As darkness grows on the planet, one thing is sure, and that is persecution coming to the people of God. It is something you prepare for and not run from.
Matthew 5:10 (King James Version)
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
This general teaching stated by Christ when He was on Earth is that Born Again Christians and Hebrew People, those of Our Father’s family, will be persecuted. The positive part of the teaching is that even though persecution will cause mental, emotional, and physical pain, the joy resulting from persecution is far greater than the pain. This is something that will be hard for most Christians to wrap their mind around. I hear today both Christians and non-Christians making the statement why would our Father would allow pain and suffering. It is important to define the word persecution and the word blessed.
When Christ gave this sermon, He was not only thinking about that present time but Also about all the future Our Father has planned for Planet Earth. Now, let’s think about the meaning of the word persecution. “For the Old Testament Church, there is still the ongoing persecution that began when the Hebrew People were slaves in Egypt for four hundred years. There are those who are still trying to keep the Hebrew People in some type of bondage. There are those who want to exterminate the Hebrew People, and the beginning example of this took place in the time of Esther. (See Esther 3:6.) The demons of Haman, anti-Semitism demons, are still influencing people to do things to the Hebrew People.
For the New Testament Church, persecution takes on many forms. (1) One meaning of the Greek word translated persecution is to drive people away and isolate them from others. For example, there are many in different societies today who think that Born Again Christians should do whatever they want to do within the four walls of their Church buildings. (2) Persecution is mistreating people enough that they suffer mentally, emotionally, and/or physically. (3) The meaning of the word persecution also includes the idea of pursuing a person to cause them painful suffering. (4) Making unreasonable demands on people is also a form of persecution.
Most of us define the word blessed with ‘happiness’ and ‘joy’. Joy” is an inward feeling of pleasure and contentment. Two other words in our third text verse give more explanation. Rejoice means ‘to give outward expression to the inward joy – Examples of this are a smile, laughter, and joyful conversation. The expression exceeding glad includes the meaning of expressing this joy in worshiping Our Father, Christ Your Lord, sitting at Our Father's right hand (HS). (See Luke 1:47, 1 Peter 1:8.) The purpose of this teaching is to show you that if one is being persecuted for righteousness’s sake, the persecution will not destroy one’s joy; it will add to one’s joy.”
john 16:21 (King James Version)
21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
Matthew 13:21 (King James Version)
21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
In our second text verse, part of the meaning of the word tribulation is the same as the word travail in our first text verse. It is important to note that in our second text verse, Christ our Lord stated that there is a similarity between the experience of tribulation and the experience of persecution. Thus, Christ Your Lord taught that the pain of persecution is like unto that of the pain of childbirth. Thus, the pain and suffering of persecution is something that one’s mind will record, but it is a pain and suffering that a person will not recall from his or her mind unless that person desires to recall the pain and suffering. Even though Our Father’s plan includes persecution for both people of the Old Testament Church and the New Testament Church, the pain and suffering of persecution is a pain and suffering that you do not recall to your memory like a mother does not recall from her memory the pain of birthing a baby from her womb. This is a very important truth to understand.
Genesis 3:14 (King James Version)
14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
“After (Eve) and (Adam) disobeyed Our Father in the Garden of Eden, both of them and Satan were cast out of the Garden of Eden. Their sins did not go unpunished, as no sin goes unpunished unless one finds forgiveness of the sin. It is important to note that even though Eve and Adam received punishments that included hardships, only Satan received the curse. The curse includes suffering and pain.
Genesis 3:16 (King James Version)
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
The word multiply is important to understand. The effect of multiplying is not making something but increasing something already in existence. “The source of pain and suffering is actually Satan, though some of it comes to you through the sinful nature within us humans and the influence of sin in the natural realm of Planet Earth in which you live. This means that the pain and suffering that both Born Again Christians, Hebrew People, and sinners experience actually comes from Satan. Also, it is important to note that whatever pain and suffering a person experiences, they are permitted by Our Father.
Sinners experience the pain and suffering that comes to them and endure the pain and suffering based totally on human efforts. It is different with Born Again Christians. First, Born Again Christians only experience pain and suffering that Our Father permits. Secondly. (HS) and the Guardian Angels will never leave a Born Again Christian or child before the Age of Choosing alone during times of pain and suffering. Thirdly, the pain and suffering that comes under the category of persecution is pain and suffering that the Born-Again Christian will not recall from the memory of his or her mind unless he or she desires to do so. I know that’s difficult for us men to understand, but ask your wife and see if she can explain it. Most probably haven’t given much thought to it.
When Christ Our Lord was on Planet Earth and taught what is referred to as the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5:1-7:29), Holy Spirit inspired Apostle John to include seven statements of Beatitudes or Blessings when he wrote the Book of Revelation through the lord taught nine. The Beatitudes that Apostle John wrote are important for this teaching because the Born-Again Christians in the seven Churches of Asia Minor were receiving some persecution at that time. A study of these Beatitudes will give some insight into how these early Christians faced persecution and that they were happy and joyful as they went through their times of persecution.
The teaching of our text verse is that understanding Scripture is related to the happiness that Born Again Christians have during times of persecution. Though this verse is basically about the Book of Revelation, the teaching applies to all of the Scriptures in the Bible. There are some very important things that (HS) inspired Apostle John to include in our text verse about the Book of Revelation. First of all, (HS) had it stated that Revelation is a book of prophecy. Prophecy is when (HS) gives a divine utterance through a Born-Again Christian, or sometimes even an Angel, stating the mind of Our Father. The general theme of prophecy is the mind of Our Father, beginning with the creation of Planet Earth and the end of Planet Earth, as you know it, as a material universe.
The setting of this book is also important. Our text verse includes instructions about the seven Churches of Asia Minor using the Book of Revelation in their group worship services. The words were to be read, the people worshipping were to hear the words, and then they were to obey the words. This not only states the importance of these words of prophecy, but it is also a guideline that can be applied to all Scriptures of the Bible. “Understanding this book of prophecy, the Book of Revelation, will help prepare a Born Again Christian to be happy in times of persecution. It needs to be understood that the prophecy of the Book of Revelation not only applies to the past of Planet Earth but also to the present and the future of Planet Earth. This includes the idea that persecution of both the Old Testament Church and the New Testament Church will continue until Christ Your Lord returns from Heaven and sets up His Kingdom on Planet Earth, known as the Millennial Kingdom. This includes the idea that the material Planet will be reduced to ashes (2 Peter 3:10) in favor of a new Heaven and new Planet Earth (see Revelation 21:1.)
Revelation 1:12 (King James Version)
12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
“Most of the words that Apostle John heard in his vision came from Christ Your Lord.”
Revelation 6:1 (King James Version)
6 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
Revelation 10:8-9 (King James Version)
8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Revelation 17:1 (King James Version)
17 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Even though most of the communication Apostle John received was from Christ Your Lord, it should be noted that these verses are examples showing that some of the Angels assisted in the communications. Letting us know as the persecution of the Old Testament Church and the New Testament Church increases, Our Father will again use Angels to assist in times of persecution. This is one of the reasons why Our Father is opening the eyes of more people to see some of the Angels around them. Those who are seeing the Angels can report some of the Angel activities that are going on.
