Forward:
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To my avid readers I have been on sabbatical. I return now, to share what the LORD God Jesus Christ, who is One with Father and Holy Spirit has revealed to me.
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We are called to be a light in a very pagan world. In many ways this is a Post-Christian World. Post-Christian in that the impetus in religion and spirituality is shifting from our True Faith (Christianity) to a pan-pagan spiritism of the Hindu, Islamic, Shinto, Buddhist, New Age, and other variety. I recently was in Germany, and the church there is dead. The epicenter of the Protestant Reformation, Wittenberg, where I beheld the rebuilt door where Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Nine Theses, and within the Castle Church of Luther I attended service, and spiritually it was dead. During Holy Week for Catholics and Protestants, I went to Israel, and there in Holy Sepulchre, on Good Friday, I experienced a strong presence of the antichrist, rather than Christ; probably because as I have identified elsewhere, Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a Constantine invention and full of witchcraft. Throughout America, and most of the world paganism is expanding, and the True Faith, Christianity, is under siege, even secular sources claim, "Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world," and there is an even more startling fact, "the persecution of Christians today in the 21 Century is more severe, frequent, and more intense than all the previous centuries of the Church combined!"
Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul predicted a Post-Christian world, He said, "I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8), "And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved," (Matthew 10:22), "You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death, Everyone will hate you because of me," (Luke 21:16-17), "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’[a] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason," (John 15:18-25), and "Let no one deceive or beguile you in any way, for that day will not come except the apostasy comes first [unless the predicted great falling away of those who have professed to be Christians has come], and the man of lawlessness (sin) is revealed, who is the son of doom (of perdition)." (2 Thessalonians 2:3). It is evident that this Post-Christian world is exactly what our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul prophesized. But rather than be overwhelmed by "apocalyptic blues," and the spirit of lawlessness moving on the earth, let us instead redirect our attention.
As Christians in a Post-Christian world, our call is not to battle in a political form of Christianity as Preterits, Network Christians, and milites Christi do and have done. Our call is to know Jesus Christ (John 17:3), to make disciples (Matthew 28:19), and to live holy lives. I want to talk about holy living, something that often when addressed makes people cringe. Why? Because what comes to mind is the pantheon of Catholic saints whose stories actual discourage rather than encourage us to stand firm in holiness, or worse it can lead to a works based salvation. When I refer to Holy Living, I am talking about the living in Christ, who is the only one that can make us holy (). Our holy lives are meant to glorify Christ in us (Colossians 1:27, 1 John 4:15), and to be a light to the pagan gentiles who are forming this Post-Christian world. The Apostle Peter speaks of this in detail, let me relate it here, "Therefore, preparing your minds for action,[b] and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." (1 Peter 1:13-18). The Apostle touches on something important. When we think of holiness, it comes across as state of being, of being holy as God is holy, but here the apostle says, "holy in all your conduct," as in our actions, deeds, and behavior. This is much different, it isn't saying try to live up to some high ideal of the misguided stories of the Catholic saints like St. Francis of Assisi, but rather conduct yourself as you are before the world, a "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10). The LORD is perfect and is in us (1 John 4:15, 1 Corinthians 3:16), and we are to live that perfection from within, in a relationship with Him, and so let that light shine on the outside in our behavior, actions, and deeds. What we have to avoid is not fixing our eyes on being perfect, but on Christ (Hebrews 12:2) and ultimately the purpose of our holy living out of our grace and salvation in Christ is to be a witnesses to the gentiles, "Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul [a better translation says that it hurts your soul, causing you grief, which makes a different statement]. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation." (1 Peter 2:11). Our holy living is an expression from inside our soul, our relationship with Christ, and to live as Born Again New Creations in Christ, and the second purpose is to bear a witness to this pagan world.
Our witnesses is a testament to this fallen generation. Each preacher and disciple maker who stumbles publicly, can be forgiven, but the damage that is done is to our witnesses to the gentiles, to the unsaved can be extensive. As the tide of antichrist is rising, and Post-Christian and Post-Modern trends begin to erode the bastions of Christian faith in America and in the World, we must stand firm in our faith in Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:13, Revelation 14:12). Part of this standing firm isn't only in our privatized faith, in our prayer closets and the underground church, but to live it in our thoughts, actions, and deeds, as witness to those whom Christ is still knocking at the door of their hearts.
We cannot be a light apart from the Light of Christ (John 1:1-5). We cannot be holy except by the Blood of Jesus Christ! Our holiness must be in our deep relationship with the LORD Trinity. It can not be lived out by law keeping, and rule following; the Holy Spirit must work within us! (Galatians 5:22-23). So let your light shine in this pagan world! Do not accept the Post-Christian trend and give in to becoming silent in your witnesses, but be emboldened! Knowing that the time is near when our Lord and God Jesus Christ shall return on the clouds of heaven! Amen.
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