As the end of the age of Satan’s rule over mankind approaches, perilous times will test the followers of Jesus Christ. Our faith will be tried, and many will be persecuted for believing in God’s word and supporting the Work of preaching the Kingdom of God to a world that does not want to hear the Ezekiel warning message.
If we know the Truth, and have followed Christ’s command to repent and be baptized, our hope for God’s help and protection is to move forward with the Church that is proclaiming Christ’s return. To draw back in the face of persecution may result in a temporary respite, but in the long run will result in spiritual shipwreck! “This is a faithful saying: ‘For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:11–13).
The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy regarding two individuals who fell away, thus forfeiting the protection of God. “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme” (1 Timothy 1:18–20).
Christ’s Warning
Jesus Christ personally warned of the dangers of failing to follow through on our calling and the commitment we made at baptism. “Then He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ [If the man’s father had not yet died, it might have been a long time before he acted on Jesus’ invitation.] Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead [those not being called at that time] bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.’ And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.’ [His unconverted relatives would have tried to talk him out of what they would have perceived to be his foolish decision] But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:59–62).
How do we know we are fit for God’s Kingdom? The Apostle John wrote, “If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:12–16).
That love is not some abstract “feeling” in our hearts. If we as “Philadelphia” Christians truly love God, and submit to His plan for our lives, we will practice outflowing concern for the billions of people around us who are presently without hope. The Work of the Church of God is to announce the coming of Christ’s government, even at personal peril. Our support of the public announcement of the coming Kingdom of God is a fruit of that loving, Philadelphian spirit.
Once we have responded to the Father’s calling, and have accepted the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our past sins, we dare not go back to Satan’s world and again partake of those things that separated us from God. “As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly” (Proverbs 26:11). Jesus knew that most of those who heard the Truth of God would not be able to follow through, under the stress of severe adversity and persecution. “But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation [which includes persecution] fall away” (Luke 8:13).
What, then, awaits those who learn and act on the Truth of God—and who are baptized into the body of Christ, if they later turn away from their Creator and by their actions, repudiate and sever contact with Jesus of Nazareth? “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame” (Hebrews 6:4–6). Without Jesus Christ, they have no hope of salvation! “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
So, should we live in fear of losing our salvation? If you have received the Holy Spirit, you now have the power and help to respond to God’s call, and to withstand whatever persecution may come. Notice the example of the first Christian martyr, the deacon Stephen, as recounted in chapters 6–7 of the book of Acts. He was fearless in his zeal for the Truth and firm in faith toward the Father and Jesus Christ. When dragged before the Jewish religious authorities, he bravely articulated, with power and authority, the truth of God. When reading the account, we can gain a sense of admiration at how Christ guided Stephen’s mind, as he witnessed to the authorities who had, not long before, orchestrated the illegal execution of the very Son of God!
As his discourse was about to end, Stephen was given a special vision to encourage and strengthen him for what was obviously the next and final act in the martyrdom he was about to suffer. “When they [the members of the Sanhedrin] heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he [Stephen], being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, ‘Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God’” (Acts 7:54–56)!
This final revelation was too much for the murderers of Christ to bear. “Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him… And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (vv. 57–60).
Forgive and Overcome
Could each of us forgive those who might be plotting to murder us for our faith? Or would we respond with fear, anger and hateful vindictiveness? Consider God’s words as recounted by the prophet Isaiah: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; they shall be as nothing and those who strive with you shall perish… For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you’” (Isaiah 41:10–11, 13).
Jesus Christ, the coming King of the Kingdom of God, told His followers that at the end of this age, difficult times would be ahead for those who worship God in spirit and truth. “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Mark 13:9–13).
In the book of Revelation, God gives a message for the “Philadelphian” Christians of our day. He explains that He knows their deeds; that they have a little power and have held fast to His name. Because of their steadfastness, He promises to protect them from the worst of the Great Tribulation. Any Philadelphian who overcomes, He will make “a pillar in the temple of My God” (Revelation 3:7–13). This is the reward awaiting those who are now doing the Work, supporting the proclamation to the world of the good news of Christ’s soon-coming government which will bring an end to a time of worldwide catastrophe.
Notice! When persecution comes, we will not be alone! Christ will be at our sides, holding our hands and giving us the words to speak. If we are faithful to that calling, glory and great reward will await us in the first resurrection. “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world [the great tribulation], to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”’ (Revelation 3:8–13).
—LCG Editorial Staff