As we approach the imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ to rapture His church, we also see the darkening shadows of the tyranny to come and we must warn people of them. For believers, perhaps between now and then God will allow more intense persecution for the express purpose of refining those who wish to follow Him more closely.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” If persecution be our plight then it is good and proper to live on our knees in submission to God. But I do not believe it is incumbent on us to beg before tyrants as if their power was more than that of the Almighty. But perhaps William Penn was right when he said, “If we will not be governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants.” Perhaps this current age is merely the manifestation of Penn’s belief – for as Psalm 2 proclaims, rebellious men see God’s dominion as slavery, but in their misguided search, they find not freedom but the iron fist of tyranny. Satan tempted Adam and Eve to believe they could have freedom without authority – they essentially chose death over life and I am sad to say that most of the world makes the same choice today. If mankind chooses to stand not with God but without God, it will find itself in the grip of those who are motivated by evil, and, having given up both freedom and authority, will find themselves largely powerless. 

We cannot support tyranny because it discards the values upon which God founded civilisation. No matter how well intentioned their system is, it remains radically different from the design God has for each man, woman and child. And while they proclaim that they are freeing us from the mistakes of the past and cataclysmic events of the future, their solution is not to encourage mankind to turn our eyes upon Jesus but to hand our freedoms over to them. Yes, let us pray for the salvation of those who lie in the darkness of their own tyrannical ambitions – pray that they will discover the joy of following the Saviour who died for them. But unless and until they do, let us declare that while they preach the tyrannical domination of all peoples on the earth, we will continue to preach the truth that Jesus Christ is coming back to this Earth to rule and reign in righteousness. 

But if the Lord delays His coming, we must ask ourselves what type of world will be left to our children. Will they know the same freedoms as we did or will they grow up in a world in which every move they make, every transaction they undertake, every thought they have will be tightly controlled and monitored. Thomas Jefferson once said that “The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time”. And look at what evil minds are doing with those God-given gifts. They want to destroy both life and liberty to implement their nefarious goals. In 1 Peter 2, we read about the mandate of civil government – it is “for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good”. But as we see so often with evil, that is now inverted – they punish the good and praise those who carry out evil. 

For a long time now, Satan has sought to weaken the church and weaken its influence in the world. And perhaps the events of the last two and a half years have worn us all down. But if more dangerous events are to come, will we stand? Perhaps the enemy already knows what our answer will be. Why? Because he has already heard the pleading from our side – he has heard it in hushed tones and in the privacy of our prayer closets – whatever we need to do, we will do it, as long as things can go back to normal – as long as our comfortable lives are returned to us. But comfort does not equal blessing. What we have learned from the persecuted church is that persecution has made them strong and our prosperity has made us weak. So what do you think will happen when a greater ultimatum comes? The enemy senses that our surrender will be voluntary because by then we will have been so weakened from within – spiritually, morally, physically. 

That is why the sermon I delivered on the church at Sardis (Revelation 3 – The Dead, the Dying and the Dedicated) was so important because the message is so desperately needed across the church today – wake up! Strengthen what remains. Remember our original text of inspiration – watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. In the words of Ronald Reagan, “evil is powerless if the good are unafraid”. Yes, the words of evil men are the loudest but they are not the truest. Here (the Word of God) is what is true – and we must continue to preach it and stand upon it. And before you question whether you are up to the task let me remind you church, it is no accident you are here, for you are here for such a time as this. God has put you in this place, in this time for a reason – not to be a co-conspirator to the lies of the enemy but to be a witness to God’s truth.

So they may preach a Great Reset, but we will preach a greater reset. Satan is pulling out all the stops as he gets closer to the day when God will sovereignly allow one final act of global tyranny through the establishment of the one-world political, economic and religious system prophesied in Scripture. But if you find yourself anxious about the Great Satanic Reset that is advancing, let me encourage you to stop and contemplate the greatest reset that is yet to come. Because the true King is coming and He will defeat the enemies of God and inaugurate the long-awaited Kingdom of peace, justice and righteousness throughout all the Earth. 

But friend, if you want to be there – if you want to be part of the greater reset, you need a personal reset. As Jesus said to Nicodemus: unless oneis born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. But Nicodemus said – how can this be so? Can a man enter the womb and be born a second time? No – to be born again is to be washed clean by the blood of Jesus – to be justified fully by faith in Him. And in verse 36 of John 3, the message is very clear:  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.  Friends, the unbeliever looks at the world and believes everything is falling apart. The believer who understands Bible prophecy looks at the world and sees that everything is falling into place. What a day that will be when God’s greatest reset destroys Satan’s Great Reset. And do you know the best part?

The greatest reset is permanent, for Daniel 7:14 declares: Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.