The Kingdom of God is powerful. But it has been, and will continue to be, under the attack of violent men. John is a great reminder of this. The power of his message, the power of God's truth, the power of proclaiming the nearness of the Kingdom led to conflict and death for John. Jesus warns his disciples that they will face similar challenges. But the Kingdom will advance because the power behind it is much stronger than the forces which oppose it. Jesus' warning is clear. If they gave John a hard time because he spoke with power of the coming Kingdom, what do you think they will do to us who live in the power of the Kingdom? We, too, must realize that we have a war on our hands, and, like John, proceed faithfully toward God's goal for us and not our own, realizing that if we are a part of God's Kingdom, we will be victorious.