The Near And Sudden Appearing of Jesus Christ. Part two. 2 Thessalonians 2:3, and a few others.

This is a continuation of part one, a previous post based upon Pastor Jack's sermon notes from his message Signs Of The Coming Anti-Christ - Part 3 - 8:00 AM, 4/30/2023

If you understand what Pastor Jack asks when he says, “On what Authority do we base this “Blessed Hope”? 

Then you probably do as I do and frequently remind yourself of all He has done to give me this blessed hope and salvation. I do not do this because I doubt God’s word, but having had enough verbal mud slung at me, I sometimes get tired and stagger. I ask myself, is this life I have chosen to live true. While my challenges and questions may seem simplistic, they are still genuine, as I, and others like me, rehearse things like Jesus’ words where He told the disciples what He would do and then did it.

In the previous post, I ended by quoting Pastor Jack as he pointed out, through the scriptures, how men, like the Apostle John, Paul, and Christ Himself, declared why their word carried the authority and confidence to sustain our hope. 

Assuming that you have bold confidence in your salvation, the next question is,

What are we supposed to be doing in the meantime?

“and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
(Hebrews 10:24-25 NASB)

Keywords in verses 24 and 25 are: stimulate, assemble, and encourage.

Although the phrase “as you see the day” is not characterized as “the Day of Christ,” it still means the same thing. Other ways this is addressed in scripture are  “The Day of Christ Jesus,” “The Day of Jesus Christ,” and “The Day of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(I searched for the specific phrase “The Day of Christ,” which only shows up 3x; they are all in the letter Paul wrote to the church in Philippi – Philippians.) Other New Testament passages allude to The Day of Christ, but this sentence structure is unique to the Apostles John & Paul and Jesus Christ Himself.

What is this day that is drawing near?

It depends on what side of the fence you are on.

 If you are a follower of Christ, then you should be looking for Him to return in the clouds for those who are His own, and you will meet Him there. 

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
(1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 KJV)

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,” (Titus 2:11-13 NKJV)

If you have not given your life to Jesus Christ, that puts you on the wrong side of the fence. You, then, fall under the category of those who do not know Him and, therefore, be subject to His wrath.

To add to your confusion, “The Day of the Lord” also has a sinister side, as it refers to the seven years of God's wrath that will come immediately after the church is removed from the earth. Whether you felt like you did not deserve wrath or not will be irrelevant on that day because you obviously did not have a relationship with Him.

2 Peter 3:10-12 NKJV  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.  (11)  Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,  (12)  looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?

An example in which God saved the righteous and destroyed those who did not believe.

Jude 1:5-7 NKJV  But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.  (6)  And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;  (7)  as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

What can we understand about the DAY of Jesus Christ? 

For those who do not believe, this day or time will not come with an announcement; it will come as a thief in the night. Since you were not looking for Christ to come for His church, you certainly will not see or expect this. 

It is a time of wrath.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”
(Romans 1:18 NKJV)

“... At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.” (Jeremiah 10:10 NKJV)

“But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”
(Romans 2:5-6 BSB)

Should you need to read all the details about this time of wrath, I suggest reading Revelation chapters 6 through 19. In chapter 19, Jesus comes on a white horse, followed by the saints of heaven. This crowd is those who went up in the catching away of the church, and He has a sword coming out of His mouth. This sword is the Word of God.

Another aspect of “This Day of Jesus Christ” is a moment in time when – either by death or rapture – our redemption is made complete.

Why would I make a distinction?

Because the dead in Christ will rise first.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.”
(1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 BSB)

Think about the fact that the dead “in Christ” begins to rise, and then those of us who have been waiting for Him to call us home. 

Do you think He merely leaves us in our current conditions (both the physically dead and those who are dead in their sins)?

Having pondered this repeatedly, I cannot see us, those of us alive, being able to take these bodies that carry the damaged genome that motivates us to sin into the presence of Jesus.
Because they are dead, they will have already shed the housing we call a body and its damaged genome. So this is NOT an issue for them. 

You do know that we followers of Christ must stand before the Bema seat, right? Of course, it's NOT something you need to worry about, as it is a time of rewards, but what if it is also the place where we get to shed this (in my case) fat, damaged body?

Paul, writing to the church in Corinth, seems to be discussing this very thing.

“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”  (1 Corinthians 3:11-15 NASB)

To make a dramatic point, I tell the guys that if they idolize their Gucci underwear, perhaps now would be a good time to buy something like Fruit-of-the-Loom, and then maybe you won't be standing there naked before the Lord. But what a perfect time to rid ourselves of this sin-damaged body. I am with you; just thinking about losing this body gives me mental anguish. It and I have been close for a long time, and there have been moments when I thought I looked good. But those days are long gone.

I want to show you something from the Revelation. In a sense, it applies to the followers of Christ as we ascend to meet Jesus in the air. In Revelation 21 (remember that the Revelation is a revelation of Jesus Christ), we see Jesus talking about the nations during the 1000-year reign of Christ and the city of God, the New Jerusalem.

“But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.”
(Revelation 21:27 NKJV)

If we did not, in some way, shed this body with its built-in damage, then how would we get in?

We would not, and this adds to the idea that this body must die, and the best place is that Bema seat.

It is also a time when God avenges Himself.

Jeremiah 46:10 NKJV  “For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, A day of vengeance, That He may avenge Himself on His adversaries. The sword shall devour; It shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood; For the Lord GOD of hosts has a sacrifice In the north country by the River Euphrates.”

“The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.” (Nahum 1:2 BSB)

The seven years will come to an end when Jesus physically returns to the earth; this, of course, is after He slaughters all those who chose to fight with Him. The Jews have been looking for the Messiah to physically return to the earth. Well, this is when He does just that. Although scripture tells me that many of them will mourn as they realize that this is one they previously rejected, they will repent and turn to Him.

What I am pointing to comes from Revelation 19. 

Revelation 19:11-16 Weymouth  "Then I saw a door open in Heaven, and a white horse appeared. Its rider was named "Faithful and True" --being One who in righteousness acts as Judge, and makes war.  (12)  His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many kingly crowns; and He has a name written upon Him which no one but He Himself knows.  (13)  The outer garment in which He is clad has been dipped in blood and His name is THE WORD OF GOD.  (14)  The armies in Heaven followed Him--mounted on white horses and clothed in fine linen, white and spotless.  (15)  From His mouth there comes a sharp sword with which He will smite the nations; and He will Himself be their Shepherd, ruling them with a scepter of iron; and it is His work to tread the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Ruler of all.  (16)  And on His outer garment and on His thigh He has a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."

Only moments later, we see the birds being called to the great supper of God. Note who has been laid to rest.

"Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice, he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”
(Revelation 19:17-18 ESV)

This great supper consists of The flesh of:

- kings,

- captains,

- mighty men,

- horses and their riders,

Up to this point, they have all been people who have chosen to fight against the Lord. However, the following line creates a small problem, as it could include those who merely hate - "and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, small and great."

If I only read Revelation 19:15, I would see what appears to be God smiting the nations and, therefore, killing off anyone who is not a “Christian.” I say it this way because I was surprised to find that there are people who believe that theory. This is ridiculous because an aspect of this paragraph tells us that He then goes on to rule the nations with a scepter of iron. Well, what is it, total destruction, or are there survivors from the nations that enter the millennial reign?

Survivors.

Only moments later, we see the birds being called to the great supper of God. Note who has been laid to rest.

"Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice, he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”
(Revelation 19:17-18 ESV)

This great supper consists of The flesh of:

- kings,

- captains,

- mighty men,

- horses and their riders,

Up to this point, they have all been people who have chosen to fight against the Lord.

The following line creates a small problem, as it could include those who merely hate - and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, small and great. However, it shows us that among those fighting against God, there is a wide variety, not merely elites and the poor.

In these days, prior to Jesus' return for His church, we have two opportunities that we should be taking advantage of.

One, take the opportunity whenever possible, and preach the gospel. This is exactly what I am doing and fits well into the game plan God seemed to have for my life.

The second is to live as pure, holy, blameless, and faultless as possible.

Philippians 1:3-6 “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until The Day of Jesus Christ;”

1 John 3:2-3 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

Philippians 2:14-15 “Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in The Day of Christ.”

1 Corinthians 1:6-8 “Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the Day of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Stay focused, time is short, and Jesus is coming back soon. Today would be a great day for Christ to return for His church.

One last thing.

Why the church cannot be on earth during the 7 years, and therefore, excluded from God's wrath.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, In Great Contrast is The Day of The Lord. Beginning with the Rapture of the Church, (The Day of Christ) only then can The Day of The Lord begin - a time of God’s wrath and judgment to be poured out upon a hostile, rebellious, Christ-rejecting world. The Day of The Lord is a period of time that follows after the Rapture and is carried out through the entire 7 years of the Tribulation Period and continues on out until the end of the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ on earth.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:9 is NOT the only verse that convinces me that the church is NOT here during the seven years, the time of God's wrath. Genesis 19, where we find the narrative about Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah, is one of those instances where the angel said, “for I cannot do anything until you arrive there." The implications for Lot were safety, away from God's wrath. In Exodus 9-11, we see the plagues upon Pharaoh and Egypt. All the plagues impacted everywhere in Egypt except in Goshen, where the people of Israel lived. The final plague kept those who were covered by the blood safe from death – as they put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts. This would have worked for anyone who followed those specific instructions or came under the shelter of a house with the blood.

Since we only need two witnesses, I will stop with this one.

John 5:24 NASB "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.)

A call in my Spirit to pray, that, and a word to the servants of the Lord.

Here it is, mid-July 2020, and if I were to try and analyze my emotions over the last few days, I would have to say, I am troubled by what I see coming.

Am I worried?

Not about my relationship with Abba, but I do have concerns about whether the violence we are experiencing will spill over into my home. You see, I have been dealing with rage issues for most of my adult life, and I do not believe that God is calling me to take a sword and cut these people in half. Thankfully I have a deeply inset relationship with Jesus Christ and a wee bit of maturity.

This morning, after hearing about more ugliness, such as New York now subpoenaing people who refuse to comply with the COVID tracers, I felt a tremendous call in my spirit to pray.

This is not just about me praying, but it is an attempt to get this dead entity we call Church to pray. Understand this, we, the church, dead as it is, are the very thing that is holding back this onslaught from going full frontal attack; now that will happen, but NOT on our watch. 

2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 NASB (6) And you know what restrains him now so that in his time he will be revealed. (7) For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. (8) Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;

Do you understand what this is saying to you? 

There is a man of lawlessness coming; we like to call him the Antichrist. He has many names scattered throughout the Bible. But lawless is an excellent description; and, he is being restrained or held back, but only until the Church is taken out of the way. 

Does that mean that we, the Church, will not have to suffer in any manner? 

Pansies, Jesus told us that tribulations would be a way of life for Christ-followers. He also said that we would be hated because of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Count yourself fortunate that you have been able to live in the United States for the better part of your life, because our brothers and sisters in the Lord, in other parts of the world, get dragged from their churches and shot or get firebombed, among other things. So, no, there is no guarantee of safety and security, especially now that fools are defunding the police.

Consider something, if lawlessness is a demonically driven attribute, is it possible that others could be infested with this demon of lawlessness? 

Look around you; what do you see? 

Lawlessness permeates the very being of those we have entrusted with our money, lives, health, and safety. New York Mayor Bill De Blasio is an excellent example of this lawlessness as shootings have gone up 205% since he defunded the NYPD. The New York City Mayor, while helping to paint the words – black lives matter, on the street, in front of Trump Tower, has canceled all large gatherings in New York City, except for the Marxist BLM group. This is the same organization that wants to dismantle our society.

I might as well throw in my own Governor, Gavin Newsome, into the mix, who, while closing the parks and beaches, is annoying enough, but he crossed the line and the constitution when he closed our churches. Under threat from the President of the United States, he, and other Governors, allowed churches to reopen but then many of these same Governors decided that we can only hum while wearing our masks. This mandate occurred at the same time as bars and Wine tasting rooms were being re-closed. I did not know our self serving Governor owned a wine tasting room. Wouldn't you know it, the county in which his winery sits did not go back on restriction. Many noticed that he snickered when he pointed out in an interview that his winery was still open. I do not know if it was Christians standing against the tyrant, but a substantial crowd went to his winery and protested. Guess what; he shut the doors on his winery.

The morning that I heard this call to pray, the Holy Spirit said to me, amongst other things, tell them that you are to call confusion down upon them.

I run a lot of things through my wife, as I am trying to keep my gifting of rage out of the mix. She responded with, I never thought of that. I decided (as though I have original thoughts) that I would start looking at passages to find the word confusion and see if there was a precedent for its usage against an enemy. I also wanted to know what the effect would be when this was prayed over those who are choosing to riot, loot, and take six city blocks captive.

So I did a search for the word, and here is what I found. 

Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt. Psalms 35:4 KJV

Confusion is the Hebrew word châphêr, pronounced khaw-fare' – and means to be: ashamed, disappointed, confounded, brought to confusion.

Confounded is also a great word. It is the Hebrew word bûsh, and much like confusion means to be ashamed, disappointed or delayed.

King David held back very little and said what his heart felt. I suppose that is one of the reasons that God seemed to love this man so much.

So I want you to also note that David wanted this particular enemy also to be put to shame. Strangely, confounded and confused should have covered that, but look the word shame up, and you find this.

Shame is the Hebrew word kâlam and means to wound. It also conveys the idea of taunt or insult, along with meanings comparable to what we see with confusion and confounded.

David was asking God to wound them.

Let them be turned – is the word sûg = to flinch, go back, retreat, or apostatize, go back, turn away, and turn back.

Apostatize is a bit of a church word, but take the religious bent out of it, and it becomes a powerful weapon. APOS'TATIZE, v.i. To abandon one's profession, to forsake principles which one has professed, or the party to which one has been attached.

We see this enemy that David is facing, devising his hurt. 

Devise is H2803 châshab and means to plait or interpenetrate that is, (literally) to weave or (generally) to fabricate; figuratively to plot or contrive. To plait is to braid or weave, and we see these words conveyed in the phrase devise. 

Hurt is the Hebrew word ra. In its purest form, the word means bad, or evil: - The implications of this action against you can lead to your defamation or death. The overall hope of the enemy is that you are destroyed and left ineffective.

Doesn't this imply that this enemy is trying to work their way into your life to convert you or kill you, slowly and intricately?

Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, spoke these words over the crowd of 3000. 

Acts 2:16-18 KJV But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; (17) And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: (18) And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy:

Why would they need to prophesy? 

Prophesy – prophēteuō means to foretell events, to speak under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Why would there be a need to do this, especially since we have the scriptures to tell us, with almost exacting precision, what will happen next? 

The answer is because MOST of you have no clue what is in that stack of Bibles you own.

To make myself clear, my wife got invited to go to a friend's Bible study. The friend rented a room out to a lady that is a proficient bible teacher and a bit of a prophet. The friend, who calls herself a Christian, lives like the devil, has no clue what the bible says, and had the audacity of telling the group how her father came back to her after his death, made her feel all peaceful, and moved some stuff around the room to prove he was there. The Bible teacher told her what I would have; you just told us that demons visited you. She argued for her point of view, even after the Bible teacher left the room.

Let's push this just a little bit further. Remember when Saul ordered all the mediums out of the kingdom and went searching for one himself later. At this point, Samuel, the only man that seemed to hear from God, was dead. Saul convinced the medium to call up Samuel. This was not the typical demonic adventure for the dear lady, as Samuel did come up, and she freaked out. Samuel, on the other hand, angry that he had been awakened, verbally lashed Saul and told him that his kingdom was now permanently stripped from him. [Read the story for yourself in 1 Samuel 28.]

So, the prophet Joel, many years before Jesus' death, declares “on my servants and on my handmaidens, I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.” Well, guess what, you and I, those that follow after Jesus, are his servants and handmaidens. 

That morning that the Holy Spirit said to me, pray confusion over them, He was telling me to prophesy to His people a directive on how to pray. 

Why?

Because it is time to draw up the battle lines. We are not fighting a conventional battle, and we are not doing it with useless, conventional weapons we have had our weapons upgraded thanks to the Holy Spirit, to more powerful spiritual weapons, we call them the Sword of the Spirit. 

(Why would I say that we are not fooling with conventional, useless weapons? Maybe it's because I watched a man in Salt Lake City, get out of his car with a compound bow and a limited amount of arrows. This poor guy made angry motions toward what could be equated to the walking dead, they swarmed him, took his weapons, turned his car over, and burned it.)

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 MKJV  For though walking about in flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. (4) For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, (5) pulling down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ; (6) and having the readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Tell me you caught all that! 

• Yep, we walk about in the flesh, and there should not be a single person denying that fact.
• But we should all understand something about our circumstances; THIS WORLD IS NOT OUR HOME.
• But we cheat because we do not war according to the flesh.

That means these unsuspecting fools will not know what hit them, and there is little to nothing that they can do about it, because Jesus, our intercessor, pleads with the Father on our behalf.

Think of this as though you are about to knock down a hornet's nest. If you have ever done that, then you know that the hornets are going to come after you. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, WE WIN. 

Our weapons are not the kind you are used to; they are not fleshly weapons like knives and guns. They are, however, MIGHTY through God, for the purposes of pulling down strongholds.

Strongholds are the Greek word ochurōma and mean fortifications, a castle, a stronghold.

Since the Jewish council was the direct ruling authority over the Jews, they laid down the law to Peter and John; and in Acts 4:18, the disciples were threatened and commanded never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. Some would tell us that we are to obey the law of the land.

Look at what the disciples said. 

Acts 4:19-20 NASB But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; (20) for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard."

Once again, we have a precedent set in which we are to obey God rather than men. In my case, it's the Governor. 

Do you have the possibility of being put in jail? 

The short answer is yes.

When the disciples were released, they returned to their companions and told them what had happened. Their response – they worshiped God and prayed.

Acts 4:24 NASB And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, "O Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM,

The disciples pointed out the situation.

Acts 4:25-28 NASB who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, 'WHY DID THE GENTILES RAGE, AND THE PEOPLES DEVISE FUTILE THINGS? (26) 'THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND, AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST.' (27) "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, (28) to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.

And then said: 

Acts 4:29-31 NASB "And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, (30) while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus." (31) And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

One of our weapons is the Angels. 

AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP; LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED. BUT YOU ARE THE SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END." But to which of the angels has He ever said, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET"? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:12-14 NASB)

So you have the right to dispatch angels against your enemies. Keep in mind, that God, through the action of an angel, killed the firstborn of Egypt in one night. 

Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed all the way to the ground. The angel of the LORD said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary because your way was contrary to me. "But the donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let her live." (Numbers 22:31-33 NASB)

In 2 Samuel 24, we see an angel stretch out his hand, and 70,000 people died. 

Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man." So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, "It is enough! Now relax your hand!" And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. (2 Samuel 24:14-16 NASB)

For David's sake, 185,000 were killed by an angel.

'Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, "He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it. "By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,"' declares the LORD. 'For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David's sake.'" Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. (2 Kings 19:32-35 NASB)

Are you beginning to understand that we have a variety of weapons at our disposal; use them all. 

Prayer, which is you talking to Abba, is priority one.

Acts 12:5 So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. 

Romans 12:12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 

Ephesians 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 

Philippians 4:6 NASB Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 

1 Peter 3:12 NASB "For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

It is fascinating how Peter could write these words all those years ago with the same enthusiasm as I feel now. The difference is, the end of the church on the earth is here. 

1 Peter 4:7 NASB The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

Now, more than ever, it is time to stand in the face of the enemy. 

What you pray is not necessarily important; and, I am not trying to tell you how to pray.

If you feel the need to say poetry to God, then you go ahead and do that.

To me, prayer is more of a battle cry, something in which I restore my strength and faith. The idea behind all this is to fuel your fire.

We are not here to bow before an enemy.

In the days of the Philistines, if they took you captive, your male organs were removed, and they lopped off one ear.

This is a battle for our lives and the lives of others.

With that being said, say what you mean and mean what you say. Lives are on the line.

Consider these words: 

Father, the rulers of this world, and the people have gathered together against your people and Christ Jesus. Take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence. 

(More than anything else, at this time, we need strong words based in the Word of God. Contrary to what my mother believed, God is not asking us to just stand there and let the enemy slap our faces, or order us to bow. God never asked any of His people to do that, and I will never ask you to do that. I will tell you that if you choose to fight on their terms, you will die on their terms. Peter tried that trick, and Jesus told him to put his sword away. Those who live by physical weapons will die by physical weapons.)

Father, I ask that you bring confusion upon them and thwart every plan that they endeavor to do. 

Cause their plans to fail. 

Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after our souls: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise our hurt. 

Let our adversaries be clothed with shame, as with a mantle, and wound them.

Father, I ask that the ministering angels not only encamp about your people but go after those that would try to harm us.

Knock their teeth out. 

Bring upon them the plagues of Egypt, and Cause locusts to disrupt their actions by getting in their eyes and mouths. 

Put open sores and boils upon the flesh of those that mean us harm.

Cover them with a veil so that they cannot see and cause them to stumble as though they were in darkness. 

Open the windows of heaven and pour out torrents of rain upon them. Send hail and lightning. 

Cause the earth to open and swallow them. This action is not new to you, and you can do it again.

I pray these things in Jesus' name because you said I could, knowing that Jesus stands on my behalf before you Abba. You are the great God, and I know that you hear me when I call on you, Lord, because I belong to you, and I am calling on you now to save us. Do what you do best and save your people, the church. 

In Jesus precious name.