(Daniel 7:25-27) “He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’”
Today Satan is wearing down the saints of the Most High God. His persistence in persecuting the saints of God has not as yet come to its peak, which will happen when the man of sin comes onto centre stage in world affairs and whose Islamic beast empire will be centred in the Middle East. We know from the Word of God that the man of sin, also called the Antichrist or “the Assyrian,” will make his headquarters at Jerusalem where for three and a half years he will orchestrate his persecution against those who want to remain faithful to God (Daniel 12:7b) (Revelation 12:17; 13: 5-7) It is also at Jerusalem where the Antichrist and his beast empire will also meet their demise, and that not by human hands, but by the power of our Lord Jesus the Messiah (Daniel 11:45) (Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45) (Revelation 19:20-21).
We know that the word “saints” applies to all true believers both Jew and gentile in both Testaments. In the Old Testament these were all those who believed in God, who had been born again by the Spirit and were waiting and looking forward with anticipation to the Messiah who was coming in the future to redeem Israel from all of their sins.
New Testament saints are New Covenant believers in Jesus the Messiah looking back to the cross, having also been born again, received the Spirit of Promise, having been cleansed, redeemed and sanctified by His blood and having been sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise for the day of redemption (Ephesians 2:14-18) (John 3:3) (1 John 1:7-9) (Galatians 3:14) (Hebrews 13:12) (Ephesians 1:7) (Ephesians 4:30).
When the Islamic Antichrist and his beast empire invade Israel and occupy Jerusalem, he will seek to change the laws and customs in Israel, remove the Word of God from the Synagogues and churches, stop the sacrifices in the Jewish Temple and persecute all those who will not go along with his plans. He will also seek to eradicate the Jews and Christians in Israel and within the boundaries of his empire, which will be vast, encompassing the whole of the Middle East, sweeping down into North Africa and with its Islamic tentacles reaching into much of Europe. This empire will be one of global proportions.
We also know that when the Islamic Antichrist and his armed forces, including other non-Islamic nations invade Israel, that it will unleash upon the whole world a time of great trouble unequalled in the past and never to be equalled again in the future with its epicentre at Jerusalem (Matthew 24:15-22). Israel will be centre stage in world affairs at this time of the Great Trouble which will terminate with the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah (Daniel 12:1-2).
God’s heavenly court will sit, the thrones of the heavenly judges will be set in place and the judgement pronounced and executed (Daniel 7:9-12, 21-22, 26). After this, all of the saints having been raptured and resurrected at Jesus’ Second Coming will inherit the Messianic Millennial kingdom on earth (Revelation 5:9). Those earthly kingdoms that will have survived the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus the Messiah will be forced to worship and obey Him (Daniel 7:22, 27) (Genesis 49:10).
Because Satan knows that his time is now short he is doing everything he can to derail us spiritually as New Covenant believers. He is causing trouble in Christian marriages, trouble for believers in personal relationships, in the area of finance, in their places of employment, or on university campuses including primary and secondary schools where there is an ever increasing hostility towards those who would remain faithful to Jesus and to His Word. There are even things being taught to children which the Word of God absolutely condemns.
There is legislation being mandated in western governments that is impinging on the rights and freedoms of Bible believers. Even in Israel right now there are religious Orthodox Jews seeking to have legislation introduced into the Knesset to make it a criminal offence in Israel to preach the gospel of the kingdom. Within wider Christendom there is widespread spiritual deception with Ecumenism, interfaith, kingdom dominion teaching, hyper faith prosperity and seeker friendly, seeker sensitive churches that do not want to ‘offend’ people by preaching the centrality of the cross and what it means for us as followers of the Lord Jesus.
Today in many churches within the western democracies traditionally and historically associated with Biblical Christianity, you have a watered down gospel that minimises such foundational Biblical doctrines as repentance, holiness, Hell, the coming judgement and God’s Biblical prophetic purposes for Israel and for the Second Coming of the Messiah our Lord Jesus.
Those who seek to remain faithful to the Lord Jesus will find themselves, mentally, emotionally and physically weary and often accompanied with a sense of heaviness through multiplied temptations, spiritual attacks of all kinds, trials, afflictions and difficulties of one sort or another (1 Peter 1:6).
Having said these things let us not be discouraged or give up the struggle against those principalities and spirits of wickedness in high places that are constantly and without letup seeking to derail our confidence and trust in the Lord Jesus and in the wise and loving providence of God. Let us take a stand by faith against depression, discouragement, anxiety and that weariness of mind and emotions as we battle these spiritual forces of wickedness in the unseen fallen spiritual realm, and at times find ourselves inundated with severe and relentless temptation and yet not lose heart or give up!
Let’s rise up by faith to put on the whole armour of God daily and be praying always in the Holy Spirit and calling upon the name of the Lord to empower us by His Spirit and cover us with the blood of Jesus the Messiah by which we overcome Satan (Revelation 12:11).
As the author of Hebrews writes; “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1-3).
Always remember brothers and sisters that the work God starts in us He fully intends to finish. As it is written; “…being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of the Messiah Jesus” (Philippians 1:6)
The kingdom of God is here now in the hearts of all His blood redeemed, blood washed, weary, tested and tried saints, and He has put it in their hearts to keep on keeping on with the finishing line in view regardless of the setbacks and those fleshly weights, temptations and sins that can so easily beset us, knowing that the time is coming when the saints will inherit the Kingdom of God on earth to co-reign with the Messiah our Lord Jesus forever and ever. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom of which we will be a part.
Let us seek to strengthen each other as brothers and sisters in Jesus the Messiah as the Day of the Lord approaches that we might be found faithful to the end (Luke 18:8) (Matthew 24:13).
As Isaiah the prophet writes “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you” (Isaiah 53:3-4). Always remember that “His anger is but for a moment, His favour is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5).
