There is a lot of talk within the
Church these days about a revival, which many see as the final harvest of the
age. There is emphasis on power, dominion, miracles, signs, healings,
spiritual gifts, prophecy, etc, and the Body of Christ rising up in power and the
sons of God manifesting themselves to the world. Yet, disturbingly, in
relation to this kind of teaching, there is often a haughty, arrogant-like
spirit that accompanies it, which honours God with the lips and not the heart.
This is evidenced by the lack of real fruit in many Christians' lives, and the
preoccupation with money, and physical and financial success.
There is
also a severe lack of the fear of God, while these preachers rant and rave
about 'God saying this', and 'the Holy Spirit saying that,' and 'the Lord
commands this.' They are not feeding the sheep of God, they are often
trampling on them, lording it over the flock, using manipulation and control
to force feed the people with contaminated milk! This is not the meek and
humble way of Christ, Who guides His Sheep with loving care, being an Example
to the flock in righteousness and truth.
Yet I believe that there is an element
of truth in the teachings and 'prophecies' that speak of a revival and a
harvest before Christ returns, but I don't believe it will necessarily be the
kind of revival that most Christians are expecting. First and foremost, I
believe it will be a revival of truth and righteousness in the
true Body of Christ that will be accompanied by persecution and
affliction that will serve to separate the Wheat from the Darnel or Chaff.
Judgment begins from the house of God, and He will be preparing His Bride for
the coming wedding of the Kingdom in these final days, preparing His sons for
their future reign.
Yet at the same time, the secret
power of lawlessness and the apostasy shall continue working its deceit over the
mass of Christendom. The works of Satan shall continue to manifest through
false signs, miracles and every seduction of injustice. This spirit is the
spirit of an unfaithful bride who will willingly jump into bed with the world.
So on the one hand we have the great Apostasy (or falling away) from the truth of the Scriptures, which is a counterfeit
revival of sorts, as an unfaithful Bride; and on the other we have the true Revival, the genuine power
of God manifested through His servants, the faithful Bride/Wife. These two spirits will
continue to operate side by
side as the kingdom draws near again, and it will climax in the Day of the
Lord when Christ returns in righteous judgment. I believe that we have, in
fact, already entered into a period of transition that will result in this end
time scenario.
I will now attempt to lay out as simply as I
can some of my reasons for believing that there is going to be a true
Revival of the Spirit, which will see the rise of the Sons of God within the
Body of Christ - these will be the Gideon Remnant that will have an Elijah/Elisha
type anointing. (For further information see The
Gideon Remnant and The Elisha Anointing).
There are some key scriptures that reveal this scenario and we shall see that
a very interesting time pattern emerges in relation to these last days.
Elijah
During the time of the prophet
Elijah's ministry, there was an awesome sign that was given to Israel and the
surrounding area to show the power, as well as the judgment, of God to the
people. Through Elijah's prophecy and prayer, God withheld rain from the land
for three and a half years, causing a great famine throughout that area
(1 Kings 17:1; 18:1). Both Jesus and James confirm this.
"I assure you that there were many
widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three
and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the
land."
(Luke 4:25 NIV)
"Elijah was a man just like
us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the
land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens
gave rain, and the earth produced its crops."
(James 5:17-18 NIV)
It was also prophesied by Amos
that there would be a famine for hearing the Word of God before the coming of
the Messiah
"The days are coming," declares the
Sovereign LORD,
"when I will send a famine through
the land—
not a famine of food or a thirst for
water,
but a famine of hearing the words of
the LORD.
Men will stagger from sea to sea
and wander from north to east,
searching for the word of the LORD,
but they will not find it.
(Amos 8:11-12 NIV).
This was fulfilled during the early centuries that
led up to the time of Christ's first coming (known as the 'inter-testamental
period'). Yet I also believe that this speaks of a time during this Church era
when there was to be a famine of spiritual truth throughout the religion of Christendom, though the
leaders are ever learning but not at any time able to come into a
realisation of the truth (2 Timothy 3:7). Only the true servants of Christ,
the real Sons of God, are able to send rain on the land and end the famine
through prayer and prophecy and intercession during the famine. This was to ultimately occur during a
mystical period of three and a half years.
Yet just as there was a faithful remnant
from Israel in the time of Elijah, who were chosen by grace, so shall there be
a faithful remnant from Israel and the nations during these last days who
together form the Body/Bride of Christ, and they shall receive the anointing
of Elijah as it fell on Elisha from on high (which is a type of Christ sending
the Holy Spirit). Elijah's name in Hebrew means Strength of Yahweh or He
is God.
"God did not reject His people, whom
He foreknew. Don't you know what the scripture says in the passage about Elijah
- how he appealed to God against Israel: "Lord, they have killed your
prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are
trying to kill me"? And what was God's answer to him? "I have
reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to
Baal." So, too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen
by grace."
(Romans 11:2-5 NIV; see also 1 Kings
19:10-18)
"As they were walking
along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared and
separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a
whirlwind...He (Elisha) picked up the cloak that had fallen
from Elijah..."
(2 Kings 2:11 & 13 NIV)
Seven is the number of spiritual
completion or fullness or maturity. This Remnant of 'seven thousand'
shall proclaim the truth in power, and like Gideon's small army of 300 men, they shall
defeat the enemies of God with the full armour of God and the Sword of the Spirit.
The anointing of Elijah (Christ) shall be upon them, which will include the
genuine power to perform signs and miracles. Yet just as Elijah was persecuted
and afflicted by the religious majority, so shall the remnant go through an
era of affliction and persecution.
John the Baptist, The
Messenger
This truth about Elijah has its
parallel in the ministry of John the Baptist. John came as the special
Messenger and Prophet who would prepare the way for the Messiah, and although
he never did one miracle, he nevertheless came in the spirit and power of Elijah, and he became a type of the
Elijah that is to come.
"And if you are willing to accept
it, he (John) is the Elijah who is about to be
coming...Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah is indeed coming,
and will be restoring all things. But I tell you, Elijah
has already come, and they did not recognise him"...he was talking to
them about John the Baptist."
(Matthew 11:14; 17:11-13 FT)
"Many of the people of Israel will
he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in
the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers
to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous - to
make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
(Luke 1:16-17 NIV)
Now even though it is not clearly
stated, it can be calculated that the length of Jesus' earthly ministry was three
and a half years. He officially began His ministry at His baptism when
He was about 30 years of age (Luke 3:21-23). This would've occurred during the
Harvest/Tabernacles season about September/October 29 AD. He then died and
rose again three and a half years later during the Passover/Firstfruits
season of 33 AD.
During the time of the ministries
of John and Jesus, the kingdom of God was near.
"...coming along is John the baptist,
heralding in the wilderness of Judea, saying, "Repent! for the
kingdom of the heavens is near!"...Thenceforth Jesus begins to be
heralding and saying, "Repent! for the kingdom of the heavens is
near!"
(Matthew 3:1-2; 4:17 CV)
Yet the kingdom did not come in
its fullness at
that time, though it was established as a spiritual, invisible kingdom. The powers that accompanied the
heralding of the kingdom subsided during the first century due to apostasy. But the time will
soon arrive, and is now here, when the heralding of the kingdom
shall occur again to mirror what occurred in the first century, but on a much
grander scale, with the powers of the coming age being manifested through the
Remnant as they fulfill their Elijah role in preparing the world for
the return of the King.
"Now at the beginning of
these occurrences, unbend and lift up your heads, because your
deliverance is drawing near...Thus you also, whenever you may be
perceiving these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is
near."
(Luke 21:28, 31 CV)
" And this gospel of the kingdom
will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and
then the end will come."
(Matthew 24:14 NIV)
"Then I saw another angel flying in
mid-air, and he had the eternal (eonian) gospel to proclaim to
those who live on the earth - to every nation, tribe, language and
people."
(Revelation 14:6 NIV)
This corresponds to the
latter rains before the Harvest, the former rains having
occurred in the first century AD, after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit
at Pentecost. In the same way as the gospel went out to all nations in the
first century, so it will be proclaimed in the whole earth again as a
testimony to the nations in these final days.
Rejoice then and be glad, ye children of
Sion, in the Lord your God: for he has given you food fully, and he
will rain on you the early and the latter rain, as before. And the
floors shall be filled with corn, and the presses shall overflow with wine
and oil.
(Joel 2:23-24 LXX)
Be patient, then, brethren, till the
presence of the Lord. Lo! the farmer is waiting for the precious fruit
of the land, being patient about it, till it should be getting the
early and late showers.
(James 5:7 CV)
The Mystical Three and a
Half Years
"And
a reed like a rod was given me, and one said, "Rouse, measure the
temple of God and the altar and those worshipping in it.
And the court outside of the temple cast outside, and you should
not be measuring it, for it was given to the nations, and the holy city will they be treading
forty-two months.
And I will be endowing My
two witnesses and they will be prophesying a thousand two hundred sixty
days, clothed in sackcloth."
These
are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands which stand before the
Lord of the earth. And if anyone is wanting to injure them, fire is
issuing out of their mouth and is devouring their enemies. And if anyone
should be wanting to injure them, thus must he be killed. These have
authority to lock heaven, that there may be no shower of rain for the days
of their prophecy. And they have authority over the waters to
be turning them into blood, and to smite the land with every calamity, as
often as they will.
And whenever they should be finishing their testimony, the wild beast
which is ascending out of the submerged chaos will be doing battle with
them and will be conquering them and killing them. And their corpses
will be at the square of the great city which, spiritually, is being
called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord, also, was crucified. And
those out of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations are
observing their corpses three days and a half, and they are not letting
their corpses be placed into a tomb. And those dwelling on the earth are
rejoicing over them and are making merry, and will be sending approach
presents to one another, seeing
that these two prophets torment those dwelling on the earth.
And
after the three days and a half the spirit of life out of God entered
into them, and they stand on their feet. And great fear falls on those
beholding them. And they hear a loud voice out of heaven saying to them,
"Ascend here!" And they ascended into heaven in a cloud, and
their enemies behold them. And in that hour occurred a great
earthquake, and a tenth of the city falls, and there were seven thousand
names of the men killed in the earthquake. And the rest became affrighted
and give glory to the God of heaven.
(Revelation 11:1-13 CV)
In this portion of the highly
symbolic vision of Revelation, we are told about the Two Witnesses (lit.
martyrs), who are also termed Prophets, who represent the Overcomers of the
Body of Christ, the true Ecclesia of God, as well as symbolising the whole
written Word of God, the Bible.
These are the Chosen Ones who are
measured and counted (numbered or elected) as the heavenly Temple of God and
the Royal Priesthood that ministers within it. All who are outside belong to
the nations, and the Holy City of the New Jerusalem is given over to the
nations for trampling for a mystical period of 42 months. This
Holy City is the heavenly Israel of God.
During this period of Great
Persecution and Affliction (or Tribulation), the Two Witnesses are still able
to prophesy and minister as a testimony to the world, clothed in the sackcloth
of humility. They are types of Moses and Elijah; the Law and the Prophets; the
Old Testament and the New Testament; all being fulfilled in Christ Jesus
first. First the Head and then the Body. Their Elijah/John the Baptist
ministry involves judgment by a spiritual famine, due to lack of rain or
spiritual blessings.
The duration of their
ministry/testimony is 1260 days. This is exactly the same as 42
months of a 360 day lunar year. Therefore, 1260 days = 3.5
years = 42 months. This same period is also stated as 'time,
times, and half a time.' All these periods are one and the same - the
mystical 3.5 years or 1260 days.
He will speak against the Most High and
oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The
saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.
(Daniel 7:25 NIV)
In the same way as Jesus their
Lord laid down His life after His ministry/testimony of 3.5 years was
finished, so these martyrs are killed by the wild beast of the Roman Empire
and its ten-horned offshoots, and the two-horned beast of the antichrist
kingdom, composing of the false Church of the Holy Empire of Christendom, and
the False Prophet of the Islamic Empire. These powers are associated with
earthly Jerusalem which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, the Great City
of Secret Babylon. This city always rejects or humiliates or kills the true
messengers of God.
Yet in the same way as Christ was
raised from the dead in 3.5 days and eventually ascended into heaven in glory,
so shall these Witnesses of God be raised from death in 3.5 mystical days and
be given much heavenly power and glory. Even now the Body of Christ (or
Church) has been steadily rising in power out of the domination of the 1260
day/years of the powers of Christendom. The false harlot church of Secret
Babylon (the false remnant of 7000) will be defeated and destroyed, and
God will take His tithe (one tenth) of earthly Jerusalem for all those things
in which He has been robbed by her.
The ultimate earthquake of
judgment that will shake the heavens and the earth will come in the Day of the
Lord, and many will give glory to God! (For further study of these things, see
the section The Great Prophetic Plan Revealed).
The Apostasy
Both Jesus and Paul
make it very clear that there will be an apostasy or departure from the truth
that will gain momentum as the present age continues. There will be
many who will claim to be Christians, operating under the banner of Christ's
Name, who will, in fact, be imposters and hypocrites, false teachers, false
apostles, false brethren, those who do not truly know Christ and the Father,
swindlers, deceivers, workers of lawlessness, messengers of Satan appearing as
ministers of righteousness, etc.
These frauds will be swept along
with the world into a false revival of religion and power, into what they will
believe is the dawning of a New Age of the kingdom. It will be accompanied by
an antichrist kingdom, headed up by a man of lawlessness, seeking to replace the
true Christ by seating himself in the spiritual Temple of God (the Church). False
signs, visions and miracles will play a large part in this ongoing Apostasy. This power
will be the work of Satan, the spiritual Adversary, and the deception will be
so strong that even the chosen ones of God, the true Body of Christ, will have
to think twice!
For false
christs and false prophets shall be roused, and they shall be
giving great signs and miracles, so as to deceive, if possible, even
the chosen. Lo! I have declared it to you beforehand."
(Matthew 24:24-25 CV)
"No one should be deluding
you by any method, for, should not the apostasy be coming first
and the man of lawlessness be unveiled, the son of destruction, who is
opposing and lifting himself up over everyone termed a god or an object of
veneration, so that he is seated in the temple of God, demonstrating
that he himself is God? Do you not remember that, still being with
you, I told you these things?...
...whose presence (the
man of lawlessness) is in accord with the operation of Satan, with
all power and signs and false miracles and with every seduction
of injustice among those who are perishing, because they do not
receive the love of the truth for their salvation. And therefore
God will be sending them an operation of deception, for them to
believe the falsehood, that all may be judged who do not believe
the truth, but delight in injustice."
(2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 CV)
"Not everyone saying
to Me 'Lord! Lord!' will be entering into the kingdom of the heavens, but
he who is doing the will of My Father Who is in the heavens. Many
will be declaring to Me in that day, 'Lord! Lord! Was it not in Your
Name that we prophesy, and in Your Name cast out demons, and in Your Name
do many powerful deeds?' And then shall I be saying to them that 'I
never knew you! Depart from Me, workers of lawlessness!'"
(Matthew 7:21-23 CV)
"And it is exercising
all the authority of the first wild beast in its sight, and making the
earth and those dwelling in it to be worshipping the first wild beast, whose
death blow was cured. And it is doing great signs, that it may
be making fire, also, descend out of heaven into the earth in the sight of
mankind. And it is deceiving those dwelling on the earth because
of the signs which were given it to do in the sight of the wild
beast."
(Revelation 13:12-14 CV)
"He
then tells them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens is
likened to a man sowing ideal seed in his own field. Yet while the men are
sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel among the grain, and went away.
Now when the wheat produced its fruit, the darnel also appeared. Now the
servants of the householder came to him and said, ‘Lord, didn’t you
sow ideal seed in your field? Then where did the darnel come from?’ He
said to them, ‘A man, an enemy, did this.’
The
servants said, ‘Do you want us to go and pull out the darnel?’
‘No,’ he answered, ‘otherwise, as you are pulling up the darnel, you
may also be uprooting the grain with it at the same time. Let both
grow up together until the harvest, and in the season of the
harvest I shall say to the reapers, ‘First reap the darnel and bind them
into bundles to burn them, yet gather the grain into my barn.’ ”
’
(Matthew
13:24-30 FT)
“He
Who is sowing the ideal seed is the Son of Mankind. Now the field is
the world. Now the ideal seed are the sons of the kingdom. Now the
darnel are the sons of the wicked one. Now the enemy who sows them is
the Adversary. Now the harvest is the end of the age. Now
the reapers are messengers. So even as the darnel is being reaped and
burned in the fire, thus shall it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Mankind shall be dispatching His messengers, and they shall be
pulling all the snares out of His kingdom and those doing lawlessness, and
they shall be throwing them into the furnace of fire. There shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous be shining like
the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him
hear!”’
(Matthew
13:36-43 FT)
This counterfeit kingdom or
Apostasy shall come first, following the spiritual pattern of 'first the
soulish, then the spiritual,' first the counterfeit, then the genuine (1
Corinthians 15:46). The true Sons of God shall be fully manifested after this
at the return of Christ (Romans 8:18-25; Colossians 3:4), yet those who belong
to this
end time generation will already be rising up in the spirit and power of
Elijah and Moses, to expose the foolishness of the frauds of Christendom and the world with the true power
of God.
"Now, by the method
by which Jannes and Jambres withstand Moses, thus these also are
withstanding the truth, men of a depraved mind, disqualified as to the
faith. But they shall not be progressing more, for their folly shall be
obvious to all, as that of those also became."
(2 Timothy 3:7-9 CV)
For further information, see The
Great Deception
In the days ahead, the whole of
Christendom shall become part of Secret Babylon the Great, a spiritual
Prostitute. She says in her heart, "I sit as queen; I am not a widow and
I will never mourn." She is rich, full of herself, living in luxury,
decked out with gold, precious stones and pearls, believing she has everything
at her disposal, drinking from golden cups to her own glory. But these cups
contain the wine of abominations and all uncleanness, by which she has caused
many to be drunk on the excesses of the flesh and the doctrines of demons. She
has become a lukewarm Church, full of worldly wealth and arrogance, yet she
doesn't realise that she is blind and naked, wretched, pitiful and poor! Only
the fire of God can cleanse her (Revelation 17-18; 3:14-22). (For further
study, see Who is Secret Babylon the
Great?).
In the same way as the people of
Israel rebelled against God while Moses was up the mountain, so the Church is
doing the same thing. The people said, "Where is this fellow Moses? He
has disappeared and left us to die in the desert! In that case, we shall have
to choose another leader and collect all our gold jewelry and worldly plunder
and make a god that we can see, and worship a golden calf instead. Then we can
really party!"
As Moses ascended up the mountain
for 40 days and nights to spend time in the presence of God and to receive the
Divine Law, so Christ has ascended to the heavens for a mystical 40 days and nights
waiting for the Day when He will return in righteous indignation to proclaim
the Law of God (40 being the number of testing and probation). In the
meantime, the people have got tired of waiting and they have changed their
Deliverer to that of mere men, and they have made a god of gold to bow down to instead. They have set up
for themselves a new religion with their own rules and regulations in complete
disobedience to God's Good News of grace, truth and freedom that is revealed
in Christ, and they have become full of
corruption and seduction (Exodus 24:13-18; 32:1-35).
So may we be on guard and watch! Let us
make way for repentance and humility, and seek only truth and righteousness,
love and grace. Be courageous as a soldier of the Lord. There is only One Lord
and One God! Make sure you serve Him only. In these last days, you will either
belong to the True Revival or the Apostasy! Let us live the life, and make our
calling and election sure.
Abbreviations for
Scripture quotes:
NIV = New International Version
CV = Concordant Version
LXX = Septuagint
FT = Free Translation based on the CV and NIV
texts
Copyright © G. Watts 2004; revised 2007
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