​They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.  And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known
​the Father, nor me. John 16:2-3

The closer we get to the coming of the Lord, the more these verses will be evident. The world now is spiraling into confusion, ignorance, violence, brutality, and hatred. Jesus' words can be seen played out through the media every day. It's a good idea to take a good look inside ourselves and take stock of what's inside, and go to Jesus in prayer, and ask for His strength and faith to face whatever may come for us. He's faithful and just to answer any need we face. Many churches and Christians today like to keep up a front, and not willing to face reality. There's a time and place for celebrations, laughter and humor, but if you won't face what's right in front of you, and intentionally try to cover it up with the worlds entertainments-you will find yourself unable to cope with life and death issues in the strength of God, when they come. We are rapidly reaching this point now, whether anybody likes it, or not.

Some commentary notes below give a good assessment of how relevant these verses are for us today, and we can then apply them to our daily lives.

​"The Jews who persecuted the apostles regarded them as blasphemers, and as seeking to overthrow the temple service, and the system of religion which God had established. Thus, they supposed they were rendering service to God in putting them to death, Act_6:13-14; Act_21:28-31. Sinners, especially hypocrites, often cloak enormous crimes under the pretense of great zeal for religion. Men often suppose, or profess to suppose, that they are rendering God service when they persecute others; and, under the pretense of great zeal for truth and purity, evince all possible bigotry, pride, malice, and uncharitableness. The people of God have suffered most from those who have been conscientious persecutors; and some of the most malignant foes which true Christians have ever had have been in the church, and have been professed ministers of the gospel, persecuting them under pretense of great zeal for the cause of purity and religion. It is no evidence of piety that a man is full of zeal against those whom he supposes to be heretics; and it is one of the best proofs that a man knows nothing of the religion of Jesus when he is eminent for self-conceit in his own views of orthodoxy, and firmly fixed in the opinion that all who differ from him and his sect must of course be wrong."   Albert Barnes

"Whether it be conviction of sin, or faith, or hope, all begin and end with Jesus. The chief sin of the present age is its rejection of Christ, and it is for this that men are condemned. The assertions of Jesus as to Himself are vindicated, and His righteousness is established. His divine mission was proved by His resurrection and ascension. The Cross was the scene of Satan’s judgment. There the prince of this world was condemned and cast out. His power is broken, though he still does his utmost to intimidate and hinder the followers of Jesus.
The world comes to us first with her fascinations and delights. She comes next with her frowns and tortures. Behind her is her prince. He, however, exists only by sufferance. Meet him as a discredited foe. He has been judged and condemned. For the Church there awaits victory and freedom; for the world, the flesh, and the devil, hopeless defeat-the bottomless pit and the lake of fire. See Jud_1:7-8."
F.B. Meyer

Because they have not known the Father - See on Joh_15:25 (note). Ignorance of the benevolence of God, and of the philanthropy of Christ, is the grand fountain whence all religious persecution and intolerance proceed.
Lesson: what they do to me-they will do to you.

​Joh 15:25  But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. 

What a rattle and noise hath this word conscience made! How many battles has it fought? how many churches has it robbed, ruined, and reformed to ashes? how many laws has it trampled upon, dispensed with, and addressed against? and in a word, how many governments has it overturned? Such is the mischievous force of a plausible word applied to a detestable thing (Act_26:9).
(R. South, D. D.)
​
Here we read of Saul, who became Paul the apostle-before his conversion-reeking havoc on God's people:
Act 26:9  I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 
Act 26:10  Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. 
Act 26:11  And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. 

​Matthew suffered martyrdom by the sword in Ethiopia. Mark died at Alexandria, after being dragged through the city. Luke was hanged on an olive tree in Greece. Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downward. James was beheaded at Jerusalem. James the less was thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple and beaten to death below.
Philip was hanged against a pillar in Phrygia. Bartholomew was flayed alive. Andrew was bound to a cross, whence he preached to his persecutors till he died. Thomas was run through the body at Coromandel, in India. Jude was shot to death with arrows. Matthias was first stoned, and then beheaded. Barnabas was stoned to death by Jews at Salonica. Paul, “in deaths oft,” was beheaded at Rome by Nero. (J. Angus, D. D.)

​I. TRACED TO ITS CAUSE—ignorance. It is strange how differently Christ and man may view the same action. The Jews imagined they above all men were acquainted with the Father, and knew better than all the world beside what kind of service to present upon His altar. This was not the judgement of Christ.
II. CONDEMNED IN ITS CHARACTER. Though Christ ascribed their behaviour to ignorance, He does not say that for this they were not responsible, if they did not know the Father or Him they might have known Joh_15:22).
Joh 15:22  If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. 
III. COMMISERATED IN ITS ACTORS. One cannot help thinking Christ designed His words to awaken pity in the breasts of His persecuted followers, like that afterwards found in His own, when, hanging on the cross, He prayed for His murderers (Luk_23:34). (T. Whitelaw,D. D.)

Jesus gives us the example of what we are to do-when we face this in our lives-as he hung on the cross:
Luk 23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. 

A word, in conclusion: TO THE UNCONVERTED. Remember your ignorance does not excuse you, or else Christ would not say, “Forgive them”; they must be forgiven, even those that know not what they do, hence they are individually guilty; but still that ignorance of yours gives you just a little gleam of hope. “Bring forth, therefore, fruits meet for repentance.” But there are some here for whom even Christ Himself could not pray this prayer, in the widest sense at any rate, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,” for you have known what you did, and every sermon you hear, and especially every impression that is made upon your understanding and conscience by the gospel, adds to your responsibility, and takes away from you the excuse of not knowing what you do. You know that there is sin and God, and that you cannot serve both. You know that there are the pleasures of evil and the pleasures of heaven, and that you cannot have both. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Final Note: There are several definitions for who/what a prophet is, in the word of God. One definition is-someone who exhorts, warns, preaches repentance and proclaims Jesus Christ as the Messiah. In reality-anyone who publicly proclaims Christ, in witnessing, preaching, teaching or on a street corner, is a prophet. John the Baptist gave no prophetic message foretelling any future event, he preached repentance and proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah that was to come. His message was hated so much by the Pharisee's of his day, they plotted against him until they finally found an excuse to put him in prison. This happened by way of Salome, when she danced for Herod-and laid claim to John's head. Herod, not willing to be shamed by not keeping his promise of giving her what she wanted, had John beheaded. John is an example to all of us who follow Christ-to not be surprised when we face the same persecutions in this life. Those who proclaim the "name it and claim it" prosperity  gospel-are preaching another Jesus, not the real Gospel, nor the real Jesus. Don't be deceived, read the Bible for yourself, and then, count the cost for following Jesus Christ. 
But, as John the Baptist did-those who truly know Christ and who's Spirit dwells within them, will pay the cost, no matter what it may be.

​Luk 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. 
Luk 6:23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. 

With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. 
For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. Psa 18:26-27

Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Treasury of David

​"The sinner's frowardness is sinful and rebellious, and the only sense in which the term can be applied to the Most Holy God is that of judicial opposition and sternness, in which the Judge of all the earth will act at cross-purposes with the offender, and let him see that all things are not to be made subservient to wicked whims and wilful fancies. Calvin very forcibly says, “This brutish and monstrous stupidity in men compels God to invent new modes of expression, and as it were to clothe himself with a different character. There is a similar sentence in Lev_26:21-24, where God says, “and if ye walk contrary unto (or perversely with) me, then will I also walk contrary unto (or perversely, or roughly, or at random with) you.”

Lev 26:21  And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. 
Lev 26:22  I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate. 
Lev 26:23  And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; 
Lev 26:24  Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 

As if he had said that their obstinacy and stubbornness would make him on his part forget his accustomed forbearance and gentleness, and cast himself recklessly or at random against them. We see then what the stubborn at length gain by their obduracy; it is this, that God hardens himself still more to break them in pieces, and if they are of stone, he causes them to feel that he has the hardness of iron. The Jewish tradition was that the manna tasted according to each man's mouth; certainly God shows himself to each individual according to his character."
​
Psa_18:27
“For thou wilt save the afflicted people.” This is a comforting assurance for the poor in spirit whose spiritual griefs admit of no sufficient solace from any other than a divine hand. They cannot save themselves nor can others do it, but God will save them. “But wilt bring down high looks.” Those who look down on others with scorn shall be looked down upon with contempt ere long. The Lord abhors a proud look. What a reason for repentance and humiliation! How much better to be humble than to provoke God to humble us in his wrath! A considerable number of clauses occur in this passage in the future tense; how forcibly are we thus brought to remember that our present joy or sorrow is not to have so much weight with us as the great and eternal future!"

These two verses give implication of what God decides to do when contending with the rebellious, and unrepentant. Verse 26 describes the perverse man; he that is crooked in his tempers and ways.​
​
Thou wilt show thyself froward -  thou wilt set thyself to twist, twine, and wrestle. If he contend, thou wilt contend with him. Thou wilt follow him through all his windings; thou wilt trace him through all his crooked ways; untwist him in all his cunning wiles; and defeat all his schemes of stubbornness, fraud, overreaching, and deceit.

My old Psalter has, With the wiked thow sal be wike. Here the term wicked is taken in its true original sense, crooked, or perverse. With the wiked, the perverse, thou wilt show thyself wike, i.e., perverse; from to draw back, to slide. As he draws back from thee, thou wilt draw back from him. It may, as before intimated, come from to seek for enchantments; leaving God, and going to devils; to act like a witch: but here it must mean as above. The plain import is, “If thou perversely oppose thy Maker, he will oppose thee: no work or project shall prosper that is not begun in his name, and conducted in his fear.”
Adam Clarke

​Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 
Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 
Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

In every situation-God is a refuge to His people, He will hear and answer all who call upon Him, in sincerity from their heart. His promises are sure. The bible is full of precious promises, that guide and direct us to come to Him, and pour out our needs, in our times of adversity and ask for His intervention. I've never failed to see Him come into the situation-and either change it, or give me the ability to deal with the situation, and show how to do it. He has answered untold numbers of specific prayers in my life, and provided for my every need. He's shown Himself to be completely true to His Word, and has never failed me. He will do the same for you.

Psa 9:9  The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
​Psa 18:2  The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 
Psa 18:3  I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. 
Psa 32:7  Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. 
Psa 32:8  I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. 

Yes, these promises are true-but, He also adds these instructions:

​Psa 32:9  Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. 
Psa 32:10  Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.

When there is any need, God's guidance is clear and simple:
​
Php 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 
Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

If you are saved, have given your life and heart to Jesus, He is there, and will hear and answer your prayer. It may not be immediate, it may take time, you may need to make some changes in your life, to open the door for Him to work. You may have to be willing to stand and wait to see the answer come, while He works to change the circumstances. But if you stand in faith, He will intervene in your situation.

Our attitude, and having a humble, grateful heart is important in seeing answers to our prayers:

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 
Mat 23:12  And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 
1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 
1Pe 5:9  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

Check whether there is any spirit of greed, envy, jealousies you may be harboring in your heart-this will hinder an answer to prayer:

1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain. 
1Ti 6:7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 
1Ti 6:8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 

Heb 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 
Heb 13:6  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. 

We may find we have to close the door to people who are a source of trouble, and bad influences:

Psa 1:1  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 
Pro 2:11  Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: 
Pro 2:12  To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
Pro 4:14  Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 
Pro 4:15  Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. 
Pro 4:16  For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. 
Pro 4:17  For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. 
Pro 4:18  But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 
​
Checking our lives with these verses, and many other's like them that are found in scripture, opens the door for the Holy Spirit to come into our lives, and brings peace and stability to our hearts. As we align ourselves with God's direction, and apply His word to our lives, we'll begin to see circumstances move in our favor, and adversities that we've given to Him in prayer-we will find He is more than able to take care of for us. He's proven this to be true in my life, many many times. 

In all these years, He has become all He promises in His word, my Rock, my Refuge, my Deliverer, my Redeemer, a strong Tower against the enemy, my Savior and Lord. Through many adversities, and wrestling in prayer, He's proven His power and ability to answer me, and shown His love for me. Whatever He would ask me to do, I could not say no to Him, my heart is melded to His.
Lorna Couillard