Revelations - Chapter 12

Revelation 12 is massive. I think the best way to comment on it is to give the whole chapter, and then break it down piece by piece.

¹And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

² And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

³ And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

⁴ And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

⁵ And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

⁶ And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

⁷ And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

⁸ And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

⁹ And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

¹⁰ And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

¹¹ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

¹² Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

¹³ And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

¹⁴ And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

¹⁵ And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

¹⁶ And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

¹⁷ And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

First, who is this woman? I’ve heard it taught that the woman is the Church. It can’t be. The woman gives birth to the Messiah (verse 5). The Messiah came out of Israel. This would be why there are the 12 stars upon her crown. If you look at Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37, you will find that his father was the sun, his mother the moon, and his brothers the stars. This woman is clothed with the sun (Israel), stands upon the moon (Rachel), and the stars are the 12 tribes.

This red dragon that is then seen is Satan. However, the description given for him matches perfectly the description given in Daniel for the 4^th beast:

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
Daniel 7:7

We see that this dragon sweeps down 1/3 of the stars in verse 4.

And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.

Daniel 8:10

And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Daniel 12:3

I think that these verses work together. Especially since we just saw that in Joseph’s prophetic dream that the stars represented the 12 tribes of Israel, I think here too the stars are the saints. This verse is not somewhere back in history when the dragon convinced 1/3 of the angels to fall with him. This verse is about how Satan kills and destroys 1/3 of God’s people. It is up for debate as to whether that is only in the Tribulation or spans the breadth of time (I believe the latter for simple context reasons).

And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Revelation 12:6

First question: when is this in our timeline? This is at the middle. This is when the Antichrist sets up that abomination that causes desolation. But I want you to read the text extremely carefully. The King James is the only version that translated the Greek correctly. All other versions changed one word to help this verse make a little more sense. “Where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there…”

All other translations say, “where she might be taken care of…” They completely changed it. There is a second question that arises from this verse. If the she is Israel, then who are they? This is a solid verse that proves distinctively that we are called as God’s people to take care of Israel in the last days.

God has placed all His eggs in one basket. If we do not open our doors and homes to hide them and suffer alongside them, then there will be no return of Christ. Satan has won if we decide to lock our doors and hunker down for 3 ½ years. There are scores and scores of prophecies and promises given to Israel that must be fulfilled. If God cannot fulfill those prophecies and promises to that people, then He is not truly God.

What is at stake here is more than a final battle. The stakes are the very purposes of God. That is to say, the very name of God will be honored or will not be honored depending on this outcome. That is to say, the very glory of God is intertwined in our willingness to extend mercy because we too have obtained mercy. Everything rests upon this. There are no other options.

If the Church does not identify with Israel in their persecution, then they will be utterly destroyed. I speak now as one who has absolute trust in the Lordship of God. He is big enough and sovereign enough to pull this through. My warning is more for you than it is to get you fearful that God might not win this. He knows the end from the beginning.

The question for me is not whether there will be a people in the Earth that will take Israel in. The question for me is whether I will be one who joins them. Will I be a person that stands before God and hears, “Depart from me, thou worker of iniquity,” or will I hear, “Come ye, blessed of my Father?” Both are told the same thing: That which you did unto the least of these my brethren, you have done unto me.

There are going to be a whole lot of Christians at that judgment who receive eternal flames because they did not acknowledge the Lord when He came. When He knocked upon the door looking for refuge, He was turned away. Can you hear His voice in His people, even when they are still yet atheistic? Can you have compassion and mercy upon those that have not yet been converted? This is the ultimate question that searches the depths of hearts. If you fail this, then you fail all other tests.

Only those who have truly been converted and given a new heart can possibly understand what I’m talking about. Being nice and taking pity and tolerating and having sentiment won’t cut it. This is where the rubber meets the road. Sometimes the words of God come like a hammer to smash that hard heart to pieces. Sometimes it comes as gentle as a dove. It depends on the one who speaks, not on the one who relates the message. If your words are your words, then you will not make it through this. In the same way, if your life is your life, then you will not make it through this.

This is for those who love not their lives, even unto death (verse 11). This is for the martyrs. And the martyr is one who has died to self that everything in their life might be conformed to God. Every word is God’s word. Every action is God’s action. Nothing is done apart from the Spirit. We don’t go our own way. It is radical, and it is difficult, but this is what we’re called to.

Either we will be the end time people of God that can wade through Hell, or we will be one of many that fall away.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

2 Thessalonians 2:3

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

1 Timothy 4:1

Does this clear it up a bit? What is going to cause the great falling away? It will be a number of things. I think the simple fact that the rapture doesn’t happen will be enough for a falling away. But there will be some that fall away so that they can continue to buy, sell, and trade. How else are they supposed to eat? I think that many will fall away, though, because they will not understand the purposes of God.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

Hosea 4:6

When we come upon Revelation 12:7, we see that Michael stands up. Where else have we heard this?

⁷ And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

⁸ And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

⁹ And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

¹⁰ And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Revelation 12:7-10

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Daniel 12:1

When does this happen? It happens at the halfway mark. Now, there are some passages that talk about Satan already having been hurled down:

And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Luke 10:18

Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Ezekiel 28:17

So has Satan been cast down or not? I think that this is twofold. He has been cast out of heaven, out of God’s presence. But we know from Job that Satan is the accuser of the brethren. He goes to God and accuses Job. How can that happen if he has been cast out of heaven? There will come a time where he truly is cast out and no longer can accuse.

It is when He is cast down to the earth that the abomination that causes desolation is set up. He gives power to the Antichrist. It is when he realizes that he has been hurled to the Earth that he pursues the woman (verse 13). Thus, verses 14-17 are not after verse 6. In the chronology, verses 7-13 give more details leading up to verse 6. Verses 14-17 add more details of the time surrounding verse 6.

We find in both Revelation 12:6 and 12:14 that 1,260 days is decreed that the persecution shall last. During that time, the serpent spews out water like a flood to overtake the woman. Reference this with Daniel 9:26:

And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

The Earth opens up its mouth and swallows the river. I’m not entirely sold one way or the other on how to take this. I don’t know if it is that the Earth fights for the woman, or if it is the Church that takes the flood upon them, or if it is both. Either way, the result of such things is that the dragon then goes off to war against those that obey God’s commands and hold to the testimony of Jesus. This last verse would seem to indicate that it is the Church that takes the flood upon self. In doing such, we both identify to Israel the love of their God (and display the act of love by dying for them as Jesus did) and anger the dragon so his attention then focuses upon destroying us.

Now that we’ve been through all of Revelation 12, lets add in some Old Testament prophecies to help pain the bigger and broader picture.

³³ As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you:

³⁴ And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.

³⁵ And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
Ezekiel 20:33-35

It is in this passage that we find God telling Israel that they will be sifted through the nations and in the wilderness places meet with their God face-to-face. How will they meet God face-to-face? It will be through interactions with His Body – the Church.

⁶ For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

⁷ For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

⁸ In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.
Isaiah 54:6-8

Really the whole chapter of Isaiah 54 is remarkable. I took out this excerpt for the reason that it specifically deals with what we’re communicating at this point. However, if you have a grasp of the time frame, I would suggest reading the whole chapter.

¹⁴ Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

¹⁵ The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.

¹⁶ In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.

¹⁷ The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

¹⁸ I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.

¹⁹ Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.

²⁰ At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.
Zephaniah 3:14-20

⁶ And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them.

⁷ And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.

⁸ I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.

⁹ And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.

¹⁰ I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.

¹¹ And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.

¹² And I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord.
Zechariah 10:6-12

⁴ Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

⁵ Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

⁶ The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.

⁷ All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.

⁸ Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

⁹ Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
Isaiah 60:4-9

²² Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it.

²³ And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord God.
Ezekiel 14:22-23

¹⁹ And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

²⁰ Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them.

²¹ And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord.

²² And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Jeremiah 30:19-22

⁵ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

⁶ Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

⁷ And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

⁸ And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

⁹ No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:

¹⁰ And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isaiah 35:5-10

For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Isaiah 51:3

⁶ Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.

⁷ And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.

⁸ And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

⁹ And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
Jeremiah 33:6-9

Notice that in these past few passages they all seem to indicate that God will miraculously provide for Israel (I’m also assuming we who have been grafted in) while they are in the wilderness places, and restore them unto a place like the Garden of Eden. When God brings them back to the Land, it will be everything that He has ever promised it would be. Mark Twain once went to Israel (Palestine at that time) and called it a barren wasteland. He said it was good for nothing. Wait to see what God can do of it.

In the next few passages, I’ll explain why Israel. I’ll show some of those passages that I said Israel must fulfill. It all deals with the idea of covenant. If to you covenant is merely a deal that God made a long time ago, but doesn’t expect to hold that up anymore for whatever reason, then you don’t understand the heart of God. He doesn’t break covenants – ever.

⁵⁹ For thus saith the Lord God; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.

⁶⁰ Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.

⁶¹ Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.

⁶² And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord:

⁶³ That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.
Ezekiel 16:59-63

⁸ For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.

⁹ In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
Isaiah 63:8-9

⁸ Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

⁹ For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.

¹⁰ From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.

¹¹ In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.

¹² I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord.

¹³ The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
Zephaniah 3:8-13

¹Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.

² Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.

³ And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

⁴ And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.

⁵ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

⁶ In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called,The Lord Our Righteousness.

⁷ Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

⁸ But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
Jeremiah 23:1-8

³⁷ Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:

³⁸ And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:

³⁹ And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:

⁴⁰ And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

⁴¹ Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.

⁴² For thus saith the Lord; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.

⁴³ And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

⁴⁴ Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the Lord.
Jeremiah 32:37-44

⁵ They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.

⁶ Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?

⁷ Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

⁸ When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

⁹ For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

¹⁰ He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
Deuteronomy 32:5-10

¹⁶ They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.

¹⁷ They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

¹⁸ Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.

¹⁹ And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.

²⁰ And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

²¹ They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
Deuteronomy 32:16-21

²² For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

²³ I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.

²⁴ They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.

²⁵ The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.

²⁶ I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:

²⁷ Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the Lord hath not done all this.

²⁸ For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.

²⁹ O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
Deuteronomy 32:22-29

³⁶ For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.

³⁷ And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,

³⁸ Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.

³⁹ See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

⁴⁰ For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.

⁴¹ If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.

⁴² I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.

⁴³ Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.
Deuteronomy 32:36-43

Notice the last few passages were all from Deuteronomy 32. The song of Moses was to be memorized by all Israelis. In it, we have the rejection of God, God then rejecting them, the people that are not His people (Gentiles) driving the Jew to jealousy, and the redemption of Israel. The whole eschatological framework is contained within Deuteronomy 32. They are not without excuse. When Israel comes to our door, we have the Scriptures to reveal to them what is happening and why it is happening to them. It says quite clearly in the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) that it is from their sin and rejection of God that they are receiving these judgments.