Jesus was speaking to his followers regarding the signs of the last days before the return of Christ. There will be false christs who will appear on the scene to lead many astray. We will hear of wars and tumults. Nation will rise against nation. There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
Luke 21:12-19 ESV
“But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.”
Now Christian persecution has been going on ever since Jesus
Christ died and rose again from the grave, and since he ascended back to heaven
and he sent his Holy Spirit to indwell his followers. And the Apostle Paul,
prior to his conversion, was one of the greatest persecutors of the early
church. But for us who live in America, such serious persecution as that has
not yet reached our borders, but it is not far off, I believe. For it has
already begun, just not so much on a physical level yet.
And I believe that one of the main reasons the church in
America is not under serious persecution like what the early church went
through, and like what Christians in many other nations have had to endure
throughout time, is because Christianity is largely accepted in America, and
because the church in America, at large, is spiritually lukewarm and/or asleep.
For so many who call themselves Christians here in America live much the same
as those who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
And so there is not much to persecute, for Satan has already
gotten a hold of so many professers of Christ and has convinced them that they
don’t have to live for the Lord, and that they don’t have to repent of their
sins, and that they don’t have to obey our Lord’s commands. For he has
convinced them that a mere confession of Christ as Lord and Savior is enough to
secure them salvation and forgiveness of all sins and heaven as their eternal
destiny, regardless of what kind of lives they live on this earth.
But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t Christians in America
who are being persecuted for their walks of faith. There are, indeed! But they
are the ones who take God and his word seriously, who walk in the fear of the
Lord, who honor Jesus Christ with their lives, and who are walking in holiness
and in righteousness and not in sin. We aren’t perfect people, for we won’t be
perfect until we get to heaven, but sin is not what we practice. Obedience to
our Lord and walking in his righteousness is our practice.
And so we are being persecuted, especially if we are
verbally and publicly teaching or sharing what is truth and what is righteous
and holy, and if we are refuting the lies of the enemy. The enemy of our souls
does not take kindly to being opposed, especially publicly, and he does not
like it when we are out there proclaiming that to follow Jesus with our lives
means to deny self, to take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and to self),
and to follow our Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant).
And so he will send his messengers to attack us, to accuse
us falsely of what we did not do or say, to try to discredit us, and to accuse
us of being self-righteous, hyper-religious, legalistic, crazy, and teachers of
“works salvation.” For he doesn’t want people to listen to us. And now the big
thing is everything has to be “positive” and not “negative,” kind of like the
people of Isaiah’s day who told him to stop confronting them with the “Holy One
of Israel” and to tell them soothing and pleasant things (Isaiah 30:8-11).
So, serious followers of Christ who take God and his word to
heart and who are applying the truths of God’s word to their lives, in the power
and wisdom of God, are definitely on the “chopping block,” i.e. likely to be
removed or eliminated if they are speaking out the truth, and especially if
they are refuting the lies and/or calling into question some of the things
being done and taught in today’s modern market-driven “churches” (i.e.
businesses of men being marketed to the people of the world).
Some pastors are even being trained to watch out for those
with “strong convictions” and to weed them out of their gatherings, or to get
rid of “needy people” who might weigh them down. And they are being encouraged
to get rid of anyone who will not “bow to the beast,” basically, i.e. who will
not bow to “churches” being run like businesses and being marketed to the world
and being turned into places of entertainment and not houses of prayer, and who
will not agree with the altering of the gospel.
So, we are being persecuted by the same types of people who
persecuted Jesus, i.e. by our friends, family, neighbors, pastors, and church
people. And some of us are or were literally being delivered up to people in
positions of authority who are casting us out because we are speaking the truth
and not the lies, even though what we are doing is biblical and not in sinful
rebellion against anyone in authority. But this is our opportunity to bear witness
to the truth as we are guided by the Holy Spirit in what to say.
And when this says that “not a hair of your head will
perish,” this is not saying that we will not be put to death for our walks of
faith in Jesus Christ. For it says we will. What it means, I believe, is that
if we remain steadfast in our walks of faith and we endure patiently under great
and oppressive persecution, we will not die in sin like so many people will who
profess the name of Jesus but who are still living for the flesh. By enduring
such persecution and remaining faithful to our Lord, we will gain our lives.
Give Me Jesus
Spiritual
In the morning when I rise,
in the morning when I rise,
in the morning when I rise,
give me Jesus.
Dark midnight was my cry,
dark midnight was cry,
dark midnight was my cry,
give me Jesus.
I heard the mourner say,
I heard the mourner say,
I heard the mourner say,
give me Jesus.
Oh, when I come to die,
oh, when I come to die,
oh, when I come to die,
give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus, give me Jesus.
You may have all this world, give me Jesus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmR0z4EWUjw
Caution: This link may contain ads
P.S. The Lord Jesus recently led me to write a small book in
which I share some of my own stories of church persecution. So you can read it
here: The
Church Under Fire
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