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“Blessed be the Lord God…for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us…as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began; that we should be saved from our enemies…to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

“The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life” (Luke 1:68–75).

In chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation, Jesus speaks of a church that has died. This beloved church once was vibrant with life, enjoying a good reputation, but now all that was gone. I have seen such “lampstand churches” in my travels around the world: congregations from Europe to South America to New York City, once full of the Holy Spirit, thriving and winning many souls, but now having no life at all.

Exodus 33 presents a paradox. Verse 11 tells us, “The Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” Then, just a few verses later, we read, “(God) said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live” (33:20). This means, literally, “My face shall not be seen.”

What are we to make of this? One verse tells us Moses saw the Lord’s face. But another states clearly that nobody can see God’s face and survive.

In Revelation 8, we read of seven angels sounding off trumpets. These mighty horn-blasts warn all of humankind about awesome calamities coming upon the earth.

The first four blasts warn of incredible pollution that poisons the trees, grass, rivers and seas, as well as the air. Waters become bitter, and skies darken over one-third of the earth.

Then, in chapter 9, a fifth warning comes. It describes a worldwide invasion of locusts:

You probably remember the story from Genesis in which God appeared to Abraham. The patriarch was sitting at the door of his tent during the heat of the day, when suddenly three men appeared before him, standing under a tree. Abraham went out to meet the men, prepared a meal for them and visited with them.

During their conversation, the Lord asked Abraham where his wife, Sarah, was. Then God said something incredible: "...lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son" (Genesis 18:10).

The apostle Paul writes that when Jesus comes again, "...he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (1 Timothy 6:15). Paul is saying, in essence, "When Christ comes, he's going to show everybody who's Lord!"

Is it possible for righteous, godly, Spirit-filled Christians to become so low and downcast, they feel they can't go on - and they come to the brink of giving up?

Think about it for a moment. I'm talking now about believers who are close to Jesus - who know His heart and mind, have done battle in prayer, have experienced His miracles, have seen victory after victory in their lives. Such people are dedicated to the Lord's work. They present themselves daily as living sacrifices.

There are two kinds of churches in the world today. First, there is the dead, formal church, which has a form of godliness but no power. Its ministers are hirelings, most of whom are unconverted. God calls such shepherds "...twice dead..." (Jude 12). And He promises to pluck up such churches by the roots and burn them!

There is something very powerful and awesome going on in the world today! God is at work doing something hidden and quiet — and it is so supernatural, it's beyond human comprehension. Yet what He is doing right now is going to affect the whole world in these last days.

God is preparing a small but powerful army of Christians! This army is going to be the most dedicated on the face of the earth. And the Lord will come forth to command them to do exploits and shake hell. He is going to close out the ages with a pure, devoted, fearless remnant!

The Old Testament closes with this amazing prophecy of Malachi: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:5,6).