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Esober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9)
We are counseled in Scripture to know that there will be no end to wars on earth as long as the seasons wax and wane.6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. (Matt 24:6-13)
There prevails a popular sentiment in the western countries, especially today, that no offense can justify general war. We would prefer to indulge in limited ‘police’ actions rather than mobilize the full resources of the nation and her allies for general war. As a result of this flawed mentality, we are constantly engaging in limited wars around the globe. Instead of investing the enemy at points of his greater concentration, we meet him on the far reaches of his perimeter, and never come to an unconditional victory. Such policies feed the coffers of bankers and investors quite well, but it also assures a continuous conflict at diverse points of our frontiers.
As John Stuart Mill has said: "War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feelings which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
War is so pervasive and engrained in the minds of mankind that one must resort to arms to protect life and property. The time may come when governments cannot be relied upon for that protection and we will find ourselves at the primitive stage of history in which protection must be borne by the individual families.
This worldly system will even end in an all-out general war waged against the Elect of God. 7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Rev 20:7-10)Notice there will be very few Elect at this last battle. The saints will be garrisoned behind the walls of only a camp, while the armies of the wicked are gathered from the four-quarters of the earth to do battle. But all of the armies of the world are no match for the artillery batteries of Heaven. God will be the Victor in this last war.
You may be wondering what all of this discussion of war has to do with the Christian religion – it has all things to do with faith and life. The resources of our Army are not vested in heavy ordnance and small arms; but rather in the Sword of the Word of God and the Armour of Faith and Courage: 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” (Eph 6:10-18)
The enemy we face is deployed in force across the landscape of the earth. The Prince of Darkness is their Commander, and he is totally devoid of pity, honor, or reason. His pawns are made up of a diverse collection of like-minded culprits from the ranks of drunks, the ambitious, politicians, rapists, plunderers, cutthroats, bankers, the military elite in some cases, and the most perverse of all humanity. Unfortunately, the most dangerous offenders who obey this Prince are imposters posing as clergy. The latter have not stood in defense of moral righteousness or the written Word of God. They have capitulated to the Wicked One at all points such as Constitutionally protected prayer in school, the Bible in public places, abortion, and the undermining of the family and Godly marriage. Had the churches stood up in righteous indignation when a decadent gathering of Supreme Court justices ruled school prayer (a matter that had been Constitutionally protected from the first days of our Republic) no longer Constitutional, the outcome would have definitely been different. The silence of the churches was profound!
A friend of mine raised the presumed issue of separation of Church and state and was shocked when I informed him that no such separation was provided in the US Constitution. The Amendment upon which the Imposters of the Bench founded their false decision was the very First Amendment (sometimes referred to as the ‘Establishment Clause’). You will search in vain for any part of that Amendment to prohibit prayer at any place or any time. In fact, you will find just the opposite: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” There is only one branch of government entrusted with making law, and that is the Legislative Branch, or Congress. Any law derived from any other source, except the Constitution, is invalid. If the Court insist that it is against the law to pray in school, who made that law? The Amendment quoted says otherwise: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Moreover, there is no provision in the Constitution that allows the murder of innocents in their mother’s wombs. These laws are contrived and not constitutional.
The enemy we face is very powerful, and of great cunning. He lied to Eve in the Garden by first misquoting Scripture, and then refuting it. Unlike humankind, that Prince of the Power of the Air never sleeps or takes vacation. He continually is plotting the destruction of all who are not protected by the Blood of Christ. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9)While many professing to be the ministers of God plot and scheme for finer buildings and greater monetary benefits, Satan plots their ruin and that of their deceived followers.
It is high time for men and women of the Church to stand up and resist the evil. We have not yet resisted to the shedding of blood, have we? Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. (Heb 12:)Courage is the stark character of the believer. We are not to be anemic wimps, but men and women of courage and conviction: 13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. (1 Cor 16:13)
In the Garden, Satan resolved to destroy the man and woman that God had made. He would attempt to do so by subterfuge and outright lies. His frontal assault seldom is effective for it usually emboldens the Church, so Satan has sent his vicigerents into the church posing as ministers and laypersons. He has introduced new and strange Bibles that repeat the same deceitful lies of the Serpent of the Tree. He has attempted to undermine the dignity and purpose of Holy Matrimony in order to offend God and to reduce the proliferation of man upon the earth. He has promoted the murder of babies before their birth while his own sinful souls reproduce like mushrooms after a spring rain. He takes no quarter in his striving. His only intent is to murder the prisoners that he takes. He sounds the same notes of Santa Anna outside the walls of the Alamo – the El Degüello, which signifies ‘NO QUARTER’ to the captured. He flies the same red flag as Santa Anna flew from the steeple of the Church of San Fernando – RED. His color is RED for he is the same red dragon of Revelations: And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. (Rev 12:3)And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Rev 12:9) The Sword of the Lord has drawn a line in the sand of this world even more starkly than that of Colonel Travis at the Alamo. On which side of that line do you stand?
