The Great Persecution that is Soon to Come Upon the Remnant Church
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The great persecution that is soon to come upon the Church
Posted by appolus on June 24, 2012
Hi Saints, I would like to speak about a subject that really has been the driving force behind much of what I have written in the last few years and this piece will be of no surprise to those who have read even a small amount of what I have written on this site. Obviously I am not of the pre-trib rapture position. And that is the last you will hear me mention any such phrases because I believe if we use certain phrases then we simply get pigeon- holed. Enough to say that I would soundly reject the very premise of the ” Left behind” series. We will go through the great tribulation and we will suffer and most of us who are alive at that time will be martyred.
Now, the many positions that Christians take on last days are well documented. I would encourage everyone to read the Scriptures and allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you into the truth. Do not follow men and the teachings of men on these matters. You must be convinced in your spirit of these things that are shortly to come to pass. Now, as one who went to Bible school and who aced his ” premillennial dispensationalism,” class ( should have got the A just for being able to say and spell it) I could certainly give you the historical views of the three main positions and would also be able to tell you about the birth of dispensationalism and the pre-trib-rapture theory. But, I am not going to do that. You can certainly do the research yourself and come to your own conclusions. As I said, ultimately the Holy Spirit has to teach you and lead you and guide you. In this article I am just going to share with you my burden and what I believe is shortly to come to pass. You, of course, are free to agree or to disagree or take what you will and leave the rest.
I believe that persecution is coming to the Church, the Remnant, whoever truly belongs to Jesus. I do not believe that God’s hand will be stayed in this because I believe that He has His purpose and that it is part of the prophetic calendar. So let me lay out for you how I ” see,” the times that are approaching. There is something that we call Christendom. To me, that is everything that calls itself by the name of Christ. This would include every denomination, including Catholics, Pentecostals, Baptists, Evangelicals a host of Non-denominational churches and the man in the street who does not go to any church but if you were to push him, he would call himself either a believer or a Christian.
Now let me say plainly, I believe that only a very small percentage of that which calls itself Christian is in fact true born-again, new creature in Christ, sold out disciples of Jesus. Various men have given numbers over the years, Ravenhill once said that he reckoned only 7% of professing Christians in America were actually Christians. The truth is, I have no idea. I do know that Jesus said that many were called but few were chosen and that the road to heaven was a narrow one and few there were that found it. That’s not so complicated and I see no need to complicate it further by adding to what Jesus said.
And so, how will the persecution come about and who will persecute the saints of God, martyring them and believing they are doing God a favor by doing it? Well, I believe that the vast majority of Christendom that is not saved will soon morph into the great whore church. What is this great whore church? Well it will be a church that will bring together the major religions of the world under one roof. Islam, Judaism and Christianity will join together under a false prophet who will testify to the authenticity of the man of peace, the anti-Christ. Tumultuous circumstances in the world will give rise to this anti-Christ. People of every nation will be mesmerized by him and by his displays of power. Only the saints will not falL for this grand delusion. And as they refuse to follow him they become the targets of hatred of the world in general and specifically the religious.
Now I believe that there will be a direct correlation between the rise of persecution of the pouring out of God’s Spirit upon His people. What will come first I do not know. I lean towards persecution coming first and God pouring His Spirit into His people in order for them to deal with this, yet I also believe that prior to the beginnings of the great tribulation that God will pour out His Spirit upon His people in measure and that this will really be the beginnings of a deep hatred from the religious people. You see, there are many who desire to see a great outpouring of His Spirit but there are few who embrace the cross of Calvary, few who embrace the hard narrow path of the Word of God.
And so who amongst us can embrace a God that has martyrdom in mind for us? Some may see this kind of thinking as some kind of doom and gloom preaching. Yet, the people who I am writing this article too know very well that this is not so. You see, the Bride-groom is coming back for His bride the Church. We know that the time is short. And so we would celebrate the end of the ages because the Lord is coming. We know that we have been walking through a dry and thirsty land, a land in the midst of famine, and whatever it takes for God to pour out His Spirit in power, then the child of God embraces that. If it takes a mighty confrontation on the mountain for the rain to come , then so it must be. If the word has to go out ” choose ye this day whom you will serve,” then that word must go out. If the five virgins without oil must be warned then they must be warned. If there is a generation of saints that are alive at the culmination of the ages and that generation has to be us, then praise the Lord for He knows what He is doing.
Saints, we know that we do not battle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. When those principalities and powers know that their time is short, what would we expect from such a great darkness? If God increases the light in His children, if He pours out His Spirit as in the latter rains, what would we expect the enemy of our souls to do? Sit idly by? No, we know that there is a time coming such as has never been before. The time is coming when every child of God will be hunted down and killed by the anti-Christ. Yet I want you to know that this scenario also includes the filling of saints in such a fashion that they could not even imagine. The power that we will have will be the power to resist the greatest evil that the world has ever seen. We will be filled with a hell-shaking love, the same hell destroying love that we witnessed on Calvary. The same hell shaking love that we saw in our brother Stephen as he was stoned to death.
If you have ever experienced the presence of God, the manifest presence of God then the scenario of being filled with such perfect love that casts out all fear is one that is to be relished. To walk in the power of our Lord, to walk in the Spirit in such a fashion that has yet to be witnessed on the earth, this is a glorious prospect for God’s children. The genuine saint has spent all of his walk with the Lord with an earnest desire to be more like Him. Genuine persecution and refining fire only kills the flesh in us, it does nothing to the Spirit of God in us. And so the more the genuine saint is persecuted, the more of Christ the world will see. As the world comes against us with all of the fury of hell behind it, it will only see a greater expression of Jesus. This is the paradox, the irony, the ultimate weakness of evil, the ultimate triumph of good over evil.
Now brothers and sisters, are we that people? Can you say that the desire of your life is to be more like Jesus and to follow Him? Do you love Him above all else? Are you worthy to be His disciple? Now is the time to have your Gethsemane. The battle of Calvary was won in the garden of Gethsemane. Will you turn back when these things begin to unfold? And so the question bears repeating ” Who amongst us can embrace a God that has called us to martyrdom?” Remember, when it became clear that the Lord Jesus was to become a suffering servant, one who was to be despised by the multitude, rejected, humiliated, tortured and then crucified, how many stood with Him? If you have to face the same things in the coming persecution, will you still stand with Him? Jesus urged His disciples to pray because He knew what was about to come to pass, He Himself prayed and overcame the flesh in the garden before the time came and He found victory in the Garden. He had made up His mind that He would bow to the will of His Father. Can you do the same now saint? Can you make up your mind now that come what may, if events of the end time are not how you supposed them to be or have been taught that they will be, that never-the-less you will bow to the will of your Father and embrace the God that calls you to martyrdom?
A Call To The Remnant 
Lynn Clark said
Praise God, Praise God, Praise God, Appolus when one firsts begins to have this understanding, it seems rather strange to those around you, they do not see a God whom would call his bride to martrdom, yet it is exactly what he is doing, salvation is truely a cross issue, and that means persecution and for many martrdom. this salvation is a death issue, our flesh must die in order to live.
It is his deep love for his sons bride that he would call us to the cross of affliction,out of a world of corruption, satan can not have one in this condition of total surrender to Christ, one in this condition depends totally on their shephard they know his voice they know his presence, they know he is real and their future is in him alone.
It is truely the joy of the Lord and his promises we stand on, and as Paul said, to be absent from this body is to be immediately with the Lord, John in Revelations shows these precious martred saints for their testimony of Jesus Christ during the tribulation under the alter of God and given a white robe awaiting Jesus coming for them and all whom are his in the catching away.
Jesus precious Remnant hungers and thrists for his presence for his coming and have the heart of the father that none perish, his true end days witness, living to bring glory to God and all those whom will hear believe repent and pick up their cross and follow Jesus.
I pray for Jesus end time Rement, she has been born for such a time as this, one thing I know! Jesus will never leave nor forsake her, they are joined together for eternity he will keep her and continue to form her into his image.
In His Love, Lynn
appolus said
Amen sister, we have indeed been born for such a time as this. The steps of a righteous man and woman are ordered of God…………………bro Frank
rascus48 said
Brother……
There are just no words that I am able to find to express what I felt in reading this post or rather I’d call it an Epistle if that’s okay with you….and one that I will surely make certain is shared with others that I know. You have put to words some of what I have felt for quite some time and I praise the Lord for giving me and others who feel likewise the strength to live this life for His will and purpose….whatever it may come out to be! I have felt and experienced the presence of God in my life and can not even begin to fathom the experience as when He pours out the fullness of His Spirit upon us….though I surely hunger for it and know that it will be an awesome moment…..and surely it will lead others to follow looking for the light that will shine forth! I only pray that I will be here to know and share in His moments of triumph over the evil…..as I am getting along in age now….though this is one thing I constantly pray for!
Yes my Brother I am able to say that my desire is certainly to become more as my Lord each day …becoming more humble and loving and caring and more joyful in the tribulations that are laid on my heart, its not been always easy and still I find bumps in the road along the way, but He always seems to be there to steer me around them in some way or another and always He does the sanctifying as He sees needed in my life to carry me to where I need to be and always He knows where that place is…..His perfect love will ready me and all who understand what He has planned for His people…of this I have no doubt….His love and strength will carry us all! And I can end by saying that I can only count it a great privilege to be able glorify my Savior as He glorified His Father at Calvary and find myself in joy to suffer for Him as he did for me and all of mankind.
May the Lord bless you always and keep you,
Brother Frank
appolus said
It is good to hear from you dear brother. To become more joyful in tribulation is to me, a mark of the Holy Spirit in the saints life. You know, we are having some meetings coming up in July of like-minded saints. Not sure where you live brother, but you would be more than welcome. We are having them in a place called Barnsdall Oklahoma at a dear pastor friend of mines church. You can e-mail me for details if you like, if not, I pray that the Lord goes with you brother Frank and that you will continue to glorify our Lord as He indeed glorified our Heavenly Father on Calvary………………..bro Frank McEleny
appolus@aol.com You can also find details of these meetings and other writings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/acalltotheremnant
rascus48 said
Brother Frank,
I would love nothing more than to join you and the rest of the Brethren in those events you just spoke of in Oklahoma….as right now that is the one thing I lack in my life ….fellowship and even though I do attend a church I really don’t find it there either as I do believe that sadly most of those who attend seem to only dust off their Bibles once a week and each time I mention fellowship to someone they actually ask me what is that I do go though as it is a new Pastor and I really feel the Spirit in him. Unfortunately though I live in South Carolina and wont be able to make the events …oh though I’d very much like to! But all my prayers to the Lord will be with all of you and and Im certain it will be great sharing….you may still send me the information though ….at least I can share in what might transpire. And You may rest assured that I will be following you here on this site….In His Precious Name,,,,always, Brother Frank
Pieter said
Persecution? Persecuted by the church? My family and I have certainly been subjected to that and suffer a great deal. Even so, our suffering was easy compared to others in closed countries. We have earned our stripes and know that one have to cling onto Jesus for dear life. And yes, He will carry you through fires and across raging rivers.
Pieter said
Appolus, that saintly quality had escaped me for long and I became frustrated – and others perceived this as anger – when I found animosity, division, strife, promiscuity and terrible gossip in the lust church I had attended. When I went in love and wanted to meet with leaders to discuss what I perceived to be warning lights, they ousted my family and I and even came chasing after us where we went to live next. Already homeless and needy at the time (our calling then was in terms of Jer 6:27-30) they even tracked my emails and phone records, ensured that we got kicked out from where we then had found shelter and we were on the run again. Not in a Muslim country, Russia or China but in one hailed as the “rainbow nation of democracy.”
I wanted the church to be pure and loving, as it was an informal little congregation. With hindsight, a cult in the making and devoid of the Holy Spirit. I have learned, too late, that my hunger for a loving local church was over ambitious. As a result, I wrote this to others today:
Choosing the Right Church
Today, we have in excess of an estimated 38,000 church denominations upon Earth; some estimated the number of church types as high as 45,000. It gets tricky to figure out which one is right for you, which also means that you have to discern which ones are not.
When we look at the early church, we see that Paul wrote snail mail to various churches, such as Corinthians or Colossians, Thessalonica, etc. Nowhere, however, do we see that he wrote an email to the Baptist Church of Philadelphia, or the Full Gospel Church of St Paul, Minnesota. Nowhere can we find a copy of his exhortations to the Assemblies of God, nor to the Reformed Crystal Cathedral or to the Pentecostal Church in Owensboro, KY.
The reason why Paul did not write any such letters, if he were here today, is because every hamlet, village, town or city had only one church. There were no separation, no division, no fragmentation. Also, unlike today, pastors did not lord over people but were servants of their flocks. ApostelS, teacherS, elderS – always a democratic republic of faith, with the only head of the church the Lord Jesus. As a group, they submitted to His authority only and not to that of a pastor who assumed God’s position.
Finding the right church: if you register yourself on the books of a single denomination, you immediately alienate yourself from 37,999 others! It divides the true church. If you are a reborn Christian doing the will of the Lord, then you already are a member of His global church, of which He is the only leader.
I do hope that this simplified explanation answers this nagging question and also that it will put the free ranging, organic Christians at ease.
Hopefully, this will hold an answer to somebody’s questions.
The Truth Will Set You said
Um…no. First off, the word ‘church’ is a mistranslation out of ekklesia, which is better translated ‘congregation’ or ‘assembly’ and the apostles were using that term (a Greek word for the ‘called out’ ones in their political assemblies; that is representatives/ambassadors of the citizens) on purpose because it better represents what Yeshua was up to: creating a congregation of ‘called out’ ones to represent for him, not a building or geographical locale. All of Paul’s letters were directed to the multiple house ekklesias within a geographical region (sometimes centered in a larger city and/or the suburbs as it were). But it was meant to be a cyclical type letter; that is, to be read in multiple house gatherings as there was no central location of meeting in most areas once the gospel moved outside Jerusalem. Most assemblies were smaller (based on archaeological studies showing that even large Roman houses from that day could only handle about 70 people max). And though there may not have been ‘denominations’ as you think of them today, it’s not like they didn’t have their own internal struggles, squabbles, and arguments…they were human after all (what 1&2 Corinthians definitely illustates). But they were better gathered around Yeshua as their Lord then we are today, that’s for sure.
appolus said
You have strained at a gnat and swallowed a camel, quite remarkable. You and I have the same definition of that word, there, that will surely take all the bluster out of your sails. This article is about the persecution soon to come upon God’s children, Jesus’ own. Somehow by your misperception you managed to “bury the lead.” ……bro Frank
Prayergate said
Yeah … I keep coming back to your site. I’m 65 and have been of this same mind since my late 20’s. Throughout the time we were in the “ministry”, my late wife and I would continuously warn congregations of what you’ve written about here. We had an itinerant ministry and on several occasions proclaimed this message throughout England (never made it to Scotland).
I’m not feeling sorry for myself here, but I’m now totally alone and still trying to get this message out. Extremely few are open to it. It seems we’re all “voices crying in the wilderness”!
When I was 25, the Holy Spirit “opened up” Ephesians 4:1-16 to me and I’ve never let go of it … waiting for its fulfillment!
Sorry for rambling … got tired this morning of talking to myself!
Be blessed, my Brother! Maybe the Lord will allow us to meet up one of these days!
appolus said
Good to hear from you brother. I want to thank you for your faithfulness to what the Lord has laid upon your heart. It is not an easy message at all, obviously people want to hear niche things and things that make them feel good. Yet as you know, the time will come in the West when all those who call themselves by the name of Jesus will be sorely tested and will either stand or fall. Where do youlive now bro? I live in Kansas but originally from Greenock in Scotland……………..bro Frank
Prayergate said
I live in Oregon but am originally from Hollywood, CA. The Lord willing, I’ll be travelling some more in a year or so. I’ll probably tour the U.S. Do you hold meetings or conferences on a regular basis? If so, do you have an itinerary?
appolus said
I do not have an itinerary brother and have not been involved with conferences now for a couple of years. I did help organize some conferences that a group called Sermon index held. Many places in the States and also Scotland and Wales. We have had a few remnant saints meetings, a couple in Oklahoma and we had a gathering last year in Missouri. Nothing recently and no plans thus far, waiting upon the Lord…………..bro Frank
lori said
nice to now I am not alone. but I am stuck in a situation and cant find my way out.i could realy use prayer.
Marcus Herrera III said
Why is that you don’t agree or believe in the Pre-trib-Rapture Theory? Explain Please and thank you. God bless.
appolus said
The simple answer is Marcus that it is not in the Scriptures, its a doctrine of men and not a very old one. There is two comings of Jesus, according to the Word, one has happened and the other one is yet to happen, there is not three comings, one of them being a secret one. That comes out of the imaginations of men………..bro Frank
Pat la Bounty said
brother frank… with all respect and love i ask you what do you do with 1 thessalonians 4:13-18 and especially verse 17,, and also God has not appointed us to wrath speaking of the true church.. that is coming upon the whole world… we have already been forgiven by the blood of Jesus why would he subject us to the wrath that is coming upon those who have rejected his son thank you …a sister in Christ
Jason Laverman said
I’m not Frank but I can tell you what I discern. Just because you go through a great trial, or even tribulation, doesn’t mean that you are being subject to a great wrath. As Frank stated that such time of Tribulation would also mean a great pouring out of His Spirit upon His people. Many of the prophets from the OT were in the same bad situations as everybody else. They were within the storm but the storm didn’t get them. Even if they were martyred does that even mean that they were indeed subject to His wrath? Would the striping away of their “flesh” mean we are subject to His wrath? I don’t think so. What do you do about the “Parable of the wheat and the weeds”? The two are left to grow together until the end. Then the weeds are taken and burned. The Wheat is harvested after the weeds are dealt with.
Be at peace prayer gate. You aren’t alone. We just all ache and do inwardly mourn when we truly see how true Jesus’ words are that few there be who find the way of life. When you see how many are oh so close; yet oh so far away. All who truly desire to know and follow the Lord Jesus Christ will find Him.