According to the book of Joel, we could be living in the last of the “last days,” in which case, we will be seeing visions, miracles, signs and wonders and portents (warnings) in the skies. The days of God’s seeming indifference to the reckless state of our world will be over, and He will awaken people with these signs.
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, young men shall see visions…. and I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth…” (Joel 2:28).
Some, if not many, Christian people in tune with scripture and walking with God are beginning to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives more fully in these final days before the rapture of the church. With the outpouring of God’s spirit, Christians are finally beginning to do what they’ve been commanded to do; that is to share the good news of the gospel with others verbally and without reservation. In the past we’d just go over and over the same old ground in our Bible studies and seldom, if ever, bear fruit.
I attended a Bible-study group of about seventy people. The subject matter was about the calling of Moses in the book of Genesis. God appears to him in a burning bush in the form of a voice telling him he must go back to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to let his people go. Moses is reluctant and pleads to not have to do so.
“I am not eloquent, and I am slow of speech,” he cries. (Let us not forget that he was human too and a hunted man as well; one who had killed a fellow Egyptian.)
Like us, he was a sinner, but he knew of God — at least knew of his existence. He may have been an agnostic like so many of us are. Moses may have thought, maybe the God of the Jews is who my people say he is; maybe He isn’t. After all, they had been in bondage a very long time.
There is a direct correlation between today’s Christians who were also given the mandate to share and thus deliver the unsaved with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like Moses, Christians in the past were reluctant to do so as well; but because the Word of God must be fulfilled, things are just now beginning to change. And like God says in the book of Joel,
“In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh….,” which is to say that Christians will become emboldened in the last days and unregenerate people will become receptive to the good news of the Gospel. I for one certainly hope so.
Many Christians have become institutionalized, going to church every time the door is open, but failing to follow Christ. It seems that many just want to remain oblivious to scripture or have not bothered to read it except in church. This they do to cover their tracks or to assuage a guilty conscience; but you will know them by their fruits. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, hope, and self-control. Those without Christ experience hate, lust, jealousy, lack of joy, fear, and complete lack of self-control, as displayed clearly by the higher echelon of society and various celebrities.
This Bible-study group I was attending recently turned out to be a time of testimony. The first man approached the podium and began telling of his sharing Christ with a neighbor. From the sound of his testimony he had never done such a radical thing before. Was he a new Christian at over sixty years old? Chances are he wasn’t, but like Moses he was reluctant to do so, citing various excuses. Maybe it was fear that kept him from sharing Christ. Then again, maybe he was being politically correct and just doing what was to be expected in our culture — avoid the subject.
We, like Moses, are His chosen vessels today, sent to free the slaves of sin from bondage.
Then, one after another the people in the Bible class began to “testify.” I sat there mesmerized as close to five of the men and women testified about their overcoming their fears to be able to witness to friends and acquaintances. It seems they never realized up until then that faith without works is dead.
This took a long time in coming, and just when it looked like we were losing the battle for lost souls, just in time this verse from the book of Joel comes into play.
What with increasing political correctness, apostasy, lack of love and apathy, in despair I had just about given up on my fellow Christians. But will we Christians begin to turn the tide, or is it too little too late? Having been an evangelical believer for nearly all my life, I have seldom if ever been hesitant to share Christ with anyone. And to be honest with you, I was beginning to get disillusioned and weary about the apathy in the church. Now, however, I’m becoming encouraged.
We must leave our comfort zone and reach out to the lost and hurting masses before the rapture of the church occurs, and that could happen at any time.
The only reason for this boldness is that the prophetic scriptures of Joel are being fulfilled again in our present time.
We have wars and rumors of war, apostasy, the rage against Christianity, talk of rebuilding of the temple along with the readiness of the Cohen (Levitical priests) to perform their duties, the utensils for sacrifice, and the red heifer. There is the present anger over Jerusalem becoming the capital of Israel with the United States confirming it by mandating our embassy be placed there (which may usher in the prophesied war of Gog and Magog), etc. I could go on and on about prophecy being fulfilled in our present time, but I think you get the picture.
On another note:
There is a new television series in the works having to do with the supernatural: things such as having an encounter with Christ through a vision or the like.
There is also a television show with Sid Roth called “It’s Supernatural.” While we can’t buy into every testimony we see on that show, at least it is showing that people are searching for and having supernatural experiences like never before.
YBIC
Jim Towers jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com and www.thepropheciesmovie.com and book.