Our church has been studying the book of
Revelation for the past several weeks.
This week we looked at the fifth seal.
Revelation 6:9-11 “And when he had opened the
fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the
word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud
voice, saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge
our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto
every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a
little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should
be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
According to the Open Doors World
Watch List over 200 million Christians were persecuted in fifty countries. The number of Christians being killed each
year for their faith in Jesus Christ is on the rise.
Looking at the type of persecution
experienced by Christians falls into two categories. The first is the targeting of those who
confess the name of Christ and suffer martyrdom. Then there is the “polite persecution” by
changing the laws to be more “progressive” by taking away a person’s freedom
and their right to conscientious objection of what their faith believes to be
sin.
We have witnessed those who have lost
their business, and their jobs when exercising their freedom of expression or
conscience. Christian-run business have
been ruined financially, Christian student groups have been silenced and
Christian symbols have been removed from the public square.
Christians are told by the
anti-Christian people they are just as moral, if not more moral than
Christians. In countries where Christianity
is no longer an influence and the “moral code” allows:
·
The casual
killing of those whose lives "aren't worth living."
·
Murdering
56,000,000 unborn babies each year because they are inconvenient, or because
they are women to be.
·
The mass murder
of 100,000,000 people in the last century.
·
Sexual
objectification of women.
·
Human trafficking
·
The use of
violence to silence "offensive" speech.
·
A hedonistic ruling class oppressing all who
object to its "values."
The reality is that without Jesus Christ
in the life of man he becomes a monster.
The cultures where Christianity is being oppressed or banned entirely are
the most evil and aggressive “civilizations” the world has ever seen. In
Cambodia about 25% of the population was exterminated for the “greater good.”
While in America we still have the
protection of the historical documents that this country was founded on-The
Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, we are seeing these protections
of liberty and freedom being ignored by our elected leaders. Our elected leaders are rapidly moving away
from the Christian foundations that made America great.
The issue has been the same since the Garden
of Eden it is the belief that man is his own god as opposed to sovereignty of
God. This lie has become universal because
we have allowed academia, media, and the political progressives to destroy our
freedom and liberty. The result will be
greater persecution of Christians in this country. We will see the “polite persecution” change
to the physical attacks on Christians, just like it is happening right now in
Europe and the Middle East. I believe God
has given America time to repent, to turn from our wicked ways and make amends for
the injustice our government has brought upon the innocent victims around the
world.
John gave us the vision of those who
were crying out for retribution on those who took their lives. They were told that in a “little season”
their fellow Christians would also die and then God would bring His wrath down
in judgment on the wicked. We need to
heed this warning and prepare for what is coming.
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