Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and
persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Persecute - dioko {dee-o'-ko} [1377]First meaning: 1)
to make to run or flee, put to flight, drive awayClearly this persecution is in reference to the physical and not the spiritual. Paul apptly aptly asks:
Rom 8:35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Yet, just who will persecute us? Christ implied that the world cannot hate it's own.
Jhn 7:7
The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. However, a portion of the world did hate Christ, because he stood up agasinst them and spoke against their evil lies and practices. Whowas it that Christ spoke out against? It was against those who professed to be righteous, whose actions proved otherwise, the self-righteous Pharisees!
Mat 23:15
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Mat 23:23
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Mat 23:25
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Mat 23:27
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead [men's] bones, and of all uncleanness. Mat 23:29
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, I can only imagine the hate mail and threats that Ray must recieve on a daily basis from the same like self-righteous priests, decons, ministers, etc today. For it is they to whom Ray is speaking against. Today, Ray can safely speak against such and fear not imprisonment or death, yet it was not like that once and neither may it be again. One day, frequenting this site might be enough to cause persecution, harrasment and possibly imprisonment. We should not be surprised if this happens.
Jhn 15:18
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated] you. 2Ti 3:12
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. One last thought on the words of Paul to Timothy. Satan, never stops presecuting us and seeking ways to chip away at our faith and unwavering love for our Father. We are persecuted as such; daily.
Great topic, comments welcome.
Love,
Darren