We have all heard that silence is golden or your silence speaks louder than words. I am of the opinion one of the most insidious evils that has crept into Christendom and made its abode is the silence of God’s people towards the wickedness of man. This is neither golden and speaks volumes. It is what I call silent running. This is analogous to submarines operating in the world’s oceans undetected.
- There are few who tell their Christ story.
- There are few who witness for Christ.
- There are few who win people to Christ (Ron Parsley said less than 2% lead someone to Christ).
- There are few who speak openly against unrighteousness.
Silence is screaming but we have turned a deaf ear to this evil that has come upon us. And we go deeper like a sub into silent running when any vessel approaches our vicinity. For many of us the only objective in the spiritual life is to go undetected as a Christian as we navigate the oceans of life, surfacing only long enough to attend church and sing, sing, sing praises to God, and then we go out the door into silent running once again. Dive! Dive! Dive! This becomes a reoccurring cycle until we are finally decommissioned.
There is this fear by believers, who have dethroned God in their thinking, that detection by the sonar of the world will bring depth charges of criticism or persecution their way. They are probably right, but God is still on the throne. All that live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution and take up your cross and follow Me are anything but peaceful paths. Is it any wonder why the imprecations of the Old Testament are so bold, shocking, disturbing, and explosive when most believers are in silent running?
Silence toward wickedness was broken because someone upped periscope out of concern for God’s glory and fired torpedoes of imprecations at the enemy – “God judge all workers of iniquity!” Silence sunk to the eerie depths where it belongs as the torpedoes of imprecation hit multiple vessels of wickedness. Three thousand years later these imprecations are still burning in the minds of men! Obviously, submarines didn't exist back then but you get the idea. Then again, maybe they were....
We are still talking about them today. As long as wickedness sails the high seas, imprecations will continue by godly men who possess a zeal and concern for God’s glory. This spiritual warfare has raged for thousands of years and will continue as long as Satan is still on the loose. Once he is bound in the lake of fire it will all be over!
Somehow the devil has convinced good people and not so good people that the imprecations or curses found in the Old Testament are way out of balance with the New Testament teaching on loving your enemies. But isn’t that the way of the world. When godly people call sin for what it is – sin, and for God to judge the wicked for their sin, believers are called unloving.
So the devil through the world cries out, “He called me bad and said some bad things about me. He is a medieval hatemonger, insensitive, unloving, self-righteous, and a judgmental Bible thumper.” And the devil continues through the voices of the world with twisted religious words, “God is a God of love, acceptance, and tolerance. God wants for us to love not to judge one another. Where there is hate let us sow love; where there is war let us sow peace; where there is division; let us sow unity. Let’s all work together as one, as man-kind [not God-kind] for mankind, to make this world a better place for living [without God].” Man will fix everything. Man will become his own god, for he believes – “I am the master of my own fate. I am the captain of my soul” (William Ernest Henley).
Then the devil continues speaking through the world, “He is a Bible-bigot saying things from the dark ages that we are sinners and are going to be judged for our sins if we don’t repent; what he calls sin we call a better alternative to life’s questions and challenges. If anyone needs to ‘repent,’ he does for such vitriolic words! Censure him! Arrest him!"
Then the devil continues speaking through the world, “He is a Bible-bigot saying things from the dark ages that we are sinners and are going to be judged for our sins if we don’t repent; what he calls sin we call a better alternative to life’s questions and challenges. If anyone needs to ‘repent,’ he does for such vitriolic words! Censure him! Arrest him!"
Listen, it is more shocking the silence of godly men and women towards unrighteousness in the world, silent running, than the imprecations in the Old Testament. These curses reflect not only a zeal and concern for God’s glory by godly men who were outraged by the unrighteous acts of men but also mirrored a general truth that God will judge the ungodly; the world desperately needs to hear this.
There is no argument that imprecations or curses (calling down a curse upon the wicked deeds of men) are immediately picked up on the world’s sonar. Look, all we have to do is to say publicly that we believe in John 14:6 and we will be categorized as a Christian extremist in a heartbeat! So really we are left with only two options, folks: “Dive! Dive! Dive!” or “Declare! Declare! Declare! We submerge or speak out, pursue disobedience or perform our duty. Let’s talk about imprecations or curses in a general manner within the short time we have together.
Much controversy swirls around the imprecations in the OT arguing that it is not in the spirit of the NT where we are commanded to love our enemies. But loving your enemies was not foreign to the OT, and in fact, NT teaching is based on the teaching of the OT of assisting the enemy. Jesus simply took it a step further by stating plainly to love your enemy (lye), without contradicting the Old Testament.
Ex 23:4-5 If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. (5) If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.
Prov 24:17-20 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let
your heart be glad when he stumbles; (18) Lest the LORD see it,
and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him. (19)
Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the wicked; (20)
For there will be no prospect for the evil man; the lamp of the
wicked will be put out.
Prov 24:29 Do not say, "I will do to him just as he has done to me;
I will render to the man according to his work."
I will render to the man according to his work."
Prov 25:21-22 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; (22) For so you will heap
coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you.
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; (22) For so you will heap
coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you.
This last passage was quoted by the apostle Paul in Rom 12:20!
The scribes were not teaching the people in Jesus’ day to love their enemies. Rather they were advocating to love your neighbors and hate your enemies (Mt 5:43). Jesus countered in Mat 5:44, But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.
Lev 19:18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
In order to fuel hatred toward foreign oppressors, the rabbis underscored “your people” to mean vengeance to Gentiles but not to a fellow Jew and limited love to your Jewish neighbor only; even that "love" was watered down. This foolish fuel fed the flames of hatred toward the enemies of Israel or whoever did not embrace Judaism. Hate Gentiles, love Jews.
It is easy to understand the Jewish mindset of survival rather than faith. In the Geo-political world it was literally them against the world as it is today. They are unique among all the nations of the world - non-Gentile. Israel was/is surrounded by their enemies who want nothing more than their destruction. Jesus corrected the thinking of the day to love your enemies, not to hate them. He also defined who was your neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan – my neighbor is anyone who is in need (Lk 10:29-37). Naturally, this was unpopular with the current Jewish mindset and rejected.
It is easy to understand the Jewish mindset of survival rather than faith. In the Geo-political world it was literally them against the world as it is today. They are unique among all the nations of the world - non-Gentile. Israel was/is surrounded by their enemies who want nothing more than their destruction. Jesus corrected the thinking of the day to love your enemies, not to hate them. He also defined who was your neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan – my neighbor is anyone who is in need (Lk 10:29-37). Naturally, this was unpopular with the current Jewish mindset and rejected.
However, we need to understand that the imprecations in the OT are not based upon a human bias of rabbinical thinking of anti-Gentile. We should not shrink in horror that David could say such things as he did in the Psalms (e.g., 109, 139 or another psalmist in 137). These are a reflection of righteous indignation of a general truth that God will judge all workers of iniquity. As stated in the previous lesson that the very God who commanded us to love our enemies is the very God in the future who will order the wicked into the lake of fire.
Interesting to note is that none of these godly imprecators of the OT took matters into their own hands. They understood vengeance belongs unto the LORD. He will one day right every wrong to His honor and glory. It will be God alone who administers justice whereby the righteous are vindicated and the wicked are punished. In our study of Psalm 129 we come across some imprecations in verses 5-8. Our time is limited so let’s review this psalm quickly.
Interesting to note is that none of these godly imprecators of the OT took matters into their own hands. They understood vengeance belongs unto the LORD. He will one day right every wrong to His honor and glory. It will be God alone who administers justice whereby the righteous are vindicated and the wicked are punished. In our study of Psalm 129 we come across some imprecations in verses 5-8. Our time is limited so let’s review this psalm quickly.
Psa 129:1 A Song of Ascents. "Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth," Let Israel now say—
- · Afflicted - Oppressed, besieged, distressed
- · Youth - 430 years in Egypt
- · Israel - he (who) struggles with God. Some say, he (who) persists for God
Psa 129:2 "Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth;
yet they have not prevailed against me.
yet they have not prevailed against me.
- · They – unknown, generally speaking, Israel’s enemies.
- · Prevailed - This verb means literally “being able to accomplish
- Not The reason is in verse 4 (cf. Psa 12:4-5).
· Historically, no nation prospered that went to war against Israel. God used/uses Gentile nations to chasten Israel. God is on the side of Israel. America’s foreign policy must never forget this.
Psa 129:3 The plowers plowed on my back; They made their
furrows long."
furrows long."
- · Plowed My grandfather was a farmer. His plowing was methodical, deliberate, and measured.
- · On my back suggests stripes or scourging of the whip
Psa 129:4 The LORD is righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords
of the wicked.
of the wicked.
- · The reason “they” of verse 2 had not prevailed against Israel. Because the LORD was/is omnipotent; nothing enters our lives without God’s approval.
- · The LORD is righteous. In the afflictions suffered by Israel the psalmist does not accuse Yahweh of not doing right by them. His righteousness refers to the quality of His actions. The LORD is just, lawful, right. He is the ultimate standard of holiness and righteousness. Because God is immutable, unchangeable, He never deviates from His standard of holiness and righteousness. Even when He brings judgment upon Israel for their disobedience, His moral standards and expectations are unwavering, without prejudice.
- · Cut in pieces – suggesting a violent separation; one example of this would be the Red Sea incident.
The imprecations:
Psa 129:5 Let all those who hate Zion Be put to shame and
turned back.
turned back.
- · Hate – God loves the enemy (even in the OT, we have to ever keep in mind that God is eternally immutable, cf. Mal 3:6. Mt 5:45 states, for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust), but He will punish sin.
Psa 5:5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate
all workers of iniquity.
all workers of iniquity.
Psa 92:9 For behold, Your enemies, O LORD, For behold, Your enemies shall perish; All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
Prov 10:29 The way of the LORD is strength for the upright, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.
Nowhere in the Scriptures are we commanded to hate the enemy. But a hatred of the enemy that is allied and attached to the holiness and righteousness of God and animated is not rebuked. Look carefully at the context of Psa 139:21-22. In some sense it is seeing the enemy through the eyes of God.
God desires salvation of all men, but He makes no bones about judgment upon the workers of iniquity who reject God’s standard of holiness and righteousness.
- · Put to shame – no honor (no victory, no praise and adulation for the enemy, only embarrassment)
- · Turned back – no success (only failure, halted, stopped in their tracks, cause the enemy to retreat, no progression, no advancement)
Psa 129:6-7 Let them be as the grass on the housetops, Which
withers before it grows up, (7) With which the reaper does not
fill his hand, Nor he who binds sheaves, his arms.
No prospering (no harvest for their plowing, his actions produce
nothing but judgment)
withers before it grows up, (7) With which the reaper does not
fill his hand, Nor he who binds sheaves, his arms.
No prospering (no harvest for their plowing, his actions produce
nothing but judgment)
Psa 129:8 Neither let those who pass by them say, "The blessing
of the LORD be upon you; We bless you in the name of the
LORD!"
of the LORD be upon you; We bless you in the name of the
LORD!"
· No blessing in greeting the wicked (no customary greeting, cf. Ruth 2:4) for they do not deserve God’s blessing.
- · Bless [barak, H1288] is often used to contrast the cursing of God (cf. Gen 12:3). Let those that hate Zion reap what they have sown throughout the centuries by their cruel plowing.
So the calling down of imprecations against the haters of Zion in Psalm 129 are these: no honor, no progress, no prospering, and no blessing. The desire of the believer for the wicked is repentance unto salvation (loving) and judgment for rejection (cursing) and nothing else.
Let’s look at 2 Chron 19:2 that parallels with what was said in Psalms 129:5-8,
And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you.
Psa 139:21-22 Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?(22) I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.
Psa 69:9 Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
God’s enemies were David’s enemies and David suffered reproach for it. God’s enemies should be our enemies. We should never say, “Well, they never done anything to me.” Listen to the prophet Zechariah,
For thus says the LORD of hosts: "He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye (Zec 2:8). Whoever touches, whether individual or nations, the people of God should touch the apple of our eye as it touches God. Oh, that a godly zeal would replace silent running.
To keep things in perspective when discussing cursing and loving your enemies, we need to keep in mind that the very God who commanded us to love our enemies is the same God who will in the future declare to a shared enemy,
Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Mat 25:41).
Identifying the Enemy
All those who have not been justified by faith in God are enemies of God. The world is comprised of only two types of people: saved sinners and unsaved sinners. And unsaved sinners far outnumber the saved which means we have a lot of enemies. Spiritually speaking, all who have not asked by faith for Jesus Christ to be their personal sin bearer are our enemies. All means all.
Rom 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM
BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR
RIGHTEOUSNESS." Paul quoted Gen 15:6.
BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR
RIGHTEOUSNESS." Paul quoted Gen 15:6.
Hab 2:4 The just shall live by his faith.
Rom 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Fruits
How can we know who is the enemy? The enemy opposes God’s Word as a rule of life. This becomes evident by the absence of fruits. Jesus said by their fruits you will know them (Mt 7:20); James, the half-brother of Jesus said by their works (Jas 2:26 ). God is their Creator but not Redeemer. May publicly profess but do not personally possess (cf. Mt 7:21; 2 Tim 3:5). They claim to be an apple tree, for instance, but produce lemons. Something is wrong with this picture. Recall Jesus cursing the fig tree that bore no fruit (Mk 11:13-14, 21)?
Three grounds
- When we love the sinner and hate the sin, we are standing on providential ground. This is the biblical stance we need to pursue. Both actions are guided by the standards of God, His love and His holiness.
- When we hate the sinner and hate the sin we are standing on personal ground. Though we understand revenge, it is expressly forbidden by God (Lev 19:18). George Washington Carver, once said, “I will never let another man ruin my life by making me hate him.”
- When we love the sinner and ignore, excuse, or condone the sin we are standing on puzzling ground. This is the one that doesn't make any sense. If we merely love the sinner without addressing his or her sin, this is not supernatural agape love of a saved sinner, but natural love of the old nature. When our love ignores, excuses or condones sin we are “loving” naturally and not supernaturally. As Alan Lockerman stated last Sunday, and I paraphrase, “The world doesn’t need our love but the love of Jesus.”
This position has no objective other than seeking acceptance, keeping the peace, fear of being accused of judging, being insensitive, guilty of supposed hate speech (e.g., homosexuality and abortion). He who stands for nothing falls for anything. It may not be right but we can at least identify with vengeance (on personal ground) but silence toward unrighteous acts (puzzling ground) is perplexing. The Lord will judge the wicked and we say nothing of the penalty of sin? Jesus’ death on the cross for redemption? The need for repentance? Dive! Dive! Dive!Silent running!
The world needs to know this! While Christians only promote love for fear of offending, the unbelievers speak more of hell than believers do! Are not the unbelievers the ones who bring up in conversation while we avoid hell and talk about the love of God and heaven, “If God is a God of love, how can he send someone to hell?” I speak this to our shame.
Last week it was stated that the objective of cursing is salvation.
The standard of cursing is the holiness and righteousness of God.
The mode of cursing is love.
Curse
Curse (Arar, H779) is to curse by laying an anathema on someone or something. There are at least five other Hebrew verbs with the same general meaning. This verb, in a more specific sense, means to bind; to hem in with obstacles; to render powerless to resist. It is sometimes used as an antonym of barak (bless, H1288). Qalal (H7043) is to curse by abusing or belittling (profanity).
An example of this would be Gen 12:3 - I will bless (barak, H1288) those who bless (barak, H1288) you, and I will curse (arar, H779) him who curses (Qalal, H7043) you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (barak, H1288)."
Curse in the Old Testament is summed up in the statement: "Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant… (Jer 11:3). Vine OT
So the imprecations in the OT are connected with disobedience to God’s Word.
Likewise in Deut 27:15-26 we see 12 pronouncements of curses or judgments on those who are guilty for breaking the Law of Moses. Moses sums it all up in Deu 27:26 'Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law.' "And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'
Paul modified this passage in Gal 3:10, For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT CONTINUE IN ALL THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO DO THEM."
Paul modified this passage in Gal 3:10, For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT CONTINUE IN ALL THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO DO THEM."
God alone truly "curses." It is a revelation of His justice, in support of His claim to absolute obedience. Men may claim God's "curses" by committing their grievances to God and trusting in His righteous judgment (cf. Psa_109:26-31). Ibid.
The first occurrence of curse (arar, H779) is in Gen 3:14
So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.
And the second occurrence is in Gen 3:17,
Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. This curse on the serpent and Adam were a result of disobeying God.
A curse is directed at those who are violating God’s standard of holiness and righteousness – Jn 3:36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
“We should pray that our enemies be converted and become our friends, and if not, that their doing and designing be bound to fail and have no success and that their persons perish rather than the Gospel and the Kingdom of Christ.”
- Martin Luther
Isn’t this what it is all about in Psalm 129:5-8? This is what imprecations or cursings are all about!
New Testament Imprecations!
Compare Mt 23:13, 15, 16, 23-24, 27, 29
Gal 1:6-9 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who
called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, (7) which is
not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert
the gospel of Christ. (8) But even if we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you,
let him be accursed [anathema] (9) As we have said before, so now
I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what
you have received, let him be accursed [anathema].
called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, (7) which is
not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert
the gospel of Christ. (8) But even if we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you,
let him be accursed [anathema] (9) As we have said before, so now
I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what
you have received, let him be accursed [anathema].
Gal 5:12 I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!
1 Cor 16:22 If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come! You might want to read that again! Before reading the next statement.
Now, just go back three chapters. Isn’t that Paul’s great love chapter! Wasn’t it Paul that said though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved (2 Cor 12:15) or Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth (Gal 4:16)? When the truth is declared in love why is it always construed as insensitive, unloving, or some kind of hate speech?
2Th 1:6 Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you,
2 Tim 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works.
The cry from the martyrs of the Tribulation period in heaven –
Rev 6:9-10 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.(10) And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
Imprecations are a concern for God’s glory by people who see God administering justice where the righteous are vindicated and the wicked punished. This is standing on providential ground.
The imprecations in the OT are not isolated instances of hate speech. Curses are a reflection of God’s attitude toward sin, which we see very little today, God hates sin (The soul who sins shall die, Ezek 18:4), but loves the sinner.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). Sin must and will be address either in the here and now or at the Great White Throne judgment. The psalmist never loses sight of the vindication of God’s holiness and righteousness.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). Sin must and will be address either in the here and now or at the Great White Throne judgment. The psalmist never loses sight of the vindication of God’s holiness and righteousness.
The understood imprecation in the Lord’s prayer
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done…” Mt 6:10
Edward J. Young reminds us [BBC]:
“'Before we proceed to condemn David for this prayer, it is well to note that we ourselves pray for the same thing, whenever we pray the words of the Lord's prayer, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.'”
Before Christ’s coming to set up His kingdom His foes must be destroyed. To pray for “Your kingdom come, Your will be done” is to pray for the destruction of God’s enemies which are our enemies which precedes His return.
“David unashamedly longs for the time when God will slay the wicked, and when men of blood will have ceased their harassment of him forever (Psa 139:19). These are the men who maliciously defy the Lord God and who lift themselves up against God with evil intent.
"David's hatred of these men was not a matter of personal pique. Rather it was because they hated God and rebelled against the Most High. It was his zeal for the Lord's honor that made him hate them with perfect hatred and count them as his own enemies. In this he reminds us of the Lord Jesus whose zeal for His Father's house prompted Him to drive out the money changers.
"David's hatred of these men was not a matter of personal pique. Rather it was because they hated God and rebelled against the Most High. It was his zeal for the Lord's honor that made him hate them with perfect hatred and count them as his own enemies. In this he reminds us of the Lord Jesus whose zeal for His Father's house prompted Him to drive out the money changers.
"The strings of David's harp were the chords of the heart of Jesus. Young explains:
‘David hated, but his hatred was like God's hatred; it proceeded from no evil emotion, but rather from the earnest and thoroughly sincere desire that the purposes of God must stand and that wickedness must perish. Had David not hated, he would have desired the success of evil and the downfall of God Himself.’” BBC
Could we be hiding behind the love of God to keep from calling sin for what it really is – sin for fear of being construed as hate speech or being politically incorrect?
We are to curse our enemy in response to God’s holiness, and we are to love our enemy in our response to God’s love. All love and no cursing is sin; all cursing and no love is sin. It is holiness and love working together in harmony in an attempt to save the enemy from a horrific end.
What is quite disturbing in our day is not the attitudes of godly men and women toward the enemies of God (Psalms 109, 137, 139 and others, for example) but the silence of godly men and women toward the unrighteousness acts of the lost. Silent running is never golden, and it speaks loudly that the glory of God is not a concern even though we are commanded to glorify God in all that we do (1 Cor 10:31), but we will sing, sing, sing when we break the surface on Sunday morning. Though we refuse to up periscope during the week, we’ll raise our hands in praise on Sunday morning. Solomon said, There is a time to keep silence, and a time to speak (Eccl 3:7).
Always keep the polarities in perspective – the very God who commanded us to love our enemies will be the very God who will one day say,
Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt 25:41). The lake of fire was never meant for man; man chooses to go there. Once there, he will experience utter hopelessness and despair for trillions upon trillions of years of never ending torment.
For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ (Php 3:18).
For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ (Php 3:18).
That day is fast approaching. The enemy must know of the love of God and their end if they do not repent. Men and women of faith, it is high time to arm the torpedoes and fire for the glory of God, sharing in the three thousand year old consequences of calling down a curse on the enemy. If any man desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me (Lk 9:23).
Dive! Dive! Dive! or Declare! Declare! Declare!
Post Script
Christianity is not a jihad that seeks to destroy its enemies. True believers are engaged in a great war that has both a spiritual and a physical dynamic. On one side of the conflict is the light - the Creator God, His angels, and saved sinners; on the other side is the darkness - Satan, a created being, demons, and unsaved sinners. It is not a dualism of good versus evil to see who wins out for God is omnipotent, and His good will ultimately triumph over evil according to His eternal purposes.
As we seek to promote the kingdom of God and attempt to save our human enemies from self-destruction, Satan counters by energizing unregenerate men to oppose all things and all people related to Jehovah God. The darkness is unrelenting with cruel hatred possessed with only one objective - the destruction of the human race; Satan cares not for any humankind in his opposition to God.
He will use, abuse, and discard anyone and anything to gain an advantage without an ounce of remorse. He is nothing more than a consumption machine. His non-human nature is dreadfully evil forged by the cold spiritual steel of angelic self-will. Satan is a very powerful, formidable, and effective foe. He is devoid of any sense of morality or code of ethics. There is no compassion with him; he is drained of anything once God-like.
The death of one human or the death of billions is of little consequence to him for he is unmoved by the pain, suffering, and death inflicted by him on the human race. He is death and darkness and absolutely void of good. This creature heads up the world-system...! He is our enemy; his demons are our enemy; and the unsaved sinners are our enemy.
We cannot sit still; we cannot be silent running; we must strike the enemy with the two most powerful weapons at our disposal: the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and prayer. O LORD, how long, how long before You are vindicated and the wicked are punished? Our grievances are lengthy! Come quickly, O LORD, but nonetheless, empower us to reach out to the lost in love for Your honor and Your glory until its time to leave this sin-filled world.
We cannot sit still; we cannot be silent running; we must strike the enemy with the two most powerful weapons at our disposal: the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and prayer. O LORD, how long, how long before You are vindicated and the wicked are punished? Our grievances are lengthy! Come quickly, O LORD, but nonetheless, empower us to reach out to the lost in love for Your honor and Your glory until its time to leave this sin-filled world.
