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Enemies & Brethren
by Phil Maxwell September 1998
Although we all recognize that Satan is our chief adversary, it is naive
to think that people can't be our enemies, also. There seems to be a lot of confusion over
this issue, as many seem to think our obligation to love our enemies means that we should
indiscriminately extend a hand of fellowship to anyone who comes along claiming to be a
Christian. Perhaps we need to realize that ultimately discerning who is our enemy will be
just as important as knowing who is our brother or sister in Yahshua. Make no mistake, the
devil has children, and they are enemies to the children of Yahweh every bit as much as
their father, the devil, is.
There will be no unity of the faith and Spirit of Christ as long as the children of the
devil are mingled amongst the children of Yahweh. This is not to say that we should take
it upon ourselves to dismiss these enemies of Christ from our midst, as the parable and
revelation of the wheat and tares illustrates otherwise. However, when enemies are
manifested in our ranks, it is dreadfully errant to embrace them as brothers and sisters,
and I have been dismayed at witnessing quite a lot of this over recent months and years.
As Gordy recently mentioned, we can be quite sure that a wolf is a wolf when we witness it
attempting to devour true sheep, and this holds true no matter how perfect the sheepskin
disguise may be. The children of the devil were manifested through their open opposition
to Yahshua, weren't they?
Referring to the parable of the wheat and tares, it is apparent that the manifestation of
the children of the devil precedes the manifestation of the Sons of God in the world. How
do we suppose they will be manifested? They will rise up against the true sheep, like Cain
against Abel! Remember, the devil was a murderer from the beginning, and his children
will...WILL...fulfill his lusts. It is one thing to patiently await the harvest of the
tares out of the field rather than trying to remove them yourself, but another thing
altogether to interfere with their removal by clinging to them as though they were our
brothers and sisters in Yahshua when they are clearly shown to be otherwise. As it must
be, the children of the devil will be manifested first, so we must be very careful not to
be gathered with them. Obviously, some simply won't hear this message. Why do you suppose
there is a final call prophesied for Yahshua's people to come out of the bloodthirsty
harlot called Babylon? What in the world are Yahshua's people doing amongst this harlot?
Be sure that when the final harvest is complete, there will neither be any tares left
amongst the wheat nor vice-versa.
There are many who can't seem to stomach conflict between those who name Yahshua as Lord
and Savior. I understand this, but I strongly urge everyone to accept the reality that
conflict is unavoidable. Why? Because the enemy is going to be manifested in the world,
and he is going to present himself through apparently peace loving, unity seeking
ministers of righteousness. Their agenda, however, will be to tempt, discredit, and
destroy the children of Yahweh. The unity they promote will be for the purpose of
trampling Yahshua's people to the ground, though none of this will be readily seen. They
are going to quite sincerely believe they are serving Yahweh in these things, every bit as
much as the Jewish leaders did in killing Yahshua.
The spirit of murder is increasingly evident in the ranks of so-called Christianity, as
the children of the devil move towards more openly manifesting their spiritual father's
aims. Like Jacob and Esau, there is strife even in the womb as we race towards the
manifestation of the man of sin first, followed by the perfect man.
Some of Yahshua's people are tasked with being in the forefront of these attacks, while
others are on the sidelines witnessing the preliminary battles which will give way to even
greater conflicts. My stomach turns at the lukewarm, 'lets all just be friends', attitude
manifested by many of those on the sidelines. For the time being, these skirmishes at
least serve the purpose of putting the enemies of Yahshua on open display for those
discerning enough to see. For over three years, public encounters between the children of
the devil and the Son of God served to establish the line of division that ultimately all
who witnessed had to choose between. Like it or not, when the children of the devil are
manifested openly in battle against the children of Yahweh, all will be forced to choose
sides shortly thereafter. As much as we can be certain that the "perfect man"
Paul wrote of will be manifested, we can know that such unity of those in Yahshua cannot
come forth without the children of the devil first being uprooted and gathered separately
from their midst.
Yahshua's disciples had personally witnessed one challenge after another by the Jewish
leaders against Him and knew they sought to kill Him. Yahshua repeatedly warned them of
the enemy's impending attack on Him, even going into great detail about what to expect.
They weren't hearing Him, though. He repeatedly urged them to watch and pray, but,
instead, they slept. When the soldiers came, most were offended and scattered, forsaking
Yahshua, whom they had followed for over three years. Worse yet, Judas both embraced the
enemy and kissed the Lord, and I wouldn't wish his end upon anyone.
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