Continuing on in our Isaiah study we looked at a lot of End Time prophesies. But started out in the book of Acts to lay a foundation.
Acts 7:54-56 Regarding the stoning of Stephen When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
The spiritual realm is a different level of consciousness. Stephen was not one of the original apostles, he was a layman. We, as laymen, are to be able to clearly articulate the Gospel. Stephen saw into the Spirit realm.
Acts 7:57-60 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
He asked for forgiveness for those who stoned him, Paul/Saul was there, and Paul will later exhort believers to stir up the gift that is within you.
The error of satan was PRIDE, ARROGANCE and REBELLION
Isaiah 14:22 “For I will rise up against them,” says the LORD of hosts, “and cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, and offspring and posterity,” says the LORD.
God’s statement is concerning the input of satan, lucifer, and world leaders. God will cast him out but there is a form and function that he must carry out. The enemy is preparing satan’s children for the slaughter.
Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 show more about this for us to see. Babylon and Assyria will be destroyed. These are strongholds of satan. There is an earthly Babylon and Assyria, but also a principality and power that is associated with Babylon and Assyria, so the battle is not only in the physical but also in the spiritual.
Isaiah 14:23-24 “ I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and marshes of muddy water; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” says the LORD of hosts. The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand:”
This is an affirmation of the process of power and the sovereignty of God. If God thinks it, it will come to pass. If He purposes it, it will not stand. Jesus told us that the gates of hell will not prevail against the revelation of who Jesus is.
History, tradition, and arrogance will not prevent the sovereignty of God from manifesting what He has thought and purposed. No human is infallible from the Pope on down. Pastors have believed traditions that are not Biblical. The saints have messed up the message, but still the purpose and plan of God is set in stone. Even when King David messed up, the Kingdom of God still stood and the throne of David did not fall.
In Revelation Jesus speaks to each of the churches and warns them of how they can fall. His plans will still go on and be established, but we can miss the mark. There are time periods where we have missed what God is doing, and we have not reached a level of sanctification and righteousness that God wants in our lives. We need to line ourselves up with what God wants so we don’t miss the mark. We don’t want to fall below what God wants us to do.
Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God is the Lord of History, and there is a battle both military and spiritual. We are the Lord’s army and we are going with Him into the battlefield. He is the LORD OF HOSTS, and we want to give the totality of what it will take to win the battle and sustain and occupy with Glory. There are many workers in the army, not all of them are in the immediate battle field. There is the soldier shooting the ammo, the guy that drives the truck to bring the ammo to the soldier, the worker in the factory, the typist that works the orders, the people in town that provide food and sustenance for the workers, the farmers and miners, the wives. All of these are part of what is necessary to fully equip the soldier. While we may not all be on the battlefield, we can all contribute to helping win the war.
There is an angelic host, seraphim, cherubim – these are not the little sweet cherubs that are sold today as “angels” but real warriors for the Kingdom of God. There is a host of angels in this battle and everything in Heaven and on earth has been ordained from the dawn of time. Angels and saints on the earth are under orders from Heaven. Some do not obey God. God will tell them to march and they think it doesn’t suit them. If we want to participate in the winning of the war it demands obedience to God.
God is coming with the Bride of Christ to fight the battle, we will be in our supernatural resurrected bodies. We will not yield to the right or left, but go where God wants us to go. There are more of us than there are of them – for the host of heaven are more than the enemy on earth, the enemy is outnumbered and defeated.
Jesus knows His Church is theologically divided and confused. We need to seek the truth of God in His Word. Some errors are made in regard to the Sabbath, some recognize Jesus, but do not acknowledge the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, some churches speak in tongues, others consider tongues of the devil. Some feel that there are certain legalistic actions that will determine if you are righteous or not. Not all the doctrines in any church are 100% accurate. There is sin in the church and some are not seeking the righteousness and truth of God.
God wants to strip away the error and confusion. The eventual end of this will be that we will be glorified and He will take away any error and confusion.
We not only need to teach the word, but we need to walk the talk. People want us to do what they say, but God is saying that we should expect people to do what we do, and our actions should line up with the Word and what we are teaching others.
2 Corinthians 11:12 But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast.
Many church leaders today want to be regarded as important as Paul, but they are not doing the things paul did, they are lifting themselves up in pride, boasting, but Paul walked what he talked.
2 Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
Not all who claim to be apostles are apostles. The Greek naval term, admiralship, speaks about a leader that leads other ships into battle. The admiralship determines who will go first, establishes communication, battle plans, etc. There are sent ones who are the front guard. The apostles are like the admirals in the navy, they are there to raise up others as disciples, and lead them into the Kingdom battles. They are to go into new territory and break up new ground for the Kingdom.
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
We need to be careful whom we follow, for if we follow a false leader, a deceitful worker, a false apostle we will end up in a disaster and not advance the Kingdom.
We will continue to examine these End Times events in future times, but know that there is a battle and we want to be lined up with God and His truth, not be pulled into the wrong battle or working against God by listening to lying apostles and angels of enlightenment.
Praying your day is blessed.
Heather