Hiding place!
Revelation 12:1”A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars..”
Just because things are not working out well now, never ever give up friend. Would you believe if I tell you that we preached to an empty church for a long period of time , not just few days or months but for few years. Excruciating pain and uncertainty killed us. Besides our free School and free Hostel for the poor, we also run our Shiloh Revival Church. Our students attend our Church and they had everything under one umbrella, every ministry is unique so don’t compare.
Things plummeted during a particular season and we were in pitch dark, unable to take decisions, because we were in mid-ocean by now, several years into ministry. One day while I was listening to a telugu morning devotion, I heard a revelation that spoke directly to our situation, read:
Revelations 12: 4“..the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she *had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
WOMAN: The woman mentioned above is the ‘church’ and satan the dragon was waiting to grab the new converts. While the church waited for the converts to grow and flourish but the devil was waiting to grab the seed. It is now that God hides the church under the shadow of His wings…..God took the ‘woman – Church’ into the wilderness for a specific period of time. Sometimes wilderness looks tough, dry, painful and unbearable but being hidden is necessary for the process of the growth of Church.
We never know the battles that God fights on our behalf to protect the Church and the believers, let me share about our Church. We run our Church in a rented premises, the owner few days back spoke to my husband and me casually about something that shocked us. That particular building has two floors with two portions in each floor, we were in the first floor. Except three tenants, all the rest are empty for nearly 3 years. People who come to see the building tell the owner that they are not interested to take up the portion because of the (our) Church, they also ask the owner as to why he gave the premises to run a ‘church’ which would ‘hinder’ other business in the building; however, the owner has good relationship with us and he has rejected their statements. Have you see the battles that God fights on your behalf? Our church is situated right in the midst of a cluster of temples, some of them are huge and the area is named after an idol. God had to hide the church for a period of time because He knew the missiles that were being sent against it.
Many church members suddenly left us and many other things happened; however, we survived. Glory to Jesus!
RED DRAGON:
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.”
The red dragon is satan and the color red denotes violence and the size of it might look intimidating but remember ‘greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.’ Amen. Satan is waiting to destroy the new converts and also all the other believes, read: the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
We should all be aware that the red dragon is real , attack on church and believers is real, therefore prayer has to increase. Breaking into a jig after taking water baptism is alright, but it should follow with consistent prayer life and reading the Word of God so that we are protected from the onslaught of satan.
Wilderness prepared by God:
Revelations 12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.
14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she *was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
Because of the attack of the red dragon,God carried the church away to the wilderness. Where God takes you, He would nurture, provide and protect you, isn’t it? Those words were soothing, to be hidden in the wilderness is no fun but we need to utilize that time to grow in Christ and prepare for the release date. God is aware of the perils that surround you, so He takes you away for some time. Did not this happen to Jesus?
JESUS: Soon after the visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the infant Jesus since King Herod would seek the child to kill him. (Mathew 2:13-23) verse 14-“So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.” God prepared Egypt as the hiding place for infant Jesus! Herod went on a killing spree, he slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under. Going to Egypt with the baby was no easy job but it had to be done.
JOHN THE BAPTIST: Mathew 4:12When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew to Galilee. 13Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum…. Jesus knew that the place was not safe under the present circumstances and He also knew all that would proceed so He silently moved on…Trust the plans of God in your life!
JOSEPH: God had to orchestrate certain events so that Joseph was protected for 13 years before he could become the governor of Egypt and sit in the second chariot of Pharaoh. God knew that Joseph was not safe outside, when the favor of God is on you then you become the target of attack.
OBADIAH: ( 1 King 18:4-19) During the reign of Jezebel and her husband Ahab in Israel, the nation worshipped idols and the temple at Jerusalem was deserted. The priests and the Levites had all gone to Judah and Jerusalem (2 Chr. 11:13, 2 Chr. 11:14 ), but, instead of them, God raised up some prophets, who conducted private prayer meetings in homes and taught the Word to few who were interested to follow God. Wow! But Jezebel sniffed this and she was getting rid of the true prophets, it is now that Obadiah , the man who feared God hid 100 prophets, 50 each in two caves and took care of them. At a time when water and food were in high demand, God provided for the 100 prophets under the care of Obadiah.
The hiding place is definitely not a place of comfort but it is here that God gets you ready for the future glory. God prepared the online strategy for church services in the midst of COVID 19, so God would have a strategy for you, stay tuned to hear from Him. Yes the Red Dragon is real, the sufferings, attacks and trials are real but remember you are special to God.
Before I sign off, I would like to take you to the first verse of this chapter: “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;”
Woman (church) was clothed with sun – she was shining bright being clothed with Jesus and His righteousness
The moon was under her feet, moon represents the world, so the church has to overcome the world and its passions.
She had a crown of 12 stars, which is symbolic of the Gospel preached by the 12 disciples.
God loves His Bride and the believers who follow Him, He will take care of them.
I would like to quote Acts 14:22 “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."
Prepare for the marriage of the Lamb:
Marriage of the Lamb
Revelations 19:7 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready."
8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he *said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" And he *said to me, "These are true words of God."
