1 Thessalonians 5:8-11, Part 3

[Hidden In Him]

Putting On The Whole Armor Of God, Part 3

     The apostle Paul attested in Philippians that he was "set for the defense of the gospel" (Philippians 1:17). This is in keeping with Paul's description of the armor of God listed in Ephesians 6, nearly all of which was defensive in nature. To return to the passage once more:

     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)

     The imagery of standing "in the evil day" was one of a Roman soldier holding the line against an enemy frontal assault. Barbarians were famous for getting themselves whipped up into a frenzy and then rushing headlong at the Roman lines in hopes of overwhelming them. The time for counterattack would come, but first the Romans had to withstand everything the enemy could throw at them and subdue every attack in the initial phase of the battle. Hence Paul's repeated use of the words "stand" and "withstand":

     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... (Ephesians 6:12-13)

                     

     The belt of truth was a protection against false witnesses who were often being brought forward to testify against believers. Paul, Stephen, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself all had false witnesses brought against them to testify to things they had not done. The breastplate of righteousness was a protection against accusations of wrongdoing, in that continuing to preach in the name of Jesus constituted disobeying the direct orders of those in authority. But to this the apostles regularly replied, "Should we obey God or man? You be the judges." As we saw, having one's feet strapped with the readiness of the gospel of peace was to be prepared to go on offense whenever given the chance. If asked to share the "reason for the hope that was in them," believers suddenly had the chance to turn the hearts of persecutors to faith in Christ. But such opportunities were not always given, which is why they needed to always be ready for when an opportunity came. And above all they needed to take up the shield of faith, for without a strong faith in Christ's Divinity believers might not stand for Christ when threatened with affliction or death. The flaming arrows of assertions that Jesus was a drunkard and a glutton, and only performed His miracles and exorcisms by the power of Satan, needed to be extinguished by the shield of faith, lest a believer begin to falter before his accusers, and fail to "stand in the evil day."   
     If he could not convict a believer of wrongdoing or destroy his faith in Christ, the Devil's only option left was to threaten to kill him (Acts 5:27-33). But even this rarely worked, particularly on those who like the apostle Paul had put on the helmet of deliverance. Such believers knew that Satan's insinuation of having the power of life and death over them was in reality a lie.


The Helmet of Deliverance: A Protection Against The Fear Of Satan's Power

     The translation "helmet of salvation" is badly inaccurate, and robs persecuted believers of one of the most important pieces of armor needed to stand in the face of intense interrogation: The knowledge that God will deliver His servants from death until their calling is finished. Despite interrogators claiming to have the power of life and death over believers, the truth was that they have no such power unless the Lord gives it to them. The helmet of deliverance, then, serves as a protection against the fear of Satan's power to take our lives before our work is done.
     When being interrogated by Pontius Pilate, Jesus informed him that the only way he would have the authority to crucify the Son of God is if the Father gave it to him:

     Then [Pilate] went into the praetorium again, and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus did not give him an answer. Pilate said to Him, "You do not speak to me? Do you not know that I have [both] the authority to crucify you and to release you?" Jesus answered him, and said, "You could not have any authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Because of this, the one delivering Me up to you has the greater sin." (John 19:9-11)

     Those who dismiss the notion that this same protection is granted to believers are mistaken. The Lord allowed the apostle Paul to endure affliction repeatedly, yet try as he may the Devil could never succeed at actually killing Paul. Even when he nearly had him stoned to death, the Lord simply raised Paul back up to life (Acts 14:19-20).
     Moreover, statements in Paul's letters make it evident that he was clearly aware Satan couldn't kill him until his race was finally finished. As he once told Timothy:

     In my first defense no one stood by me, but all forsook me. May it not be accounted to them. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, that through me the [gospel] proclamation might be fully declared and all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the Lion's mouth. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom, unto whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:16-18)

     The reason Paul knew this was because the Lord Jesus Christ promised him this when He first appeared to him on the road to Damascus, when He called him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. As he recounted to King Agrippa:

     And He said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise up and stand on your feet, for I appeared unto you for this reason, to appoint you a minister and a witness, both of what you saw and what shall be shown to you, delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes to turn them from darkness to light, and from the authority of Satan to God"… Having therefore obtained help from God, I continue to this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said should come. (Acts 26:15b-22)

     Other occasions of Paul being delivered out of the hands of persecutors are mentioned in scripture, including the time when he and Silas were supernaturally delivered out of a prison in Philippi, after he cast a spirit of divination out of a young girl, and her masters dragged him before the city authorities:

     But her masters, having observed that their hope of profit was gone, seized hold of Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the magistrates and said, "These men exceedingly trouble our city, being Jews, and are advocating customs which are not lawful for us to receive nor observe, being Romans." And the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates rent their clothes, and commanded to beat them with rods. And having laid many wounds on them, they cast them into prison, having commanded the jailor to keep them safely, who, having received such an order, threw them into the inner prison, and secured their feet to the stocks. But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, such that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and all the bonds were loosed. And having been awakened out of sleep, the jailor, having seen that the doors of the prison were opened, drew a sword and was about to kill himself, supposing the prisoners to have escaped. But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." And when they requested lights, he rushed in and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And after having brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what do I need to do so that I might be saved?" (Acts 16:19-30)

     So, too, did the Lord miraculously deliver the apostle Peter out of prison before Herod had a chance to kill him:

     But about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to harm some of those from the church. And He put to death James, the brother of John, with the sword. And having seen that it was acceptable to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also - this was during the days of unleavened bread - whom, having seized, he put Peter in prison, having delivered him up to four sets of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the passover. Peter therefore was kept in prison, but fervent prayer to God was being made by the church concerning him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, having been bound with two chains, and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by, and a light shone in the building. And having struck Peter in the side, he woke him up, saying, "Rise up in haste." And his chains fell from his hands. And the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and bind sandals on your feet." And he did so. And he said to him, "Cast your garment about you, and follow me." And going out, he followed him, and knew not that what was happening through the angel was real, supposing he was seeing a vision. But having passed by the first and the second guards, they came to the iron gate leading into the city, which opened unto them by itself. And having come out, they passed down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And having come to himself, Peter said, "Now I know that the Lord has truly sent forth his angel, and delivered me out of the hand of Herod and all the expectation of the people of the Jews." (Acts 12:1-11)

     Only after Paul completed his ministry would the Lord allow him to offer up his life as an offering to God. And by this time Paul was ready to do so, having finally finished what God called him to do, in keeping with what he told Timothy:

     I am already being poured out, and the time of my release has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is being laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will reward me with in that day.  (2 Timothy 4:6-8a)


Wearing The Helmet Of Deliverance In The End-Times

     Returning again to the testimony of Saeed and Naghmeh Abedini, Naghmeh testified that the Lord spoke to her during her interrogation, promising to deliver her if she would not deny Him. Both of them came away from the experience having learned the lesson that no one can take a believer's life unless God allows it.
 
     We were moved from person to person. Finally we were handed down to this top interrogator, and he said to us... "If you say you're a Muslim, you go free. If you say you're a Christian, you will die… And it won't be an easy death. You will be tortured. You will be raped. And then you will die. You won't get to see your husband"… For a few seconds I had to ask myself "How real is Jesus Christ? Here's my life. I could have a life with this man. How real is Jesus Christ, that I would be willing to be tortured and raped and die?" And I can't say it was anything from me. I would say it was God's grace, because I opened my mouth and I said "I'm a Christian." And I knew that second, the Lord just put on my heart, "I will protect you. Don't deny Me. I won't deny you. I will deliver you." And when I said that, the guy got mad and he said, "Give me your testimony, and your testimony will be used against you." It's like confessing to murder. So I shared it and he was very angry, and I'm thinking in my mind, "Lord. You said you were going to protect me. This man's getting angrier and angrier and angrier." As I'm sharing my testimony his face is getting red. Then Saeed's turn came, and Saeed said "I'm a Christian"... He lost it. He said, "It's over. You are done. I can't understand you, why you would convert to Christianity. I just don't understand it." And he closed our folder, and he said, "You're dead." And I'm thinking again, "Lord, You said, You promised that You were going to deliver me. This does not look like deliverance." And as they were taking us down - the guards are coming and taking us down with these guns - there was some war going on inside this interrogator, and he looked at Saeed and said, "Wait. I need to talk to this man." So he took Saeed to the courtyard, and the house church leader and I are sitting on a bench and looking into the courtyard. And it's funny now that I think about it… but the house church leader said, "Ok, let's unite in prayer, and let's pray that the Lord would just close Saeed's mouth, and He would just give him wisdom." It was like "Evangelizing to this interrogator is death," and you were just praying. And I would look up and Saeed is talking, and I'm like, "I don't think he's closing his mouth. I think he's evangelizing." But it was interesting because I could see heated discussion. I couldn't hear what they were saying. And they came out and I could see that because there were other guards and other interrogators that this guy was just trying to hold back tears. And he was like, "Just go." And he ripped up all the stuff they had taken - It was like five in the morning now - all the stuff they had written down, and he said, "Just go." And we called Saeed's parents and we gave them the location. Anyway, they came to pick us up, and as we were leaving this interrogator said, "Can I have a Bible? I want to know this Jesus." This happened in 2004, and I had forgotten about it because a lot of stuff happened in our life… a lot of drama. But the Lord reminded me when Saeed was [later] arrested. He said, "Your life is not in the hands of any people. Saeed's life is not in the hands of any people." That interrogator wanted to take our life right there... But the Lord showed me with that testimony, "Don't be scared. Your time had not come at that time, so I didn't let him take your life." People need to see the reality of Jesus. And if we would have denied Christ, that man would have never come to know Christ. That man would have never seen the reality, "Who is this Jesus they are standing up for? How real is He?" (Testimony Of Naghmeh Abedini, Youtube)

     Like all the armor of God, it should be remembered that the helmet of deliverance is put on through prayer. Anyone who fails to do so may be responsible for their own premature death, in not heeding Paul's advice on how to prepare for genuine spiritual battle. Like Naghmeh, some may be given the grace of God, but not everyone should expect this. The wise will take upon themselves the responsibility of preparing for battle in advance.


The Sword of the Spirit: Utterance From The Spirit of God Himself

     It is presumption to suppose that "wielding the sword of the Spirit" meant debating with interrogators in the power of one's own intellect and/or knowledge of the scriptures. The Lord Jesus Christ, in fact, repeatedly commanded His disciples not to do this. Rather, when the hour came, the Holy Spirit Himself would give them the words they were to speak:

     Whosoever shall confess Me before men, the Son of man will also confess him before the angels of God. But he who has denied Me before men will be denied before the angels of God… And when they bring you before the synagogues and rulers and authorities, do not be anxious about how or what you will reply in defense or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in the same hour what you should say. (Luke 12:8-9, 11-12)

     In giving their defense before the authorities, Jesus warned the disciples that they would need to be as wise as serpents yet as harmless as doves, which partly explains why they needed to let the Spirit of the Father do the talking for them:

     Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver up you to Sanhedrins, and scourge you in their synagogues, and you shall be brought before governors and kings on My account, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you shall say, for it will be given to you in that hour what you shall say. For you are not the ones speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking in you. (Matthew 10:16-20)

     In Luke's account, Jesus spelled out even more plainly why they needed to let the Spirit speak through them: Because He could reply with a wisdom the authorities could not refute, with the result being that instead of the disciples being incriminated it would be the authorities who would stand condemned:

     They will lay their hands upon you and persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors on account of My name. And it will result in you giving testimony. Determine, therefore, in your hearts not to premeditate how to make your defense, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all those opposing you will not be able to resist nor contradict. (Luke 21:12-15)

     He warned them to "beware of men" because enemies of the Lord could be extremely crafty. They tried to deliberately trick the righteous whenever possible, such as when the Pharisees asked Jesus if it was right to honor Caesar by paying tax or not. This was a trick question, designed to incriminate Jesus either way. If He said "Yes," they would accuse Him before the Jews of of teaching that the people should give honor to Caesar, i.e. above giving honor to God. If He said "No," they would accuse Him before Roman authorities of teaching rebellion against the Emperor:

     But Jesus, having perceived their wickedness, said, "Why do you test Me, you Hypocrites? Show Me a tribute coin." And they presented a denarius to Him. And He said to them, "Whose image and superscription is this?" They said, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then recompense unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." (Matthew 22:18-22)

     This answer was so brilliant it left them with nothing to say, and it was the sort of wisdom He now wanted His disciples to speak before interrogators, but they would only be able to do so if the Holy Spirit spoke through them. Again, it is why Paul finished his teaching on the armor of God by requesting that the Ephesians pray for him so that utterance might be given to him, making it obvious that not even the apostle Paul relied upon his own intellect in presenting a defense before interrogators (Ephesians 6:19). He understood it was "the sword of the Spirit," not the sword of believers.
     Another reason God wanted the disciples to let the Spirit speak through them was because He desired to address authorities with a far greater boldness than He knew they could muster up in themselves. By the conclusion of Stephen's speech before the Sanhedrin, the Spirit of the Father Himself was chastising them as religious hypocrites in the strongest of terms:

     O you who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in the hearts and ears. How you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so you do. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they have slain the ones who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now become the betrayers and murders of, who have received the law by the disposition of angels, but have not kept it. (Acts 7:51-53) 
 
     Notice how similar these words were to the bold manner in which Christ Jesus Himself addressed the Pharisees in telling them:

     Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you build the tombs of the prophets, and you adorn the graves of the righteous, and say, "If we had been alive during the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in [shedding] the blood of the prophets." And so you bear witness against yourselves that you are [indeed] the sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You offspring of snakes, how shall you escape the damnation of Hell?" (Matthew 23:29-33)

     When we look at the types of interrogators the faithful are destined to face in the end-times, it becomes obvious that we will again need to let the Spirit of God Himself do the talking in our defense.


Allowing God To Speak Through Us During The End-Times

     What sort of interrogation will believers face in the end-times, and from whom? In the West, it seems only a matter of time before Christians face jail time for "hate crimes," in that true believers will have no choice but to continue speaking out against homosexuality as sin. Satan knows this, which is why he is working diligently to make it a crime to preach the truth. But what sort of defense will believers use against accusations of having committed "hate crimes"? Citing the scriptures will be irrelevant in such a context, given that they will be answering to secular authorities.
     So, too, will believers in Muslim countries face similar circumstances. Muslims do not honor the New Testament as being the word of God. They teach that the apostles, Paul especially, corrupted the truth by making Jesus out to be the Son of God when He never said He was. Again, what sort of defense does a Christian raise when much of the word of God is discounted as being corrupt? 
     We will need the Spirit of God to speak through us, not only with great wisdom but also with great boldness as well. If not, our defenses will be summarily dismissed as merely the arguments of hateful religious fanatics or, if our accusers are feeling merciful, of mentally handicapped fools.
     Even when persecution returns to the faithful at the hands of the coming false church, the actual interrogators and executors will not be religious authorities but secular ones, seeing as how the false church will use the tactic of inciting secular governments to arrest and execute believers:

     There will be many relatively small false unity movements resulting in discord, but there will be one great and significant movement which will ultimately become the greatest persecutor of the advancing church. This movement will be a marriage of Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Charismatics and Third Wave Christians. This movement will gain momentum after a period of great humiliation for the church. It will have all the appearance of being God's vehicle for reestablishing the respectability and credibility of the church when in fact it will be the primary vehicle for anti-Christ forces trying to thwart the harvest… [It] will have allegiance and authority over most of the populations of what is left of the "free world," [and] this church will incite governments and populations against all Christians who do not submit to its authority… Some of their priestly orders will be professionally trained to incite riots against believers, and to manipulate governments into arresting and executing them. (Joyner, The Harvest, P.62, 154, 167)

     This will not be something new in history. The Catholic Church has had a history of murdering the faithful, and did so both during the middle-ages and again during the protestant reformation. So, too, does the Book of Revelation state that she will return to doing so during the end-times: 

     And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus... And I heard another voice from heaven, saying... Reward her even as she rewarded you... in the cup which she has filled, fill to her double. (Revelation 17:6a and 18:4-6)

     And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. (Revelation 18:24. See also 18:20, and 19:2)

     This is why the Lord will eventually tell His people:

     Come out of her, My people, so that you do not share in her sins, and do not receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto Heaven, and God has remembered her unrighteousness. (Revelation 18:4-5)]

     Below is a copy of the Jesuit "Extreme Oath Of Induction," on file with the Library of Congress. That the mother church may very well incite governments to do her dirty work for her appears consistent with just how many times the words "secret" and "secretly" are used here, starting from third paragraph on:

                                                   

     So again, the question becomes: How will the faithful make their defense against authorities who do not respect the word of God, or consider it relevant? They will need to pray for the Spirit of God to speak through them. When they do so, regardless of any limitations placed upon them, the Spirit of God Himself will speak on their behalf, and not only exonerate them of guilt but also boldly incriminate their accusers of wrongdoing, and of murdering the righteous. 

Note to the reader: Studies for the remainder of First Thessalonians will be created at a later time.