There are currently two camps of prophets in USA. One is the doom and gloom camp which seemed to imply that we are in the end of times and that Jesus is coming back to rapture the church very soon. That will put an end to all these trials and tribulations. The other camp paints a more positive picture of a revival that is coming after this outbreak has passed over. They also talk about an economic recovery instead of a downturn.
Personally I do not think that this is the end yet. Pastor Prince also said this during last Sunday’s service. Whenever you feel fearful or worried, ask yourself: What are you believing? Some people have said that we are living in the times described in the book of Revelation. But we are not there yet. We won’t even be around when the events in Revelation (the seven years of tribulation) unfold.
We will not be on earth because we’ll have been raptured by then, and God will return to earth with us (see Jude 1:14). Once the blood of Jesus saves us, we will be saved from wrath as well (See Rom. 5:9). What we are experiencing in the world today is not the “day of vengeance” as described in Isaiah 61:1–2. How do we know this? In Luke 4, Jesus was in the synagogue reading the Scripture of the day, Isaiah 61, and He purposefully cut off his reading at a certain point in the scripture.
Another reason why I do not think that the church would be raptured anytime is because of Acts 3:21. ‘Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.’ Ask yourself this question: Is the church at its most glorious state now? Is there full restoration of the church as in the time of Acts? I submit to you that we are no where even near the church in Acts!
The truth is this end times church should be much more glorious than that of the early church. Haggai 2:9 says that ‘The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.’ Well so what should we be praying for now? That Jesus comes back for the church quickly now so that we can be saved from the perilous times coming on the earth? Or that we bind the forces of evil using the authority that Christ has already given us?
Honestly the Lord is patient for He wants none to perish. The enemy is very afraid of the great revival that has been prophesied starting from this year. Hence he is putting up a smokescreen so that believers would be distracted from what God is doing. All the conspiracy theories really just serve to make us more confused. Like who is pulling the strings behind the scene, the move towards a one world economy etc. But does knowing such conspiracy theories really help us?
Yes now that we know, we can come against it in Jesus name. But what I fear is that these reports create a doom and gloom atmosphere almost like the church is totally powerless towards what is coming. Absolutely not! The church is much more powerful than we think! We really do have power to bind the enemy’s plans. In fact, God has given us strategies and revelations on how to pray and what to do. Amos 3:7 says ‘Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealed his secret unto his servants the prophets.’
Yet tuning in to the right prophetic voices is of great importance. Know that the Lord will never release a word or a warning without giving us the solution. The test of the pudding is in its taste. If you hear a message that seems to render you helpless towards the situation, or didn’t give you life in your spirit, or doesn’t give any prophetic solution at the end to inspire hope, then most probably that word didn’t come from the heart of the Father.
Some prophetic words caution us against the mark of the beast and the one world economy with the exhortation to resist it or to pray against it which could leave us with an aftertaste of helplessness. That is not what the Lord intends for releasing a prophetic word. Of course such prophetic words open our eyes to what lies hidden in the darkness, what is the truth so that we need not be ignorant. But having said that, most of such doom and gloom messages are simply from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Yes, now that your eyes are opened to the knowledge of evil, what are you going to do? Contrary to the tree of life, the word of God always imparts hope and power. Such life giving messages leave us empowered and we feel that our faith has been given a boost. We are strengthened and have a much greater clarity about what is going on behind the smokescreen. Our minds are no longer confused and we feel life in our spirits.
Having said all these, I pray for all believers to have a spirit of wisdom and revelation like in Ephesians 1:17. All of us have the Holy Spirit within us to guide us into God’s truth. The Holy Spirit will bear witness with our spirits. God will give us the increased discernment to see through the smoke screens and lies. And lastly I pray that God will guard our eye and ear gates even with regards to words shared from the bible.
Always remember that no one single prophet has the full picture of the end times. We all know in part and prophesy in part (1 Corinthians 13:9). But we have no need to rely solely on the words from the prophets because the anointing in us teaches us all things. 1 John 2:20 says ‘But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.’ Do not let your hearts be troubled but let the peace of God guard your hearts and minds in Christ. Focus on Jesus. Focus on whatever is good and noble. (Philippians 4:8)
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