'They overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.'-Revelation 12:11
On Thursday night, March 20th, 2014, Tom Horn of the Raiders News Update made a statement on the Hagmann and Hagmann Report that should shake every Bible-believing follower of Christ to their core. He stated, "the latter-day church goer is soon going to believe that, according to Scripture, according to the Bible, that they are serving the Kingdom of God by participating in or approving of the death of conservative Christians." Horn called this the "war between religious christians and the true Body of Christ." He continued by backing up this claim quoting A.W. Tozer who wrote in his book, The Dangers of a Shallow Faith: Awakening From Spiritual Lethargy, "Let me go out on a limb a little bit and prophesy. I see the time coming when all the holy men whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit will desert worldly Evangelicalism, one by one. The house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God, a man in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, left among them." Horn's conclusion - True believers of Jesus Christ will be driven underground by liberal christians...and I agree!
In the second and third chapters of Revelation, Jesus Christ writes a letter through the hand of His servant John to what I believe to be the end-time church which has seven characteristics:
1. Active and doctrinally sound but void of love
2. Poor but rich
3. Heretical
4. Under the spell of a False Prophet
5. Dying (or dead)
6. Loyal
7. Lukeward and self-sufficient
The church of this modern day, in some cases, is on task with good deeds, hard work and perseverance. Some in the church do not tolerate wicked men and test the spirits of those who would bring compromise into the flock. A few others have endured suffering and affliction. There is a remnant of believers who make up the true Body of Christ within and now outside of the institution of church that will overcome. They will overcome a church that has lost its first Love, allowed the spirit of Jezebel and Balaam a foothold, begun to embrace compromise as the Nicolaitans did, and has become lukewarm - they stand for nothing and are void of God and the Holy Spirit.
It is important to understand these three demonic spirits that Jesus has identified as permeating the end-time church - Jezebel, Balaam and Nicolaitan.
Jezebel - Living in the 9th century B.C. she was a Phoenician Princess and wife of Ahab, the King of North Israel. Jezebel was known for three atrocities committed against God and His people:
- She encouraged idolatry and the worship of the deities of Baal and Asherah;
- She persecuted the prophets of God, commanding that all my be killed; and
- Manipulation and incitement of God's people into sin.
Her spirit now lives on in the church with the sole purpose to lead array the elect in idolatry and sexual immorality.
Balaam - A diviner first mentioned in the Book of Numbers. He was called upon by Balak, King of Moab, to put a curse on Israel to stop its advance into the Promised Land. While he could not personally curse the Israelites he concocted a plan for the Israelites to curse themselves by enticing them with prostitutes and unclean food sacrificed to idols. His spirit continues on as a seducing spirit leading false doctrine and false teachings, often motivated by greed and profit (wages of wickedness - 2 Peter 2:15 and Jude 11).
In a one-two punch these two spirits - Jezebel and Balaam - often work together. They constantly attack the Body of Christ and its leaders. They attack your commitment to Christ and true doctrine, seeking compromise in areas such as sexual immorality and idolatry.
This brings me to the third spirit that is set against the end-time true believer - Nicolaitan or Nicolas - the spirit of compromise. Jesus calls out the teachings of the Nicolaitans against the churches in Pergamum (the Heretical church) and Ephesus (the False Doctrine church). Commonly attributed to the disciples of Nicolas of Antioch, one of the original seven deacons of the first church of Acts these teachings were a destructive force and continue to be. Acts 6:5 records that he was a convert to Judaism who then converted to Christianity as one of its first officials. According to Ireneus and Hippolytus, two early church leaders and historians, Nicolas was originally a Pagan, deeply rooted in the occult. As such he often blurred the lines between his occult background and Christian doctrine, compromising the two by stating that complete segregation of Christianity from other religions was unnecessary. (Doesn't "Holiness" mean separated above all other? God says "Be holy as I am holy.")
Today the Nicolaitan teaching is engaged in a full frontal attack on the true Body of Christ. Prominent church leaders like Rick Warren and Brian Houston are making statements about Christianity and Islam serving the same God - Chrislam. The Universal Church, with no set doctrine other than one of "religious freedom" - that there is no one way to God - is gaining traction daily. CO-EXIST is the bumper sticker of our age and the "church" is slowly compromising with the world and embracing homosexuality. Meanwhile, the true Body of Christ is called intolerant and bigoted. The Nicolaitan Compromise is the tip of the spear Satan is attacking the Body of Christ with, and it is coming from within the liberal, religious church characterized in Revelation Chapters 2 and 3.
Be of good cheer, Saints! There are those who have and will overcome, "for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even kurt faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." - 1 John 5:4,5
Tom Horn is correct - under severe persecution from a lost, dry and dying church (Synagogue of Satan), the true Body of Christ will be forced underground. This is the Church of the Overcomer who will keep their First Love. Through the strength and Name of Jesus they will work hard doing many good deeds, with love and faith serving others, doing more than they first did. They will persevere through their afflictions and poverty, suffering and even imprisoned they will remain faithful even unto death. They will have NO tolerance for wicked men, they will test all men for false spirits and will hate the practices and teachings of compromise. They will eat from the Tree of Life and not be hurt at all by the second death. They will be nourished by hidden manna and given a white stone with a new name written on it that only they will know. They will be given authority over the nations and dressed in white, acknowledged by the Son before His Father and His angels. There names will never be blotted out of His Book of Life. They will have a pillar in the temple of God in His new city and will be given the right to sit with Jesus on his throne. All of this "to him who overcomes."
Praise our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen and Amen.
Mar 23, 2014
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