The Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. Part 3. Revelation 12:10

GRACE BIBLE CHURCH
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries
The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary.
The Tree of Life for week ending 09/14/03.
The Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ

We have now completed the first part of REV 12:10 which says, And I heard a loud voice in heaven [this is the voice of a winner angel, a seraph], saying, "Now the deliverance [Second Advent] and the power,"

The deliverance means the second?advent is on its way.
The word for power is the Greek noun dunamis which is a reference to TLJC as the power of God [that is Jesus Christ in hypostatic union, undiminished deity, true humanity in one person forever].

Jesus Christ returns in the power of His hypostatic union, which includes His omnipotence as deity, and His impeccability as resurrected humanity.

Next we have the phrase, and the kingdom of our God

The word kingdom is the Greek noun basilea which refers to the millennial kingdom or the Father's plan for the last one thousand years of history. God the Father's plan for Jesus Christ to rule the world beginning at the second?advent. The time of perfect environment on the earth. 

So in REV 12:10, And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now deliverance [Second advent], and the power,[that is Jesus Christ in hypostatic union, undiminished deity, true humanity in one person forever] and the kingdom of our God [the Father's plan for the millennial reign of our Lord Jesus Christ] and the authority of His Christ have come,

As a member of the human race, TLJC has authority under the plan of God the Father to rule the earth for the last dispensation of history. With this authority, Christ's rule will provide perfect environment, so that human history will terminate as it began with our original parents in the garden, Adam and Ishshah, under perfect environment.

History began with perfect environment, history will terminate with perfect environment.
We saw that In the first period of perfect environment, the Garden of Eden, the woman was not deceived but she was "quite deceived" and the man took his cue from the woman and did likewise.

This is why the apostle Paul said in 1TI 2:11, Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression.

It says "quite deceived" because there had to be a series of thoughts, namely negative thoughts leading her to the tree, talking to the serpent, and dissatisfied with what she had. You don't just make one negative decision and have the Bible state that you were "quite deceived."
There had to be a series of events leading up to this deception.
It all began with her thinking or her thought process. It's just like the fall of Satan.
It all began with thought, a thought process.

ISA 14:13-14, "But you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

This is why 2CO 10:5-6 says, We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

It's important to have a positive mental attitude. A positive mental attitude determines your acceptance of the natural and the spiritual laws designed by God, or your rejection of them. Adopting the right mental attitude can convert a stressful situation into a positive one.
Actually, there is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference, and that difference is mental attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.

This is why the single most significant decision we can make on a day-to-day basis is our choice of mental attitude.

It is more important than our past, our education, our bankroll, or our successes or failures, our fame or pain, what other people think of us or say about us, our circumstances, or our position.

Mental attitude either keeps us going in a positive direction or hinders our progress. The longer you live, the more you will realize the impact of your mental attitude toward life.

PRO 23:26, Give me your heart, my son, And let your eyes delight in my ways.

PRO 4:23, Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it {flow} the springs of life.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the mental attitude we will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past. 
We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. 
We cannot change the inevitable. 
However, we can change our mental attitude toward these things.

Adam and the woman forgot the importance of having a positive mental attitude of gratitude to the Lord for all He had done for them. Developing a mental attitude of gratitude is the ability to give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.

So in REV 12:10, we have man rejecting perfect environment.  

In the last dispensation of human history, the millennium, the last thousand years, there will again be perfect environment, at the end of that time Satan is released and he is going to find malcontent under perfect environment.

Remember, the human race started with perfect environment, and the human race is going to end its history on planet earth with perfect environment, everything that anyone could ever want for happiness and still there will be no happiness.

The reason many of you think that certain things would make you happy is because you haven't had them or tried them or you haven't been there yet. You assume that that would make you happy, but if you ever get there, you're going to discover that happiness has nothing whatever to do with environment.
The mature believer is happy in time of historical prosperity but he is just as happy in time of historical disaster. Historical circumstances or personal circumstances do not make any difference.  You can be happy under the most pleasant circumstances, or the most adverse circumstances, happiness has nothing whatever to do with environment. Rather, happiness has to do with the state of your soul, the amount of doctrine in your soul and the execution of the plan of God.

Happiness has nothing to do with your age. Some people are old at ninety, some are old at eighty, some seventy, some sixty, some fifty, and some people are old at forty.
The difference is in mental attitude. The body is going to age, that's absolutely natural and normal, but getting old is a whole different story. 

Remember that the Scripture says, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. 

It's all a matter of attitude, you don't have to get old and miserable. 

It is all a matter of attitude. 

So here are some suggestions, that will help you stay young all of your life and enjoy life no matter what your environment.

Look at PSA 92:12-15, The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green, To declare that the Lord is upright; {He is} my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

PSA 103:1-5, ({A Psalm} of David.) Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, {bless} His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit; Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, {So that} your youth is renewed like the eagle.

God desires that you live in happiness in your environment and not get old and run down.

Our bodies may age but we can remain young in spirit, young in heart, young in soul, even young in body for the simple reason that He desires to use us all the days of our life.

Remember the Bible says that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. All of us who are believers, are indwelt by the living God, in the person and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

So we have a right to expect God's very best in our life. But we also have the responsibility of being our best, doing our best, and looking our best all the days of our life. This is because we are representatives, ambassadors on this earth of the Son of God, of the Lord Jesus Christ, of almighty God, Himself.
So we have a right to expect what He says in PSA 103:5, your youth is renewed like the eagle.
We can think, live and act that way so that we don't have to get old unless we choose to do so.   
It is a matter of mental attitude not environment. 

So you say well, how do I stay young all of my life?  
Well here is some biblical advice and then we'll note some illustrations of this advice.
First of all, Keep on learning.
You want to stay young all of your life, you've got to keep on learning. There are a lot of people who settle for what they know and they're not interested in learning anything new because it taxes their brain. Not passive learning, but taking the initiative to learn something new.

Let's start with what you and I ought to be learning all the time, and that's the word of God.  
Because the truth is when you and I let God's word enter our hearts, it's going make an impact on our life. 

Look in Proverbs, just a few verses, Pro 4, and listen to what he says, speaking about the word of God in verse 20 and it's affect on our life, PRO 4:20, My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they that is the word of God, the words of God, are life to those who find them, And health to all their whole body.

How can reading the Scripture be health to your body? Because when you and I read the Scriptures, we get God's word into our minds and our hearts, we get his thinking into our thinking, we begin to think the way He thinks and see things from His perspective.

And when you begin to see things from His perspective you stop worrying about things.

It is wise to keep learning, and the first thing we ought to be learning is the word of God. It is a source of strength, it is a source of energy, it is a cleanser, this is where we find out who God is and what He's like. Anyone who understands and begins to understand that God loves them unconditionally, and is able to grasp that truth and make it a part of their thinking and their everyday living is going to stay younger because they are going to walk in the love of God.

They will have a sense of assurance and confidence and contentment and quietness in the inner man. Yet there's so many people who are willing to cease learning, they don't want to learn, they are satisfied.

The Scriptures are full of verses that have to do with good health and strength and joy and peace and happiness.

PRO 17:22, a joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

It also dries up your capacity to love, because if that's your attitude, you're not going to be happy and enjoying life. When you laugh, do you realize it affects every cell in your body and that it stimulates your immune system. When you laugh, you become more creative.

Remember ECC 3:4, there's a time to laugh

You know, we've all got circumstances but when you recognize that a sovereign omnipotent God lives inside of you, He can enable you to smile and to laugh no matter what. The laughter of the mature believer is faith breaking through the barriers of a hopeless situation, and accepting divine reality, as over against human viewpoint, human hopelessness.
There is a relief in laughter and sadly, some have never laughed at themselves.
Intense people never laugh at themselves, they take themselves very seriously, too seriously.
There are some people who think that the Christian way of life is no laughing matter, and that God wants us all to be very serious and do great things for Him. Consequently these people usually fall apart at some time and in a hurry.

The mature believers attitude toward adversity is expressed in laughter, a relaxed laughter in the midst of great adversity, JOB 5:17-22.

JOB 5:19-27 is a dissertation on spiritual maturity and the fantastic blessings that come to the mature believer. The problem is that Eliphaz who said this is insinuating that if Job was a mature believer he would have been protected from all that happened.

JOB 5:19, "From six troubles He will deliver you, Even in seven evil will not touch you.

Six is man's number and it represents all the trouble that man could get himself into. However, Eliphaz makes it 7 which is the perfect number.

 In verse 20 this marvelous passage continues, in famine (economic depression) He will redeem you from death,

The word redeem is the Hebrew Verb paddah which means to buy your life and to guarantee that you will survive economic depression.

JOB 5:20-22, and in war (He will preserve you) from the power of the sword. You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue which is social disaster, Neither will you be afraid of violence or violent death when it comes. You will laugh at violence and famine or economic depression, neither will you be afraid of wild beasts

This is not foolish laughing or the phony hysterical laugh of many believers facade, this is the Relaxed Mental Attitude (R.M.A.) of a believer who has a true sense of humor under pressure. A sense of humor is very important in time of disaster, it helps the believer to think!

The mature believer is protected in time of economic adversity. In time of economic failure, there is blessing for the mature believer.

The laughter of appreciation of who and what God is, the laughter of happiness when there is adversity.

For a more detailed study, order tapes IA11-313 to IA11-315.