The Spirit of Hatred is On the March

No doubt there were many Christians across the globe asking, “Why, Lord?” in relation to the mass slaughter of their fellow Christian brothers and sisters, young and old, in Sutherland Falls Texas, USA, last Sunday. I did. Did God answer me? Not in a manner I would have liked and I don’t suspect He will seeing He already tells us in His word what sort of a world we live in, a world that hates us because we’re not part of it. Thank God for His holy word! I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world John 17:14.

To me, this tragedy is a reminder of just how deeply Christians are hated. The spirit of hatred is on the march in earnest everywhere today, but Christians and Jews are its primary target because we’re the only ones it lives in fear of. Whilst the spirit of hatred doesn’t know the future, it does know Jesus Christ holds that future and it knows the Church and Israel will one day rule this entire world. The spirit of hatred is a child of the devil and he certainly knows his future is anything but bright and rosy; he has been reading about it for 2000 years. First he gets locked up for 1000 years at Jesus’ return, then at the end he’s released for a while before he finally gets cast into the lake of fire where he will be tormented day and night forever and ever Revelation 20:10.

The spirit of hatred greatly fears the Bible. Why? The Bible is the only book to reveal its origins, its schemes, its desires, its manner of working, its lies, its gross insecurities and, how to get mastery over it all. If that’s true, somebody asks, then how come those people were killed, maimed and injured – especially people in a church? Well firstly, the Christians among them did get mastery over it, dead or alive. Jesus told us not to fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul Matthew 10:28. Those who were or are not Christian were or are still part of the world. And it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment Hebrews 9:17. Attending church on a Sunday doesn’t make one a Christian. As for the maimed and injured, God’s presence remains with them.

Somebody asks, what about all those promises of protection we read about in the Bible like Psalm 91:1-16 and Proverbs 3:25-26, to name just a couple? They certainly are valid questions, undeserving of glib answers. I pray as I write this; whether they were young or old, none of us knows what they had been protected from in the past; we don’t know what God intended protecting them from in the future. But just as importantly, none of us knows the hour of our death. Certainly, old age has not been promised to everyone. For those of us who tend to take life for granted, this is a wakeup call if ever there was one. Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth Proverbs 27:1, cf. James 4:13-14.

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever believes in Me shall never die John 11:26. There it is; that’s now the experience of those who believed in the Lord and His promise of eternal life. The exact moment each believing spirit left its body last Sunday, he and she were ushered into the very presence of the Lord. Today they are more alive than they’ve ever been. Even the spirit of hatred knows that! And whilst there will be much grieving, sorrow and sadness in the coming days by the families, loved ones and friends left behind, they know they’ll see them again if they too are believers or become such. The greatest concern for them all now will be for the maimed and injured.

This tragedy confirms what the Bible tells us about evil. The word itself is mentioned 613 times in the King James Version. It also tells us that evil will get worse and worse the closer we get to the Lord’s return. So the level of evil we’re now seeing is a sign of the times and the end of the age. Jesus told us lawlessness will abound and the love of many will grow cold Matthew 24:12. What’s the opposite of love? Hate! Therefore, if we don’t have the love of God dwelling within, hatred will take its place. It may be well hidden, but it’s there, and the further one gets from God the greater the chances of it showing up. Take a look at the Trump haters and sex-pervert advocates. Take a look at the media talking-heads and politicians; many of them are immersed in hatred.

Something else the Bible tells us about the spirit of hatred; those possessed by it also have the spirit of murder. Consider that the next time you observe the speech and behavior of that crowd. The only difference between most of them and the Sutherland Falls murderer is the outward restraint of law and the fear of punishment. Wherever there is bitterness, envy, malice, and unforgiveness, hatred will show its hand and under the “right” conditions murder is the next step. Just like lusting after a man or a woman makes one an adulterer, even though the act itself is not committed, so too is the hater a murderer in the eyes of God. Reject the calls for gun control; guns don’t pull triggers, just like hammers don’t smash people’s heads in!

Then there is the global elite, the New World Order crowd. They are very pleased when Christians get slaughtered. To them dead Christians are the only kind they can tolerate. They know we are the primary stumbling block to their plans for achieving world dominance. Eventually they will get their way but it will be very short-lived – about 7 years and then it’s all over for them. Jesus will then return with His church at the end of the Tribulation period and literally kill them all with a word proceeding from His mouth. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds. None of them believe that of course, because God has seen to it that they are not able to believe it. Devil-delusion is one thing, God-delusion is everything!

Not only did the Sutherland Falls murderer hate Christians but apparently he was an atheist too. If that’s true, then not any more he’s not, he’s a believer! Not that it will do him any good. His soul left his body immediately when he died last Sunday too. And just like those he murdered, he came face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ. But not for long, for atheists get banished from the Lord’s presence into hell where they await the Great White Throne Judgment which will take place at the end of the millennial reign of Christ. Nobody survives that Final Judgment. After it, both soul and resurrected body get cast into the lake of fire and brimstone to be tormented for ever and ever, in the same manner as their father, Satan the devil.

What I’ve just written in the above paragraph is a primary reason why Christians, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible are hated. Nobody speaks like Jesus speaks. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him – the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day John 12:48. No book speaks like His Book speaks. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart Hebrews 4:12. No wonder the spirit of hatred controls the lives of so many people everywhere today. The Lord tells it how it is and makes no apologies for doing so.

Of course there are those who do say they believe in Jesus, many of them in fact. But he is not the Jesus of the Bible because they reject most of what’s written in the Bible. The Jesus they speak of is not judgmental or intolerant, he loves everybody and he rejects nobody. It doesn’t matter if you’re a sex pervert, a liar, an extortionist or a thief, you are still loved by this Jesus and you’ll still make it into heaven when you die. How do I know these people are possessed by the spirit of hatred? I see it in their eyes every time I challenge them on their beliefs. In some cases I also see the spirit of murder in them as well. It’s the same spirit that sent martyrs to the stake in days of old. And very religious they are too, many of them.

As mentioned, the spirit of hatred is on the march; the spirit of murder follows at a distance. But nothing changes for us; Jesus’ authority is not diminished and neither is ours. We have the authority to invoke His name, His word and His blood into every negative situation we encounter. We are to make sure no sin hinders our invoking, for Satan will use that to his advantage. If sin comes up, confess it immediately. The last thing we need hanging over us in times of spiritual warfare is conviction from the Holy Spirit and condemnation from the devil. We must be certain of who we are in Christ and who He is in us. Too, it could well make a difference as to whether we live or die. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing by any means shall hurt you Luke 10:19.