Are we in the last days?

Are we in the last days? As Jesus hung on the cross and cried out, "It is finished," the prophetic clock to the return of Christ began to tick. All things needed for the salvation, peace and hope of man was fulfilled. With nothing else needed, the last days could begin. We have been in he last days ever since Jesus said, "It is finished," and the prophecies dealing with the end times have been fulfilling themselves as though on a time table. God is counting down to the end and only He knows the day and hour of that return. He is escalating the fulfillment of these end-time events and prophetic utterances; thus, we are now in what I call the last of the last days.

Even the secular world believes that the world is coming to an end. It's no secret that the world seems to be running out of natural resources. The weather patterns have gone so awry that the meteorologists have no explanation of the erratic weather events. Of course some are crying that man made global warming is to blame, although this can not be scientifically substantiated. We are seeing the increase of floods, drought, volcano eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, wild fires, as well as other natural disasters. Thousands are starving to death daily. There are wars and rumors of war. Terrorism and violence are increasing. Lawlessness abounds. Economies are in jeopardy of total collapse. The political arena has gone morally and ethically bankrupt. All the evidence seems to point to the fact that something catastrophic is about to happen.

With all the signs of the times pointing to the end of the history of mankind, what should the church be doing? The church should be studying to show itself approved, able to give an account of what it believes. We should be able to point at the news events and say, "This is that which the prophets foretold." The church has been lulled to sleep concerning the end times with the arousing words of some preachers insuring the believers that they do not have to be concerned about the last days because the church will be raptured before the going really gets rough or, to say, before the Great Tribulation begins. As a result of this traditional, yet erroneous teaching, the church will be ill-equipped to face the end times with faith, power and confidence. The church needs to respond to the end-time events occurring around the world by equipping the saints to not only be ready for the tribulation, but also be ready to stand as pillars of strength proclaiming the Word of God. The saints need to be equipped for the great harvest that will come at the end of the age. As long as believers have an escapist mindset they will not be about the Father's business, winning the lost.

In the weeks ahead we shall not only prove that pre-trib and mid-trib theologies are not scriptural, but we shall also endeavor to equip the saints with the tools needed to be ready for the Great Tribulation and for the great harvest of souls. The world is going to be looking for solutions to all of the chaos that engulfs them and the church will have the answers. This can only be done when we become equipped with biblical truth and the unction of the Holy Ghost.

This is the purpose of this blog, equipping the saints. This will be done by bringing clarity and understanding to the scriptures pertaining to the end times. I hope to bring you, the reader, to the fresh revelation of the times in which we live that we may better comprehend the events that surround us. As you follow this blog pray for an open mind and for understanding. If you disagree make sure it is done with scripture and not by personal biases developed through the religions and traditions of man. The material that I will be sharing in this blog on the end times has come from years of study and prayer, and its time is now.

May God enhance your understanding and add wisdom to you as you received this revelation knowledge.

Want to see a miracle

What will the end time church look like? I believe it will mirror the first century church. It will be "strong and doing great exploits" (Dan.11:32). Signs, miracles and wonders will be the norm. Which begs the question, where are the signs, miracles and wonders at in today's church? God gave me a dream on March 13,2002, that brought to me great insight as to why we rarely see signs, miracles and wonders in the modern-day church. The dream has been shared with many people in church settings and has been received with a very positive response.

In the dream I was coming out of a church with my family. As we were coming out we saw the pastor (who looked like Oral Roberts, although it wasn't him), on his knees in some mud beside a church bus; even his suit was soiled with the mud, and he was crying very loudly. I went to him and asked what was burdening him so badly. All he could say was "where are the signs, miracles and wonders?" I replied to him, we no longer see them because of: 1)a lack of faith; 2)a lack of a spirit of anticipation; and 3)sin in the camp. Then God gave me Duet.23:14. The pastor looked like Oral Roberts although it was not him. Then I awoke and received the interpretation.

Why is it in the New Testament we read about the lame walking; the dumb speaking; the deaf hearing; the dead rising up to life; and many other miracles, yet today we see very little of this in the church? Where is it to be found in scripture that God was going to remove signs, miracles and wonders from His people? Nowhere!!

The first reason for our not seeing signs, miracles and wonders is our lack of faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please God." For example, when we get sick, what do we generally do? We take medicine. If it is bad enough we go to the doctor. If it is a sickness unto death, we pray. We then will go to the elders of the church and ask to be anointed and prayed for that we may receive a miracle healing. What's wrong with this picture? Its all done backwards. If we are a people of faith why did we not go to God first? This should be the normal response of a person of faith, we trust God first. If we desire to see signs, miracles and wonders we must increase our faith.

The second reason that we no longer see signs, miracles and wonders is our lack of a spirit of anticipation. Do we come to church expecting to see God show up? Judging by the fact that so many come to church late and desire to be seated in the rear of the sanctuary and dressed like they are going to a picnic instead of anticipating a King to show up,I would say we aren't expecting to see anything out of the ordinary. If we were anticipating God showing up to do great things among us, we would be sure to arrive plenty early to secure a front row seat so we would not miss seeing a sign, miracle or wonder or whatever God would choose to do. I remember attending World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio, with my family back in the late 1980's. We arrived about an hour early for the morning service and we still had to sit in the very back of the church. After the service we asked an usher how early we should arrive for the evening service in order to secure a good seat. He told us to be sure to be in line by 3PM. The doors did not open until 5PM with the service starting at 6PM. We arrived at 3PM and there were already a few hundred people in line . These people were anticipating a holy visitation and they did not want to miss it.I wonder how we would worship and praise God in our church services if we were expecting a holy visitation? If you want to see signs, miracles and wonders in your church, as well as in your life, start having a spirit of anticipation.

The third reason that we do not see signs, miracles and wonders is there is sin in the camp. Duet.23:14 states, "For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your CAMP, to DELIVER (signs,miracles,wonders) you and give your enemies over to you; therefore, your CAMP shall be HOLY, that He may see no unclean thing among you,and turn away from you." Nowhere in scripture do we read that we are to bring sinners into the church. In fact the bible tells us just the opposite. But the bible does say that we are to GO into the highways and byways, into every nation, to the sinners and present them with the gospel. The church should be the last place that we should find the unsaved. The very presence of God would cause them to come under conviction to the point that they would either have to repent and get saved or run out of His presences. Maybe sinners are comfortable in our churches because there is no Holy Spirit present. It seems that the church today goes out of its way to make sinners comfortable in our services. We use the world's music so they will feel comfortable with a music they are used to. We avoided using words like sin, hell, judgement,etc. We will avoid naming sins. We would not even thing of calling people to an open altar (we don't want to embarrass anyone). We pray their pray for salvation for them, then tell them that they are saved and loved. They leave without repentance and confession with no change in their life, deceived with a false hope of salvation.

The Holy Spirit will not co-habitate with sin. If we want to see signs, miracles and wonders we will have to have faith, have a spirit of anticipation and get rid of the sin in our lives.

The bus in the dream represents our programs used to attract people to our churches. Just as the buses are used to bring people to our churches, so our programs are designed to do the same. Many times we use our programs in place of the presence of God because He departed or isn't made to feel welcome.

The pastor looked like Oral Roberts meant that this was a pastor who had known what it was like to experience signs, miracles and wonders. The mud represents the sin that the church was sitting in. The fact that his suit was soiled with mud indicated that he himself had sin in his life, thus quenching the move the Holy Spirit in his life and the church.

The end time church will be flowing in signs, miracles and wonders, doing great exploits. But first God will have to clean His house, and He has started!

Do you need a miracle? Do you want to witness them in your church? You must have faith! You must develop a spirit of anticipation! And most importantly, you must get the sin out of your life and your churches.

Has Judgement Started?

"For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God: And if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God."(I Peter 4:17)

During the mid 1980's, as world renowned televangelist were confessing sins, losing their ministries and even being arrested for criminal behavior, I felt that God's judgment of His house had begun. I recall attending a pastor's breakfast with James Robison about this same time and he said that God was going to use the secular media to expose the sin in our pulpits. Has this statement ever been any more true than it is today?

Are we, as a church, and especially ministers, in need of accountability? Sin is running rampant in pew and pulpit alike. God is using the media to expose the sins of many in the hierarchy of the christian church. Yet the church seems unrepentant. Oh, we may go on national television with tears flowing and ask for forgiveness of our "failures" while all along about the only thing that we are sorry for is that we got caught.

We have internationally known ministers confessing to going to Paris to frequent strip clubs and to even committing adultery as they carry on long distance affairs. They may lose their families but they keep their pulpits, their television programs, their "fan" base, their support and their speaking engagements outside their own church. There are pastors divorcing over "irreconcilable differences"(not biblical grounds), yet they keep right on going as if nothing has happened. Divorce and remarriage in the pulpit and pew alike, have reached epidemic proportions.

Church leaders having moral failures with no consequences is a sad indictment against the moral climate of the church. When those in the pew no longer demand integrity, accountability, purity, holiness, righteousness of those in leadership then that church is ready for God's judgment. He allows those in leadership to get caught in their sins in order to not only cause the sinner to examine himself and hopefully repent, but to also test those in the pew. Do those in the pew have the relationship with God; the knowledge of His Word; and the conviction of the Holy Spirit to demand sin be dealt with or do they overlook the sins of the leaders hoping they will overlook their sins and not "preach" against their sins. By overlooking one anothers sins we can be "happy." We may have a false sense of security, but we can all sing our songs of victory as the Titanic of our souls is sinking in the sea of darkness.

Churches have now gone so far into imitating the world's way of doing things that they now will pay people to attend their churches or offer gifts for to those who will attend. According to Ministry Today online from fall of '09, there are churches throughout the nation that use such marketing gimmicks. One church in Alsip, IL, advertised that "We will pay you to come." They pay out cash and gifts to first time visitors. They even use the theme song from The Price Is Right during the praise and worship when preparing to announce the week's winners. Other churches offer big screen televisions, vacations, cars, etc., to one lucky visitor. One ministry in Beloit, WI, brags of meeting with a group of non-church goers at a local bar every Sunday to talk about Jesus over cocktails, cigarettes and chicken wings.

Now I can understand why Jesus wept over Jerusalem--He was grieved over their rejection of and rebellion to the Truth. The church no longer holds to the Truths of God's Word. Instead we think our programs and "modern" way of doing things is far better than the "old-fashioned" way. Several months ago God revealed to me that the church needs to come back to the simplicity of the cross, the blood and a resurrected Savior. I recall back in 1987, as I was complaining to God about the dry wilderness place that I found myself in, I was "telling" God what I needed when it was like God spoke very clearly to me. "I have given you Jesus and I owe you nothing else." I realized then that in Jesus I have everything I'll ever need. Knowing Him is all that matters!! Yet instead of preaching Jesus crucified, resurrected and coming again, we resort to clever marketing devices, programs, entertainment and people-pleasing sermons. We preach ear-tickling sermonetts and produce little christianettes, not disciples of Jesus.

Many of our proven prophetic voices in the church today are not only prophesying pending judgment, but they are praying for it. As God brings judgment to the church, as it was when His judgments came to Isreal in the O.T., repentance will come and a genuine sorrow over sin will permeate the people. We will experience a revival in the church and an awakening in the nation. The result will be a great harvest of souls as the people gaze upon the true church, seeing Jesus alive and changing lives.

Do we need judgment as a nation, a church, a people? YES!! I believe it has begun. Let's repent and cease our rebellion against God. Let's present to the world a life- changing Jesus not a socializing "good ole boy" who promotes a "let's eat, drink and be merry" mentality as so many of our churches do today. Let His righteousness be seen in us and through us as we face first judgment, then tribulation and finally His return.

Joseph's Seven Years

While I was preaching a message about Joseph and his dreams, God spoke revelation knowledge into my spirit and I shared it with our congregation. God showed me that as it was with Pharaoh’s dreams of the seven fat cows and seven skinny cows, the seven good heads of grain and seven lean heads of grain, so it would be in the very last days. We know that the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams by Joseph lead to the salvation of Egypt as well as Jacob (Israel) from drought and famine. God told Pharaoh, through Joseph’s interpretation, that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine or leanness. The first seven years were given that they should make ready for the seven lean years by storing up the grain that would sustain them through the lean years.

God showed me that this event from the life of Joseph was given as an example for the end-time church. Like Joseph, the church was destined for greatness. But just as Joseph was cast into a pit, sold into slavery and even imprisoned, so goes the church. When Jesus birthed the church on the cross, she was destined for greatness, but she too was cast into the pit, the slavery and the prison of religion. Instead of following the simplicity of the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, man began to add to and take away from the original intent of the word. We divided and called ourselves denominations. We split over misunderstandings of scripture. The church was never called to divide and subtract, as is the case today, but to be fruitful and to multiply, as well as to be added to daily. But God is going to use the pitfalls of the church to position it for its finest hour just as Joseph was brought into his finest hour by his pitfalls.

The true church is going to grow weary and even nauseated by the condition in which she finds herself. She is going to begin to cry out for truth and will no longer be content with the ear-tickling messages of the people-friendly pulpits. Programs will no longer pacify the saint of God. There will be a longing in the heart of the saint to be in a deep, loving relationship with God the Father. There will be a willingness to do whatever is necessary to draw in close to God. Denominational brand names will be meaningless. Being the groupie of certain preachers will lose its luster. Names, reputation and the opinions of others will no longer concern the saint. There will be a great hunger and thirst for the kingdom of God and His righteousness. There will be a genuine revival start that will have no end until the end. The last and greatest awakening will take place. We shall see seven years of plenty.

As with Joseph’s story, the church shall experience seven years of revival, awakening, outpourin of the Holy Spirit, revelation knowledge, holy visitation, dreams, visions, signs, miracles and wonders following the proclamation of the Word. The church will grow spiritually fat. She shall be given equipping centers from which the well-equipped saints shall be sent out to accomplish the great commission. Missionary teams will be sent around the world. Evangelistic teams will go into the highways and byways to compel whosoever will to come to Christ. Pioneers will go forth to establish new equipping centers. The wealth of the wicked has been stored up for the righteous and we shall possess it. We shall cloth the naked, feed the hungry, care for the widow and orphaned. Revelation knowledge will be poured out through the five-fold ministers to equip the saints for the coming seven years of leanness, or to say, the seven years of the Tribulation. The church will be equipped to make disciples not just converts. We will see the harvest of souls during the seven years of fatness and especially during the seven years of leanness at a magnitude that has never been witnessed before in the history of mankind. The church will rise from the ash heap of cold, dead religion to do great exploits as Daniel chapter eleven verse thirty-two says about the tribulation church. The church will enter the Great Tribulation well equipped to endure to the end, doing great exploits.

May God richly bless you as you go forth in His name to equip the saints and gather the harvest.