The Greatest Battle of the Church Of God that was Destined to Claim Victory Which the Members Must Understand in these Last Days According to the Bible

Disclaimer: This article is based from the topic outlines prepared by the MCGI presiding minister Bro. Eliseo F.
Soriano, as presented orally by him and other appointed ministers to the members, usually in Tagalog dialect, though sometimes other languages are used.As they deliver the topic, I do note taking, writing the details, then reconstruct my words, hence I make this kind of written discourse. Though the words used to construct the texts (except Bible verses and quoted statements) are my composition, the ideas presented here are not mine, which I believe came from Bro. Eli (in the same manner, he will say that these ideas are not his own but from the Spirit teaching him).

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One thing we need to know is that the victory that the Church will receive in these last days is not a result of chance or something uncertain. In the battle between good and evil, the latter had no chance of succeeding over the other. Wickedness may also claim victory, but only for a short time (1). In the end, goodness will still prevail, which the short-lived victory of the wicked shall be regarded as nothing, for goodness will receive the true victory (2). However, many preferred to side with evil, despite the fact that they know that evil cannot succeed in the end (3). We need to realize now that it is a suicidal move to have allegiance with a party that has no chance of claiming the real victory. That's why we need to understand now what is this battle we are facing right now for us to be prepared in this. If you don't, you may lose your trust to the good and think that the wickedness is already making an advantage, that you may falsely change side and this decision will be something you will regret when the time comes. You may think how evil is our society today (4). You will see that those who were powerful in this earth are taking advantage over the weak, up to the point that the weak never attained justice until their death. But a 100 years is too short compared to eternity. Not even a billion-year can still be considered as too long when compared to eternity. Nonetheless, it is impossible for evil to be victorious over good.

The Church was destined to fight (5). In reality, there are really lots of enemies that the Church members should encounter. Your probable enemies can be those of your own household (6). They may be your own father, mother, brother, sister, and even yourself (7). They will not only hate you, but even up to the extent that they may bring you to death (8 ). Many brethren in the Philippines are closely attached to their blood relatives, but the devil may use them as a temptation for you to be hindered in doing God's will, especially when you are really close to them. Some brethren asks themselves, why then only after I joined this Church my father began hating me, and also my mother?" But then, they are not only your enemies here on earth. Add also the whole world to your probable enemy (9). This is referring to all nations and all men (10). The "nations" being referred to are not the countries we know, but since the Church is also referred to as "nation" (11), they are those Churches that are not of God. But, the devil is our greatest enemy. It is not an easy enemy, but like a roaring lion, it attacks on a moment you are not expecting, seeking which it may devour, so we are advised to be watchful and vigilant (12). Even though he is rather a tough enemy, there is a way for us to resist him. One of which is submitting ourselves to God (13). We need to know that the devil works with many cohorts like a general with a battalion of skilled troop (14).

Simply by submitting ourselves to God, it is already a way of battling with the devil, for through this way, we are not under the devil's army. Included in submitting ourselves to God is the obedience to His commandment (15). God's will is exactly the opposite of the devil's, that everytime we obey God's will, we are doing an offense to the devil. For example, when we keep on obeying the commandment of not forsaking the assembly (16), we are doing what the devil doesn't want, so we are already making a blow to the devil. However, if you willfully refuse to follow this, you are making a favor for him (the devil), thus you are already making an allegiance with him (the devil).

We know that the devil is a spirit, and also he had cohorts what were also spirits, and some members of the Church are unaware of it. Then, we must able to know why angels are there to stand guard around those who fear the Lord (17). We do not see these enemies, so we need supernatural guardians to help us from being harmed by those spirits. We must then realize that those who belong in the spiritual world are greater enemies than our own households. If your parents from obeying His will are hindering you, how much more are these spirits who were much stronger than those biological beings? Also, as we approach the end, the wrath of our enemies grows deeper and deeper against us (18 ).

Let's realize now who are our enemies that we should be aware of. Our current understanding regarding the verse Ephesians 6:12 is we are not against flesh and blood. But we must know that St. Paul is making a comparison, that our battle must not be focused against flesh and blood but to those that are in high places, those that are in principalities, and those that are in the higher strata of wickedness. This is an ongoing battle, and as we see how terrible our enemies are, we need to equip to ourselves the whole armor of God for us to survive these evil days (19).

Anyone who wants to enter the Church must realize that upon he enters inside, his battle starts to begin, like that experienced by Jesus Christ on the wilderness right after His baptism (20). If the devil and the beasts were trying Jesus Christ, whom they know that it is impossible for Him to be tempted, how much more are we who were much less strong? We can see how vulnerable we are to temptation and most of the time, we don't realize it until the time when we'll even deny that we are being tempted. Even at night, we are being tempted by the devil by either bringing us bad dreams or giving us false visions that the devil will implant to make us believe that the wickedness we are doing will look like that it is a sign from God. So, those who had not endured are those who are not having the armor of God and those that are not watchful and vigilant. We must also learn that the devil will not force us to do wickedness; he will only tempt us. The devil can't harm our life, but he can bring various afflictions in the flesh (21).

So far, the best things we can do against those spirits are prayers and fasting (22). Jesus Christ loves the Church, so we must not be frightened (23). Whatever Satan can do to us, as long as you are with Christ, you don't have anything to be afraid of regarding the devil's abilities. If we have both the Father and the Son, shall the devil approach us again? The safest place we might think on earth is where the Father and the Son resides (15). Whatever evil we see in the environment, we shall not worry about them, for they shall protect us from harm (24).

References

1 Job 20:5
2 I Corinthians 15:54
3 Jeremiah 6:16, Matthew 7:13
4 II Timothy 3:1-7
5 Ephesians 6:12
6 Matthew 10:35-36
7 Luke 12:53
8 Mark 13:12
9 John 15:19
10 Matthew 24:9; Matthew 10:22
11 Isaiah 55:5
12 I Peter 5:8
13 James 4:7
14 Revelations 20:8
15 John 14:23
16 Hebrews 10:25-27
17 Psalms 34:7
18 Revelations 12:12
19 Ephesians 6:12-20
20 Mark 1:9-13
21 Job 2
22 Mark 9:20-29 KJV; Psalms 69:10; Matthew 26:41
23 Romans 8:35-37
24 I Peter 5:7; Proverbs 18:10