Persecution in Jesus' Day; Persecution Today

Christ Triumphant - A Devotion by E.G. White

Persecution in Jesus' Day; Persecution Today

Today's Text: If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. John 15:20

The Message:      We read in Luke where Christ, in the synagogue of Nazareth, announced Himself as the Anointed One, as He read from the prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."...      Then Satan whispered his unbelief, and [those in the synagogue] said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"... How quickly the current changed, and they were filled with madness and rage because Jesus set before them their true spiritual apostasy. They "rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong." But Jesus was protected in His mission by the heavenly angels. Passing through the midst of them unobserved, He went His way....      Herod and the wicked authorities killed the Just One, but Christ never killed anyone, and we may attribute the spirit of persecution-because men and women want liberty of conscience-to its origin, Satan. He is a deceiver, a liar, a murderer, an accuser of the brethren. He loves to see human misery. He exults in distress, and as we view the cruel persecutions of those who would obey God according to the dictates of their own consciences, we may know that this is the mystery of iniquity....      This conflict was opened upon the Son of God. He was afflicted, He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. The Majesty of heaven had to leave the scene of His labor again and again because of Satan's bruising His heel, and finally Satan's malignity reached its utmost power when Satan inspired and controlled the minds of wicked men to crucify Him....      The enmity of Satan will continue, fierce and determined, against the followers of Jesus. Christ has said to His faithful ones, "They have persecuted Me; they will also persecute you." There can be no enmity between fallen angels and fallen human beings who have practiced the very works and sport of Satan.... Evil-wherever it exists, in rejecting light and truth and departing from the living God-will always league against the righteous and obedient.-Manuscript 62, 1886.

Commentary: My friend, as you strive to walk with Christ, persecution will come to you.  As they persecuted Christ, so too will they persecute the people of God.  The spirit of antichrist is always at enmity with the Spirit of God, and all those who practice iniquity will persecute those who worship the One true God.  Today, the remnant church is in harmony with the rest of the Christian world because it has set aside the belief in the One true God and has adopted the doctrine of the trinity.  In the ecumenical movement today, the one criteria that is required of all is the belief in the trinity, for it is the foundation of the Catholic Church, and all of her doctrines stem from it. For Seventh-day Adventists the belief of the seventh-day Sabbath is held as a mark of distinction from the rest of the Protestant churches, but this does not preclude the church from the ecumenical movement.  Prior to the churches adoption of the trinity, it could not be considered a Christian religion, and was labeled as a cult by the rest of the Christian world, but with the full adoption of the trinity it was welcomed into the fellowship with open arms.  The Sabbath was not an obstacle to this fellowship, but the belief in the One true God was. Today, there are many abominations that have come into the church, and though not wholly accepted by the members, they have little by little corrupted the church until many of these unbiblical teachings have been accepted.  Those who stand up against these abomination are derided and criticized as being too legalistic, but for the most part are left alone.  However, those who shed light on the One true God of the Bible and denounce the trinity as a false doctrine, are persecuted and are quickly ushered out of the church. In the time of Christ, Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees.  This they could not tolerate and led to them to persecute and eventually crucifying the Son of God.  Today, those who point to the truth of the One true God are exposing the trinity as a false representation of God, and as such awakens the enmity of the leadership of the church against them.  These are seen as troublers of the people and are quickly censured, and disfellowed from the church, claiming that they are not adhering to church authority. My friend, we are living right at the end of time, and Jesus is soon to come in the clouds of glory.  The remnant church today is in a dreadful condition that has left her at enmity with God, and in harmony with the world.  The Laodicean condition is a result of the trinity, for it is a false experience of righteousness by faith.  Says the Faithful and True Witness of God, "...thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Revelation 3:17).  They are wretched and miserable because they have not gained the victory over sin; they are naked because they do not have the righteousness of Christ, and the trinity has blinded them to their true condition before God. Those who expose the true nature of the trinity are presenting the straight testimony of the Faithful and True Witness, and as such brings upon them the hatred and persecution of the church.  As Christ was persecuted in His time, so too will those who give this message be persecuted as He was. May we be faithful to God and give the straight testimony of Christ in these last days. God bless,

Video of the Week The 1 True God in Scripture - Daniel Mesa Pastor Daniel Mesa speaks about the God of the Bible, showing how and why Christ said that His Father is "the only true God" (John 17:3).