Scripture: Acts 26 v 14. - 18: "And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me."
These are the words of Jesus when He appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, where he was going to arrest and persecute Christians. He hated them because they were breaking the Law of Moses, of which he had learned at the feet of Gamaliel. He believed Jesus was false and it was his duty to put an end to The Way, as Christianity was known then.
Jesus needed Paul to follow Him so He could send him to the Gentiles (unbelievers) to convert them to Christianity. Jesus would send him out of Israel to the regions beyond Lebanon all the way to Rome. Believers were first called Christians in Antioch where Paul opened their eyes to the true Saviour.
This is what He came to Earth to do. His death and resurrection made new creatures out of us all so we would fulfil His mission of preaching the gospel to every creature. Christians are severely persecuted in Communist and Islamic countries. Satan barricades their minds against truth using spirits of unbelief and fear.
In the past few weeks the brutal Syrian dictator, Bashan al Assad has been overthrown after many years of civil war. He has fled to Russia for sanctuary with another brutal dictator. God's judgment on those who refuse to repent comes slowly but surely.
Jesus sees the darkness of Antichrist rising and knows that the time is very short. He is ready to empower and back up believers who are willing to walk the extra mile or turn the other cheek. The Antichrist has been slowly rising from the time Jesus was born.
The Antichrist is the spirit of Satan which will ultimately manifest in a man whose name will connect with 666. His goal is to stop the truth about Jesus being made known. He wants to eliminate Israel completely and have the whole world follow Satan. He will use every deception, false doctrine, corrupt regime, false religion, gamble, drug, blackmail, compromise or abomination to block the salvation of souls to Heaven.
He tried to have baby Jesus killed, and failed. He thought he had Him finished on the Cross, but that backfired! He used all the evil Caesars to persecute those who believed in Jesus to try stamp out Christianity in Rome before it grew. Complete fail. He then brought about the amalgamation of Christianity with the old Babylonian religion. He knows our Father rejects strange fire in the sanctuary. The sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, priests, died for bringing false religious practices into the congregation. Numbers 3.
The Antichrist stirred up men to become Communists who were used to attempt to destroy Christianity. They got men like Richard Wurmbrand who under torture in prison converted the torturers to Christ by the love of God. The Russian Communists stated that they needed to stop persecuting Christians as it only made them stronger.
The message is not being heeded as persecution continues and is getting worse through Islamic State militants, some of whom fled the violence in Syria and Iraq and became Christians at the hands and love of families whose members they had raped, tortured and killed. Damascus and Syria have suddenly got new rulers who promise to be moderate and fair. The world is holding its breath to see if that's true. Israel took back Mount Hermon to create a suitable buffer zone in case its needed.
Jesus has overcome Satan when He went down into his abode after the Cross and made a show of him openly. He beat him in front of everyone there. He crushed him, took away his power and weapons. He gave born again Christians power over him and his demons. Satan's only weapon against us is bluff, lies and subterfuge. We overcome Satan by the Blood of Jesus, our testimony and our willingness to die for our faith.
Open your eyes and stop giving him power over you. Stop believing his lies through conmen, politicians, tv programs, social media, unsaved friends. Start reading the Bible and its anointed truths. Fill your life with that which is good, pure and lovely to enrich your soul.
This is your barricade against Satan and his lies. Jesus used the Word as a sword against Satan while being tempted forty days in the Wilderness. It is still the most effective weapon you have unless its rusting and you have not practiced with it. The Holy Bible is the most relevant library of books available today as it gives an accurate portrayal of the future.
The Book of Revelation exposes the horrors of the great tribulation for those who are left behind after the Rapture. In chapter 11 it tells of the two prophets who prophesy of woes, calamities and famine to come.
Revelation 11 v 7 - 12: "And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them."
It's not a pretty picture. It is going to happen in the near future. Thankfully the Body of Jesus Christ will have been airlifted in the Rapture and be out of harm's way. Those still on the ground have to go through it.
Memorize verses like James 4 v 7: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
1. Submit by prayer, Bible reading and obedience to God.
2. Then say no to temptation.
3. The devil will flee from you.
If you try to resist the devil before you submit to God you will be up against a professional wrestler. If you submit first then resist him, he will be up against the One who has defeated him over and over again. He will flee.
Jesus longs to see even the worst sinners come free. He paid the price for their souls and even if they sold themselves to Satan, he bought them back. They were hostages and He redeemed them. He was the ransom. He exchanged Himself for them all. Our Redeemer is our Ransomer the words are interchangeable.
What can you do to help? Firstly, pray for every unsaved person you know to be convicted of sin, righteousness and judgment by the Holy Spirit. Pray that Jesus would send someone, even you, across their path to open their eyes to the truth about Him. Praise God for the work He is doing to save them. Even if nothing seems to be happening God is working on their inner man.
Be ready for when you may be needed to pray with them to receive salvation from Jesus. Keep the prayer of salvation among your saved messages. Use it as a guide to help bring a new soul into the Kingdom of God. There is rejoicing in Heaven over every soul that makes it Home.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, open our eyes to the needs around us. Before anything else Your need for the world to be saved. If we financially bless a Carpark attendant tell him that Jesus loves him and the gift comes from Him. Help us to sow seeds of faith daily so their eyes can be opened. In Jesus' name. Amen.