How do we stand with Christ and not stand with politicians? All the Apostles, prophets, and ministers of old taught us how to stand with Christ. None of them taught us how to stand with their national leaders and politicians other than to simply pray for them. Pray we must. Pray specifically that they will follow the law of God, treating everyone with dignity and respect. Also, pray that we will have an open door to share the eternal Gospel with them. We were taught to pray that they would rule righteously so that we, as God’s children could live in peace. We were taught to stand with Christ contrary to what our rulers did or didn’t do. Are we truly standing with Christ today? This is a question that should reach deep into the heart of every professed believer in Christ. This is a question that will haunt every believer who is sitting on the fence trying to stand with their national leaders and Jesus Christ at the same time. This is a question that will drive a deep wedge between true believers and those who are pretending to stand with Christ alone. This is a question that will separate the flock. This is a question that will eventually expose the wolf who has entered God’s vineyard. So, let us ask the question, “Are you truly standing with Christ alone?”

As Satan prepares his coming Antichrist to take control of humanity, we must draw ever closer to Jesus Christ alone, allowing Him to open our eyes to the great deception. As we grow closer to Christ by walking in His righteousness, then we will see the filthy rags of unrighteousness revealed in the coming Antichrist who will enter into the vineyard of God to deceive His children. We are truly different from the world. We will act and behave differently. When we are wronged by another, either justly or unjustly, we will not strike back with hateful words or make idle threats. We will not boast of our worldly accomplishments or belittle those who see things differently and have far less earthly wealth. We will not seek to hide our past failures and unrighteous deeds, but we will openly confess our sins and humble ourselves before others seeking God’s forgiveness. We will never seek the praise and adoration of others, but we will immediately turn it toward God, giving Him all the praise and glory. We will not always find fault with others but seek to build them up in Christ. We will behave differently if we walk only with Christ.

As true believers in Christ who have been set free from this world and put on the path of righteousness, then our eyes have been fully opened to the evil systems of government controlling all of humanity. Contrary to the forms of government in the world, they are not equal to the righteous government of God, which gives true liberty to all of His children, the citizens of Heaven. As children of God, we are in the world but not of the world. We do not proclaim one unrighteous government over another. We do not proclaim one unrighteous political party over another because our true loyalty only lies with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. We stand with Jesus Christ alone. When we stand with Jesus Christ alone, then our objective changes. We are no longer interested in being consumed with a certain political party. We are greatly grieved as they keep adding their man-made laws one on top of another, which has done nothing to curb the increase in lawlessness. We are no longer interested in supporting any political party that seeks to change the hearts of our children in public education by removing the teachings of God and substituting them with their perversions. We are no longer interested in supporting a political party who will not stand with God alone. Truly we will know them by their fruits. Only Jesus Christ can truly change the hearts of mankind through faith believing that He will transform our minds in Christ (Romans 12:1-2). We stand with Christ alone.

Trump was right about one thing, by proclaiming that, “America is going to hell.” Everyone will agree that both the God of heaven and Satan know that truth. Everything that happens from now on will follow this truth by leading humanity further and further away from God. God knows it will happen and there is nothing we can do to stop it. The coming Antichrist, known by many different names, will proclaim that he can change the world. He will boldly proclaim that he will make the country that he arises in to be great and that nothing will stop him from fulfilling his promises to humanity. He will promise peace and prosperity for all. He will also be called the man of lawlessness because he will openly and unashamedly violate the laws of God. He will pridefully receive the praise of men in the place of God. He will pridefully brag about his great achievements and his unmatched intellect. He will pridefully boast about his following and his ability to do all things that seem impossible for mortal man. He will excuse his many lies even if they have been proven to be lies many times over. He will excuse his bad behavior by casting blame and horrific insults on his accusers. The coming Antichrist will pretend to be completely righteous with no faults (Revelation 3:23). This will be a red flag for the faithful remnant.

The coming Antichrist will also be known as the great deceiver. His primary interest is in deceiving Christ’s followers. He has no interest in deceiving the rest of humanity because he already knows that they are destined for hell. He will pretend to be righteous and mimic Jesus Christ when He walked upon the earth. One of our politicians most ardent supporters proclaimed that their politician was following the path of Christ when he was being wrongfully accused by those in power. How far this symbolism will go in the future is not known at this point. This should cause us take pause when we know the Holy Scripture that speaks about the Beast, or Antichrist, who will come back to life, either physically or politically, and rule the world (Revelation 13:3). He will also be known as the great peacemaker perhaps finishing what previous politicians have started in the Middle East and even proclaiming that he can cause the new Eastern Alliance to stop the war in Ukraine and settle for a temporary peace accord. All of this will play well into solidifying his relationship with the followers of Christ. So, what is the real motive of the coming Antichrist? Simply put, it is to lead the followers of Christ to put their trust in the Antichrist to deliver on all of his promises while ignoring the promises of Christ and His stated mission for them in the world.

Dear children, it is truly time to come out from among them and be separate. Stop being so consumed with following the political elite, believing that they will bring peace and righteousness to the world. Only by truly coming out from the world will we be able to see our mission in the world. Yes, as true followers of Christ, we all have a mission, and it is not following the political leadership in our respective countries. The first step in coming out of the world is to become more like Christ, which I might add, at least in the beginning, is a full-time job of putting off the old life and putting on the new life in Christ (Ephesians 4:22-32). Immediately, after coming out of the world, we must go on mission. Our mission is not to help fallen humanity build a brave new world apart from following Christ exclusively. Our mission is to bring the whole world to Christ so they can be changed from within so that they can join us on mission. Now, I hope you are beginning to see why the coming Antichrist will target the followers of Christ. He wants to stop their mission for Christ by causing them to follow him in the building of a new world in his image. He will use every real or unreal miracle at his disposal. As I wrote last week, he will use the propaganda of the religious type, beast along with the image of the beast to conquer the followers of Christ (Revelation 13:7).

We, as followers of Christ, will come out from among them and allow the fallen world to be consumed by their respective leaders. We know that their voting will not stop the world headed to hell. As Christ’s followers we can change the world only by changing the hearts and minds of fallen humanity, one person at a time. The choice is yours; you can stand with Christ on mission, or you can stand with your political leader. It will become increasingly difficult to do both! Let the faithful remnant arise by putting no trust in man and standing with Christ alone. We stand with Christ alone praying daily, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). As we approach a special day on the Christian calendar, Easter, we rejoice in the only true resurrection from death to everlasting life. We rejoice that only the risen Christ from the grave can make all things new (II Corinthians 5:17). We rejoice that the risen Christ is with us every day through the Holy Spirit. Today, we celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the grave. Today, we send all praise, honor, and glory to Christ alone. Today, we celebrate Easter.

Please join me in prayer …

Good morning Heavenly Father. The only thing we desire is the Father’s love and to return to our first love. When lights go dim and the entertainment stops, we are always drawn back to our first love. When the work is no more and the nights grow long, we think of our first love. When the voices of others are drowned out by our heavenly affection for you and when romantic intentions no longer capture our hearts, we return to you our first love. A love that never grows old or loses its pull on the strings of our heart. A love that’s so strong that it pulls us back to you day after day and hour after hour to experience life in the Spirit. How gracious you are Lord for bestowing such a great love on us your new creations in Christ. As times get more difficult in the days ahead, as Satan increases his temptations to pull us into his domain, and under his control, we pray that all of your children will return to their true first love, the Son of the living God. We pray this in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Reading from the King James Version, the Bible says …

“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Revelation 2:4).