For many of you, I’m sure the last several posts have been like being on a roller coaster. It has been new, somewhat exhilarating, yet riddled with much caution. I get you. I was there for a long time. Let me get a little personal and show how the Lord has led me here.

In 2019 my son, only 28, died from cholangiocarcinoma. This is somewhat of a rare autoimmune disease where the body attacks one’s own bile ducts. By the time it was discovered, the tumor had already spread beyond the liver itself. Therefore, surgery, the only sure form of treatment, was no longer possible. He quickly went from working full time, to being in the hospital, to being placed in hospice, to entering eternity. While we knew he was in heaven as he had accepted Christ as his Savior, it was still devastating to live through. My wife went through a type of crisis wanting to really understand for sure that our son was where we knew Scripture stated he now dwelt. It wasn’t a crisis of hope or not believing, but one of reassurance. She read books about the experiences of those who had died and came back to life as well as listened to several prophets, one being one who claimed to have been in heaven many times.

I, of course, was extremely skeptical, but knew I needed to listen as I wanted to be supportive of my wife and at the same time ensure she was not getting trapped into anything contrary to Scripture. There were several of these “prophets” who seemed to refer to scripture with their claims. So, I had to reconsider some of the things I had thought my entire life. During this time came the lockdowns, the mandates, and the chaos. This made me rethink what I had been taught about many aspects of end-time prophecy. The more I read Daniel chapter 7, the more I felt we were living through the very pages of Scripture as I read and reread them.

I then began to hear about another outpouring of the Holy Spirit that was coming which we should prepare for. I then learned how our country turned from a Republic to a Corporation in 1871 and how our enemy, Satan, had been scheming for way longer than I ever realized to rebuild our world into his image. But I knew that prophecy, if from God, always had a message of hope within its message of doom. That’s where Daniel 7 first came into play for me. I saw the message of hope there. The kingdoms of the world would be turned over to the holy ones, i.e., the followers of Christ. I then began to see all the other scriptures that supported this and are the ones we have covered over the last several posts. I encourage you to go back and review those.

So, the bottom line is that it seems we are on the verge of God doing something wonderful—bringing about the biggest revival the world has ever experienced. Does this excite you? Are you ready for something like that? But we also have a responsibility. Paul gave that to us. He said, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Tt 2:11-12). I grant you; this is easier said than done. We live in a world where feelings have been equated with truth. But if we follow what Paul has said, what is the outcome? “The appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Tt 2:13-14). Again, the prophet Habakkuk tells us, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Hk 2:14). Can you imagine it? The outpouring of the Holy Spirit that will make Acts 2 look small and insignificant in comparison. Buckle up. It’s coming. I hope you’ll be ready.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In the last few posts, we have talked about how the Old Testament references the Earth being filled with the Holy Spirit again, post Acts chapter 2. This time, we want to see if the New Testament also supports such a claim.

The account in Acts was a localized outpouring of the Holy Spirit but then spread quickly and widely due to the evangelism of those who accepted Christ as their Savior and then received God’s Spirit. We found out in the book of Habakkuk that the next outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be far more reaching and be like a flood over the Earth. Is such a thing possible? And is there other proof of this event occurring?

First, I think we need to look at how the differences between Christ’s first and second comings were ascertained. Prior to Christ coming the first time, there was much confusion to which Scriptures pointed to his first coming and which to his second coming. After all, much of the religious leader’s resistance to Jesus being the Messiah was that he was not fulfilling all the prophesied claims of the coming Messiah, which, today, we realize will be fulfilled at his second coming.

But, are there any doctrines today that even teach of such an outpouring. Once we get the Holy Spirit, we have him, and he is with us forever. While I can’t say there are no denominations today that teach otherwise, I do know there are many prophets today who are teaching about a greater outpouring coming and do bring in scripture to support their claim. Let’s see what they say about this claim in the New Testament.

One such claim is the gospel message that Jesus taught when he first began his ministry. He taught, as did John the Baptist, to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Mt 3:2; 4:17). To which kingdom were they referring? I was always taught he was referring to Christ’s Millennial Kingdom, but John seems to indicate something else. John told the Jewish leaders that he baptized with water for repentance, but Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt 3:11). Christ was not going to fulfill his kingship at this time because that would limit who all would have a chance to accept him.

It seems Jesus’ ministry was a transformative ministry to prepare people for the coming filling of the Holy Spirit. This would give them the power to also become transformative in the lives of others (Jn 14:12-14). Paul explained this further stating that by what Jesus did on the cross was more significant than we could even imagine. The power of the Holy Spirit which allowed Christ to be raised from the dead also dwells in us (Ep 1:20-21) and will allow all the miracles that Jesus performed to also be performed by those who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them (Jn 14:12-14).

So, what happened? That doesn’t seem to be happening today. Well, it did happen in the beginning. Likely Paul felt he was living in this time of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit because he observed God working many signs and wonders which served as a testament to the power of God and led many to believe in Christ.

Yet, it seems over time, the church became hierarchical and then those in elite positions did not have the Holy Spirit but coveted power and wealth over the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. While accepting Christ as one’s Savior was still taught, the power of the Holy Spirit was not. We discussed some of this previously (Kingdom Age). Christianity became societal transformative and not spiritually transformative. People became good and moral but not necessarily transformative with the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others.

Over time, this led the church to become more and more inept and allow the enemy, Satan, to develop a stronghold that became stronger and stronger. Our enemy has been patient and we have seen how he has ravaged our societies over the last several years. We also discussed this aspect earlier (Will God Show Up Today?).

Just as Israel missed its charge of being priests to the world (Ex 19:5-6), the church has missed its charge to be transformative in the lives of others via the Holy Spirit. Israel will fulfill its charge in the coming Millennial Kingdom of Christ (Kingdom of Priests). It seems that the church will fulfill its charge of the Great Commission when the Holy Spirit’s outpouring comes over the Earth like a flood. A great time to be alive, for sure.

The book of Titus was written later in Paul’s ministry. I think due to the infiltration of false teachers within the church, he likely concluded that they were not living in the time when the Spirit of God would become like a flood over the Earth as Habakkuk had prophesied. He told Titus to teach what Jesus had taught them until God’s glory has manifested itself to purify a people for his very own (Tt 2:11-14).

Maybe this has been a lot for you to understand and process. After all, it is not what many of us have been taught in regard to our future. Me included. Stay with me and I’ll try and summarize next time. I hope you join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Some prophets today are claiming that a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit is upon us. Let’s explore that and see if there are scriptures that would support such a claim. We looked at the passage in Daniel chapter 7 last time but now want to see if there are other passages that support God doing such a work.

This time I would like to explore a passage that is often quoted, but typically without context. Joel 2:27-28 says, “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”

What is meant by “and afterward”? It seems, based on the verses prior to these, that a type of restitution has occurred. Today’s prophets have also mentioned this aspect that is also coming in which everything that has been stolen from us by certain privileged elites of this world will be coming back to us. Then, it seems God will pour out his spirit again in large measure and many will prophesy and have visions of what God has planned for us during this time. We can know this is not referring to the Millennial Age because the verses after these seem to be talking about that aspect of our future. This time is very near for us. That’s rather exciting, isn’t it?

We can also know that this is not talking about the Millennial Age because Peter quoted these verses after the Holy Spirit was given in Acts chapter 2. Certainly, he did not see this time as being after Christ returns, but before. He even believed it was at least partially fulfilled during his lifetime as the Holy Spirit came upon them (Ac 2:16-21).

The prophet Habakkuk speaks of the intensity of this outpouring of the Holy Spirit: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Hk 2:14). He states that this is for “an appointed time” and even though “it lingers,” it will come to pass. It seems the world has been waiting and, according to the prophets, the time is nigh.

Many have grown weary because of all that has transpired over the last few years and the moral decay that has occurred worldwide. They believe the only answer is the return of Jesus Christ to receive his bride. Yet, many prophets today say this is not the Lord’s answer to our current problem. The answer is a return to the power the early Church possessed through the Holy Spirit. God will once again bless us with the empowerment of his Spirit.

But why would he not come for his bride now rather than empowering her? Think about it. Would a bridegroom want to come and receive an battered and torn bride who is all but lifeless? That is not the dream of a bridegroom for his bride, is it? A bridegroom wants a bride who is fresh and eager for his coming and ready to receive him with open arms. He wants her to run into his arms because of love and adoration, not out of desperation and heartbreak. I think Paul summed it up nicely: “I am jealous for you [the church] with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him” (2Co 11:2).

If the prophets are right, then the church will once again become pure and powerful in the Spirit and reunited in Christ with an expectancy as we fulfill the great commission with which we have been charged (Mt 28:18-20).

Now, if such a great event is indeed upon us, wouldn’t there be at least clues in the New Testament as well. I think there are. We’ll explore that next time. Join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In my previous post, I discussed what modern prophets should be focused on if they are indeed prophets of God. In this post, I want us to focus on the main topic that has been brought forth and for us to consider if such is true or not. So, what is this message that has stirred up so much controversy within Christian circles: a new outpouring of God’s glory on the earth.

Prophets in the past tried to warn their fellow citizens of the error of their ways and to focus on what they could not see rather than what they were seeing all around them. Many believed they were doing nothing wrong and that all was in order. Yet, the prophets stated that was not the case and they were living in sin. If they didn’t repent, then God was going to bring doom to them (in their case, captivity). Many did not listen, but for those who were true followers, the prophets also gave a message of hope to those who would hear. Isaiah prophesied and warned of the kingdom of Israel being taken captive by Assyria (Is 8:7-8) but also prophesied of their coming Messiah (Is 7:14), Jeremiah prophesied that Judah would be under Babylonian rule for seventy years (Jr 25:11) but also prophesied of their divided kingdom one day being reunited (Jr 30:3) even more glorious than the way it had been in the past (Jr 31:38-40), and Ezekiel prophesied of the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple (Ek 24:29-21), but then prophesied of a new and glorious temple that God would have built so they could worship God once again (Ek 40-48). Each of these prophets wanted their people to come back to God but warned of consequences of not doing so. Yet, they also made sure everyone knew that God would never abandon them and would bring wonderful things for them in their future.

Is this what modern prophets are doing as well? It seems some are. What is the message of hope some are giving to us? I have talked about this somewhat in a previous post (Kingdom Age). As I mentioned in that post, while some are saying we are on the cusp of the Kingdome Age, I see this as a fourth and final component of the Church Age. What are the Scriptural bases for such a thing to come about?

One such passage of Scripture is Daniel chapter 7. I have spoken about this passage as to what has been going on in our world recently (Will God Show Up Today?), but let’s focus on what was told Daniel that would come about after this. We find this in verses 26-27: “But the court will sit, and his [i.e., the fourth beast’s] power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.” It would seem this is not Christ’s Millennial Kingdom because he will be sovereign at that time, not the holy people themselves. Perhaps this is to what Paul alluded to when he said, “Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?” It seems Paul is comparing the Christians in Corinth to how they will be before Christ’s Kingdom, otherwise, it would not be such a straightforward comparison as to how they would be able to judge others.

Some have stated that this passage is referring to Christ’s Millennium Kingdom because the next sentence states that the kingdom of the Most High will last forever. While this is true, it is not necessarily implying that this kingdom is the same as the kingdom of the previous sentence. The consistency between the two sentences is the “Most High” not the “kingdom” of each sentence. While it is the holy people, or followers of Christ, who will be the rulers of this kingdom, it is under the leadership of the Most High as will the Millennial Kingdom be under his direction as well.

So, it would seem that our hope is not the return of Christ as this time, but the return of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. While this is not saying that all Christians don’t have the Holy Spirit living within them, we must admit that we are not operating in all the power of which we have access to through the Holy Spirit. Paul does tell us that because of what Christ did on the cross, we have access to the same power that raised Christ from the dead. Who can say we are operating with that same power?

If this is the only passage of Scripture about this, we would perhaps gloss over it. Yet, there are others we should review before we make a final consensus on this topic. Join me, and we’ll discuss this topic next time.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens