Persist and Endure to the End
How persistent are you truly? Now is a time when your patience and persistence will be greatly tested.
I sense a significant growing separation among people; a separation between those of the light and those of the darkness.
God is truth. Those who are diligently seeking God are growing stronger in Him, His ways, and truth or light. Those who aren’t diligently seeking God are growing further away from Him and truth, and into lies or darkness.
In Revelation, it talks about the eventual removal of the lampstands from certain professing followers of God. Revelation 1:20, 2:5 The lampstand holds the light. The light is the spirit of God, a spirit of truth. Revelation 4:5 Once the lampstand is removed, those people will no longer dwell with the spirit of God. Thus, their thoughts, ideas and teachings will fall more and more away from truth and into lies. You don’t want to be in a place where the lampstand has been removed.
In line with this falling away from truth, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 says there will be many who pose as messengers of truth. Outwardly they appear like those of truth, but in reality they are creating illusions of truth with mouths of consuming graves. These charlatans come in many forms appealing to a wide variety of souls and their particular desperations. Some will fall for some and not others, but the variety of masqueraders ensures that many will fall.
Why these masqueraders of truth? However influenced by evil or their ego, the issue is pride. People think they inherently know best and don’t really need God’s truth to guide them. In not diligently seeking God, they erroneously believe lies are truth. Having others come alongside gives them a false peace and confidence that their lies are truth. Other people agreeing with us validate our beliefs whether right or wrong.
If we are unknowingly a part of their masquerade, then we will greatly suffer for it, for lies destroy the soul. 2 Peter 3:16 Hosea 7:8-9 The truth is our protector and guide. Without a love for it and diligently seeking it from God Himself, we are lost to the influence of those around us. Truth comes from God. He is the only source. If we haven’t been diligently seeking truth, then we don’t know what is right and what isn’t. Are you getting the idea to diligently seek?
As a result of the spirit of God leaving or the lampstand being removed, those who truly know God will be pulling away as well to follow God. John 10:27 The true followers of God go where He goes, thus the massive separation between those of truth and those of lies among those professing to be of God.
This separation was prophesied long ago, and now is coming into fruition. Ezekiel 34, Matthew 13:30, Revelation 18:4 In God’s great mercy, He has allowed the lampstand to remain and the intermingling among those of Him and those not of Him as He patiently waits for people to turn to Him and away from their self-driven ways. 2 Peter 3:9 As a loving Creator while shining His light upon us, He has allowed us to traverse our self-chosen paths, so that when the depravity of our ways comes upon us, we’ll realize the error and turn to Him. However, many have not turned. Hosea 7:10 The time will come when the window to come to God as we can now will close. For when the lampstand, the light, is taken away it means God’s spirit is taken away. The chance for the truth to penetrate the lies is lost, thus there is no way out of the darkness of deception.
Therefore, those of the darkness will grow deeper into lies, while those of the light will grow deeper into truth. Those of darkness will experience torment as lies destroy, inflict and bound. Revelation 9:18 Being in the dark, they don’t understand what is happening and dismiss it as “just life”. Remember, their lies are their truth. Those of the light will continue to transform into the light. Truth will invade every area of their lives. They will feel the intensity of the lies around them but in their spirits they will experience growing oneness with God in truth and spirit.
Here is where patience and endurance comes into utmost importance. Rev 13:10 This time of separation coincides with a growing spiritual battle as the dark grows darker and the light lighter. It will be difficult spiritually. For those who possess little truth and a weak relationship with God, the truth will be slipping from their fingers. Matthew 25:29 Those sealed, so they can’t fall from truth, will still have their truth challenged and tested. Their souls will be burdened by the growing lies, deception, and damage being manifested around them. Psalm 91:7-8 Now more than ever we need to support others who are striving for truth. We need to follow God’s lead about who and who not to embrace. In this battle, it’s our work to seek and know the truth, and cling to it.
I encourage those growing in truth to not grow weary in doing good. You reap what you sow. If you reap truth, that is what will grow in your life. Don’t give up. Leave the results and expectations of your situations up to God. His ways are not our ways. Keep praying, seeking, and drawing near to God. Never underestimate His faithfulness and mercy.
Truth is your armor. Read the Bible each day, God’s grounding tool of truth. Seek instruction from God. Pour out your heart to Him. Obey Him where you know HE has taught and led you. Keep it simple. If you trust Him, He will let you know what you need to know, when you need to know it. Your part is to abide in truth and seek His counsel. Pray for others.
The times we are in take great patience and endurance, and only those who finish the race are able to gain the prize. Run to gain the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Living Light 
June 14, 2011 at 1:58 am
“….we are lost to the influence of those around us.” How true, Rachel. How sad it is to see so many church people being seduced by part-truths … which in reality has them living with lies. And they love it so. Human nature hates to “keep it simple.” Self-will is a killer! Thanks for this.
Roger
June 14, 2011 at 3:46 pm
Hi Roger – self-will is a killer – we it in our own lives and throughout the world. Incredible the evil it can manifest. How grateful I am that God infused Himself in this world through His Word.
June 14, 2011 at 3:56 am
Hi Rachel
“The truth is our protector and guide. Without a love for it and diligently seeking it from God Himself, we are lost to the influence of those around us.”
Herein is the problem that we see today, accelerating and solidifying the blindness of many. Unless you seek and find your own relationship with Christ, walking as He guides you personally, you will fall sway to the many winds of doctrine blown around (and they are increasing daily!)
“Truth is your armor. Read the Bible each day, God’s grounding tool of truth. Seek instruction from God. Pour out your heart to Him. Obey Him where you know HE has taught and led you. Keep it simple. If you trust Him, He will let you know what you need to know, when you need to know it. Your part is to abide in truth and seek His counsel. Pray for others.”
Well said!
Bless you, and thank you for laying it out there, once again, so clearly. 🙂
June 14, 2011 at 3:47 pm
Hi Claire – the growing number of false doctrines is staggering. If more people truly trusted in God to teach and guide them now different it would look. Thanks for your comment.
June 14, 2011 at 10:16 pm
Rachel, thank you so much for sharing about the lies. I thought it was just me or something I was going through, that I keep feeling them so intensely. It’s like a saturation. It makes me run to Him all the more, to His word, to His side, to prayer, to praise. God bless you and how sensitive you are to His word and His will.
June 15, 2011 at 1:01 am
Hi Debbie — it’s interesting as I talk to other believers and their recent heighten awareness to the lies … It does make you run more into Him, which is a good thing 🙂
June 14, 2011 at 10:19 pm
Good word…know I fall short to many times, with those lapses it always seems that the unction to press on always comes back around. Suppose of you never had down times, you wouldn’t grow.
June 15, 2011 at 1:02 am
Hi Mike – I think those lapses are part of the journey … but like it says a righteous man (righteous in Christ) always gets back up. 🙂
June 15, 2011 at 1:57 am
🙂
June 15, 2011 at 3:45 am
Having the lampstand removed is powerful imagery.
Interesting on your sense of separation. It seems that most folks would not agree despite the changes in their beliefs being more an act of convenience than anything gleaned from Scipture.
June 15, 2011 at 4:56 pm
Hi Slamdunks, it is indeed very powerful … especially when you consider the consequences of not having the lampstand. It opens up an interesting contemplation about wherever God’s true people are that is where the light is as they hold the spirit of truth the Holy Spirit. And that light affects those around them.
June 15, 2011 at 6:01 pm
Thanks for this confirming word Rachel! The Bible says in Matthew 24 that in the last days the love of many (or most will grow cold). Matthew 25 teaches that in the last days many Christians will stop filling their “lamps” with oil.
When it’s just a story in a book, it is easy to “a-men” it and say “Even so come Lord Jesus!”
But when the word becomes reality and it is your own family that walks away into the lie it is hard to endure.
As you say “Now is a time when your patience and persistence will be greatly tested.”
I am determined to endure to the end no matter what! Thanks for encouraging me all the more as we see the day approaching!
June 15, 2011 at 11:16 pm
Hi Jelillie – very good point … I too “see” more of what the Word says becoming a reality – it is a eye opener. And me too. It’s so important to encouragement each other in that persistence in these days. Thanks for commenting 🙂
June 16, 2011 at 4:35 am
Indeed, the chasm between those who pursue Jesus Christ and those who pursue something, or someone else, is widening. For me, Ezekiel 9:4 and surrounding verses changes the bad news of our day to good news.
“…and the LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”
The story in Ezekiel is a bloody one, but offers a positive side to our mourning over the state of the world today; we will be exempt from the tribulation to come.
June 17, 2011 at 4:46 pm
Hi Lynn — to be marked by God … to truly be His and hold His truth – an amazing gift and reality. I’m feeling the deep push to truly be as God’s army as light bearers and praying diligently for those around us. It’s going to be a tough time for many people. But as you said, in the midst of feeling the intensity the strength of God abiding in us is truly a joy. As we grow closer and closer to Him, His peace and love take over. This we are to use and share for His glory.
June 19, 2011 at 7:40 pm
“They will feel the intensity of the lies around them but in their spirits they will experience growing oneness with God in truth and spirit.”
Love this! Reminds me of 1 Peter 4:4-5: They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
It’s also encouraging to read from someone who is accepting the name Jesus gave us as salt and light.
June 20, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Hi Andy – Great verse. Thanks for sharing it. 🙂
July 25, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Hey Rachel! I just wanted to send you a comment to let you know I’m still around and reading 🙂 I haven’t been online much lately, but I can still see all your text-posts on my phone.
I’ve been thinking a lot about endurance and diligence lately; it’s a constant lesson God has been teaching and urging in my life in so many ways.
Thank you always for your posts. They are so full of challenging, convicting truth… exactly what the apostles were always telling use to share with each other for the “perfecting of the saints” … even more as the end approaches.
Would always appreciate your prayers!
Ruth
July 25, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Hi Ruth – It is so good to hear from you! Persistence and endurance are hard lessons to learn; especially in our world of instants. I will be praying for you.