Charisma - you don't always know exactly how to define it
but you definitely know it when you see it.
It's a rare gift, despite many people being labelled as 'charismatic',
in fact there are usually only a few who truly deserve the label in each
generation. Unfortunately it seems that
many people who do have the gift seem to use it for ill rather than good.
Hitler, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Napoleon, Julius Caesar -
to name but a few. They were all highly
charismatic people with that incredible gift of being able to draw people to
them, to have people follow them - almost slavishly at times. I'll never forget my exposure to 'real' charisma when I was a teenager studying history in High School. To demonstrate how Hitler had managed to gather such an enormously devoted following our teacher played the class a video of Hitler delivering a speech, from
beginning to the end.
Unlike most of the speeches we see in news clips, which are
only brief excerpts and usually taken from the latter part of his speech, when
you actually see his entire speech from beginning to end it is
breathtaking. He would begin very
slowly, very quietly, forcing the audience to be still and really pay attention
and then gradually dragged you into the full force of his personality. Even though I didn't speak a word of German
and the video had no sub-titles, I honestly felt so caught up in the moment
that I would have followed him anywhere.
It was a devastating thought to have once the magic had been broken and I
could think clearly again. It also
frightened me - it still does.
We know that in the last days there will come an
Antichrist. God's last human opponent,
controlled by and devoted to Satan. We
know, because the Bible tells us, that this man will be so charismatic and have
such a powerful personality that 'unless the days were cut short even the very
elect would be deceived'. Almost the
whole world will fall under the sway of this soon to come world leader. Like the people of Germany in World War II
the world will follow this Antichrist's lead - right to the gates of hell on earth.
Only those with Christ living within them will be able to
break through the spell, not by their own power but by that of the Holy Spirit
within them. Only those truly devoted to
Christ and true follower's of His Way will see the truth of this coming
charismatic leader. And it will be a
very hard road to walk, feeling almost as if you are all alone in not following
this man. Virtually everyone you know will almost certainly fall sway to his
spell and you will feel extremely isolated and even question yourself about whether you are correct in your
thoughts.
It is always important to stay as close to Christ as
possible. He should always be the
invisible presence walking beside you.
In the last days however, when confronted with the power of the
Antichrist it will be absolutely vital that Christ is at your centre. That is the only way for you to not be deceived. We must try and remember also that this man
will seem to come in peace, preaching love and tolerance.
He will not immediately implement his campaign of hatred and
destruction but the Bible tells us that those times will 'be worse than
anything ever seen before'. The worst
atrocities of Hitler, the brutal purges of Stalin, the blind ambition of
Napoleon - all of these things will seem like a child's fairytale in comparison
to what is to come. As devastating as
things have been at times in history, the coming Tribulation will be far, far
worse.
Am I trying to deliberately frighten you? Maybe a little. You need to be frightened. You need to be very aware of your need for
God and our High Priest, Jesus Christ.
Only through them will any of us see salvation through those times. Although Christ's elect, those who form the
body of Christ or His true church, will be protected, probably by supernatural
means, from the bulk of the coming Tribulation many other billions will
not. The simple and sad truth, is that
Christ's true church is and always has been, a small group of people.
However, there is hope for everyone because Christ died for
everyone. The Bible tells us clearly
that 'a great multitude', meaning almost without number, will be washed clean
in the trial of the Tribulation and come into God's coming Kingdom wearing
clean, pure white robes. Their suffering
will be great but their reward will be far greater.
So those of you out there who perhaps have
loved ones who you know do not have Christ at their centre need to know that
God has set up provision for them to bring them to His side. Only the very worst of the worst, those who
utterly refuse God and His truth, even when shown it irrefutably, will be lost
forever. Never forget that Jesus died
for every single human being living or dead or yet to come.
So stay close to God, prepare your heart for the end of
times but you do not need to worry about your physical body or life. God says that 'those who try to save their
lives will lose them and those who give up their lives will save them'. For right here and right now, just be a
little wary of those who seem very charismatic, it is not always a gift from God
but very often a tool of Satan, used to deceive.
In peace and love,
Tracey.
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