STRESSING HER

Not living according to her own standards......

Rev. 13:7,9-10 " And it was given unto him (the wild beast)to make war with the saints and overcome them. If anyone has an ear let him hear. If anyone carries into captivity, into captivity he goes away. If anyone with a sword does slay, he must with a sword be slain. Here (described here) is the endurance and faith of the saints"
Rev.14:11b-12 "And they have no rest day or night who do homage unto the beast and his image, or if anyone receives the mark of his name. Here(described here) is the endurance of the saints; of they who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus".
Rom. 14:23c "And everything which is not of faith is sin".

The Assembly of God, who is referred to as "her" in the title and subtitle above is under stress because she is not living according to her own "professing" standards.

The world system is the "wild beast who overcomes the saints" BECAUSE OF THEIR LACK OF FAITH IN THEIR DAILY LIFE.

Rom. 12:2 " And be not configuring yourselves unto this age, but be transforming yourselves by the renewing of your mind....."

The Assembly of God still has the same mental outlook/worldview of the world that she says she's been called out of. She professes Christ as saviour and says she is "heaven bound", but knows not that heaven is not future, but NOW, and in order for her to reach the condition of Rev. 19:7 where it says, "the bride has made herself ready", she must have a transformed mind and be walking in daily faith in everyday circumstances.

I've discussed the meaning of the "woman arrayed with the sun and the moon beneath her feet" in a previous post-Rev.12. The woman is further described as being in the wilderness. Her being in this location is due to her mental state; ie, SHE IS EARTHLY MINDED WHEN SHE SHOULD BE HEAVENLY MINDED. The earth in this case is the wilderness, which is living according to intellect/reason, while thinking it's faith. The woman's lack of TRUE faith in daily life causes her not to fulfill her calling which is to "love not her life even unto death"-Rev.12:11. She is not dwelling in heaven in her mind; if she was, it would be said of her, "be joyful O heavens, AND YOU WHO ARE THEREIN TABERNACLING", but because she is not, it is said to her, "Woe unto the EARTH and the SEA, because the adversary has come down unto you having great wrath..."-Rev.12:11-12. She, being earthly minded, is under stress, which in turn affects her emotions, which is the sea.

To live by faith is to live in heaven. Salvation is not merely a "one time I asked Jesus to come into my heart" thing. Salvation is an ongoing process.

Phil.2:12e-16 "With fear and trembling, your own salvation be working out; for it is God Who energizes within you both the desiring and the energizing in behalf of His good pleasure. All things be doing apart from murmuring and disputings; IN ORDER THAT YOU MAY BECOME FAULTLESS AND INVIOLATE, children of God, BLAMELESS AMIDST A CROOKED AND PERVERTED GENERATION, amongst whom you appear as luminaries in the world".

The individuals who make up the Assembly are more focused on the correct living and doctrine of their fellows, then they are of themselves and their own life of faith. They are busy "taking others captive"and "slaying others with the sword", Rev. 13:9-10. They want to make sure that their brothers and sisters remain captives of sin, when they themselves are still slaves to it, and they use the sword of the mouth to do it with. So what they say and do to others is the cause of their own bondage (captivity), and the cause of themselves being "slain".

She has an attitude of all consuming watchfulness in caring for and about the things of this world: food, clothing, health, and finances. She is guided in her decision making by the latest pronouncements from the beast's mouthpiece-the media; radio, tv, computer, news, magazines, and newspapers; of what is/isn't healthy; what stocks/bonds/investments are good, bad or ugly; follows all the gossip from Hollywood and it's jumping in and out of bed with each other foolishness; the latest most up-to-date advice from Oprah and Dr. Phil and all the other self help gurus, and BEING FEARFUL OF WHAT THE WORLD IS FEARFUL OF- the latest doomsday lies from the scientists and medical practitioners and tree huggers; "global warming" and the latest disease/plague and "Oh! If we don't do something soon, the sky is going to fall, or this or that animal is going to be extinct," (National Geographic is full of this hoohah), or "we've got to get the government to act now in order to prepare for the latest_______"(fill in the blank for whatever is your favorite catastrophy). Along with her involvement in what the world thinks is "good works"; ie, research into finding cures for this or that disease. She who professes to be a christian should know what the cause and solution to that problem is.

She looks to the beast system for help and advice and solutions to her problems and thinks the Lord is leading her while doing so, "because after all, we must use wisdom, musn't we"? She's deceived like Eve; she thinks choices made by outward appearances and intellect/reason is faith.

In all this, she has the "mark of the beast" on her hand (works), and on her forehead (thought/thinking), without realizing it. How can I say that the Assembly has the mark? Because Rev.15:2 describes her escape from it:

"And I saw as a glassy sea mingled with fire, AND THEM WHO ESCAPE VICTORIOUS FROM THE BEAST AND FROM HIS IMAGE AND FROM THE NUMBER OF HIS NAME, STANDING UPON THE GLASSY SEA..."

The "glassy sea" speaks of CALMED EMOTIONS, hence, the ceasing of stress and worry about the things happening on earth. The sea "mingled with fire" is the great trial (great tribulation) she's been through in order to learn the true way. She's been "saved as though by fire"-1Cor.3:15.
They are also referred to in Rev. 7:9-14, where verse 14 says, "these are they WHO COME OUT OF GREAT TRIBULATION".

Rev. 14:11b-12, quoted above also speaks of these while they are still in the beast system. Rev. 14:13 follows this up by saying:

"And I heard a voice out of heaven saying, write! Happy the dead, who in the Lord do die from henceforth. Yes! says the Spirit, that THEY MAY REST FROM THEIR TOILS, for their works do follow with them".
Their life is/has been a lifelong toil and struggle.