War

How we would love to put an end to war on the earth. But there never will be peace on the earth until the Lord Jesus Christ and His saints have driven all wickedness from the presence of mankind.

Because of the presence of sin there always has been and always will be war on the earth. War comes from the self-seeking and hatred found in the human heart. There is self-seeking and hatred in us because Satan has access to our personality. Until Satan and his self-seeking and hatred have been removed, there always will be wars and fighting among the members of mankind.

War actually is a spiritual phenomenon. There is war in the spirit realm against Christ and His holy angels. We read of this struggle in the Book of Daniel.

We ourselves are fighting against highly placed spiritual authorities located in the heavenlies.

The rewards found in the second and third chapter of the Book of Revelation are designated for those who conquer in the struggle against wicked personalities.

Speaking in terms of the seven feasts of the Lord, the Christian Church has come as far as the fulfillment of the feast of Pentecost. The fifth feast, the celebration following Pentecost, is the Blowing of Trumpets.

Those of us who are pressing forward in Christ are experiencing the spiritual fulfillment of the Jewish Blowing of Trumpets. Our choruses are becoming militant. We are being trained in the discipline that always must be true of an army, in this case an army of judges that will return with the Lord and drive all wickedness from the creation.

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Hosts, is standing before us. He is ready to declare war on the enemies in our personality: the love of the world, the lusts and passions of the flesh, soul, and spirit, and especially our stubbornness, rebellion, and self-seeking.

The coming of the Lord to drive evil from the members of His army of necessity must occur prior to His worldwide appearing; for at His worldwide appearing He will invade the earth with His army riding behind Him. No person can ride behind Christ in the attack of Armageddon until that individual first has been subjected to the scrutiny of Christ in every tiniest aspect of his or her personality.

The Lord is standing before us today. He is asking us to open the everlasting doors of our heart. If we will do this, He will enter us and dine with us. We eat His flesh and drink His blood. He dines on our worship and obedience.

We eat at His banqueting table in our own heart and His banner over us is love. At the same time He declares war on all of His enemies that are in us.

We who are experienced Christians find that sins we thought had been removed from us long ago are now raising up in us. Instead of coming to the conclusion we have backslidden, or trying to hold the sins down, we are to confess them specifically to the Lord (and to other people if indicated), denounce them with all our might, renounce them with all our strength, calling on Jesus Christ for assistance.

To be continued.