The Daily Word of Righteousness

Which Kingdom?, #4

And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. (Revelation 13:14)

The Lord Jesus did not give us His Holy Spirit so we can improve the physical welfare of people but so we can testify against sin and so we can bear witness of Christ's atoning death, His triumphant resurrection, and His soon coming as King of kings to enforce the will of God on the earth.

In our day there are emerging from several bodies of Christian believers various attempts to unite God's people around an agenda, a plan to force Christian values on the secular population of the United States. This in effect would be the establishing of the Kingdom of God in advance of the return of the Lord Jesus.

The current efforts are well-intentioned. They support democratic ideals, and sometimes free-enterprise capitalism as a philosophy of economics. The concept of believers joining hands to improve the morality of the nation seems so "right"! But the Lord Jesus is not in such endeavors. They are just modern instances of the historical efforts to build God's Kingdom by human effort.

How do we dare point to an effort to remove the moral abominations currently being taught and practiced in the United States of America as being an enemy of the Lord Jesus, as being a foe that will seek to destroy those who aspire to God's true Kingdom? In order to aid the reader's understanding of our position, let us set forth some points to be considered. The following concepts may be of help for those who do not wish to be a part of Antichrist and the False Prophet.

The sin in the world cannot be overcome until we overcome Satan. Overcoming Satan requires that we trust in the blood of the Lamb, that we cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He creates the testimony of God in us, and that we love not our life to the point of death.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. (Revelation 12:11)

The first level of overcoming the accuser has to do with the blood of the Lamb. When we hear the Gospel of the Kingdom we must decide if we will attempt to save ourselves or if we choose to trust in the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus. If we choose to trust in the blood of God's Lamb, Satan cannot accuse us successfully when we approach God.

The second level of overcoming the accuser concerns the Divine testimony. As we walk in the Spirit of God He—the Spirit—testifies of God in two ways: first, by the ministries and gifts that He gives to the members of the Body of Christ; second, by the moral image of Christ that He creates in the thinking, the speech, and the actions of the believers.

The Charismatic movement includes the first two levels. The believers trust in the blood of God's Lamb, and ministries and gifts of the Spirit abound among us. It is not always true, however, that the moral image of Christ has been created in us.

To be continued.