Fear the Lord!

Saturday, August 22, 2015, 8:16 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Praise Be Told.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Revelation 15:1-4 (NASB).

Victorious Over the Beast (vv. 1-2)

Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.

We learn about this beast in Revelation 13. It appears this beast is some type of global (tyrannical, authoritarian) dictatorship. The devil (the dragon) is behind the beast, and has given the beast his power, throne and authority. Many people worship (honor, obey, and are loyal, faithful, devoted and dedicated to) the beast. The beast is given authority to make war against the saints of God and to conquer (overpower) them in battle. As well, he is given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All those whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of Life will worship the beast (See: Rev. 13).

Although I can’t say for sure exactly where we are in time in relation to the ultimate global dictatorship of this beast coming to full measure, I do know this beast is rising, and it has already conquered (overpowered) many, many nations and peoples, and I do know that it is presently going after followers of Jesus Christ with the goal to destroy them and their testimonies for Jesus, to obliterate the gospel, and to demolish human beings’ relationships with God/Jesus, and citizens of nations’ relationships to their governments. In other words, this beast has been and is in process of doing what Revelation 13 says it will do.

Much of what we read or see/hear in the news today is under the control of this beast, so most all of it is completely fabricated or is a mixture of truth and lies. Many news stories are staged productions, many others are partially staged, and most are not to be believed. Again, I am not certain exactly how far along this beast is in its overpowering of independent nations, and its breaking down of the “old order” of things worldwide, but I do know that the plan is to bring the entire world under the rule of one global tyrannical government, which means no more borders between nations, because there are no more independent nations. It means no security on borders, because there are no borders. There will be no more sovereign nations, so we won’t be citizens of independent nations anymore. The goal is also to break down the separation between the church and the world, too.

There will be no more privacy, if privacy still exists to any degree. There will be no such thing as secure communications, for everything will be out in the open, if it is not already there. Global Big Brother is always watching; always lurking around the corner. And, Big Brother loves to play games with the people of the world, deceiving, conniving, manipulating, and tricking them into believing lies. He loves to create situations to distract, such as independent nations with their elections, that being a ruse; a dramatization to keep the people distracted and off-balance. The US government, for instance, answers to the New World Order. They have no real authority of their own. Our constitution is a relic which is being done away with. If there is another election, it is not really of the people or by the people. It is all rigged. Everything is being decided for us. America as a free nation is a lie.

Yet, the good news is that by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, we can overcome all this, and we can be victorious over Satan and the beast and their evil attacks against us. Although this beast (of Satan) is hot on our trail, in the power of the Holy Spirit within us we can stand firm in our faith, resist the devil, flee temptation and continue to draw near to God in full assurance of faith. One of Satan’s biggest weapons against the church here in America right now is deception and trickery. This New World Order Beast is presently working to turn the church toward social Christianity, i.e. it is working to turn the gatherings of the institutional church into civic centers for all people to unite together as one, for common social causes. So, we have to be in fellowship with Jesus Christ, be students of the Word of God, be listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and be walking in obedience to our Lord and in surrender to God’s will for our lives. Then, we will be discerning concerning the lies, tricks and deceptions of this beast, so we can resist them, and flee from them.

A Song of Praise (vv. 3-4)

And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and marvelous are Your works,
O Lord God, the Almighty;
Righteous and true are Your ways,
King of the nations!
“Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy;
For all the nations will come and worship before You,
For Your righteous acts have been revealed.”

I believe that God is using this beast as his instrument of judgment on his adulterous church, and that through this time of divine discipline, the church will be revived, and that the gospel will go forth to the ends of the earth, and that people from all nations will flock to Jesus Christ before the end of time, when Jesus returns for his bride. All throughout Biblical history God used wicked rulers to get the attention of his people who had strayed from their pure devotion to God and who were following after other gods. He did this so they would return to him, and so they would forsake their idols. He had sent his messengers to warn them of impending judgment if they did not repent, and so many times they refused to listen to God and to his servants, and thus the only way God could open their ears was to send divine discipline upon them. I believe scripture teaches that people from all over the world will come to Jesus before he returns.

Coming to faith in Jesus Christ means death to sin, being born anew of the Spirit of God, and living to righteousness. We are not saved just so we can escape hell and have the promise of heaven when we die. Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave himself up for us. The righteous requirements of the law will be fully met in us who walk not after the flesh, but according to the Spirit. If we persist in conducting our lives according to our sinful flesh, we will die, but if by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live (See: 1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15; Ro. 6; 8:1-14).

So, if you are going through life, living to please yourself, with no or little regard for God and for what he desires for your life, but you think you have your ticket into heaven, think again. If you believe you are a Christian, and thus you believe you will you escape hell and have the hope of heaven when you die, and you also believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, you may be under the notion you will never have to suffer for your faith, and that God promises things will go fairly easy for you, even if you are still trapped in sin. Think again.

Our Lord promises us that we will go through tribulation, and that we are destined for trials. He promises us that we will suffer hardship, persecution, hatred, false accusations, false imprisonments, beatings and even death for our faith and testimonies for him. And, he warned his church in Revelation 2-3 against living in spiritual adultery and becoming idolatrous, and he calls his wayward church to repent and to return to her “first love.” If you do not repent, God promises some type of divine judgment (discipline, correction). He does not wink at sin. He still takes sin seriously, which is why he gave his life for us. We should take sin seriously, too, and give our lives to Jesus to be lived for his purposes and glory.

Praise Be Told! / An Original Work / December 28, 2013

Based off Various Scriptures

He was pierced for our transgressions.
He was crushed for all our sin.
Our chastisement was upon Him.
By His stripes, we now are healed.

He has witnessed all our trials,
And the sins we choose to wear.
Yet, while we were dead in our sin,
Jesus died, our sins to bear.

He himself bore all of our sins
In His body on a cross,
So that we might die to our sin,
And live for His righteousness.

By faith in the pow’r of Jesus
And His blood shed for our sins,
We can be forgiven our sin,
And have life with God in heav’n.

He will lead us and He’ll guide us
In the way that we should go.
He will comfort and protect us,
Because Jesus, we do know.

Though He disciplines for our good,
He will heal us – Praise be told!
Do not fear, your Lord is with you.
Just have faith in Christ your Lord.

 
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