Persecution and the End-Times
We heard of many accounts online of the coming Rapture of the Church through revelations, dreams, visions and God's true prophets, but equally important is the period of the Persecution of the Church - prophesied in Matthew Chapter 24, also known as the Great Tribulation. This is the great persecution of Christians worldwide that will span a period of 7 years. There is no comparison of past or future events in history that would equal to this persecution.
If you consider how the Nazis exterminated 7 million Jews in the Second World War as an unimaginable atrocity, it will pale in comparison to this persecution. We are now living in its season as we see more and more Christians are persecuted sporadically in various countries, and it is intensifying.
In a message from St. Pio of Pietrelcina on 21 July, 2021 to a seer Enoch, he revealed that, 'we are already living in this time of Tribulation.'
On 26 Jan 2021, The Blessed Virgin Mary through a seer Gisella Cardia, warned the world:
" My daughter, tell the world that faith is the only hope that humanity has: only prayer, charity and love will be its salvation. The times predicted from Fatima onwards have arrived — no one will be able to say that I had not given warnings. Many have been the prophets and seers chosen to announce the truth and the dangers of this world, yet many have not listened and still do not listen.
I weep over these children who are being lost; the apostasy of the Church is increasingly clear — my favored sons [priests] have refused my protection. My daughter, tell the world to pray for the powerful, because they will unleash a great war. Pray for the Church, because she is being destroyed; [1] pray for Italy because she will weep for her dead – famine is near and you are not prepared. Another virus is at the gates and it will be worse than the previous one."
Throughout history, God has not abandoned His people but guided them through His Word, signs, wonders, His true prophets pointing to the times and seasons we are in, and what must soon take place. Psalm 94:14 reminds us that the LORD, in His great mercy will not abandon His people or desert those who belong to Him. We are not to fear but to place our trust in the LORD who will protect his people. We are the last generation that will witness to all that has been prophesied in Matthew 24:3-34
Recently on 21 Dec 2020, a spectacular cosmic display took place when the planets Saturn and Jupiter were in alignment forming what seems like one big star. According to an experienced astronomer who has been studying 'the Star of Bethlehem' for 30 years, he believes this alignment was the ‘Bethlehem Star’. Prior to this alignment, the Lord Himself - through a private revelation to a sister in Christ - revealed,
“Look to the Bethlehem Star. Just as it was with my First Coming, so shall it be with my Second.”
If the Rapture of the Church is 'round the corner, then the other events will soon follow, ie. Persecution of the Church, the Great Apostasy or the falling away, the emergence of the Antichrist and the implementation of the beast system.
Some might ask: How do we know we are now living in the Last Days?
Once, the LORD revealed to prophet Bob Jones that, "The day you see the gay community coming out from their closet, know that it is the beginning of the Last Days." Today we see the gay and lesbian communities openly parade their newfound lifestyle and across the world making their presence felt - influencing even government policies of various nations into accepting their rights, viz. condoning same-sex marriages as something legal. As a Christian, this is an outright rejection of God's statutes.
People of God, do not be deceived. Choose this day which side you wish to belong - are you for God or are you for the world and its compromises? No man can serve two masters. Apostle Paul warned that no fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites will inherit the Kingdom of God. Those who practise such a lifestyle will automatically be disqualified from the Kingdom of God. Faithfulness to God calls for us to remain faithful to His statutes and Commandments.
Some might say: Ah.. we won't be here when all these happened. We will be 'caught up' in the Rapture by then.
This is a great deception circulating among believers that the Rapture will take place before the Great Persecution. This is an 'escapist' mentality. In 2Th 2:3 that Day -referring to the Rapture of the Church - will not happen until the falling away comes first or the Great Apostasy. This is when Christians will be forced into a situation to either accept the mark of the beast or risk the ability to buy or sell. Their very livelihood will be threatened.
According to Ron Wyatt, this 'Mark' is not just a physical mark in the form of a microchip inserted into our hand or forehead, but also a spiritual one. It will come a time when humanity will be forced into accepting a set of man-made laws that contradicts God's Law - the Ten Commandments. Those who accept these man-made laws will be 'sealed spiritually with a mark' that is visible in the spirit realm.
The Bible warns that those who take on the mark will risk their own salvation. We have already seen this new microchipping technology being introduced in Sweden, implanting a microchip under the skin. It does away with personal ID, cash, driver's license etc. At present, microchipping in Sweden is voluntary and on a trial run. Covid vaccine passports are also implanted the same way. It is a matter of time - once the technology is perfected - it will become mandatory. During the Tribulation, the Bible tells us many will renounce their faith.
This is also the final test that will seal one's eternal destiny - whether one belongs to God or the enemy. The Tribulation is a prophetic Judgment where all men will be tested - both Christians and unbelievers. Scripture reveals in Rev 7:14 that many will be martyred for rejecting the mark. These are the ones who remained faithful and endured until the end. During this time, everything that can be shaken will be shaken -all that you possess, your relationships, your jobs ... everything. The only thing that cannot be shaken is your faith.
The testing is necessary, though it can be a physically and emotionally painful process. Even for us - through our own experience, we only know who our true friends really are when we get ourselves into difficult situations and we need their help. Our 'close friends' will reveal their true identity - whether they are willing to help us out or leave us to our own devices. Likewise with GOD.
He is separating the sheep from the goats; those who truly belong to Him from those of the enemy. Through the many testings and decision-making we face every day, we will need to choose which side we are on: to walk by the LORD's statutes or choose the way of the world and all its compromises.
Concerning the rapture of the church, The LORD also gave further confirmation to Bro. Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj, when one day He appeared to him, pointing out that many got this theology wrong. He said, "The Rapture will come after the persecution."
The Antichrist will come into the scene, controlling humanity by force for a period of time through deception, manipulation and surveillance, enforcing the 'beast system'.
Believers have been warned not to receive this Mark. Our free will is a gift from God which no man can violate. Rev 14:9-10 warns that anyone who worships the Antichrist and take its mark, will have to face the wrath of God in full measure and will end up in hell. For our body - which is the Temple of the Holy Spirit - cannot be defiled.
More importantly, we have to be spiritually ready by practising daily repentance, asking the LORD to strengthen us. Pray that your faith is strengthened and you will not 'crack under pressure', to hold fast to our faith and endure until the end. As warriors of the LORD, our job is to stay vigilant all the time, that no one seizes our crown.
Mat 24:13 reminds us that He who endures until the end will be saved; not half-way or three quarters of the way. A good example can be seen in the life of John the Baptist. His mission is to make straight and prepare the way for the LORD. He is the one who baptised the LORD in the River Jordan, preached repentance to the Israelites but somehow, at one stage, he questioned if JESUS is really the Messiah despite knowing that He performed many miracles up to that point in time. He even sent out his disciples to confirm this matter with the LORD. Because of his doubt, he is placed right in the fringes of Heaven. Mat 11:11
Prepare for persecution
The Church need to prepare herself for the coming Persecution if she were to come out of it victorious. One day, Bro Sadhu had a visitation from a warrior angel of GOD. He was covered in full body armor from head to toe, with a sword in his hands, ready for battle. He exclaimed, “The war is real; the threat is real. Warn the people this.”
According to Bro Sadhu, the war will happen concurrently both in the spirit and natural realms. We find this mentioned in REV 12:7-11. Rev. Neville Johnson explains that in those days,"we are going to face overwhelming odds but we are not going to back down. We are going to fight from the 'high ground', just like how Israel won the war fighting from the high ground [the 1967 Yom Kippur War]."
Persecution of Christians is not something new. During the reign of Roman emperor Domitian [81-96AD], as many as 40,000 Christians were martyred for their faith. In the 60s, the Church in China was persecuted during The Cultural Revolution. Under the reign of Communist leader Mao Zedong, all religious activities were banned from 1966-1976, including Christianity. The Church suffered much persecution during this time. Their pastors were tortured and some martyred. BUT, today the Church survived and flourished through that difficult period, long after that Communist leader had passed on.
How did they make it? When interviewed, the pastors that prepared the Church well survived through the trying time. They are fully prepared spiritually and physically for what is coming, ready to face persecution even at the expense of their lives. The ones that preached the 'escapist mentality' thinking that they will escape all this when the Rapture comes, those Church suffered the most for being misled by their pastors.
The persecution that is coming will be no different except it will be at a scale unprecedented in history. Therefore, we need to prepare, both spiritually and physically.
No human being that has ever walked on the surface of this earth suffered the way JESUS suffered. He is fully man and fully GOD. [not half man, half GOD]. When He walks as a man, He suffers just like any man would suffer. He feels tired just like human being would. He is therefore our source of strength in times of great crisis because He has overcome the world.
How do we prepare for such a thing like this? According to Bro. Sadhu, the magnitude of the Persecution in the Last Days will make the Nazi holocaust pale in comparison. The LORD has also instructed him to start a school for the Martyrs to prepare His chosen ones for this calling.
"Martyrdom is the highest calling we can receive from the LORD. You can volunteer to be a martyr but it is the LORD who chooses. There will be martyrs in the final battle as God in His infinite wisdom has apportioned a certain number to be martyrs, but it is not a loss of lives in defeat, but a 'humble surrender' as testimonies to the LORD," Sadhu explains.
Some suggestions from Bro Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj on how to handle it:
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Don’t fear persecution. For we have not been given the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. Follow the footsteps of Apostle Paul, “for when I am weak, I am strong’. [2 COR 12:10]
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Pray consistently so that your faith becomes strong. Reorder your prayer life so that you have a regular time to pray daily.
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Guard your faith from failing – by filling your heart with the Word of God. Meditate on the Word, not just reading it.
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Don’t be weighted down by the cares of this world. Focus on the Kingdom and God will take care of your daily necessity - food to eat and clothes to wear.
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Endure persecution patiently. Don’t fight against it. Hold your peace like a lamb brought to the slaughterhouse. For vengeance belongs to God and He will fight on your behalf. Learn from the Lord how He endured patiently His passion
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Love not your life even unto death.
Seeing the 'bigger picture'
It is necessary to be able to see the bigger picture - asking the bigger questions on your life: why am I here on this earth, what is my destiny, and where am I going after this life? The truth can be found in Scripture and we must establish a strong foundation in our heart on this, in order to see through all that is going to happen. The false teaching of evolution in our education system has eroded and destroyed it all, creating a great deception. "This is the Gospel of the Kingdom which must be preached to this last generation," Neville Johnson explained.
How we respond to trying times - viz. persecution and rejection - will reveal what we are truly made of within; character-wise. The crosses will come. There is no victory without the cross. The LORD Himself reminds all those who wish to be His disciples to first deny himself, take up his cross and follow Him. He did not ask us to carry His cross but our cross- to patiently bear our cross daily. We are to conform to His image and to be like Him in our nature.
Neville Johnson elucidates, "True Christianity is more to do with developing Christ-like character and spiritual stature than going somewhere sweet by and by. This is our first calling before we can go into our secondary calling - which is ministry work. If we did not get our first calling right, then we are going to mess it up."
"What we are experiencing in this life - the trials, challenges in life - are God's assignments. He is training you and watching how you handle them. This whole planet is a university. The conditions are just tough enough for us to become sons and daughters of GOD. You are on a course, and the course is difficult. And hopefully, you will pass with honours. It is going to be a series of test - test after test - and we are not going to get it right for a while." For more, you can listen to Neville's full teaching here.
The LORD has promised His protection to all who call out to Him during the hour of persecution, just like how He did with the three Hebrew boys we read in Daniel 3. They prayed to be spared from being thrown into the fiery furnace, but their prayers were unanswered. They did get thrown into the furnace but the LORD protected them from the fire and they escaped unharmed. He will also give us the grace to bear persecution.
When trials come knocking on your door, do not act as if something strange has happened to you. Instead, the Apostle Peter encourages us to "rejoice and be glad that you are partaking in Christ's sufferings that when His glory is revealed, you may be filled with great joy". Therefore if anyone tells you otherwise, that you are not going to experience any trials, that is a lie from the pit of hell. Be encouraged for the Apostle Paul reminds us that the sufferings we undergo in our lifetime will pale in comparison to the glory that shall be revealed to us.
Think about it: Earth is the only place where we could suffer for Christ with merits [for here, we have been given free will to choose], provided we endure it willingly with love. It is an opportunity to show your love for God. While embracing suffering is not easy as no one likes to suffer, learning to see 'the bigger picture' helps. Galatians 2:20 must be constantly before us.
During the present endtimes, JESUS' return is imminent. His return will occur when the time of tribulation, persecution, and distress of Christians are so intense that they start to despair. They will have nowhere to go and their death at the hands of their persecutors will be imminent. JESUS will return on the day of the end of mankind and the earth.
St. Pio of Pietrelcina wrote, "The life of a Christian is nothing but a perpetual struggle against self; there is no flowering of the soul to the beauty of its perfection except at the price of pain." St Pio bore the stigmata - the visible wounds of JESUS - for fifty years and he embraced his trials patiently. Interestingly the stigmata miraculously disappeared from the hands and feet of St Pio when he passed on from this life, signifying that he had entered Heaven where there is no suffering.
The prophet Job is a righteous man in God's sight and is one character we should emulate. He went through thick and thin but never give up in his faith, worshipping and giving praise to GDO even in the midst of great sufferings and trials. His friends and family members abandoned him but he persevered. In the end, he passed the test, and God blessed him abundantly with much inheritance.
Neville elucidates, "You have to walk in perfect peace in the days ahead, not in anxiety or fear. We must also deal with our violence and anger in our heart now, if we were to be protected in the evil days ahead."
We have to keep the Main thing the main thing. What is the 'main thing'?
Your destiny before anything else - before ministry... before anything; the reason you are here on earth is to conform to the image of JESUS. This is the high calling which Paul talks about.
⏤ Rev. Neville Johnson
1. Gift of Discernment. We need to be able to differentiate The Lord's voice from our own thought. Pray for this Gift. The sooner we are able to do that, the safer we are. In those days, we do not have the time to wait for days to receive a response from Him. We need to be able to take instructions from Him, and make the right decision on the spot. This takes time and does not happen overnight.
Now is the time to establish a strong and healthy fellowship with the LORD as once persecution kicks in, the chaos will be so great that it will throw many into disarray and the ability to think straight. We also need to come up higher: to move from a heart of a believer to a heart of a disciple. To move from an 'outer court' Christian to that of the 'Holy Place', as seen in the "Tabernacle of Moses*. Bro. Neville warns that 'outer court' Christians will not survive in the Last Days.
It is not about changing the tide because I have written that evil will overcome the good. But rather it is about being My faithful witnesses to the very end.
- The LORD to Sister Clare | Loveletters from Jesus| Jan 2021
The war is real; the threat is real
Lessons from the Gurkhas. These Nepalese soldiers are legendary in the battlefields, known for their bravery, loyalty, fearlessness and mental toughness. When there is no war, they spend their days in rigorous training, staying mentally and physically fit. In short, they are battle-ready. We too need to prepare now in good times, not when there is a battle going on.
Persecution will come in two forms: one will come from other Christians and the other, from those who reject Christianity altogether. In Matthew 24:5, we read in those days, many will claim to be the CHRIST. These are the false prophets: the so-called Christians who are out there deceiving the Body of Christ. As believers, we need to be firmly grounded in the Word. This is akin to building our house on strong rock foundation that is unshakable when the storms come. JESUS is that rock.
The Beatitudes promise great rewards in Heaven for those who face persecution, that the Kingdom of Heaven shall also be manifested heavily upon them. Matt. 5:10-12
Powers of the age to come | A different kind of warfare
On the flip side of persecution, you will see the glory of GOD manifested powerfully through His chosen warriors. GOD will endowed them with the 'powers of the age to come' - viz. collaborating with the redeemed Saints in heaven, Heavenly hosts and the Holy Spirit.
According to Bro. Sadhu, this will be the final thrust of the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit is poured out in the Last Days, all will have a role to play - both young and old. This will be the LORD's provision for His End-times army.
This will be a decisive battle and at a level unparalleled in history. Warrior Brides who qualify for such anointing will possess supernatural power at their disposal for ministry work and to come against the demonic onslaught.
Among other things, the ability to translate [travel from one place to another supernaturally], the ability to see the realm of the spirit and natural simultaneously, the authority to command water out of dry ground.... and many other supernatural gifts that have not been fully revealed at this point in time.
What are these powers?
Bro. Sadhu explains, "This is a hidden mystery which God has not revealed to us yet, not even the angels in heaven have any idea what these are. This will involve a special collaboration with the spiritual forces of Heaven. God will send his Special Forces to mentor His chosen warriors. The final battle will also involve a different level of knowledge on warfare from what we have learned or known in the past. Before anyone is entrusted with these powers, we need to possess the characteristics or the nature of the Lamb of God - to possess the authority under weakness'. You can listen to Bro. Sadhu's full preaching here.
The LORD reveals to Sister Clare [Loveletters from Jesus] concerning these powers:
"Yes, marvelous things will happen during this time but the fight against evil will be exceedingly difficult. But I have equipped those who must stay in combat and they will do valiantly."
Practical tip: The Word of GOD is the sword of the Spirit. Make it a point to memorize your Bible verses and keep them in your heart. In that way, no one can take it away from you. You can meditate on them day and night. There will come a time when there will be a 'famine of the Word', where one will not have ready access to the Bible - both hard copy and online versions. It is for time like this when the Word that you memorise will come in handy. Bear in mind if we are trapped in the wilderness far away from civilization, you will not have access to the internet.
On a different note, follow the example of Joseph [the governor of Egypt] who stocked up grains during the 7 years of plenty. Now is the time when we are still in the season of plenty - when we still have some control over our situation.
Consider this: If an athlete needs to prepare himself/herself for at least 1 year for a 3-minute sprint track event, what more us, Christians to face the evil days ahead... and also to prepare ourselves to spend eternity with the LORD.
‘Blessed are the pure in spirit, for they shall see GOD’. This calls for a life of total surrender and total consecration to the will of GOD.
The key to this is FAITH and AWARENESS. You have to come to a place where any moment, at any time you can turn to the LORD and He is there and talk straight to Him. You will encounter difficulties in the future where there isn't time to seek the LORD. You need to hear from Him instantly what to do.
Neville Johnson
Qualifications for the Last Days Army
Bro. Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj teaches extensively on the Persecution and the Last Days Army of the Lord. He mentioned the following qualities needed to be a part of this Last Days Army:
1. Childlikeness - in terms of character. viz. implicit obedience, sincerity in one's action and motives.
2. Possess an attitude of the Lamb. In other words, becoming a follower that follows wherever the LORD [the Shepherd] leads.
3. Possess a sacrificial heart. That you must not love your life even unto death.
4. Zealous for GOD.
5. Faithfulness.
The decisive battle
This is the final battle which will be fought on many fronts - between the LORD's army and the enemy - the devils; a confrontation between good and evil forces. Christians we need to prepare themselves physically and spiritually for this. The LORD showed Rick Joyner visions of how this battle is going to play out. He wrote a detailed account in a book entitled The Final Quest. An audio and text video of this book is available below,