Christ
Jesus coming to the earth brought the ultimate conflict.
He
brought Heaven to a world dead in sin.
He
came to bring fire; the fire of His Holy Spirit, He said:
I
have come to bring fire on the earth,
And
how I wish it were already kindled! (Luke 12:49)
Do
you think I came to bring peace on earth?
No,
I tell you, but division. (Luke 12:51)
The
reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
(1
John 3:8)
Christ
Jesus taught every Christian to pray
That
His Kingdom would come to earth as in Heaven;
Which
means that the Kingdom of God
Would
come and prevail over the kingdom of this earth,
Which
is ruled by Satan.
And
finally, that is exactly what happens, as foretold by Scripture.
And
when it does, the ultimate conflict comes to an end;
It
culminates in The Great Tribulation;
Christ
Jesus comes to defeat the Son of Satan, the Antichrist
And
all the armies of the nations of the world.
This
conflict has gone on for the last two thousand years,
We
are simply in the Last Days where this conflict plays out;
The
Last days where Christ Jesus returns to reclaim
The
earth He created and to gather together those who belong to Him.
The
first words of Christ's ministry were:
Repent
for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. (Matthew 4:17)
Those
were and are fighting words.
Christ
Jesus ignited His fire on The Day of Pentecost,
And
it has been burning ever since in His chosen people.
He
said: On this Rock (the fact that He is the Son of the Living
God)
I
will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
(Matthew
16:18)
Throughout
the last two thousand years Satan has done his best
To
subvert the Church of God;
That
has been the focus of all his efforts.
The
whole world belongs to him.
Only
the Church of God stands in his way.
However,
he cannot defeat the Church of God because,
Greater
is the One who inhabits the Church of God, Christ Jesus,
Than
Satan, the one who rules the fallen world (1 John 4:4).
Christ
Jesus is infinitely more powerful than Satan.
Who
Belongs To Christ Jesus?
Christ
Jesus won the victory
Over
death, Hell and the grave on the cross of Calvary;
Those
who belong to Him have washed themselves in His blood
And
received forgiveness of their sins.
They
waited in their Jerusalem and receive their personal Day of
Pentecost.
They
are water washed, blood washed, filled with the Holy Spirit
And
are waking in the Light of Christ.
Christ
Jesus said:
Whoever
finds his life will lose it,
And
whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 10:39)
If
anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother,
His
wife and children, his brothers and sister—yes, even his own life—
He
cannot be My disciple.
And
anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me
Cannot
be my disciple. (Luke 14:26-27)
Who
Overcomes The Evil One?
They
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb
And
by the word of their testimony;
They
did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
(Revelation
12:11)
Those
who are crucified with Christ to this world,
and
no longer live but it is Christ who lives in them.
Who
maintain their first love.
Who
worship God in Spirit and in Truth.
Who's
zeal for God consumes them.
Who
continually drink Living Water.
Who
eat the Bread from Heaven, Christ.
Who
put on the full armor of God.
Who
have clothed themselves with Christ.
Who
live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Who
do the will of God.
Those
who are not deceived. Christ Jesus said:
For
false Christs and false prophets will appear
And
perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—
If
that were possible. See I have told you ahead of time.
(Matthew
24:24-25)
If
you belong to Christ you are in the midst of the Ultimate Conflict
And
the world hates you as it hates Christ Jesus.
Your
life, Christ in you, tells them that they are evil.
You
bear the aroma of Christ which is the smell of death to the lost.
Nevertheless,
to some the aroma of Christ is winsome;
To
those who hear the still small voice of God speaking to them.
Those,
you will win for the Kingdom of God.
He
who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!'
Then
He said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'
He
said to me: 'It is done.
I
am the alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the End.
To
him who is thirsty
I
will give to drink without cost from the spring of the Water of LIFE.
He
who overcomes will inherit all this,
And
I will be his God and he will be my son. (Revelation 21:5-7)
To
him who overcomes and does My will to the end,
I
will give authority over the nations--
He
will rule them with and iron scepter;
He
will dash them to pieces like pottery--
Just
as I have received authority from My Father.
I
will also give him the Morning Star.
He
who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
(Revelation
2:26-29)
I
pray that we belong to Christ and are unashamed at His return.
Then,
conflict will be no more and righteousness, peace and joy will reign.
Hallelujah!