I write this with some fear and trepidation. Whom am I to even venture out to say, ‘What is God Doing?” However, it is critical that the Church restores its prophetic voice, especially as the Day of the Lord draws near. For some this is uncomfortable language, but it shouldn’t be because God at Pentecost fulfilled His desire that all His children would prophesy to some extent. Amos 3:7 states, “For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.” And Jesus commands us to be watchful (Matt. 24) and to tune in our ears to the Spirit. Revelation 2:7 states, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” 

So, with much prayer and listening I offer this to you – what I see God doing now. 

Birth Pains Are Increasing

All throughout the N.T. the idea of birth pains is used to illustrate the increase in signs that the end is near. Just like a mother’s pains increase the closer she is in giving birth, so will be the case with increased signs and events as the time draws closer. I believe we have entered deeper into the “prophetic funnel” where we are going to see more happen at a quicker pace. 

Even secular futurists are seeing a quickening of time and events. 

“For thousands of years, culture reinvented itself around the rate of each new generation, which is roughly every 20 to 30 years. People now experience the same quantity of significant generational events, that used to occur over a period of 30 years, every eighteen months.”

Re-establsihing Offline Church

Online Church is an oxymoron. Online services are a good supplement to the gathered Church but can never be a substitute. Contrary to what some people have been saying online, God absolutely commands His people to gather together. It is the only context the O.T. and N.T. give for Christian fellowship. I believe God is restoring biblical understanding of what Church is and that Church by biblical definition is the physically gathered Body of believers as family. Christian faith cannot be sustained nor matured without the physical gathering of the Church. Hebrews 10:24-25 makes this clear and that the following verses reveal that apostasy results from not obeying this command to gather. 

I would also issue a warning, especially in times like these. Watch out for online prophets that are not grounded in a local church where there is accountability. This gift needs to be refined within the local church before it should go trans-local. We all should be hearing from God primarily through our local Church not online! 

The Church is Not Ready

Simply put, the Church in America’s response over the last several months has revealed we are not ready to enter and stand with faith in the end times. 1 Peter 4:17, makes clear that judgment will begin with the house of God. The Church in America is far from united and far from understanding the importance of gathering and being the Church rather than casually attending and being spiritual consumers. The sad reality is that most American Christians never really missed “breaking bread” together during the shutdown – what does this say about Jesus’ Body? 

It has been interesting to see Churches take sides over the application of Romans 13. Let me say what I think  everyone agrees with – of course – we are to support reasonable rules for curbing the pandemic.  But, the situation is much more complex now that we are 7 months into this with no end in sight. 

“Too many pastors hide behind a contorted reading of Romans 13 to give their capitulation the veneer of scriptural respectability. Such a rejection of facts, history, and theology is gross. As a free people living in a republic, Americans do not kneel before a human king – we are the sovereigns. Laws are not imposed on us; we determine the laws – and we have the absolute right to protest laws with which we disagree. Our nation was founded not on the divine right of benevolent rulers, but on citizens’ right to rule themselves.” – The Texas Record

“No government authority has a right to say that the church isn’t essential…No government authority has the right to tell us how we are to order our worship services and no government has the authority to say that Christian churches or other religious gatherings can be uniquely discriminated against.” -Albert Mohler Jr. President Southern Baptist Seminary 

No Longer Restraining Lawlessness

The spirit of lawlessness has been unleashed in our country. Not for the first time, but at a larger scale and it is even being condoned by some. 

“For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction…And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 6-7)

The spirit of lawlessness is a mystery and we know it is demonic in nature because of how our society is responding to it in disbelief or in trying to justify it. The spirit of lawlessness is being unleashed, it is being defined as mob justice, and those two words do not go together. So has the Restrainer been pulled back? We need to watch and see. 

Communion Back at the Center 

I believe God is serious about His people simply gathering about a table for fellowship and breaking bread together. This is the essence of Church. We see in Acts that the early Church both gathered as a larger body in Solomon’s portico and then broke up into homes to break bread together, pray, worship, teach the Word and minister to each other through the spiritual gifts. 

Much of the Church in America has watered down biblical community to more of an affinity group circled up around personal “felt needs” rather than Christ at the center. Affinity groups, felt need groups, etc. will never build a faith and unity strong enough to stand strong in the end times. People’s hearts are longing for deep community and I believe God is restoring this. 

God “is” Judging America

Yikes – that’s a big statement. Christian culture in American has so watered down the seriousness of sin and the reality of judgment that we can’t see clearly. If we don’t take sin seriously we cannot embrace grace seriously.   -2 Chronicles 7:14 has been one of the main passages used to call God’s people back to Him and to prayer for our nation. However, rarely if ever is the context and previous verse quoted. 

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14) 

Throughout history God has been extremely patient, but with Israel and with all nations there comes a time where He brings judgment, a wake up call as such. And some will say, “if God were a loving God why would He let COVID happen?” It is because He is a loving God that He lets COVID and much worse happen so as to wake people up to their sin and need for a Savior! 

Exposing the Deficit in Biblical Worldview

The Church needs a shift from being consumed with American renewal to Kingdom perspective, shedding politics as the lens for Christianity. We need to learn how we can have both affluence without attachment and influence without attachment when it comes to politics. 

“Although 61% of American Millennials consider themselves to be Christian, just 2% of them were found to hold a biblical worldview, according to a recent study released by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University” – CP 

Restoring the Primacy of Growing Small

Jesus never was concerned about building a crowd. He “always” preached the crowd down. He was about calling people out of the crowd and into the core or discipleship. For a church to grow large it must put a priority of growing small first. The health index for a church is how strong it is when it is broken into smaller pieces. We need both large church and small church, but in the midst of pandemics and persecutions sometimes large church is not possible. 

Restoring Intentional Transformational Multiplying Discipleship

Jesus left His followers a commission and it was to make disciples, immerse them into the intimacy of the Trinity and to teach them “all” that He taught His disciples. Discipleship desperately needs restoring to the center of the Church’s culture today. 

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Nothing like a global pandemic to raise interest in end times prophecy and catapult Bible sales to record highs. We are all having different discussions now and grappling with new terms and the contemplation of a new normal. Bible knowledge among American believers statistically speaking is extremely unhealthy and this leaves people extremely vulnerable to false narratives and fear especially during uncertain times like these. Knowledge about biblical prophecy is even in worse shape among Christians today. But the good news, and there is always good news and hope is that hunger is growing for the Word of God and for the gems of prophecy found within it. One of the key prophetic passages within the New Testament is called the Olivet Discourse and different aspects of it are found in all three of the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Here is a section from Matthews account: Matthew 24:1-14

¹Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. ² But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” ³ As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” ⁴ And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. ⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. ⁹ “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. ¹² And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (ESV)

Beware of date-setting and specific timelines

Jesus prophesied the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem 40 years before it actually happened when Rome destroyed the Temple in A.D. 70. This is just one of hundreds of prophecies which Jesus either fulfilled or prophesied. This important event illustrates the end of Jerusalem and the Temple as being the epicenter of God’s mission in the world.  The establishment of the Spirit filling each believer’s heart as the new temple to be used for God’s mission and the establishment of the Church characterize the age we are now in until the end comes and God again restores Israel and the Temple as key elements in His plan. What is important to understand is that all of the events and birth pains mentioned above occurred before A.D 70. which helps explain Matt. 24:34 where Jesus states all that generation will not pass away before this all happened. So, everything necessary for Jesus to return was set in place so every believer from the beginning could long for His imminent return. But it is also important to realize that these events and birth pains have been reoccurring throughout history. We are to be faithful and watchful and realize that the Corona Virus is just one of many birth pains indicating the general age we are currently in leading up to the end.

Pandemics are part of the birth pains leading to the final judgment of God

Wars, famines, diseases, earthquakes, death etc. all reappear in the seven seals of Revelation chapter 6 events prior to the tribulation period . The seals represent the continued birth pains leading up until the end. 

Beware of false Christs, false prophecies and false ministries

As the end gets near there will be an increase in people making radical claims like being Christ and there will be an increase in false manipulating prophecies that will sidetrack and lead many away. Those that are not intimately connected to a healthy local church will be especially vulnerable to the manipulation and fear that will characterize the influence of these false voices. 

There will be increased polarization between the Kingdom of the world (globalization) and the Kingdom of God. 

The “then” of verse 9 specially mentions what will happen to Christians in an increasing measure. Increased globalization will result in more attack upon Christians and the Church worldwide among the nations. The very heartbeat of globalization is the mobilizing of the kingdom of the world against the kingdom of God. 

There will be an increase in power, witness and impact of the Church in the world

Even though the Church will be increasingly persecuted, it will be purified and empowered to carry out the mission God gave it. In verse 14 we can see that it is the Church’s faithfulness to the universal mission Christ gave it that prepares the way for the end to come. As globalization will more and more characterize the kingdom of the world, the global mission of preaching the gospel to all the world will characterize the Church. Faithful disciples will not allow all of the fear, chaos and persecution to dampen their love and embracing of Christ’s mission. God’s people will increase in power, witness and impact in the world even as persecution and hostility intensify and global conditions worsen. 

“…when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” 

– Luke 18:8

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come, let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” 

– Revelation 22:17

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