"it was given unto him to make war with the saints" (Rev. 13:7)
Hm; so this "war" is appointed by God. People say you can't say a battle is anointed, but in the sense that it was sent by God as shown here, I guess you'd have no choice but to say HE DID ORDAIN IT TO BE SO! When we see wicked men rising to power and persecuting the redeemed, we need to look back at this passage -- sometimes, even our mighty Father would allow our enemy freehand to work mischief!
We cannot claim to understand the wisdom of God, merely know the greatness of the Father to the furies of hell at Calvary; and as Jesus "learned obedience by the things He suffered," so those of us who follow Him, tho' we do not fully understanding all these things, want God's purposes realized thru' our lives too.
O Lord, would You not cause the offenses in our lives, the unsolved puzzles and even oft-shameful blind spots we possess, to glorify Yourself?
Recently, a church worker mentioned seeing some misplaced emphases in the children's outreach ministry. God, I don't want to sow dischord among brethren, stepping in and planting negative remarks if the Holy Spirit Himself can teach and untangle snarls among those who sincerely love and want to serve God.
Even if they're "out of step," it's different from the completely unregenerate, who are looking for excuses to mess up the work in the church! Lord, let us perceive the difference between those who don't walk straight, "wearing braces and crutches, using wheelchairs" compared to those who stir up trouble "wearing brass knuckles and iron stirrups, and riding small carts thru' flower beds".
Until Your return Lord Jesus, we're to let the wheat grow with the tares in the church, so let us know how to move.
"...to overcome them" (Rev. 13:7)
...for the enemy to OVERCOME the righteous? Is that possible? Readers know that in a broken world, there have been innocent, perhaps even praiseworthy people, sentenced unjustly.
That should come as no surprise, especially to those of us who have at least once heard the Lord's voice saying, "If they have persecuted ME," they'll do it to you too. Even more to those who've continued to read His written messages to us, that the enemy WILL OVERCOME us! And the use of that same word?
"They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death." (Rev. 12:11)
How?
Actually, the "how" was in the first clause: by the blood of the Lamb. That has to be the real "meat," the reason behind why we can "stand it"; the rest of the verse is what therefore shows up in life.
