Scripture: Ephesians 4 v 3 - 4, 13: "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"
It is a very common saying - United we stand, divided we fall - and it is always true whether its a school team, marriage, business partnership, governments or the church, it depends on us all working together to achieve a common purpose.
We humans all have differing opinions on just about everything. When we disagree sufficiently, we go our separate ways. We split up and sooner or later fall apart emotionally, physically, financially, spiritually, and unless we regroup in a strong, stable way the party is over.
The first major departure from the first church was in the 5th century when The Church of Rome amalgamated with Alexander the Great. What they imagined he saw in his vision over Rome is not what really happened.
Looking back from our seriously divided church view we can only see his vision as not of the Cross of Jesus but the 'T-shaped' Tau cross of the Babylonian religion. And that is what changed the Church of Rome into Roman Catholicism, which caused a priest called Martin Luther to start the Reformation. His goal for those who protested, now called Protestants, was to try to bring people back to the unadulterated truth.
The Roman Catholic Church split into Orthodox Churches in Greece, Russia, Egypt, which have kept to this day the Babylonian influence. All the traditions, rites, rituals of that ancient religion are preserved and sadly interwoven with Christianity. The idolatrous worship of Mary, Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, actually belongs to an evil witch called Semiramis who is also know as, Diana of the Ephesians; Ashtoreth, Queen of Heaven; Isis of the Egyptians, and now Mary, Mother of God.
All the man-made religions stem from the Babylonian original demonic version. Buddhism, Hinduism, Freemasonry, Mormonism, Catholicism, and these are joining up with the Interfaith Church in a false unity, which the Antichrist will rule and exploit against true Christianity.
The Antichrist will start out as a man who promotes peace and harmony. A man full of love for humanity. The Bible says the whole world will follow him and worship him. We see it happening in people as they worship idols who sing, or famous actors, royalty, or sports men and women. It is a slavish conditioning for falling under the deception of the Antichrist.
He will do miracles and be wondered at wherever he goes until the day comes when Satan enters his soul and he becomes everyone's worst nightmare. He will by now have become the One World Leader and will resemble a combination Kim Jong-un, Hitler, Stalin, Nero, in a dictatorship that will make Pol Pot, Idi Admin, various other African rulers, and ISIS look truly benevolent.
The Antichrist will use every last bit of his power to destroy this Earth and its people. Satan hates everything created by God. The earthquakes, volcanic eruptions like the shockwaves from Tonga, tsunamis, violent weather phenomenon, will be a daily, if not hourly, occurrence.
The Great Tribulation will swing into action because the Holy Spirit departed with the Christians in the Rapture, and all restraints will be off. The world will rejoice when the Christians have gone, but not for long.
Prior to the Rapture, the Body of Christ will be unified by persecution of the saints in the first 42 weeks of the 7 year tribulation period. Nothing unites a diverse group of people like persecution. It makes people ultra strong in their commitment and binds them together in a common purpose.
The true Church will be in one accord as the disciples were at the time of Jesus' ascension to Heaven. Ten days later they received the promise of the Father, the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is He who unites us and makes us one body. Set your heart on knowing Him and being continually filled by Him for He is our safeguard against deception. A.W.Tozer said that the Holy Spirit does not come to bring us into one accord, He comes when we are in one accord.
The Holy Spirit is our Helper, Teacher, Guide, Uniter, Friend and Giver of gifts. If the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you He will overcome death in you and bring you life in the fullest sense of the word. Without His conscious living presence in your life, you are but an empty vessel.
We have to join ourselves to become the Body of the Bridegroom. John 3 v 29: " He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled."
John the Baptist rejoiced greatly that the Bride, Israel, and the Bridegroom, Jesus, were communicating. This was one of his chief missions. Jesus said that John the Baptist was also the prophet Elijah, who appeared with Moses, together with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, after John's death.
There were those who were found at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb who were not wearing a wedding garment, the clothing of righteousness, and were cast into outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth. Those who are joined to Jesus, the Head, will be with Him to rescue Israel His Bride at the Battle of Armageddon.
Why do we wait for persecution before we discard the falseness and heresy in many churches today? Some people fear change or making a wrong decision believing there is safety in numbers. Jesus says it's a narrow way that leads to Life and few there be that find it. The broad way, with many going that way, leads to destruction. It is time to choose which path to take and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, there is only one way to achieve unity in the Body of Jesus and that is through love, obedience, commitment and faith. We will face persecution for our stand, and be considered oddball and strange, but rather that than deception and losing everlasting life with You. Help us, O Lord, to make the right decisions concerning the narrow path of Jesus. In Jesus' name. Amen.