Those outside the Church of Christ do not accept the fact of an evil principle governing their perspective and motives. Those inside have the supreme power of God’s Spirit, which enables them to see the evil principle at work. The called must, however, work out their salvation with fear and trembling so not to grieve the Spirit. The Spirit governs, but not in a mechanical sense. We may characterize those governed by the evil principle as mechanical, however. They live unaware of the supernatural forces that exist and without thinking simply react to circumstances, remaining oblivious as to their origins. God graciously affords the Christian with insight into Spiritual matters.

Recorded in Matthew 2:13 the Angel of the Lord appears unto Joseph and warns of impending danger regarding “the young child.” The Angel of the Lord commands Joseph to flee to Egypt and escape Herod’s indignation. Why would omnipotent God take such measures as opposed to simply killing Herod? Long ago, Satan and his devotees rebelled and God, in His inscrutable wisdom, allows them to remain active. Yet, God uses them to accomplish His overall plan for all and the earth itself. God is always in complete control; and ultimately, this is God’s war. We see that God fulfills prophesy in this event as we go on to read Matthew 2:15.

Many become discouraged when a certain political leader leaves office or perhaps when another attains the same office. The mindset is that we are losing the battle, and something must take place so that we may re-establish ourselves. Yet, who can stand in the way of God’s plan? This perspective betrays a lack of understanding of not only who is in control, but what is actually taking place; God’s overarching plan. The sovereign will of God remains intact and unabated, always, and forever.

Here we must realize the vital importance of working out salvation with fear and trembling. A heightened sense of the reality on earth; the supernatural forces battling all around us. The Spirit of the Lord keeps us from evil. Let us strive for an understanding of what the Spirit of God would have us do. Not privileged to know all, however; we are privileged to have the Comforter who will lead us through the pitfalls and to certain everlasting glory. Expect trials owing to the ever-present evil that persists. Christians have the advantage of being enabled to walk with the Spirit through this life. Seeing our need let us strive not the quench the Spirit.

Many claim to be Christian. Yet, I assert few pray to the one true living God revealed in Scripture. The faithful do not conceptualize earthly riches when looking upon Jesus Christ dying in agony on the cross at Calvary. Sin does not discriminate between the haves and the have nots of the world. Redemption from the Lord, however, is indiscriminate regarding this matter. The faithful think not what they may gain, but what they may do for Him realizing the Spiritual riches raining down on them because of Jesus Christ’s perfect work performed on earth on their behalf.

Jesus Christ took up the cross primarily to glorify God the Father. Jesus Christ commands Christians to take up their cross and follow Him, and the primary reason remains the same; to glorify God. Subsidiary is Jesus Christ’s concern for all of humanity, and of course, this is the Christian’s secondary concern. Take the words of Jesus Christ Himself recorded in Matthew 22:35-40.

35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Our Lord’s aspirations with word, and in action bespeaks the Father’s perfect will. Again, the order is apparent; God the Father first, and one’s neighbor is second.

The Scripture is unambiguous, and there is never any contradiction. Any perceived contradiction comes from man’s finite intellectual capacity {without the aid of the Holy Spirit of God, man is helpless relating to Scripture}. They nailed Jesus Christ to a tree, and He alone died in agony, shed His atoning blood for the sins of man. There are no Buddha, Muhammad, nor any Confucius. Once more, no such thing as an unsung, nebulous “higher power” that remains distant, hiding beyond the vastness of space and time.

How anyone can read the plain words of Scripture and diverge so radically and bring in the aforementioned idols is a tribute to Satan and company. Scripture warns us, however, of Satan and his legion’s counterfeit measures.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15

13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Sadly, many who profess Christianity have fallen prey to Satan and his wiles; a liberal theology that indulges many distant forms of religion. Only the Holy Ghost can conquer man’s blindness and enable him to see rightly; man, the frail, finite creature that he is.

We must take the whole of Scripture. Many, however, set themselves up as the authority and purpose to judge the Scripture; reasoning out of their own errant minds, and thus unwittingly become the dupes of Satan. The result is that a true conservative theology becomes a false liberal theology. Hence, all the aforementioned inventions and idols come into view. Liberal theology is so prevailing that we may characterize it as the norm. “Come one, come all” is the theme running wild within the mega churches. All forms of religion jumbled together in a hodgepodge of so-called faith. There is no certainty, no logical line of distinction from one to the next. A haze pervades the minds of those in conformity to what is essentially nothing; all groping for something they define as indefinite. A strong delusion has set in. Sound familiar?

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12

9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Let us pray, for we wish that none should perish.

Matthew 26:50-54

50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.

51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.

52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

5 4But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

Our Lord’s purpose remained lost on the sword bearer. Yet, this same person, prior to this event, followed Jesus Christ claiming, like many others, that He was the long-awaited Messiah prophesied in Scripture. Scripture also revealed that our Lord would die for man’s transgressions against God. However, despite the revelation, our sword bearer rose to defend the Messiah at the time of trial. Later we read that some of our Lord’s followers denied Him; fearing guilt by their association. Once more, upon our Lord’s death on the cross, his followers were dismayed, feeling lost.

During the long period between the prophesy regarding our Lord’s life and death on earth and His appearance as man, doubt eased in adopting two forms; our Lord as Messiah and His true purpose for coming to earth.

Allow me to make a comparison between Christians and our Blessed Lord.

Matthew 16:24

24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Many put themselves in the place of our Lord, as in Matthew 16:24. However, we may do well to compare ourselves to the one who took up his sword in Matthew 26:51. Sadly, this sword bearer, along with many who followed the Lord, held a bias towards the prophecy regarding our Lord. Instead of believing the bare word of God that the Messiah would surely die, they yielded to an illusion of absolute victory in their time.

The sword bearer perceived that those who rose against Jesus Christ were acting according to their own will. However, they were actually acting in accord with God’s will, as prophesied. Death was inevitable, and it had to come first in order to establish the glory that is to come later, hence, our Lord’s rise from the grave and the ascension to heaven; seated at the right hand of God the Father in the glory. Jesus Christ is the first in a long line of brethren.

2 Thessalonians 2:2-5

1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3 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;

4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

Something has to happen before our Lord returns to earth in all His glory and establishes His eternal reign; the reign of anti-Christ on earth. And Christians are on earth to take up our cross and follow our Blessed Lord. We will suffer persecution and death by the authorities acting according to the will of God {only they don’t believe this}, yet the Scripture is clear.

Revelation 17:17

For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

Not discounting the true Christians’ resolve to die upon their cross. I would, however, discount the understanding of many regarding the times and the purpose of those who are, and have been in positions of authority; just like the sword bearer. Perchance many Christians do not believe that these authorities have ever existed up to this time. Peradventure many are looking for the obvious; a regime suddenly rising from the pit, marked by naked brutality, and striving for world domination. Perhaps the position is more subtle, however.

World domination means world organization. The Nazis understood this, yet their means were decidedly ham-handed. Brute force was the dominant feature in their approach to establishing a “Third Reich.” God’s sovereign will can never cease. Therefore, unpleasant happenings are warnings, or chastisement for man’s continual rebellion against Almighty God. Should anyone be in doubt about this claim, ask yourself why God Almighty would allow such things as a World War I and II? These things result from God withdrawing His hand, allowing man to wallow in his own misery; they are wake-up calls for the entire world to see that life apart from God is pure folly; to repent and see one’s need for none other than Jesus Christ.

I would hazard that the Nazi era was a microcosm of what’s coming. I will go further, and I am not alone in this. It was a warning of the coming reign anti-Christ in accord with prophesy; a preview, if you will. Only the formation will be nothing like that of the Nazi’s of World War II with their overt aggression. A parable comes to mind: There’s two bulls standing on top of a mountain. The younger one says to the older one: “Hey, let’s say we run down there and spoil one of them cows”. The older one says: “No. Lets walk down and spoil ’em all”.

What we can expect is a slow, subtle graduation to the end. The formation will take place on a political platform rather than a military one. Policies will shape the world rather than armies. To put it more mildly; intellectual rather than primitive; mental rather than physical. It is a matter of perception. How does one view their political leaders and the world?

The actual battle ensued centuries ago; since the mid-1850s and the majority are completely unaware. Political leaders have involved us in an ongoing chess match with political leaders for some time. The public, however, believes in the system and their appointed leaders; taking them at face value; just as they appear on tellavision. The shift from primitive to intellectual has taken place in the minds of the public. Therefore, their realization of themselves is such that they can compete with the politicians, yet this is an overestimation of one’s true capacities.

Politicians have the full weight of intimate knowledge, formal organization, training, and education, money, influential contacts, and power. What mechanisms may the preponderance employ within the public domain? Essentially, the public may vote and nothing else. There is no organization. Training and education are of a 12th grade level. Money and influence and power belong with those who are wealthy.

The powers have prepared the environment that everybody operates in. Planned communities are really just nice ghettos. Everyone exists within the framework of the environment, carefully crafted by politicians. Everything is owned, and they have herded people into cities. We may operate within the bounds established for us by those who set the policies.

Total control is within reach. People of old worked, and the result was a home, food, water, clothing and so forth. People today work and the result is simply money. The money is used to pay businesses that supply, provide the public with ready-made homes, food, water, clothing and so forth. Essentially, the public works not to provide but to pay businesses to provide for them. Control of vital resources has shifted from the individual to the state controlled businesses. Government set this plan in motion way back in the mid-1850s to move people from agrarian life to city life for control. To the public, however, all looked well, and we were better off owing to the ease and comforts afforded. This plan came in through technological developments originating from both government and private business sectors. There was no legislation, just cooperation between both aforementioned parties.

Do your homework. You find that those who control the system you believe in have rolled you up into a neat little package. All that remains is the offering.

Jesus Christ came into this world to glorify the Father. God brings Christians into this world to glorify the Son. Jesus Christ suffered for performing the will of His Father. Christians will suffer for performing the will of the Son. The Father raised Jesus Christ. The Son will raise Christians.

John 6:44

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.