Lambs to the Slaughter
Posted by appolus on August 11, 2012
Your world view, your view of your nation is going to determine your point of view. It will be the lens that you view events through and the filter through which you pray. What are the goals of your prayers for your nation? Do you seek to see it ” turned around?” What about your culture, do you want to see it saved or preserved? Your way of life, your goals and aspirations for yourself, your children and your grandchildren, and they dependent upon the state of the economy or the state of the culture or the state of the nation?
What if the message is , that your way of life, your culture, your country, everything that you hold dear is going to be dismantled and destroyed and become unrecognizable? How will you, how do you react to hearing such a thing? If the message or the word does not have a ” good,” ending could you still embrace it or would you reject it. Can you embrace a God that is judging and will continue to judge your culture and your nation? Can you embrace a God, that because of His judgments, you will be called to suffer greatly, suffer the loss of everything that you hold dear? And ultimately, can you embrace a God that would call you and your family to martyrdom? Obviously this could only be done in the Spirit and the flesh would rage against such thoughts.
Brothers and sisters, even now the fires burn all across Christendom. The vandals have entered the gates of the cities. These spirits have come to invade every heart and every mind and every church in the land. These are hordes that have poured forth from the bowels of hell, foul defiling hordes. Yet, they are only the pre-cursor for what is to come. Their job is to tear down everything that is called holy. Every part of society is to be torn down stone by stone. This is the spirit behind the forces who will turn wrong into right, who will turn day into night. Now brothers and sisters, we can see evidence of this all around us and we see the disintegration of society unfolding rapidly. The forces that align themselves against Christianity are gaining momentum. They are making a way for their own master to enter onto the world stage. How shall we react to such forces and events?
Many without eyes to see, struggle greatly against this incoming tide. As they see the loss of everything they know and hold dear they have a great desire to fight back. They want to fight against the immoral forces that are tearing down the culture that they love and have created. Fear rises up in them, panic even. That fear and that panic compels them into the arms of many would be leaders. Some cry out that we need a great revival, others cry out that we need Godly men in political leadership. Others even consider arming themselves for what as a coming cultural war.
Brothers and sisters, Christ is coming back and He is coming soon. This world is judged, this country is judged and Christendom is judged. And so now we must flee, flee from Babylon and into the arms of Jesus. Just like Lot we must prepare to leave the comforts of Sodom. Just like the exiles, we must prepare to leave the comforts of Babylon. Just like our early brothers and sisters, we must prepare to leave Jerusalem for there is a fierce judgement coming, the final judgement. All attachments to this world must be broken even as we continue to go into this world for needs must. These judgements that we are in the midst of, these birth pangs are just the beginning and they are from the hand of God. Shall we resist the hand of God?
Brothers and sisters we have been called as lambs to the slaughter. You must prepare for this eventuality. Prepare your hearts for slaughter. Resistance will not change the judgements to come. The arrogance of those who hate us will continue to rise. Shall we meet arrogance with arrogance? Shall we match their hatred and their violence, shall we render evil for evil? As our enemies gain ground they will become emboldened. They will have the world behind them and true and genuine Christianity will be pushed forward into the lime-light and all the world will hate us as we refuse to bow down to the gods of this world.
Yet brothers and sisters, be of good cheer for the Spirit of God will burn brighter in this generation than has ever been seen before. As the flood of darkness pours in, an incomprehensible darkness, then the light that is in us will shine brighter than ever before. The nobility of the Royal priesthood will be seen by all the world. Consider how one views diamonds in a Jewelers. The diamonds are set on black velvet so that the brilliance of the stones are illuminated against the blackness. As so it will be with the Lord’s own jewels. They will be seen against the backdrop of total darkness and they will shine and be seen like they have never shone or been seen before. The magnificent beauty of holiness will burn so brightly in the chests of every remnant child of God as they are led, all the day long, as lambs to the slaughter. And when their numbers are fulfilled, then shall come the King of Kings.
A Call To The Remnant 
Robert Taylor said
This is a very good word brother Frank, and right on the mark. Our Lord was bringing these very things to my mind when the drug cartel vandals were holding me captive 3 weeks or so ago. While i was sitting there with those assault rifles pointed at my head, the Lord impressed upon me strongly, “this is a prewiew of what is going on throughout the entire world”. Christians need to quit praying for a corporate revival in the church, and begin praying for an individual revival in our own lives. You know wheather or not you need to be revived. Quit praying for a church wide revival to come, it is not going to happen. Most of the apostate church is going to be judged severly. Begin fasting and praying for a revival to come in your own lives. Forget about the rest of it, the rest of the church is God´s business, and i guarantee he will take care of it. As i was driving away from that ambush site where the cartels captured me, the Lord brought Proverbs 16:7 to my mind, “When a man´s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his ememies to be at peace with him.” Blessings from Mexico brother Frank, and keep preaching the good strong meat of the word…..Robert
appolus said
Amen brother Robert. We have to be walking in the power and the presence of the Lord. If we do this , if we press in, it is almost like buidling an ark as Noah did. This ark that we build is the presence of God in our lives and it carries us above the flood when it comes. If we have neglected the Lord and for the most part forgotton him, then we will be as the lazy servants who do not know when the Lord comes and do not think He is coming and begins to live as the world lives, these will be swept away by the flood……………..bro Frank
W.E. Smith said
My dear brother – you are so very right, for everything in me fights, rages, resists so much painful loss and rejection. I found myself crying out to my God just today, I said Lord I am so unhappy, so unworthy, so superficial, so incapable of belonging anywhere in this world. As the days of Noah indeed, for all is surface things, flesh things – eating, drinking, buying, consuming, laying down roots in this god-forsaken word, looking to a future (marrying and giving in marriage) that cannot come. We look back like Lot’s wife, longingly. romantically for all that we knew. “Curse god and die” said poor Job’s wife, and on one level you can see where she is coming from, for He allows the enemy to wear us down so.
Brother Frank, I am becoming worn down. I confess that I am dear brother. I am so tired of this narrow path. I wonder what is wrong with me, why I can just fit in like so many people at the church I sometimes attend. They are so involved, so content, so easy – in country, sports, programs. Yet when I speak of the cross, of the narrow way – I seem like a masochist to them, or a monster even. Am I wrong to be so subjective about my suffering There are so many proof texts they have in their pocket to refute this path, so I get confused at times – like the Spirit is saying one thing but they are saying something else. Then comes the loneliness and the shadows.
I have my son, just starting high school, and I wonder how we can be in the world but not of it. I want something good for him like any father but deep in my heart my brother, I see no good out ahead. Everything, as you say, is corrupted, leavened, marked. I cry out to my God for some balance, something to help me get through, so have hope, but often lately I wonder if it was such a good idea to have a child. Paul cautioned against getting married in a frightful time of persecution during the first century AD and I wonder if we should not be doing the same for young people. Marriage more than anything looks to a future in the world, to a settling down – yet how can this be reconciled with the general sense you described so vividly above? I have no answers really I am just wondering.
The other night my “christian neighbor” showed up on my door and started accusing of my son of shooting BB pellets through the siding on his house. I was with my son the whole time he was shooing his bb gun in our backyard and he never once did this. Yet me neighbor was convinced and after some heated words, I thought he was going to punch me. This was after I have given them my son’s old clothes for years and tried to be a good neighbor. He was taking the word of another over mine that they saw my son doing this. I have it seems, now become a reproach among my neighbors (psalm 31). After trying to speak reasonably with him, I finally just told him to get off of my property. The whole episode was insane, and has left me very troubled and isolated in my own neighborhood. So what happens when you do good, when you live Christ as best you can, and only reproach comes from it? The more you love the more you are hated.
Jesus said if you love me the world will hate you. So one way to know for certain we are His is whether this world hates us. And even the worldly church, for this is where it really begins and ends, as it did with the Lord and his disciples.
Dear saints – please, please, from my heart, please consider this word from Bro. Frank. He knows for He has seen these things. I honestly don’t know what and when it is coming – but something has changed in the spiritual realm of things. There is a heightened animosity “out there” targeted seemingly at select saints who have made the choice to go all the way in and with the Lord. The enemy knows his time is short and like a rabid dog he will spare no effort to wear us down and devour us.
The only way you will lay your life down freely when asked, is to have already laid it down today.
Our hope is not in the next election or candidate, or idea – it is in the coming of the King who will slay all of His enemies and avenge every one of His precious prophets and martyrs!
All has been tried – there is nothing else – and a new tower of babel is being erected before our very eyes as all the nations look to their soon-to-emerge savior.
Reject all of this now dear ones! The only reason Satan wants to unite the nations which the Lord scattered, is to unite them against the Creator! The Lord Jesus Christ!
Pray for one another. Forsake all idols! Choose life! Honor the True King!
appolus said
Dear brother Wayne, it is very important that we do not succumb to weariness. There is an old hymn ” though none go with me, still I will follow.” I love that old hymn. Saints all around the world will and have been facing loniliness and it is so vital that they are established in Him for everything that they need. Yet this is a season, like the Lord’s 40 days n the wilderness. We all need fellowship and we need to be encouraged and to encourage, this is vital to our walk with Jesus. In Ecclesiaties 11:4 it says “Ecc 11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.” This message has always kept me grounded. It is easy for those who accept that all things are about to change to become discouraged about life itself but until the day that we die or are taken then we go about our lives in the world as we would always. We are the children of God and we find hope and joy and peace not because of circumstances but in spite of them. He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies.
This man who came over to accuse your son, is a small taste of what it will feel like to be falsly accused brother. I would see this as a lesson to be learned, as a measure of how you will react when the day comes when we are all falsely accused. It is usually a measure of the flesh in us how we react in these kinds of situations, and I do not speak from theory I speak from failing these kinds of tests a 1000 times. As for your son living in these corrupt times, let us not forget that beauty still exists. There is the beauty of holiness. There is the beauty of a young woman who has kept herself pure. There is the beauty of love and marriage and friendship and fellowship. None of these are gone, they exist and they are to be sought after and your son is o be encouraged to seek after such things and be pure himself. We must live our lives fully while at the same time living knowing that Jesus shall return soon. God bless you brother Wayne and may the Lord continue to lift up your head so that you may see where your help comes from and so that you may keep writing what the Lord lays upon your heart. I write a lot about what is to come but there is nothing better than writing about the Lord and His presence and His beauty, no matter what lies ahead we can always lay hold of these things and so in a sense nothing changes for us, we simply live the ordinary Christian life, which, because of the times in which we live, have seemingly become extraordinary…………………………bro Frank
Maureen said
Wayne,
Please know that you are NOT alone in this journey. I too, have been going through similar situations. All of the remnant is experiencing this. Satan is in an all out attack on us. But we take heart…we have Yeshua! We are NEVER alone. I keep reminding mysyelf that I don’t belong here and that this is all temporary. And that where I will end up is beyond my comprehension…..I will be with Yaweh and Yeshua!!! Talk about lifting the spirits!
I believe this is our merciful Father preparing us for what is to come. How merciful is He!
I have been praising Him for leading me to sites like this to find the remnant. God has led me to a few here in Atlanta. Being led to this site has given me encouragement to not get weary.
Brother Frank brings up a good point. We need to stay in the moment and focus on the joys that God does put around us. The beauty of nature, the music of nature, the laughter of children, etc. Most importantly: We were chosen and we earnestly seek the Lord and follow His commands and have the most precious gift we could be given: eternal life with Yahweh and Yeshua.
You are not alone Wayne. We are right beside you in the trenches and we lift you up. Never forget who you are in the eyes of our Father.
Blessings,
Maureen
appolus said
Amen sister Maureen, amen. We hold dear brother Wayne up in our prayers before the throne that we all would lift up our eyes and see and know where our help comes from, from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth who burns at the center of our beings and takes our ashes and makes beautiful things from it. Sister Maureen, I would encourage you to attend this conference in Atlanta in Oct…………….. http://sermonindex2012.eventbrite.ca/ Its about the coming persecution of the saints and it may be the only one of its kind I believe. One of the speakers is my dearest freind and brother, Pastor Brian Long. You would definately meet like minded saints, God’s remnant children……………….bro Frank
Maureen said
LOL Brother Frank! The day I was lead to your site, I saw the link to Sermon index and the event. I immediately sent to my remnant sisters and of course we all will be apart of this. We are very excited, especially after we saw the content.
Thanks!
Maureen
appolus said
Awesome, well, I have not decided whether I will be there yet, but perhaps the Lord will open the door for me. Be sure to say hi and if I am not there go say hi to brother Brian and brother Greg who runs SI and who is a dear freind and broher in Christ. He and I have worked together, putting on a conference in my home town back in Scotland, then we stayed together, with Brian, when we had a conference in Wales, in fact it was in Moriah chapel which is where the Welsh revival was startted. In those over-seas conferences we got to meet dear, dear saints from all over Britain and Europe and where the Lord really began to show me His remnant bride and how the Spirit had spoken to them exactly what He was saying to us. …………………….bro Frank
sue said
I soar as on the wings of an eagle when I read…”be of good cheer as the Spirit of God will burn brighter in this generation than has ever been seen before”…..the harvest is great, let us shout for joy( His joy) that He delays until the full number comes in…for great is our reward as we are his hands, feet and voice…let us not let satan steal our joy…amen
appolus said
HI Sue, it is a soaring truth to be caught up in the beauty and the glory of God. When you consider that even as Stephen was martyred, even then the Spirit of God came upon him and he soared to heavens hieghts. Where could we flee from His presence? Even if we took the wings of the morning and flew to the uttermost parts of the earth, even there our God reigns. Our God reigns in the daytime, our God reigns in the darkest night. Our God reigns in our glorious triumphs and He also reigns in the depths of our depair, even the darkness is light to our God. So whether in the throne-room of glory or at the very gates of hell,our God reigns and we behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world………..bro Frank
W.E. Smith said
With Bro. Frank’s grace I will share a word the Lord gave me recently, and it is good that I remember this more than any. And let us remember that the greatest blessing is promised to those who show grace and loving-kindness to His own who are suffering for Him; those who share in the fellowship of His sufferings and reproach.
Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. (1 John 2:18-21)
Dear brethren, all those found abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ, we would do well in this hour, at the close of this sixth day, to consider the imperative for being watchful and ready at His return, and to understand fully in the Spirit just what this means. Indeed, as we look around us in this present world, in this last hour before the manifestation of the wicked one, we are grimly aware just how imminent is the coming of our Lord for His precious saints. It is by His anointing alone that we know the hour in which we live, and the urgency of the moment. Only the Lord Himself can empower us to watch with clear eyes, and to be suitably prepared for His promised return.
Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. (1 John 2:28-29)
Now the Apostle John, in this first epistle, speaks of basic principles and essential distinctions, that each of us would do well to recognize, as the countdown to the end of this age advances. He speaks plainly of the world, and how it is all darkness, and that only in active spiritual fellowship with the Light of the Living Christ, will we be able to adequately prepare for His coming. And it is this abiding in the Light, that is also the only true basis for our fellowship with one another, as so much of what is called Christianity is being subsumed by the darkness and the world.
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)
To be found ready dear ones; to be found in a position where we can have confidence and not shame at His coming, is to be found represented in the Light in this day of almost total darkness. Indeed, we will be found either in the world, or in Him when He comes, and to be found in Him is to be found walking in the same manner as He walked, and keeping His commandments. It is to be found confessing our sins and cleansed of all unrighteousness. It is to be found actively submitting to the Light of the Lord in the Spirit, that He might penetrate us, and reveal all the darkness that is within our hearts and lives. No deception, no duplicity, no hypocrisy, no pretense; for these are all darkness and they are passing away with this present world. Only light can overcome the darkness, and only in the Lord Jesus, that Bright and Morning Star, can we ever hope to survive the end of this age and the dawn of the one to come.
So many it seems, have already fallen victim to the darkness and are stumbling about aimlessly because the darkness has blinded their eyes. Many more still have gone out from the fellowship of the Lord, to be revealed for what they truly are and for what they love. Yet for those who remain, for those who truly love the Lord and His Light, we have the assurance of His anointing, and the capacity to see through the darkness, that we will not fall prey to the evil one and his deadly snares. Regardless of what might be at stake, we will not deny our Lord, but we will confess Him, and shine in the light of His glorious testimony. Dear saints, please pay special attention to these words, for it is our response to the prevailing darkness of this present world that will largely determine our state of readiness at His appearance.
In these latter days, we will undoubtedly witness the prophetic fulfillment of the ultimate plan of God to separate the light from the darkness (Gen. 1:4). There is, dear saints, absolutely no light outside of the Son of God, for this is how the Father has determined all things from the beginning. Everything outside of Him, everything beyond Him, everything abiding in something or somewhere else, is all darkness, and it must pass away. Do you see this? I mean do you really see this, dear reader?
To be ready, dear saints, is to be found attending to essential things, and to be cooperating with the Creator’s plans and purposes for dividing the light from the darkness. We will, in the end, either be found abiding in the Life and Light (The Truth) of Jesus Christ, or in the death and darkness (The Lie) that is this world.
But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:13-21)
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4)
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)
Now we make no such apology for such black and white declarations, for they are very clearly and consistently represented in the Word of God, as His testimony for all those living at the end of this age, when the darkness has pervaded and obscured all things.
Those who are found suitably ready are by no means super-saints or anti-social mystics who have physically removed themselves in hermetic isolation. Rather they are those who are found faithfully cooperating with the Creator’s plan of redemption and restoration for all the earth. They rightly view the present world as a darkness that will be passing away very soon. The Author of Life Himself has declared that only the light is considered “good”, and His endorsement rests solely upon the Holy and Righteous One (Acts 3:14) and all those found abiding in Him.
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” (Matt. 3:17)
To be found ready dear brethren, is to be found separate from this world, its present ruler, and all that it represents –
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. (John 15:18-19)
Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God… (2 Cor. 6:14-16)
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:27)
Depart, depart, go out from there,
Touch nothing unclean;
Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves,
You who carry the vessels of the LORD. (Isa. 52:11)
This present dark and corrupted world is duly characterized by the fallen nature of its god, Satan the adversary. And the animating principles of the world are most evident to those with spiritual eyes to see – the lust of the flesh, and of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. Those found to be prepared and ready at the Lord’s appearing know such things, and they see it all around them every single day. They know that to beg, borrow and steal from the world, or to otherwise compromise with it, is to abandon the light altogether. And they know all too personally that, only by actively availing themselves of the provision of the Lord’s grace, can they remain separate and pure in the midst of such utter darkness and corruption. They know this, again, not because they are lettered theologians, but because they ‘have an anointing from the Holy One’, Who is leading them into all truth –
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. (John 16:13)
These are familiar themes certainly, dear brethren, yet they are most urgent in this hour, when so many will abandon the Light and choose the one who is coming; the one who will affirm the darkness and the world and deny the One whom the Father has deemed to be good. Who then, is antichrist, but the one who denies Jesus as the one and only Christ, the only one pleasing to the Father of All Life! And anyone who tries to convince you that there are many paths to God, that the Eternal Father has many “beloved sons” in fact – THIS IS ANTICHRIST, and this foul delusion is infecting many churches in this dark hour.
This is why, dear saints, we must constantly be reminded in the spirit of the first things, the basic and fundamental truths that bring us all the way back to our new beginning in Christ Jesus –
As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. (1 John 2:24)
It is the light alone that has been determined to be acceptable to the Creator, and everything is advancing in terms of His plan to divide the light from the darkness; the truth from the lie. Those who will be found ready at the end will have chosen their side, you see, and determined that abiding solely in the Light will be ‘good’ also.
See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:1-3)
To be ready, dear saints, to be prepared for Him when He comes for us, is to be driven by a hope not only to see the Lord, but to be like Him; to be pure just as He Himself is pure; to be found spotless just as He is without spot or wrinkle –
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. (Eph. 5: 25-27)
Those children of God who will be deemed ready at His appearing will by no means be found perfect, but they will be sincerely and actively devoted to righteousness, to purity, and to putting away sin out of their hearts and lives. The Light in which they abide will be actively revealing and dividing the darkness within themselves, and they will bring this to the only One who can cleanse them with His own blood; the One presently ministering as priest from the heavenlies, for the children of God (see Hebrews 9; 1 John 1:9).
Then quite unsurprisingly, for all of those who know the ways of the enemy, they will come to be hated by their brethren; or at least those worldly, compromised believers supposing to be their brethren.
Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1 John 3:3:13-16)
Just as Cain slew his brother for offering the Lord a more acceptable sacrifice, and just as Israel slew the Holy One in their midst, the many who love the darkness (John 3:19) in modern Christendom will be no different. Just determine in your heart to pursue the Lord and His path without compromise, and to divest yourself of all else (the group, the tradition, the affiliation, the leader, etc.), and watch how quickly and readily the darkness will rise up against you to extinguish your flame. This testimony is terribly tragic but true brethren, and it plays itself out every single day in this world.
As we believe John’s first letter was written specifically for those of us at the end of this age, it is especially important that we heed the exhortation regarding our love for one another here in the midst of the darkness and deception. The one making himself ready understands that he is now part of the Father’s household, and his loyalty belongs to Him exclusively, and to His Firstborn Son Jesus Christ, to whom He has granted all things. This is what now defines the child of God in this age, the one who truly abides in Him, when so much has fallen away to compromise, falseness and utter rebellion.
This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. (1 John 3:23-24)
Dear end-time saints of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is so vitally important that we are being informed and directed by the Holy Spirit sent by the Master to prepare us for His coming. The final hours of this age, as revealed in Scripture, will be characterized by widespread apostasy and deception, by lying spirits filling the air and turning men against the Lord and His truth. Like the time just prior to ancient Israel being taken in captivity, false prophets will surface and multiple, bringing forth a message aimed at affirming the darkness.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:1-6)
Those who will be found ready, however, will not be fooled. The light and love that is in them will prove greater than the darkness found in these false ones. It will be His Spirit in them that protects and equips them in this dark and deceptive hour when the tares have overrun the field, the birds of the air have made a home in the mustard tree, and the leaven has permeated the entire loaf (see Matthew 13; parables portraying and predicting the total corruption of the visible church at the end of the age). And it will be His love in them that will compel them not to turn against those who passionately pursue the Lord and His plans, even when the many attempt to get them to do otherwise. They will hold fast their confession of the Lord, and His exclusive claim, even as the temptation to reduce or replace Him grows in scope and intensity.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. (1 John 4:15-17)
Further, those who will be found ready at His appearance will be found effectively overcoming the world (not being subsumed into the darkness around them) –
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5)
This present world system (‘kosmos’ in the Greek); this whole established order arrayed against the Lord God and His Christ; this present environment that is infused, animated and inspired at every point with the rebellious spirit of antichrist, all of it lies in the power of the evil one –
We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:18-20)
Oh that we might have eyes wide open in the Spirit to see, dear saints. Oh that we would recognize just how truly pervasive and universal this system of darkness is. The whole planet lies in darkness waiting for the Creator’s command – “Let there be Light”. And the Light came forth, and is going forth even in this day. Yet the darkness still very much prevails, and will continue to do so until all things are summed up in the Son, that bright and morning star (Rev. 22:16).
It is by faith that we know these basic facts about what is happening and why. It is by faith even still that we overcome this world by not submitting to its wisdom and spirit; by holding fast to the Light that is the Lord Jesus Christ and all those joined to Him in this dark hour. It is by faith that we hold fast to these essential truths that the liar will forever attempt to wrest from us –
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (1 John 5:11-12)
Eternal life, dear saints, the only life, is found in His Son. He who does not have the Son of God (by faith) does not have life. Here is the simple truth that has set us free. And it is this truth that will come under the most vicious and intense attack as we move deeper into these dark days before the Lord’s return. Anything added to or taken away from the Son of God, as representing the life of God, is an idol, pure and simple. And only those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, stand any chance of overcoming this present world. If we have not therefore determined in our hearts, that our only hope of life is found in the Father’s Beloved Son, and if we are not standing in the confidence of the Father’s full provision in the Son, then it is very likely that we will not overcome the world.
It is, dear brethren, the Father’s will and heartfelt expectation that all those who have found life in His Son, will indeed conquer this present world. In fact, the Heavenly Father has even given us His assurance that He will provide everything we need to overcome and to be found ready at His Son’s return –
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. (1 John 5:14-15)
And so, as we see, the Apostle John, in this first epistle, has much to say to us in this matter of readiness at the end of this age. By taking us back to the first things, and to essential principles, he has provided us with much wise counsel and exhortation in these increasingly dark and desperate times. Only the light can dispel the darkness, and only as we abide in the Light can we hope to spiritually prepare for the darkest of days that are upon us.
That there will be increasing temptation from within the ‘christian’ community to reduce the place of the Father’s Son, Jesus Christ, there is no doubt. That increasing numbers of false teachers and false prophets will surface, attempting to convince the saints that the narrow way is not so narrow after all, that there are many ways to satisfy God, also appears certain. That the many, those who love the darkness and eschew the light, will turn from the only One in Whom there is life, to idols, is also clear.
We would do well therefore, to remember these words of John and to do all that we can to make ourselves ready, by availing ourselves of the full provision of our Lord’s grace and victory. When the Word of God states clearly that the “whole world lies in the power of the evil one”, we would do well to believe it and turn to the only One who can save us and equip us in this dark and dreadful hour.
Little children, guard yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:21)
It has been considered by many to be quite strange how John chooses to conclude this letter, with an abrupt injunction to guard ourselves from idols. Yet, it is not so strange at all, if we consider the times in which we find ourselves, and the fact that so much of what is considered the Christian testimony in the present hour is shot through with idols. The whole of John’s letter, as we have considered, is intended to keep us from the temptation to add or take away from the only One who can save us; the only One in Whom there is eternal life. Yet everywhere one looks today, there are idols in the place of the Father’s Beloved Son. There is Jesus Christ and something else, if in fact He is there at all.
Dear saints of the Lord, only the anointing of the Holy Spirit can guard us from such dangerous delusions and idolatry. We counsel everyone reading these words to review this section of Scripture and to petition the Lord for His grace to respond as necessary. The Lord Himself has assured us that there will be no widespread revival or return to faith and purity in His church; that the leaven will do its work among the loaf until it has been fully leavened. Yet He will also have his remnant who will overcome this world; those who will hear His voice and share His heart, and receive His counsel in the spirit as needed in this hour.
Beloved brethren, in these most desperate and serious times, this is our sincere hope and prayer for all of you, that you will be found actively abiding in the Son of God, and living in Him and walking in He alone Who is the way and the truth and the life. May the Holy Spirit anoint this message, and impress these words upon your spirit, and may everything necessary be done that you might be found ready at the Master’s return.
Heavenly Father, please let this be done, in Jesus Righteous and Glorious Name. Amen.
appolus said
Amen brother Wayne, thank you for that post. It does always come back to the basics. There is no new commandments to follow because the Lord is returning. Yet we know that whether its a vineyard or the masters house we have been given to look after, if we know He is coming back we ready it for our Lord. I know what my wife would do to our house if she knew a visitor was coming to stay, I cannot imagine what she would do if she knew the President was coming, and yet our house is always in order, it is never dirty, but when guests are coming, well all preperations are made above and beyond. Juxtaposition that to people who do not expect the Lord to return, who have grown lazy and worldly. It would be a great dis-honor to get caught unprepared especially when one should have known. What will the Lord say to that servant? The good servant desires with all of his heart for His Masters return. He goes about his business but always in his mind he is preparing himself for that day when he either goes to where He is or He comes to where he is, it is a state of preparedness and it flows from love and desire………………..bro Frank
Sandy said
This is such a difficult time for many of us. I feel for my brothers and sisters who are struggling and pray that God would strengthen and encourage all. How wonderful to have found this site and feel so connected to others of like mindedness. The truths shared here are just wonderful. Thank you Brother Frank and all.
appolus said
Yes indeed sister Sandy, our hearts are for those who are struggling and we pray that they would be encouraged. We should remember our remnant brothers and sisters all over the world who are undoubtedly struggling and facing trials and tribulations. Dear brother David Wilkerson was always aware of these things and we miss his voice, yet the Lord raises up voices of exhortation to comfort the saints through His mighty Spirit………………bro Frank
buttrflygrl14 said
Amen! Grace and peace to you in Jesus the Messiah, Brother, as you continue to share the Good News!
appolus said
Good to hear from you sister, God bless you………….bro Frank
Todd said
Brother,
We must also be on guard for the doctrines of the enemy that filter into our churches to lead many astray. I am in the midst of such a fight as very strong brothers and sisters of mine are being seduced by ear tickling doctrines of demons, which have pulled them off the narrow path. These doctrines have also served to isolate me from them as they reject the sound counsel of scripture for their new found doctrines.
It can be a very lonely place, however, I find strength from the true remnant believers where ever they are, your message is joy to my ears and help for my spirit.
I would tell those who feel more isolated, as Frank has wisely said, this is just the beginning. cling to the Word, test the spirits, and pray without ceasing. Greater is He that is in us, then is he that is in this world!
appolus said
Hi brother Todd and welcome. You write………….. “cling to the Word, test the spirits, and pray without ceasing. Greater is He that is in us, then is he that is in this world!” Amen brother. You must follow the Lord and the Truth in love, regardless of the outcome in your church. To walk in the Truth and to speak the Truth in love is to confound the enemy and keep us close to the Lord. I am so glad that you find comfort in knowing that there is a remnant body out there brother. May the Lord bless you and guide yo in all that you do…………… bro Frank
W.E. Smith said
Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service. 12But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments. 14Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.
16At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. 17But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Did you get that – “all deserted me”. “Only Luke is with me”.
Why saints are we so repulsed, offended by the chains of Christ, by His rejection?
Here me please – all of us without exception will be tested in this matter of love for His suffering servants, for those undergoing the rejection and reproach of the many.
“Oh but they must be in some kind of secret sin?”
“Oh but then the reproach may fall on me and mine.”
“Oh but I will show kindness where it is safe and without risk.”
The drink of water the Lord referred to here –
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”
This I fear is so much more than general kindness and charity, but when all else refuse, will you be the one to stick you neck out and serve.encourage, assist, visit His afflicted ones, those suffering merely because they have gone all out for Him? After the church at large has abandoned them to the wolves?
Consider Baruch, the only reported man who gave comfort, fellowship and aid to a hated man – Jeremiah. His family, his people, all had forsaken him because he brought the heart and words of His God to them.
A kind word, a drink of water, a touch of encouragement, a unjudging ear – oh how this is life to those in the prison and the valley, those outside and alone.
“all deserted me – all but Luke”
There is a reason Luke will not lose his reward, for his heart did not abandon the Lord’s suffering ones.
The only we we will remain steadfast, and not lose heart in the midst of this increasing persecution and wearing down of the enemy, is that encouragement will come. There are many who have lost everything for the Lord, and they are gripped constantly by despair and loneliness. Let us not become more righteous than God and take to heart the cries of the prophets throughput the entire Word. Remember Abigail, who attached herself to a wanted man, a vagabond, a homeless servant of the Lord whose only crime was having a heart for the glory of the Lord. Oh that there would be more like her among us today, and more like brother Luke and Baruch. We play it so safe dont we? We will go all out for Him as long as it doesnt put us at risk.
Oh but this is life – the phone rings to break the terrible silence. “How are you my brother?” Life restored, the very breath and touch of God administered. Oh is there anything more than this dear saints? I dare say there in not!
Pray for His little flock, His scattered ones, those in pain, in trouble,in affliction, in isolation, in prison – and then move to administer life to them.
You are all in my heart and prayers.
Come Oh King! Come to make all the world Your footstool!
cindy said
Just today my husband of 43 years said to me, “you must promise me you will not speak of the Lord or in His Name in front of me ever again, if you do we will split everything and go our separate ways.” My answer to him was that I could never promise that. I said that we are entering times like we have never seen before and I will continue to speak what ever the Lord puts on my heart…
After reading these posts tonight I thought wow Lord it is all happening just as you said. Amen to all that are in these posts. Personally I have seen this coming since 1974, it was 9/11 that the Lord spoke to me and said, ” this is the beginning of woes for this nation and it will never be the same.”
My heart is at peace and I know He will keep me, yet we need to pray for the faint of heart and those that are not yet anchored in Him. We will see things we never thought we would see, we must be anchored in Him our Rock for the storms are coming and the winds will rage and without His strength we will not stand.
Thank you Lord for giving this confirmation for such a time as this! Love in Him, Cindy
W.E. Smith said
Oh dear sister, my oh my, how terrible is this, how ultimate, how piercing. Yet I fear a shaking is occurring, and the Lord is shaking out all that offends, all that is mixed, all that is not utterly for Himself among all those who profess Him. Such sore afflictions, such wounding, such bruising, such terrible loss. Note here, my sister what the Word says of Joseph as all is falling apart around him –
“As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”
“But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love…”
Maybe all we have is the Lord and His unfailing love – after family, brethren, everything has cast us aside like a dead man’s corpse. When no one cares for your soul, no one really, when no one understands your agony and pain as the enemy twists his blade into you heart.
He is with you Cindy, and with me and all of us who are living the dark night of the soul, this shaking within and without. You are not alone, and you are loved, very much so, with an everlasting, steadfast love.
Lord, please, please, bring Your loving touch to this dear sister, for most certainly needs you right at this moment. Be with her as you were with Joseph in the prison, when all was lost and he was so very much alone in the darkness and the shadows and confusion.
Come Lord Jesus Come for Your Precious Bride made ready!
appolus said
Hi dear sister Cindy. It is a sore thing to have a spouse that does not want to hear the name of Jesus. I have been married for 30 years. For 20 of these years I have been a Christian. My wife is not a Christian. She is unapologetic in her stance. She is hardened to the Gospel. Yet, over the years I have learned to find what one would typically find from a spouse, from the Lord. It is interesting to me that prior to coming to Christ, as I was counting the cost, my wife told me that if I became a Christian that she would leave me.Well, here weare 20 years later. Living with an unbelieving spouse has certainly intensified the sanctification process. Raising children was very difficult in a divided house. Whenwe were wronged by people and I would forgive them she would hate this, for the old Frank would have gotton revenge and she liked that. Yet in all of this dear sister Cindy, the Lord has been with me. I love my wife in spite of her opposition to all that is holy and dear to me. To me, its a microcosm of loving the world that despises and rejects the Lord. Our most powerful weapon, as we move into the birth pangs and the beginning of sorrows is our hell shaking love. No matter what our enemies, or even those dearest to us say, we shall return hell shaking love and confound the enemy of our soul. It is Calvary’s love in action. To love those who despise us and spite-fully use and abuse us is to walk in the light. To render not evil for evil is a fulfillment of the Scriptures and a breaking of the chains of the flesh. Now, it may tear stripes of flesh from us, it may be as painful as any physical scourging, but when we can reply as Stephen replied to his murderers, then we know that we are walking in the light and that we are prepared for the storm to come. A lamb offers no resistance to its assailants. We can measure our preparedness by how much we resist in the flesh. And so dear sister we are comforted in all of this by the knowledge of our dear Lord and His presence in our lives. A love and a passion far and above all earthly passions. A love that will carry us, like an ark,over a flood of hatred. This love is the ark that must be built in our lives for even now the rain of persecution is beginning to fall. And these waters shall surely cover the earth just as the flood did in Noah’s time. This flood of evil will be directed at all genuine believers and it will attempt to sweep us all away. Yet the ark of love sister, the ark of love will carry us to the Lord, will raise us up above the storm. Our mortal bodies may be destroyed but nothing can every touch our souls. God bless you today sister, press into the Lord, there you will find everything you need. Love your Lord and love your husband. Your Christly love is his only hope. And if, in the end, he rejects the Lord then at least for your part sister, you walked as you were called to walk. My prayers are with you today. Be blessed in the love of Jesus……………bro Frank
cindy said
Thank you both so much for your encouragement and wisdom from the Lord. I heard the gospel and made Jesus Lord of my life one year after marrying my husband. I was filled and baptized in His Spirit two years after that. I have never looked back and I can boast about this, that I know the living God of all creation and have known His hand on my life all these years.
In the past the Lord as had me pray for favor from my husband, He has said I can no longer pray in that way. He is doing a dividing work, yes separating the light from the darkness. I have learned much about God’s heart and love, humility and the dependency and trusting Him all these years. Through betrayal abuse and whatever came my way. Raising the children was the hardest and I feel I missed it there in a lot of ways, I would like a do over:) as they changed there last names because of my husband and all but one still do not like him.
I have known this was coming, I saw it years ago, but change like this changing world and all the darkness that is upon it, I saw that coming but it is still hard. The one thing the Lord has shown me this year that no matter what the cost I could not bow my knee to anyone but him for any reason even my life. I feel He has prepared me in many ways for whatever I face. He will see me through, but like Joseph you still suffer pain and sadness. It is a time of shaking, cleansing and for grown and steadfastness in our faith. Who has our allegiance? The flames will surely show what we our made of. The Spirit of God within us is like wearing an armor that nothing can come against. The Spirit has given us a heart to walk righteously and to speak truth, Isaiah 33:14-15.
My prayers are for my husband and children and I surely do love them in God’s Holy Love. With all God has done thus far in my life and all I know of Him, He is Just, Righteous, Merciful, Compassionate, Long Suffering and endures us in His patience. I truly believe no one gets by Jesus Christ, the one that holds the keys to death and hell unless they are willful to do evil and hate what is good. We will soon see won’t we:) I do covet your prayers.
Thank you and bless you for your responses, it has meant so much, in Him, Cindy
W.E. Smith said
Now these are not mere words dear ones, but a living reality impressed upon our spirit by the Abiding One –
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation. ”
The steadfast of the Lord did not prevent Joseph from entering into affliction – the bondage, the prison, the reproach was poignant and real. yet along side that, accompanying that, steering that, controlling that, using that – was the steadfast love and presence of the Lord. In all this terrible, awful, agonizing ordeal, “THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH”. “I will be with him in trouble…” says the psalm.
Behind it all was His penultimate purpose – save Jacob and his seed. Yes first He places the coat on our backs dear ones and it is indeed so lovely and regal, but then He fits us for the coat. The dragon hates, nay despises this coat for it represents his end, his undoing, his supplanting as lord of this earth. Yet Adam can never wear this coat, even on his best days, the flesh is not worthy of this coat – the man must be emptied and then subsequently filled with the Righteous One. The Lord has stored this coat away until we are ready dear saints -until, like Joseph we become a new man – from a slave to a prince, from one cast off to a savior of his own, from one aspiring to wear the coat and the crown, to one ready to truly adorn it.
Dear ones, though we are afflicted sometime beyond measure, death and hell cannot touch us. Though we are so often alone and imprisoned with our own thoughts and fears, He is with us, beside us, encompassing us to bring us to so great a salvation.
May we ask for grave to receive this as meat and life, in the our gracious and loving Lord –
appolus said
Brother Wayne writes………. “Dear ones, though we are afflicted sometime beyond measure, death and hell cannot touch us. Though we are so often alone and imprisoned with our own thoughts and fears, He is with us, beside us, encompassing us to bring us to so great a salvation.
Amen brother to your word.May the Lord strengthen all of us in these days and coming days of trial, tribulations and scourgings. The world will se that despite everything, Jesus has a people who will worship HIm no matter what happens. The Lord aways has a remnant witness in the world, even if Christendom has or goes after the world, the Lord’s children will be a witness to both Christendom and the world. We are the concience of the world brothers and sisters. The time is coming and will soon be upon us that the world will sear its concience. It has done this down through the ages but now and the end of the ages comes the great searing. It is appointed unto to us to be the lambs which are led to the slaughter and thus completes the mecry and the judgement of God………..bro Frank
cindy said
Yes and Amen, W.E.Smith! He is fitting us even now for this coat that reflects His very nature and character that we may hold and reflect the Glory of the Living God in the Face of Jesus Christ by His Holy Spirit! This is our reasonable act of service, worshiping Him in Spirit and in Truth…