People of This World Persecute Until the Full Number is Met
Greetings in the Lord~
Well, any way you slice it, the passage from Revelation 6 is a serious message and may cause some to be perplexed over the ways of God. For that chapter talks about a time when His judgments are released upon the earth to do its work; war, violence, famine / disease, and death are unleashed to usher in a time of persecution that sifts the godly unto death.
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful for their testimony. They shouted to the Lord and said, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before You judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?" Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters -- their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred -- had joined them. Revelation 6:9-11
There are two things that stand out to me in those verses: "people who belong to this world," and "until the full number." The first highlights the distinction that is made between those who follow a carnal, natural mind that pursues earthly rewards / lusts and uses worldly convention and knowledge to accomplish their desires, and of those that have a regenerated and sanctified mind, born of the Spirit and obedient to God's word. Those that "belong to this world" also then, belong to the ruler of this world, who is Satan, and would speak the lies they believe to be true from their father, but ultimately, they would not know truth and live in spiritual darkness. But it doesn't end there. In Psalm 17 and many other places in Scripture, we see that people "who belong to this world" quite often persecute people of faith violently and appear to have the upper hand, yet God will not ignore the cries of His persecuted ones forever. And that leads to the other thing that stands out to me: "until the full number."
Recently, I wrote about the "mystery of persecution," in that, I said we are entering a volatile season where persecution of the godly would be on the rise, but that it is only part of the process. The end of the process would produce more seeds, more faithful people of Jesus Christ. "The full number" therefore, also includes the idea of completed work to be done in the lives for whom the word applies to, for God gives the grace for those He has called to suffer for His namesake, and their testimony of steadfast faith in Jesus in the midst of their ordeal is a pleasing offering to the Lord, just like their lives on the altar of sacrifice. He will also make sure the honor He has for them will be recognized by all, and that they will receive their robes of righteousness in the salvation He promises to His faithful servants. It is an eternal reward! Lastly then, there is the 'mystery' part, where the crushed seed produces a new plant of many MORE seeds---the very splendid part of the "full number!" So it is not a body count per se, but about the completed work being done, like when Jesus gave up his spirit by saying, "It is finished." It was a perfect and glorious and yet, mysterious and supernatural thing to us. Praise God for the mystery of Life in Him!
___________________
While I was contemplating this prophetic word, I discerned that the coming persecution may not look like religious persecution on the surface, but that it was indeed its true, darker motive. Then I began to have a vision of a large dragon flying around in the sky, like in the movie "The Hobbit." At one point in the movie trilogy, the dragon gets mad at the hobbits that invaded his mountain and tried to overthrow and kill him in liquid molten, so he flies off to destroy the city/villages where they came from and took his wrath out on the people. Likewise, I discern that the above word of persecution may be included in HK/China in retaliation for the protests, but only in part, as it seems that the coming crackdown will be more about destabilizing and purging the city/country's informal structures that keeps it strong---the Church, charities and NGOs. The true agenda is to eradicate religion and all forms of competing loyalties. Originally, the protests were ignited by a proposal to allow extraditions to China for legal processing and this may still occur, but not through formal, public channels. These are dark days indeed! Protesters need to flee away quickly before their names are put on a list and the hammer comes down and people are scooped up and disappear in the night, as surely they will. I discern that the coming crackdown will be very harsh, so much so that it will send shivers down the spines of their countrymen. A strong antichrist spirit sends its message to the masses. It makes me very sad to share this vision and word on here. I pray for the Christians in HK and China! May they be strong enough to declare their faith in the day of their fiery ordeal. May they know that God has not abandoned them and hears their cries; their heavenly reward will not be denied and Truth will prevail in the end.
"They who seek our lives will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth and be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in Him while the mouths of liars will be silenced." Psalm 63:9-11.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
Well, any way you slice it, the passage from Revelation 6 is a serious message and may cause some to be perplexed over the ways of God. For that chapter talks about a time when His judgments are released upon the earth to do its work; war, violence, famine / disease, and death are unleashed to usher in a time of persecution that sifts the godly unto death.
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful for their testimony. They shouted to the Lord and said, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before You judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?" Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters -- their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred -- had joined them. Revelation 6:9-11
There are two things that stand out to me in those verses: "people who belong to this world," and "until the full number." The first highlights the distinction that is made between those who follow a carnal, natural mind that pursues earthly rewards / lusts and uses worldly convention and knowledge to accomplish their desires, and of those that have a regenerated and sanctified mind, born of the Spirit and obedient to God's word. Those that "belong to this world" also then, belong to the ruler of this world, who is Satan, and would speak the lies they believe to be true from their father, but ultimately, they would not know truth and live in spiritual darkness. But it doesn't end there. In Psalm 17 and many other places in Scripture, we see that people "who belong to this world" quite often persecute people of faith violently and appear to have the upper hand, yet God will not ignore the cries of His persecuted ones forever. And that leads to the other thing that stands out to me: "until the full number."
Recently, I wrote about the "mystery of persecution," in that, I said we are entering a volatile season where persecution of the godly would be on the rise, but that it is only part of the process. The end of the process would produce more seeds, more faithful people of Jesus Christ. "The full number" therefore, also includes the idea of completed work to be done in the lives for whom the word applies to, for God gives the grace for those He has called to suffer for His namesake, and their testimony of steadfast faith in Jesus in the midst of their ordeal is a pleasing offering to the Lord, just like their lives on the altar of sacrifice. He will also make sure the honor He has for them will be recognized by all, and that they will receive their robes of righteousness in the salvation He promises to His faithful servants. It is an eternal reward! Lastly then, there is the 'mystery' part, where the crushed seed produces a new plant of many MORE seeds---the very splendid part of the "full number!" So it is not a body count per se, but about the completed work being done, like when Jesus gave up his spirit by saying, "It is finished." It was a perfect and glorious and yet, mysterious and supernatural thing to us. Praise God for the mystery of Life in Him!
___________________
While I was contemplating this prophetic word, I discerned that the coming persecution may not look like religious persecution on the surface, but that it was indeed its true, darker motive. Then I began to have a vision of a large dragon flying around in the sky, like in the movie "The Hobbit." At one point in the movie trilogy, the dragon gets mad at the hobbits that invaded his mountain and tried to overthrow and kill him in liquid molten, so he flies off to destroy the city/villages where they came from and took his wrath out on the people. Likewise, I discern that the above word of persecution may be included in HK/China in retaliation for the protests, but only in part, as it seems that the coming crackdown will be more about destabilizing and purging the city/country's informal structures that keeps it strong---the Church, charities and NGOs. The true agenda is to eradicate religion and all forms of competing loyalties. Originally, the protests were ignited by a proposal to allow extraditions to China for legal processing and this may still occur, but not through formal, public channels. These are dark days indeed! Protesters need to flee away quickly before their names are put on a list and the hammer comes down and people are scooped up and disappear in the night, as surely they will. I discern that the coming crackdown will be very harsh, so much so that it will send shivers down the spines of their countrymen. A strong antichrist spirit sends its message to the masses. It makes me very sad to share this vision and word on here. I pray for the Christians in HK and China! May they be strong enough to declare their faith in the day of their fiery ordeal. May they know that God has not abandoned them and hears their cries; their heavenly reward will not be denied and Truth will prevail in the end.
"They who seek our lives will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth and be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in Him while the mouths of liars will be silenced." Psalm 63:9-11.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
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