The apostle Paul wrote this to the Corinthians—and to us—in 2 Corinthians 11:2-3: “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his trickery, your minds will be led astray from sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

       Perhaps the most devastating thing institutional religion has done to the Christian faith is complicate it, causing Christians to be more devoted to rituals and principles than to simply knowing Christ and following Him. This led to a long period of history when it seemed as if the true body of Christ—those who sought simply to walk with Christ, to know Him and love Him—had become extinct. But it had not. There has always been a remnant, which the Lord called, “the little flock,” who remained faithful to Him and devoted to following Him, not dogma.

       Throughout history, the faithful remained a little flock, were continually persecuted, and were always in danger of extinction, much like the Jewish community of the times. But the Lord preserved His faithful ones. Regardless of whether “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one,” all authority has been given to Jesus, and nothing ever happens to His faithful ones unless He allows it.

       Some of the important factors are that some of the original “fringe groups” of the body of Christ organized and ultimately became “the establishment.” Then, they were considered the embodiment of Christianity by the establishment in culture and government, even though so many of their practices and teachings were contrary to what Jesus and the apostles taught.

       Those who held to the core practices and teachings of Christ—and to Him—were then considered the fringe groups and were charged with being heretics by the institutional Christianity of  that time, which came to be considered “the church” by civil governments. So, it looks like the world’s church prevailed, just as it looked like the devil had prevailed over Christ when He was crucified.

       However, we know that by the cross the devil was defeated for all time. God’s victories often look like defeats to the earthly minded, and the dominance the world’s church gained over the Lord’s little flock seemed so total that the governments and institutions of this world considered it the true representative of Christianity.

       However, what this did only worked into the Lord’s ultimate plans and provided the conditions in the world in which the true body of Christ could grow and thrive spiritually, becoming like their Savior and doing the works that He did, even as they were afflicted and persecuted. The true state of the true ones will always be under persecution by the powers that now rule over this “present, evil age.”

       The true body of Christ is what heaven recognizes it to be, not earthly men. Even if it remains a “little flock” which only the spiritually and heavenly minded can see, they became a part of His kingdom that is not of this world to help prepare for the Lord’s second coming and His kingdom.

       The Lord’s sacrifice on the cross has redeemed the world, and in due time, the Lord will take His authority over the world. However, for almost two thousand years (two prophetic days), He would be building His city in heaven. This is why the city God is building must descend out of heaven to the earth. The city He is building is composed of His faithful overcomers of this world until the end of this age. It is composed of those who overcome the world by living a life of the cross, being crucified with Christ, and laying down their lives in this world to follow Him.

       The true nature of His kingdom is “not of this world.” As we understand this, we may be tempted to consider that our enemies are the institutions of Christianity that were built by the world and have married the ways of this world instead of faithfully waiting for the Lord. However, they are not. They may be opposers and even murderers of the faithful, but they are not our enemy, and neither are the people in them. Why?

       Though institutional Christianity has so persecuted the “little flock,” we must keep in mind that people are never our enemy, regardless of what they have done or may do in the future against the Lord and His faithful. We don’t war against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces that are controlling them. The Lord’s kingdom is not of this world, but it is spiritual, and so is the battle we must fight spiritual. The people of this world are all in bondage to the powers of this age, and we are called to help set them free with the truth of the gospel.

       Our victory is not to wound or destroy what is called “Mystery Babylon” in Revelation but to save the people out of it. There will be a time when the message goes out to, “Come out of her, My people” (see Revelation 18:4). This indicates that, until this system is destroyed, it has some of the Lord’s people in it.

       The message to come out of this beast must come from the Lord, and the destruction of it comes from the Lord. Our job is to be faithful to Him and be prepared to receive those from this system that have actually fought Him and His true ones. Then, this system will be destroyed so thoroughly that the entire world will marvel at it and mourn for it, as Revelation 18 makes clear.

       Next week, we will continue to cover “Mystery Babylon,” as well as the Lord’s counter to it.

 

© 2025 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.