Our Destiny is in Christ

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”—Revelation 12:10-12

John hears a loud voice, it is one of the 24 elders (representing the church) who announces a victory for the church! The devil, the accuser of the brethren is cast down to the earth. His time is short for soon he will be confined in Hell for 1000 years. But what follows is the greatest trouble the world has ever seen. Jesus called it the great tribulation lasting 42 months.

Remember, John’s visions are symbolic and are congruent with what God has revealed in the Old Testament. Here we see the mystery behind Israel’s persecution. The woman clothed with the sun, moon, and crown of twelve stars are symbolic of the nation of Israel. The dragon is the beast empire empowered by Satan that has persecuted the Nation of Israel in history and will rise again during the great tribulation to persecute the Nation of Israel before the coming of The Lord. The Man-child is the Messiah of Israel who will establish the kingdom of God upon the earth.

The history of the Jewish people is a an amazing story, a people scattered throughout Gentile nations, persecuted for centuries yet preserved by The Lord and regathered back into their own land in our day that they might fulfill their destiny! Remember, God established a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to bring the Messiah into the earth that all nations would be blessed. The Apostle Paul explained that Israel was called by God “to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises” that the Gentile Nations might be blessed with the Gospel. Israel will fulfill her destiny because God will bring His promise to pass!

This reminds us that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance! God is faithful to His Word to perform it in our lives. We simply must make it possible for Him to do so by believing and surrendering our lives to His plan! When we do we will fulfill our destiny! Israel as a nation will come to faith in her Messiah, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When she does she will realize her destiny is in Christ! So too, our destiny is in Christ!