The Clash Of Two Kingdoms

The Clash of Two Kingdoms

A Depiction of an Unseen Epic Battle that Began at the Dawn of Time

by

Gary H. Patterson

Part 1: The World in Crisis

Introduction “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (I John 5: 19; NKJV; italics mine). Annals from the dawn of time (Genesis 1-3) depict the intrusion into God’s created order of an idea that men and women can become their own god—that they can rule the world, over which God made them stewards, independent of Him. It is through this original lie that the wicked one (the father or originator of lies; John 8:44) has propagated his sway throughout the generations until now. Upon this original lie the wicked one has built other lies about God and His existence, the origin of creation, the purpose for and certainty of humankind’s continuing existence. Such lies are the source of all the relational instability and unrest in the world. The condition or attitude of heart that this original lie has produced in the hearts of all people of all nations is hateful and prideful rebellion against their Creator. As our Creator revealed through the psalmist: “Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? (2) The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, (3) ‘Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us.’ (4) He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision” (Psalm 2:1-4). The united rebellious scheming of all the nations of the world, empowered by every demonic force from hell, produces one initial response from the Creator—discomfiting, paralyzing, and confident laughter. A segment from the movie, Superman Returns, will help us better understand what is intended here. After being pummeled several

times with a high caliber machine gun, Superman walks up to the assailant, the assailant pulls out a pistol and points it directly into his left eye, and, at near pointblank range pulls the trigger. In slow motion, the bullet is seen leaving the pistol barrel and, then, on the moment of impact with his eye, it mushrooms and falls to the ground. Who was laughing, Superman or the assailant? As we read on in Psalm 2, God presents His Son as the ruler all nations, breaking them to pieces (bringing a complete end to them) if necessary. He is God’s invincible One, more so than any fictional superhero. God, our Creator, will restore His Kingdom authority in the earth through His Son. He who is full of grace and truth (John 1:14) will rid the earth of the hateful lying intruder. Christ’s work and ministry is to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 4:8). Now, He rules in the earth through His body—the Church—through the ministry of reconciliation. As He said Himself: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14:12). God is and will bring greater destruction upon the kingdom of darkness through the many-membered body of Christ as we submit to His headship.

The Sway, the Fray, and God’s Counter-Display What is this “sway” to which the Apostle John was referring? Is there one word that could describe this powerfully mesmerizing influence? An influence so intoxicating and deceptive that it has coerced governing officials or leaders of nations into opposing their Creator and the spread of the Gospel of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It has paralyzed and divided churches and left families drowning in its wake. The spiritually strong have found their selves overwhelmed and running from its wrath. During a time in history when Egypt was the most powerful nation on earth and the Pharaoh was revered by many people as a god, the one true God sent Moses to confront him to let Israel go from slavery. An epic showdown followed. As portrayed in the Exodus account, it was by sorcery (or witchcraft) that Egypt resisted God’s demands. However, this was only the climatic expression of how the nation gained its dominance (sway) over the entire world. Often, as proven in the biblical and Christian perspective of history, military conquest only serves as the vehicle of the underlying spiritual forces of a nation’s or religion’s push for world dominance. Underlying such quests for dominance exist godless and toxic ideologies that give it “justification.” Of course, Egypt could only become such a force in the earth because God chose to use the nation to reveal His glory and fulfill His redemptive plan (Romans 9). God is in control no matter how intimidating the devil becomes. Although the devil transitions (through self-inflating lies) from being revealed as a serpent in the book of Genesis to a dragon in the book of Revelation, he is still defeated, waiting on death row, and will be delivered into everlasting

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punishment in the end (Revelation 20:10). He can put on a good show but will soon be forcefully removed from the stage. The Apostle Paul depicted this epic battle as typical of that occurring in the last days and reveals the true nature of those who refuse the lordship of Christ (2 Timothy 3:1-8): “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: (2) For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (3) unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without selfcontrol, brutal, despisers of good, (4) traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (5) having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (6) For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, (7) always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (8) Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; (9) but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.” This depiction of moral decay in the last days includes the religious and the nonreligious, church-goers and nonchurch-goers, the common person and the renown, the young and the old, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Also notice that Paul referred to Moses’ confrontation with two men named Jannes (ee-an-ace ) and Jambres (eeam-brace ). According to Jewish Talmudic and rabbinical tradition, these are the names of the sorcerers that resisted Moses when God sent him to Pharaoh to deliver Israel. These sorcerers were able to duplicate some of the plaques superimposed by God on Egypt. Paul was indicating here that the spiritual battle in the last days would reflect that of Moses’ encounter. In other words, the devil’s frontline weapon of mass persuasion and resistance to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is sorcery or witchcraft. His workshop is the works of darkness listed in 2 Timothy 3. While we rarely see such sway over the world displayed in its more ostentatious form (at least in the USA), the devil is still working his evil craft in a more deadly yet subtle and covert expression through persuasive secular humanistic lies, worldly vises, the obsessive pursuit of knowledge apart from God, and religious counterfeits that are indulged by the naïve masses of humanity. All this will set the stage for the ultimate and mature expression of sin in the earth—the man of sin who will claim to be God, accompanied with counterfeit signs and wonders similar to those of Jannes and Jambres (2 Thess. 2; Revelation 13). The good news is as Paul stated: “their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs (Jannes and Jambres) also was.” How was their folly made known? By the manifest glory of God through signs, wonders, and various miracles of the Holy Spirit! According to the Exodus account there were 10 plagues visited on Egypt along with other miracles God worked to deliver Israel into the land of promise. God’s deliverance of the whole world from the corruption that came through sin shall be accomplished similarly. This deliverance will be accomplished with finality when

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Jesus steps over into this realm in all of His glory (with His beloved saints) proceeded by signs, wonders, miracles, and sequential judgments. The prayers and exploits of the saints have and will play a major role in the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan for creation. This is evident in Christ’s teachings in the four Gospel’s, the book of Acts, the use of the prayers of the saints to initiate partial judgment in the earth (Revelation 8:1-5), and, possibly, in a two-fold witness of the Jewish and Gentile Church in the earth through prophetic declarations and exploits (Revelation 11:1-13). These are used by God to keep the devil’s sway in the earth in check. Better yet, God’s intent is to not just hold the devil in check but to destroy his works (1John 4:8; Acts 10:38).

The Rise of Unholy Alliances Revelation 6:12-17 entails the opening of the sixth seal and the initial execution of the day of the Lord. This day is the period of time appointed by God to consummate the end of this age. A couple of facts that could be concluded about this period of time is that the people of the world are not repenting of their sins (9:20-21; 16:9-11). What’s obviously happening here is that, as our beloved Apostle Paul stated, those who refused to receive the love of the truth are being turned over to strong delusion (2 Thessalonians 2). While there are strong mesmerizing influences at work in the earth now, people are repenting, and the grace of God is still abounding. For this reason, one could safely conclude that we are not yet in the “day of the Lord” as detailed in Revelation 6-19. It is no surprise that the deeds that people are not repenting of are murders, sorcery, sexual immorality, thefts, and idolatry. This “day” also serves as a time appointed by God to vindicate the blood of His people on the Babylonian world political/religious system. This system began with Cain when he killed his brother over an offering made to God. Since that time, the people of God have suffered many atrocities in the name of religion and for the so-called “greater good.” The Babylonian system included historical Egypt, Babylon, and Rome and the murderous religions birthed by them. Today it would include every political/religious empire that seeks the destruction of God’s people. These political/religious empires are the offspring of historical Rome or at least the adopted children thereof. (Historical Rome was equated with Babylon as revealed to the Apostle John in Revelation 17:3-5; 18. The Prophet Daniel spoke of historical Rome as an empire of iron and also revealed that in the last days there would arise an empire of iron mixed with clay (Daniel 2). The clay could represent a merging of unstable political/religious empires with the iron (totalitarian) rule of “Rome” in the last days. Islam would be equal in its hatred for God’s people as was Rome. Communism could also be one of Rome’s adopted children—a step-brother to Islam. It is estimated that Communism, Islam, and Fascism murdered more of God’s people in the twentieth century than all the

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combined killings in the history of humanity. This hatred for God’s people is what will unite many political/religious empires that would otherwise be archenemies. Both stable and unstable Communistic and Islamic nations exist today. There are and always have been strong ties between the nations and the ideologies that form the modern Babylon and the occult. Although Communist nations may not embrace the idea of the occult (or sorcery and witchcraft) they have been known to use it and its symbols to manipulate the superstitious masses of people. By so doing, they become “sorcerers” who cast their spells of indoctrination through demagoguery. Whether our message be that of hate or community, it matters not to the prince of darkness, as long as we give no honor to God and His Son, Jesus Christ. A precursor to this unholy alliance was evident in the 1967 Six-Day War. It depicted the Communist Russia-backed Arab nations against the nation of Israel. Although the war lasted six days, Israel, being completely surrounded and outnumbered, won it psychologically on the first day by annihilating the air force of the Arab nations. This was done in spite of the USSR’s technological support. Israel’s strategy disheartened all of the Arab nations that were determined to exterminate them. It was reported by various news media that Egyptian ground troops were seen weeping as they fled from the frontlines of battle. A technological “tower of Babel” (the world-wide web, cell phones, satellite communications, mass media, etc) has become a major vehicle used to unite and accommodate that message of tolerance, hate, and rebellion today. There has been a noticeable rise of animosity toward Christianity in the USA since the 1990s. One can’t help but also notice the hypocrisy of those who are antagonistic in embracing a message “tolerance.” Various sects of the Church have already become apostate by embracing a universalism in religion. The psalmist clearly portrays this universal, unholy alliance of hatred and tolerance: “Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? (2) The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, (3) ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.’ (4) He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. (5) Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure” (Psalm 2:1-5). The only forces that could so mesmerize and seduce the nations into thinking they could successfully resist God’s authority would be witchcraft or sorcery—the counterfeits of God’s true spiritual authority in the earth.

The Significance of the Fifth Seal The opening of the fifth seal in Revelation, unveils the souls of God’s people murdered because of their faith in Christ—all the way from righteous Abel to those of present day. They shouted: “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (6:10) What was God’s response to them?

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“Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.” (6:11) So, we are in a time of waiting for the day of the Lord. There is a completion that God is waiting for and working toward before this epic battle comes to a close. While this completion involves the martyrdom of many more of God’s people, one should ask why? Revelation 17 states concerning Babylon that she has in her hand “a golden cup full of the abominations and the filthiness of her fornication” (v4), and that she is “drunk [full] with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus” (v.6). This is her state immediately before final judgment. In the Old Testament, during the life of Abraham, God would not let him fight against the Amorites and destroy them because, as He said: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. (14) And the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. (15) Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. (16) But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Genesis 15:13-16; italics mine). God in His great mercy would not let the Israelites destroy the Amorites, in order to possess the land He promised them, until “the iniquity of the Amorites was complete.” Their cup of iniquity was not yet full. God gave them close to four hundred years (four biblical generations) to turn to Him. Afterward, at the appointed time, Moses led the Israelites against the Amorites, defeating them with the edge of the sword (Exodus 21:21-26). During that time, God used the Israelites to execute His judgment against nations whose cups of iniquity were full. Simultaneously, this worked to fulfill His promise to the Israelites. God’s work in these last days parallels those days. The great national revivals and great awakenings of the past were necessitated and accompanied by that particular nation’s darkest hour. In Revelation 8 the angel with the golden censor is offering before God the prayers of saints from the past and the present. God answers those prayers by initiating partial judgment in the earth as indicated by one third of everything mentioned being affected. This would also indicate that the Church’s ministry of grace in the earth is still a predominant influence. Possibly, two thirds of humanity is still granted repentance by God although the majority of people will not (Revelation 9:20-21). God’s ultimate answer to the prayers of the saints is revealed in Revelation 12-19 in His allowing sin (the devil’s sway through it) to reach maturity in the world so that He can bring a complete end to it. From chapter 12 onward the judgment of God is no longer partial but in full—finalized by the return of Christ with His beloved in chapter 19.

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While revealing Himself to Moses, God stated: “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, (7) ‘keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation’” (Exodus 34:6-7). God will not allow sin to progress beyond three or four generations. When the “cup” of a city or nation becomes full (or the world—as in Noah’s flood), God’s judgment is inevitable. Before that time (the resting or waiting time), God is occupied with reconciling the world to Himself through His people. This should be the primary posture and responsibility of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have been given the ultimate, comprehensive, and all-powerful message of reconciliation—Jesus Christ and Him crucified! Those who turn to God through the blood of Christ are no longer under the sway of the evil one. When the Word of God begins to prevail in society, the maturation of sin is thwarted for, possibly, a number of generations.

The Divine Mandate The cup of Babylon’s iniquity has to become full before the literal return of Christ. Until then, we have a divine mandate to fulfill. The “Egyptian sorcerers” of this hour are waiting to be proved as fools. Those who trust in them are waiting to see them for who they really are. The counterfeit can only be exposed and defeated by the unveiling of the Genuine—the Lord Jesus Christ. He is waiting and working to be fully revealed in and through His people now before His literal return. [Does this mean that God is going to eradicate evil from this planet through the Church before Christ’s literal return? No, Scripture clearly indicates that will happen at Christ’s second coming] (Revelation 19). Nineveh turned at the preaching of Jonah and we have the One who is greater than Jonah. If Sodom would have remained to this day by seeing the miracles that Jesus performed then, what can He accomplish through all His people today (Matthew 11:23)? Whole peoples, cities, and nations could be preserved from judgment and allowed to remain because of the Church’s counter sway in the earth. It has happened and is happening now in varying degrees. As Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. (13) And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (14) If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:12-14). A combination of the prayers and exploits of a Church empowered and possessed by God will get the job done. Sadly, too much of the Church has taken on a passive stance toward the encroaching darkness of this generation. A common mindset among various Christian sects is similar to this: “Well, the Bible says that things are going to get worse in the last days.” This statement is made with the connotation that there is nothing we can

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do about it. It is rooted in too much of the Church rejecting or neglecting the very means necessary to reach this generation. Moses didn’t just confront Jannes and Jambres with a wooden stick and a message from God! There will come a time, when God decides, that the dragon will be allowed to make war with and overcome (Revelation 13:7), wear out, or persecute (Daniel 7:25) the saints. Parallel events have happened in Church history in reference to certain nations but the day is coming when this will happen in all of the earth. This will restrain the Church’s platform and influence, allowing the man of sin to arise, sin’s cup to become full, and set the stage for Christ’s literal return and the judgment of all nations. The last thing Jesus told His disciples before He ascended was: “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. (8) But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:7-8). We are not to be preoccupied with “when” God is going to end this age (restoring the kingdom to Israel) but with making sure we have been properly equipped to reach this generation and then do it one city at a time. Yes, Christ did reveal to His disciples the evidences of His second coming and the consequent restoration of all things (i.e. Matthew 24), and we must able to discern them and but not become preoccupied with the times (grk: chronos-chronological times) or seasons (grk: kairos-appointed, opportune, or strategic times) of such. Jesus obviously knew this would become a temptation to us so warned us against it. God has His responsibilities and we have ours, as the Church, so let us be about our Father’s business and present to Christ a great harvest of spotless souls at His return. If the disciples had instead asked Jesus when the “man of sin” was going to arrive, when “Babylon” was going to be finally judged, or when the Church would be caught up to meet the Lord, His answer would have been no different. All these things are inevitable or unavoidable but not necessarily imminent (is happening or is about to). The increase of this present darkness and the sealing of the final destiny of the souls of many people are imminent. Therefore, the Church’s counterattack must be likewise— sudden releases of Christ’s great and awesome graces, poured out of people whose hearts are united in weeping for this generation. There are “Egyptian sorcerers” in this hour that the Church must confront in order for redemption to be released to families, cities, and nations. Many people are waiting in slavery for a “Moses” to free them. The question the Church must ask herself is: Am I equipped for the challenge? How many of us are confronting the world counterfeits with not much more than a “wooden stick” (human ingenuity) and a message (knowledge about Jesus)? Do we truly know Him? Are we revealing and imparting Him or merely the knowledge of Him? Are our hearts broken before Him?

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Understand the Church’s burning-bush experience was on the day of Pentecost. Now, Christ has come to do through us what He would do if He were here. Let’s ongoingly meet with Him in the upper room, continually being filled. God is laughing and will have the last laugh. Coming up next… Part 2: The Church in Crisis

Contact info: Great Grace Revival Ministries Gary H. Patterson [email protected] (For more information, please send us an email.) *All Scripture quotes are from the NKJV unless otherwise indicated. All definitions were taken from Strong’s Concordance from the Online Bible Edition.  Copyright ⋅ Gary H. Patterson ⋅ Permission is granted to duplicate this written material. The content cannot be altered in any way.

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