For years, I have been faithfully warning of a soon-to-come worldwide economic holocaust. Even now, we are seeing this coming to pass around the globe. I have warned that Christians are going to suffer, that there will be great loss and hardship, and already this is happening. Multitudes of precious saints all over the word are enduring great financial and mental stress.
LIFESTYLE CHANGES
At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell upon a prepared people who “were all with one accord [of one mind]” (Acts 2:1). So, what does it mean that the people were of one mind? Simply put, mercy was flowing through them. Let me explain.
Consider those who were on the scene at Pentecost, people we revere today as church fathers. Some of these men had sinned grievously against the Lord and against their brethren. They all had to be forgiven and their sins covered, or the church never would have moved forward with the work the Spirit was about to do.
GRIEVOUS SINS
The devil knows what is written in God’s Word and he is determined to hinder the great harvest he knows is coming. He has unleashed a furious attack on the church, using every weapon he can to remove the peace of God’s people.
The gloom and fear hovering over every nation has left people feeling helpless. In America, courts have made laws that glory in perversions, all against the will of the people. The result is hopelessness and stress, weakening the spirit, and even causing physical sickness.
DOWNGRADING SIN
The prophets — from Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel down to the minor prophets — reveal that in the last days God’s Spirit will once again fall on a prepared people. This event is referred to as the “harvest rain.” It is promised to be greater even than the “former rain,” which was the Spirit’s mighty outpouring at Pentecost.
In his first letter to the church, Peter bluntly speaks of the last days: “The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:7–8).
Peter also mentions the last days in his second letter, where he tells the church, “Shortly I must put off this tabernacle” (2 Peter 1:14). He’s saying, in other words, “God has shown me my time on earth is short.”
PETER’S MESSAGE OF WARNING
Peter was surely a godly man, and through him the Holy Spirit shows us exactly what God says about how to face these last days. Peter is telling us very clearly, “Here is your most important preparation: Get your heart ready. If this matter isn’t dealt with, all other preparations are in vain. Stay on your knees. And above all else, practice unceasing mercy and love toward your brothers and sisters. Forgive and cover their sins.”
COVER THE SINS OF OTHERS
Right now, many Christians are in panic mode. People who have testified all their lives that God is their keeper are now scrambling in fear as the storm clouds gather over us. Peter has something very simple to say to them, “Bring all your natural feelings under the control of faith.”
Next, Peter tells us to bring everything to God in prayer: “Watch unto prayer” (1 Peter 4:7). Only by seeking the Lord will we be able to control our anxieties about the times. According to Peter, the blacker things become the more we should walk in the peace and rest of the Holy Spirit.
As Christians, we believe God’s Word about the times to come and we receive Spirit-directed warnings from God’s holy watchmen. Indeed, we see the handwriting on the wall.
An important question arises for many Christians today: “How do we prepare for the tumultuous events to come?”
SURVIVING FRIGHTFUL TIMES
I think it is normal to want to know how we’ll survive the frightful times to come. When the storm hits, destroying all roots of recovery, what will we do about jobs, housing, food, clothing?
God cannot answer prayer where there is no faith. And Satan will not flee where there is fear and unbelief. The fact is, we have failed to take our God-given authority over the devil and his demonic empire.
God’s Word tells us that the enemy is not in control. We have power over him!
“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
I wonder if the angels are baffled by all the worry and anxiousness of those who claim to trust in the Lord. To those celestial beings, it must seem insulting to God that we worry as if we had no caring Father in heaven.
What perplexing questions the angels must ask among themselves: