“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:7-9

This was the beginning of a Rebellion that would eventually bring a choice before every human on the planet earth. Would they, like Satan, rebel, or would they like Joshua, choose God?

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15

It is evident that mankind joined in the REBELLION against God’s kingdom and its laws, beginning in the Garden of Eden, when man broke a law of God (by eating from the fruit of the tree God commanded them not to).

All through the pages of the Bible, we see in the history of humankind, thousands upon thousands of people have joined in this rebellion.

What does the word rebellion mean, or what is a rebel for that matter?

According to the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary; rebellion is “An open and avowed renunciation of the authority of the government to which one owes allegiance; or the taking of arms traitorously to resist the authority of lawful government; One who willfully violates a law. One who disobeys the king’s proclamation; a contemner of the king’s laws. A villain who disobeys his lord.”

We see that this is exactly what Satan did. He renounced the authority of God’s government to which he owed his allegiance. Webster’s dictionary also says that a rebel is someone who “disobeys his Lord” and “willfully violates a law”.

With this in mind, let us turn to the time of Christ. We will consider two of Christ’s disciples as examples of a rebel, the first being Judas.

“Now the names of the twelve apostles are these…Judas Iscariot.” Matthew 10:3-4

Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve apostles and he owed his allegiance to Christ.

In fact, He was a professed follower of Christ; a Christian. Yet in Mark 14:10 we see that it was Judas who betrayed Jesus to the priests. “And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.” Matthew 26:15-16

By definition, Judas was clearly a Rebel.

We read in the Bible concerning Peter: “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.” Matthew 4:18-20

Peter was also a professed follower of Christ; a Christian.

Yet, of the night when Jesus was apprehended, scripture relates the following:
“Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, this fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.” Matthew 26:69-74

Peter turned against Christ. Wilfully sinning by denying Him and CURSING and SWEARING to affirm his statement.

Peter was now a Rebel.

Peter was recognized as a follower of Christ by the way he spoke. But when he was confronted, he wanted to show that he was not a follower of Christ so he started swearing and cursing.

The use of these kinds of words is a way of showing to the world that you are not a follower of Jesus. “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:” Colossians 3:5-10

“For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.” Psalms 59:12

Scripture says that these words (cursing and swearing) are filthy communication, the sin of the mouth and should be put off. This is not the way a professed Christian should speak, for when we speak in this way we are denying Christ and telling the world that we do not know Christ. In God’s eyes we are rebels who willfully violate His laws and disobey Him. According to the Bible, Sin is the breaking of God’s laws, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4

Sin then, separates us from God to the point that He won’t even listen to our prayers. “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2

In Hebrews 10:26 it says: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,”

If we profess to be Christians, followers of Christ, yet we knowingly choose to continue in sin, then there “remaineth no more sacrifice for sins”. This means that we will have to pay the penalty for sin ourselves. What is the penalty of sin? “For the wages of sin is death;”  Romans 6:23

But God loves His creation so much, that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Yes, “Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:6, 8

This means that Christ died for ALL Rebels, this includes me and you. God has shown enormous mercy towards us.

We should now ask the same question the apostle Paul asked. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Romans 6:1-2 It is evident that Christ never intended for the human race to remain rebels.

However, when we consider the lives of Judas and Peter, we discover two types of Rebels. Judas betrayed Jesus, and according to Ezekiel, Judas died in his sins. “But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.” Ezekiel 18:24

“Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.” Matthew 27:3-5

Sadly, Judas never went to Christ for forgiveness and he will end up paying the wages of sin himself. Although He was a professed follower of Christ, a Christian, his deeds testified of something different.

Saying you are a Christian is NOT ENOUGH. You need to live it. Peter, on the other hand, is an example of what a Rebel should do.

“Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.” Matthew 26:74-75

Peter, when he realized what he had done, was cut to the heart. He understood that by what he had done, he was rebelling against God and this broke his heart.

1 John 1:9 declares “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

If we go to God and in all honesty confess our sins before Him and ask for forgiveness, He WILL forgive us and cleanse us from that very sin, removing it from our lives. Swearing and cursing was removed from Peter’s life. So Peter left the side of the Rebels and joined Christ under the banner of Christ’s Righteousness. Over time, Peter came to the understanding that it was because of his sins that Christ had to die on the cross. He saw that he was a rebel, warring against God’s Kingdom and that if his eyes had not been opened to this fact he could have been lost forever as was Judas.

Fortunately for us, God has a plan of redemption for repentant rebels. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

God so loved this world that He gave His only Son Jesus through whom we might be saved. As rebels we should surrender to Christ.

This is the only way of VICTORY over the sins in our lives. If we don’t surrender, we will die in our sins, we will pay the wages for sin, which is death. But if we surrender to Christ, we will be victorious and gain eternal life.

We must believe that He came to save us and died in our place. This belief will result in Christ changing us, cleaning us from our sins. It will result in a life changed.

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”  2 Corinthians 12:9

If we will choose to accept it, the mercy God has shown to all rebels, will also be the power that will transform us into true Christians.

In order to be a good citizen of any country, it is common knowledge that we should obey that country’s laws.

Obedience to the laws of God’s Kingdom are also a requirement. Once you profess to be Christian, you claim to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God, you are now a representative of that Kingdom, an AMBASSADOR. If an ambassador would turn on his country, misrepresent it, or do any harm to it in any way, he would be seen as a rebel, a traitor.

Let us, as Christians, refrain from being rebels or traitors. Let us seek to know God’s will by studying His Word and by obeying it through the power of His Grace. Let us, like Peter, turn from being rebels and choose instead to be ambassadors for God’s Kingdom.

Do you choose to wilfully violate God’s laws and disobey your Lord, thus joining the rebellion? Or do you, like Joshua, choose to fully surrender to Christ?



“God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”
Acts 3:26

(c) Light in Darkness