Unity School of Christianity, Scientology. The list goes on and on. The Worldwide Church of God, the Way International, the Unification Church with Reverend Moon. Multitudes of cults. You have the Catholic Church which has a tremendous amount of cultic, paganistic elements. Many Catholics are saved, but you also have many other Catholics that pray to Mary and pray to the saints and worship their favorite saint. They don't have a personal relationship with Christ. They have a relationship with what they think is a saint. In actuality, they probably have a personal relationship with a demon who impersonates a saint. The Bible forbids us to communicate with those who passed on. It's not just talking about the spiritually dead, but it's talking about the physically dead, even believers who went to heaven, because even God forbid King Saul to communicate with the Prophet Samuel after he had died and gone to heaven. So there's a tremendous amount of Catholicism, a tremendous amount of falling away from the true faith, though they do have a solid statement of faith and there are many Catholics who are saved. There are great numbers of Catholics who are caught up into some type of cultic paganism. There's even a new age movement. The new age movement has with this creation spirituality. They don't want to talk about the fall. They want to go before the fall and get away from the Augustinian view of the fall and have the discussions centered on the creation. Creation centered spirituality. It's nothing but the new age movement. And that's also infiltrating Catholicism. Also in Protestantism, liberal Protestantism. The many Protestant churches now deny that the Bible is God's word, deny that Jesus Christ is God, deny that salvation comes only through Him, and believe that all faiths lead to God, and what you have here is a falling away from the faith. So you have the cults, liberal Protestantism, cultic Catholicism, and the New Age movement all seem to be playing a significant role in this falling away of the faith. Look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 1 to 3. Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first. And the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. So Jesus Christ is not going to return until the apostasy, the falling away from the faith comes. Where organized Christianity becomes anti-Christian in its thought patterns, And instead of the doctrines of the Bible, you have the doctrines of demons being held to. Now we saw where the apostasy is today in the cults, liberal Protestantism, cult of Catholicism and the New Age movement. But what is the end result of the apostasy? What is the end result of the false church? The end result is that they will eventually, the false church, the apostate church, all those who reject the true Christian faith and remove themselves from it, will eventually worship the Antichrist. Look at Revelation chapter 13. Revelation chapter 13, verses 3 and 4. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain. That's the mortal wound that the Antichrist will receive halfway through the tribulation period. And his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast and they worshipped the dragon. That's Satan. Because he gave his authority to the beast. That's the Antichrist. And they worshipped the beast saying who is like the beast and who is able to wage war with him. And so all those who are not saved worshipped the beast So the end result of the apostate and false church is that they will eventually worship the Antichrist. Look at verse 12 of Revelation chapter 13. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the beast whose fatal wound was healed. So the false prophet, the Antichrist's right hand man, forces the earth to worship the Antichrist. So the end result of the false apostate church is that they will eventually worship the Antichrist. Now before we get off the subject of the apostasy and the false church, take a look at 1 John chapter 2 and verse 19. I want to point this out. There are some who profess to be Christians that will fall away from the faith. We get them in every generation We all know them, people who come to our church, profess faith in Christ, and then slowly but surely remove themselves from the church, and you never see them again. You never see them again, and they live a life totally apart, totally outside God's will. Were these people ever saved? Look what John says in 1 John 2, verse 19. They went out from us, but they were not really of us. For if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. But they went out in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us." So John says, yes, a person can fall away from the faith, but that person was never really saved. If they were saved, they would have remained with the church. This is also mentioned in Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 14. Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 14 for we have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end and so here the writer of Hebrews is saying look you are definitely a Christian now if you persevere until the end but he's also saying if you don't persevere to the end that means that you were never really saved So those who fall away from the faith are professing believers. That was Hebrews 3.14. So the apostate church, the apostasy, the falling away from the faith, the paying attention to the doctrines of demons, the end result, they will eventually worship the Antichrist. Now let's take a look at the two witnesses of Revelation chapter 11. Look at Revelation chapter 11 and we'll discuss very briefly the two witnesses. Revelation chapter 11 verses 1 to 15. Look at verses 1 to 2, it talks about the tribulation temple, the temple that is to be built during the tribulation period. Verses 1 and 2. And there was given me a measuring rod like a staff, and someone said, Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it. And leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations, and they will tread underfoot the holy city for forty-two months." So John is told to measure three things. The temple of God. Now this is Naon, not Hieron. It's not just the temple that he's told to mention. In fact, it's Neon, not Hieron, he's told to mention the holy place, the sanctuary of the temple, not the temple itself. Now the altar here that is mentioned, he's told to measure the altar. It could be either the brazen altar or the altar of incense. Because both are found in a temple. And then John is told to measure those who worship in it. So he's told to measure pretty much the hearts of the believers. That you've got people worshiping in spirit and truth, but then you also have false worshipers at the same time. But John is told not to measure the court outside the temple. Because that was given to the Gentile nations. He says that Jerusalem will be trodden underfoot. So this is talking about the last half of the tribulation period. Luke 21-24 discusses that same issue. Now he says don't measure the outside. Now what was the outside court? The outside court was the court of the Gentiles. With the temple you had the court of the Gentiles. Then inside that you had the court where the Jews could go into. Then you had the holy place and then the holy of holies. And John's told, hey, don't measure the court outside the temple. Because he's saying, hey, the rest of Jerusalem, that's their whole court, they're trampling it underfoot. Now, we used to think that the Dome of the Rock had to be destroyed in order for the temple to be built in Jerusalem. We used to think that the Dome of the Rock had to be destroyed. However, now we found that our calculations of where the temple belongs is not where the Dome of the Rock is, but right next to it. And the only thing you'd have to leave out to build the temple right alongside it is the Court of the Gentiles. So in other words, the temple could possibly be built in the last days right next to the Dome of the Rock, you would just have to leave out the Court of the Gentiles. Now, measuring signifies an evaluation of God's property. In the scriptures, measuring signifies an evaluation of God's property. So John is told to measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship in it. So God is in the business of evaluating his worshipers. This temple is not yet built. When it is built, when it is built, The Antichrist himself will desecrate this temple according to 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 3 and 4. Let's take a quick look at that. It's a real quick look. 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 3 and 4. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God." So the Antichrist desecrates the temple by entering into the temple, goes into the Holy of Holies, and calls himself God. So that's very, very important that we see that, that he enters into the temple and displays himself as being God himself. Okay, so there's the Tribulation Temple. It's not yet built, but it will be built, and the Antichrist will proclaim himself to be God. And then we have the two witnesses and their ministry in verses 3 to 6. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone would desire to harm them in this manner, he must be killed. These have the power to shut up the sky in order that rain may not fall during the days of their prophesying and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to smite the earth with every plague as often as they desire. And so we have the two witnesses and their ministry. They prophesied for 1260 days. This is the same three and a half years or 42 months what we refer to as the last half of the tribulation period. They're clothed in sackcloth. That's prophets of doom, sackcloth and ashes. They're proclaiming that God's judgment is about to fall. They're referred to as two olive trees. Olive oil in the scriptures almost always talks of the empowerment by the Holy Spirit. So these are prophets empowered by the Holy Spirit. They're referred to as two lampstands. Lampstands give off light. Lampstands talk about the fact that these two are witnesses. They testify to Jesus Christ and His salvation and His coming judgments. It says they stand before the Lord, much as in Zechariah chapter 4, verses 1 to 6, Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel, a descendant of David, how they stood before the Lord. It says that fire from their mouth defeats their enemies. Now, Elijah called for fire from heaven to defeat his enemies in 2 Kings 1. It says they have power to stop the rain for three and a half years. Elijah stopped the rain for three and a half years. It's mentioned in James 5.17 as well as in 1 Kings. They have power to turn water into blood. Moses did this in Exodus 7. They have power to smite the earth with plagues. The ten plagues in the book of Exodus. Moses did this. So the question comes up, who are these two witnesses? Who are these two witnesses? Now some people speculate that they're Moses and Elijah will come back in the last days. Look at Malachi chapter 4 verses 5 and 6. Malachi chapter 4 and verses 5 and 6. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. Malachi chapter 4 verses 5 and 6, the last two verses of the Old Testament. Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse. And so God promises Elijah will come before the great and terrible day of the Lord, That's the day of the Lord that has not occurred yet. In Matthew 17, 1-3, Moses and Elijah appear on the Mount of Transfiguration with Christ. When Christ is transfigured in His glorious scene by the Apostles, Moses and Elijah are there with them. So they came back once. For that scene, could they come back again? In fact, June 9, after Moses died, Lucifer has an argument with Michael the Archangel about the body of Moses. So there's a lot of questions that are involved there. Could the two witnesses be Moses and Elijah? It's predicted that Elijah is going to come back and Moses came back with him when Christ was on the Mount of Transfiguration. That's possible. What about Enoch and Elijah? Some people say it's Enoch and Elijah. Because Hebrews 9.27 says it's appointed for man to die once and then comes the judgment. Yet Enoch never died. Genesis 5.24 says he walked with God and God took him. So he never died, God just took him to heaven. And Elijah never died. 2 Kings 2.11 Elijah went to heaven in a fiery chariot. He never died. So people say, well, they never died. Since it's appointed for man to die once, they have to die. There's one problem with this view, and that is the whole last generation of Christians will not die. They'll be changed in the twinkling of an eye. So all that's saying, when Christ says it, when Paul, or the writer of Hebrews, whoever he is, says it's appointed for man to die once, and then comes the judgment, in other words, It's appointed for man to die once. Normally man will die once and then come to judgment. But there's going to be some people, like Lazarus, who's going to die twice. He died, God rose him, and he died again. But the normal thing is a man will die once and then come to the judgment. It's a general rule, but it doesn't have to be totally absolute. So is it Moses and Elijah or Enoch and Elijah? I don't know. Now, it could very possibly be just two end-time prophets. It could be just two end-time prophets. Now, in Matthew 17, verses 10 to 13, they ask Jesus about the fact that Elijah must come back. Jesus said he already did come back, and that it was John the Baptist. In Luke chapter 1 verse 17, it tells us that John the Baptist came in the power of Elijah, in the spirit and the power of Elijah. And in the Gospel of John chapter 1 verses 19 to 21, John the Baptist came right out and said, they asked him, are you Elijah? He said, I am not. So John the Baptist was not Elijah, yet symbolically he was Elijah. because he came in the spirit and the power of Elijah. So it's possible that that Malachi prediction in Malachi 4, 5, and 6, that Elijah would come back, it might just be that there'll be an end-time prophet who's born in the end times, grows up in the end times, but comes in the spirit and the power of Elijah. It might also mean that there's an end-time prophet who comes up in the spirit and the power of Moses. So my view is that these two witnesses are either symbolically, they're two end-time prophets who are symbolically Moses and Elijah, or they're literally the return of Moses and Elijah to earth. Either way, but I would say I would say I'm probably 80% 80% convinced that it would be two end time prophets who were born and grow up in the last days and were symbolic, symbolically Moses and Elijah, rather than literally being Moses and Elijah. That's the ministry of the two prophets. They proclaim that those who accepted the mark of the beast, and many people hadn't accepted it by that point already, you guys are going to hell. Jesus Christ is going to return. They minister for three and a half years, and then their death is recorded in verses 7 to 10 of Revelation chapter 11. And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also the Lord was crucified. That's it, that's Jerusalem. Sodom because of the immorality, and Egypt because of the idolatry. And those from the peoples and tribes, because that's where the Lord was crucified, right outside Jerusalem. And those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and they will send gifts to one another because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. So this is the death of the two witnesses. After their testimony is finished, they are killed by the Antichrist, the beast who comes from the abyss. Apparently, the Antichrist is going to be indwelled by a demon who comes from the abyss. At times, even Satan is going to indwell him. But remember that one passage we read that out of the Antichrist, the false prophet, and the dragon, Satan, came three frogs that were unclean spirits. And so what you have is the Antichrist is indwelt by a demon from the abyss that gets released from the abyss possibly in Revelation 9 or he gets released maybe earlier than that but he comes from the abyss. Probably Satan's right hand man or right hand demon. The false prophet gets possessed by another demon, but then at times the Satan himself indwells and possesses the Antichrist as well. But their bodies, the two witnesses, their bodies will lie on the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days. Again, it's mystically called Sodom because of its immorality, and Egypt because of its idolatry, but it's definitely Jerusalem because that's where Christ was crucified. The non-believers rejoice, they exchange gifts, Why? Because the two prophets had tormented them. You see, godly men always torment the wicked. Godly men always torment the wicked. You know, they believed that they rejoiced because they believed now the Antichrist is victorious over the God of the Bible. Why is that so important to them? Well, they accepted the mark of the beast and according to Revelation chapter 14 verses 9 to 11, those who accept the mark of the beast will burn in hell forever and ever. And that apparently is a big portion of the message of these two prophets. And so people are thinking, oh man. I want to have a good time, I want to do my own thing, and here these guys are telling me I'm going to hell, and look at how much power they got. Everybody that goes against them, fire comes out of their mouth to destroy them. Maybe I am going to hell, maybe the God of the Bible is true. But once they're killed by the Antichrist, they say, well that's it, the Antichrist is victorious, he's more powerful than the God of the Bible, therefore we can exchange gifts and have a good old time now, because we're not going to go to hell. However, the restoration is talked about in verses 11 to 14. And after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell upon those who were beholding them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, Come up here. And they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them. And in that hour there was a great earthquake and a tenth of the city fell and 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past, behold the third woe is coming quickly. And so God raises the two witnesses from the dead and the non-believers become terrified. Scriptures tell us in Hebrews 10.31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, and they recognize that their judgment is right around the corner. God takes the two witnesses bodily into heaven. This is either right before the rapture, or it is the rapture itself. These two guys would be the first ones raptured, brought up to heaven. But there's a great earthquake. One-tenth of the city is destroyed. Seven thousand people are killed. And the rest that still live are terrified, and they give Glory to God, it's not necessarily saying that they're accepting the Lord of Heaven, but what it's saying is that they admit, they glorify the God of Heaven by admitting that the God of Heaven, the God of the Bible, is superior to the Antichrist. It does not necessarily mean that they accept Christ and get saved. These are mostly people who have already accepted the mark of the beast. Now the second woe is passed, the third woe, the seventh trumpet and the return of Christ comes quickly. And that's what's mentioned in verse 15, the return of Christ. So you have the two witnesses die and then they're risen. And then verse 15, And the seventh angel sounded, and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever. And so there we have the two witnesses that are either symbolically or literally Moses and Elijah who prophesy in Jerusalem for three and a half years are then killed by the Antichrist but then are risen from the dead and snatched up into heaven by the Lord. Now let's take a look at the 144,000. Revelation chapter 7, 144,000. Hal Lindsey, the preacher, with the church gone, he needs somebody to do the preaching during the tribulation period, and so he picks these 144,000. He refers to them as 144,000 Billy Grahams. that preach during the tribulation period. The only problem is there is actually no mention that they do any preaching whatsoever in the tribulation period. They might, and again they might not. There's no mention of it. How is he just looking for somebody to do the work during the tribulation period because the believers are gone in his view? Revelation chapter 7 verses 1 to 4. After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind should blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads. I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel. And it mentions the 12 tribes of Israel from which they were sealed. Now I believe believers are already signed on their foreheads, sealed. They've already sealed, or are already sealed, it tells us in Ephesians 4.30 they were sealed by the Holy Spirit, and Ephesians 1.13 And so I don't believe that we need to be sealed on our foreheads. I believe that what he's talking about here is the fact that certain Jews are going to go into the tribulation not sealed, but they need to be protected and preserved by God to be kept until that point when they are sealed. In other words, they need to be sealed in such a way and protected that they won't accept the mark of the beast But I don't believe a lot of these may not accept the Lord until even the last moments of the tribulation, when the sun is dark and the moon doesn't give us light and stars fall from the sky. That's the context directly before this. But even if they're sealed early in the tribulation period, it's like God saying, before we start judging this earth, before we start bringing on some judgments and allow the harshness of the tribulation to transpire, Let's seal the foreheads of those who have not yet accepted me, but will soon accept me very shortly. And so they're protected. And whatever the case, these are Jews, 144,000, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. and so there's protection of certain Jews during the tribulation period. Then look at Revelation 7 verses 9 to 17. After these things I looked and behold a great multitude which no one could count from every tribe and all tribes and peoples and tongues standing before the throne and before the Lamb clothed in white robes and palm branches were in their hands, and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying to me, These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and from where have they come? And I said to him, My Lord, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and he who sits on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them, and they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb in the center of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of the water of life, and God shall wipe away every tear from them. So those who suffer during the tribulation period, but accept Christ, many multitudes will be saved, multitudes of Gentiles and Jews will be saved during the tribulation period but the sufferings that they received during the tribulation period will be put to an end when Jesus Christ returns and he wipes away their every tear. Now in this lecture we've discussed the apostasy, the falling away of the church, the two witnesses And we've also discussed the 144,000 Jews and the Gentiles. What I'd like to do right now is, in the remaining time, we don't have much of it, but we do have some extra time, so I'd like to discuss Revelation chapter 12. Very, very interesting passage. Revelation chapter 12, which may give us some insight to the end-time demonic activity. Let's take a look at Revelation chapter 12. And a great sign appeared in heaven and a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars and she was with child and she cried out being in labor and in pain to give birth. Okay, what is this symbolic of? Well, the woman is symbolic of the nation of Israel. We're going to see later on in this chapter that the woman is persecuted for three and a half years in the wilderness in the last days. Well, that's obviously the nation of Israel. And so the woman is the nation of Israel. Cole with the sun is talking about Jacob is the sun, his wife Rachel is the moon under her feet, and a crowd of 12 stars is the 12 tribes of Israel. Now how do we know that? We know that from Joseph's dream in Genesis chapter 37 verses 9 and 10. Joseph has a dream that the sun and the moon and 11 stars bow down to him. And so when he tells the dream to his father, his father says, what are you talking about? Show me your father, his father was Jacob, said, should I, your father, and your mother, and your eleven brothers, bow down to you? And so Jacob understood that the sun to be him, the moon to be his wife Rachel, who gave birth to Joseph, and the eleven stars is his eleven brothers, and so the twelve star would be Joseph himself. So there's twelve stars of the twelve tribes of Israel, the moon is Rachel, Jacob is the son and the woman is the nation of Israel. The woman represents the nation of Israel. She gave birth to the Messiah. And then Revelation 12, 6 says that she'll flee into the wilderness and will be persecuted the last three and a half years of the tribulation period so the woman cannot be married in this passage. So the Roman Catholic Church misunderstands by referring to the woman as married. Now, other women that are mentioned in Revelation are also symbolic. Jezebel in Revelation 2.20 talks of the immoral and idolatrous false worship, false religion. The harlot in Revelation chapter 17 is the end time false church. And the lamb's wife in Revelation 19.7 is the church. So the woman here is reference to the nation of Israel. Look at verses 3 and 4. And another sign appeared in heaven and behold a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems, seven crowns. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child." So the dragon is the... actually it's Satan himself according to Revelation 12.9. The Seven Heads speaks about seven world empires that kept the Jews in bondage. The Egyptian Empire, Syrian, Babylonian, Meadow Persian, the Empire of the Greeks, the Roman Empire, and then finally the Revived Roman Empire. The Ten Horns are the ten kings of ten nations that belong to the Revived Roman Empire in the last days. Now the dragon's action, his tail sweeps away one third of the stars of heaven. He is talking about stars that are often referenced to angels. So Satan throws them down to earth. Satan himself, the dragon himself, made his demons leave heaven. Now Job says that Satan can go into heaven. In the book of Job. Satan and his demons can go into the heavenly realms. Satan presently accuses brethren before the throne of God. So Satan himself threw his demons down to earth in order to attempt to devour Christ. To devour Christ. Matthew chapter 2 verses 16 to 21 lets us know that he used Herod in an attempt to kill Christ. Satan always attempts to destroy the Messiah. That's what God's plan is. Let me say something. There's two separate. Many people confuse this. Satan and his angels were not kicked out of heaven before the fall of Adam and Eve. They were kicked out of heaven. They had no longer access. They will be kicked out of heaven halfway through the tribulation period. We'll see that a little later. But They voluntarily left under the leadership of Satan just before Christ was born. So that's why every time Christ walked down a block, He couldn't walk two blocks without bunking into somebody who was demon possessed. Because Satan took all his troops, one third of the angels of heaven, took his troops, the fallen angels, and took them to Earth. to stack the deck, to bring his troops to earth when Christ was walking the earth. Verse 5, And she gave birth to a son, a man-child, who is to rule all the nations with the rod of iron. That's Christ. Revelation 19 tells us that. And her child was caught up to God and to his throne. That's the ascension. Christ ascended. unto heaven. Now the woman flees in verse 6. And the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God so that there she might be nourished for 1,260 days. That's three and a half years. So Israel flees to the wilderness so that God can protect her as she flees from persecution. Now here's the second time the angels get cast out of heaven. First time they voluntarily left with Satan. Satan still cast them down to try to persecute Christ. The second time they go to earth, Michael the archangel kicks them out. And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon, that's Lucifer. And the dragon and his angels waged war and they were not strong enough and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old, who was called the devil and Satan, who deceased the whole world, he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. So, you have Lucifer cast down, and his angels, halfway through the tribulation period. So they'll be cast down halfway through the tribulation period, and that's why there's going to be heavy demonic activity in the last half of the tribulation period. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, verse 10, saying, Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. Satan is presently accusing us. Halfway through the tribulation period, he'll get kicked out, with his angels, he'll get kicked out and come down to earth. And they 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 to death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell on them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he is only a short time." So Satan's wrath will inflict the earth for three and a half years. What will he do? Verse 13. And when the dragon, that's Satan, and when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman, That's the nation of Israel who gave birth to the male child. And then it goes on and on, and then look at verse 17, the final verse of Revelation chapter 12. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, the nation of Israel, and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring. who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. So in the last half of the tribulation period, Satan and his demons will all be on earth, heavy demonic activity, as they attempt to destroy the nation of Israel and the Church, those who hold to the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you, and God bless you.