That They May Be One A Marvelous Work God will soon designate two great witnesses to proclaim His Truth to the world during the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. However, there are scriptural indications that another kind of witness will occur just before the Tribulation. Indeed, God is going to work a marvelous work. “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.” (Joel 2:28-29) Peter recognized a partial fulfillment of this prophecy at the first New Testament Pentecost (Acts 2:17). As this takes place in a greater way at the end of the church age, God will, once again, thrust some of His people into the public’s focus. That does not mean that everything will be “peaches and cream”! The Church is warned to expect persecution in the last days, but it has not yet occurred in a big way. Yes, we have all suffered hardship and affliction in our jobs and personal lives, but none of us has faced torture or death due to our beliefs. “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” (John 16:2) Events are going to occur that will cause the world to hate the true children of God. What could bring this about? God has not provided us with any specifics yet, but He does give us some clues. “The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” (Daniel 11:32) It may be that those who, in a humble and upright manner, come together in Christian unity will be used by God in some truly spectacular way. “Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.” (Acts 13:41) “And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.” (Malachi 3:17) Those with a Philadelphian attitude of brotherly love, who are vigorously pursuing unity and oneness with all brethren, will be delivered from the Tribulation by Jesus Christ. “I also will keep thee from the hour of [Tribulation], which shall come upon all the world, to [tribulate] them that dwell upon the earth.” (Revelation 3:10) The end-time Philadelphian brethren will feature a love for the weak brethren, as well as the strong in God’s Church. Not only will they be upholding doctrinal Truth, they will be selflessly imparting an enthusiastic love – even toward those who oppose themselves. The era of brotherly love is fast fading away, and the loveless era is becoming the comfortable norm. The last Church era, Laodicea, is slated to go into the Tribulation that will come on all the world – in order to wake them up! We can choose to be fervently serving one another with a brotherly love – and bypass the Tribulation – or we can lay aside zealousness for complacency. The choice is ours. During the Tribulation, God will graciously present one last opportunity to those Church brethren who have not yet learned to lay down their lives, to do so. Those in the Tribulation will physically lay their lives down in death for having neglected to be spiritual sacrifices prior to that time. (Romans 12:1, Revelation 12:11) Look at how Jesus describes the spiritual condition of the last era of the church. “Thou art lukewarm . . . wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked . . . be zealous therefore, and repent.” (Revelation 3:16-19) When Christ returns, there will be a people whose love for one another – a true Christian love – distinguishes them from those who confuse their social life for Godly service. Somehow, in God’s great providence, He will protect that little flock from the horrors of the Tribulation. From their protected place, this small body will be a light and an example to their Christian brethren left behind. “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.” (Luke 12:43) Those church members who are caught in the Wrath will have one last opportunity to experience the love of God. It will become abundantly clear to them that they had not met the criteria for deliverance. They will finally realize that God wanted them to show that they believed Him by “so doing.” Those brethren in the place of safety will be a witness that God has a certain level of performance that must soon be met. The rest will finally learn that true Christianity is no “gravy train.” Delaying until the time of the Tribulation to learn to love one another will bring about a physical death sentence. At that time, physical death will be the only way to overcome Satan and to gain eternal life. Failure to love one another will mean loss of salvation. For those brethren caught in the Tribulation it will be too late to escape with their lives, because they had been unwilling to lay their lives down for the brethren the way God intended. They will have never truly learned to love all of Christ’s brethren. They had not yet done the third thing necessary to overcome Satan. “And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Revelation 12:11) If we have not learned what it means to lay down our lives for all the brethren, we will go through the Tribulation. Many seem to think that we are more privileged than the other church eras – and that we will just breeze into the Kingdom of God without learning to put God’s Will into our lives. Read about the tribulation and death suffered by the righteous brethren of Smyrna in Revelation 2. We, too, will by no means escape, if we have not done what is required of us – laying down our lives. Unlike Cain, who had no regard for his brother, we are our brothers’ keeper. We must stand by each one of our fellow saints, no matter what the price – even our lives. “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16) The Church of God is shattered into many estranged parts. Jesus Christ prayed the night before He died “that they may be one” – unified. It is important to regard all people who have God’s Holy Spirit as brethren and to love and to esteem them, regardless of group affiliation. The true Church of God goes beyond organizational boundaries to include all brethren who share our common Faith. Those who promote the concept of separate organizations do not know the Scriptures or realize the harm they are bringing on God’s children. Leaders should set aside pride, recognition, security, and title for the unity and oneness of the flock. “[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant.” (Philippians 2:7) We Christians are empowered by God’s Holy Spirit to overcome our self-serving human nature. Our Christianity demands that we follow the example of Christ and lay aside our own self-interests – preferring the good of all others – which is Christian love. We can do it – albeit in different ways because we are all unique. With all of our brethren, we must be patient and sensitive to their different levels of tolerance and their different pain thresholds. Some brethren were totally devastated and disillusioned by the apostasy, while others were not shaken at all. Our dissimilar backgrounds and past experiences cause us to evaluate situations in different ways. Yes, we are to be a “witness” to the world –“That the world may know.” (John 17:23) What better way is there to witness than by living our Faith with one another? Preaching and publishing the gospel means little if our message of God’s way of life is not apparent in our relationships with others. One way we proclaim the gospel is living according to the rules of the Kingdom of God now. There is an awful lot of work to be done. God has placed each one of us in the Body of Christ where it pleases Him. Let us reach out at every opportunity God gives us to let our light shine. We have to keep on doing what we were called to do. When we were baptized, we were not affiliated or bound to any one administration, organization, or group. We should meet with all of God’s saints who are happy to fellowship with us; otherwise we should hold our peace. We are trying to serve the whole of the Body of Christ. It is to the Body of Christ that we regard ourselves as being affiliated – not first and foremost to a particular group. We have been given the blessing of having the opportunity to reach out to all who desire unity and oneness. “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty [freedom]; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13) |
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