Veils Removed, Lights Turned On, and the Smoke Clears

With the recent elections over, it can be see that we have stepped into a new America. But is it really that new or have we just had the veil removed to see what America has been for some time now? The decay and decline of America runs parallel to the recoil of Christian influence in culture. I think most would understand that the condition of the Church is a major contributor to the condition of a nation. The Church must be evaluated and must respond to the corrections needed in order to be pleasing to the Lord and disciple nations. The book of Revelation shares letters to the Churches in 7 regions of Asia Minor that expresses issues in each Church that needed addressed and reformed. The Book goes on to explain how things would go for the ending of the Old Covenant and judgment on apostate Israel. There are a lot of images and events used to explain that would happen to carry out what God was releasing upon Jerusalem. These letters to the Churches being positioned at the opening of the Book can express God’s desire to have the Church reformed and ready for what was going to happen. It would seem the Churches were being prepared to be those that extend the New Covenant into the centuries to come. The course of the future will be in light of how the Church steps into its role for the years to come.

After the letters to the Churches, Revelation displays scenes of the Throne room, scrolls/documents being unlocked, indictments laid out, and consequences for rebellion. Then, in chapter 12-13 is the picture of a Dragon that lashes out to devour a newly born son. That attempt was not successful so the Dragon found itself at war again with those that obey God’s command. The Dragon's strategy was to empower a Beast to obtain worship from the masses. The Dragon was fueling the Beast with the power to deceive. The Beast was a facade to obtain worship for the Dragon. The Beast worked to gain control and tyrannically demanded what it wanted and profaned the Most High.

Today, the Dragon/Satan, is continuing that strategy to obtain worship and allegiance through the same means, beasts. There are beasts propped up in today’s societies and nations to amass control and do the bidding of the Dragon. Like the Churches written to in Revelation, God is speaking into the Church today to address the areas we fail in. The Church must be in proper working order so it can rightfully identify and overthrow the beasts. The Church must be able to correctly deal with beasts or the nations fall prey to the deception.

In front of the nations of today are 5 Beasts that I can identify parading their taunts and smooth words to obtain control. Elegant attempts using emotional forgery to lure many like the Pied Piper. With swagger and promises, beasts gain allegiance and the unaware masses are duped and enslaved before they know it. These 5 Beasts must be overtaken and diminished through an awakened, informed, reformed and engage Church that places Jesus and His ways before mankind so worship and allegiance is ascribed to Him. This is the only way freedom, blessing, and life can prevail. The tyranny of beasts comes with a severe price tag. If the Church does not respond to the reforms God is calling for, the Dragon is able to deceive nations through these 5 beasts:

• Humanism – man as center and supreme
• Statism – civil government as center and supreme
• Religion – regulations as center and supreme
• Idolatry – constructed gods set as center and supreme
• Materialism/Consumerism – money and possessions as center and supreme

(What is set as center and supreme is what motivates us, shapes us, and determines our worldview)

These 5 Beasts demand surrender from many and countless lives are lived giving all they have to uphold these in worship. When cultures are shaped by these Beasts nations feel the ramifications. Families crash, economies fail, education dims, creativity is obstructed, and a culture of death gains a strangle hold.

There must be an awakened Church that breaks its ties with these Beasts and comes to a singular focus of worship and surrender; Jesus. If the facade of the Beasts are exposed and the Deceiver is revealed through the light of God’s word, the work of Jesus, and the gospel of His Kingdom, nations can experience the liberty provided in Him, live in the blessing of His light, and eat the fruit from the Tree of Life.

The Beasts must be revealed. The Church must reform. Jesus must be our center. A Christ Centered Movement is the offensive strategy to expose and deteriorate the smoke and mirrors of the Dragon. Revelation expresses the victory of Jesus over anything and everything that opposes Him. His Church rides with Him in victory over the beasts of history as we keep a sober mind and hearts set only for Him.