The violent taketh it by force – Part 1

This glorious statement from the lips of the Saviour and Head of the Church is one of the deepest secrets of the Bible. It speaks about the relentless opposition of the forces of darkness against the manifestation of God’s Kingdom on the face of the earth and how the advancement of the Kingdom of God can only be done forcefully. The Church will have to fight for every inch of ground won and would fight harder to still maintain such grounds already won. This is clearly a statement of war!

Brethren, listen to me, the battle line is drawn and there is no going back neither is there any sitting on the fence. The church is joined in the fray with the kingdom of darkness and you are involved. Hear the way Jesus puts it; He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad (Matt. 12:30). The prizes are the souls of men.

The kingdom can only advance forcefully. Satanic darkness is holding on to the souls of men like a vice and as it was in the days of the Egyptian Pharaoh, the demonic Pharaohs over the nations of the world would not release the people to serve the Lord, until their hold over the people of the nations is broken.

The Great Commission is not a charge for the easy street nor is it a topic for intellectual seminars. It is a charge for the church to advance upon enemy territories, overcome the satanic governments of invisible powers over every nation of the world, take the people captive, lead them to Jesus and disciple them to become His followers.

The scripture above reveals a time frame when this demonic opposition to the advancement of the kingdom started. It started “from the days of John the Baptist”. Why did it start then? Matt 11:13 answers back. It was at this time that the prophecy of the coming Messiah left the realm of prophecy and became a reality. The kingdom of darkness will always resist Divine prophesies from becoming a reality in our lives.

Secondly, it is because the days of John the Baptist were the days of the revelation of Jesus as the SON OF GOD. A careful study of this scripture will show that, even if the world does not know that Jesus is the Son of God, it was important to Jesus that His followers should know. In Matt. 16:15, He said, “but who do you say that I am”? In that instance, the heavens were opened unto Peter, who said: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (v 16), this knowledge is by Divine revelation. The rest of the story continues in Matthew 16:18.

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To Be Continued Next Week