The Church of Philadelphia receives from Yeshuah Christ the promise to be kept during the time of the Great Tribulation, but there is a great reason for this:
"Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. "
(Revelation 3:10)
Do we know the meaning of perseverance?
The word perseverance implies a combination of resistance with duration. Duration is to be associated with what lasts par excellence namely, eternity.
Duration means also to stay focused on a goal that we have chosen for ourselves, namely, the Kingdom of our Father, in order to not deviate from it throughout our life.
But in addition to the ideas of resistance and duration, perseverance also implies the idea of producing fruits!
Resistance
The resistance offered by men who are persevering to their goal is caused by the opposition encountered around them during their actions. For the believer, this opposition is conducted by the Devil, his huge army of demons and the world they have seduced and blinded. Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians, chapter 6, verses 11-13, shows how much our resistance is important even when we have overcome everything:
"11 Put on the whole armor of Elohim, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of Elohim, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. "
Jeremiah is a good example of the resistance to the endian and read to inspire us in his Lamentations, chapter 3, verses 52-66:
“ 52 My enemies without cause hunted me down like a bird. 53 They silenced my life in the pit and threw stones at me. 54 The waters flowed over my head; I said,
“I am cut off!” 55 I called on Your name, O Yehoah, from the lowest pit.
56 You have heard my voice: “Do not hide Your ear from my sighing, from my cry for help.” 57 You drew near on the day I called on You, and said, “Do not fear!”
58 O Yehoah, You have pleaded the case for my soul; You have redeemed my life.
59 O Yehoah, You have seen how I am wronged; judge my case. 60 You have seen all their vengeance, all their schemes against me. 61 You have heard their reproach, O Yehoah, all their schemes against me, 62 The lips of my enemies and their whispering against me all the day. 63 Look at their sitting down and their rising up; I am their taunting song.
64 Repay them, O Yehoah, according to the work of their hands. 65 Give them a veiled heart; Your curse be upon them! 66 In Your anger, pursue and destroy them from under the heavens of the Yehoah.”
Jeremiah here, like Yeshuah Christ some six hundred years later, did not seek to do himself justice, but put everything in the hands of his Creator. He trusts Him with faith while continuing to resist, while everything collapses around him.
Duration to last
The second idea that goes with perseverance is that of duration.
Perseverance has value only if it lasts. In the eyes of our Father, we must not limit our actions in time. They must not be planned to last only one hour, one day or one week, but on the contrary, they must force the doors of eternity.
It is necessary to enrich ourselves physically and later on spiritually in the same way that a child learns to eat, to walk and to speak. In both case, it is an investment for a whole life.
Perseverance according to our Lord is done with faith about the eternity. The only condition for our perseverance to lead us to the Kingdom of our Father is that of doing well as it is written in Ecclesiastes 8, verses 12 to 13:
" 12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear Elohim, who fear before Him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before Elohim. "
Yehoah has always attached the idea of duration to obedience to His commandments, as for example in the case of the fifth:
" Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which Yehoah your Elohim is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12)
On the same topic, let's read what Moses says in Deuteronomy 32, verses 45-47:
" 45 Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. 47 For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”
Bear fruit!
Perseverance is not conceivable without the abundant production of fruits. To convince us about this, let us read the parable of the sower written for us in Luke 8, verses 4 to 15:
"4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Elohim, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of Elohim. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."
Paul confirms that eternal life is for those who persevere and are always in action (Romans 2: 7):
" eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;"
Paul is writing to each one of us! Do not go and teach others, as it is unfortunately the custom of many, this teaching of Paul is for you and only for you! We must act with perseverance in the good.
To persevere in doing good is not to follow the example of the people of Judah whom Jeremiah mentions in his prophecy, chapter 8, verses 4 to 8:
"4 “Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yehoah:
“Will they fall and not rise? Will one turn away and not return? 5 Why has this people slidden back, Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return. 6 I listened and heard, but they do not speak aright.
No man repented of his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, as the horse rushes into the battle. 7 “Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; and the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow observe the time of their coming.
But My people do not know the judgment of Yehoah.
8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of Yehoah is with us’? Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood. "
Do follow the same way as the Jews and their bad attitude in the time of Jeremiah. Follow on the contrary the example of the first converts according to Acts 2: 41-42:
" 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."
This encourages us to pay more and more attention to the teachings contained in the Word in general, and of the apostles in particular! To do so will has value only if we produce fruits in abundance, as much as possible having in mind the vision of the tree of life in the New Jerusalem, of which all the parts are useful as described in Revelation, chapter 22 to verse 2:
" In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. "
Be careful, do not follow the opposite way!
To not bear fruits or bear little quantities of fruits and during a short time, will lead us inevitably in the wrong way, the one of wrong doings! What is the outcome of such a way of life? Let us read about this the warning of our Lord Yeshuah Christ in Mark 11: 12-14 and 20:
" 12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Yeshuah said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.... 20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. "
Our Father is giving us some limited quantity of time to bear fruits, it is about this quantity of time that Paul advises us to buy back (Colossians 4: 2-5):
“2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; 3 meanwhile praying also for us, that Elohim would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.”
The combative work to offer an abundant harvest of fruits will not end until the very last time, according to what Yeshuah announces in John 15, verses 5 to 7:
“5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. "
To not abide in Yeshuah-Christ means to not obey the Word of Yehoah and to not practice His commandments. The destiny of those who will persevere in the evil way is to dry like the fig tree and to not prolong his days in the kingdom of our Father, it is also to lose eternity as Adam. This means also losing our resistance since the Lord abandons us and no longer provides us with the necessary power.
How to persevere?
The Bible is full of advice to guide us on the path of perseverance. For instance we have read above the parable of the sower, but read now what he says a little bit later in verse 18 of chapter 8 of Luke:
" Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”
James completes this idea in chapter 1 of his epistle, verses 22-25:
" 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. "
So here's a first tip:
Listen actively and practice the law of freedom!
Pay attention to the warning about the mirror:
Look at your beam and not the neighbor's straw!
We must also become convinced that as we are today, we are good at being thrown into the fire as the branches that bear no fruit.
A great cleaning is needed
which should not leave us inactive.
This is the kind of cleansing that will be done in the time of the high priest Joshua (Zechariah 3: 1-5):
"1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of Yehoah, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. 2 And Yehoah said to Satan, “Yehoah rebuke you, Satan! Yehoah who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”
5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.”
Let us be encouraged by noting that Joshua who has been persevering during his entire life has the blessing to see Yehoah finishing the work of purification. This is also what Peter promises in I Peter 5, verse 10:
" But may Elohim of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Yeshuah, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. "
But before all, engrave in your memory these words of Matthew, chapter 3, verses 2 and 8:
" 2Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”... 8Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, "
Practice the prayer!
Prayer is also an important factor of perseverance, according to Ephesians 6: 18:
" praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints... "
But be aware, however, that if you want your prayer to be heard, you must undertake the destruction of the wall that separates you from your Father:
" 40 Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to Yehoah;
41 Let us lift our hearts and hands to Elohim in heaven.
42 We have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned. 43 You have covered Yourself with anger and pursued us; You have slain and not pitied. 44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud, that prayer should not pass through. “ (Lamentations of Jeremiah 3: 40-44)