Matthew 16:18 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” 

Seeing how we are the End-Times Church living in these Last Days, certain verses like the one above help us to know that there is an unseen realm that is more real than what we can see right here in front of us in the physical.

That unseen realm involves Spiritual Beings, both Holy and Unholy!  

The Unholy Demonic Horde are Demons who are Satanically Inspired. They are the ones that involve the Principalities, Powers, Rulers of Darkness of this World, and Spiritual Wickedness in high places. These Wicked Beings may seem to have ‘free reign’ in this World, but God sovereignly reigns in and limits any power they may wield against us!

Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.“ 

The Holy Angels of God are the Mighty Host of Heaven. These Angelic Beings are incredibly strong and powerful, more than any human being can fathom! These are God’s Colossal Warriors that have been serving Him, by aiding us, alongside the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit ever since the Church Age began!

Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”

Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”

Psalm 68:17 “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.”

With all the distressing events that have transpired in recent months, it is hard not to become anxious, even as Believers. God’s Word tells us not to be anxious about anything, but in all things by Prayer, Supplication, and Thanksgiving let our Requests be made known unto Him, and the Peace of God which surpasses all understanding will Guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Our prayer, then, is for God’s Holy Spirit to restrain all Evil as much as He Will until we are taken out of the way and for the Gates of Hell not to prevail against His Church! 

So, let us reflect on the statement that the ‘Gates of Hell will not prevail against His Church.’ Gates of Hell relates to the realm of the Dead; meaning Spiritually Dead, Lost Souls, and Demons. The ‘Gates’ allude to an opening, entrance, portal, or veil, if you will, from this side to the next. On the one hand, it means that our enemy ‘Death’ will not prevail against the Church of Christ; and on the other hand, it means that the ‘Realm of Evil’ will not prevail against us either!

This, in turn, connects us to the scripture which tells us that when the Restrainer (the Holy Spirit’s restraining influence, along with the Church—the body of believers who are indwelt with the Holy Spirit) is taken out of the way, then the Lawless One, the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition, the Antichrist will be revealed.  

The Devil and his minions will be set loose to wreak havoc on this Earth, the likes of which we have never seen before and never will see again! The Enemy knows that his time is limited, because God’s sovereignly has him on a ‘short leash’ of only 7 years to carry out his evil carnage and destruction on the souls of men. While at the same time, God’s Wrath will be poured out on an Unrepentant, Lost, and Unbelieving World!

Amazingly, these lost souls will refuse to repent, because their hearts and minds will be darkened through their practice of witchcraft, sorceries, pharmakeia, and of all sorts of wickedness! They will blaspheme God, even with all the Signs, Wonders, Trumpet Blasts, and Announcements from the Host of Heaven! Incredibly, they will refuse to Honor God, refuse to Repent, and thereby refuse to be Saved! Choosing instead to damn their souls to Hell for all of Eternity!

When we are taken out of the way, literally all Hell will break loose! 

2 Thessalonians 2:3 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”

2 Thessalonians 2:7-10 “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the LORD shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the LORD so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”

In the meantime, we the Church, the Ekklesia, the Called-Out Ones, are to Occupy, to Run our Race, to Serve our King, and to Carry Out the Great Commission while there is still time! We can do this because we know that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength and because we know that Jesus told us that the Gates of Hell will not prevail against us!

Like the apostle Paul said, Pray without Ceasing, be Thankful in all Circumstances, and Rejoice Always because this is God’s Will for us in Christ Jesus!

Until next time… Maranatha!

(JESUS = THE WAY, THE TRUTH, & THE LIFE!)

In Isaiah 1:1 there are 4 kings of Judah listed. Based on a very strong and logical argument using scripture, the Prophet Isaiah more than likely lived during the rule of 5 kings, with the last one being the very brutal and evil king, King Manasseh.

It was under Manasseh’s rule when lots and lots of blood was spilled, especially the blood of the innocent including Isaiah’s. Isaiah was perhaps killed by way of being sawn in two. This and other ways are what one could expect when answering the call to be God’s Prophet. Acts 7:51-53 says:

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

The young man who spoke those words of truth was filled with God’s grace and power. He was in the presence of a corrupt chief priest and other unbelieving Jews. The man who didn’t play it “safe” was Stephen.

Yes, the same Stephen who was eventually stoned to death soon after he spoke those words of truth was, unfortunately and sadly, totally disregarded by those in attendance. Stephen’s dissertation of Jewish history cut right into their unbelieving hearts.

Acts 7 happens to be one of my favorite parts of the Bible. Stephen, a Messianic Jew, summarized Jewish history with such perfection. Please read verses 2-51. If you are ever led by the Holy Spirit to witness to someone who comes from a Jewish background, those verses are definitely ones to be familiar with.

At the end of Stephen’s history lesson, he really laid it all out in those verses we just went over. I would have to believe the last thing on Stephen’s mind was playing it “safe.”

In a recent column by Dennis Prager, he stated the following:

“You are not on earth to be safe. You are on earth to lead a full life. I don’t want my epitaph to be, “He led a safe life.” It’s like another epitaph I don’t want: “He experienced as little pain as possible.”

Needless to say, Stephen led a full life, not a “safe” one.

Those of us who read the scriptures are well aware that those in attendance with the high priest were so enraged they were even grinding their teeth. That rage turned into having this believer in the Messiah stoned to death for the blasphemy of speaking in public that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. Not a very “safe” thing to do.

The part that is so meaningful for me is not the history lesson Stephen gave, nor is it his boldness and courage which he showed. As great and encouraging as those things were and are, the most meaningful is how God showed up right on time just before this man full of faith and the Holy Spirit was stoned to death. Look at what Stephen spoke in Acts 7:56.

“And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’”

Stephen wasn’t focused on playing it “safe.” He wasn’t in fear about the physical act of being stoned. But he was laser focused on the spiritual things from above.

We can certainly be encouraged by his example when the things of this world invade our lives, whether it be health, finances, or whatever else, including the coming persecution for believing in Jesus as our Messiah, just as Stephen was. To the world then, to believe in Jesus as Messiah was utter nonsense. That is still the case today.

So, here we are in America, the land of the free and home of the brave some 2 thousand years later where too many of our leaders are telling us to stay locked down until it is “safe” to go to a restaurant. They tell us to stay home until its “safe” to stick our heads out. Church is out of the question because it isn’t “safe” to be surrounded and close to our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We’ll only be “safe” if we stay locked down. It’s only “safe” if we remain in quarantine.

If we listen to their plan of being “safe,” we are allowing our freedoms to be taken away one piece at time that others before us sacrificed their lives for. The reality is our freedoms began slipping away some time ago. I know…that hard truth is a painful thing to hear.

These forced-upon-us “plans to be safe” not only go against the Judeo-Christian principles this country was founded on, it goes against common sense. However, and much more important than that, it shows a lack of faith towards the Almighty God who has us in the palm of His hand.

We need to be like Stephen. His trust and hope in the Lord is an encouragement for all of us who know the Lord. We are to look up as Stephen did.

We know by faith we have a God who, at the right moment, the perfect moment in His timing, knows exactly what to do on our behalf, which always turns out to be what’s best for us. And He does it each and every time without fail! Amen?

We who are faithful, no matter if that faith is as small as a mustard seed or as big as a mountain, we are perfectly safe in the Lord’s hands.

He and only He is in control, not some virus, not some governor, or senator or mayor or whoever. No to all of that. It is only the Almighty God who is in full and complete control. Only He is sovereign.

We must keep looking up as our brother Stephen did, no matter what. Our being “safe” doesn’t come from the things of this world.

Brothers and sisters, our safety, our peace and our comfort is dwelling within each and every one of us who has called upon the name of the Lord. Of course, He is the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised us who dwells within every believer.

Stephen acted in faith. He knew God would take care of everything. He trusted God fully and completely. And look what happened to him. He went on to be in the presence of the Lord. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

So, let’s keep looking up as our redemption draws near!

Stay safe in Him and with Him and be blessed.

Mark Susswein: msusswein@comcast.net