Centuries ago, Christ established His Church on the solid rock of truth. Regardless of modern challenges, sustained attacks on the body, and deadly persecution against its membership, the gates of hell cannot ever prevail against her.
The Church has endured eons of hostility from the time it first emerged as the dominant spiritual force in the Roman Empire. Christians were persecuted from the get-go, and this only intensified as the movement spread across the regions. Christians came into ideological conflict with imperial cults as they rejected and resisted pagan practices, such as making sacrifices to deified emperors and other gods. They were accused of and punished for treason, concocted crimes, illegal assembly, and for introducing what was described as an alien cult to the people.
The disciples suffered beheadings, stonings, and other forms of brutality. Despite this often gruesome reality, they were faithful to the mission of preaching the gospel and establishing fellowships.
According to the 2024 World Watch List, released by Open Doors, a Christian watchdog group, around 365 million believers faced high levels of persecution and discrimination in 2023. One out of every seven Christians suffers high levels of persecution for their faith.
Although the numbers haven’t changed substantially from previous years, the World Watch List notes that 2022 was the worst year for Christians worldwide, due to an intensifying level of violence, discrimination, and exclusion. Without a doubt, between 2020 and 2022, the COVID debacle and vaccine mandates added to the worrying trend of high-level Christian persecution.
In some countries, Christians have no freedom of worship, and if discovered practising their faith, they face labour camps, if not death. Even owning a Bible is a serious crime in some places and with lifelong consequences in some nations.
Remember, Christ made it clear that a servant is not greater than his master. So, if he was persecuted, they would also persecute his servants and bride, because their Satanic agenda is to continue the rebellion against righteousness at every level and in every shape and form.
Too many who are in church leadership try their best to dodge persecution by secretly surrendering to and partnering with the unrighteous. They choose to be friends of the world, overtly exuding a form of godliness but covertly dismissing the sacred things of God, even His very Word. Many who have been blessed with positions and prosperity comfortably cuddle the unrighteous, walk hand in hand in the counsel of the ungodly, proudly share platforms with sinners, and sit in the high seats of the scornful.
They refuse to acknowledge the Sovereign Lord and credit themselves for their blessings and achievements, giving honour to their links, their abilities, and their wicked, deceptive, and corrupt schemes.
Many lord their wealth over the less fortunate and stingily spare them a few crumbs as a public display of charity. They hold the widows and orphans in contempt and cringe at the thought of bringing the tithe into God’s storehouse.
From pretty painted pulpits, they mouth messages about blessings, favour, and prosperity, but are mum on the power of the cross, salvation or divine judgement, and eternal damnation. They preach about the freedoms in Christ, but not the discipline, divine order, ordinances, or laws. They accept and embrace the Ark of the Covenant, but not the specifications that come with it. In their charade, they place the ultimate sacrifice at the feet of what they choose to honour.
They reject the notion that God has power over the heavens and the earth and that authority has been given to the Church to take territory with the expressed mission to go into all the world and preach the gospel.
The divide-and-rule mechanism stealthily maintained by the frocked emissaries of Satan in pulpits continues to cripple efforts to spread the gospel even in the pews. This mechanism has lodged a cog in the wheel of evangelism and outreach. It has raised the spirit of distrust and accusation in the body and brutally widened the chasms between denominational doctrines. Apostate churches hold fast to their misinterpretation of the Word of God and their established programmes specifically designed to keep, entertain, and appease congregations. They provide open doors for Satan to pursue his deceptive ploys while bolting the locks on the Holy Spirit of the True and Living God.
In too many instances, elements of the Church have blended in with the world, looking like it and aspiring after its ideals. These elements bow to other gods and ideologies that are unrighteous and anti-Christ. They gobble up the concept of interfaith worship and embrace the occult and secret societies while continuing to declare faithfulness to the Sovereign God.
The Church cannot support and facilitate unrighteous schemes and activities and remain the Church. It cannot side with Satan and remain the bride of Christ. When any bride begins to court the affection of other men, entertaining their advances and even laying herself careless before them, she is committing adultery and has defiled her marriage. Such is the level of idolatry and adultery of the modern church. The church must repent.
The body has found itself in a Hosea and Gomer kind of situation. Gomer, a ‘wife of whoredom’ was unfaithful to Hosea, even after they had children together. God told Hosea to keep going after Gomer and bring her back home. Hosea even paid a redemption price to “buy” his wife back.
Marriage is a holy covenant. Divine restoration is not only possible, it is required. Despite the idolatry and adultery, Christ still saves, and continues to intercede for his bride.
If the people of God, who are called by His Name, will humble themselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from wickedness, He will hear from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land.
Know this: God loves His people not because of their faithfulness, but because of His. When all is said and done, Satan has no victory and will never have any victory. Neither persecution nor tribulation nor apostasy can stop the true Church of the Almighty God from being ready. The Remnant will not bow. The bride of Christ will be presented to her bridegroom strong, righteous, resilient, and glorified in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. So shall it be, because God said so.