“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war with the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

It can be easy to become discouraged today. There are many evils in this world, and so much can strike fear in the heart of even the most faithful soldier of the Lord. Wickedness seems to have no bounds. Babies are casually murdered in the womb, God’s standard of marriage is being trampled, and it’s politically incorrect to upset those who worship demonic gods, such as Allah, while we keep our faith in Jesus Christ a secret. Add to all of this a pandemic that seems to be shutting down the world and paving the way for the events described in Revelation to take place. Israel is attacked, but when they fight to protect themselves, they are condemned.

There are many end-time prophecies that are on the verge of being fulfilled, but instead of seeing these events as a rallying cry, Christians are silent. Christians are growing weaker in faith because many pastors don’t teach Scripture from the pulpit. Rather than standing firm on Scripture, they have compromised Biblical truth as they embrace practices like yoga, which is satanic in nature, and ideas like the emerging church, new age, meditation, purpose-driven, replacement theology, anti-Semitism, and more.

The watered-down theology has left Christians unsure of what they believe and why. Prophecy is ignored, so things happening in the world today frighten most Christians. You have no need to fear if you trust God. Scripture tells us that there will be tribulation in the world, but Satan won’t win. In fact, he’s already lost. The Lord wins. Christians need to do our part for Him and not side with the enemy. Our faith must not be compromised.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Ephesians 6:10).

Our strength is in God, and He won’t lose.

THE BATTLE BELONGS TO THE LORD: written by Jamie Owens-Collins

In heavenly armour we’ll enter the land;

The battle belongs to the Lord.

No weapon that’s fashioned against us shall stand;

The battle belongs to the Lord.

Weapons of the world won’t win spiritual battles. We see and hear people all around us singing the praises of evil… newscasters, politicians, Hollywood stars, musicians, and more have much to say that promotes Satan’s work. Remember, these people are not the enemy. They only promote the enemy’s lies. The true enemy is Satan and his minions. The battle is spiritual, and it must be fought with spiritual weapons. God makes His weapons available to every Christian, but it’s up to us to pick them up, put them on, and learn to use them effectively.

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

No soldier can effectively fight in battle if he doesn’t know how to use the weapons of war. In the world today, a musket would be ineffective against a tank. Soldiers must learn to use modern weapons to win battles. So must the Christian soldier learn to use spiritual weapons for spiritual battles. How do you learn to use them? Study Scripture, including prophecy. Understand that you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and He will guide you in battle. Learn to listen to His voice. Be bold in standing upon God’s truth, and don’t be ashamed of your faith. You may lose friends because of your faith, but stand firm.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

If you’re ashamed to speak out for Jesus, then you are weakening your spiritual weapons and siding with Satan.

When the power of darkness comes in like a flood,

The battle belongs to the Lord.

He’s raised up a standard, the power of his blood;

The battle belongs to the Lord.

Think of all the wicked things that are done in darkness. Robberies, murders, pornography, and more were once cloaked in the shadows of night, but people today seem to be less concerned about hiding in the dark to do evil. Satan is behind all evil. The darkness of Satan has nothing to do with whether the sun is shining or not. Satan is evil, and the darkness that surrounds him is spiritual darkness. There is a much stronger power than the darkness of evil, and that power is found in the blood of Jesus Christ.

What movies do you watch? What words do you use? What music do you listen to? Do the things you write on your heart glorify God or numb you to the wiles of the devil? Instead of the darkness of sin, fully turn your life over to Jesus and find power in the blood He shed for your salvation.

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14).

Satan has no power over us when we are in Christ. His blood paid for our redemption, and the Holy Spirit is sealed in us. Keep your heart, mind, and soul tuned to Jesus, and the power of darkness will flee.

When your enemy presses in hard, do not fear;

The battle belongs to the Lord.

Take courage, my friend, your redemption is near;

The battle belongs to the Lord.

There are many war stories from various battles throughout history where victory seemed out of reach. The battle seemed lost, but then a soldier remembered what he was fighting for and rallied his fellow soldiers to not be discouraged and to fight harder. The battle was won. Christianity also has war stories of men and women who never forget that God will win the war but understand their part in the battle. Men like the Apostle Peter who did just as Jesus told him to do, “Feed My sheep,” and fed them on the pure word of God. The Apostle Paul carried God’s truth to the Gentiles, and as a Gentile, I appreciate his courage. Brave soldiers took Christ’s command seriously, and the Gospel was shared.

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:18-20).

They preached the Gospel just as Jesus commanded, armed with the spiritual weapons of war. As time marched on, many politicians and religions tried to stop the spread of God’s truth. Men like Martin Luther bravely shouldered the spiritual weapons and fought for God’s truth. Have you ever heard the battle stories of Brother Andrew? He smuggled Bibles into Soviet countries and now smuggles Bibles into Muslim nations. He’s 93 and still spreading the Gospel. Most of the “missionaries” today need to get back to Scripture and preach the Gospel instead of using gimmicks and works in hoping that lost people will get the hint that they need Jesus.

And we sing glory, honor

Power and strength to the Lord.

We sing glory, honor

Power and strength to the Lord.

Never stop singing His praises. Songs can keep you courageous when facing the power of the enemy. Sing praises to Jesus Christ who won the victory for you. He will never leave you.

Remember when Paul was arrested in Philippi and was beaten and chained in the prison? The powers of darkness thought they had silenced Paul and Silas.

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them” (Acts 16:25).

These men could not be silenced. Then an earthquake struck, making escape from the dungeon possible. That would have meant the jailer would be put to death. Because the other inmates heard the songs and prayers of Paul and Silas, they didn’t escape. The jailer was amazed. Because of the songs, prayers, and integrity of Paul and Silas, the jailer gave his life to Christ. Another spiritual battle was fought, and a lost soul came to salvation through Jesus. Today the strong soldiers who won’t compromise God’s word, those who share the Gospel and teach God’s truth, are hard to find. Gimmicks are used instead of Scripture, and God’s word is compromised. Many Christians are rusty in using the weapons of spiritual warfare because they forget to study and apply Scripture. Take heart; God won’t lose.

What are the spiritual weapons? They’re armor provided by God.

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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” (Ephesians 6:11-12).

The enemy is Satan and his minions…not people. The battlefield is the human soul, and the enemy seems fierce, but God won’t lose. To fight in this war effectively, you must train to use the spiritual weapons of God.

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:13-18).

The instructions for using these weapons are found in Scripture. Study it from Genesis through Revelation, and apply it to your life. The battle may rage and the enemy may seem strong, but God won’t lose.

Will you join me as I raise my voice in praise of Jesus Christ, the Commander in Chief of this army of believers? Will you join me in battle against an unseen enemy who seeks only to destroy all of mankind? Our weapons are sufficient for victory because they are provided by God Himself. Don’t compromise His word. Victory is assured because God won’t lose.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

ail and let me know.

There’s a lot happening in the world that causes people to wonder about the future. Disease is on everyone’s mind, and the wars and rumors of wars that Jesus spoke about are happening in real-time. The Middle East has erupted in war, and the news is filled with evidence that Biblical prophecy is being fulfilled rapidly. Most people who listen to the news don’t know that Scripture talks about the times in which we live, but everyone can see that there’s something different about what’s happening.

Jesus knew what was going to happen in the near future as well as the far future. When His disciples asked about the end, He had answers. Their question wasn’t about the Rapture but about the end. The first thing Jesus told them was to be not deceived.

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:4).

Those words are important for us today. Deception from the pulpits as well as the secular media make it hard to know what to believe. To find truth, we must look to Scripture. Prophecy will help us to understand these perilous times.

Many pastors today teach “purpose-driven” rather than Scripture-driven and are interested in preaching a “prosperity gospel” or “name it and claim it” deception. Those who don’t teach line upon line through Scripture leave their congregations wide open to be deceived. I can’t stress enough how important it is to study Scripture in order to know God’s true word. Another deception by many pastors is that the ekklesia (the Church) has replaced Israel. Yet, the promises God made to Abraham are as valid today as they were when they were given. The Jewish people have been regathering in their Promised Land, and that’s a sign that prophecy is coming to a head.

Let’s take a quick look at Daniel’s 70-week prophecy.

Daniel was young when he was taken captive to Babylon. Daniel never forgot that he was Jewish, and although he lived in a very pagan country, he never turned away from God Almighty. One day while he was in prayer, the angel Gabriel paid him a visit. Daniel was given a prophecy that discloses the end times, but many people don’t read and understand the first part.

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy” (Daniel 9:24).

Look at the first few words carefully. This isn’t about Christians. Daniel lived long before Jesus died for our sins. Gabriel was specific when he said “thy people” and “thy holy city.” Daniel’s people were Jewish, and his holy city is Jerusalem. The “seventy weeks” are 70 weeks of years. When Daniel had been taken captive, Jerusalem was destroyed, so it must have been encouraging for Daniel to learn that his beloved Jerusalem would be rebuilt. Then Gabriel connected the coming Messiah to the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times” (Daniel 9:25).

Read Ezra and Nehemiah to learn about the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the troubles they faced in doing that. Gabriel said that there would be a decree to restore Jerusalem, and that would start the countdown to when the Messiah would come.

The Messiah would come, but He would be “cut off” (crucified). “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined” (Daniel 9:26).

Then, Jerusalem would be destroyed again. Indeed, it was destroyed in 70 A.D., long after Daniel’s life. Then, the prophecy moves forward to the final week of history.

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Daniel 9:27).

It’s all about the Jewish people. Jerusalem would be rebuilt, Messiah would come and be cut off, Jerusalem would be destroyed again, but also rebuilt. There’s no temple there right now, but this verse tells us that there will be a temple. The Man of Sin, commonly called “the anti-Christ,” will stop the worship in the Temple and set up an abomination in the Temple. Jesus talked about it when He answered the disciples’ question about the end.

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:15-21).

Once again, this is very Jewish. The Temple is Jewish, and the restrictions of travel on the sabbath are restricted under Jewish law. Neither of these things is an issue to Christians. This will begin the final 3 ½ years of history, the last half of Daniels 70th week. Christians will have been raptured before the final seven years of history.

Some people claim that Christians have replaced Israel, or they think that we will have to endure the Great Tribulation in order to purify the church. Really? That’s saying that Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t enough for our salvation.

There will be tribulation saints, people who come to faith during that final seven years, but they will have a horrendous time maintaining their faith. If they don’t take the mark of the beast and serve Satan, they will be beheaded. Christians of today have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. Today, our salvation is secure.

“That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12-14).

Today, Christians are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and we are not appointed to face God’s wrath. The final seven years of tribulation is also called the Time of Jacob’s trouble. Its purpose is to bring the nation of Israel to the point where they cry out to Jesus as their Messiah. At that point, their Messiah will return and fight for them.

There is a picture of this pretribulation rapture contained in Genesis. The world had become totally corrupted. Women had been taken by the fallen angels, had babies, and the human genome was corrupted so that most people were no longer fully human. Enoch was a man who walked with God. With so much evil in the world, he was unusual.

“And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him” (Genesis 5:23-24).

God’s judgment was coming, and Enoch was raptured prior to that judgment. He is a “picture” of Christians who will be raptured before God’s judgment. The flood came, and all who rejected God’s ways were killed. They had been warned but refused to listen. Enoch’s great-grandson Noah had been directed by God to build the Ark. This Ark would take Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives safely through the judgment. They represent the Jewish people who will be taken safely through the time of Jacob’s trouble.

In Jesus’ words to His disciples, He said the end would be like the days of Noah. “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37).

There was much wickedness in those days, but what distinguishes them from other wicked times in history was the corruption of the human genome. Since plants and animals were also corrupted and no longer as God had created them, everything had to be destroyed.

Do we see that happening today? Yes, we do.

Transhumanism is an issue today. Look it up on the internet. The genome of humans, animals, and plants is all being tampered with. Most, if not all, vaccines contain DNA from aborted fetuses, animal DNA, and chemicals that are poison to people. Is it any wonder that people are becoming more and more violent? Is it any wonder that autism, ADHD, neurological disease, auto-immune disease, Alzheimer’s, and other problems are on the rise?

We are in the very last days. Things will continue to become worse as we approach the final seven years, but Christians won’t be here for those final years when God’s wrath is poured out upon the world. Where will we be? We’ll be in Heaven.

When Jesus described the end of time to His disciples, He talked of things from a Jewish perspective. He would soon be crucified, which would make way for the Church to be established. Today we are living in the time between Daniel’s 69th and 70th weeks. This time will last until the final Gentile comes to salvation through Christ. When the final Gentile is saved, all Christians will be Raptured.

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25).

When Christians are Raptured, God will turn His attention back to Israel. This is also seen in the Book of Revelation. Jesus dictated seven letters to seven congregations. Those letters give a history of Christianity, beginning with the “persecuted church” and ending with the “apostate church.” We are in that last church era. These apostate congregations have riches but are poor. They have put Christ outside of their doors, and Scripture is a secondary teaching. When the final Gentile opens the door for Christ to come into their heart, the Rapture will occur.

“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter” (Revelation 4:1).

The last Gentile accepts Christ for salvation, then Jesus calls us Home. Daniels 70th week won’t begin until Christians are called Home. Whether it begins immediately or if it will be delayed isn’t clear, but we won’t be here to see.

Today we need to make witnessing a priority. The happenings of today, such as wars, rumors of wars, genetic tampering, wickedness, and much more, all point to the fact that the end is very near.

Be a witness for Christ. Live your life to honor Him, study Scripture in order to have answers when people ask questions, and keep listening for His call to “Come up hither.” Remember, the tribulation is coming, but we won’t be here.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know