PATIENT ENDURANCE

Jesus was warning his disciples of what was to come . . .


Matthew 24:9-13


"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved, . . ."


Many people believe this portion of Jesus talk was just for that generation, those times and his own disciples. But after studying this chapter of Matthew, the Book of Revelation and many other passages, I believe this scripture is also for the future end times and our own generation. So, I just want to go over a few things and tie them into some portions of Revelation.


Here's the run down:


1. Handed over, persecuted, put to death.

2. Hated by all nations because of me.

3. Turn away from the faith.

4. Betray and hate each other.

5. False prophets will appear and deceive.

6. Wickedness increases = love grows cold.

7. But stand firm to the end = salvation.


HANDED OVER, PERSECUTED & PUT TO DEATH - HATED - TURN AWAY (1-3)There is a progression here from point 1 to 4. When hatred, persecution and possible death threaten, people turn from the faith. Enduring ridicule or having to answer tough questions can cause many to crumble under the pressure. Especially if you have a very shallow foundation. One of my concerns with the believers today is that they don't study the Bible and they read novels about prophecy and believe it without hearing any other possible scenario. What if they Left Behind time line is not quite correct and followers of Jesus do go into the beginning of the tribulation, experiencing strong persecution? What will this do to their commitment? Many will turn from the faith and this will precipitate the hatred and betrayal.


In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the Apostle Paul writes to worried believers. They thought they'd missed the rapture. He says, "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs ....". The word for rebellion in Greek is apostasy and is means to "stand away from or reject". Some teachers have tried to make this word into a rapture word meaning "taking away". But it means to fall away or reject just like we see in Jesus' words, "many will turn away from the faith". Look down at vs. 10 "... they refuse to love the truth and so be saved". When you love something you are committed to it. They aren't committed to the Truth (Jesus) so they fall away. (John 14:6)


FALSE PROPHETS - WICKEDNESS - LOVE GROWS COLD - BETRAY (4-6)
Now we see false prophets appearing. Jesus said that they would appear and deceive many. Further down in the passage He also says that " ... false Christs and false prophets will appear and preform great signs and miracles to deceive ....".(vs. 24) Their purpose is to deceive and they do it with signs and miracles. Think about this for a moment. If you saw someone stand up and say he was the messiah for this day and age, then he performs miracles, what would you think? Would you think he was the return of Christ to bring peace to our would? Do you know the false from the true? The Apostle Paul tell Timothy that "in the later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits . . . " (1 Timothy 4:1) See, it's a progression: Fall away = follow false teaching. This is wickedness and it's spiritual adultery.

Those who follow the false will hate the the truth. As wickedness increases love grows cold. As the false teaching takes the place of the truth, people who once were committed to Jesus will stop loving Him. They won't stand up for Him and they will begin to betray those who do. Their commitment and love for Jesus disappears and is replaces by following false teachers and lies.


STAND FIRM TO THE END (7)

The last thing I want to discuss is about this last statement: "...but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." First off, why the word "but". It's a contrast word between wickedness/falling away and standing firm/saved.

In the book of Revelation we find this idea of endurance and commitment in five places.

The first place is Rev. 3 when Jesus is addressing the church at Philadelphia. He says, "I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name."(v.8) "Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world ..."(v.10) They believe in Jesus and don't deny his name. They stand firm and true to Jesus. They hold to his word no matter what. Plus, they keep his command to endure patiently. This is a command from God - endure patiently! In verse 11 Jesus says, "I'm coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown". Just like in the 2nd Thessalonians passage, he has not returned yet, but they are holding firm and enduring. From our passage in Matthew 24, we know they are enduring betrayal, persecution and death.

Revelation 12 - There is war in heaven. The devil is thrown out of heaven and hurled to the earth. He is enraged and goes off to makes war against "...those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus". (12:17) What is God's commandment? Endure patiently! Because war means killing and death.

Revelation 13 - He, the devil sends his "messiah" (false christ) into the world and the whole world, all the inhabitants of the earth, all whose names are not written in the Lambs Book of Life -will worships this messiah. Those who don't worship this false christ are going to be imprisoned and/or killed. (Rev.13:10) The end of verse 10 say, "This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints." Once again here are the two characteristics of the followers of Jesus. They stand firm and are true to Jesus' name.

I want to also point out another thing. In 13:9 the phrase: "He who has an ear, let him hear" reminds us of Jesus' letters to the Churches (ch. 2-3) He ends each of the seven letters with this phrase - "He who has an ear let him hear". He's telling the believers in the churches to listen up! Now in Rev 13 we see the same phrase directly after it tell us about the inhabitants of the earth worshiping the false christ and right before the persecution, imprisonment and killing. In other words "listen up, pay attention.... this is important. Could this mean that the Church is still here? I don't know. I hope not. But if so, we'd better listen up and pay attention.

Revelation 14 - The last place we see the admonition for endurance and commitment is in chapter 14:6-13. All the inhabitants of the earth are forced to receive a mark on their right hand and on their forehead. This mark means they believe in and worship this false messiah. Without this mark no one can buy or sell anything. This mark seals the fate of all who take it for they will "drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured out full strenth into the cup of His wrath." (v.10) So, NOT taking the mark means no buying or selling, being persecuted, hunted, imprisoned or killed. No wonder verse 12 says, "This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus".

So, not matter how you were taught or what novels you have read just remember that as a believer, we may or may not see some of the tribulation. We may go through some suffering for our faith. BUT we will not taste God's wrath. (1 Thes. 5:9) Jesus took the Cup of God's wrath in our place on the cross and therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Rom. 8:1) We may have to patiently endure so be faithful and true to Jesus. Don't let anyone take your crown. He who has an ear, let him hear!

Israel Escapes From The Dragon - Psalm 124

Today my daily reading was from Psalm 124.

1. If the LORD had not been on our side - let Israel say -

2. if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us,

3. when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive;

4. the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us,

5. the raging waters would have swept us away.

6. Praise be the the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

7. We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler's snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.

8. Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Scripture taken from NIV version. Copyright 1978, 1973, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervon. All right reserved.

When I read this Psalm this morning it reminded me of Revelation 12. After there is war in heaven and the dragon is thrown out, he becomes so enraged that he pursues the woman that gave birth to the male child. But she flies away into the desert to safety. Wow, this is going to sound like a lot of crazy words unless you have a little background. You need to know who the players are:

The Woman = Israel. We know this because she has 12 stars on her head (12 tribes of Israel) and she gave birth to the male child. (vs.1) The Male Child = Jesus, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter (vs.5) and was snatched up to God and His throne. The Red Dragon = Satan, Ancient Serpent called the devil or Satan (vs. 9)

Starting at verse 7 - There is war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and triumphed. The devil is thrown out of heaven - finally!! and all his angels with him. He is very angry. (vs.12) He has no place in heaven anymore. God is cleaning house, putting out the trash, so to speak, and getting ready for his Bride. When the Dragon sees he is thrown out, he goes after the things God loves most . . . His people, Israel (vs. 13) and in vs. 17, her "offspring". But (vs. 14) ..."The woman is given two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and a half a time, out of the serpent's reach."(NIV)

Now is the part I want to get to in Psalm 124. Look at the Psalm again. David is writing as though he is Israel, the people as a whole. He says that the enemy is pursuing them. (Rev. 12:13) and if God hadn't been on their side the enemy would have destroyed them completely. Then he says that there is a FLOOD, a TORRENT and RAGING WATER that would have swept them away. Now look at Rev 12:15. We read that "...from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent." These are almost the exact words that David used. This is like a clue that God is giving us, that this is the event David was writing about.

Let's go on to Ps. 124:7 - How do they escape? Like a bird out of the fowler's snare. There it is, the "two wings of a great eagle" fly them away into the desert. How this happens we don't know because it's still in the future, but God will take care of His faithful ones who trust Him. "Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth". Nothing is impossible for HIM.
(See also Psalm 55:6-8)