Dennis Edwards
We know that the Lord has promised to be with us in our trials and tribulations. In Isaiah we read,
“Fear not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not; I will help thee.” “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue fails for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.”[1]
Jesus has also told us not to fear. In Apostle John’s gospel Jesus said,
“Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
But in Matthew we read,
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”[2]
Here we see that Jesus is telling us not to fear men who may indeed be able to kill us, but rather to fear God and obey Him. Further on in Matthew when Jesus is giving His endtime discourse in chapter 24, He says,
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.”[3]
Therefore, as Christians, we should expect persecution for standing up for Godly convictions, for standing up for the truth. Apostle Paul so pointly said,
“Yea, and all that will Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”[4]
In the Gospel of John we see the same line of thought in Jesus’ exchange with the disciples at the last supper.
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”[5]
Maybe that thought was running through the minds of the disciples when they took off and ran as Jesus was apprehended by the Jewish authorities in the Garden of Gethsemane. “If the Lord said they would persecute us as they persecuted Him, we better get out of here as quick as possible!” And we know from history that all the disciples except John later died as martyrs.
In John’s prophetic vision of the future, we see that persecution of the righteous shall continue in the endtimes.
“I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto everyone of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”[6]
All the way back in Jesus’ earliest teaching to His disciples Jesus had spoken of the rewards of being persecuted for righteousness sake. In the Sermon on the Mount we read,
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”[7]
And that is exactly how the disciples later responded when they were persecuted after Jesus’ death and resurrection. In the book of Acts we read.
“And when they (the Jewish Sandhedrin) had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they (the disciples) departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”[8]
Later, in the writings of Apostle Paul, we see Paul encouraging the new disciples in Philippi even as he is a prisoner in Rome. Paul tells them that he is praying for them that their love may grow in knowledge and in judgment, and that they may be filled with the fruits of the Spirit. Paul tells them that he is confident that God which had begun a good work in them will perform it until the end. He encourages them to be strong in the faith.
“But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me (my persecution and arrest by the Romans) have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace (in Rome), and in all other places; and many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear…that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; and in nothing terrified by your adversaries…For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”[9]
Paul’s example under persecution encouraged others to continue to be bold witnesses. Apostle Luke in the book of Acts gives a stirring account of Paul’s words to the disciples from Ephesus who met Paul in Miletus on his way to Jerusalem before his capture.
“And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every city, saving that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God…Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am puré from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”
Again we see the idea of having joy to suffer for Christ’s sake. Paul was not moved by the idea “that bonds and afflictions” awaited him in Jerusalem. As Christians today we need that same conviction, that same assurance of faith to face the days ahead. Let us review Paul’s words to the Romans on how to react to the problems that we encounter as followers of Christ.
“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 thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that 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 creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in christ Jesus our Lord.”[10]
All the disciples of Jesus, Apostle Paul, and the Christian martyrs that followed them were able to confront the difficulties of persecution with faith. Peter had talked about “the grace that is to be brought unto you,”[11] “which the angels desire to look into.”[12]
Even in the Old Testament, we find Daniel when talking about the last 3 ½ years of tribulation during the endtime telling us, that “the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”[13] In other words, even in the face of great persecution, God’s people will rise up to the occasion. Later, in the book of Revelation we see God’s people getting the victory over the Satan even in death. We read,
“And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the end.”[14]
Let us not fear the days ahead, but prepare and be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. It is He that will be with us. It is He that has said “fear not.” It is He that has said,
“The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”[15]
God will give us the power for the hour. The grace for the trial at the moment that we need it, not before. So trust in the Lord with all your heart. Hold on to His word. Memorize scriptures and resist the Devil. God will help you to run and not be weary, and walk and not faint. In the day of your affliction He will be with you, to deliver you, to save you, or to bring you home to your heavenly reward. His eye is on the sparrow and He’s watching over you!
“For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”[16]
[1] Isaiah 41:10,13-14,17
[2] Matthew 10:28
[3] Matthew 24:7-9
[4] 2 Timothy 3:12
[5] John 15:18-20
[6] Revelation 6:9-11
[7] Matthew 5:9-12
[8] Acts 5:40-42
[9] Philippians 1:12-14,27-29
[10] Romans 8:35-39
[11] 1 Peter 1:13
[12] ! Peter 1:12
[13] Daniel 11:32b
[14] Revelation 12:11
[15] Exodus 14:14
[16] Romans 14:8
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