Archive for July 2014
Prayer, teaching on your spiritual authority and free food tonight at Revival Church
Discover the supernatural authority you have TONIGHT…and enjoy food and fellowship with us!
Part one was powerful, and tonight is going to absolutely explode! I’ll be teaching on your spiritual authority TONIGHT at 7pm!
Revival Church is a unique prayer-fueled ministry of revival. We are intentionally small in number and narrow in focus as we contend as a remnant company of burning ones.
This sharp, unified approach is resulting in people being discipled in the fire, ready to shock the world!
You can listen to last week’s teaching and download the notes here: www.thefurnace.tv/audio
BRING FOOD AND FRIENDS
After the service, we’ll stay and eat!
Bring food to share and as many friends that you can find!
See you TONIGHT!
- War Room Prayer starts at 6pm (definitely come!)
- Revival Church Service starts at 7pm
Revival Church is located at 26091 Sherwood, Warren, MI 48091.
Can I give you a call? Let’s connect about ministry in your region!
Let’s connect about ministry in your region!
Hi!
My name is John Burton and I am praying for new Kingdom connections with pastors and leaders both in this nation and around the world.
I’d love to give you a call and hear more about your ministry. Is there a time that would work?
If you feel it would benefit your ministry, we can discuss scheduling a church event or conference in your region that would powerfully encourage you and your team!
I don’t require a minimum honorarium or a minimum sized crowd. I will sleep on the floor if it means revival can be fueled in your region!
In the meantime, my bio can be viewed at www.johnburton.net if you’d like to take a look.
The short version is:
· I’ve planted two churches, one in Colorado and one in Detroit.
· I’ve written eight books on the topics of prayer, reformation and revival.
· I directed one of the primary internships at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City.
· I crave being in God’s presence with other hungry people!
· I also believe strongly in the local church and would love to serve your mission.
You also might consider hosting theLab Intensive. This 2-3 day school of fire will equip and encourage your church and leadership team. Learn more here: www.thelabuniversity.com/intensives.
Contact me any time via email at [email protected] or phone at 719.231.6000.
I can’t wait to hear from you!
When we invited you we anticipated an unusual move of God in our church but had no idea how much you would ignite the fire of God in hearts and set us on the path to revival. What a tremendous week it has been! Thanks for all that you, through the anointing of the Holy Spirit, have invested in us this week. One of these days there will be a mighty sound coming from the south. It will be the sound of revival and of a raging fire of the Spirit in Haiti. READ THE ENTIRE LETTER HERE.
Jean Heder Petit-Frere
A prophetic strategy: Breaking the power of the homosexual spirit & setting the captives free
Operation Babel: A prophetic strategy to break the power of the homosexual spirit
God opened up a powerful strategy to disrupt the momentum of the homosexual agenda to me—and a successful campaign will result in innumerable people set free.
Love the sinner, hate the sin.
Is this really the limit of our wisdom?
I’m sure the LGBT community is sick, bored and tired of that defense—and I am too.
It offers no strategic plan of action and it reveals that we have exhausted our arguments. After loving the sinner and hating the sin, where does that leave us? What do we do?
That statement, love the sinner and hate the sin, really needs to be retired.
In fact, it was made famous by someone who wasn’t even a Believer in Jesus—Gandhi.
As I was considering this in prayer, God suddenly and powerfully revealed a clear, easy to understand strategy that will, without question, stop the fast moving gay agenda in its tracks.
The church just has to make it happen. Spoiler alert: We have to pray, in unity, with one language, in the Holy Spirit.
The gay agenda is driven by a spirit. We must keep this in mind. Of course, we don’t wrestle with people. We wrestle with unholy spirits. But, it’s true that many people are in alliance with those very spirits that we are battling, so it’s unfortunately common for there to be collateral damage. Don’t mistake that collateral damage with fighting against flesh and blood. When we deal with evil spirits, those who renounce them will be set free while those who embrace them will experience their judgment.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
Pray that the Holy Spirit draws many to renounce the spirits that are holding them captive as this massive strategy that I’m calling Operation Babel unfolds.
Maybe we need to advance our plan from “love the sinner, hate the sin” to “fight the spirit, free the person.”
Operation Babel
ONE.
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. Genesis 11:1
Unity. If Christians grasped the power of true unity, around a common holy purpose, we’d see unstoppable advance. The Kingdom of God would move in the power and at the speed of lightning.
All the believers were one in heart and mind. Acts 4:32
…so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:6
Unfortunately, the church is lacking in unity (and I’m not talking about ecumenical affinity). We must immediately unify around the upper room of fervent prayer.
And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: “‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations””… Mark 11:17
Today’s homosexual movement is possibly the most unified on the Earth. They have one language and one purpose. Everybody is in agreement and they are infiltrating with the intention of leading every segment of society.
They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. Revelation 17:13
Unholy unity was a key strategy in history, it’s a key strategy today and it will be a key strategy at the end of the age as people will come into alignment with the beast.
Today’s unity in the homosexual movement is what we must address now.
TWO.
And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Genesis 11:2-3
Bricks are representative of human efforts to build their own kingdoms. Remember Egypt? The Hebrews were required to make bricks so Pharaoh could continue to build his empire.
That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and foremen in charge of the people: “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. Exodus 5:6-7
Today there is a mass movement of brick making.
Individual bricks, when put together, will result in a mighty city and a mighty tower.
The bricks of legislation and gay friendly government policies are being made a record pace. Bricks carefully made by human hands can be seen in a variety of places such as gay pride parades, gay friendly curriculum in schools, the advance of gay marriage from state to state, entertainment and media, marketing campaigns and through the influence of major brands. Each brick is resulting in greater affirmation of this unholy movement.
Additionally, as with Pharaoh and the Hebrews, there is intense pressure today on Christians to actually make the bricks!
Pharaoh forced God’s people to make bricks for him, and today’s homosexual movement is attempting to force God’s people today to do the same thing. Christian bakers are being forced to make wedding cakes for gay weddings. The threat of forcing Christian pastors to marry homosexuals is just over the horizon. This evil spirit is bent on commanding Christians to agree with and actually promote his plan of destruction!
Just as the bricks were baked thoroughly at Babel, there is a thorough, well thought out process of brick making in play now that will, if we don’t step up, result in an evil city and tower being built.
THREE.
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens… Genesis 11:4a
The goal then was to take dominion, and that’s the goal now.
The city represents the plan to spread horizontally around the world—to see homosexuality become not only accepted, but the primary leader of humanity. This spirit doesn’t simply want to be affirmed—it wants to dominate.
The tower represents a connection with Heaven. The “gay Christian” movement is moving at the speed of light—and even the most biblically sound arguments against it are not convincing those who are seduced by this spirit. The unity is too strong and the response of the church has been too weak.
This simultaneous horizontal and vertical advance of the homosexual movement is brilliant, though not original. We saw it at Babel, and we’ll see it again at the end of the age. The Antichrist’s strategy includes horizontal world domination and a vertical one world religion. At the end of that strategy, after a great battle, God wins. God is primed to win this battle today as well—but the church must fight from a place of humility, love and prayer.
But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Revelation 19:20
FOUR.
…and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4b
Pride. The flood of Noah was a much nearer reality to them than it is to us today, and they weren’t about to let their destruction happen again. They were determined to grow in strength through radical unity and to defy God through pride. They wanted to make a name for themselves. This is a Luciferian spirit that, in pride, seeks to rise to the heavens.
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ Isaiah 14:12-14
Identity. We can see how successful the enemy has been just by how many are absolutely convinced their homosexuality is core to their identity. The argument is that they were born that way. It’s the defining mark of who they are as a person, and they are proud of that.
I’ve argued before that I don’t believe the primary driver of homosexuality is lust—it’s identity. When personal desires and experiences are grafted in at the level of identity, the enemy has won a primary battle. When he has won that battle with many people, a movement around that very personal and overpowering identity results. That nearly unstoppable unified advance is what we are dealing with today.
FIVE.
And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. Genesis 11:5
God is not absent. He is watching and he is ready to move. His desire, which is so much stronger than ours, is for freedom. For life. He wants the movement stopped and he wants its influence marginalized.
SIX.
And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do… Genesis 11:6a
Again, their unity and their common language is all it took to advance in strength. Spoiler alert: Are you noticing an Acts 2 strategy?
This very simple strategy of unity and common language is also driving today’s homosexual agenda. They are agreed in identity and are saying the same things. Their resulting pride gives them great strength.
However, be warned, this is only the beginning. God revealed this about those building the city and the tower. It was only the beginning of what they would do! Basically, God was saying they would be unstoppable.
There is a great threat today as well. The demonic spirit behind the homosexual camp has much more planned than promoting equal rights. He is intently focused on destruction.
SEVEN.
…And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Genesis 11:6b
Their options were limitless. Their unity resulted in strength and capability beyond anything that had ever existed among men.
The Strategy
EIGHT.
Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” Genesis 11:7
Confusion in the camp. That’s the plan.
The inability to communicate and the existence of confusion will stop the most advanced, aggressive and powerful movements.
NINE.
So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:8-9
In a moment, the movement ceased.
Did you notice a similarity between the enemy’s strategy of unity and common language to a well known strategy of God?
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Acts 2:1
They were unified and together—and confusion was eliminated as the language barrier (that God created in Genesis 11) was overcome!
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. Acts 2:4-6
A Prayer Movement
Simply stated, we must have a movement of Holy Ghost infused intercession. A mass advance of people praying in tongues is non-negotiable if we hope to move ahead in great unity. As we do this, we will stand in powerful agreement and pray for confusion to come to the enemy’s camp—so the millions of slaves held there can drop their bricks and be free.
The stories of Babel and the Exodus have key parallels.
The confusion at Babel and the plagues at Egypt got the job done.
Some will radically reject God at that time and be dispersed while others will fall in love with Jesus and move out of slavery and into the glorious encounter.
Pray for God to continue to raise up mighty men and women of God in the spirit of Moses to deliver people from horrific bondage.
Pray for God himself to come down and bring confusion to the homosexual movement.
Pray for the church, in a spirit of passionate love, to gather together in fervent, Holy Spirit driven intercession.
It truly is a prayer movement that will see this unholy tower dismantled.
Detroit & America • A Troubling End-Time Dream
As I sat up high at Comerica Park last night watching a Tiger’s game, I saw a mural on a building that God revealed to me when I first visited Detroit.
I had a dream, and afterwards I visited Detroit to minister, and then saw the mural of jumping whales which was a key part of the dream.
It’s a warning dream, and Detroit must respond in repentance and intercession—as must the nation. Here’s the picture I took last night at the game and also the dream. (This is taken from the chapter in my book The Coming Church titled Their Freedom is Your Mission.)
A Troubling End-Time Dream
Here is a clear example of a sharp, prophetic message. Will we respond to the call or casually watch from the sidelines?
It would be nice if all of our dreams, visions and communication from God had the feel of running and dancing through a field of daisies, but it’s more important that we receive accurate data than imaginary, feel good stories.
This dream was anything but candy canes and ice cream. To date, other than my encounter with Hell in the early 1990s, I’ve never received such an urgent and troubling dream of God.
The first scene in my dream represented a typical American day. I was in my basement in a really comfortable leather recliner, sitting in front of a large television. I was excitedly watching my favorite NFL team, the Chicago Bears, play in a nationally televised evening game. I was thoroughly entertained and was settling in for a great night of football.
The scene then suddenly changed. I found myself in the captain’s seat of the largest commercial airplane I’d even seen. In fact, this jet was capable of holding over 1000 people. Everybody in the airplane was excited and ready for the journey—and they were all blood-bought Christians. They represented an end-time remnant being prepared by God for the days ahead.
In the cockpit, I was overwhelmed by the magnitude and majesty of the airplane. I put my hand on the throttle as we were sitting on the runway, ready to depart. Simply touching it revealed a power that was sobering indeed.
I understood that, as the captain of the airplane, my responsibility was immense. I felt completely incapable of fulfilling my duties, but at the same time, I felt such an overwhelming confidence. I had the grace to do what I was called to do, even though I didn’t understand even how to take the first step.
In that grace, I gave the throttle a push. Every inch that I carefully moved the throttle forward it seemed that the power increased one hundredfold or more. The slight vibration that was caused by multiple jet engines kept increasing as I moved 1000 people down the runway.
Suddenly, we were airborne, and we were catapulted into our unknown mission.
Almost immediately, as I followed the flight plan, we were flying over an ocean. As I looked down, something unusual had caught my attention, and I yearned to move in for a closer look. I brought the jet down and flew just above the surface of the water. What I saw was remarkable. All around, sea life was leaping out of the water. Everybody in the airplane was glued to the windows as they were captivated by the same view. Dolphins and whales were jumping high into the air as were innumerable other creatures, many of which I had never seen before.
As I watched, my desire for greater revelation and encounter with this seeming other-worldly exhibition was rapidly increasing. I wanted more!
I then did what makes no sense in the natural—I nose-dived and took the giant airship under the water. The moment I did, the power of the engines rapidly increased. The deeper I went, the greater the power. Under the water, I saw things I had never seen before. It was dark, but all of the sea life was easily visible as they glowed in various brilliant colors. Needless to say I, along with my passengers, would never be the same again.
I then reemerged at the surface of the water and took the aircraft back up to cruising altitude. It was time to move on to our destination.
Just as we reached the appropriate altitude, I received an urgent radio transmission:
The airport you will soon arrive at has been overtaken by terrorists. When you land, you and your passengers will deplane and will be confronted by them. You have no option to divert to another airport. If you do, the missiles that are currently locked on to your aircraft will be launched and you will all perish. You have no option but to continue according to your original flight path and land.
I then passed that information along to the 1000 passengers. In a moment, our joyful awe of what we experienced just moments ago shockingly changed to sobriety. We were about to land.
When we did, my two older boys (who at the time were approximately 10 and 12 years old) and I left the plane and entered the terminal.
I expected to see mass chaos, but I did not. Though there were many thousands of people in the terminal’s various public areas, it was so quiet that you could hear someone cough from one hundred yards away. Fear had gripped everybody. They were scared silent.
Each public area looked the same. People were ordered to line up along the walls by a terrorist who was standing in the middle of the room. The terrorist was dressed fully in black and had a machine gun in his hands.
We were ushered into a room, and as we entered, my oldest son thought he saw someone he knew on the other side of the room. Before I could do anything, he broke away from me, oblivious to what was happening, and ran across the room to see his friend. I knew it was the last time I’d ever hold my son.
I then held my younger son closer than ever as we took our place on the wall.
The terrorist then started addressing people as he walked along the wall. He slowly, methodically moved closer to where we were standing. He then stopped and ordered the man who was standing next to us to move to the center of the room. The terrorist asked this terrified man a question, “Have you ever stolen anything?”
He didn’t know how to answer. Should he tell the truth and reveal that, yes, he had stolen something at some point in his life? Would that earn him favor with the terrorist? Or, should he lie and attempt to convince him he was pure and should not be executed?
I knew that it didn’t matter how he responded. He was about to take his last breath.
What I saw next was grisly. I shielded my younger son’s eyes as the terrorist pulled out a machete and started hacking the victim’s fingers, a half an inch at a time. He dismembered this man and was ready to move on to the next—us.
Then I woke up.
What did it mean?
Football. In America, football is one of the enduring symbols of passionate, cultural entertainment. Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with watching a football game, but the game’s place in my dream was significant. It represented life as usual. I was happily distracted and nothing else existed on my grid that night.
The sudden shift to the cockpit is key. Vehicles often represent ministry when they occur in dreams. We must, as the remnant Church, be ready for a sudden move into critical end-time ministry. We have to be instant in and out of season. Our ears must be attentive to the prophetic voices that are sounding alarms in our nation.
Supernatural power and grace is coming to the true, remnant Church. The 1000 passengers represented the true Church—Christians who were ready to be carried by God and who were not doing so for their own enjoyment. The massive airplane and the immeasurable power that it produced was there for a purpose—to carry people into a mission. The coming Church will be marked by people, as in the first century Church, who are mission minded and willing to lay down their lives. They aren’t there for the benefits alone.
When the remnant Church is in position, the adventure will begin! As in the dream, the first phase will include such glorious, supernatural revelation that we will be forever transformed. Those who are distracted by the offerings of the world will miss out on this remnant call into the shock and the awe of the glory of God! There is a consecration that’s required for those who are interested in going into the deep places with God.
The deeper we go, the more power and wonder we will experience.
Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”
Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. Joshua 3:1-6
God is raising up captains, leaders who will, like Joshua, call everybody into position. They will lead the remnant Church out of typical, deadly desert life across the water and into promise.
The end-time company represented by the 1000 on the airplane will be those who, as priests of the Lord, will carry the ark of his presence into the mission.
We have never been this way before. It is a mystery, but a mystery well worth the trouble to discover. We must consecrate ourselves on this side of the unknown as we, in faith, get ready to experience the wonders of the Lord!
As we emerge out of revelation of the glory of God, we will be functioning from a place of power and radical transformation. We will then be ready for the troubling warnings of God.
I believe the terrorists in my dream are less symbolic than we might hope. Fear is about to grip our land as the enemy puts his boots on the ground. We must stand firm in the grace of God, even when horrific trouble comes, as it did for me as a father, when in my dream, my older son broke away from my care.
Very troubling times are ahead of us. The enemy’s primary weapon will be the spirit of fear. God’s primary weapon? The shock and the awe of the glory of God. The coming Church will be a Church that has gone deep in God together and my friend, this is the only Church that will be able to stand against the wickedness.
Interestingly, I discovered after I had this dream, that it is known that Islamic terrorists will actually chop off the fingers of thieves just as I witnessed in my dream. I had never heard of this before and it was further confirmation that the dream was communication from the Lord and that we must be ready for an assault against his Bride.
“As to the thief, Male or female, cut off his or her hands: a punishment by way of example, from Allah, for their crime: and Allah is Exalted in power.” Quran 5:38
Perfect love casts out fear, which is why we know the kingdom of darkness cannot win. This is all the more reason for the Church to go deep into God! We need a revelation of Jesus! The coming Church will have that revelation of deep, glorious love, and the enemy knows this. This is why he is unleashing a false-love movement that is actually founded on fear…
Eschatological Core Values • A Response to Kris Vallotton
For the sake of study, I’m offering a different perspective to Kris Vallotton’s Eschatological Core Values. Share your perspective in the comments!
1. I will not embrace an end-time worldview that re-empowers a disempowered devil.
To say the devil has been disempowered is an oversimplification of a more comprehensive subject. It’s true that the death and resurrection of Jesus absolutely did grant us power over the enemy, and it would do us well to grasp that reality. The church is all too often living from a place of defeat, feeling vulnerable and afraid when we should be dominating! I agree with Kris’ assertion that Satan has been disempowered for Believers—but, we have to stand and advance in faith from that place. If we don’t, the enemy most definitely can and will attack Christian and sinner with great violence.
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Luke 10:19
Luke 10:19 is a powerful verse, and it was written to Believers. This is evidenced by the very next verse:
Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:20
Christians are authorized to exercise power over the enemy, to trample on him and to advance into his domain. What is his domain? The Earth.
The Bible makes it clear that Satan is actually still the ruler of this world, and it’s the job of Christians to war against him.
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Ephesians 2:1-3
Those who are living according to the passions of their flesh are still under the leadership of a very powerful evil who is bent on devouring them. His plan to steal, kill and destroy is still in play, and those who don’t administer the judgment that was authorized by the cross and resurrection will find themselves under his influence.
This is true for Believers and unbelievers. The blood of Jesus doesn’t grant Christians immunity. It grants us authority, and if we don’t live from that place we are at threat of surrendering, in full or in part, to a ferocious beast.
From Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary:
Christ's ascension seems to have cast Satan out of heaven (Rev. 12:5, 9, 10, 12, 13), where he had been heretofore the accuser of the brethren (Job 1:6-11). No longer able to accuse in heaven those justified by Christ, the ascended Saviour (Rom 8:33, 34), he assails them on earth with all trials and temptations; and “we live in an atmosphere poisonous and impregnated with deadly elements.”
Possibly this passage sums up the great battle between competing powers best:
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” Revelation 12:10-12
The primary problem with Kris’ point is that it will result in an unprepared people. What will happen to people’s faith when they see, with their own eyes, Satan raging with fearful wrath as the end continues to draw near? Great confusion will come to the church when they see a supposedly fully disempowered devil destroying people with great, evil power.
2. I will not accept an eschatology that takes away my children’s future, and creates mindsets that undermine the mentality of leaving a legacy.
As with any of my rebuttals in this post, I do not want to presume inappropriately what Kris’ intentions were in his article. With this in mind, I will take some license to consider various perspectives, whether they were what motivated the author or not.
When I read that there is concern about theologies that will threaten his children’s future and the legacy they are to leave, I initially agree! My children will most definitely have an amazing future and will leave a powerful legacy!
However, if we were to read into it, I think the takeaway is a bit different. It seems that Kris presumes “the end of the world” equals the destruction of his children’s future. I couldn’t disagree more.
It’s quite probable that my five children will all experience the Great Tribulation. That won’t be the destruction of their legacy, but rather the very driver of their legacy! They were born for this hour!
What greater legacy could one have than to battle with Jesus against the armies of Satan? How amazing will it be for Christians during the Tribulation to lead a terrified and hopeless people to Jesus?
Additionally, to be martyred during that short season will be a mighty honor. My focus is not preserving my children’s lives on Earth, but rather on modeling a life laid down, even unto martyrdom if need be. Fighting to secure a happy 70 or so years on today’s Earth is not at all what the call of the Believer is, and eschatology that defies our opportunity to focus on that is actually more in line with the heart of God than not.
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39
The difficult times during the Tribulation are not to be avoided, but prepared for. It’s true that Christians who don’t take the Mark of the Beast won’t be able to be employed, earn money, buy or sell or live as we do today. We won’t have electricity, the internet, mobile phones, cars, running water or much of anything else that’s provided by the government. But, we will have the Holy Spirit and other Believers! God will be our provider and we will experience wonders and miracles on a continual basis! What a life to live!
In fact, we will see the ancient church reemerge. It will resemble a greater version of what they saw in Acts 2:
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
Now that’s Kingdom living!
If we really think about it, how could any eschatology take away from anybody’s future? We will be living with Jesus on a renewed Earth forever! It’s all about eternity!
We have to be careful not to love our lives. Our goal isn’t to experience personal satisfaction on the Earth, but rather to lay down our lives and to prepare for eternity.
…they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Revelation 12:11
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Revelation 20:4
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed. Revelation 6:9-11
3. I will not tolerate any theology that sabotages the clear command of Jesus to make disciples of all nations and the Lord’s Prayer that earth would be like heaven.
It would be hard for me to disagree with this point. I don’t. I do wonder what eschatology might actually sabotage either the call to make disciples or to see Heaven on Earth.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
This passage has the end-times woven right into it. The act of making disciples is tied directly to the reality of the end of the age.
There will come a time when disciple making on today’s Earth ceases—at the end of the age.
Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Matthew 13:36-43
I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one “like a son of man” with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. Revelation 14:14-16
Regarding the prayer that Earth would be like Heaven, that is a key mandate for us, and there is significant process involved.
Heaven won’t manifest fully on Earth until the end of the age when we see the New Heaven and the New Earth. So, our prayer for Heaven to manifest on Earth has a dual purpose.
First, we come into agreement with the cross and the torn veil. We have access to God, are seated in heavenly places and are to govern from that position. Healings, miracles, signs, wonders, prosperity, freedom and the countless other benefits and attributes of what Heaven brings are to manifest on the Earth right now.
Second, our prayer results in alignment with God’s end-time plan. When we pray this prayer, as Jesus instructed, we are praying to be prepared for the Tribulation. We are praying for the nations to hear the truth of the Gospel. We are praying for the ultimate destruction of the enemy and the start of the Millennial Reign. We are praying for the New Heaven and the New Earth to come.
4. I will not allow any interpretation of the scriptures that destroys hope for the nations and undermines our command to restore ruined cities.
Christ is the hope of the nations.
In his name the nations will put their hope.” Matthew 12:21
Without any debate, our mandate is to advance the Kingdom of God on the Earth. Entire cities and nations are at wonderful risk of being freed, restored and introduced to the power and love of Jesus Christ.
I myself have a clear directive of God to see cities taken, and while it’s quite the project, I have full hope that we will see entire cities experiencing unprecedented revival.
However, we have to also understand that every nation is being presented with its “Nineveh Opportunity.” Judgment and blessing lay in the balance.
God still judges nations for their sins—just as He still judges individuals. The Bible is clear: “You may be sure that your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). ~Billy Graham
From cover to cover in Scripture we see the precedent followed—God judges rebellious nations.
There will be a final judgment of all people at the end of history, Piper adds. “The death of Jesus was God's final punitive judgment on all who believe in Christ … Individuals are sometimes judged in this life, but, for Christians, all judgments are disciplinary, not destructive. No individual in Christ needs to fear God's judgment. We may be killed proclaiming biblical holiness, as Paul said in Romans 8:36, but in all these things we will be more than conquerors through him who loved us.” ~John Piper
God is portrayed in the Bible as sovereign over the nations and ruling them for His purposes. Second, God tolerates sin in relation to nations up to a point, and then brings calamity. ~John Piper
Remember, judgment is God’s act of love, not hate. He desires to bring people into a radical encounter of love, and during a time of national rebellion he may bring judgment to convince a greater number of people to follow him than would have had the rebellion gone unmet. Of course, revival is a much preferred method, but the church must arise in faith and prayer if we are to see it happen. The end is coming, and God will fulfill his plan to ready the church and the nations of the Earth whether it’s by judgment or revival. The choice is actually ours.
God himself may step in and bring to His church a great revival of radical obedience, and a great awakening to the countries of the West. He is able. He has done it before. We should pray that He does. ~John Piper
5. I will not embrace an eschatology that changes the nature of a good God.
God is always good, but his goodness can’t be measured through our human lens. His goodness may actually look quite the opposite at the end of the age when he is killing millions of people. Many Christians will actually accuse God of being Satan when they see their “Good God” doing such stomach turning things.
The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia. Revelation 14:19-20
The danger of promoting God in such a way that anything contrary to what humans consider good is that many Christians will actually reject him when he shows up in full, holy force.
Throughout biblical history we see Perfect Love, God himself, killing people, disciplining people and exercising judgment. In our limited human capacity we can’t easily equate that with perfect love—but it is.
God is always good, but he’s not always in a good mood.
If God is always in a good mood, he would be a monster, laughing and doing a happy dance as he casts people he loves into Hell. (It’s been said that God doesn’t cast people into Hell, but people do themselves via their own decisions to reject God. This isn’t fully accurate. People do have a significant part to play, but in the end they don’t jump into the lake of fire. They are thrown.)
If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15
If we believe God is always in a good mood, we will reject messages and revelations that don’t result in us being in a good mood. We will associate the love of God with the hate of Satan. We know that God is still wrathful. He still gets angry. He is saddened. He is joyful. He is happy. He has emotions, and the deepest place of love exists when we partner with God in his emotions. What is on God’s heart? How can we serve him and minister to him?
A good God will absolutely function in ways that confound us. The following passage further exposes his mission and methods:
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law– a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:34-39
6. I refuse to embrace any mindset that celebrates bad news as a sign of the times and a necessary requirement for the return of Jesus.
Now, this statement by Kris highlights his Partial Preterism quite well. Of course, we don’t want to celebrate bad news. I don’t know that any reputable student of the end-times would do that. However, we need to analyze what is happening as watchmen and, yes, understand that certain negative events are prerequisites for the return of Jesus.
Contrary to his position that the world is getting better and better, we simply have to admit that to be untrue.
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 Timothy 3:1
Paul then defines what trouble is coming:
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God– having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 2 Timothy 3:2-5
Do we see any of this on the Earth today? Is it getting better or worse?
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:3-14
People are being persecuted and martyred all over the world today, and the numbers are increasing radically.
Here’s another clear piece of bad news that indicates what time we are in:
He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. Revelation 13:16-17
When that day comes, it will be bad news indeed. And, we must be able to discern the signs of the times.
He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. Matthew 16:2-3
7. I am opposed to any doctrinal position that pushes the promises of God into a time zone that can’t be obtained in my generation and therefore takes away any responsibility I have to believe God for them in my lifetime.
Many promises of God are futuristic. This argument just doesn’t hold water.
For example, a day is coming when we will be riding with Jesus in a great battle. That won’t happen while we are alive on the Earth. It’s futuristic.
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Revelation 19:11-16
I feel this point also reveals Kris’ focus on the here and now while not affirming the need to prepare for eternity.
Mike Bickle calls our life on Earth an internship. We are living sacrificially as those in training in preparation for the Great Tribulation, and then the Millennium.
Additionally, the promise of a New Heaven and a New Earth for us to abide in is most certainly futuristic.
We don’t want to be so invested in our personal experience now. We are to die daily, be crucified with Christ, lay down our lives and surrender all for the sake of the Harvest—who will live with us forever and ever—AMEN!
8. I don’t believe that the last days are a time of judgment, nor do I believe God gave the church the right to call for wrath for sinful cities. There is a day of judgment in which GOD will judge man, not us.
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. Luke 17:26-27
Judgment is actually a key driver of the end-time timeline. While so many are proclaiming that judgment doesn’t exist in the New Covenant, I’m of the opinion that we NEED judgment!
Judgment is God at work. It’s God putting things into motion to resolve the crisis on the Earth.
Can you imagine the police ignoring the crimes of a rapist? There would be mutiny! We want justice, judgment, to come to the rapist for the sake of innocent women who are at great threat of attack.
During the Tribulation, God will be pouring out his wrath on a rebellious mankind.
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. Romans 11:22
And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth; blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2 17 – 21
It’s both a great and terrible day.
I will send you Elijah…before…the great and dreadful day of the LORD. Mal. 4:5
There will be two severe waves of death. The first wave will claim one fourth, of earth’s population. The second wave will kill an additional one third of the earth. This will total 50% of the population (or 4 billion based on a possible population of 8 billion people). ~Mike Bickle
The church will be in agreement with that judgment and will be ready to minister accordingly. The church will be in a place of intense prayer, and will, as governors under Christ’s leadership, agree in prayer with his plans. This will not be the time to intercede for the judgments to delay.
The fifth seal judgment against the Antichrist will come in the context of increased intercession. We will be crying out against the vengeance of the Antichrist.
The martyrdom of the saints will unleash a powerful movement of prayer of agreement with God’s predetermined plan.
This is why the prayer movement is so critical today. We must learn to pray according to God’s heart and biblical blueprints, and not according to our own human desires.