Understanding your Enemy

Demetrics and Pauline Roscoe

 

Understanding the purpose of your Enemy

By understanding those who think they are Prosecuting Attorneys assigned to investigate everything we say or do, we are better prepared not to let them get under our skin.
When we come to trust in the Lord for a Holy existence, our circumstances will change. The measure of Grace in our lives will increase likewise.

This new Grace will open a new pathway that Jesus Christ is conducting – a military campaign against a kingdom of darkness, whose ultimate mission is to take as many unfortunate souls into eternal suffering.

 

 

 

As our knowledge of the Lord increases, and we gain clarity, we will come to realize the meaning of life and why we are alive at this time. Adonai, Lord of Israel, needs an army of soldiers who understand the mission of rescuing lost souls. We are not to fight with earthen weapons, but with the power of meekness, humility and long-suffering. Clothed in righteousness, and manifested as ambassadors of His Divine Kingdom of Light we are living Tabernacles made to display the Glory of the Living Christ. Tabernacles for the Lord God Almighty, Who will manage and guide His soldiers to conquest.

As our enemies get boisterous and stronger, we who have taken up our positions on our crosses are now responding much differently or not responding at all. Satan’s old method of attacking our minds doesn’t work any longer, because now we operate in love, which is much more effective in doing the Lord’s work.

(Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible)
The body is but a tabernacle, or tent, of the soul. It is a movable dwelling. The nearness of death makes the apostle diligent in the business of life. Nothing can so give composure in the prospect, or in the hour, of death, as to know that we have faithfully and simply followed the Lord Jesus, and sought his glory. 2 Peter 1:12

(CWSB Dictionary)
H6037. עַנְוָה ‘anwāh: A feminine noun identifying gentleness, meekness, humility. It refers to qualities of meekness, humility, mildness, and patience appropriate for the king over God’s people, along with truth and righteousness (Ps. 45:4[5]).

(CWSB Dictionary)
H6038. עֲנָוָה ‘anāwāh: A feminine noun indicating humility. It indicates patience, mildness, tenderness, characteristics of God that foster growth in His king, David (Ps. 18:35[36]). It is found in Psalm 45:4[5], but see H6037 also. It indicates an attitude of humility that brings a person honor (Prov. 15:33; 18:12; 22:4); and possibly mercy in the day of judgment (Zeph. 2:3).

Your Enemy

When you were born, your culture and surroundings helped shape what you have become in society. After coming to faith in Christ, the Lord assigned other people with significant roles guiding you to a fruitful ministry for the Lord.
The same people who were a great Blessing to you, may add conflict and struggle as well. When the Bible is your moral compass, the most challenging tests become excellent lessons, and overwhelming experiences produce more significant victories.

How can we lose when warfare works in our favor?

When presented with trials, we no longer fight with words or with our emotions, because as Yeshua (the Jewish Messiah) our Lord defeated Satan without raising His hands; our enemies become our prayer assignments.

(Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible)
Tribulation worketh patience, whereby we bear all calamities and crosses with silence and submission.
To patience we must add godliness: this includes the holy affections and dispositions found in the true worshipper of God; with tender affection to all fellow Christians, who are children of the same Father, servants of the same Master, members of the same family, travellers to the same country, heirs of the same inheritance. Wherefore let Christians labor to attain assurance of their calling, and of their election, by believing and well-doing; and thus carefully to endeavor, is a firm argument of the grace and mercy of God, upholding them so that they shall not utterly fall (2 Peter 1:1).

Consequently, using the term “enemy” dictates how we see the people who add stress to our lives and influence how we relate to them. For that reason, let’s change the word enemy to a word such as “Proctor,” who is the person who helps monitors students while testing. So, as a responsible student who has prepared to take an exam, we shouldn’t have a problem with a Proctor. We should say you are only here to watch me pass my test.

“Proctors,”proc·tor [ˈpräktər]

NOUN
NORTH AMERICAN
a person who monitors students during an examination.

Proctor, a variant of procurator, is a person who takes charge of or acts for, another. The word “proctor” is frequently used to describe someone who oversees an examination or dormitory.
While in school, we had exams away from the institution, and a proctor was chosen to oversee the examination making sure no cheating.

As with the Jewish Messiah, He likewise had a “Proctor,” or a person in the form of Judas Iscariot to get Christ to a place of an unlawful arrest and conviction.
While some may say, that Judas Iscariot was unfairly predestined to fail God, this is not the way our loving Heavenly Father treats those who understand His faithfulness to all people.

Therefore, Judas was more of a benefit to Jesus than a threat, the kiss of betrayal was a salute to let’s get this thing started.
Few people might know that Judas was from a tribe in southern Judah a city named “Kerioth.” This group of Zealots believed there would be an end of the war when the Messiah would conquer the Romans in military conquest.

(Easton’s Bible Dictionary)
Zealots
A sect of Jews which originated with Judas the Gaulonite (Acts 5:37). They refused to pay tribute to the Romans, on the ground that this was a violation of the principle that God was the only king of Israel.

They rebelled against the Romans, but were soon scattered, and became a lawless band of mere brigands. They were afterward called Sicarii, from their use of the sica, i.e., the Roman dagger.

Iscariot was not Judas surname; it identified him as a zealot from the region of Judah, a city called Y’hudah from Kerioth.

Iscariot
2469. Ἰσκαριώτης Iskariṓtēs; gen. Iskariṓtou, masc. noun. Iscariot, the surname of Judas who betrayed Jesus. His name was probably derived from Kerioth, a town in the country of Judah (Josh. 15:25). He was called Judas Iscariot to distinguish him from the other Judas, the son of James (Matt. 10:4; 26:14; Mark 3:19; 14:10; Luke 6:16; 22:3; John 6:71; 12:4; 13:2, 26; 14:22). See Ioúdas (2455, V), Judas.

Judas Iscariot (died c. 30 – c. 33 AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane by kissing him and addressing him as “Rabbi” to reveal his identity to the crowd who had come to arrest him.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Iscariot.

The Complete Jewish Bible does not use Iscariot as Judas surname but that he was from Kerioth, the city of zealots.
In Hebrew, the word is talmidim “disciples,” and Y’hudah is “Judah.”

Complete Jewish Bible reads
“4 But one of the talmidim, Y’hudah from K’riot, the one who was about to betray him, said, 5 “This perfume is worth a year’s wages! Why wasn’t it sold and the money given to the poor?”
6 Now he said this not out of concern for the poor, but because he was a thief—he was in charge of the common purse and used to steal from it.”
John 12:1-6

Note: This man used to steal money from Jesus Christ and the disciples also, money they would use to buy food and supply offerings from the people, but Jesus still covered for him.

Some other things we need to notice about Judas: He called Jesus teacher, he never called Jesus Lord or Master as the other apostles did. This slight maybe a hint of how he saw Jesus. Jesus wanted to be known as Lord, not just as a teacher (Mk.12:37; Lk.20:42; Jn.9:36-38). While the other disciples wondered what kind of man Jesus was, a man that could calm the sea by a word, Judas accepted Him only as Rabbi.http://www.letusreason.org/Doct48.htm

 

(Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary)
The word is, lit., “a zealot,” i.e., “an uncompromising partisan.” The “Zealots” was a name applied to an extreme section of the Pharisees, bitterly antagonistic to the Romans. Josephus (Antiq. xviii. 1. 1, 6; B.J. ii. 8. 1) refers to them as the “fourth sect of Jewish philosophy” (i.e., in addition to the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes), founded by Judas of Galilee (cf. Acts 5:37). After his rebellion in A.D. 6, the Zealots nursed the fires of revolt, which, bursting out afresh in A.D. 66, led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70.

Interesting, news reports are stating that Russia, Iran, and Syria have joined forces together in conflict with Israel. Every believer should do a spiritual inventory to make sure there is not even a shadow of unforgiveness. We must stay ready – spirit, mind, and body because the Rapture could happen at any time. We do not want to have any open wounds in our souls that could defile the Tabernacle of God.
Is there a Judas from Iscariot in your sphere of influence?
Are you using it as a “Proctor” as you excel in difficult testing experiences?
Will your understanding of Jesus Christ manifest through this new Measure of Grace in your life?