By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.
(Christopher Columbus)
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
(Ephesians 6:13)
Have you ever given any consideration to the time of the evil day that Paul spoke about? When we read that, the first thing we tend to think of is the time of tribulation coming at the close of this age; and that definitely is going to be an evil day. But, in reality, there have been multitudes of evil days all throughout history. For example, the situation was so bad, and the people so evil in the days of Noah, that the Lord brought a flood upon the earth to cleanse it. Then there were the rebellions of the children of Israel, which became so bad that the Lord brought an end to their kingdom through destruction and captivity. The same held true in the days of the Roman Empire, when the early church was persecuted and multitudes of Christians were martyred during the reigns of various emperors. The truth is, as I said, virtually every generation has faced evil days.
There’s something about the evil days, however, that far too often is overlooked; yet it’s also far more common. So, for that, I want to bring out what I’ve seen in both the letter to the Ephesians, as well as the portion in the book of Revelation that John wrote to the Ephesian church. Also, I’ll briefly touch on some historical aspects; not to get into the historical, but to establish a basis for what I’m bringing out.
Paul established the Ephesian church around 52 A.D. on his second missionary journey. Ephesus was a major port city in the Roman province of Asia, which is modern-day Turkey, and was renowned for its wealth and culture. It was also a center of pagan worship. Paul returned to the Ephesian church around 53 A.D. during his third missionary journey, and remained until around 56 or 57 A.D. In his final message to them he told them:
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
(Acts 20:28 to 30)
Then, from prison, sometime between 60 and 62 A.D., he wrote to them, including the exhortation:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:10 to 13)
When the Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. the apostle John fled to Ephesus, until he was banished to Patmos in 95 A.D. by the emperor Domitian, but was released by Emperor Nerva when Domitian died in 96 A.D. It was while John was on Patmos that he wrote the Revelation; and in it, Jesus first addressed the church at Ephesus.
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
(Revelation 2:2 to 5)
Now, I said all of that to lay a sort of groundwork for something we need to understand. Again, whenever the “evil day” is mentioned, many Christians immediately think of the great tribulation. But, with what I just brought out, I believe Paul was warning the Ephesians about guarding themselves against something far more sinister. You see, one of the outstanding characteristics was their love of the Lord. However, over time, the enemy very subtly infiltrated the church and diluted their passion for Him. Paul had foretold this, and then followed it up from his prison in Rome with the exhortation to stand strong against the wiles of the enemy. But from the letter penned by John in the Revelation, it appears that they had failed to heed the instruction.
One of the dangers we encounter daily is that of becoming complacent. It doesn’t happen instantaneously, any more than it did with the Ephesian church. After all, the enemy is subtle and patient, and works to gradually draw us away from what the Lord has called us to. But it DOES happen when we allow it through our failure to stand against him.
If we allow it.
We can try to stand in our own power, but we WILL fall, guaranteed. There’s only one power which can overcome the enemy, and that’s the power of the Lord. And the only armor with which we can withstand the enemy’s onslaught is that which is the Lord’s. The enemy WILL present obstacles and distractions every step of the way; but we have to keep our eyes upon the Lord and allow Him to get us past them. It’s far from easy, and there WILL be times when we’ll stumble and fall. However, as long as we keep on keepin’ on, and getting back up when we’ve fallen, then we’ll ultimately reach what God has prepared for us.
So don’t think that the evil day spoken of in Ephesians is referring only to the time of tribulation.
That’s temporal.
But to lose our first love is eternal.