Far from the supposedly hope quenching gloom and doom view of Bible prophecy foretelling the apocalyptic end of this present world as we have known it even many professed Christians hold, is the gloriously bright reality captured in the phrase, “the Lord reigns,” (Psalms 93:1, 96:10-12, 97:1-9, 99:1-3; Revelation 19:6, NKJV)! These three words are exclaimed on the earth and in every other realm of existence after the victory of Jesus Christ at Jerusalem!1 Indeed, elect, mortal Israel and surviving Gentiles of His grace are urged to join the glorified immortal saints in joyful celebration of the King; singing His praises with awe and jubilation (Psalms 47, 98, 100, 150:1-4; Isaiah 12)!
As the faithful reflect from this mortal vantage point prior to the coming Day of the Lord, it is beyond tragically sad that all of humanity does not accept God’s free offer of salvation and restoration through repentance and faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! For knowing the end from the beginning, salvation and restoration has been in God’s heart from eternity when He saw that man would sin. Giving His creature free will, God also saw that many would exercise it and reject His gracious offer of pardon with immortal glory. For this reason, any sadness we have now should move the faithful to proclaim the Gospel and witness Christ to unsaved fellow humanity with all the more zeal!
For truly, we of all people have known from God’s Word that deliverance from and an end to this present evil age governed by fallen angels was finally going to come. Rule over the earth or any part of physical creation was not intended for them, but man under the sovereign and righteous reign of God (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 8). However, Adam rejected God’s rule (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:1-6)! Nevertheless, the Day of the Lord was telegraphed in His foretelling of Satan’s defeat by the Seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15)! Patient and longsuffering over the millennia, God first celebrates restoration of His Kingdom rule through Christ outside 1st century Jerusalem (Colossians 2:11-15).
Doing my assigned Kingdom work with many tears for the lost and disobedient professed Christians along the way, I gladly leave it behind for a moment and in God’s will come to the foretold second celebration of His rule restored by Christ at Jerusalem! With His prophetic Word, faith and Kingdom vision causing me to be in attendance, I join in the celebration--shouting, clapping, dancing and singing praises to King Jesus; yes, in unrestrained joy shouting with all of my voice “the Lord reigns, He reigns forever and ever!” “All glory, praises and honor be unto Him!” Then, like David, with total abandon I dance before the “King of glory,” (2 Samuel 6:12-15; Psalm 24, NKJV)!
Subsequently, I realize again I and all of the saints around me are shining with God’s glory and explode in fresh inexpressible joy--yet, I am expressing it fully (Daniel 12:2-3; Matthew 13:41-43; 1 Corinthians 15:47-49, 54-57; 1 Peter 1:3-9)!2 My slave forefathers may have truthfully sung “nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.” On this Day, though, everyone under, on and positioned over the earth knows my joy in the Lord with all of the saints for His victory; vindicating our faith, hope and suffering in Him (2 Thessalonians 1:3-12)!3 “Glory to God; glory to the ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords’ who reigns and alone is worshipped forever more” (Zechariah 14:9, 16-19; Revelation 11:16, NKJV)!
As foretold, the King One with the Holy Spirit will reign in the reverence of His Father in truth, righteous judgment, unimpeachable justice that punishes wicked mortals in accord with what their sins deserve, divine wisdom, knowledge, strength, perfect fairness, impartiality and tenderness toward the meek (Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Psalm 99:4-5; Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:1-5; Matthew 5:5). Men will be taught the ways of the Lord and from Jerusalem His law will go forth throughout all the earth. In consequence, under His rule a real, thorough and lasting peace will prevail on the earth. Men will turn their weapons into tools and study war no more forever. The ferocity and carnivorous behavior of related plants and animals will cease (Isaiah 2:1-4; 11: 6-10; 65:24-25; Micah 4:1-3)!
The King will rule over mortal men with a “rod of iron” from His glorious throne at Jerusalem; elevated in height and beauty by Him (Psalm 2:8-9; Zechariah 14:8, 10-11; Revelation 19:15, NKJV). And we, His saints, shall reign on the earth with Him in all of the same character qualities and governance as He (Psalm 150:5-9; Daniel 7:26-27; Revelation 1:4-6, 2:26-29, 5:9-10, 20:4-6)! “Glory, glory to God for His awesome vindication of His faithful; of those that endured to the end proclaiming the Gospel to restore men and standing firm on His Word!”4 If only all professed Christians today could truly believe that what is unfolding in the world--great evil, a creation in labor pains and His coming wrath--is heading toward the exceedingly better Day of God’s Kingdom restored to earth!
1 I acknowledge that I with many other prophecy teachers and authors have conveniently named earth’s final war, “Armageddon” as is the case in my December 20, 2015 re-post, Reigning With Christ On Earth, under the category, Bible Prophecy that I recommend be read along with this present post. Technically, though, Armageddon is the hill or tel of Megiddo in northern Israel overlooking plains easily corresponding to the prophet Joel’s “Valley of Jehoshaphat” (Joel 3:1-2, NKJV). It serves as the ma- jor assembly area, staging ground and launch point of the world’s armies with Antichrist for war against Israel and Jerusalem. Christ descends upon the Mount Of Olives immediately in front of Jerusalem on the east and engages the enemy there delivering it while also overseeing His swift victory in the war actually raging all over Israel in- cluding Armageddon and around it (Isaiah 63:1-6). Then my Lord the King will enter Jerusalem to great acclamation as before, but this time on a white horse and with all knowing in absolute certainty who He is (Matthew 21:1-11, 23:37-39; Revelation 19:11)!
2 See the July 31, 2016 blog, The Immortal Bodies Of God’s Eternal Sons, under the category, God’s Creatures to learn more about the glorious immortal bodies of the saints!
3 Read the November 29, 2015 blog, When The Glory Comes, under the category, Glory To God!
4 Check out the Give Page on our Web Site to see how you can support the ongoing work of Strong Man Ministries to restore men.
I have felt the pain of men in many ways at the hands of compromising and disobedient pastors as I have shared in various publishing platforms, other blog posts and earlier in this one. I have seen threatened pastors purposely hold down (oppress) eager men lest they show them up in any way and disrespect capable others by purposely putting women over and marginalizing them. I have also heard pastors put men down and treat them with contempt from the pulpit for not being enthused to step up to do humanly invented churchy stuff. Men disillusioned and disengaged from the local church have consistently told me of feeling exploited by pastors that are corrupt, self-focused and see their value only as servants to their ambitions in building personal fiefdoms.
Again, like a man under the controlling influence of alcohol and drugs, so, it is only because of being in the sinful flesh and deceived by demons that for any wicked reasons there are pastors who have refused to honor men and God’s order of mankind in His house (1 Timothy 4:1-2). I know and admit in my book how easy it is to begin down the slippery slope of compromise and disobedience on this; in my case, to avoid conflict with tradition. However, confronted with a pastor friend’s challenge of my own incomplete obedience in 2003, I had to give it up. I was wrong, confessed it and repented! The conflict I tried to avoid came, but I stood and was glad to no longer be in disobedience to God!
Oh, it is so much better to be in conflict with men and demons than the holy God as the Lord Jesus warns (Matthew 10:27-39; Luke 6:22-23)! Then came the Lord’s deeper instruction behind the directives of His Word which we Christians walking by faith are to always trust is there (Matthew 5:17-48; 2 Corinthians 5:7). Thoroughly sinful and ignorant in our finiteness, how could we ever realistically believe we could find wrong in God (Deuteronomy 32:1-6; Job 34:10-30, 36:22-23; Isaiah 40:12-17; Romans 11:33-36; 1 Corinthians 1:25)? Let the guilty even now fall on his face in utter humiliation, guilt, shame and repentance (Job 42:1-6; Isaiah 29:15-16; James 4:4-10)!
So pervasive is the order of God in every realm of existence, it would be most odd if among mankind His highest creation, He had not provided it (Psalm 104, 148; Isaiah 40:21-26). Indeed, God’s set order of mortal mankind is fully rooted in His eternally sovereign Kingdom rule and plans for us as His creatures. The Kingdom of God does not originate on earth with man, but is completely of and springs from Him at His throne in Heaven (Psalm 11:4). Thus, the Son of God and Man who came from Heaven to rescue and bring willing fallen mankind to glory declares to His adversaries that His Kingdom ‘“is not of this world…not from here,’” (John 18:36; Hebrews 2:5-10, NKJV).
Sent into this world by the Father (the Original Patriarch and Source of patriarchy) to restore all things, Jesus Christ His only begotten Son purposely and aggressively began His work among males as the divinely appointed leaders of mankind (Genesis 2:7-8, 15, 18-24, 3:16b, 5:1-2; Luke 3:23-38; 1 Corinthians 11:7-9; 1 Peter 3:7). In so doing, He honored men and God’s order of mankind! Calling first a group of fishermen to Himself, He told them from then forward they would fish for men as their life’s work too (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11).4 In contrast to many pastors today and true to His calling as the Lord’s Servant, He did not crush or snuff out the yearning hearts of men for God and total restoration to Him (Isaiah 42:1-4; Matthew 12:9-21; Luke 19:1-10).
The Lord Jesus was also the perfect example of Manhood before the Father and faithful service to Him (John 8:28-29). He eventually chose twelve men that He taught and mentored to follow His example (John 6:60-71; 13:12-17). Though one of them did betray Christ, the other men became examples to us brought to Him over the centuries through their eye witness testimony. Their natural male strength, courage, zeal and ambition had been taken over, new abilities added and all energized by the Holy Spirit for the cause of Christ to proclaim the Gospel about Him to earth’s ends (Acts 1:8). So they did and here we are who are born again, faithful followers of Jesus Christ!
As sons of glory in Christ individually and assembled corporately in the churches, the Kingdom of God is supposed to govern every part of our lives on earth now like it has already been manifested since truly it has in us--a very important point I make to pastors in my book (Luke 17:20-21; Colossians 3:1-6). The mandate of Christ our King has been and is to seek out and completely restore men as fallen creatures to God so they might fulfill His purposes for them to rule in His image in the home, His house and if it would accept it, the world during this present age; all creation in the eternal age to come! The Lord has me also stress that because of His preeminent Kingdom rule in us, world culture is not to hold priority sway in our thinking, attitudes and deeds (Romans 12:1-2).
Instead, we by the surpassingly great work of God in, through and for us as we stand on, live out and proclaim His ageless Word are to impact and be transformers of culture (to the extent this is possible even temporarily) as the Bible and history up to the 20th century shows (Daniel 6).5 But how could this be authentically done in that century and now after when God’s own people led by compromising pastors in willful sin are seen to rebel against His Word; allowing my female family members and those of other men contrary to Scripture and God’s order of mankind from creation to teach, take authority and rule over me as an adult male in His house (1 Timothy 2:11-14)? The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, “Who is on the Lord's side?”
4 For a fuller biblical and my first major public exposition of why men are targeted by Jesus Christ prior to writing The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics, purchase the four part Strong Man Of God Audio Release, Fishers Of Men available in the Strong Man Store.
5 No historian of honest scholarship, for example, can deny the general impact for good Judeo-Christian morality from the Bible (even with much sinful human duplicity) has had on Western Civilization and every culture of man it has spread to on the earth since the first century by way of Christianity in its many forms. Certainly, even 20th century men such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were able to stand on biblically drawn morality to challenge segregated America’s racism bringing about a reluctant and still in progress change to the culture a generation later.
Never could I have imagined that of the chief reasons virile men are relatively few among professing Christians and absent from churches are the purposeful acts of many male pastors to oppress and marginalize those they are not exploiting for personal ambitions unless I had witnessed it for myself. If the temporary door of opportunity for the Gospel God is opening in the Donald Trump era will be bountiful to His satisfaction, men restored in accord with His Word and the image of Jesus Christ must be well represented in the fishing net of the churches. Otherwise, because of the times, the folly of continued rebellion against God will become painfully evident.
As I wrote in the October 2, 2016 blog, Gifted With A Prophet’s Heart under the category, Call To Repent, if it had not been for the timely and purposeful acts of the Holy Spirit to preserve me in my spiritual infancy, I could have easily been discouraged enough by my experiences in the churches as many men have been to give up. Not only was I not intentionally mentored in the faith by a pastor or other leader, but biblical manhood either. During the early nineties and the rise of Promise Keepers, in only one predominantly black American, Fort Worth, TX church I knew of was there even an attempt to instruct on what my then pastor, Howard Caver, titled, God’s Master Plan For The Family.
I remain grateful to Pastor Caver for teaching on male and female roles and responsibilities in the home from a biblical perspective, though with many others, he too refused to fully implement God’s order in the church as taught by Paul, the apostle to us Gentiles (Acts 26:12-18). Even Promise Keepers following the packed stadium glory days and fierce, resentful feminist push back toned down its initial fiery call for men to be restored to their biblical roles and responsibilities so women filling the churches in the majority would not be offended. In full deference to the women that buy their products in the main, Christian retailers and media have largely followed suit.1
Now, what was a burgeoning problem of missing men a decade before the close of the 20th has become severe as David Murrow documents in his 2005 book, Why Men Hate Going To Church and unnecessarily complicated in this 21st century! As I write about in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics drawing upon Murrow’s research among others, the matter is complicated by the confusion the secular culture and pandering pastors and churches following after it have created in attempting to craft male, female and family models that are politically rather than biblically correct.2 Social chaos over gender identity and roles, for example, now reaches right into the public bathroom.
While the content, methods and ministries to “disciple” men has exploded, if it will be done biblically, inevitably their roles and responsibilities in God’s house come up. In my book, I have maintained that only teaching a man he is the head of his family in his house is a sinful coming up short of biblical follow through instruction that he is actually so in God’s house and beyond too!3 But the trend set in motion by compromising male pastors early in the 20th century and later energized by the feminist movement to elevate women to positions of unbiblical authority, has exploded today into a full blown rebellion against the divinely set order of mankind.
We may never know all of the reasons pastors began to compromise and corrupt the plain directives of God in His Word. In the final chapter of my book calling the guilty to repentance, though, I am led by the Lord to charge of prime importance that they were not listening to Him, but sin, self and Satan especially through the culture as is so very apparent at this hour. Tied to and driven by this reason are many others. Foremost obviously, some have believed themselves more compassionate toward women than God who could not have intended to treat them so unfairly in His order of mankind. Such men are like earth’s first human king who listened to his wife rather than God accused by Satan of being unfair (Genesis 1:26-28, 2:7, 16-25, 3:1-6, 17a).
However, can the creature ever be superior to God his Creator in any measure? Even the Lord Jesus--God the eternal Word and Son in sinless flesh--declared: “My Father is greater than I,” (John 14:28c, NKJV). Some have yielded to the desires of the sinful flesh as did the compromising kings of Judah and Israel, Solomon and Ahab (1 Kings 11:1-8; 16:29-33). And like Jeroboam, others forgot who installed them to rule and from motives of the flesh the culture approves of, have sought to govern as they please (1 Kings 12:25-33). Some like king Asa, act out of fear instead of faith in God’s proven provision. Then they end up as he even did persecuting God’s prophets and oppressing the people they are to serve in bitterness toward God after rebuke (2 Chronicles 16:1-10).
Some are like Aaron who gave heed to the people at Sinai because God had kept them waiting for Moses to return (Exodus 20:1-6, 32:1-6) Similarly, like the Pharisees in manmade religion some believe themselves lofty enough to replace God’s commandments with their own (Matthew 15:1-9). Finally, in the flesh and pride as lords rather than servants, some have not consulted the Lord for His counsel as Scripture teaches pursuing selfish ambitions and compromising God’s order of mankind for the sake of expediency (Proverbs 3:5-8, 8:12-36, 14:12; Mark 10:35-45; 1 Peter 5:1-4). The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, “Who is on the Lord's side?”
1 Read my blogs from June 29-July 27, 2014 for more elaboration on what has happened in professing Christianity and the churches on male and female roles and God’s order of His house.
2 Read the July 20, 2014 blog in particular, Confused Men, Compromised Sons, under the category, Call To Repent.
3 Read the September 14-21, 2014 blog, Partial Obedience, Pt. 1&2, under the category Call To Repent.
Is it just me or does anyone else also see the glaring inconsistency of teaching me I am the head of my house by God’s design and purposeful will, but when I come to His house, the God who made me the head changes everything? Like a bizarre, mind bending movie where things are familiar, but out of place and nothing is as it should be, so, the growing number of churches today with women as pastors, worship leaders and authority figures over adult men in what is supposed to be the God of the Bible’s “household,” “family” and “house;” His Father the Lord Jesus taught us in Him to also address as “Father,” (Matthew 6:9; Ephesians 2:19-22, 3:14-15; Hebrews 3:1-6, NKJV)!
There has been a change made in the churches led by pastors that are responsible true enough, but the ever consistent and immutable God has not authorized it as He leads me to make absolutely clear in a very important second Appendix of my book. This change to allow women to speak into the whole church assembly and be deployed into positions of authority over men is exclusively the action of sinful flesh in defiance of Scripture! It has come about from the same demonically deceitful instruction that has also allowed those that pervert God’s sexual design to pastor, lead worship and ministries in what is supposed to be God’s house.
After millennia, to now--at the end of this age--fully set aside men and God’s order of mankind in His house is wickedly brazen; showing no fear of God whatsoever in sinning with such a high hand. You surpass even the people and leaders of ancient Israel who also corrupted themselves in spiritual harlotry, disrespected God’s house, profaned His great name and caused His enemies to blaspheme (Ezekiel 16:23-30; Malachi 1:6-2:16; Romans 2:24; James 4:17). For those who question by what authority I have stood to say such things in crying out against this ongoing rebellion in God’s house, I will ask you an even more important and eternally troubling question.
By what authority have you stood to usurp Jesus Christ, God’s appointed Head of the Church, to dishonor men and change the divine order of mankind in His house as antichrists (Daniel 7:25; Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:15-18)? At the Lord’s command and in the power of the Holy Spirit, I have taken my stand to wage war on and pull down strongholds of deceit in all of the arguments raised up against “the knowledge of God” embodied in the whole counsel of His Word on men and the order of mankind in His house; “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” in His cause to restore men and declaring His judgment on the unrepentant (2 Corinthians 10:3-6, NKJV)!6
For while the world culture may be in rebellion against the will, way and Word of God, such should not be the case among us who have been set apart as His and are His house (1 Peter 2:4-5)! We were saved from out of the world culture not to live to or honor it above God any longer, but as “His own special people” to exalt Him and proclaim His praises with supporting godly deeds (1 Peter 2:9-12, NKJV). So, the world culture may be celebrating with guilty professed Christians in their break with ancient, biblical orthodoxy on men and the divine order of mankind in yet another display of the foretold “falling away,” but the Head of His house is not pleased (2 Thessalonians 2:3, NKJV)!
Let me be very clear from the prophetic Word of God to the professed Christian following after world culture and the unbeliever listening in. The corrupt egalitarian, anything goes world as a tower of Babel you seek to build will not come to fruition without contest from God in severe judgments (Genesis 11:1-9; Revelation 8:1-11:19) or long stand before it is destroyed in wrath by Christ (Isaiah 2:10-22, 13:9-13; Revelation 6:12-17, 16)!7 He now, graciously calls unbelievers to repentance and faith in the Gospel to be saved from His coming wrath; repentance leading to revival among those in sin as professed Christians so they may not be condemned with the world, but rather vigorously preach the Gospel especially to men as the Lord modeled so they might be completely restored.
The faithful pastor should not fret or fear your obedience has been in vain and the wicked in and outside of God’s house are getting away with anything (Malachi 2:17, 3:13-4:3). Those that profess to be Christians and continue to refuse God’s offer of forgiveness through repentance from all disobedience including rebellion against His order of mankind will be caught in the intensifying judgment He has begun in His house and that will be more evident in 2017--beware rebel women in positions of unbiblical authority (Revelation 2:20-23)! It has begun in His house so the world may see God is just and fear; for this assures their destruction without repentance to follow (1 Peter 4:17-18). All who die in their sins also face the judgment seat of Christ in terror (2 Corinthians 5:9-11)!
Now, therefore, woe to the pastors that oppress and marginalize the men you shepherd! You will give an account of every soul harmed by your disobedience. If the Lord commands Israel’s faithful to keep the “Law of Moses” and to look for Him to send Elijah before “the great and dreadful day of the Lord” to restore men and their children, how is it that you have failed to grasp you are to keep His Word and labor to make ready a people prepared for His coming through restoring men and their children also (Malachi 4:4-6, Luke 12:42-48, NKJV)? Does not the judgment of Adam, Aaron, Solomon, Jeroboam, Ahab, Asa and the Pharisees frighten you at all (Genesis 3:17b-19; Exodus 32:25-35; 1 Kings 11:9-13, 13:33-14:11, 21:17-26; 2 Chronicles 16:11-14; Matthew 23:25-24:2)? The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, “Who is on the Lord's side?”
6 I have addressed most of the more popular arguments of the rebellion in all of my May 2015 blogs.
7 The tragedy of inequality among mankind does not originate with God’s creation of men and women for when all was created, He declared His work ‘“very good,’” (Genesis 1:31, NKJV)! After this, the next greatest statement of human equality came from the lips of the first man when he raved about the woman made from him in perfect correspondence to him in every way (Genesis 2:23). Human inequality originates with sin and all of the evil ways it corrupts the human heart (Mark 7: 17-23)! This being true, how can the noble cause to eliminate sin invented human gender and racial inequality, for example, be lumped together with that of over- turning the decree of God that only sex inside of male and female marriage is righteous? Therefore, until my final breath as a Christian black American male. I will be offended by the sexually immoral person’s evil and false claim that rejecting his sin is equivalent to rejecting me as a man of color by the purposeful design of God! Read my May 8-15, 2016 blogs.
In the aftermath of the blog series the Lord led me to write on obedience, He gave me a word of instruction to rebuke the emotional but false notion among many professing Christians today that being called sons of God is His irrevocable pledge to bring all so named into glory without any regard whatsoever to their lives (James 2:14-26). Persistent disobedience in sin is a deal breaker! Professing Christians are not the first people ever to have familial relation to God (Isaiah 63:16; Hosea 1:10) nor to dishonor Him as Father through sin and be judged (Malachi 1:6-2:9). Or is God the delighted Father of disobedient sons? Not according to the only begotten Son (John 8:37-59). Originally Posted August 30, 2013 In my blog entitled, Whose House? on August 25, 2013 the Holy Spirit led me to write about how God’s Kingdom--His governing rule, authority, will, way and Word--becomes living spiritual reality (as opposed to mere theoretical principle) in the hearts of those that experience the new birth through faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:3-7)! When born again individual believers assemble together, the parenting of God the Father and Lordship of Christ extends into our corporate relations and activity as well. In other words, as I write in The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics, every believer and local church are “supposed to be advanced outposts of” the Kingdom of God extant here and now on earth since the Father and the Son are submitted to as the ruling authorities by them. This is a marvelous thing to us who genuinely experience this spiritual reality in our persons and understand it as the incredible answer to the first part of the type of prayer (Matthew 6:9-10; Luke 11:2) the Lord taught His disciples to pray (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:1-4). In contrast to the often written out and showy prayers of hypocrites whose goal it is to be seen and heard by men in order to impress them with their eloquence, the Lord teaches a prayer template that when God answers, powerfully shows He was listening! As sons of God by spiritual new birth, we acknowledge in prayer “our Father” whose governing throne is in Heaven, yet, is brought into our lives. We pray conscious of this truth daily and moment by moment to intentionally affirm for Him as well as ourselves His continuing welcome in our lives as ruling Head since Satan, sin and self do not cease attempting to get us to turn back to them. We therefore, also purposely hallow or consecrate His name representing the surpassing greatness of His glorious being (take your pick of the exalted biblical names God Himself gives us to describe His Person) in our hearts, minds and lives. ‘“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is Heaven”’ (Matthew 6:10, NKJV) is not just meant as a petition for future fulfillment, but a very present, right now request for God’s rule to be carried out in our mortal lives as also His meeting of our needs for daily sustenance, forgiveness and deliverances from Satan. When the mortal sons of God on earth submit to His will, way and Word in seeking to please Him--the heart of every aspiring strong man and great woman of God in the image of Christ, the superior greatness of divine rule in nature (ex. love, joy and peace), character (ex. holiness, righteousness and justice), power and glory to be seen fully when the eternally enduring Kingdom is finally revealed at Christ’s Second Coming, shines out from us now as a foretaste! As is true for the individual sons of the kingdom, so, the local churches they assemble in. Again, this is what is so diabolical about professing Christians and their churches being selectively, partially and willfully disobedient to God’s Word since they are faithfully reflecting not the reign of God, but that of His enemy, Satan, who is the original rebel and uses their sin to blaspheme God’s name (2 Samuel 12:13-14). Thus, when disobedient professing Christians and their churches reject as of the most basic of biblical instruction, God’s order of creation in the roles and responsibilities of men and women for example, it is a rejection of God’s rule; a siding with the world controlled by Satan and a cause for their blaspheming of His name and Word (Genesis 3:2-4; 1 Samuel 8:1-8; Titus 2:1-5). If the sons of the Kingdom do not remain true--God is not honored as Father, nor is His name set apart as holy, nor His Kingdom displayed or His will done in that man or church as it is in Heaven; if the churches as advanced Kingdom outposts on earth holding ground until the Kingdom is fully revealed at the appearing of Christ rebel, then finally, what is their value to God (Luke 14:34-35; John 15:4-6; James 4:4-5, 17)? For this reason we pray and labor for repentance fueled revival; we proclaim and teach the strong man of God message bound up in the Word of God uncompromised; we rebuke, we exhort with all urgency since the Judge and King, Jesus Christ is right at the door (2 Timothy 4:1-2; James 5:9b)! And do not say to yourself in deception, “I am a son of the Kingdom, therefore, I can never be lost; God does not abandon His family.” Hear the Word of the Lord not foolish men with their endless sectarian speculations. We stand as sons of God at present only by faith and the continuing, blazing presence of the Holy Spirit within us (Romans 1:16-17, 3:21-26, 8:1-17; Galatians 3:1-9, 26; Ephesians 1:13-14). But if we willfully embrace sin in disobedience without repentance are we acting in faith? God does not think so and after much grief, many fruitless rebukes and calls to repentance (Ephesians 4:30; James 4:6-10) as well as the prolonged quenching of the Holy Spirit, He gives such a one over to his way and judges accordingly (Exodus 4:22; Ezekiel 9-10; Luke 13:6-9; Romans 1:18-2:11; 11:13-22; Galatians 5:16-21; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; Hebrews 3:7-19, 6:1-8, 10:26-39). Faithful sons of the Kingdom and aspiring strong men of God in the image of Christ know that only faith displayed in love motivated obedience pleases our Father and stand in it accordingly to the death as all who were before them (Hebrews 11)!
As we persevere through all of the foretold violent, global convulsions and persecution Christians face, we are instructed by God’s Word to stand firm on it through faith and the hope resident in us by the assuring presence of the Holy Spirit while waiting for the Kingdom to come (Romans 8:22-25)! Be encouraged to do so by God’s prophetic Word in this edited 2012 blog repost.1
Originally Posted July 22, 2012
A night of spiritual darkness is falling and must remain until the dawn of God’s new Day and Kingdom come to earth at the appearing of Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12)! Like a skilled chest player our God is now perfectly positioning every player (good and evil) into place in order to execute the final moves He will make at just the right time that lead to His checkmate of evil in wrath (Revelation 6:12-17). In that Day, our Lord will stand triumphant in Jerusalem; reigning and presiding over the restoration of creation in a new beginning wherein all of the promises of God made to His faithful saints and the nation of Israel will be fulfilled (Isaiah 2:1-4, 11:1-10; Jeremiah 33:14-16).
Every aspiring strong man and great woman of God is comforted and encouraged in the hard things we endure in the meantime by our hope in faith that our Lord Jesus is soon to return. This hope is not just a wish sustained by knowing the written Word of truth from which it springs. No, ours is a “living hope” empowered by the Spirit of God who lives in our hearts (1 Peter 1:3, NKJV). He even marks us out as belonging to God for the Day of God in Christ at His appearing (Ephesians 4:30). While we faithfully labor in the Kingdom cause of our Lord through the Gospel here and now, we also long with tearful prayers at times for the Kingdom to come (Matthew 6:9-10).
One day very soon, we will see undeniable evidence in the sky and on earth God is hearing those prayers (Revelation 8:1-6). The saints are not only praying for the Kingdom to come on our behalf, but in line with Bible prophecy, we pray also for the sake of Israel in the land and scattered across the face of the earth. Indeed, in praying “for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6), we are praying for the “Prince of Peace,” Jesus Christ, to return, take His rightful place on David’s throne and restore Israel securely in her land as promised by God through all of His ancient prophets (see the following Scriptures as a tiny sampling: Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:11-16, Jeremiah 30:1-3; Ezekiel 36:1-15; Hosea 3:4-5, Micah 4:1-8; Zechariah 14, NKJV).
Besides taking the Gospel to the world (Acts 1:6-8), God has also been keeping His Word to punish Israel for her sins including the rejection of His Chosen until the time allotted is completed (Hosea 5:8-15; Luke 19:41-44, 21:20-24). Scattered Israel’s most severe trouble is straight ahead in the night that is falling (Jeremiah 30:4-7). When it is all over, she will be comforted after having received even double for her sins from the Lord’s hand (Isaiah 40:1-2; Jeremiah 16:14-18). Those comforted will be an elect the Lord has chosen for Himself; a mortal remnant of His ancient people to bless at the appearing and Kingdom of Christ.
God will deal with this remnant as He did their fathers in the wilderness of Sinai in preparing them to enter the Promised Land. Their brokenness and repentance will give way to great joy as they enter into the Lord’s Kingdom (Jeremiah 3:11-18, 31:1-14; Ezekiel 20:33-44, 36:16-38; Hosea 6:1-3; Zechariah 12:10-13:1; Revelation 7:1-8, 12:1-6, 13-17). The resurrected saints will reign under Christ over the entire creation and on earth (Romans 8:18-21; Revelation 5:8-10) while His twelve apostles will judge the twelve tribes of Israel for a thousand years (Luke 22:28-30; Revelation 20:4-6).
It has been my fearful honor to personally witness to and support the efforts of Jewish Christian Ministries to reach the Jewish people with the message of salvation through the Gospel intended for them first (John 4:22; Acts 3:25-26; Romans 1:16, 9:1-5, 30-10:4). As a Gentile, I am a debtor to the Jews on two accounts. First, as the apostle Paul so eloquently instructs, I have been grafted into their already standing natural olive tree and have no room to boast as tragically some professing Gentile Christians have arrogantly done by declaring God is done with the Jews as a nation (Romans 11).
Second, I owe them for their written spiritual heritage which God recorded in the Bible. That heritage informed the faith of my Christian slave forefathers and now informs my own as I wait for God’s Kingdom to come to Israel and the earth (Isaiah 65:19-25, 66:5-13)!
1 In honor of this month devoted to praying for Christians suffering persecution around the earth, Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. is making the message the Lord gave me, The Call To Christians To Persevere available for free download in the Strong Man Store from November 13-19, 2015. Do not miss the opportunity to be instructed and challenged by this Holy Spirit energized message drawn from the Word of God. Pray for our brethren suffering severe persecution now to persevere; our time is at the door!
For Mary, the mother of her now, deceased Son, the hour was very distant and disconnected from the joyful events surrounding His birth as “Savior...Christ the Lord” attended to by angels (Luke 1:26-56, 2:1-20, NKJV) and infancy when Gentile religious men from the East amidst the stars of light He created followed “His (unique) star” to visit the family and worship Him (Genesis 1:3-5, 14-19; Matthew 1:18-2:2, NKJV). This is the condensed time period we Christians celebrate as Christmas! Mary’s soul was pierced just as Simeon had prophesied to her on the occasion of her baby Boy’s presentation and circumcision at the Temple in Jerusalem in accord with the Law (Luke 2:21-35).
The rest of that terrible day through the Sabbath Mary and all of those who knew Jesus of Nazareth mourned for Him in great bewilderment at the tragedy that had befallen Him; He who was and should have been according to the prophecies of Scripture and Him, their light of hope (Numbers 24:10-19; Isaiah 9:1-7; John 12:42-50)! But He was gone, the glory of His light apparently overcome by the darkness. Why had God forsaken His own Son? The darkness of ignorance and despair was equally deep. Determined to give their Teacher’s body a more thorough preparation, the women disciples who had been watching everything came to the tomb on the third day after His burial.
The four Gospels vary in their details about what happened next with the women.3 According to Luke, to their astonishment “they found the stone rolled away from the tomb” and after going in, “did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” Stunned and confused about what they were seeing, suddenly two angels in male form appeared to and asked them the question of this mortal age: ‘“Why do you seek the living among the dead?’” They followed their question with an equally amazing declaration: ‘“He is not here, but is risen!’” The angels then charged the women to remember the words of Christ foretelling His resurrection and they did (Luke 9:18-22, 24:1-8, NKJV).
All of the Gospels agree the women went to go tell the Lord’s eleven disciples what they had seen and been told by angels and the risen Lord Himself; their devotion richly rewarded with the distinction of being the first to see Him alive from the dead. Coming to the men as they still “mourned and wept,” their first reaction was not to believe. Peter and John however, on second impulse leapt to their feet and ran to the empty tomb to see for themselves (Matthew 28:7-10; Mark 16:7-11; Luke 24:9-12; John 20:1-18, NKJV). Meantime, the Lord appeared to two dejected male disciples not of the eleven traveling from Jerusalem who were kept from initially recognizing Him (Luke 24:13-16).4
After inquiring about their conversation concerning His suffering, crucifixion, lost hope He was Israel’s Redeemer and news from the women, the risen Lord rebuked their slowness to believe all of what it was written the prophets spoke. Then, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them” everything about Himself and what had just happened as He later did the eleven who He also restored (Mark 16:12-13; Luke 24:17-47; John 21:1-19, NKJV).5 Witnesses of all that was fulfilled, the Lord commissioned the eleven to go tell it after being empowered by the Holy Spirit then, ascended to Heaven (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:48-53; John 20:19-23; Acts 1:4-11).
Having added Matthias to their number to replace Judas (Acts 1:12-26), the twelve apostles and those gathered with them waited for the Holy Spirit to arrive. He came ten days after the Lord’s ascension on the Jewish Day of Pentecost and mightily filled everyone in the room where they were assembled causing them to praise God in human languages they had not previously learned; Peter stepping up to give biblical explanation of what was taking place and to preach the Gospel (Acts 2:1-39). On that day the Church of Jesus Christ was born with the apostles overseeing her (Acts 2:40-47). As for Peter and the other apostles, I write about the miraculous transformation the Holy Spirit wrought in them and wills for us in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics.6
With the Lord’s instruction and help they still fled, hid or escaped harm from persecution to live to boldly testify and preach another day and never denied Him or abandoned the faith--James being the first one martyred in His cause (Matthew 10:23; Acts 4:1-31, 5:12-42, 8:1-3, 12:1-19). It is Peter that teaches us to submit to unjust suffering trusting ourselves to God following the example of Christ he witnessed (1 Peter 2:18-25, 3:13-17); a teaching corruptly used by professed Christian American slave owners to compel the submission of my forefathers to their wretched institution of slavery and its evil abuses.7 In step with the apostle Paul, Peter also informs us the Lord’s light of hope never stopped shining at His death, but illuminated Hades (Acts 2:27; Ephesians 4:7-10; 1 Peter 3:18-22).
Therefore, let us in the darkness of these latter days be encouraged as we look to Christ our example and ever shining light of hope (Hebrews 6:9-20; 1 Peter 1:3-5)! As He taught, we are not only blessed to suffer for His cause in the Gospel and God’s Kingdom (Matthew 5:10-12), but filled with His light we are also “the light of the world” exposing the darkness as faithful witnesses (Matthew 5:14-16; Ephesians 5:8-14, NKJV). Suffering as He, we are glorified with Him having also overcome the darkness (Romans 8:14-25, 31-39)! Departing this life, we live and our light continues to shine in Heaven (Revelation 7:9-17)! And just as Christ fulfilled the prophecies of His first coming, so with His star portending it, His return with us (Matthew 24:29-31; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; Jude 14-15).8
(This was my final post for 2020. Lord willing, my next post will appear Sunday evening, January 3, 2021. Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year filled with all the light of hope our risen, living Savior, Jesus Christ the Son of God imparts to the faithful among our readers waiting for Him!)
3 Detail variances do not discredit the whole resurrection account, but actually add authenticity to it since to this very hour witnesses of the same event will provide de-
tails that differ. One angel of the Lord or two does not change the fact the women found the tomb of Jesus empty as all four Gospels report!
4 In the same supernatural way these disciples were kept from recognizing the Lord, the twelve and all were kept from fully understanding what He was specifically
telling them about the suffering and death He would endure followed by His resurrection (Luke 9:43-45, 18:31-34). Hence, not understanding Christ was in part di-
vinely imposed to keep them from getting in the way as even beforehand, Peter shows he would have done (Matthew 16:21-23).
5 No doubt among the prophets, the Lord did not omit Isaiah 53! Also, please take note of the Lord’s straightforward, objective interpretation and application of God’s
Word as it is written. If He, the living Word as our example in everything handles the Bible this way, then, ought we not to do the same (John 1:1; 2 Timothy 2:15)?
6 A print copy or digital download of the book published by the Publishing Division of Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. with fresh editing in 2019 for greater
clarity and updated web addresses in the footnotes is available at major internet booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBooks.com and Apple (digi-
tal only). You can also purchase a print copy in the Strong Man Store. Too, leaders can teach, disciple and equip through The Strong Man Of God Men’s Group
Study and The Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study also in the Strong Man Store.
7 Folk of the same mind contrary to what Christ taught, commanded Peter on the day of His arrest and Peter’s teaching tied to this footnote also codified the right of
citizens to keep weapons and use them to violently defend themselves against perceived hostiles in the nation’s Constitution (Matthew 5:38-48, 15:1-9, 26:51-52).
The faithful in the Holy Spirit obey God’s Word before that of men even if it involves rights granted (Joshua 24:15; Matthew 6:24; Acts 4:19, 5:29)! Thus, obeying and
imitating Christ in major part, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led mostly professed Christian black Americans in the Holy Spirit to practice non-violent resistance with their
persecutors during his portion of the black Civil Rights Movement and won the day by the grace of God and to His glory! As Christ declared to Peter, they will die by
manmade weapons that take them up to violently resist the darkness. Surely, God will not honor any professed Christian that defies this teaching either. Too, God’s judgment will bring an end to the practice of corrupting and setting aside His Word to further one’s own ends that has now, mushroomed out of control within profess- ing Christianity (1 Peter 4:12-19)!
8 As I write in The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics, Christ’s suffering brought about salvation for the world and great reward to Him; our suffering is a tangible wit-
ness of the power of God’s salvation and Kingdom to the world and brings eternal blessing and reward to us too (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 4:20)!
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