As Jesus approached his betrayal, torture, the agony of crucifixion, and – as a human being – the possibility that he would fail to endure to the end, perhaps we can catch a glimpse of his mindset from Winston Churchill’s inspiring words as, in 1940, he urged his countrymen to step up to the Battle of Britain/
“Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation…if we fail, then the whole world…will sink into the abyss… Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.”
Prime Minister Winston Churchill convinced the British to be glorified through willingness to die so others could be saved. Costing the lives of 60,595 British civilians, Britain’s leadership of the Allied in the Battle of Britain was the turning point in the Second World War.
What most people don/t know is that Winston Churchill was considered a total failure by the age of 40.
Apply this victory to the battle for who would be in control of the spiritual capitol of the world, Jerusalem that raged for millennia between “they” who rebel against YHVH, and “ye” who submit to YHVH.
From Isaiah 66:
“Thus saith the LORD…where is the house that ye build unto me?…they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations…when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.
Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, [deceitfully in ritual] “Let the LORD be glorified”:
BUT! he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed…not simply embarrassed,but brought to utter ruin…and the slain of the LORD shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves,.. shall be consumed together, saith the LORD...
And in 586 BC the battle moves from Jerusalem to the whole world.
I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
And I will…send those that escape of them unto the nations…that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles [if not in word, then in the deed of their destruction at the hand of YHVH]…
And [the new]they [the nations / the Gentiles] shall bring all your[redeemed] brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations…to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.
And I will also take of them [the Gentiles] for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD…so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass…shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.” (Isaiah 66)
This happened in 539 BC under the Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great, called by YHVH his Anointed “That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.”
And in 33 AD, the battle was resumed in Jerusalem.
“The Pharisees [they] therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him...there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: The same came…saying, Sir, we would see Jesus…Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come,
- that the Son of man should be glorified / elevated to highest status.
- Now is the judgment of this world:
- now shall the prince of this world be cast out
- if I be lifted up from the earth…signifying what death he should die…
- I will draw all men unto me.
The people / they, religious Jews answered him…who is this Son of man?” (John 12:23-23)
The answer is “the son / replica of ha-Adam, the first human created in the image and likeness of God, given dominion over the whole earth and all humanity, not just the King of the Jews.
“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (I Corinthians 15:45)
“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come;
- glorify / give victory in battle to thy Son
- that thy Son also may glorify / give victory in battle to thee…
- I pray for them…which thou hast given me; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
- that they also may be one in us:
- that / this is how the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
- And the glory / victory in battle which thou gavest me
- I have given them;
- that they may be one, even as we are one:” (John 17)
No-one exemplifies the call to suffering for those who identify with the Christ and his chosen people Israel better than the Jewish apostle to the Gentiles, Paul.
“Saul / Paul is a chosen vessel unto me,
- to bear my name before the Gentiles…
- and the children of Israel…
- he must suffer for my name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15-16)
“what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge [unity] of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ…That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” (Philippians 3:7-10)
- in labours more abundant,
- in stripes above measure,
- in prisons more frequent,
- in deaths oft.
- Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
- Thrice was I beaten with rods,
- once was I stoned,
- thrice I suffered shipwreck,
- a night and a day I have been in the deep;
- In journeyings often,
- in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
- In weariness and painfulness,
- in watchings often,
- in hunger and thirst,
- in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
- Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
If I must needs glory...The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. ” (II Corinthians 11:21-30)
Military discipline and training are as elementary to joining forces with YHVH to retake dominion over the world as they are to winning a political war, especially when the battle intensifies.
“Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake…
And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple..
- and a damsel came unto [Peter], saying, Thou also [like that other disciple] wast with Jesus of Galilee.
- But he denied before them all…
- And when he was gone out / retreated] into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
- And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
- And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.
- Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man.
And immediately the cock crew…And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.” (John 13:36-38; 18:15-27, Matthew 26:69-75, Luke 22:61-62)
“after that he was risen from the dead…Jesus saith to Simon Peter…when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me [to crucifixion].
Peter’s form of death was not a punishment.
It was probation.
Can we not recognize that the Lord gave Peter a second chance to live up to his boast that he would suffer whatever became his lot in life and death?
I don’t know about you, but when I got truly serious about serving God, I lost my good life on this earth. I was rejected by my entire family of origin, my Christian husband and my children, defamed by the Christian ministry to which I had devoted my considerable fortune and struggled to live on a low income for ten years, lost my friends, lost job after job and finally my career and income and my comfortable home because i was committed to doing the right thing instead of blending in with the so-called Christian people around me to make them feel comfortable with what they were doing.
No question that redemption of sinners is delayed by the lack of God’s people’s willingness to suffer in battle.
It will take the next step in Isaiah’s prophecy – the right response to tribulation.
I have not found it in church.
I’ve heard it on Audible.
Voices filled my ears. Thousands of whispering voices whispering secret, obscene things, vicious poisonous lies, horrible truths…I felt the pressure of those voices coursing into my head like ice picks…and there was nothing, nothing I could do to stop them. I felt a scream building…
And then a strong hand slammed down on the crown of my head, and a deep voice thundered [“Clean what is unclean!”]
I opened my eyes to find Michael kneeling over me…His eyes were closed and his lips were moving…he murmured, “Lord of hosts, be with this good man and give him the strength to carry on.’
“All of you, hear me,” he said quietly. He stood between them – fallen angels, monsters, and mortal fiends – and me.
“You think your power is what shapes the world you walk in. But that is an illusion. Your choices shape your world.
You think your power will protect you from the consequences of those choices. But you are wrong.
There is a judge. There is justice in this world, and one day you will receive what you have earned. Choose carefully.”
He was in that moment a messenger, and no-one who heard him speak could doubt it.”
(From Skin Game, The Dresden Files, by Jim Butcher.)
Kingdom Come 