The time has come… to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

The one who destroys is the enemy.  He is named Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek.  His name means destroyer as his purpose is to slaughter and destroy the people he takes power over.  Commentary notes about him, “Satan and his demons always turn on and destroy those who are deceived by his promises of power and pleasure (see John 10:10).  The effects of his destructive work in people’s lives may not be as apparent today as the effects of this end-time judgement, but they are just as real (see 1 Peter 5:8).”[1]

I had a dream that this stuff was poured out on the floor and it balled up like this beautiful diamond shaped web in this upper room.  It was of the enemy.   People were being handed out shoes to walk in.  Some to glide over and some to get stuck.  Something about a season where many will get stuck in the web of the enemy and his lies and deception.   It glistens and looks appealing but is really a web meant to trap them.   

Let us not get stuck in the lies and trap of the enemy that looks so glistening and tempting from the outside. Rather, let us go deeper in Christ.  As deep calls to deep, lets get down to lower levels in humility and enter the Door of Christ who saves us from all harm. There is a spacious and protective place of safety waiting for us that will shelter us.   He is a strong tower that we can run to and be safe. 

David proclaims in Psalm 71:1-3, “Lord, you are my secure shelter.  Don’t every let me down.  … You’re the only place of protection for me.” 

During the end-times, God exposes the enemy and his work of destruction.  The Lord has filled the earth with so much overflowing goodness and set boundaries (Psalm 104:9) that enemy cannot cross so it can hide that darkness is among us.  Revelation gives us a picture of God’s goodness that rests upon the earth being pulled back for a season while the enemy is exposed.  But first, the Lord sends a white horse who, the one sat on it wore a crown, conquering and was victorious.   (Rev. 6:2)

We know the One who conquers and is victorious.  Before any difficulty comes, the Lord comes to give us the victory over it.  It is through Him and through the Word [white horse] that we overcome every difficulty we face.  David says in Psalm 71:7, 16, “Many marvel at my success, but I know it is all because of you, my mighty protector!... I will come forth in your mighty strength, O my Lord God.”    

In the second through the fourth horses, we see God pulling back some of His goodness. First, in the red horse, this false sense of peace was taken from the earth.  Then the second horse came and some of the main staples in the overflowing bounty was removed.   Like in the time of Jeremiah, the people saw the prosperity in their lives and God’s blessing as His approval.   God’s abundant blessings put them at ease and caused them to be at ease, trusting in the wrong things.

They became satisfied with the bounty and fruit of His works (Psalm 104:13) and drifted away from further seeking Him.  They stopped being grateful to the giver and became entitled based upon their position.  

Rather, we are to receive His bounty with gratitude, seeing the deep love of the giver.   The Psalmist in Psalm 104 revels in the goodness of God all around them from a place of being loved.  They proclaim in Psalm 104:14-15, “You cause the grass to grow for the cattle and plants for the cultivation of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil that makes shine his face, and bread that strengthens his heart.”  

In Jeremiah 49:4, the Lord spoke through him, “O backsliding daughter who trusts in her treasures, saying ‘Who shall come against me?  I will bring a fear upon you [removal of a false peace], says the Lord God of Hosts…”  And in Jeremiah 49:31 He goes on to say, “’Arise, go up to the nation at ease that dwells securely,’ says the Lord.”

As this false peace and some of the bounty is removed, truth enters and people have to find new footing.  They have to move on to new ground and repent of old ways of self-reliance and self-sufficiency.   As oil and wine are still plentiful and being poured out in abundance, instead of self-reliance, they gain resiliency, humility and dependence as they lean upon God for provision.   

Lastly, the pale horse is released and Death and Hades follow him.  He is given power over a fourth of the earth that is given to them.   Sometimes we can think that death is the ultimate devastation so it becomes the god that we fear and serve.  While it is tremendously difficult and a plague is a sign of the enemy prevailing on certain fronts, we hold to a greater hope.  Oh, death, where is your sting?  We have already conquered and prevailed through Christ.  And, we know the end of the story. 

While life may be difficult at times and we face death to ourselves continually, the time will come that all this will end.  Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long.  Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever.”

All difficulty and struggles will come to an end as God’s Kingdom rule will come in fullness. Revelation 11:19 says, “Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple.  And there came lighting noises, thundering, and earthquake, and great hail.  

We see a picture like this in Psalm 18 as the Lord came to the rescue of David, his servant, because He saw the enemy was overtaking and overwhelming Him.   As David was confronted with death and distress, David cried out to God for help and the Lord’s anger burned against the enemy.   He bent the heavens and came down.

Psalm 18:12-14 says, At the brightness before Him His thick clouds passed by, hailstones and coals of fire.  The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High gave His voice, hailstones and coals of fire.  He sent out His arrows and scattered them, and He shot out lightning and distressed them.”

And Psalm 97:3-6 (TPT) says, “all around Him burns a blazing glory-fire consuming all His foes.  When His lighting strikes, it lights up the world.  People are wide-eyed as they tremble and shake.  Mountains melt away like wax in a fire when the Lord of all the earth draws near.   Heaven’s messengers preach righteousness and people everywhere see his glory in the sky!”

God was clearly with David when he was overwhelmed by difficulty.   In the same way, in Revelation, the revealing of Christ, we see that in the midst of the most difficult time, the church and people of God are being strengthened and sustained.   He is clearly revealed as with us and among us.   Instead of just surviving, we are called to thrive from our place of being in Christ and ruling with Him.  We are not only saved, washed from our sins in His own blood, but made kings and priests to God the Father in this new Kingdom order. (Revelation 1:6)

Revelation 5:10 goes on to say that He “Hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

During difficulty and times of tribulation, Christ is revealed as our active, conquering, and triumphant Leader.    He says that He is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.   He was, is and is to come, the Almighty.   He is saying that He not only is a powerful God, but He has us totally surrounded.  He has encircled us in every way, including encircling us in time!  We are never outside of His care and loving watchful eyes. 

At the very start of Revelation and in the midst of a time of tremendous difficulty, John is writing to strengthen the church.   He writes to the seven churches in Asia and he reminds them that God was, is and is to come and there are seven Spirits who are before His throne [the fullness of the Holy Spirit]. (Revelation 1:4)

Seven represents the full completeness.   In this, John is writing to the full and complete churches.  As they were being persecuted, they needed to know that they were seen, encircled in love and empowered by the fullness of the Spirit.   He had them covered in every way and was leading them victoriously. 

Jesus is walking among the seven candlesticks wearing a golden sash around His chest, ruling from a place full of wisdom and burning with passion.  We are reminded that He is the one who planted His feet in the fire, unmovable, becoming perfected by it.  He is the ruler and spokesman not only to the people as their High Priest and rightful King but the compassionate spokesman from the people to the Father (see Rev. 1:14 and 14:2).  He is shining brightly in His glory with the sharp two-edged sword (Word of God with power to reveal truth and set us free) coming from His mouth. 

He walks among the churches in their time of shaking.  He is very much with them and revealing Himself to them.  Seeing the beginning from the end, He is sustaining and supporting them in every way.   He has strong angels protecting His churches in His great care for them that He holds in His very right hand.  The right hand represents power, strength and intention.   Would any being even think it would be able to snatch something out of the right hand of God?  These mighty protectors [angels] are perfectly doing the will of the Lord in supporting and empowering the churches as Christ walks among them.

“I am confident in Your leadership, in Your ability to help me follow” sings in the background.

He (Christ through John) goes on to speak to each of the churches individually.  They are not just one of many but He sees them each individually and sustains each one by name.  He reveals Himself in specific ways to specific churches.   Ever notice how true this is in the church?   There is an essence of each church that is different.   Like people, they have specific strengths and a calling and purpose that is unique.  

I’ve noticed this with the churches that God has brought me to at different seasons in my life.  The first church that I attended after I was saved, was Pentecostal. I felt God speak to me about it at the time that it was “robust” as a missionary church.   The church was known for the people who not only loved missions but supported and prayed for each other as tight knit family.  They loved me into new life.   It was a very tightly knit group and I still consider many of the attenders my closest family.  

The second church that I attended became very deeply rooted and was incredibly fruitful.   It planted a strong foundation in my life and was a place of fatherly grace and Spirit filled power.  I came there not able to understand or get “grace” at all, having nightly anxiety attacks over my sin, and left with a deep rooting in grace and peace because of it.  It is also the place where I received strong biblical foundations and love for the Word of God.   Many truths were rooted in the beatitudes…We are blessed in every circumstance and trial.  

The third church I attended was a place of deep mercy and inclusion best described by the scripture, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’”  It was a place of wide acceptance and deep love for the lost, broken and hurting world.   My heart grew so much wider and deeper for the least as I attended here.

The church that I attend now is known for leaving the 99 to seek out the one.  It is a place that has deep passion for those who do not know Christ to come into the Kingdom.  At the same time, it is a place where the Spirit is moving strong and foundation is solid.   It is a place of growth, both outward and inward for both children and adults.  It has a thriving kids program that my children love, have thrived in, and brought some friends to receive Christ through it.  

The place where I work is also like a church and has its own essence too.   It is a waterfall of mercy that washes and cleanses people into a new life.   There is also a strong accountable discipleship element that is based upon a thoughtful framework and foundation.   The Lord dwells there among us with an open heaven available whenever it is tapped.  Many are called into ministry while attending.  It may be best described by the statement, “from the throes of the most deprived, comes the ones who are most alive.” And the promise of Jesus to the repentant sinner, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”    

All that to say, Jesus made it clear that He saw each church in their own essence.   He was proud of them for their strengths and commended them for these.  At the same time, just as He deals with us in our sin as His loved children, He was dealing with each one of them and confronting them on where they need to change.   In His position of authority over the Church, He not only walks among them and encourages them, but He corrects them.  

The churches that were no longer giving their all, He threatened to remove.  Their position was too critical in guiding His purposes and leading His people to allow them to languish in place.  The church has direct impact on the area that it is planted.  It affects the whole territory with His Kingdom rule so the Lord does not tolerate half-hearted or half-in churches that lead people astray to represent Him for long.

As an example, to the very first church John writes to, Jesus commends them for their works, patience and labor in His name.  They also had been wise in identifying right teaching from false doctrine.   But, at the same time, they had fallen from the passion and love they had at first.  Because their love and passion were languishing, they needed to repent and change or God would remove them.

To each of the churches he calls them to not only endure the difficult times and make it through but to overcome them.  They are called to be victorious.   Commentary notes that “an overcomer continues to rely on God’s grace and to show true faith by remaining passionately devoted to Christ.  The overcomer lives in consistent victory over sin, Satan and the corrupt world system.” [2]

As difficulty ensues, the Lord makes it clear that it is not an excuse to be tossed around or languish.  He has provided all that is needed and empowers His church with His ultimate authority. He is the supreme victorious overcomer and will lift us into victory if we only keep putting our whole heart, soul and strength in seeking Him and doing His will.   Difficulty is not a time to be complacent or despondent.   Rather, even facing death, we know that His face is before us.  We are to keep our eyes on Him and ride through it victoriously.  He already made the way for this and the rewards are worth so much more than any painstaking effort or persecution in the process.  

He gives to each church according to their deeds.   They are to hold firmly in difficulty until He returns and keep doing His works to the end (Revelation 2:25-26).   Their reward will be great authority.    He will give the fullness of His authority that He received from the Father to the Church to bring the fullness of His Kingdom rule (Revelation 2:26-27).  In their faithfulness in overcoming with Him, the church will receive the morning star.

The morning star breaks the darkness with the shining of His glory.   As commentary notes, it symbolizes Christ Himself, the “sun of righteousness” (Mal. 4:2).  It goes on to say that in giving His faithful church the morning star, “Jesus says he will give himself in a new and deeper way that brings healing, restoration and all the promises and benefits of life in God’s radiant light.” [3]  Ultimately, it represents the dawning hope of a new Kingdom order where Jesus is center and central  in all His radiant glory.  

 

Lord, You are the only God to be worshiped, for there is not a more secure foundation to build our lives upon than You.   You wrap us in Your power and share with us Your perfection.  Through You, we ascend to the highest peaks of Your glory to stand in the heavenly places, strong and secure in You.   In the midst of difficulty, You give us victory on every on every side.  Look how the nations come!  We look forward to even a greater harvest with joy!  You are alive and conquer all!  We give You our highest praise!  (Psalm 18 as David was grabbed out of the hand of the enemy and fully rescued.)

 

1-3.   Fire Bible: (MEV) Modern English Version. Life Publishers International. 2015.