There Is Danger

‬“And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
Acts‬ ‭19‬:‭27‬ ‭ESV

One of the accusations made against the Ekklesia was that they were “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). Everywhere that Kingdom went, so came the shaking. Great ripples reverberate out from the epicenter that is the unshakeable Kingdom of God. Isn’t it interesting that the unshakeable Kingdom is the very source of tremors that rock both heaven and earth? Kingdom causes mega-seismic activity, turning the world upside down.

The city of Ephesus was home to the temple of Artemis (Diana), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. People came to this city because of their enormous idol. The worldly prosperity and power of the top people in Ephesus was founded on a false god, and the gospel of the Kingdom shook the foundations. When wicked people begin losing income and influence, they will kick and scream and claw, and they will use fear to stir up those around them. Like Demetrius who had made himself wealthy on the industry of idol production, they recognize that their lifestyle, religious beliefs, influence, and wealth are all in danger of collapsing due to the advancing Kingdom. They cry out to anyone who will listen, “There is danger!”

Earlier this year, there was an earthquake in Japan in the area where my mother-in-law lives. The Japanese word used for this earthquake means “flipped over and shaken out.” In this particular earthquake, thousands of baby snakes came out of the earth. When the light of the sun came upon them, they all dropped dead. The local people gathered the multitude of snake corpses and threw them on bonfires. My mother-in-law said never in her long life had she seen anything like this.

This was a sign of what the Lord is doing in our time. He is flipping and shaking out heaven and earth. All the hidden serpents will be revealed and die in the Light. Spiritual, economic, and political structures will be turned upside down, and the demonic realm will be revealed as it truly is —a multitude of blind, feeble serpents that shrivel under the Son. There will be disturbances as the established economy and worship faces the very real danger of coming into disrepute and being deposed from magnified positions. But the unshakeable and dangerous Kingdom of God will remain firm and stand strong.

Seeking His face!
Matt