For two days, a phrase has been echoing in my conscious mind:

TRUTH HAS FALLEN IN THE STREETS.

There seem to be no better words to describe the chapter we have entered. There is so much misinformation being promulgated; so many lies being spread, that it is extremely difficult to find out the truth of what is happening—whether it be about the current state of national governments or the current health crisis rampaging in the earth. And when what is being presented as facts are discovered to be a lie and the real facts brought to light, they are labeled as disinformation or conspiracy theories and removed from the public gaze. There seems to be a voracious scheme afoot to discredit truth and promote lies. Evil is called good and good evil. Truth is called fake news and lies are called facts. IT surely is an EVIL time!

Now usually when a phrase repeats itself in my inner ear a number of times, I know that the Spirit is directing me to a passage of scripture which will be a door into a journey of revelation. So I looked up this 'truth has fallen in the streets'. And sure enough, it appears in Isaiah:

Isa 59:14  Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) stands far off; for truth has fallen in the street, and uprightness cannot enter [the courts of justice]. Isa 59:15  Yes, truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. And the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice.

The word translated 'departs' also means 'to turn off, withdraw from, to rebel against'. And isn't that exactly what is happening in this day. Those who refuse to have any part in evil are being victimized and labeled all sorts of vile names. They are attacked by those who call evil good; either being lambasted verbally or physically and their reputations ruined. They become a prey! When all the official news channels are promoting this 'evil is good' theme, those who desire to live godly turn it off—they 'depart' from it and try to stand for Truth instead. But even in private conversations these days, never mind in a wider social setting, any attempt to stand for Truth and what is written in the Word of God brings on vociferous opposition!

Tit for Tat?

We are living in a day when Truth is not popular; when those who are liberal cover their ears and almost froth at the mouth that someone should dare to have the audacity to declare they believe what is in the Word of God. Somehow this shocks us, yet Jesus spoke to His disciples about just such a state of affairs. The early church endured this ill-treatment and the endtime Church will experience the same:

Joh 15:18  If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you. Joh 15:19  If you belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection and would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world [no longer one with it], but I have chosen (selected) you out of the world, the world hates (detests) you. Joh 15:20  Remember that I told you, A servant is not greater than his master [is not superior to him]. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you…

Something we have to remember is not to take this personally. It is not you they are raging against. This is a much more fundamental battle. It is the spirit of the enemy in them reacting to the Spirit of Truth in you. When I was at university, I was a very zealous evangelist and made a number of friends who were unbelievers, with the end-goal of bringing them to faith. One of these was a young man who was very troubled and carried much wounding from a tumultuous childhood. He used to knock at the ground floor window of my dorm room at all hours of the day and night, wanting to talk to me about spiritual things. Sometimes he would be looking at me earnestly, blink, and then little monkey eyes would be glaring at me and so it was obvious he needed deliverance. One day he told me that he hated leaving these conversations, because when he went away, he would get the sudden desire to come back and kill me! In my youthful zeal, I just replied, "Oh, that is just the darkness in you wanting to quench the light in me!" and carry on chatting! Needless to say, when I was crossing the road one day and he came round the corner in his car and tried to run me over, I finally realized I had better call in someone to help with his counseling and deliverance (I had taken him to fellowship many times and he often went up for the salvation altar-call but never felt saved, until he had been delivered of the demons tormenting him).

Anyway, my point in telling you this ancient story is to illustrate that those who do not know Jesus are vulnerable to all sorts of demonic entities giving them suggestions or orders. This is why Jesus could say, "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing". So we need to get over this thing of taking everything so personally and getting offended when people who do not know Jesus spew poisonous vitriol on our heads. Just because they say it, does not make it true. We have to remember that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood. We need to remember every morning when we open up our emails or step outside our front door that Jesus gave us very clear counsel on how to handle persecution:

Mat 5:11  Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of your outward conditions) are you when people revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely on My account. Mat 5:12  Be glad and supremely joyful, for your reward in heaven is great (strong and intense), for in this same way people persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I love the way Luke phrases this same conversation:

Luk 6:22  Blessed are you when people despise (hate) you, and when they exclude and excommunicate you [as disreputable] and revile and denounce you and defame and cast out and spurn your name as evil (wicked) on account of the Son of Man. Luk 6:23  Rejoice and be glad at such a time and exult and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is rich and great and strong and intense and abundant in heaven; for even so their forefathers treated the prophets.

Oh how we need to learn these verses by heart. Then when the vile verbiage starts, these life-imparting words will spring up and guard our hearts and minds from the poison. Be glad and supremely joyful for GREAT is your reward in Heaven! And not only must we be joyful, but we must respond in the opposite spirit:

Luk 6:27  But I say to you who are listening now to Me: [in order to heed, make it a practice to] love your enemies, treat well (do good to, act nobly toward) those who detest you and pursue you with hatred, Luk 6:28  Invoke blessings upon and pray for the happiness of those who curse you, implore God's blessing (favor) upon those who abuse you [who revile, reproach, disparage, and high-handedly misuse you].

THE ANTIDOTE FOR HATRED IS ALWAYS LOVE.

Especially when the enemy is having his hour of power!  

Making the choice not to love the Truth is part of what characterizes those who follow the antichrist:

2Th 2:9  The coming [of the lawless one, the antichrist] is through the activity and working of Satan and will be attended by great power and with all sorts of [pretended] miracles and signs and delusive marvels--[all of them] lying wonders-- 2Th 2:10  And by unlimited seduction to evil and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing (going to perdition) because they did not welcome the Truth but refused to love it that they might be saved.

And conversely, love in action in our lives is evidence we are of the Truth:

1Jn 3:18  Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity). 1Jn 3:19  By this we shall come to know that we are of the Truth, and can reassure our hearts in His presence,

Of course, those of us who know Jesus are fully aware that ultimately Truth is a Person! He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and John 1:17 says that Truth came through Jesus Christ—and the Holy Spirit leads us into all Truth (Joh 16:13).

The Response of Heaven

Now we read earlier in Isaiah 59:14 that God is not happy when truth has fallen in the streets. And when the enemy comes in like a flood, He does raise up a standard. But what does this look like. The very presence and existence of Truth shows up the true character of the lies. Ultimately, the God of Truth and the Father of Lies are going to have a standoff—but we already know the outcome of that battle. As the following verse explains, it is God's wrath that deals effectively and finally with those who hinder and suppress Truth.

Rom 1:18  For God's [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative.

In addition to this fact, men will always reap what they sow. Those who choose lies over the truth will reap accordingly but there is a time element involved. A seed must grow and bring forth fruit before harvesting happens. Look at what Psalm 7 says:

Psa 7:14  Behold, [the wicked man] conceives iniquity and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. Psa 7:15  He made a pit and hollowed it out and has fallen into the hole which he made [before the trap was completed]. Psa 7:16  His mischief shall fall back in return upon his own head, and his violence come down [with the loose dirt] upon his own scalp.

So, in a chapter where the enemy is baiting you through other people to try and draw you into an argument about their version of 'truth', don't take the bait. It's important to remember some things about Truth:

  • Truth does not change when the culture or the fashion changes.
  • Truth does not need to defend itself and is not changed one iota by the lies being spoken.
  • Truth is always Truth, even if no-one is speaking it. Lies are always lies, even if everyone is agreeing with them.
  • Everything hidden will be revealed and the Truth cannot be suppressed indefinitely.
  • Truth is a shield to those who embrace it: Psa 91:4  [Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
  • The absorption of Truth sanctifies and purifies you: Joh 17:17  Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.

That last point is super-important when we remember the vision I shared in the last post of the remnant pressing on upwards on God's holy hill. He said it depicted the holy becoming more holy. So, how do you become more holy? By saturating yourself in the words of Truth; by spending more time in the Word than you do in trying to sift through the plethora of mixture on the news media. The father of lies will be having his hour of rampage as what is written must be fulfilled, but leave it to the God Who is Truth to silence Him. You have more important things to do—there is Kingdom work to be completed. Don't be distracted, feeling you need to discredit the lies being spewed left and right. The enemy will keep you busy day and night with that. God Himself is busy separating light from darkness and making manifest the counsels of men's hearts. You choose Truth. Love Truth. And make sure you are living as a son of the Light!

Eph 4:15  Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth [in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly]. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

Selah