Complete Defeat, Complete Victory - Prophetic Gallery SeriesSample

Pictures understood by the Jewish Believers  

Thoughts on the Passage

This wing of the gallery is focused on the Jewish believers – and how God fulfills His promises to His people. So this section has a lot of pictures within pictures. By this I mean that the pictures we see here, and the words used to describe them, draw from passages in the Old Testament. We find many short descriptions or phrases telling big stories. This section is full of them because the Jewish believers have so many promises from God that they know about – and they seek God’s fulfilment. Today, we will look at just one of them as an example.

The woman is crying out in pain with childbirth. We read over this quickly because it is so obvious that it really seems unnecessary to put here. Childbirth comes with labor pains. However, God is giving a much bigger story here. God is fulfilling the first promise that we have of the Messiah found in Genesis 3:15 – the seed of the woman will destroy the seed of the serpent. It starts with the promise of God to the woman that childbirth would result in a great increase in pain. However, this pain is worth it because the child will destroy the one who led them into sin – the serpent. This picture captures the fulfilment of God’s first promise. All this from a woman crying out in pain.

Throughout this section, take time to look for these pictures and their references to previous promises from God. Many of the promises belong to God’s people Israel. Many of them belong to all of God’s people. We will talk about some of them, but there are many, many of them hidden here. Walking through Revelation with the eyes of the Jewish believer, will open many doors of understanding for all of us.

Prayer

Father, You have so many hidden treasures in Your Word. Sometimes, they are right on the surface and we do not even see them! Today’s picture is one of them. It is so important to see this woman crying out in pain – because sin caused this, satan caused it by deceiving Eve. There are many other passages in Your word that describe the painful cost of deliverance – but that this pain is worth it. Deliverance comes when we trust You to keep Your promises even as this corrupted world where we live causes us pain. Father, we go through pain and it can either cause us to pull back, or to trust in Your goodness and faithfulness. Some of Your people pull back as they suffer in pain – and they never see Your goodness. Today, I ask that You give me strength to deal with any pain that comes my way. It can cause bitterness and anger, or it can release blessing into my life. Help me to choose to walk through it – and believe that Your promises will be fulfilled. In Jesus Name, Amen.