The time of the sword has come
Posted by appolus on June 2, 2019
And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.(Luk 22:35-37)
There was a time when the saints had the respect of the people. They went out in two’s and ministered and lacked for nothing. At one point they had even attempted to make Jesus their king. But now, it was all about to change. Jesus was about to fulfill His purpose here on earth. He was about to suffer at the hands of the very crowds that had followed Him around and tried to make Him king. And as a servant is not greater than his Master, then so too would the tide change for the saints. The admonition to buy a sword was not a call to arms obviously, as we later see Peter rebuked for his actions. No, it was a way of getting through to His followers the level of persecution very soon to come, they would indeed be scattered.
I would like to suggest that Christendom in the West is about to experience just such a radical change. What is written of us in Matt 24 and in the book of Revelation must be fulfilled. We will indeed be, as written in Romans 8:36, killed all the day long. We will be counted as so many sheep for the slaughter. Yet we must bear in mind as this unfolds, what is also written in that great chapter, perhaps one of the greatest chapters, that we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
And nothing shall separate us from that love, not tribulation or distress or persecution. Neither shall famine or nakedness or any kind of trial nor sword. Principalities and powers and the devil himself will come against us, most of us will die, some of us will live, but whether we live or die, we shall glorify God. For nothing shall separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus. We will, by the power of the Spirit, endure to the end because we shall count all loss as nothing, preferring rather to be found in Him for we know that in Him lies the very heartbeat of who we are and the very breath of life that sustains us.
A Call To The Remnant 
Exploring Alura said
As a child of the Christendom of the West, I cannot wait for radical change to come. The churches have fallen in this land and they preach money’s way and not God’s. But for the persecution you speak of, I don’t know that I fear that for the faithful. I believe God will protect his faithful and those worthy of being called Ambassadors for God.
Despite the fallen nature of the churches, still I find many who just resonate with the Light of God and the Salvation of Christ, even without the words of the church to teach them to do so. God and Christ are alive and well in the West, it is just money has made whores out of the rest and worst of us. I believe when the darkness takes hold it will be the true Ambassadors of God and Christ that will lead the fallen to a better day.
I feel the persecution will come for those that have held up God and Christ as their Holy Father and Savior and then failed to hold themselves to a higher standard of conduct upon which to reflect the saving grace that was granted. Far too many “believers” and “followers” parrot the words of the bible and then go about acting in the most unholy of ways. I believe the persecution that is to come will be towards those – The ones who claim to have love of God and Christ and yet cannot find love for mankind in any way that shares common decency and respect toward all.
My heart is ever focused upon the darkness that is developing and the light that will save us all. Living in the land that will fall before all could be scary. But I’m excited as all get out because the time is now. It is so awesome to be living in “those times”, I just can’t wait to witness all that is to come. Because whether others want to believe it, the end has come – they’re just busy waiting for something spectacular and flashy and totally missing the flash of light that is suddenly alive for all to bear witness to.
Side story: I don’t have faith in the bible for the way it is used in my land. I was working through the words to explain that feeling in a couple of my recent posts. Shortly after posting a fairly negative one, I received a knock on my front door. I opened it and there were two Jehovah’s Witnesses there to share their faith and love of the One Above. And wouldn’t you find it interesting that one of the things they gave me was a tiny little pamphlet that said “Why you can Trust the Bible”?
Talk about signs from above. My God saw my question and sought to relieve my misunderstanding. With a real gift of love from another stranger that is brother in faith to our Shared Father Above. God sent me a true Ambassador to show that not all are using His Word to hurt and condemn. Some are there looking to save and uplift.
And that is why I find no fear in the times to come. Because God is working in our lives. He sees. He hears. He knows. And when you fall away from His way, He’ll be there to send you a message to get you back on track. Because no matter what, He does not wish His faithful to fall away.
So as the scary times manifest around me, I’m working on being the best Ambassador of God and Christ I can imagine. I hold myself to a higher standard. And when I fall to a lesser way of acting, I take the time to reflect upon what brought about my behavior so I can learn and better control myself in my next opportunity.
I’m sorry for bleeding my words all over your beautiful post, but I felt so inspired by this and your last post. It excites me to see others that are open and aware to the changing of the times and can see past the present moment and reflect upon what was that brought about what is really happening.