AN ERA OF PERSECUTION FOR THE RIGHTEOUS
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
—MATTHEW 5:10 NKJV
Prophecy
In a day and hour when men’s hearts turn to evil and when they take a stand against the Lord your God, I will raise up a people who are unwavering in their faith and commitment to Me. They will not fear for their lives or for what man will do to them. Some of the strongest, boldest, and most committed believers in church history will arise in this era, but their bold stand for the gospel will be accompanied by persecution and opposition to the truth. Even as those who persecuted Me, so shall they do to you.
When My Spirit is poured out, bold love comes on My people and they proclaim the gospel unashamedly, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. Many in this era will be willing to lay down their lives for Me. They will be willing to give up all for Me, for their hearts are entwined together in Mine and they will love as I love—they will be righteous as I am righteous.
As My gospel is preached with uncompromised conviction, it will cause division even in households, for My truth is a sword and will set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be those of his own household. “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 10:37-39 NKJV).
Great rewards await those who are willing to stand for My truth, not only in this life but also in the eternal. For everyone who has paid a price to serve Me and “has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life” (Matt. 19:29 NKJV).
Great Blessings for the Persecuted
Blessed are those who are persecuted for taking a stand for righteousness in this era, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when you are reviled and persecuted, and when evil is spoken against you falsely for My sake. In the midst of persecution, “rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12 NKJV). The persecution will produce great fruit in your walk with Me, for after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you (see 1 Pet. 5:10).
A greater division line will be seen in this era between the righteous and the wicked, for many will rise up with a strong deceptive voice in realms of business, media, government, and education. They will communicate values and formulate philosophies that are contrary to the Word, and they will attempt to pass laws in favor of their agenda.
It will appear for a season that the unrighteous are prevailing, but My verdict has already been set and the day will come when the saints of the Most High who have persevered will rejoice, for everything will turn in favor of My truth. My people will rise up with a strong, determined voice for righteousness and will see My truth prevail. They will be unwavering in their commitment and will be willing to face the loss of all things and to even be imprisoned for the truth they love.
In this era, martyrs will lay down their lives, for they will not bow or compromise. They will understand that no suffering in the present time can compare to the eternal glory that awaits them.
INSIGHTS
Persecution is never pleasant but is always life-transforming and rewarding. Some levels of persecution are definitely more severe than others, but if you are going to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, you will certainly experience some persecution. If you have never suffered even minimal persecution, perhaps you need to check your commitment thermometer to the gospel.
In the midst of persecution, you will be faced with two tests—faith tests and love tests. When Jesus came to the earth, He faced great resistance and persecution and His journey took Him to the cross. There were times when I’m sure it would have been easier to abandon His assignment, but He endured. In the garden of Gethsemane, He battled ferocious spiritual resistance to a point where He beseeched the Lord to remove the cup of suffering if possible, but He was not willing to disobey or fall short of the Father’s will. From there He faced arrest and was brutally beaten, but He would not give up or give in. He was taken into an unfair trial where witnesses intentionally bore false testimony against Him, yet He did not open His mouth a word in His own defense. He was on a mission that would take perfect faith and perfect love, and He was not willing to withdraw either.
He was charged guilty of a crime He never committed and was stripped of His clothes, brutally scourged, and cruelly mocked. The masses were now convinced that He was guilty and was an imposter. The yelled out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” As He was nailed to the cross and hung to die, He looked out over the crowd and saw those whom He loved. There were those He healed, delivered, cleansed, and even raised from the dead standing before Him to judge Him as guilty and watch His execution. Where were His own? They had for the most part abandoned and forsaken Him, but in the mist of all His pain and suffering He never once lost faith in His mission or failed to walk in perfect love toward His enemies and those who opposed Him.
It would have been easy to lose sight of His mission and fail to believe in that hour. Everything looked contrary to the plan of Him becoming the Savior of the world and the King of kings and Lord of lords, but He went to His death believing that the Father would raise Him from the dead on the third day. He also went to His death in perfect love. Some will forgive those who are cruel to them, but few will lay their lives down for those who mistreat them. Jesus did both. He forgave, refused to judge, and paid the price for our full redemption. He became our sin and gave us His righteousness—all for free.
He was cruelly persecuted throughout His entire life, but He remained strong and unwavering in both faith and love. As a result, He now lives in His eternal reward! He is forever King over all!
Throughout your journey with the Lord you will face opposition and persecution, and like Jesus you will be invited to pass your love tests and your faith tests. It is beautiful and of course a great honor to suffer persecution for the truth, although it is never pleasant at the time.
One of my seasons of persecution was following a time when I had encountered the Lord in a glorious thirty-day visitation. During the visitation, He revealed and confirmed to me the free access that was available to all believers into the realms of His glory in the heavenly dimension. Day after day I enjoyed truth encounters and experienced divine engagements. It was truly glorious.
Immediately following this visitation, I began to share the very things the Holy Spirit had taught me with whoever was hungry to learn. Every time we would gather, He would bless us with magnificent manifestations of His glory and holy encounters. It was so wonderful. Door after door opened due to the intense hunger of God’s people.
After about eleven months of teaching on the glory, I hit some major opposition from significant leaders in the Body who accused me of being deceived and deceiving the people. I was called rebellious, controlled by a Jezebel spirit, and a false prophet and teacher. My character was in question also, and I was told I was leaving a mess behind in every place I ministered.
I was overwhelmed and undone. I had never been rebellious or defiant (even before I gave my heart to the Lord) and I was not aware of any “mess” I had left behind. When the initial wave hit, I chose to go low and not defend myself. I laid down my ministry for a few months until I could complete a theological audit through a credible theologian who carefully reviewed all my teaching, a character audit (by following up on everywhere I had ministered and inviting my family and team to scrutinize me), and a prophetic audit (to assure I was in the right prophetic timetable and not running ahead of God).
After the four months, every audit was complete and there were literally no issues or concerns presented. In many cases there was great affirmation. This gave me personal confidence and relief, but it did not end the persecution. In fact, the persecution continued for over nine years. It intensified and spread into global spheres of influence through well-known ministers. At the time, if you looked on Google for my name, the first twenty pages or so were filled with negative headlines and remarks about my name, teachings, and ministry.
I knew that I was mandated to open up a portal for the supernatural, but the persecution was brutal. When you are called, the call is greater than you, and it is difficult to lay down even if you desire to in your natural mind. Many questioned my integrity, the accuracy of my message, and the authenticity of my love for God. In the midst of it, I knew I had to finish the assignment. The Lord reminded me to keep the faith and to walk in love without wavering and without hypocrisy. He made it clear that I was not to attempt to defend myself but rather to walk in humility, honor, and love toward those who were in opposition.
It was a painful but beautiful journey. I learned to fellowship with Christ’s sufferings—His love sufferings. He taught me so much in that season and I am forever grateful. In the natural you would think that all would be lost through that level of persecution, but instead our ministry grew, our team grew, and God promoted us to greater honor than we had ever known. Eventually those who had stood against me in that season asked forgiveness, and for the most part we all walk well together and some of them are very close friends and honored and treasured comrades in the faith. It is so beautiful.
One day as I was thanking God for His wonderful faithfulness during that season, He said, “But you haven’t seen anything yet—your greatest rewards are to come.” I weep thinking of that. It is such an honor to serve Him and to suffer for Him (although my suffering is very minimal compared to many), but to think that He rewards it in such great ways is mind-boggling.
Persecution has taught me much—there are so many lessons to learn through what we suffer. Oh, that we might know Him!
Thoughts to Ponder
Reflect on your walk with the Lord. Have you suffered persecution for your faith?
What did the persecution(s) look like? Describe.
What faith tests did you pass?
What love tests did you pass?
What did you learn through persecution?
PRAYER FOR EMBRACING PERSECUTION
Heavenly Father,
I come before You and ask for grace to embrace persecution when it comes. Help me to be strong in the midst of it and unwavering in my faith and love.
In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen.