The Scourge Of Racism
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Generally speaking, from creation men have been physically stronger than women. Though in these latter days, there are a small number of women that grotesquely buff up through weight training and are stronger than the average man, God designed men to be naturally bigger and stronger than women as part of His will for their roles and responsibilities of headship to include providing for and protecting them. The value of brute strength with fighting skill is seen in men such as Samson, a judge and David, a king of ancient Israel both enabled by God. David also had his mighty men of war, strong and capable like so many of history (Judges 13-16; 2 Samuel 22:29-51, 23:8-39).
However, the physical strength and abilities of men that even many churches seem to only value for “honey do” projects and security around their facilities are not the extent of which we were designed. Man was also designed in the divine image and likeness to display the exclusive, exceedingly superior spiritual strength of God! Man does not naturally possess God’s strength, but God can and has supplied it to select men in history by the Holy Spirit! David was one and before him as I write in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics, Joshua, who God after Moses commands: ‘“Be strong and of good courage for...I will be with you,’” (Deuteronomy 31:7, 23, NKJV).1
The attempt by Roman Procurator, Pilate, to appease the angry Jewish mob in first century Jerusalem, Israel led to his now famous exclamation to end matters, “Behold, the Man,” referring to Jesus of Nazareth! Jesus stood by him and before the crowd of Roman soldiers and Jews with their religious leaders bloody from being beaten up, scourged and mocked as “King of the Jews” with a crown of thorns forced down on His head and in a purple robe. But because of what had brought about this extraordinary moment, the crowd was not having any of Pilate’s concessionary punishment. The leaders especially wanted nothing short of Jesus’ death (John 19:1-6, NKJV)!
The death of Jesus is what the Jewish religious establishment and their leaders had been longing for and plotting a long time (John 5:15-18, 7:1, 25-32, 45-49, 10:30-33, 11:45-53). Scripture tells us these men that supposedly knew and honored God resented, envied and hated Jesus because He spoke the truth exposing their hypocritical religiosity with authority outside of their own (Matthew 15:1-20, 21:23-27, 23:1-33, 27:15-18; John 15:22-25).2 For this reason the Lord Jesus portrays all such religious men not as relationally part of Him or acting on His behalf, but the world system governed by Satan (John 14:30, 15:18-21, 16:1-4). The religious are of the world!
Jesus, on the other hand, had most excellently displayed the perfect blend of a man’s physical and God’s spiritual strength in pressing Heaven’s Kingdom cause in His ministry. He had stood toe to toe with Satan in the wilderness temptation, summoned select men to Himself from under his dominion for training to do as He and liberated His people from his works prevailing in every instance (Matthew 4; Luke 10:1-20)! Jesus also withstood the desires for Him of His family and disciples (Matthew 12:46-50, 16:13-23). As well, He physically took on the Temple merchandisers and overcame the efforts of religious leaders to undermine and discredit Him (Mark 11:15-19).
After displaying the awesome supernatural power of God to easily have overcome His mortal arresters without laying a hand on them (John 18:1-11), the Lord Jesus then began to show those that tried Him the amazing inner strength of Person He possessed (Luke 22:63-23:22; John 19:7-15). As I also write in my book, in all that the Jewish religious leaders, Herod, Pilate and their troops did to Jesus that morning, He did not break under the pressure or threaten to retaliate--He took it! He remained strong in spirit as they crucified and taunted Him on the cross. After six hours of suffering and not crying out in protest, He died on His own terms (John 19:16-30). Truly, in Jesus we have the ultimate display and fullness of strength in man designed by God--the Strong Man of God forever!
The final proof of this is His eternal resurrection from the heretofore, impossible grip of death three days later!3 And because Jesus lives, now, we who have repented and believed the Gospel about Him--that He died for our sins, was buried and rose again to redeem us to God--have through forgiveness been granted to have the strength of God on display in us too (Isaiah 53; Luke 24:44-49; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Colossians 1:9-14)! Indeed, of first order men are taught and commanded like Joshua to “Be strong in the Lord” for daily living (2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Ephesians 6:10; Philippians 4:13, NKJV).4 But due to satanic strongholds of deceit, many churches reject the Bible’s strong man of God teaching. The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
(I will be taking Resurrection Sunday my spiritual birthday off to celebrate. Lord willing, my next post will be on April 8th. May the strength of Christ be yours this Palm Sunday and forever!)
1The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics is available through all major internet booksellers, by order from your favorite brick and mortar bookstore and in the Strong Man
Store.
2 Also deceived by and captive to the spirit of religion, professed Christian men in their churches throughout history to this hour have for the same reasons and in like man-
ner sought to harm God’s faithful. Truly, nearing my forty-first year as a Christian I have had to contend with such men far too often; men who while outwardly acting
pious saying and doing religious stuff, inwardly are driven by the sinful flesh and spiritually dead having no genuine relationship with God or they willfully quench the Spirit
disconnecting from Him to carry out their evil deeds. Either way, God knows their hearts and without repentance, will judge them accordingly for their wickedness (Psalm
58:9-11; Romans 2:4-11; 2 Timothy 4:14).
3 Explore the staggering implications of death’s end and immortality in the aftermath of Christ’s resurrection in a four message Strong Man Of God Audio Series, Christ’s
Resurrection, Death’s End available exclusively in the Strong Man Store.
4 Read the February 22, 2015 post, Strong Through God’s Strength! under the category, The Cause.
It is not easy living as a Christian in the world on a normal day. It is much harder doing so in days that have quickly become anything but normal! We Christians face all of the same heightened challenges, adversities and hardships as our unsaved neighbors here in America and abroad during the current global Coronavirus pandemic. In a biblical worldview, our understanding of how and why such things are happening and intimate relationship with the Almighty God ultimately behind them are supposed to help us cope better than most.1 However, as hoarding toilet paper says much about the nation’s character, so the constant exhortation not to fear from preachers about that of Christians.
This is especially amazing to me since so many Christians profess to fearlessly believe in a sudden “rapture” that if it were to happen as imagined, would be an event so jarring to their families and others left behind in the world there would be no repentance or recovery in this Protestant version of purgatory, only fatal despair. As bad as it is at this point, we Christians are still here en masse and will be until death by whatever means or Christ’s unexpected sensory overloading appearance to deliver His persecuted remnant yet alive in a calloused, wonder weary world fully given over to evil. This is as the Bible objectively read and applied foretells (2 Thessalonians 1:3-12)!
As authentic faith in God has always been required of His righteous ones on any day to successfully resist the devil’s “fiery darts” that include fear, strength will be equally required to stand fast through all of what is coming upon the world going forward (1 Corinthians 16:13; Ephesians 6:16, NKJV).2 Human beings do not naturally possess the spiritual strength necessary to long endure and persevere through prolonged hardships, adversities, troubles and tribulations that are common to our life experience on earth much less the cataclysmic events foretold in His Word that God in His timing is bringing upon the world as the birth pains of His Kingdom.
Praise be to God He has built the availability of His strength into the human experience expressly for those in relationship with Him as redeemed sons, disciples and servants by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:14-16)! Drawing upon and living moment by moment out of the superior strength God by the Holy Spirit supplies to our spirit is our normative experience by design. We were made to be indwelt by God forever, but sin caused separation from Him (that is, spiritual death) to be mankind’s shared reality (Ephesians 2:1). Taking the initiative, God in Christ has restored His life and strength to us who believe in Him (John 10:10; Colossians 1:9-14).
The strength of God is without contest supernatural as is all of biblical Christianity and unique to Him. Out of His inexhaustible omnipotence God through Christ created and sustains the heavens and the earth for us, His eternal sons, assembled to Him and Christ as Lord--every aspiring strong man and great woman of God in His image (Isaiah 45:11-13; Colossians 1:15-23)!3 This same power as His strength is constantly renewed in us as we by faith purposely wait on the Lord for and actively seek it in times of need (Isaiah 40:27-31; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10). We are to even gain a bold faith in Christ from being repeatedly strengthened by Him (Philippians 4:13; 2 Timothy 4:16-18).
Through the supernatural strength our God supplies us then, we are more than amply equipped to please Him and do His will; to cope with the everyday trials of life and those more severe that come suddenly which at first glance seem to be overwhelming. Nevertheless, through His strength we are enabled to stand if we keep our heads and call on Him in faith; not giving into unbelief and the fear that somehow what we face is bigger than God. As it is written, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” And again, “For with God nothing will be impossible,” (Genesis 18:14a; Luke 1:37, NKJV). And since by the Word of prophecy we have known and know what God is up to and what is coming upon the world, we are all the more ready for extraordinary events that occur (Mark 13:23).
Indeed, as our Lord warned, far worse events to include the global persecution of Christians on the earth and in the heavens that have never taken place before are coming (Luke 21:7-12, 25-28). Are we already fainting in fear with this Coronavirus? As He taught in the Gospels and shows in His Revelation He recently led me to write about,4 Christ expects us to proclaim the Gospel and witness Him until He returns; persevering to the end in strength, obedience to His Word and loyalty to Him (Luke 21:13-19; Revelation 3:8, 11). Therefore, in faith and with “this treasure” of the Spirit of life and strength in us, let us like the faithful apostles and saints before and around us overcome this world and its ruler as well as ace the tests to doubt God through fear (2 Corinthians 4:6-11; 1 John 4:4).5
1 Taking Bible prophecy seriously as we ought, no Christian should be shocked at the increasingly severe events in our world. See my September 29, 2019 post, God
Almighty In A 21st Century World, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
2 For more on standing fast in the times, read my November 25, 2018 post, Standing In The Evil Day, under the category, Encouragement.
3 I write about the aspiring strong man and great woman of God in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. Get a print copy or digital download of the book
at major internet booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBooks.com and Apple (digital only). You can also get a print copy in the Strong Man Store.
4 See the two-part post beginning February 16, 2020, Christ’s Message To His Faithful, under the categories, Bible Prophecy and Encouragement.
5 The Lord led me to proclaim a timely six message series, The Hour Of Testing, now available in the Strong Man Store that instructs Christians on God’s biblically taught
purposes behind why He tests His people and fully explores the prophetic implications tied to the coming hour of trial our Lord speaks of in Revelation 3:10.
The march to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the end of this world as we have known it under the dominion of evil is moving just as it has been foretold in the ‘“Scripture of Truth,’” (Daniel 10:18-21, NKJV). As part of this march, I stand in awe of the sovereign God who in wisdom has given men the knowledge to develop technologically at a faster pace in the last 200 years than at any time in all of the millennia before. The telegraph to computers and cell phones, the first automobile to space flight, modern appliances and robotics; all attest to this truth in serving the divine end time purposes and proving that still--regardless of technological progress, man’s chief problem is sin since its works through him have not abated, but only intensified (Joel 2:1-11; Revelation 9:13-21).
With the merciful heart of God, we do not rejoice at the foretold troubles coming upon this world because of sin. However, Christians are not supposed to be falling apart either. Indeed, many professing Christians and their leaders are even in denial and behave as if everything is going (and should continue) as it always has. They fear the future and do not by faith “look up” (Luke 21:28, NKJV) as God intends--having given us His prophetic Word as advance knowledge--because they in disobedience love this present world and their carefully laid plans and dreams rooted in it (Luke 9:23). As I present in this edited 2013 blog repost, God has raised up this Ministry among others to call the weak to His strength as those alone that will endure to receive the promised salvation.
Originally Posted October 6, 2013
It is so very heart breaking to see people all over our nation and world coming unhinged at the slightest provocation; unglued and falling apart at the seams leading to acts of rage and violence in these times of stress. It appears that the natural self-control and fear of consequences resident in most human beings that serve as a restraint to injury to self and others is dissipating and the Bible gives us an important reason why. I do sympathize with the provocations and stresses of life in this world that can lead to the mental and emotional states of mind persons get to that cause them to become unhinged and unglued.
However, the Word of God plainly teaches that these things are so in these latter days because He is allowing mankind in the main--that has spent much of nearly the last two millennia rejecting the Gospel--to now have it their way in the face of His coming wrath (Romans 1:18-32). God (who alone has been evil’s Restrainer) is permitting lawlessness through the venting of humanity’s natural sinful impulses and the instigating, pressuring work of demons to steadily increase and eventually commonly “abound” out of control because this is the kind of kingdom men as sinners choose when they reject the righteous Kingdom of God (Matthew 24:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12; 1 John 3:4, NKJV).
To add to the misery of the God haters and rebels in these latter days, the God of creation that created it for man, is causing it to convulse violently against its fallen rulers in anticipatory birth pains of its restoration in peace under the immortal sons of God (Mark 13:8; Luke 21:10-11; Romans 8:19-22)! As a result, anxious fear about what is coming upon the earth will also be added to the life stresses that are causing people to now fall apart and soon, to die from mass heart failures (Luke 21:25-26). Sadly, among such persons are many professing to be Christians.
It is in this context of the present stresses and those foretold still to come that God has called forth our strong man of God cause. We are not just about a book and brand. Jesus Christ is the Strong Man of God demonstrated by His life, death and resurrection to immortality! Men from Adam’s son, Seth, have known the strength and blessing that comes from calling “on the name of the Lord” (Genesis 4:25-26, NKJV) and the Lord Himself has commanded men to “be strong” from ancient times (Deuteronomy 31:23, NKJV).
Now, though, it is at “the ends of the ages” that calling on the name of the Lord and being strong in the strength He supplies to His faithful and obedient ones is of the utmost prophetic urgency and absolutely imperative (1 Corinthians 10:11, NKJV). For as I have written previously (in blogs and my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics) and will continue to proclaim with Scripture in the face of the world’s escalating stresses as well as hatred and persecution of Christians, only the strong in Christ will persevere to the end and eternal glory (Matthew 24:13; Mark 13:13)!1
The strength supplied to His aspiring strong men and great women of God in the image of Christ is nothing short of divine power through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:14-16)! Thus, God’s strength is not a human emotion or moment of euphoria. God’s power is of the real, continuing spiritual substance of His eternal being that created and upholds the universe! And so, the great apostle writes again, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might,” the source Scripture for the slogan of Strong Man Ministries: Making Men Eternally Strong (Ephesians 6:10, NKJV)!
In His strength combined with the whole armor of God which includes the “shield of faith,” aspiring strong men and great women of God are expected to stand against all manner of adversity as well as “the wiles” and attacks of the devil and his “spiritual hosts” working through willing human agencies in these evil days just as our Lord Jesus did (John 16:32-33; Ephesians 6:11-18; 1 John 5:4-5, NKJV). Christians from a biblical perspective, then, are not supposed to become unhinged, unglued or panicked to the death during the course of what we see happening in nor defect from Christ seeking escape from suffering to the world.
We stand firm in our trust in Christ and the very real supernatural strength our God supplies to us as aspiring strong men and great women of God. We also continue to act as a moral people walking in the righteousness of Christ and to the bitter end proclaim and witness the Gospel about Him and His coming Kingdom. Unless, therefore, there is a Holy Ghost fired movement such as ours to help men and women professing to be Christians become aspiring strong men and great women of God in the image of Christ, many will perish in the swift rolling tide of increasing lawlessness, troubles, demonic activity and the violent convulsions of creation coming upon this world with divine permission. In spite of this, a “falling away” is foretold (2 Thessalonians, 2:3, NKJV).2
Nevertheless, in the meantime, if we restore many men, their families and communities for even a short season before the darkest days arrive, it has all been worth it. So, we preach the Gospel compelling men to come to Christ and in coming to Him, become strong men of God in His image (Romans 8:29)! Pastors and churches that are guilty this is your cue: get out of the way; stop resisting us in this mission clinging to your comfy lives supported by the mindset of manmade Christianity the religion in the old paradigm of God’s permitted temporary existence. Repent if you will and in this new paradigm where Christianity the religion of men in their own strength is plainly revealed to be marked out for divine destruction (Isaiah 47:8-15; Revelation 18:1-8), stand with and welcome our cause, Ministry and biblically rooted message (Acts 4:23-31; Romans 8:31-39; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17; 3 John 5-8). The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, “Who is on the Lord's side?”
1 Purchase my book at any major internet bookseller or the Strong Man Store on our Web Site, www.thestrongmanofgod.org.
2 See the February 2, 2014 blog, The Falling Away, under the category, Bible Prophecy to learn more about this coming event.
While I have a few critics, the Lord controls when and how I occasionally respond and does not allow that I should waste the precious time He has given me to run my life and ministry race doing so more often. However, this is one of those times. Indeed, because I am getting older and this Ministry has not garnered the kind of worldly defined success and support of many other Ministries (I don’t compare myself to others as Scripture warns--2 Corinthians 10:12-18), some would urge me to quit since I do not ever intend to soften the messages God gives me to proclaim or corrupt and compromise His Word seeking to get better results (Ezekiel 33:1-9; 2 Corinthians 2:12-17, 4:1-2).
Like the children I talk about in this short, edited 2011 post, my zeal and energy level remain high after over 40 years of service to the Lord to include thirty-four years leading Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. as its Founder/President. The children run with natural youthful energy; I run with the supernatural strength of Christ! Until the Lord takes away my strength or physical faculties, I intend to keep running my life and ministry race whether full or part-time until I finish with my last breath as is presented in the newest short video to soon be added to this Ministry’s fundraising platform dedicated to raising my 2020 full-time salary.1 I appeal to God’s faithful to come to my “aid” at this “opportunity” (Philippians 4:10-20, NKJV)!
Originally Posted October 30, 2011
Yesterday, I was pleased to fulfill part of my commitment as chaplain to the Alberta Park Panther Football Team by attending a couple of games. The 7th and 8th grade players had just finished winning a close game and yet, what did I see not long after? They were mostly out of their uniforms playing more football on adjacent fields. And then there was the 3rd and 4th grade level of the team. They were so eager, so teachable, so trusting as they listened to their coaches and were likewise full of seemingly boundless energy. As were these boys, so is the aspiring strong man of God in the image of Jesus Christ of all ages (Mark 10:13-16)! Get my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics to learn more about how and why.2
1 Go to FundRazr Salary Campaign.
2 The book is available in print or digital download formats at major internet booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBooks.com and Apple (digital only).
You can also get the Hard or Soft Cover print versions of the book in the Strong Man Store. Additionally, listen to the recent energetic interview, Jim Ramos, Presi-
dent of Men In The Arena conducted with me about the book’s content on his Podcast.
During all of my service to God, I have sought to be humble, transparent and honest about my own weaknesses in the faith while as He gave leadership and power, I proclaimed and taught His Word uncompromised. I have never represented myself as having arrived at perfection. However, like the apostle Paul as an aspiring strong man of God in the image of Christ, I have considered all worldly attainments garbage (including the favorable opinions of men) and “press” zealously toward God’s goal (Philippians 3:7-16, NKJV)! When I fail, I get back up again in confession, repentance, the forgiveness and strength my God supplies and grow as a result!
As the Lord led me to write about in the previous week’s post, we in these times are not only living in the last days of this present world and age, but the latter part of them.1 God has openly foretold many things about these latter days in the Bible, His Word, including personages, nations, places and events that unfold in His prophetic timeline bound up in the plan He prepared before there was ever a creation.2 The specificity of detail in the millennia old prophecies about these latter days and even the very last day that ends this present world and age is staggering! This reality is an important proof of God’s superiority over idols or any other so-called gods (Isaiah 41:21-24, 44:6-8)!
The last day of this present world and age all by itself is a perfect example of the many moving parts and specific details God in His prophetic Word presents to readers. For on that single day a number of significant events take place. Sinners violently angry over what they have suffered to the moment and deluded by demons will actually assemble in Israel to war “against the LORD and against His Anointed,” the Lord Jesus (Psalm 2:1-3; Joel 3:9-14; Revelation 16:10-16, NKJV). He will suddenly make His glorious return on this day as well (Joel 2:31, 3:15-16a; Matthew 24:29-30; Revelation 1:7, 6:12-17). The Father also pours out His long held wrath on the day (Isaiah 42:14-15)!
Backing up to the interval when the Gentile nations assemble in Israel to war against God and Christ, during it, the Lord issues a warning alert to be watching for His sudden appearing not to the elect Jewish remnant or those unsaved from among the Jews and Gentile nations, but to Christians because only we wear the “garments of salvation” and “robe of righteousness” by grace “through faith” in Him during this mortal age (Isaiah 61:10; Philippians 3:8-9; Revelation 16:15, NKJV).3 This warning is consistent with those He gave any would be follower in the Gospels and now, commends a blessing upon the faithful (Matthew 10:16-39, 24:36-44, 25:1-13; Mark 8:34-38, 13:32-37).4
The Lord’s warning is absolutely timely at that moment for persecution and world disaster weary saints waiting for Him especially since I have heard professed Christians in these days express faithless exasperation with evil’s apparent triumphs and asserting God is losing. Such faithless talk is for example, behind the uptick in those falling away from Christ in the aftermath of the global Coronavirus pestilence with others like it still to come plainly foretold by Him (Luke 21:11).5 The blessing persevering saints receive on that last day of God’s planned end to this present mortal world and age is beyond awesome for it is nothing less than seeing the Lord’s Second Coming!
Seeing the moment the brilliant glory of the Lord Jesus Christ bursts into the completely darkened sky is just the beginning of the blessing. On this day He Himself declared as “the last day,” the initial act of the Lord will be to gather His elect by first raising those who have died believing on Him from the dead (Matthew 24:31; John 6:39-40, 44, 52-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16, NKJV)! His teaching about raising those from the dead who had believed on Him for salvation affirmed the belief of Old Testament saints about this as an event of the end (Job 19:23-27; Psalm 17:15; Isaiah 26:19; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Daniel 12:1-3) and His hearers in John 6, its last day in particular (John 11:21-24).
Thus, it is on the last day that the Lord first resurrects those who have died waiting for His one and only Second coming. Beloved, there can be no resurrection of the saints in a prior presupposed secret, invisible coming of Christ if He explicitly and solely states this occurs “at the last day!”6 Then, with the still living remnant He translates, He gathers all to Himself in the sky (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18). This in gathering event is the end of the mortal Church age and the beginning of “her” glorious immortal eternity and reign with Christ as “His wife” by all “the saints” who make “her” up (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57; Revelation 19:7-8, NKJV). Gathered to Him above the earth, we wait briefly for the next last day event: God’s judgment in wrath (John 12:42-50; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)!
With the elect of Israel protected (Joel 3:16b), God from His throne in Heaven cries out, ‘“It is done!’” Following that, as He had repeatedly foretold through Israel’s prophets, God sends His mortal enemies scurrying as He shakes the entire universe and earth in the full outpour of His righteous wrath upon sinners (Isaiah 13:9-13; Haggai 2:6; Hebrews 12:25-29; Revelation 16:17-21, NKJV)! After this, Christ with the saints will descend to assert God’s Kingdom rule; the Lord taking on and destroying the assembled Gentile armies led by the Antichrist and false prophet and bringing an end to the kingdoms of men. Then, He will end Satan’s rule over the world and vanquish him temporarily to prison under the earth (Daniel 2:44, 7:13-14; Zechariah 14:1-9; Revelation 11:15-18, 19:11-20:3).7
1 Read the July 30, 2023 post, There Is An End!, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
2 See the January 30, 2022 post, The Right Side Of History, under the categories Bible Prophecy and Biblical Worldview.
3 Only after receiving Him at the visible return of Christ will Isaiah 61:10 apply to the Jewish mortal remnant for which in context, they were intended in the first instance!
4 Being overly devoted to life in this wicked world and age or backslidden in sin are two key ways not to be ready for the Lord’s return. He bids all such professed Christians to turn back to Him in this Ministry’s thirty minute Strong Man Of God Online Rally, Return To The Lord, now, available to view on our dedicated YouTube Channel.
5 Here is what is fully behind the issue of strength the Lord leads me to write about in portraying the aspiring strong Man of God in His image in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. Solomon makes it clear, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your (spiritual) strength is small,” (Proverbs 24:10, NKJV). To endure to God’s end will require His strength! Purchase a personal copy of my book in the Hard or Soft Cover or E-Book Editions; pastors get the companion Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study to equip the men you serve in the Strong Man Store, among internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.
6 Read the two-part June 26, 2022 post, Made To Order End?, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
7 See the two-part February 13, 2022 post, War Of The Ages End, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
If the cities or names of the seven churches of Asia addressed by the Lord Jesus Christ have any importance at all as to why He chose them, surely, the church at Philadelphia does as a name. Most commentators translate Philadelphia from the Greek as “brotherly love;” a name given to the city by an ancient king to honor his brother. Consistent with this, the Lord’s message to the church there was to His faithful Christian brothers that included those of His Jewish heritage. This is clear to see in the message that would have excited a Jewish Christian more than any Gentile given its quote of Scripture with Jewish specific application, experiences and prophetic references.
The Lord opens His message: “These things says He who is holy, He who is true....” Though all Christians would (or at least should) perk up with a message from the Lord opening like that, the Jewish Christian with joy immediately understands Him to be authenticating Himself as the promised Holy One of God, His Anointed, Son and Himself true God (Psalm 16:8-11, 20:6-9, 89:19-37; Isaiah 7:10-14, 9:6-7, 10:20, 12:4-6; Luke 1:30-35, 2:8-11; John 1:1-9, 14-18, 17:1-3)! Further, to ensure His identifying credentials were not missed, He quotes from Scripture: “He who has ‘the key of David,’ He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens,” (Isaiah 22:22; Revelation 3:7, NKJV).
In quoting from Isaiah’s passage originally spoken about the man that controlled access to king Hezekiah, the Lord instantly affirms its prophetic application to and fulfillment in Himself as the One who exclusively controls access to God His Father (John 14:6). All Christians are supposed to understand why He is the only way to God, but only Jewish saints painfully appreciate how important this is when their own heritage is attempting to block access to God through their common historical and traditional means such as worship at the Temple (destroyed by this time) and the synagogue.5 As in all of the churches, the Lord knew the individual works of those at Philadelphia.
The Lord greatly encourages the individual saints and especially His Jewish kindred of this church by setting “an open door” before them He says, “no one can shut” in applying His quote from Isaiah 22:22. He is doing this He says because they “have a little strength, have kept My Word, and have not denied My name,” (Revelation 3:8, NKJV). As I wrote earlier, historically, the wide river of the Jewish “remnant according to the election of grace” the apostle Paul wrote of (Romans 11:1-5, NKJV) narrowed to a tiny brook with very little influence in Christianity after the 1st century as the Lord here acknowledges and appears to prophetically forecast as their foreseeable future.
The historically oldest of Christians, though tiny, faithful Jewish saints were and would be dogged in displaying spiritual strength, keeping the Lord’s Word and not denying Him through the unimaginable pressure of persecution from family, community and the Gentile nations into which they were scattered with their unbelieving fellow Jews. In what should stagger no one, the Lord lets the Jews that believe in Him know, He sees and is watching them! As a result, His encouragement turns to rewards for faithfulness: future vindication and reversal in the form of former persecutors being forced in the manor of Haman of old to worship His faithful saints (Esther 3, 5:9-6:14; Revelation 3:9).
But His rewards do not end there. The Lord says “Because you have kept (past tense) My command to persevere, I also will keep (future tense) you from the hour of trial (testing) which shall come upon the whole world, to test those (all others) who dwell on the earth,” (Revelation 3:10, NKJV).6 I concur with all that interpret the “hour of trial” the Lord speaks of here as one and the same as “the great tribulation,” (Matthew 24:15-21, NKJV). This being so, His promise of protection cannot be “the rapture” as is taught since Christians are foretold to go through and many suffer martyrdom during it (Revelation 7:9-14).7 In context and consistency with who He is addressing, the Lord’s promise of protection is intended for Jewish Christians primarily living back in Judea at that time!8
Though the Lord’s promise of protection during the hour of trial speaks to the proven Jewish faithful believers in Israel at the time it occurs, this does not preclude Him in sovereignty extending it to select other faithful followers likewise proven throughout the earth. Together they will form the small number who are “alive and remain” at Christ’s Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, NKJV). For this reason, the Lord warns He is “coming quickly” and exhorts the faithful to tightly grasp what they have in strength, obedience to His Word and loyalty to Him, so, “no one may take your crown;” unmistakably asserting that even with protection, there will still be persecution pressures (Revelation 3:11, 16:15, NKJV).9 The Lord’s rewards are still not done for those that overcome.
With yet more Jewish significant implications is the Lord’s promise to make him that overcomes “a pillar in the temple” of His God adding, “and he shall go out no more.” Also, He declares, “I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem...And I will write on him My new name,” (Psalm 48:1-3, 137:4-6; Isaiah 66:5-11; Revelation 3:12, 21:1-22, NKJV). Contrary to the lying deceit of these latter days, keeping His Word as it is written remains a critical part of the faithfulness Christ rewards! Those who are not doing so, put themselves in grave peril since disobedience is nowhere rewarded in the Bible (Revelation 3:13). The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
5 Jewish persecution had led to those that were Christians being barred from entering or cast out of the Temple in the 1st century and it will be so again briefly when it is
rebuilt (Acts 21:15-30; Revelation 11:1-2).
6 The Lord led me to proclaim a timely six message series, The Hour Of Testing, now available in the Strong Man Store that instructs Christians on God’s biblically
taught purposes behind why He tests His people and fully explores the prophetic implications tied to the coming hour of trial our Lord speaks of in this post. Listen
to the series sample.
7 Faithful to the death as those at Smyrna, having overcome they will not be touched again by death; raised as they will be to eternal life and glory by Christ at the first
resurrection (John 5:28-29; Revelation 2:11, 14:12-13, 20:4-6, 11-15)!
8 What an amazing affirming prophetic disclosure by the Lord to Jewish Christians and all the church at Philadelphia, His faithful! Dispersed to the nations, as the Old
Testament prophets and He foretold, the Jews would one day return to their land and among them would be those that are followers of Him as Messiah (Matthew 24:
15-16; Mark 13:16). This prophecy of a return to the land became reality in 1948 when Israel once again became a nation with Jews from all over the world streaming
home since. Here again is the immutability of God on display to the world before our eyes (Malachi 3:6)! During this period of the return, growth in the number of
Jewish followers of Christ--many calling themselves Messianic--in Israel (still with hostility and persecution) and around the world has exploded though, their numbers
are still relatively small compared to the larger number of all Jews and their professed Gentile Christian brethren (Psalm 118:23-24)! Thank you, my brethren, for
your millennia long perseverance under trial in obedience to your Messiah--longer than any other ethnic group and an example to all in His Body! We who love you
rejoice in His righteousness of rewarding you in every way He will! Stay faithful through all that is yet to shortly come. To learn more about them, type “Messianic
Jews” into your favorite search engine.
9 Those who doubt the Lord can protect and preserve His people during times of persecution as well as His own acts of judgment should again acquaint themselves
with His Word as it is written (Exodus 8:20-24, 10:21-23, 12:21-23; Psalm 5:11-12; Joel 3:16; Matthew 2:7-15; Acts 12:1-11 as samples)!
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