Revelation Chapter 12 Verse 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.
Remnant is a term that refers to a small component, member, or trace that is still present, or a small group that has survived.
As a result, the true church, which consists of the children of the woman (Church), is comprised of a relatively small number of genuine Christians. This verse suggests that the majority of people who identify as Christians are not true Christians.
Matthew 7:13-14 - "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
Therefore, true Christians have the following characteristics:
1. They are part of the minority (remnant).
2. We also see that the remnant arises after 1260 years of Papal supremacy, thus after 1798.
3. The earth, which helped the woman, first arises in America.
4. They are apostolic in nature and have similar teachings and beliefs as the apostles.
5. They incur the dragon's wrath (they are very unpopular because they preach the truth).
6. They keep God's commandments, including the fourth.
7. They have the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the Spirit of Prophecy or the Gift of Prophecy manifested through a prophet or prophets. (Revelation 19:10; 22:9)
8. They are anticipating Christ's Second Coming.
9. The gospel is to be preached in all the world, (Matthew 24:14, Revelation 14:6), thus it must be a world-wide movement (this everlasting gospel is also outlined in Revelation 14:6–12).
In Greek, this phrase may be understood either as the “testimony” (or “witness”) Christians bear concerning Jesus or as the “testimony” (or “witness”) that originates with Jesus and is revealed to His church through the prophets. A comparison with Revelation 19:10 clearly favors the latter interpretation. There, the “testimony of Jesus” is defined as the “spirit of prophecy,” meaning that Jesus is witnessing to the church through the medium of prophecy.
1. Jesus said that we should keep the commandments.
John 14:15 - "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
Matthew 19:17 - "And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments."
2. Paul wrote that we must keep the commandments of God.
1 Corinthians 7:19 - "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God."
Romans 13:8-10 - "8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
3. What do other parts of the New Testament say about God's commandments?
1 John 2:3-4 - "3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
1 John 5:3 - "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."
But is not the Law done away with? Why should we still keep the Commandments?
The Bible normally refers to the Law as being the Law of Moses, but within the Law of Moses itself, there are several laws.
The Law that was done away with was the Law of Ordinances.
Ephesians 2:15 - "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace"
Colossians 2:14 - "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross"
The commandments were not done away with, it is the ordinances.
What were the ordinances?
The ordinances included the feast days (e.g. Passover, Day of Atonement etc.), animal sacrifices, and instructions regarding the earthly sanctuary.
Exodus 12:14 - "And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever."
Exodus 12:43 - "And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof"
Numbers 19:1-3 - "1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
2 This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:
3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face"
Hebrews 9:1 - "Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary."
Why was the Law of ordinances abolished?
- The blood of animals cannot permanently take away our sins (Hebrews 10:4). Jesus died once for us, and therefore the sacrificing of animals is unnecessary (Hebrews 12:10).
- We no longer need an earthly sanctuary because Jesus is now our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14).
- Jesus is our Passover Lamb (John 1:29), and has atoned for our sins (Romans 5:11). Therefore, it is not necessary to celebrate the Passover, the Day of Atonement, or other feasts.
What other evidence is that the commandments were not done away with?
The New Covenant entails putting God's law within our hearts.
Hebrews 10:16-18 - "16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin."
Since the law of ordinances has been abolished, which are the laws which are written in the hearts.
2 Corinthians 3:3 - "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart."
The 10 commandments were the only laws inscribed on stone. Consequently, the Old Covenant inscribed the 10 commandments on stone, while the New Covenant in the New Testament inscribes them in the heart.
Therefore, the 10 commandments are not done away with and should be kept.
If it is the ordinances and not the commandments that have been abolished, then why do most pastors falsely preach that it is not necessary to obey the 10 commandments?
- The devil has deceived these pastors, and most Christians neglect the Bible, making them easier prey. Less than 15% of Christians have read the entire Bible, according to surveys conducted.
- At the same time, we see in the Bible that preachers, rabbis, pastors, and other religious leaders have a bad reputation for deceiving people.
1. God had to have prophets in the Old Testament because most, and sometimes all, of the religious leaders were lying to the people.
2. In the New Testament, all the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other religious leaders except for Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea lied about Jesus, which caused the majority of the Jews to reject Jesus.
Therefore, we should not be surprised at the fact that most pastors, priests, and preachers are lying to us.
- God and the devil are not on the same side.
The devil is against God's commandments and was the first being to sin (1 John 3:8, 1 John 3:4) so it does not make sense that God will also be against the commandments.
- Ignorance of scripture is what is causing more than a billionaire Christians to remain deceived.
Further reading:
Frequency of reading the Bible among adults in the United States from 2018 to 2021 - Link
Frequency of reading scripture - Link