The Flaws in the "Once Saved Always Saved" Argument

 

“Once saved, always saved” (OSAS) is a doctrine that a majority of Protestant church pastors believe in, so their congregations tend to believe in it too.  It says: Once you accept Christ, and put your faith in Him for salvation from sin, you’re saved—permanently. Nothing you can do will break that bond. The doctrine began with Augustine (354-430), a Catholic theologian, but really got propagated under John Calvin (1509-64) in his famous treatise, Institutes. He asserted that all mankind is corrupted by Adam’s sin from their birth, and are totally depraved, i.e., totally unable to reach for God. But God, before anyone was born, since He knew then every person that would be born, chose certain people—without regard to their works—in other words, He chose arbitrarily-- to be saved, to lift their blind eyes. They are known as the “elect.” Others, though, which He did not choose, become damned forever because of their sins. Calvin’s theology was opposed by many theologians at the time. It is still controversial.  

Once a person “chosen” by God’s election is born, God regenerates that person by opening their eyes and their reasoning power—together with events in their lives--so they will see that Christ died for them, and they will be saved. You can see the connection to predestination (which Calvin is also noted for), the idea that God has eternally ordained who will be saved and who will not. Their destiny—heaven or hell—has been predetermined, Calvin said.

Once a person realizes that his salvation was chosen, he or she presumably realizes there is nothing he or she can do to thwart that destiny. Presumably, his thankfulness for being chosen will cause him to live a godly life. That motivation is presumably helped by his feeling of security; he or she knows they are bound for heaven. If he doesn’t live a godly life—then we (his friends and family) will presumably conclude that he wasn’t saved to begin with, and not initially chosen by God in the first place.

You can see that his works have nothing whatever to do with his salvation in the eyes of God, but how do we know if he or she is saved—it is by looking at his works. Good works is a way that his friends and family can determine if he or she is more than likely to reach heaven. If he behaves as we think a chosen person should behave, the rest of us will conclude that he is saved. We might conclude his salvation is based on his works, but God does not. He had him or her picked before he or she was ever born.

You have to notice my excessive use of the word “presumably.” Let me state some problem areas that I hope will give us pause in accepting that theology. People, because of their sinful natures (and I am not disputing that), are deceitful—and can be deceived. They may “put on a front,” which “works” for them in that people will assume they are saved. They wanted to be “in the group.” This more successfully is done in a large church with many choices of how someone could help the church. They might volunteer for many things: Working with the youth pastor might involve chauffeuring to youth events, teaching youth on Sunday morning, or they might lend musical talents. Or they might, as expertly trained, help adults with their finances, or help in therapy for youth or adults, or maintaining the grounds, helping repair or improvements, etc, etc. But what if someone’s main reason for helping is to not only be “in the group,” but also to gain status and respect (if they do that, they are thinking of status before men, but not before God). Or perhaps they “worship” the pastor or youth director, or their real purpose is to establish a network where they can sell their own product or service? Or what if they have a serious sin problem on the side, and they never tried much to get it out of their life? So they “work” to hopefully say to God that the good is greater than the evil. If that’s what they do to obtain heaven, that is not God’s gospel.

Or, what if their idea of OSAS means they can relax about their sin problems, and continue doing them as before, or reduce them slightly for conscience’ sake? They feel OSAS means their sins are covered, their destiny in heaven is certain. This warped feeling about sin is totally unbiblical, and I call it “complacency.”

So I’m saying that people can be deceitful, and people can be deceived about getting to heaven. Because God demands a godly life, struggling (with the help of Scripture and the Holy Spirit) against sin--as we will see. Consider Matthew 7:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Jesus suggests people are shocked that they were denied heaven. Were they deceived? Of course. From doctrines like OSAS, I say. The requirement to do God’s will definitely demand a serious approach to conquering sin and doing good, as God measures doing good. Otherwise, they are “lawless” people. Frankly, most people who call themselves “Christian” don’t even read their Bible much. Which is a problem, because how can you know God’s will without reading it? Also, people who accept the OSAS theology have a tendency to “warp” it to suit their own “needs.” Just for instance, Jesus has strict restrictions for divorce. But “Christians” divorce at the same rate as pagans. The Bible is clearly against abortion—but “Christians” line up for it, as pagans do. We all would love to believe that God loves us, despite our desire not to change, or not sacrifice and put away sin. Some sins are truly “addictive,” and I don’t just mean drugs. Sex, gambling, manipulating people for selfish ends—whatever allows us to make our own decisions, and not let God do that, as He should.

There is a further problem with how they have misunderstood the gravity of their own sin. Perhaps the pastor never talked about specific sins, or he didn’t emphasize sin a lot (he wants everyone feeling good when they leave the service). So it’s possible that people get no help from the pastor about conquering a sin that is serious in God’s eyes. This wrong idea is helped if you already “knew” you were “elected.” So it could be argued that the “elect” assumption for yourself makes you complacent. You don’t know of the dangers that could still be ahead because of your sin. Perhaps OSAS has deceived people as to how they look before God.

So let’s say, if a person is wealthy, he might say that God has blessed him. That proves, he concludes, that God loves him—therefore he must be of the elect and bound for heaven. But he has not looked at his sin. Or repented of it. Or vowed to give his life to God, or has a relationship with God. So this casual attitude to sin is wicked in the eyes of God. He should take a personal inventory of himself—and try to be objective (not easy). The culture doesn’t help, since the culture in the U.S., for instance, thinks little about even some serious sins. Like fornication. The idea persists that young people have to “sow their wild oats,” nothing you can do about their sex hormones. Or, if someone is older, the stupid idea remains that you’ve “got to” get “laid” so you’ll be “one of the guys,” or else you’re maybe gay or a nerd. Maybe if you’re shy, you’ll feel “tortured” because of your personality. Or perhaps, if you’re a guy, you’ve heard the lie that being with one woman for 40 or 50 years is boring; men’s hormones are not built that way. And so it goes, in a corrupt world. So you commit the sin of fornication and have become callous to it because you’re listening to culture, not God’s laws.

Then there’s the idea of evangelism, or how you treat someone who expresses to his Calvinist church friends, that he is uncertain about his salvation. (that’s a “no-no” among Calvinists). OSAS adherents and new converts are reassured many times of their salvation once they make that leap of faith. If the Holy Spirit is trying to warn someone about his sin dangerously leading him to hell, he might confess. But this is the wrong group to confess to. They will remind him that he was saved, and, in case he was unsure of his certainty of heaven, they will remind him that all is OK, he’s just anxiety prone.

He is now frozen and confused. He thought God was telling him something, but the “wise” church friends have dismissed it. Was he wrong, or were they wrong? Talk about insecurity.  It’s an unavoidable theory that many of them unconsciously gradually assume that sinning, even serious sinning, is not a thing to be worried a lot about. They may say, yes, I may lose temporary fellowship with God, and I may lose some rewards in heaven—but I will still go to heaven, which is the big thing I get to keep--because God in His Word (as it has been “cherry-picked”) has promised, that once I was saved, I’m always saved. No sinning that I do will keep me from heaven. Doesn’t that promote deceiving ourselves? And complacency?

There's also the matter of sins of omission.  Complacency means these same people don't read Christ's commands enough, wherein are many sins of omission are cited (for instance, not offering forgiveness to our enemies, or not giving to the poor, which are commanded in Scripture).

But, besides generating complacency, the whole doctrine of OSAS is wrong Scripturally as well. The Bible speaks clearly that you must abide in Christ and pursue righteous behavior, or you will lose your salvation. Look at John 15:1-6:

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

Well, what does it say? First, it says, you are a branch attached to the Vine. Jesus is the Vine. You, if you put your faith in Jesus as salvation, become a branch. That sounds like we are on the way to heaven, but wrong! There is another requirement: We must bear much fruit. Now Galatians 5:22ff says, about fruit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness ²³ gentleness, self-control.

Pray for guidance, and then look at Each of those qualities seriously and ask yourself: do I have that “muchly?” What it’s really saying, is that you MUST grow to a godly life. If you do not “abide,” ie, do not bear fruit, you are “cast out as a branch…and are “gathered…into the fire, and….are burned. Well, that’s hell. That means that a godly life is required. Thus, don’t listen to those Calvinists who, essentially, make a mockery of sin.

Let’s cover some other favorite OSAS verses, their “cherry-picking texts” that are numbered below—and explain how they don’t quite say what some people think. Then we’ll look at the other side of this argument, at other verses, which clearly say what a lot of people don’t want to hear. Keep one thing in mind Calvinists have a doctrine centered on the idea that God does everything; we do nothing. So if a Scripture insists that we have a responsibility, well, Calvinists have learned to ignore it.

IT IS POSSIBLE TO FALL AWAY FROM SALVATION TO BECOMING UNSAVED AND BOUND FOR HELL

Jude 24: Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy

Because God is able to keep us from falling, does that mean we could never fall, as OSASers say this verse claims? Don’t make the phrase about how He is “able to keep you from falling” say more than it’s saying. Consider Isaiah 26:3, which says:

You (God) will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You.

Thus God is able to keep us in perfect peace. But are we always in perfect peace? No, because our behavior betrays us; sometimes we aren’t thinking about God, and we are less than peaceful. So God has the capability (“is able”) to “keep us” in perfect peace (or to keep us from falling); but His success is dependent on our behavior! The simple fact is, we can reject God, fail to think about God, and fall on our own. Along those lines, what does it say only 3 verses earlier, Jude 21:

Keep yourselves in God's love…to bring you to eternal life.

This “keeping” involves our activity.  Something for us to do—or fail to do. You therefore cannot argue that directing people to “keep” in His will is all God’s responsibility.

Take a look at I Timothy 4:1:

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.

The Greek word for “depart from” is “apostasia” which means leaving the faith (we get the word "apostasy" from the same root). In Acts 21:21, the same Greek word is translated “forsake.” Now I maintain that it’s impossible to depart from or forsake something unless you were attached to it in the first place. And it is impossible to apostatize unless you were a believer in the first place. Then you made a series of bad choices; it might have taken time, little by little.  You fell away.  What does Hebrews 10:38-39 say to this?

Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Vine’s Expository Dictionary says about the Greek for “draw back:” to quote him, it’s “shrink back into unbelief.” Thus, from the two verses above, from belief to unbelief is possible.  The result of that is “perdition,” from Greek “apoleia,” a spiritual ruin. Perdition is hell. Again, you don’t draw back from something unless you were with it at first.  Lastly, "we are not of them" is an exhortation to optimism; Paul was not affirming an OSAS doctrine thereby.

Some people fall because they gain power and are not ready for it; they fill up with pride. Consider I Timothy 3:1,6:

If a man desires the position of a bishop…not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.

The Greek word for “novice” is a new convert, but I emphasize he is a convert, per Vine’s dictionary. So he was recently saved. But he could, with pride, fall into “the same condemnation as the devil.” The word “condemnation,” in Greek, is “verdict, resulting from an investigation.” It’s a final judgment. So he clearly has moved from being saved to being unsaved and bound for hell--unless he repents.

A GODLY LIFE IS REQUIRED

2. I Corinthians 5:1-5: It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

OSAS adherents love to cite “that his spirit may be saved” in verse 5 to prove that this man has in the past been eternally saved, and even his adultery will not unsave him. My response is, don’t make the word “may” mean more than it does in verse 5. How do you think this man is saved now when verse 13 says: “Expel the wicked man from among you.” The same Greek word for “wicked” is used in Jesus’ quote in Matthew 13:49-50:

This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The word “wicked” is clearly an adjective for an unsaved person, which is what this adulterer is now, and needs to be expelled. Expelled is what “…deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh” means.  Why expelled?—church discipline is another blog.  Basically, it's to keep the Church pure--we must remove those who claim to be saved, yet are in gross sin.  When Paul says, “may be saved?” It doesn’t say “will remain saved,” does it—which would back OSASers claim. It’s really “maybe he’ll get saved once he sees how Satan, the god of his flesh, that he is presently worshipping, treats him.” He could be like the prodigal son (Luke 15), who saw the misery of his life under Satan’s control; he had a final choice, and made the right move. He turned around, and then got saved. So perhaps, in I Corinthians, allowing Satan to have his way with him for a while (as with the prodigal) may wake him up (or it may not)—he might turn around and get saved before he dies (or he might not). At least he won’t have any well-meaning Christians around him, deceiving him by “assuring” him that he’s OK--and not speaking clearly about the possible results of continuing his unsaved behavior!

John 10:27-29: My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

Clearly “my sheep” are the beneficiary of this gracious treatment. But what are the required characteristics to be one of His sheep? Belief? Getting born again? While those are necessary, that is not the focus of what Jesus says here. You have to hear His voice, and you have to follow Him. And those verbs (hear, follow) are expressed in present, continuous tense—which means, an ongoing hearing and following. Not a one-time deal, as OSAS claims. That means reading Scripture to find out what exactly Jesus says about His commandments on how to follow. And then we do what He wants—every time we make a decision. If you’re not in the habit of hearing Him and not purposely following Him in your daily walk, then you can’t say you are His sheep and you can't say you’ll “never perish.” I’m saying, that’s what the verses said. They are conditional on our behavior, not ignoring our behavior.

John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Here again, the word “believes” is in present, continuous tense. You must continue believing to have everlasting life. And the word “believes” is more than just “yes, I believe in my head that Jesus died for me and that’s all I have to show of our relationship.” Let's quote Vine’s again, which is an excellent expository dictionary of Greek words; it says about the word believe, “to trust…reliance upon, not mere credence.” The words “reliance upon” suggest action. In life situations, let’s say, we have to decide whether to be dishonest on our taxes, or will I decide to rely on God to keep me afloat financially if I decline this opportunity to make some extra (dishonest) cash.  If we have real belief, our hearts will be moved to make the right decision.

Do we really contemplate the hell that our sins truly deserve; and then, in gratitude for deliverance, repeatedly ask Him what He wants us to do as His servants, how to keep from sinning, and to build treasures in heaven? Do we regularly seek a real relationship with Him?  Maybe some of us, after that initial emotion of getting saved, say "no" to these requirements--and thereby put our salvation in danger.

I John really delves a lot into the real meaning of “believe.” Here’s just one example, I John 3:23-24a:

And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. 24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him.

Two things are a result of belief: loving one another, and obeying His commandments. Have you sincerely tried to obey all the commandments in, for example, the Sermon on the Mount?  It has a few things to say about not giving in with anger, divorce, and lust. That’s how we abide in Him. But what happens to those who don’t abide in Him and choose to not obey Jesus’ commands? John 15:6 has the answer:

If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

God knows you can’t be sinless. But He knows what righteous effort is, AND if we are growing in godliness. Since loving Him and abiding in Him are not automatic, and require effort--not just emotion--real belief is thus conditional on our behavior, not unconditional.

NEXT WEEK How to take OSAS favorite verses into context, and reconcile the true meanings. Surprises are in store.

 

The Power of Fasting

 This message was delivered in New Zealand by Derek Prince, who had the interesting life of being born in India with an English citizenship, and yet died in Israel—and taught the Bible everywhere in between.  The subject, “Spiritual Secret that few people practice today,” caught my eye.  It opened a key in my heart, maybe it will in yours.  His words, not mine, are briefly shortened here. He begins:

Though this key to answered prayer is clearly presented often in the Bible, the majority of Christians are unaware that it exists.  The failure to use this key is one major source of ineffectiveness in the Body of Christ (i.e., the “Body” is the universal Church, bought by His Blood, sold out in faith to Him).  Let’s turn to the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus is giving instruction in how to pray, etc.  Note two parallel passages in Matthew 6:5-6 and 6:16-17:

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues…. ⁶ But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door...

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance… ¹⁷ But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face…

Both passages begin with a negative, then give the proper way to do it.  Dr. Prince asserts that the close parallel suggests that the two acts should be done together to increase the power of prayer.  Jesus definitely taught fasting (He said “when you fast”). Fasting is associated many times with prayer in Scripture, as we shall see.

Dr. Prince mentions two predecessors who arrived at a similar conclusion: Martin Luther and John Wesley. Wesley’s journal said “I am persuaded that if a Christian understood the need to fast, and does not fast, he will backslide just as surely as if he were convicted about prayer, and does not pray.”  Wesley would not ordain to the ministry any man who did not commit himself to fast twice a week, i.e., not to eat breakfast or lunch as a minimum on those days.  That was a basic requirement to gain close access to the Lord.

You may say, What’s the use of fasting?  To deny me pleasure?  To give me pain?  I thought it was Old Testament. No, don’t forget: Jesus commands it in Matthew above. There are doubtless many positive purposes, but Mr. Prince will only deal with one: It is a God-appointed way to humble ourselves.  The greatest single barrier to the Lord is pride; and anything that will get that barrier out of the way will facilitate getting closer to God’s heart.  Andrew Murray’s book Humility spoke to him on the subject of pride. A verse from Scripture echoes that.  See Luke 14:11:

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

The best example of that verse is Jesus and Satan.  Jesus had a humble birth and childhood; He did not demand services from His followers.  He died as a lowly criminal. And God highly exalted Him (Philippians 2:9). Satan, on the other hand, though a created being, wanted equality with God.  He also wanted to be victor over Jesus. But he fell (Luke 10:18). Note also that when Jesus was preparing to confront Satan, he fasted—for 40 days, quite a feat. He suffered starvation, as any human would. But He was made closer to the Father.

Realize that God never says that He will humble us, so we should not pray that.  God always tells us to humble ourselves. Anything that enables us to humble ourselves is a priceless blessing—even if it isn’t always enjoyable at the time.  And one of the biblically appointed ways to humble ourselves is by fasting. We’ll prove that starting with Psalm 35:13:

I humbled my soul with fasting

Your soul is the arrogant part of you, the egoistic part.  It has three functions:  the will, the intellect, and the emotions. (The soul is not the same as the spirit).  You say, or think often: “I want…I think...I feel,” to satisfy those three in a worldly fashion.  God reacts to this selfness by saying, in Scripture, “What you want, think, or feel, aren’t important.  What’s important is My will; and if your habit is not thinking about my will, then you’ve got to deal with your soul; and one way to do that is by fasting.

Prince said “I heard from a lawyer who decided to fast.  The day was a miserable day of pleasant smells that he couldn’t indulge himself.  So at the end of the day, he gave his stomach a lecture: “Now, stomach, you’ve made a lot of trouble for me today, so for that I’m going to punish you; I’m going to fast tomorrow as well.” A good example of endurance.  Humbling your soul is bringing it into subjection.  Fasting gives you control over the stomach.  The stomach is a wonderful servant—but a terrible master.  Broadening that, who is the master in your life; you or your fleshly cravings?  When you choose right, you eventually come under the blessing of God.  And you don’t do hard choices once; it needs to repeat and become a habit.  If you become arrogant, God puts some distance from you—and you will feel it.  God will tell you that “I can see that you want your way.”

A relevant verse is Leviticus 16:29-31, which was written by Moses.  For background, this chapter provides the ordinances of the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur—the most sacred day in the Jewish religious calendar. It’s their sacrifice to make atonement for their national sins (not to be confused with Passover).  The future of their nation depended on their participation in that sacrifice—but that does not mean they do a sacrifice individually—the priest does it on behalf of the nation.  God requires their response to be that they shall “afflict their souls,” or, really, “humble their souls.”

“This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls…. ³⁰ For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. ³¹ It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.

Note that the priest does the sacrifice; they did not arrange it, and, what’s even more important for today, it was outside their power to provide.  Atonement came from God’s grace.  BUT—they could not benefit from the sacrifice unless they met God’s condition, and humbled their souls. (Ed. Note: Now that we are in the New Covenant, with Jesus’ sacrifice, the way to gain atonement is different than the Old Testament. This change doesn’t affect fasting as useful to obtain humility. Fasting helps you sharpen your focus on sins that trouble you, which makes you less useful for our Lord’s work. An important note: I am not suggesting you carry this idea to extremes by self-flagellation or something. Luther did that until he saw another way—the way of Christ.

The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross opens the way to defeat selfishness and sin, appealing for the help of the Holy Spirit.  We could never add anything to it; but again, if we are to benefit from it by living a godly life, we must meet God’s condition of humility.  Note how the Jews have always defined the phrase “afflict your souls:” In Acts 27:9, this same sacred day of humbling and repentance is also called The Fast. (It could mean any fasting to do away with lusts of the flesh that hinder you.) This proves that God’s requirement for humility often involves fasting. God wants us to present, or submit, our body.

Generally, fasting means no food, but water is OK. We may experience physical weakness, but our spirits should strengthen.  How you fast is up to you to decide.

In one case, after the disobedient Jews were forced into exile or slavery by Babylon, they obtained permission to bring a remnant from Babylon to the land of Israel.  Ezra led a group on a four-month journey back to the Promised Land.  They had to travel, unarmed, through robbers and brigand territory.  Keep in mind, Ezra had women and children along—and the precious vessels of the temple, crafted of fine burnished metal.  How to get safe passage, and obtain grace from God to avoid danger?  His solution: he  proclaimed a fast in Babylon before he began, as Ezra 8:21 says:

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.

So their trip was without incident.  We find another insight if we read on to verse 22-23:

For I (Ezra) was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.” So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.

Ezra’s testimony is that their fasting provoked God to act on their behalf, so he didn’t request any help from the king for safety.  God will put you in a position to see if you really believe in your testimony, too, on occasion. They did indeed go through the trip safely. Mr. Prince attributes this “luck,” in moving with a large family through war and famine and surviving--by their fasting and prayers.

Dr. Prince now speculated of the possibility of the judgment of God on his host country, New Zealand.  What should they do if that is prophesied to come down?  They should fast and humble themselves before their God. He then got back to Scripture and spoke of the wicked Ahab and Jezebel leading Israel to idolatry and wickedness. The prophet Elijah confronted him and pronounced God’s judgment on him. In I Kings 21, he told him that every male in his family would be destroyed.  So there would be no heir to the throne from his family. This was an important thing; so Ahab did some real thinking.  Read what Ahab did in I Kings 21:27-29.  It shows Ahab doing the right thing, finally, and it shows God’s mercy: The key was his fear of God made him humble himself before Him:

So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning. ²⁸ And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹ “See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. In the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house.”

If fasting and humbling himself could do that for wicked Ahab, what could it do for us?  We should never consider ourselves as too ashamed of our sin to still appeal to Him for help—God will always listen to the pleas of His true children.

Yet another example is in the book of Jonah.  God told him to just walk around in Ninevah and proclaim judgment on the wicked city in only 40 days.  It was another story of how Jonah didn’t feel like doing it, but in any event, Ninevah—after listening to only one sermon repeatedly preached by a stranger, actually listened and truly fasted and humbled themselves, and God once again offered grace and relief from that judgment.  The Word of God is so powerful on them in Jonah 3:6-10:

⁶ Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. ⁷ And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying,

Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. ⁸ But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. ⁹ Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? ¹⁰ Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

Can you imagine such a thing happening today with presidents or prime ministers?  Earnest prayer and fasting could make that happen, too.  The Holy Spirit can shake off our complacency. Praise God for His mercy side, as well as for His judgment side.  I have to warn you, there are bad endings to stories, too, in Scripture, where people ignored God’s judgment—and paid the price.

Yet another great story (you should tell your children these wonderful stories) is in Esther.  Haman, an enemy of God,  had persuaded the king, Xerxes, to issue a decree, that was unalterable, to kill all Jews in all 127 provinces in his vast Persian kingdom (modern day Iran+)—which stretched from India to Ethiopia.  This would wipe out just about all Jews there were, since most everything civilized in the earth was in his kingdom, except the Far East.  Esther, the queen, was a Jewess, though the king did not know it.  When Mordecai (her cousin) told her of this upcoming tragedy, she did the right thing:  read Esther 4:16:

¹⁶ “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”

We can expect that it was because of their fasting and humbling themselves before the Lord, that she concocted a brilliant plan.  Together with God giving the king a sleepless night and just happening to read the “Daily Events” journal on the right past date, God turned the whole thing around—and their enemies were the ones killed.  This story, with the Hitchcockian twists and turns, is exciting reading.  Without the Jews, there would be no Redeemer, Jesus the Christ.  And what was the turning point?  Their fast.  It would be impossible to exaggerate fasting as a changer of the course of history—even til’ now.

The New Testament likewise speaks of the power of fasting.  In II Corinthians 6:4-5, Paul is forced to defend himself before a skeptical people, offering his proofs of apostleship.  He cites many things to offer proof.  Note one of them:

⁴ But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, ⁵ in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings;

He believed in its importance. He does the same thing in II Corinthians 11:23ff.  This still has power in ministry today, Mr. Prince spoke of his own inner conviction that God laid strongly on his heart, right after he was saved, that he should fast.  This was before Wesley’s journals.  He testified that through that, that he made great spiritual progress.

The experiences related in Acts 13 have been called the beginning of a missionary program. It is the first sending forth of apostles in Acts.  Notice the prelude: what did they do to plead God for success in opening hearts to the Gospel, in conquest of the Evil One?  Fasting and prayer, of course.  As recorded in vv1-4:

Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon…and Saul. ² As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. ⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit…

So, did they think out a plan for something attractive to draw the unsaved?  Maybe decided on a “seeker-friendly” church?  No, they fasted. They took their own hands and their own plans off it, and waited for Him to give the next move.  God responded to them, picked His right guys, and sent the Holy Spirit out and convicted many hearts to turn to Him.  Acts 13 is a turning point in the church.

Very seldom does the church today seek God’s strategy.  We take ‘Plans for Church Growth’ class in seminary, rather than seeking His plan.  So church growth has stopped in almost all developed nations.  The early church knew they had to take time off, even from eating, and beg to hear God. His results are always good.  Note how, after fasting to obtain God’s will, they fasted a second time, this time to commit those two men to carry out God’s will.  Then they laid on hands before sending them forth.  Note how the Holy Spirit accompanies them.  How much sweeter can you get, that you pursue your ministry accompanied by the Holy Spirit?  At that time, they were called prophets and teachers.  But in Acts 14:14, they were called apostles.  They were able to perform miracles, and they were an effective proxy for Christ.  That’s what we could do, change lives.  If we would only begin at their beginning. Dr. Prince believes we could have an apostolic ministry too.

They brought disciples to the Lord where they visited cities. Later those churches were ready to appoint elders in each local body for government.  The proper procedure is elucidated in Acts 14:21-23.  Note the necessary key:

And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, ²² strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” ²³ So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

So elders are fasted and prayed for, too. Thus, the two most critical offices in the early church, apostles and elders, were arrived at through fasting and prayer.

We pray, but too often do not fast and humble ourselves.  Why not use this effective plan of the fastest growing church in world history, today?  Can you beat what they did?  They turned the violent (and vast) Roman Empire into a Christian empire in under 300 years. Why not use such a successful plan again?  It’s clearly God’s plan, since it seeks His face.  Do we assume that a “modern” way is better?  Do you think God has changed, and become more “modern”?  A note here; appointing elders seems to be preferred to electing them. Hmm.

Let’s end by quoting II Chronicles 7:14, which gets back to that parallel word, humble:

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

May God help us to turn away from compliance to the world, believe in hell for the unsaved, and in no other way than Christ, seek deliverance, and may He teach us to humble ourselves before Him and fast whenever there is a decision to be made—and to do His word to us when we look for it often.  Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chips and the Mark of the Beast

I’ve been listening to a great series of messages by Dalton Thomas. His message is a few years old, but still relevant. At the time he was from Frontier Alliance International, and he was speaking on the subject of signs of the end times. Since end-times Scripture is focused on the Middle East, he is well-positioned to speak, being an American citizen spreading the Gospel in Golan Heights-along with a mentor, Joel Richardson, who has written several popular books such as The Islamic Antichrist.  So I would like to give you his take on end times, with my explanations. A Cliff’s Notes, as it were, of his lecture title, “The Mark of the Beast, Pandemic of Coronavirus, and the New World Order.”

 

Mr. Thomas, first, is responding to the fear people expressed about taking a “chip” to bring about a cashless society.  He concludes that at that time, some people were anxiety-prone about mis-reading Scripture, and he responded to the hyper-sensationalism.

 

Scripture agrees that those days will be the worst in all of human history. We would like to understand what items will signal the end times, so we can prepare.

 

Let's clarify a couple of things: first, on this term "the mark of the beast."  The "beast," first of all, is another name for the antichrist, which he believes is a single man who would rule the world in the end times.  Just to give you a picture of him, see Revelation 13:4-6:

So they (a large number of people in the world) worshiped the dragon (another name for satan) who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” ⁵ And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. ⁶ Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.

The beast, Scripture says, will be a warrior-general, with many victorious in battle, and he hates God, since he is basically a son of satan.  He starts out his growing worldly acclaim as friendly to Jews, but later reveals that he hates them, and will begin a manic effort to eliminate them—a genocide with more efficiency in killing than the holocaust. He also will love killing Christians. And he shows his contempt for God by committing the terrible sin of blasphemy. 

The "mark" of the beast is found in Revelation 13:16-18:

He (the beast) causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. ¹⁸ Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

As yet, we cannot connect the number 666. I don’t figure it’s as easy as adding the Hebrew letters (which are numerical as well as alphabetical) in the name of a political figure expressed in Hebrew. Many false solutions have been derived by doing that. But we do get one thing: the beast will gain control of the monetary exchange system throughout the world.  The financial system going on now, on the other hand, has each country with its own system. Which leads to competition between countries, monetary heads plunging themselves into more risk, and ultimately monetary crashes and chaos. So this “improvement” about putting the whole world on one system will allegedly smooth the chaos. But the idea takes time. The U.S.  stuck our toe in the water with a "Fed Now" system which started in July of 2023.  This system happens to also be the infrastructure of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) system, the next step in monetary unity for the U.S. Over 130 nations are investigating their own CBDC system. The CBDC is really a central bank—which makes important decisions for all banks in that country.  (Local brick-and-mortar banks will be pretty much obsolete). It’s convenient--the government could throw a thousand dollars into your account a day after the President announces an economic stimulus, unlike the stimulus checks they sent out or placed into your bank during the Covid pandemic--which took several months to get done, and was a huge burden on the IRS.  While that quickness to respond idea seems great, here's the downside:  The government would know your income, when you receive it; they would know in detail what your expenses are, and how much you are in debt.  If you buy a gun, or an ounce of gold, your government would know it. They could freely take money away from your account, too, and give to some group that is poorer, since they need their votes. Or they would take it away just because they don't like your conservative views, or that you use too much fossil-burning fuel.  It's interesting that China is the only larger country that has this system in place.  The U.S. is moving aggressively in that direction too, though; Palantir Tech has just been tapped to make a master database on every American. The world’s computers are finally that fast. And it's also true that with facial-recognition cameras everywhere, they can track your every movement. 

Monitoring is the name of the game.  Dissenters are found out, and easily put away in China. The U.S. sometimes is no better, since it has done the same thing to “J6ers.” Our government has declared some citizens “terrorists.”  So what I'm saying, is, that when that monetary system evolves into worldwide, the "beast" will lay hands on it. As computers are speeded up and facial recognition technologies go global, it's probably not a large step to gather critical information on every individual in the world, monetary and physical. This s presented to most people as a great, unifying idea—but it won’t look so great when the beast takes that over—and using it to further his persecuting and discriminating agenda.

It's important to realize that when he has the power to offer the mark, it will start as a voluntary gesture. You can take it or leave it. But, here's something to think about first: When it is offered, it will be clear that the beast wants you to know that it is a mark of worship of him. But that is unacceptable for a true Christian. God is a jealous God. Look at His reaction to those who go along with the mark: in Revelation 14:9-10:

Then a third angel… saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb

As the verse above shows, if you do take the mark, it means a real hell awaits you beyond death. No exceptions. If you don’t grab the mark, on the other hand, you won’t be able to buy, even food.  If you do take it, you’ll be under God’s wrath forever. So you’re between a rock and a hard place. If you don’t take it because you love and have faith in God, and believe Scripture is true—but you might starve, or be homeless, that’s what real persecution feels like. Money, our “dollars”—they’re just pieces of paper, Fed IOUs--would be declared obsolete; and I fully believe that seniors would lose most of their Social Security benefits. (“The old are just a burden—they don’t produce.”) All who don’t choose the mark would also lose their pension (it would be taken from their CBDC accounts, unless they grab it sooner and liquidate it to a tradeable money. And they would likewise lose their savings or pensions without quick action to retrieve it too (the government needs it—they have debts to pay).  For food you’d have to grow your own, or buy from a local trusted food grower. (More people might want to move to rural areas). Or, you might barter for it. Briefly, bartering is this: If you have a talent for a certain good or service, you would exchange it for another person with a talent for another good or service that you need.  But bartering for a good or a service, that would have to be a search done locally to find your trusted person. The internet would be helpful, but what if you don’t have the freedom to keep that search private? In some cases, you would have to pay gas money to travel farther away to find your person.  That's expensive. For goods bartering, what if the good is rare, and the person available is farther away, and you would have to use mail to do the trade? Some more extra expense.  That would also take a leap of trust for the opposite person to come through with their half of the deal. Here's hoping you wouldn't get scammed by not getting a return mailing.  IF the free internet is allowed, you get on a barter system and offer up such an exchange.  If you don't find someone, you might have to learn how to fix it on You Tube, or a facetime helper. Or you live without it, having the woeful tool abilities like I have.

Not only is all this notoriously inconvenient, but two of the things above would also mean an exchange of “money” (buying gas, and paying over the mail). Since Fed IOUs that we now use would be no good, maybe crypto, like bitcoin, would be useful. If it is illegal, and the internet would be surveilled, then you might want to convert your digital bitcoin for actual coin before the great takeover. Good luck mailing bitcoin. All the more you need trusted sources.  

This burden of effort for even the little transactions means temptation to make things easier will be too great for some “Christians.” They will take the mark and hope to explain to God that they really hate the beast, they will still sing songs and pray to God. But God will not allow that. Scripture plainly says that simply taking the mark means God’s wrath, or hell, period. Our jealous God will not allow us to cave in to the beast without severe punishment. You only have to read the Old Testament, plus Jesus’ quotes, to see that clearly. Jesus commands worship—for Him only. He is God, our sovereign God, who makes the rules. His rules are proven to be just and good.  He said, in John 14:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Some “Christian” people would think: Do I dare to gamble on heaven or hell? With eternity at stake? What if I put my faith in God? But that means letting my family starve —what if I rebel, but what if the Bible is the Word of God, and I might end up in hell?  Most people, though, would “rationally” say, “the Bible we have, is likely not be God’s real Word, since I hear about contradictions and mix-ups in different translations. Maybe He loves us, enough to grant mercy. Isn’t that what I hear in church all the time? I worship Him every Sunday. Rationally, I should take the certain way out; if I take the mark, I know I will stay alive. God understands why I’m doing this; He doesn’t want me to starve.”

So that kind of thinking is why God says the majority of people go to hell (Matthew 7:13-14). 

They assume God has changed from the Old Testament, and no longer is a God of judgement on professing Christians, His people. The truth is, yes, God can change for you if you repent and give your life to Him. But that is not what’s happening here. Choosing the beast’s rules over God’s rules amounts to idolatry, and is a surefire ticket to hell.

With a choice for God in not taking the mark, there is a lot of faith and sacrifice involved. If you try to go it alone, the odds are greater that you will die sooner. It’s smarter to belong with a group of true Christians. Thinking coolly as a group, there are ways to overcome a lot of the obstacles, if you share the effort. They would also be a source of hope when you feel low. But still it would be a great sacrifice for our Lord. I would imagine your standard of living would drop like a stone, since you would only be able, given the time-consumption, loss of income, and high costs, to pursue searching for only absolute necessities--food, shelter, and clothing--and maybe using, and repairing, only absolutely necessary things. 

I should also say that paying for things, might also involve gold or silver, not just bitcoin. The State of Florida just ruled that, by law,  gold or silver is a means of exchange (i.e., money) beginning in July 1, 2026. Junk silver (pre-1965 dimes, quarters, or half dollars) are more convenient than gold for small purchases, which most purchases are. Buying a junk bag of old silver coins would not be a bad idea. I have no idea where students can work for many advanced degrees, or how medical services can possibly be paid for, or even trusted--especially by seniors, who some cold-hearted person may say, have "nothing to offer--they're just eaters."  Since God's Word says that those days are lacking love, you might see some Christians as the only ones who have empathy; they would all draw closer, banding together for these things.  Hopefully they can thus reduce the scams, the betrayal (Scripture says even your own family may betray you, telling the authorities about you being a traitor to the beast.)  Note Bible verses like Matthew 24:10-12, which say that unsaved people would "betray one another...kill one another, and…love of many will grow cold." You may have to choose between your family who doesn’t love God and Christian friends that you don’t know yet, except that they seem smarter, or more helpful. Your family might express anger at such a choice, but if you choose Christians and a future in heaven, instead of them, it will be the smartest choice you will ever make. Belonging to a Christian group will give you motivation, it will curb some people’s unreliable impulses, and cure the lazy who normally don't do a good job. Keep in mind, some “Christians” are not true Christian. They may be dabbling in the occult, and offer Christian words while being disobedient to Scripture. We must learn to avoid deception; read the Word!

So what I'm saying is, to stay off the beast's bandwagon, you have to "get off the grid.”  It's a lot of inconvenience and a lot of work, and many people will treat you like gum on the bottom of their shoe, but it can be done. God will make it possible. He rewards those who use their talent for Him.

I'd strongly suggest reducing living standards now, to pay off debt. Get to the point where you have free cash every month, so the loss of income and increased costs would not be an impossible obstacle. I also recommend small group gatherings over big churches (home based would be best, not expensive buildings that are targets for riots or burnings by the haters). In a small crowd, no one gets lost, and you feel more close. The pastor will not demanding money for the church building’s administration—or his own and staff’s salaries. Instead, he spreads people’s gifts to the ministry to those who most need it. As Scripture demands; that is what church is for—beside worship.

Remember, whatever God says, we do it, on faith that He knows best because He loves us.  If He says "here is my command, if you break it, I will send you to hell," He doesn't lie. He will do it; we have to pay attention to His standards.  I know that doesn't satisfy many people; we like to ask God "why?"  I don't advise that--it's mistrusting Him, it's judging Him.  He never did answer Job's complaint over why He allowed terrible things to happen to that godly man.  (But He led all of us to think about it, which is good).  Perhaps I could offer a humble answer for the rational mind: We could be committing idolatry without knowing it.  Look at the definition of idolatry, according to Dr. Steven R. Cook:

Idolatry is the selfish sin of substitution in which we devote ourselves to something or someone in the place of God.  It is foremost a sin of a covetous heart that leads us to desire more than what God provides us, and to trust something or someone other than God to satisfy our wants and needs.

Idolatry is a great sin; look at Revelation 21:8:

But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The "beast," remember, blasphemes God.  He will speak clearly that taking the mark is his way, and not taking it is God's way (though he won’t admit that God exists).  Look at that last sentence above. Taking the mark, given the angel warning, is definitely against God and preferring your life your way versus living your life God's way. We are thus bowing to the beast, liking his solution for our needs better than God's difficult or "partial" solution for our needs.  (We need to redefine "needs," though.)  God's idea, "no mark," the sacrifice in our standard of living is great.  But sacrifice is a way of life for those who love Christ. 

Now I come to Dalton Thomas’ main point: In today’s structure, worldwide monetary control hasn’t happened yet—it’s a ways off. Plus, there is no military genius loved by everybody. So, vicious persecution worldwide is a ways off. (People are martyred by the thousands every month, though. Read material by Voice of the Martyrs for proof). Merely choosing an economic convenience like a chip (which is not a mark), with no person blaspheming God, giving no anti-God boasting, do not meet up to the "mark's" requirement per Scripture. So, it’s not a mark.  God will not allow you to get back-doored into something where Satan says "Ha! Gotcha."  No, God expects you to make a free choice against Him on this important decision before you deserve hell. Someday, if you ignore the antichrist’s blasphemy, his hatred of God, and eventually his hatred of Jews and Christians, and yet take the mark, you are doing it with open eyes—and deserve hell.

Mr. Thomas adds that with the rise of Islam and their goal of making a 10-nation caliphate (another blog deals with this), with their population increasing far more than the “West,” we will indeed see a restructuring of society. Islam will slowly take a front seat, and begin to dominate us.

 

Keep in mind, Scripture clearly indicates the "mark" thing is a worldwide thing. So, no political leader or techno CEO or health department from the USA or Germany, for instance, will implement the mark of the beast. The WHO, the UN, the World Trade Organization, don’t have the power over everyone globally. The idea of having everyone worldwide take the “mark,” or the number 666, will come after a worldwide military buildup of power by this probably Islamic antichrist, as Thomas believes--and he becomes ruler of the world. The public will love his power to restore peace to the earth after his military victories over “chaotic and rebellious terrorists.” That is, his enemies are dissenters, people who value freedom over security, and privacy, and Jews and Christians. (People love stability more than freedom, and will heartily agree to this). In Revelation 13:4, people of the world have to sink to a position where they say:

 

Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

 

His power will affect every nation, every person, on the globe for at least 3-1/2 years (42 months in the Revelation 13 verse above).  Thus, as far as what is important in end times, the world no longer revolves around the United States or China.  We’re not saying the U.S. is irrelevant—but the point is, the U.S., in end times, is not in the Bible anywhere, so we conclude that it is not a worldwide military power anymore.  The focus is on Jerusalem, the city of the Great King, which the antichrist loves to do his damage in, in today’s world, that means Islamic nations.  

 

We need a “baptism of study" in the Bible to know what to expect in our earthly future, and turn away from pop culture or people that just want to sell books to people they hope are Scripturally ignorant. We don’t have to fear as the world fears if we know His Word—therein is His truth.  It is our ignorance that breeds fear; our anxiety is way too great, considering the many verses in Scripture that say that God is still in control. We must stick to the winning team, even though it doesn’t look it yet.  We Christians should not moan about how we are persecuted now, considering how we might someday be persecuted to death, to martyrdom. We desperately need to get regularly into the Word, get a daily relationship with God, to prepare ourselves for what’s coming.  Let’s continue our study with Revelation 13:4-10:

 

So they worshiped the dragon (satan, who is “hidden’) who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast…⁷ It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. ⁸ All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world...Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

 

The antichrist will deceive us, and make us think that he is benevolent.  Only when he attacks Jerusalem is his satanic nature exposed.  Even then, most people don’t know (or don’t care) that he is the Scriptural beast, since most won't believe the Bible, or know it at all.  I suspect this is shockingly true. People will still revere him even if he blasphemed God and proceeded to make war with the saints. They will become anti-Christian along with him. They someday will pay dearly for this compliance to evil.  Their names “have not been written in the Book of Life.”  They will be in hell when they die.  They wanted a calmer life in the present, not thinking about eternity. Don’t let this be you. 

 

A second aspect of the verses above:  God will actually give the devil (the dragon) worldwide authority, even to kill the people of God, which Satan passes along to his 'son,' the beast. How could God do that? Is God not loving? But I ask you, who opens the seals in Revelation 6 for the horrible things to come?  Jesus, who in the end times is bringing the Judgement of God. So the truth is, God does this to test our faithfulness to Him.

Consider Deuteronomy 13:1-3:

 

“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, ² and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ ³ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

 

This life-or-death testing by God is a heavy reality, but very true nonetheless.  This testing by God messes with our theology, but that’s because we’ve had it so good that we’ve developed “easy believism” in our “cotton candy Christian culture,” and don’t know of the two sides of God. As Paul says it in Romans 11, “consider the goodness and severity of God.”  Difficult times are coming; this will be the most severe possible test by God.  We must hold onto our faith, knowing by faith that God will win in the end.  But remember, this testing at its worst will last for only 42 months.

If we want heaven, we should not take up a sword as resistance to evil; that’s the way of the world. Note Jesus, who did not resist the Cross. Scripture recommends that we flee to a remote place (another favorable point for rural living), but if confronted, we give all allegiance to God and none to the beast, whatever it costs. Be willing to be a captive; be willing to be slain.  Just endure in faith—even to the end of your life, if need be. Such brave and noble behavior could be an astounding testimony as well. The greatest harvest of new saints to heaven in the past came upon the martyrdom of His children.  God may call upon us to suffer—but is the servant greater than his master?  If Jesus suffered, shall we not also expect to suffer?

 

So, do you do whatever you can to hang onto life and your worldly possessions, on a deranged earth, followed by an eternity in hell—or do you decide for suffering, perhaps dying, for a short period, for God, who will reward you with heaven eternally? Eternity is a LOT longer than 3-1/2 years. God cannot have any mercy on you if you have chosen to depend on the beast rather than God for your needs. Instead, you should join a group that is different, that is fanatical for a God that demands such faith that we believe in Him even if He is letting His people die by the thousands, a group that is hated by most. Sticking together with other Christians is what He wants. 

 

Since it might be tempting to avoid all that life-endangering risk and take the mark, we must resist the urge, we must endure and have radical faith that God means every word He says. 

 

 Keep one thing in mind:  Yes, “it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them.”  (Rev. 13:7).  But who is the ultimate overcomer?  We His children are:  As Rev. 12:11 says:

 

And they (saints) overcame him (the antichrist) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

 

This is how we obtain victory.  We simply set our mind to follow a crucified Messiah.  We shall be victors with Him.

 

Even better than dying, thanks to Jesus: He raises our bodies as new bodies in His rapture to be with Him forever.  You know how Jesus could appear anywhere in the blink of an eye? How He could fly? Maybe we can do that too, in heaven. So we are the ultimate overcomers, are we not?