Fight To The Finish

We tend to grow accustomed to the religious doctrines, political and personal opinions of the local folk we have daily interaction with. But when we travel - first north, then south as far as one can go on the Eastern portion of this continent, preparing next for a trek west through Kentucky, we find such doctrines and opinions are not so local after all. They are spreading, have been spreading for decades, and the outrage of the locals all across this land today takes to the airwaves: "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore."

There is a grassroots movement in this country that is rising up to reclaim the America we have all known and loved. An America that needs rescuing, one that needs an administrative overhaul, a good Congressional weeding out and cleaning and a mending of the holes and tears in our Constitution. And I applaud this movement, it is overdue. It should have been put into place and progressively advanced during the dangerous and impeachable Clinton administration, straight through the far-from-friendly threats and pressures hurled at Israel by George W. Bush.

I urge you to join this movement - if you haven't already. Join the Tea Party, the "Pink Slippers," the "Birthers" and throw the bums out. Ignore those that have their heads in the sand, thinking if they hide from the dangerous tides that are coming in they will go away...

But first - as Christians - we need to be prepared and totally aware of the dangers in the fight we are about to enter. We need to wear our armor at all times - the whole armor - and we must take up the sword of the Spirit (the Word) and the Shield of Faith (our personal faith). This is not a fight for the squeamish or the half-hearted. It is a fight to the finish - it will go on until Jesus calls us to Himself - and though many may fall in this battle their courage and devotion to Christ will be known in all of Heaven, and will be rewarded by Jesus Christ Himself. It is not a fight for power. It is a fight between good and evil, the truth and the lie. It is our last and final stand for righteousness in the face of purest wickedness and the darkness of a furious hell.

We prepare by first saying, "Yes. Count me in." Then we pray in all sincerity, submitting to the Holy Spirit and the Lord of Hosts. Next we repent of all worldly attachments, severing ourselves from those people and those things that would bring distractions or temptations that would certainly place us in the cross-hairs of the enemy. Our enemies may be those of our own household, those unbelievers and rebels we love. Continue to love them but turn them over to Jesus and loose them to His mercy and His ability to save them. He knows how to succeed where we fail. And He did warn us, a prophet has no honor in his own hometown (or family).

Be careful what you read, what you watch on TV or what you receive (in your hearing) from others. Our Spirits need to be educated with the Word that is more powerful than a two-edged sword, and they need to be filled with the anointing of that Word. As well, we need to be conditioned by the Word to think, speak, walk, and serve according to the Word of God. We need to be confident we are able through Christ and through our faith in Christ, to do all that we can, and all He asks of us in this day, for there are many others who are unable to fight because of age or frailty, but who are cheering us on and interceding for us.

Our strength will surely be tested. Our faith will surely be tested. All who will follow Christ will be tested, persecuted, and proven. Their fight will never be in vain, though they die, for that which is given for Christ can never be lost. They are written in the annals of Heaven, books kept by God, who has a Book of Remembrance filled with the names of those that merely think upon His Name. Imagine what might be written concerning those that fight - even die - to honor and to glorify that Name...

We are living in the times Jesus warned about in Matthew 24. Today we see and recognize the last of the seven churches - the Laodicean Church, lukewarm deniers of basic truths, co-existing with the still living remnants of the Philadelphia Church, the only Church Jesus did not rebuke, beginning in Revelations 3:7. The Philadelphia Church is the triumphant Church, the overcoming Church that will be Raptured because they are watching and expecting their Bridegroom to come for them at anytime.

We are told by His Word to watch and pray that we are worthy to escape all the things that are coming on this earth and we must be doing just that. As His Bride, we truly love Him and we are thrilled to be listening for His voice calling us. As it is with any Bride who has not seen her beloved for two years, we are anxious to see His face, His smile, and His nail-scarred and loving out-stretched hands...

We have been facing the enemy of our souls all of our lives. But today he has such a short time left, and he knows the Scriptures better than we do. He knows what is in store for him if Jesus wins the fight and, of course, his aim is to defeat and destroy Jesus and the Host He brings with Him. He thinks he can do this with a vast army of mortal men using mortal weapons...

Stupid devil...

The battle of Armageddon will be the proving grounds for the survivors of the Great Tribulation. Those that follow the antichrist will die on the spot. Those that have accepted and followed Christ will be protected from the heat of the battle. In this interim, before that day comes when we all return to Jerusalem with Christ, we can choose to enter the spiritual battle that is now raging or we can sit on the sidelines and pray for our brothers and sisters who brave the front lines. Spiritual warfare is not new, it has been around since the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve lost the very first challenge that brings us to this day.

However, it may be new to you. I will not paint a rosy picture for you. I will tell you in all truth and certainty - any war is deadly - any war is hell - and all wars are a fight to the finish. Many are going to die...

The closest I can come to describing today's threats is to take you back to Lord of the Rings. If you can imagine the release of demons from the pits of hell stampeding the earth for a final showdown, this is similar to what we are facing today. It will be the same grotesque and screaming devils that emerged in Lord of the Rings. The fight will be different for you and me because they will be more numerous and sickeningly evil, but we have authority in the Spirit and by the Word to melt them - dissolve them - banish them - burn them and blow them out of our way...

I have seen them, I have faced their strongholds in the skies above us. But the fight will not be as it was then. We will surely be outnumbered though Michael and the Heavenly Hosts will be with us, engaging the fight with us. Pushing back the evil that threatens is the job of the Spirit-filled believer. Together we are the restrainer that holds back the evil one until the antichrist is revealed. Even though he has filled the whole earth with his slimy co-horts.

In Lord of the Rings, the hero fought valiantly with his armies and in the end, when evil had been abolished, he was crowned King. And the woman he loved gave up everything to stand with him...

And so must we...

Joan Krempel
September 30, 2009
joan@joankrempelministries.com