293 - The Offspring of Woman#
293 - The Offspring of Woman
(JP Text Group - Organized by the Little Prince of Heaven)
Genesis 3:14-15
14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father! Thank You and praise You! As we begin a new week, we are willing to come before You once again, because You have prepared new provisions and abundant blessings for us. We are willing to come before You to receive Your strength, to live by Your power. We are the offspring of woman; Jesus has overcome the world. I am willing to use the words of Jesus to gain victory in life. Please lead me, let the Holy Spirit do a renewing work in each person's heart, so that we can gain something from hearing the word. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen!
The topic we share today is: The Offspring of Woman
Who does the offspring of woman refer to? Jesus.
After Adam and Eve sinned, they both shifted the blame onto the serpent. Did God ask, “Serpent, why did you tempt them?” In the spiritual realm, there is no negotiation between God and the devil. When angels sin, they await judgment directly. We, however, have the opportunity to repent; this is God's love for us. Do you understand? Angels do not have that chance. In fact, at that time, an angel entered into the serpent and acted through it, so God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you shall be cursed.”
Brothers and sisters, have you ever thought about whether the serpent or the devil is cursed when they tempt us to sin? Who cursed them? It was God Himself. Look at the judgment against the serpent: you shall go on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. Is the serpent like that now?
People often ask, “How did it walk before it was cursed?” That is not important; what matters is that it is now cursed and will forever remain that way; it cannot go back. But humans are different. Before we knew Jesus, we lived under a curse. You might say that living back then was like eating dust, but now you have the opportunity to no longer eat dust.
In verse 15, I will put enmity between you and the woman; between your seed and her seed. The offspring of woman shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
At that time, did Eve hate the serpent? Because it was the serpent that deceived her with flattering words, saying that eating would make her wise... Therefore, the words of the devil cannot be trusted. The problem now is that they are enemies of each other. Today, I want to share with you about their offspring, which is related to us. The offspring of woman shall bruise your head; you shall bruise his heel. This refers to Jesus, right? Jesus will bruise the head of the devil, while the devil will bruise His heel, referring to Jesus being nailed to the cross, His hands and feet pierced. This prophecy has been fulfilled.
The first point to share: The offspring of woman refers to Jesus and all who believe in Jesus.
In the scripture we just read, the woman refers to Eve, but the offspring of woman primarily refers to Jesus Christ, and secondly to all who belong to Jesus.
Why do I say this? Because only Jesus has overcome the devil.
What do we rely on to overcome the devil? We rely on the authority, power, and glory of Jesus.
We are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus, and we belong to Jesus Christ. By faith, we have the Holy Spirit within us, belonging to the offspring of woman. Among the offspring of woman, apart from Jesus Christ, others are referred to as children of God or the remaining children of woman.
Let’s look at a verse, Galatians 3:16,
Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.
God said to Abraham, “The kingdom will arise from you, and kings will come from you.” We might think this refers to the later kings like Saul, David, Solomon, and many kings of Israel, but in reality, God is saying that your kingdom authority is eternal, referring to the kingdom authority of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because all others have failed. Solomon's kingdom seemed very powerful, but after his death, the kingdom was divided. Only the kingdom of Jesus Christ lasts forever, so the promised Seed actually refers not to a group of descendants but to Jesus Christ.
God also said to Abraham, “I will greatly multiply your descendants, and in you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” The gospel will spread through him, and many promised descendants will arise from him. First, we know that Jesus is among the descendants of Abraham, and through Jesus, all nations will be blessed because of Him. Without Jesus, can we be blessed through the Jews? At first, God chose the Jewish nation, hoping they would be blessed by God and then pass that blessing to the whole world. However, after the Jews received the blessing, they began to reject all Gentiles. Only Jesus came and brought God's blessing to all nations.
We are blessed because of Jesus; the gospel has spread throughout the world through Jesus, and from Jesus Christ, many promised descendants will arise.
Acts 2:30-31,
30 David, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.
David was a prophet, and in many of his psalms, he spoke prophecies about Jesus Christ, and he also mentioned, “From your descendants, there will be one who sits on the throne, and His kingdom will be forever.” This does not refer to Solomon or other kings who were David's physical descendants but refers to Jesus Christ.
Here, God has revealed this scripture to us, foreseeing this, speaking of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. Did we read this in the Psalms? If you do not know Jesus, reading this scripture, if you were living in the Old Testament, you might ask, “What does this mean? His soul is not left in Hades, nor does His flesh see corruption; does this mean this person will live forever?”
But today, we know that this refers to Jesus, whose flesh indeed did not see corruption because He rose from the dead.
Acts 13:22-23,
22 When He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” 23 From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus.
In this last month of Christmas, I want to share some prophecies about Jesus from the Old Testament, so that everyone knows that in the Old Testament, they were always hoping for an eternal kingdom, which only Jesus has; the one who sits on the throne forever refers only to Jesus; and the Messiah they were hoping for, the Savior they were hoping for, is Jesus.
Jesus is their Savior and also our Savior, so do not place your expectations on any past great king; he cannot bring you life. Solomon was already very powerful; his kingdom, position, and wisdom were quite strong at that time, but he still had problems. After he died, the kingdom was given to others.
But Jesus Christ exists until today; this kingdom has always been there.
In the past, when a king became an emperor, that year was marked as the first year of the dynasty he established. The first year, second year... until this person died, and when his son ascended to the throne, he might change the dynasty name again, marking it as the first year of whoever’s reign, and so on, commemorating that he once established a dynasty.
Brothers and sisters, have you ever thought about how the world's timeline is divided? Why do we have BC and AD? Where did the division start? It started with Jesus. This is a true king; whether you believe in Him or are willing to call Him king, the world cannot escape this timeline.
BC, in English, is Before Christ, which means before Christ, counting backward, the years get smaller... and we calculate like this. After Jesus, it’s one year, two years... until this year 2018, which has already passed more than two thousand years; this throne has always existed, and its name is Christ. Amen!
Regardless of whether you acknowledge it, unless you say you do not believe this year is 2018, it does not matter; you can live that way, acknowledging that in the spiritual kingdom, you are indeed in it and enjoying the grace that God has given you. From this perspective, we are the offspring of woman and also the promised descendants.
The second point to share: Who do the offspring of the serpent refer to?
The offspring of the serpent refers to the serpent itself; in the spiritual realm, the serpent symbolizes the devil.
Revelation 12:9,
The great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Isn't that clear? The ancient serpent, the great dragon, I won’t explain further; you should understand, called the devil and Satan. The devil and Satan are actually one title; they have different names but mean the same thing: the adversary, the one who opposes God. He deceives the whole world; God originally wanted to bless us, but what does he do to deceive people? He makes you believe that God does not want to bless you but wants to punish you, give you sickness, and cause you to die. Wasn't that the devil's job at the beginning? He is still doing this work now; he deceives you, makes you fall, makes you weak, makes you doubt God, and distance yourself from God. Once we distance ourselves from God, we are outside of God's blessing.
If Adam had not sinned, how good would their lives have been? We are the descendants of Adam and also the offspring of woman. From this perspective, if Adam and Eve had not sinned, wouldn’t we be living in the Garden of Eden every day? This world would have no disputes, jealousy, disease, or death; all the things we do not want to see would not exist. But now we are the offspring of woman, and our ancestors sinned; they listened to the words of the devil, that is, the words of Satan. After the serpent deceived her, she believed the deceptive words and ended up under a curse.
After Adam sinned, wasn’t the earth also cursed? What use is it to talk about these things today? We are in the Holy Spirit, under grace, under the New Covenant. The Bible has promises about us; God tells you that you are His blessed offspring, and He is willing to give you all the good things in this world.
Romans clearly states that He has given you Jesus; will He not also freely give you all things? But after we read this, we say, “Lord! Is this true?” At this time, the devil is beside you saying, “That’s a lie; your behavior is so bad, how could God possibly bless you?” Isn’t this what the offspring of the serpent is still doing today? How many Christians have been deceived? How many people are still struggling under such pain and the law, trying hard to be saved, trying hard to earn a little blessing from God through their good behavior?
Yesterday, I heard a sister say, “Our pastor said that we do not dare to ask God for good blessings; we do not dare to ask for bread from the table, just a few crumbs will be enough.” Brothers and sisters, isn’t this prayer lacking something? Are you a servant or a son? If you are sure you are a son, are your parents so cruel as to give you only a few crumbs? And your prayer sounds very humble: “Lord! I do not want the bread from Your table; just give me a few crumbs, and that will be enough for my whole life...” Do you want to live like this today?
God says you are His promised son. That means He is willing to give you good things; this promise has already been written in the Bible. Many people just have not read it and say, “How come I never discovered this before?” In fact, it is very simple. We were impacted by the laws of this world and human concepts, and we felt that receiving God's blessing was particularly difficult.
The offspring of the serpent does not refer to evil angels; it refers to those who deliberately oppose God, the evil spirits that are against God, like the serpent, which refers to the devil, the adversary who is against God.
Can the devil produce humans? The Bible never mentions that the devil can produce humans. In this world, there is only the offspring of woman, and only women can give birth; this is a privilege given to women. How does the devil raise his offspring? Women can give birth and can teach their children to know God; this is a human privilege. But the devil cannot give birth; where do his offspring come from? The devil has no descendants in this world; he only does one thing: to turn the offspring of woman into his descendants, which is to deceive the offspring of woman.
Have you ever thought about how sad it is for our Heavenly Father? Since the creation of the world until the end of time, all these children of the world, all humanity, are born from women; they are all His children. But some of these children have been deceived, willingly following the devil to oppose God. This is the most painful thing for our Heavenly Father. Why did He want Jesus to come down and die for us? Not for a few people, but for all humanity, because of this reason.
The devil cannot produce his own children; he can only deceive us. After we know Jesus, we understand the devil's schemes, and we spread the gospel to the world, letting them know they are the children of the Heavenly Father, the offspring of woman, and loved by God. Now there are still many people who are deceived; their eyes are blinded by the devil and the gods of this world. Among the offspring born of woman, many have become slaves of the devil.
Let’s look at Matthew 23:15,
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”
Goodness can be spread, and likewise, evil can also be spread. If a person has the devil's flattering words, leading people to fall and die, the message they spread brings death. At that time, the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees acted as the offspring of the serpent. They enticed people to enter a teaching.
Brothers and sisters, we do not believe in a particular teaching; we believe in Jesus. No teaching can give you life; only Jesus can give you life. If you believe in a particular teaching or a particular person, there will indeed be some problems. Moreover, Jesus spoke a word to the unbelieving Jews at that time; what are the offspring of the devil doing in this world today?
John 8:41-44,
41 “You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Now Jesus is speaking to this group of Jews who do not accept Him. In verse 41, He begins by saying, “You do the deeds of your father.” What were the Jews doing at that time? What did the scribes and Pharisees do? The kingdom of heaven is easy to enter, but they taught, “You must keep all 613 laws and do things according to our rules to have a chance to be saved.” Isn’t that making it impossible for people to enter?
The gates of the kingdom of heaven are easy to enter, but they are unwilling to enter themselves and do not let others in. Today, there are still people teaching, “The kingdom of heaven is not so easy to enter; it is very difficult. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven...” They make entering the kingdom of heaven seem extremely difficult, to the point that we can hardly enter. They emphasize that people must have good behavior to be saved.
Here, Jesus says to them, “You do the deeds of your father.” Why does He say this? This group of people not only does not accept Jesus but also opposes Him, proving that they are doing the work of the devil. Today, do not say how to discern whose offspring someone is or whether the work they are doing belongs to God or the devil; it is very simple. Just look at whether they are doing the work of opposing God or the work of obeying God.
It is clear that those Jews at that time were persecuting Jesus and doing the work of the devil. How did they slander Jesus at that time? They said, “We were not born of fornication.” They could not find any fault in the words Jesus spoke, so they said, “You have a bad background; to this day, you cannot even clarify who your father is.” Isn’t that quite vicious? How many leaders and preachers have been unable to stand on the platform after being attacked and personally insulted?
Now, can Jesus clarify where He came from? He cannot explain it. If He says, “My father is Joseph,” then how could He be pregnant before they were married? It does not make sense. In that situation, they said, “We were not born of fornication; do not tell us this; we can trace our ancestry; we have only one Father—God.” Isn’t this very malicious?
Jesus said, “If God were your Father, you would love Me.” Logically, all who believe in Jesus should not have mutual attacks. When the Pharisees and scribes attacked Jesus, it was clear that what they believed was different. So Jesus said, “For I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.”
Brothers and sisters, in this month, all who believe in Jesus can be united because everyone speaks the same message. When facing the world and the unbelieving, when facing those around us, we all say Jesus loves us; Jesus came to this world as the best gift, which is given to us by the Heavenly Father. At this time, everyone is preaching the message of grace. In this stage, spreading the gospel is easy because it perfectly expresses the New Covenant that Jesus initially expressed. When the Jews did not accept Jesus, He said, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.” Is salvation simple? Very simple; just believe, and you will be saved. But the Jews at that time thought that not only must they believe, but they also had to add good behavior.
In verse 44, Jesus said, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him; when he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
Brothers and sisters, if there is desire in a person, it is easy to fall into the devil's trap. Someone might say, “What about the issue of desire? I cannot possibly eliminate desire from within me?” In fact, it is very simple; as long as you are willing to act according to the words of Jesus, it will be fine. If you clearly know this is a destructive work, just do not do it. But when a person has desire, even when they know it is wrong, they still do it; this is precisely falling into the devil's trap. The devil was a murderer from the beginning, does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him; he speaks lies from himself.
There are many people around who are good at lying, especially love to lie, because truth does not exist in their hearts. Today, I am telling you this to let you know what characteristics the offspring of the serpent have. They contradict our truth and cannot be integrated with us. When you preach the truth, there will definitely be some adversaries; you will know that those people are doing the work of the devil. Should we curse them?
I have already told you that in God's eyes, all people are His children; it is just that some do not recognize themselves and follow the devil, recognizing thieves as their father. After we know Jesus, we need to correctly understand that we are the offspring of woman, and we should hold fast to the truth, praying for those who persecute us. This is the perfect time to spread the gospel to these people; only when these people understand the truth can they abandon their past opposing work and give up lying.
Matthew 24:23-27,
23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
In the last days, the offspring of woman and the offspring of the serpent are actually always in conflict, just as the scripture we read at the beginning states, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed.
How will this be manifested in the last days? If you read Revelation, you will find that there will be a great battle at the end. This is a great battle between the offspring of woman and the offspring of the serpent. Those who have believed in Jesus must have an understanding of the truth. Many people's focus is not on the words of Jesus but on signs and wonders and prophecies. These are not wrong in themselves, but if all the focus is placed on these, it is also easy to be deceived by the devil.
The scripture we just read mentions that if anyone tells you that Christ is here or there, do not believe it. Why do some people believe it? It is simple; it says that false Christs and false prophets will arise. How do they deceive us? By showing great signs and wonders. Isn’t it true that some people are particularly eager to see these? Suddenly, some strange phenomenon appears in the sky, and after they pray, they feel heat all over and jump around. Many people focus on these things, and even the elect can be deceived. This is something that will definitely happen in the last days. What I want to tell you today is that we must hold on to the truth, not those signs; as long as you hold on to the truth, the occurrence of signs will be very easy.
If you have the truth in your heart, the truth can produce countless signs. But if you pursue signs, it is easy to fall into the devil's trap. If anyone says to you, ‘Look, Christ is in the desert,’ why do they tell you that Christ is in the desert? It is because someone performed a miracle in the desert; otherwise, how would anyone promote him?
This is great; they can perform many signs, but you are promoting the signs, not Jesus. So here it says you should not go out; ‘Look, Christ is in the inner rooms’ means in someone’s house. This person has appeared and performed some miracle, or had a dream last night where God told him something, giving him some special ability. When you encounter these things, do not believe them. These are the offspring of the serpent, the adversaries, trying to ensnare the elect.
Verse 25 says, “See, I have told you beforehand.”
When Jesus was saying these words, these things had not yet happened. We are born after Jesus, and we will encounter these things. When we encounter them, we must have the truth in our hearts. The offspring of woman are those who hold the truth of Christ in their hearts, so they will not be shaken by the devil. If Adam and Eve had held onto God's truth, “God said, ‘In the day you eat of it, you shall surely die,’ I will remember this word, no matter what others say or how they show me signs, I will not believe.” They would not have fallen. Today, many people are soft-hearted; when others use theories or testimonies, it sounds right, and they are led astray. I want to tell everyone that when spreading the gospel to the world, we must give them the truth.
Some people, when preaching the gospel to new believers, particularly hope to lay hands on them so that their sickness will be healed, and then they will believe in Jesus. In fact, it is the opposite; you give them the truth of Jesus, and then these things will happen. We always think: first, let’s show them some signs; after a prayer, the glass will shatter... and they will not believe you if you do not believe me. Many people always hope to use this method to tell the world, “I belong to God.” In fact, you truly belong to God because the Holy Spirit dwells in your heart, and because you have the truth; that is enough. No matter what others say, you should hold onto this. Others may use various “evidences” to prove that God does not exist, and you can say, “Even if you win, even if your reasoning is very accurate, I still believe there is a God.”
What is the end of the offspring of the serpent? Let’s look at Revelation 20:13-15,
13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
The end of the offspring of the serpent is to be thrown into the lake of fire for eternal judgment. Do not say, “Why are they still jumping around so happily now?” Many people hope that God will destroy the devil right now, but the time has not yet come. In the end, God will do another sorting work, separating the wheat from the tares. Please remember, this is God's work, not yours to separate.
Do not say, “I think you are unsaved.” Do not discern this; just know that you believe in Jesus and are saved; that is enough. “No matter what others say, I believe in Jesus, and I am saved,” you must have this heart!
The offspring of the serpent do not believe; they know it. Ultimately, God judges these people according to their works.
How many people have misrepresented the gospel: relying on works for salvation? When God judges us according to our works in the future, what should we do? If you believe in Jesus, will God judge you according to your works? Yes, whether believing or not believing, everyone will be judged according to their works. The unbelievers will be thrown directly into the lake of fire because they did not believe; their end is that. Believers will also be judged according to their works, which will be rewarded. It is all based on works, and God’s words will not be wrong.
The sea gave up the dead; are there Christians among them? Are there some Christians who died unnaturally among them? In the future, these people will all be judged by God. We should not care too much about what some people say: “He is a Christian; why did he die like that?” That is not important. I have told you before; many people always hope that we, as believers in Jesus, should die peacefully, making arrangements for our affairs, and then suddenly die.
How you die is not important; what matters is knowing where you are going.
In the Old Testament, King Hezekiah was told by God, “You will die.” How did he die? He had a disease in his belly, but Hezekiah did not want to die. He said to God, “Lord! Have mercy on me; look at how I have listened to Your words and done so many good deeds in this world. I have been faithful; please give me another chance; I do not want to die.” God said, “Okay! I will give you fifteen more years.” Isn’t that great? Knowing he could live for another fifteen years, but in those fifteen years, he ruined all the good he had done, even ruining the country. It would have been better if he had died when he had that disease; his achievements would have remained forever. People say, “I do not want to die like that; I want to live a few more years...”
What I mean is do not focus on these external matters; know whose you are. You belong to Jesus Christ. How you die is God's business; know that we will come before God. In the future, God will reward us according to what we have done on earth, but those who do not believe in the Lord are our adversaries, and their end has already been determined: they will be thrown into the lake of fire. Here, there is a distinction: if anyone's name is not found written in the Book of Life, he will be thrown into the lake of fire. How is your name preserved in the Book of Life? Because you believe in Jesus, your name is always preserved in the Book of Life.
During this time, if there is an opportunity, I will talk about many points that many people have questions about. In the past, someone asked me, “After we believe in Jesus, does God write our names in the Book of Life? If one day we do not believe, will God erase our names?” People think this is the order: today I accept Jesus, and the angel quickly goes up to write my name in the Book of Life; one day I do not believe...
In fact, it is the opposite. If I have the opportunity, I will explain this in detail. Our names have always been there; God has always given us opportunities. While you are alive, God hopes that you can accept Him. He uses all the resources around you to touch you, touching you for a lifetime, through countless people, countless environments, and countless ways. But if at the moment of your death, you say you refuse to believe in Jesus, your name will not be there. You know that in the end, the offspring of the serpent will end up with their names not in the Book of Life, and they will be thrown into the lake of fire; this is their end, but it has nothing to do with us. Is our name in heaven? Yes, that is right. You believe in Jesus, and your name is recorded by God in heaven, and it will not be changed.
The third point to share: The offspring of woman are justified by faith.
Genesis 7:1, The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.”
This is the first time the word “righteous” appears in the Bible. Is God calling Noah righteous because of his actions or because of his faith? Faith, because Noah believed God, he was willing to build the ark and enter the ark. The ark actually symbolizes the salvation of Jesus Christ. We believe in Jesus; because we believe in Jesus, we are willing to enter into Jesus, which means we are the offspring of woman, or we are those who are in Jesus Christ.
At that time, God saw Noah as a righteous man. How is the traditional character for “righteous” written? 義，with a sheep on top and “I” underneath. How are you justified? The lamb is your head, and you are justified. How is “I” written? The left side is a hand, and the right side is a knife, which means using your hand to hold a knife to kill the sheep; you are justified.
In the past, when sacrifices were made, this was the process: you held the knife and killed the sheep, and you said, “That is me; my sin is there, and that sheep is now with me, so I am justified.” Your righteousness is not based on your good behavior but is offered through the lamb.
At that time, the people in Genesis could not have invented this character; our ancestors must have invented this character, which should be related to this. When Jesus offered Himself on the cross, His precious blood flowed out, washing away all our sins, so the righteousness of Jesus became our righteousness; this is the result of our faith. You become the offspring of woman because you believe in Jesus. If you offered a lamb, in God's eyes, you are a righteous person. This lamb symbolizes your true sacrifice, Jesus Christ.
When you believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells in your heart, and you are born again. Being born again is the beginning of a new life; the old you has died, and now you are a new person. What kind of person? A righteous person.
Brothers and sisters, the offspring of the serpent are always doing the same thing: constantly opposing God and doing the work of opposing God. The offspring of woman have a new life; from the moment they believe in Jesus, they are willing to live out a life like Christ. This is God's compensation for us on earth, meaning we have finally returned to our original Father. Now the Father, seeing that we have suffered too much in the past, living under a curse, dividing and killing each other, living this kind of life, now you have returned to the Father. The Father knows you have suffered too much in the past, and now He wants to bless you. You say, “I am willing to accept all this, starting today, to live a life centered on You, a life centered on Your blessings.” This is called the life of the righteous.
When we spread the gospel to the world, we need to tell them: you are the offspring of the righteous, you are the offspring of woman, and you do not have to live like this anymore; you can live out the pattern of Jesus. Do you all know what the purpose of Jesus' birth is? It is to redeem us. Jesus came not only to wash away our sins but also to make us the children of God.
Galatians 4:4-6,
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
Was Jesus born of a woman? Then are we now the offspring of woman? You are the offspring of woman, and you have the authority of Jesus Christ, and you have received the status of a son; you can call out to this Heavenly Father, the Father who created the universe. Everything is prepared for you. You say Adam failed, Eve failed; does that mean you are destined to live a life of failure? There is no such reasoning. Even if our parents failed, you can choose to live a new life. Adam and Eve failed; many people say, “The first thing I will do when I get to heaven is to find those two and give them a good beating.” There is no need; they failed, but today you can overcome through Jesus because you are the offspring of woman.
The final conclusion of the Bible is also the conclusion of the world, the conclusion of humanity, the conclusion of good and evil, because your choices are different, the results are also different; these are all related to our current choices. At the same time, it also lets us know that in the end, the devil will make his last struggle to ruin people's faith. But we are the offspring of woman, belonging to Jesus Christ, and through Jesus, we can easily overcome him.
Revelation 12:9-12,
9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 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. 11 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. 12 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.”
You say that in this world, when you encounter bad things, colleagues and friends attack you, someone betrays you, and you encounter some unexpected events. You should know that the offspring of the devil have never stopped their work; they are opposing the offspring of woman. They want to ruin your faith, make you discouraged and despair, and then distance you from God. But how do you overcome him now?
Verse 11 clearly tells us that they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and not by the testimony! Do you understand? Many people can stand up and think, “How did God save me in the past?” In fact, you should rely more on the words of Jesus Christ. By testifying to the words of Jesus, you can truly stand up. You can easily overcome these offspring of the serpent; you should be very happy.
Revelation 12:13-18,
13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. And the dragon stood on the sand of the sea.
Many people find Revelation particularly difficult to read. In fact, it is very simple; you need to know that it is an ending, a judgment, a separation of good and evil, and ultimately, it is the conclusion of our rewards. That is enough. It mentions many terrifying things, but you do not need to worry because you are not in it. Some people say that in the last days, there will be several years of great tribulation; you do not need to care about how many years; you are not in it. If you hear someone talk about prophecies and end-time matters, and by the end, you are so scared that you cannot sleep at night, it indicates that there is a problem with what you are hearing. The conclusion of this world, even if it comes tomorrow, do we not have hope? It is not like “It’s over; the world is going to perish...” We will always have hope because we will return to Jesus.
In chapter twelve, it mentions a battle between the dragon and the woman. Although he seems very powerful, can he overcome this woman? He cannot. Suddenly, two wings are given to the woman. So, brothers and sisters, when you encounter difficulties, it seems like you are about to die; suddenly, wings are given to you, allowing you to come out of the valley of disaster. What are you afraid of?
Do not say, “Lord! I ask You for one thing: please do not let me encounter any problems in this world.” Do not ask for this; just ask for one thing: “Lord! Even if I encounter problems, I still thank You in this problem because You will give me wings to fly out.” Hallelujah!
So the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time. In the future, when I have the opportunity to talk about end-time prophecies, I will explain these to you. Today, the time is too short to explain these; I just want to tell everyone that the serpent always wants to attack this woman. He spews water to try to drown this woman, but the earth helps the woman. You will find that you might be lifted up to fly away, or the earth will directly open its mouth and swallow your disaster, but you are still safe and sound. If you do not understand Revelation, read Psalm 91, and you will understand what God's protection looks like. The God who does not slumber nor sleep, He is your protective God.
You say, “I do not understand Revelation.” You can understand this chapter, right? In short, you know that when danger comes, you call upon this Lord, and He will either lift you up or solve this problem. The dragon was angry with the woman; however, he could not harm the woman. You will encounter these problems and see that there are those falling on your left and those falling on your right, but it has nothing to do with you. First, you must believe this. If you say, “It’s over; I am next...”
Do not make such declarations; if you do, can your heart be at peace? You should believe: such things will definitely not come upon me. After the dragon fought with the woman and found that he could not harm her, he turned to attack whom?
In verse 17, the dragon was enraged with the woman and went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. At that time, the dragon stood on the sand of the sea.
Are we the offspring of woman? He could not overcome this woman; it can also be understood that the woman represents the church. Can the serpent overcome the church? The gates of hell cannot prevail against the church. When he sees he cannot overcome the church, he turns to fight against the weak among the church. Once we have the truth in our hearts, every person becomes a soldier, knowing the authority of Jesus. How can the devil defeat any one of us? Just look at the animal kingdom; wolves, lions, and tigers watch from the side. Although those antelopes seem weak, when they huddle together, the wolves, lions, and tigers do not dare to attack them easily; they wait for one to fall behind.
Brothers and sisters, in the last days, all who believe in Jesus should be united. In Christ, we should no longer fight against each other; this will give the devil the opportunity to attack us. When we are united in Christ, he can only stand on the shore and watch us, but he has no way to do anything. Amen! Thank the Lord! So you are the offspring of woman, and you possess the authority of Jesus. Do not say, “I am weak and powerless; I am young; I have no ability...”
You may not have it, but God is powerful; He has already given you this authority. When spreading the gospel to others, do not feel that you have no good testimony and feel embarrassed to share the gospel. You are not sharing yourself; you are sharing Jesus, who is powerful; that is enough.
John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
From every angle, the day of the Lord Jesus' return is near. Therefore, many people will talk about eschatology. Today, I still see links being shared that say in Israel, they are starting to prophesy about the third temple being built. I also looked at the content; there is really nothing to see. We will not go back to offering sacrifices; the true sacrifice has already come; why should we return to that shadow? This is not God's intention.
Of course, the Jews want to do this; many of them say that the day of Jesus Christ's return is very near. Many people talk about eschatology, and by the end, they scare you so much that you cannot sleep at night. In short, remember one thing, all prophecies of the last days should bring you hope, not fear. Just like when you spread the gospel to others, what you bring to them should be peace, not telling them that if they do not believe in Jesus, they will go to hell and be fried in a pot of oil; this is a way to scare people.
What does the scripture mean? “I have told you these things; this world will become more chaotic and have more problems in the last days, but you are a person of peace in Jesus Christ. In the world, you will have tribulation, but that does not mean you will always live in tribulation. You will encounter and see these things, but it does not mean you are in them. You can be of good cheer; are you at peace? Some say, “I cannot be at peace.”
Today, a sister chatted with me and said, “I have too much anxiety in my heart; I just cannot let go, so my prayers do not work. I feel like God does not hear my prayers. One day, if I can let go of these, my illness should be healed.” I said, “You are absolutely right.” You can be at peace; when you believe in Jesus, other problems are really not problems anymore because you believe He has overcome the world. He has overcome, and you belong to Him; you can also overcome because you are the offspring of woman.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father! Thank You and praise You! Thank You for using such words to let us know we are the offspring of woman. Although the devil is rampant, and his offspring want to attack us, they cannot overcome us. The Lord Jesus has already won; the offspring of woman, Jesus Christ, is seated on the throne, and His throne is forever and ever; His kingdom authority is also forever and ever.
This authority is in my hands; I possess the authority of Jesus. I am the offspring of woman, the beloved son of the Heavenly Father. In this world, I may see some tribulations, but I am not in them. Relying on my Lord, I can overcome these things. Although the offspring of the devil want to attack me, they cannot overcome me because I have Jesus Christ within me. He will lead me, allowing me to live in victory through Him in this world. Thank You for renewing me through such words, helping me to be a person who lives freely in Christ. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen!