Christian Buds[eal] Training Series

Revelation 6: 9 – 11

Christian Buds[eal] Training

9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

A few years ago our country finally found the #1 terrorist who masterminded the 9-11 attack on the US. The Special Forces unit that was called upon to do this mission was the Navy Seals Team 6.

In order to become a Navy Seal you must first be enlisted in our military. Then you must apply and be approved to attend their Buds training. Buds stands for ‘Basic Underwater Demolition Seals [SEa, Air, and Land] training.

The last week of this excruciating testing is called ‘Hell Week’. If you are on of the few who can endure this physical and emotional painful testing then you are selected to continue in future intense training. If you can ‘cut the mustard’ of the additional advanced training then and only then are you acknowledged as a Navy Seal.

After Jesus spoke of the coming Messiahs, the coming wars, the coming famines, the coming plagues and earthquakes, He spoke of those who would be delivered up to tribulation and would be killed for His sake.

We learn these things from three Gospel writers. This is what they had to say;

. Matthew 24.9-14 “9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Indeed, as Luke tells us in verse 12, He says this will happen first, for they will happen ‘before all these things’. And, as we know, they did happen from the very beginning.

From chapter 24 we see these things happening;

. False Christ's [Antichrists] (v5)

. False prophets (v11)

. Wars (v6)

. Famines and earthquakes (v7)

. Apostasy (v10)

. Increased lawlessness (v12)

. Worldwide preaching of the gospel (v14)

. AND HATRED OF CHRISTIANS BY ALL NATIONS (v9)

That is why we see here, not a description of persecution following the riding of the four horsemen, but the results of previous persecution. Even before the horsemen have ridden the people of God have been attacked and persecuted, and have suffered tribulation and death right from the beginning in Acts and onwards. And this has been because they held to the word of God, and because they believed in it and fearlessly witnessed to it.

In America we do not understand tribulation. Unlike many other people in foreign lands we still have the right to worship our Holy Adoni El Shaddai, Almighty God, and study His Word without fear of being killed. However, this blessing may soon be coming to an end as we now see incidences of terrorists attacking American churches.

We must therefore also now sign up for Christian Buds(eal) Training. In this case Buds stands for ‘Basic Understanding Determines Sacrifice Everyone Allows Leveled. In other words folks it means how much are you willing to endure to not deny of Holy Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Would you be willing to be a martyr for our Holy God? That is a shocking question, isn’t it? You see in other parts of the world people are dying for their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact more people have died for their belief and trust of our Lord Jesus Christ in this century than any other time.

Here are some statistics relative to this condition;

. More Christians were martyred in the 20th century than in all other centuries combined. 45.4 million Christians were martyred in the 20th century

. It is claimed that 105,000 Christians are martyred for their faith each year

. Currently over 100 million Christians are being persecuted worldwide

. 70 percent of the world's population lives in a religiously intolerant environment. North Korea: in 2014 it continues to be the worst country in the world for persecution