2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

[Hidden In Him]

Remaining Pure Of Heart In The Face Of Satanic Attacks

     Have you ever become tempted to grow bitter against those Satan used to raise up opposition against you when you were ministering or witnessing to others? Do you realize that such opposition could be specifically assigned to follow you wherever you go to interfere with your ministry and calling? Are you aware of how dangerous it can be to allow yourself to become bitter towards those Satan uses to hinder you?
     As Paul taught the Thessalonians in his first letter, Satan was a continual hinderance to ministry. He was constantly working to prohibit the work of God from going forward, and stood in the way of everything the Lord was doing whenever possible. At the time, Paul feared Satan was hindering him from getting back to the Thessalonians, specifically so as to tempt them into abandoning their faith in Christ in his absence:

     But we, brothers, having been bereaved of you for an hour of time - in person, not in heart - we were more abundantly diligent having a great desire to see your face, to which end we wished to come to you, indeed I Paul, not once but twice, but Satan hindered us.
     Therefore, no longer enduring, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, and send Timothy our brother and a servant of God, our fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and exhort you over your faith, so that none of you should be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are appointed unto this, for even when we were with you we were telling you beforehand that we were about to suffer affliction, even as it came to pass, as you know. And because of this, I also, no longer enduring, sent to know of your faith, lest perhaps the Tempter did tempt you, and our labor should be in vain. (1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5)

     This was to be expected, however. The Lord Jesus promised that Satan would come to steal the word after it was sown:

     And He was teaching them many things in parables, and saying to them in His teaching, "Listen. Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it came to pass that, in sowing, some [seed] fell near the path, and the birds came and devoured it... And He said to them… "The sower sows the word. And these are the seeds where the word is being sown by the pathway, and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word having been sown into them." (Mark 4:4, 15)

     For the minister of the word of God, this can be extremely aggravating. You invest your time, your prayers and your teaching into people, and the Devil comes behind you and begins undermining all of the time and work you've put into others. But the Christian soldier is taught to overcome evil with good, which starts with maintaining a pure heart before God, and not allowing resentments or anger towards those Satan uses to consume his spirit.
     As the Lord Jesus Himself taught, children of God must always be seeking peace with all men:

     Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God. (Matthew 5:8-9)

     Bless those who persecute you. Bless, and do not curse... Recompense evil for evil to no one, providing good conduct in the sight of all men, if possible, from yourselves [at least], living peaceably with all men[/i], not avenging yourselves, beloved, but giving place to wrath. For it has been written, "Vengeance is Mine. I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy should hunger, feed him. If he should thirst, give him something to drink… [and] be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:14, 17-21)

     But keeping the word of God from being hindered from traveling was the same issue Paul was now addressing again in this second letter. He was now asking for prayers from the Thessalonians that the word of God move swiftly, and that wicked and perverse men who would seek to detain him no longer be allowed to hinder it from spreading.

     As for the rest, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may travel quickly and be glorified, just as it was with you. And [pray] that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked men, for [ours] is not the faith of everyone. But faithful is the Lord, who will establish you, and protect you from the Evil One. And concerning you we have trusted in the Lord that the things we command you are both doing and will do. But may the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God, and the endurance of Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 3:1-5)

     What Paul meant by these last words was this: Despite whatever hindrances Satan might throw in the way of him returning to them, he trusted that they would carry on in the faith they had been taught and become strongly established in it. And his directive to them was simple: No matter what opposition they themselves might face, they should direct their hearts to "the love of God, and the endurance of Christ," for this would remind them to walk in love towards their enemies, being reminded of Christ's obedience to the Father in enduring the opposition of sinners against Him without retaliating (Hebrew 12:1-2).
     As we shall see, this command applies to ministry today as much as ever. People can and will get extremely ugly with you whenever you are involved in ministry to others. But you have a responsibility as a soldier of Christ to remain pure in heart, and not allow bitterness in, lest you become disqualified for service to the Living God.


We Are Not Warring Against Flesh And Blood

     The soldier of God must never forget this principle. Though we wage war against the forces of evil, in Christ we are called to make sure that none of this warfare is directed against flesh and blood, but against the demonic spirits working through flesh and blood to undermine the work of God.
     The statement that we do not war against flesh and blood was made in the context of discussing what it means to be a true soldier of God:

     Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the strategies of the Devil, because we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against [spiritual] authorities, against the world rulers of this dark age, against the spirits of wickedness in the heavens. Because of this, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having subdued all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having girded your waist about with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having strapped your feet with the readiness of the gospel of peace. Above all, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the wicked one. Also, through all prayer and supplication, receive the helmet of deliverance, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying in the Spirit at all times, and remaining wakeful unto all perseverance and supplication so as to pursue this same need for all the saints, and for me, that there may be given unto me, in the opening of my mouth with boldness, utterance to make known the mystery of the gospel. (Ephesians 6:10-19)

     Those Paul was specifically being hindered by the most were the Jews, as he stated in his first letter:

     For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus, in that you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out, and are not acceptable to God but contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles so that they might be saved... And we, brothers, having been bereaved of you for an hour of time - in person, not in heart - were more abundantly diligent having a great desire to see your face, to which end we wished to come to you, indeed I Paul, not once but twice, but Satan hindered us. (1 Thessalonians 2:14-18)

     Here Paul was basically outright stating that the Jews were being used as weapons in the hands of Satan against him. Yet he was also acknowledging that he was not at war with them, but with the spirits in high places who were directing their affairs, and using them to try and thwart the work of God.
     Paul described this elsewhere in his teaching on the "thorn in the flesh." Despite common interpretations that Paul's thorn in the flesh was some sort of sickness or disease, what Paul actually stated in Second Corinthians was that due to the numerous "exceedingly great revelations" he had been given by God, Satan had assigned an angel specifically to follow him wherever he went. This angel had orders from Satan to command demons who controlled evil men in every region he traveled to to raise up opposition against him. This angel's objective was to prevent Paul's revelations from being heard, that is, to prevent him from being "lifted up" in the sight of men and heard:

     Indeed, to boast is not profitable for me, but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord ...  because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations [God granted to me], there was given unto me a thorn to the flesh, an angel of Satan, that he might subject me to beatings, so that I not be lifted up. (2 Corinthians 12:1, 7)

     Again, the common interpretation here is that this "messenger of Satan" sent by the Devil to keep Paul from becoming "conceited" was some form or physical ailment. While this interpretation is perfectly acceptable for many, it begs the question: Whatever this "thorn" was, it was clearly from Satan. Since when has Satan ever tried to keep God's people from taking glory unto themselves? It runs completely counter to everything we know about his character and tactics. Satan wants God's servants to become conceited. Why people honestly believe he would attempt to prevent us from taking glory unto ourselves is utterly beyond me. To my mind it is attributable only to religious tradition, and is not well thought out theology.
     A closer look at this passage reveals Satan's objective was not to prevent Paul from becoming conceited; it was to prevent the revelations God had given him from being heard. The angel Satan assigned to him was to pursue Paul wherever he went and raise up persecution against him continually, making him appear as a man "accursed of God." This demon had the authority to order lesser demons in wicked men to incite them to rioting and public demonstrations against the apostle, and goad the civil authorities into torturing and/or imprisoning him to undermine his ability to share the revelations he had received.
     More about Paul's "thorn in the flesh," including how he in all likelihood knew about the existence of this angel to start with, are discussed in other studies. For now, the point to understand here is that Satan's primary objective is to hinder the word of God from being preached. As we shall see, in New Testament times he did so by such tactics as hindering the apostles in their travels. Whenever possible, he'd have them thrown into prison or killed to take them out of circulation completely. With the apostles out of the way, Satan could turn his attention to using false teachers to lead congregations astray.
     Paul would indeed eventually reach Caesar according to the will of God, but once again not without a huge delay and a major risk to his life. Paul, in fact, testified to being caught up in shipwrecks three different times, along with a very long list of other hinderances Satan was throwing in his path to keep the word from going forth:

     Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned... I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea, and in danger from false believers... Besides all these things without, I face daily the difficulty that rests upon me, [my] anxiety over all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:24-26, 28)


The Rebecca Brown Testimony

     A modern example of the kind of opposition Satan can throw in the way of believers can be seen in the testimony of Rebecca Brown, who was used of God to deliver a sister named "Elaine" out of hardcore Satanism. Many within The Brotherhood and among her friends and family, even the pastor of her church, would eventually be used to oppose what she was doing, and she would eventually come to find out that none of it was happening by accident:

     I continued to see Elaine as an outpatient for a month after she was finally discharged from the hospital. Then Satan "lowered the boom." Elaine called me at home one night and I immediately recognized that she was deeply upset. She had received a letter from The Brotherhood that day and so had I.
     The letter to me detailed my activities of the past two weeks perfectly, right down to what I had bought at the grocery store. They knew my address and phone number. They told me that if I ever spoke to or saw Elaine again that they would come and get me and sacrifice me. Elaine's letter told her that if she ever saw or spoke to me, and that if she did not return and repent and serve Satan again, that they would get her and sacrifice her at the upcoming Black Sabbath. One line in each of our letters was very similar to the letter from the field commander of the king of Assyria to King Hezekiah. They said, "You two are fools if you think your God can protect you from our Prince of Darkness!." (See Isaiah 36 and 37)...
     I took the problem to the Lord in prayer. He told me that He wanted me to have Elaine move in with me immediately, as she did not yet have faith enough to stand on her own... She was shocked and told me that I was absolutely crazy and that she did not want to do so. But I told her that was Father's command and that she did not have any choice if she really meant to follow and serve Jesus. So that day Elaine moved in wth me and we have lived and served the Lord together ever since.
     We had two weeks to wait before the night of The Brotherhood's Black Sabbath. They were furious about Elaine's move, and let us know in no uncertain terms in all kinds of harassment. Phone calls at all hours, banging on the side of the house and at the doors in the middle of the night, they even shot holes in the walls of the house...
     The night that The Brotherhood had specified, Elaine and I sat up until midnight listening to recordings and singing praises to the Lord. As the clock struck 12 midnight, the record playing was by Bill and Gloria Gaither. The song they were singing was It Is Finished. And we stood and praised God that it was finished. He had kept His word. He had fought the battle for us. We were unharmed. We went to bed then, and slept in peace the rest of the night.
     The next after the Black Sabbath of The Brotherhood, the battle really began in earnest. The demons in Elaine began to openly try to kill her. Up to that point, she had persistently denied that demons were in her, but that evening she was suddenly seized and thrown to the floor with excruciating chest pain as if she were having a heart attack. I didn't know what to do, so I cried out to the Lord to intervene....
     It was a major battle to get Elaine down to the church as the demons in her did everything to keep me from getting her there. I had to practically carry her out to the car and then seat-belted her in... After the prayer meeting, Pastor Pat asked Elaine and I to join him and two elders of the church in his study. I don't think that either of the elders had ever participated in a deliverance session before either... After praying, the Pastor addressed Elaine, asking her to confirm that she made Jesus the Savior, Lord and Master of her life, that she rejected Satan and anything from him and that she desired the demons to leave.
     From that point the battle was on. The demons began to surface and speak through Elaine. I had never seen anything like it. Her eyes, voice, and whole face changed. I will never forget the first demon. Suddenly a guttural male voice said, "I am Yaagogg, we will kill this foul traitor. She belongs to Satan and he will not permit her to live."
     Pastor Pat didn't bat an eyelash.
     "You lie, you foul spirit! Elaine is ow holy ground. She belongs to the Lord and you know it! I command you in the name of Jesus to come out of her!"
     The battle raged for eight hours. Many many demons were bought to the surface, forced to identify themselves, and were cast out... the demons were particularly tormented by our praise, and they seemed to lose strength rapidly then. Most of them came out by violent coughing.
     The weeks following Elaine's first deliverance were intensive weeks of decisions that would effect the rest of both of our lives. The Lord spoke to me at the beginning of that week. He asked me if I would be willing to commit my life to Him... and "stand in the gap" so that many souls could be saved, especially among those of The Brotherhood. The Lord told me that if I chose such course I could expect suffering and persecution. Also that I would have to change my career plans. He showed me that I could expect much loneliness and rejection, and eventually have to lay down my medical career completely, but that he would always be with me. He also told me that I would lose my entire family, which I have...
     Also, many of my friends were beginning to pressure me to have Elaine move out. Those that did not know that I had moved Elaine in with me also began to turn against me for no explainable reason. Satan worked in such a manner that by the end of that week I did not have one friend left. My family and my roommate were also pressuring me to have Elaine move out. They did not think I was hearing the Lord correctly. Even the minister of the church I attended locally called me and counseled me to have Elaine move out. He, too, told me that I "... got too involved with people, and especially with Elaine." Then he went on to tell me that I was not welcome to return to his church until I had gotten rid of Elaine! (Brown, He Came To Set The Captives Free, P.91-99)


Satan Is Ultimately Behind The Attacks We Face

     It was shorty after these events in Rebecca Brown's testimony that she found out the real reason why all these things were happening. None of it was by accident. Satan himself had been orchestrating this opposition against her from all quarters, and next appeared to her in person to let her know that there would be more where that came from if she dared to continue fighting against him, and bringing the reality of his existence to light by helping deliver Elaine out of Satanism:

     Quite unaware of the "waves" all of this was making in the spirit world, I calmly went out into my back yard one day to have a quiet lunch on my picnic table under the trees. As I was sitting there enjoying the sunshine God permitted the veil between the spirit world and the physical world to be briefly torn asunder.
     Suddenly, a shining figure appeared and sat down across the table from me. He was in form as a man. As I sat staring at him in silent amazement the Holy Spirit forcibly revealed to me who he was! ... Satan himself! I don't remember details about his appearance because I could not seem to draw my eyes away from his, his eyes were so evil. They were like black coals and had a depth and blackness and evilness that seemed to reach out threatening to engulf me...
     "Satan!" I exclaimed.
      Upon receiving his curt nod acknowledging his identity, I asked, "What do you want?"
     "Woman, do you dare to come against me?"
     "My life has been so committed."
     "I know, but, DO YOU DARE to actually come against ME?"
     I was very puzzled and surprised by his repeated question. It was obvious that his anger was growing by the moment, but the Holy Spirit filled me with a complete peace such that afterwards I marveled that I had felt no fear.
     "Satan, I am not coming against you in my own power, but in the power and authority of Jesus Christ."
     "You had better count the cost. This Jesus whom you serve advised his followers (and he quoted accurately word for word the following):
 
     For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:28-33 KJV)

     "Woman, you had better count the cost because I tell you, I will make your life an agony and an anguish that you never knew could even exist!"
     I knew that this powerful creature was deadly serious... I had no doubt he would petition the Father for my life just as he had done many years ago with Job. It was a very sobering thought. Finally I replied,
     "I have counted the cost to the best of my ability and I know that whatever is to come in the future will be under the complete control of my God, and I simply trust that his grace will be sufficient for me. So YES, Satan, I DO DARE to take up the authority and power that Jesus has given me, and I DO DARE to come against you in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord!"
     My eyes locked with Satan's for a long moment of silence. Again I had that peculiar sensation that if something had not been holding me, I would have fallen forward into the awful evil that I saw there. Then Satan nodded curtly and said, "So be it." With those words, he vanished.
     I sat pondering the experience... the birds continued to sing. I sensed that somehow I had just taken a major irrevocable step. At the time of this writing the cost has indeed been great. I have lost my entire family, my career and everything I had in terms of worldly possessions. I have also suffered much in my physical body. BUT through it all the Lord has been with me and what Satan means for defeat the Lord will turn into victory. (Brown, He Came To Set The Captives Free. P.101-103) 


The Spiritual Dangers Of Allowing In Bitterness

     As covered in Study #9, the Book of Acts describes the church's first encounter with Simon the Magician, a man who would go on to be one of Satan's greatest servants in opposing the truth during New Testament times. His life is a testimony to the tragedy that can befall anyone who tries to embrace and serve the Lord Jesus Christ without allowing Him to deal with the bitterness they still hold in their hearts:

     Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
     When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
     But Simon, having seen that the Holy Spirit was given by the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them riches, saying, “Give me this authority as well, so that on whomsoever I may lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your riches perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be obtained by riches. There is no part nor share for you in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this your wickedness, and ask the Lord God if [this] thought of your heart may truly be forgiven you. For I perceive that you are subject to the poison of bitterness and the bond of iniquity." And having answered, Simon said, “Pray to the Lord on my behalf, so that nothing which you have spoken may come upon me.” (Acts 8:9–24)

     Some writers claim Simon only faked being a Christian during this time, but the passage above strongly suggests he truly did believe, only that had some grave spiritual weaknesses. Due to his subjection to demons in his past life, Simon was filled with bitterness and also addicted to sin. As Peter said to him:

     Repent... and ask the Lord God if [this] thought of your heart may truly be forgiven you. For I perceive that you are subject to the venom of bitterness, and the bondage of iniquity. (Acts 8:23)

     The words "subject to the bondage of iniquity" suggest he was bound by sexual addictions, but that he was subject to "the venom of bitterness" is particularly telling in light of this study. To speculate on how Simon became poisoned with bitterness towards others would be conjecture, but it's possible that he may have made himself some enemies during his time as a sorcerer. And possibly some of them began chiding the former "Great One" over his newly demoted status within the Christian community now that he tried to convert to the new faith. This would account for why he now offered to pay the apostles for a return to a place of greater respectability and authority in the new religion. 
     Whatever the case, the word picture painted by Peter's chastisement suggests that he was shown Simon's body intertwined about with serpents, i.e. demons, who were biting into his flesh and filling him with their poison. Thus, Peter warned him that so long as he remained bound by both sexual immorality and bitterness towards others, he would have no place in the ministry of the things of God.
     It is no coincidence that Simon the Magician was nearly always depicted by church artists as surrounded by demonic spirits, and this should serve as a testimony of what can happen to those who try to embrace Christ yet are still subject to resentments and bitterness towards others. If they do not obediently allow the Lord to direct their hearts to God's love and the endurance of Christ, their last state could end up being even worse than their first (2 Peter 2:20-22).   

                                                 


The Spiritual Assault Course: A Prophetic Dream

     Lastly, a brother of mine in England posted the following dream about a month ago, and it has much to do with remaining pure of heart in the face of the enemy's attacks. It was shown to him in a dream that he would have to run through a type of gauntlet, a spiritual assault course that would train him as a soldier to endure the tests that the enemy would throw at him to hinder him from serving God:

     Last night I had a dream that I was running around a big assault course. All the air there was really dirty and horrible. It smelled like sulphur, eggs and salt. Parts of the course were similar to big inflatable slides that you climbed up when you were a kid, and areas surrounding ball pits which had what looked like punching bags hanging down. And as when you were a child, you ran through them pushing them all. It was that kind of environment that I was in, but it was all open outside too. And it wasn't a kids environment whatsoever. That's just the best way I can describe the scene to you.
     The water was also running down all the parts that I had to climb up and over too, making things very slippery. There were a lot of other people there also. A couple people that I haven't seen in about 15 years back from school. The rest of the people I didn't even know, but in total I would of said maybe there were about 30-40 other people running the course. During the course, there would be people who constantly poured buckets of water over our heads from high up, and they seemed to have black robes on and they were certainly "adult." And this water had the same horrible smell to it also, and it was white and clear water but kinda thick like it had loads of salt in it.
     I have actually had this dream before, but the first time around I wasn't as good at the course. But this time around I would know where the men where that tried to pour water over you, and I would know how to overcome certain obstacles this time with much greater ease, and things like that. I remember climbing up a big plastic/rubber sides with ropes and, as I was climbing it, the smell was just constantly making me gag and feel sick. So in my dream I kept on trying to spit the saliva from my mouth, and every time I would try to I would gag, and it just would not come out. Every time I tried, it just kept resting on the inside of my mouth, until finally on the last attempt I spat out the saliva. And I actually woke up spitting out saliva from my mouth in real life. I have never had this experience before so it was a very strange one, and shocked me to say the least.

     The interpretation I gave him was as follows, some of which relates directly back to things I was teaching in Study #1:

     Not many know this, but the Dead Sea is destined to become the site of the Lake of Fire. It is so rich in salt that tourists can literally float on their backs in the Dead Sea today and not sink. But the entire region is also rich in sulphur. It is the site of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, where "fire and brimstone rained down from God out of heaven." The word "brimstone" is literally translated in the Greek as "burning sulphur."
     By the way, the awful smells you were smelling in this dream are likewise reminiscent of Hell. Those who have been taken to Hell in spirit describe Hell as smelling of sulphur, rotten eggs, human excrement and every foul thing you can think of. So there is a connection between the Lake of Fire and Hell here, and it means that the forces of evil will subject you to this assault course. They will be the ones pouring putrid-smelling salt water on you from above, and making you "climb the slides." (I'll try and explain this later).
     The salt in your dream is interesting, because normally salt is a beneficial substance in scripture. The words of believers are to be seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6), a reference to their being inundated with the Spirit of God. But here the salt water is putrid smelling, and what is very interesting is that much of the salt they would use during New Testament times came from the Dead Sea. This was because it was already being naturally created and could simply be harvested and put to use or sold on the market immediately. But it was CHEAP salt, and would quickly lose its taste. It is the kind of salt Jesus was referring to when He said, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." (Matthew 5:19). This is what often happened with Dead Sea salt. It would go bad so they would have to throw it out the window into the streets, where it would get trampled underfoot.
     So the implication in your dream is this: People around you are going to be pouring putrid-smelling "salt-water" on you, i.e. experiences that will cause you to speak from the putridness of Hell itself, as indicated by you awaking with the taste of this putrid salt in your mouth. Satan will try to get you to speak foul words of hatred, rather than words seasoned with the salt of the Holy Spirit. So you must maintain a Spirit of love in the face of ridicule and opposition. This will be part of the tests you are going to have to endure in running the obstacle course God is going to set before you. However, this dream could actually apply to many others as well, given that there are many in your dream that are running the course with you. The dream may actually relate to a large section of Christianity as a whole.

     He also mentioned seeing in this dream a mocking spirit who was directing participants in this assault course from above. He described him as having "a real sinister look on his face and a real devilish smile, directing all the people that were at the assault course, kind of like... where you have a worker organising, informing and directing a que line letting people enter one by one."
     This is nothing new. As the apostle Peter prophesied during his day:

     This second epistle I now write unto you, beloved, in which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, that you may be mindful of the words having been spoken in advance by the holy prophets… Knowing this first, that mockers shall come in the last days, walking after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as from the beginning of creation." (2 Peter 3:1-4)

     In my ministry, I sometimes experience being mocked online. When I provide interpretation of visions and dreams, I will sometimes encounter those who mock me to discredit what I am doing in a flippant manner, as if to say that what I am doing should be dismissed out of hand, often despite the one I'm helping publicly reassuring me that I am accurate, and expressing deep gratitude. But these are the sorts of things a soldier in Christ must deal with and overcome. You must direct your heart, not to the insulting behavior of others, but to "the love of God, and the endurance of Christ," knowing that such habits must be perfected in a true servant of God. 









 
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