Visions

OF THE
HARVEST

25th Anniversary Edition

by RICK JOYNER
 Table of Contents
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
A VISION OF THE HARVEST
CHAPTER ONE-THE FINAL CLASH OF LIGHT AND
DARKNESS
CHAPTER TWO-THE FISHNET
CHAPTER THREE-TRIBULATION AND GLORY
CHAPTER FOUR-EXHORTATIONS FROM THE THRONE
THE TITANIC AND THE STOCK MARKET
CHAPTER ONE-FOUNDATIONS ARE IMPORTANT
WAR AND GLORY
THE NEXT WAVE IS UPON US
CATCHING THE NEXT WAVE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MORE FROM MORNINGSTAR
Copyright Information
Visions of the Harvest by Rick Joyner
Copyright © 1998
25th Anniversary Edition, 2012
E-Book Edition, 2013

Distributed by MorningStar Publications, Inc., a division of MorningStar

Fellowship Church
375 Star Light Drive, Fort Mill, SC 29715
www.MorningStarMinistries.org

International Standard Book Number—1-59933-121-7; 978-1-59933-121-8

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New
American Standard Bible, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973,
1974, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Italics in Scripture are for emphasis
only.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any

means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the
author.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

A VISION OF THE HARVEST
In 1987, I had a two-and-a-half-day prophetic experience in
which I was shown two great worldwide moves of God like
waves that would come upon the earth. Both of these would
eclipse every previous revival in history. The first would be so
great that much of the body of Christ would think that it was
the harvest that Jesus said would be the end of this age. It was
not, but it was the ingathering of those who were called to be
laborers in the greatest harvest and the greatest move of God
of all time that would come after it.
The first wave that I was shown began just a couple of years
after I had this experience. Over the following twelve to sixteen
years, more people came to Christ around the world than had
come to Him through the entire church age before that time. At
the peak of this move, it was estimated that nearly four
hundred thousand new believers were coming in every day
worldwide. Nothing had ever been seen like this before. Some
of the greatest evangelists and missionaries in history were
released during this time, and whole nations were transformed.
It is understandable that many thought this was the harvest
that would be the end of this age. It was not. A much bigger
wave will soon break upon the world.
In the 1987 experience, I was shown that between these two
great waves of harvest there would be a period of relative
spiritual quiet. I was not shown how long this would last, but
that we would need all of this time to get ready for the great
move of God that is coming, which will be the greatest move of
God to ever come upon the earth. We have been in this period
for about a decade now. In 2011, I was shown that we do not
have much more time before the next great wave will break
upon the earth. The messages in this book can help us get
ready.
All of these messages came in 1987 and the next few years after
it. They have been published and widely distributed before,
but this is an updated version, which includes all of the
understanding I’ve gained in the last twenty-five years about
the greatest of all events to come upon the world. This is the
time that the prophets and righteous of old desired to see and
that we have been chosen to live in. There has never been a
greater time to know and walk with God than the time that we
are about to enter. There is a lot of work to do, but the power of
the Lord will be with us. It is now time to give our top priority
to getting ready.
The major factors in the coming move of God will be the
following:
1. the unprecedented ingathering of new believers,
1. the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom throughout
the earth,
1. the church becoming the “holy nation” nation it is
called to be, a kingdom culture that spreads throughout
the earth,
1. the emergence of apostolic and prophetic authority that
measures up to their biblical stature,
1. the forming of councils of apostles and elders to
govern the “holy nation” with divine wisdom and
grace,
1. all other authority on earth that is not obedient to the
 Lord will continue to collapse,
1. and the church, “the bride of Christ,” will make herself
ready, becoming the greatest demonstration of God’s
love, and the power of that love, since Jesus walked the
earth.
The following is written to help us get ready by
understanding the times, the unfolding events, and to see the
coming kingdom so that we can help prepare the way for the
coming King.
Chapter One

The Final Clash of Light

and Darkness
A harvest is coming greater than all that came before it. In
Matthew 13:39, Jesus stated that “the harvest is the end of the
age,” and at the end of this age the earth will experience the
greatest ingathering of believers into Christ than in all other
previous moves of God combined. Over and over Jesus warned
that laborers were needed for the harvest, and this is one of the
most desperate needs of the hour. This is not just for
evangelists to reap the harvest, but for pastors and teachers to
get them healed, delivered, and established on sound biblical
doctrine, and then for prophets and apostles to help build them
into the “city set on a hill” that the church is called to be.
Because the harvest is the reaping of what has been sown,
both the good and bad that has been sown in man will be
coming to full maturity together. Isaiah 60:1-2 described this
time:
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of
the LORD has risen upon you.
“For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep
darkness the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you,
and His glory will appear upon you.”
As we see here, it is at the very time that darkness is covering
the earth and deep darkness the people that the glory of the
Lord is appearing on His people. This time will be the ultimate
clash between light and darkness, and both will be in their full
maturity. Even so, the next three verses in this prophecy
declare the outcome (see Isaiah 60:3-5):
“Nations will come to your light, and kings to the
brightness of your rising.
“Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather
together, they come to you. Your sons will come from
afar, and your daughters will be carried in the arms.
“Then you will see and be radiant, and your heart will
thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea will
be turned to you, the wealth of the nations will come to
you.”
This is the “sure word of prophecy” that cannot fail. The light
wins! The nations may be led astray by the darkness for a time,
but ultimately they will turn to the light and the glory that is
appearing on God’s people. A victory can only be as big as the
battle, and this will be the ultimate battle and the ultimate
victory. Losing is not an option, and it is not a fair fight—our
God is all-powerful and He will triumph. His word will come to
pass.

Mature Mantles
We must keep this in mind through the times ahead because
there may be times when it seems victory is impossible, that
evil is prevailing. It will not stand. What the Lord is about to
release on the earth will be like thousands of John the Baptists,
thousands like the Apostle Paul, thousands like Luther, Calvin,
Zwingli, Zinzendorf, Wesley, Whitefield, Edwards, Elliot,
Fenny, and others, many of which are already serving and
reaping a great harvest.
At the end of this age, a mature spirit of Elijah anointing will be
coming upon a great number of prophets. This anointing will
be imparted to the whole church for the fulfilling of the last two
verses in the Old Testament, Malachi 4:5-6:
“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.
“He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their
children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
lest I come and smite the land with a curse.”
This is essential for the glory of the Lord to be revealed by His
people. Honoring our fathers and mothers is the only
commandment with a promise and is included in both the Old
and New Testaments. The promise is stated in Ephesians 6:2-3:
HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first
commandment with a promise),
SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY
LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.

Of course, this commandment has to do with our natural

parents. It has been through the dishonoring of parents,
especially fathers and fatherhood, that a major gate of hell has
been opened upon the earth, which creates much of the
darkness and lawlessness that is emerging in these times.
However, this is not just about our natural parents, but it is for
our spiritual parents as well. We honor our parents by
remembering them and heeding their teaching. Many Christians
are going to discover the deep wells of wisdom and knowledge
by the great spiritual fathers and mothers in history. By
drinking from the wells that they dug, they will receive an
anointing, and in some cases, their mantle.
The Holy Spirit is the Helper, not the Doer. He does not come
upon us and use us like robots, but He helps us with our
commission. The Lord loves the diversity of His creation, and
when His Spirit comes upon us it does not make us into robots,
but unites with who we are. This is why John the Baptist, who
came in the Spirit of Elijah, was very different from Elijah in
many ways. Elijah walked in extraordinary supernatural power,
but John the Baptist did not—he was more of a preacher of
righteousness. Authentic ministries are never copies of the
originals, but all are unique just as we see everyone in
Scripture being unique.
We must also keep in mind that we are seeking to grow up into
Christ, not just one of His messengers. Even so, there are
mantles or anointings that are passed down, even though they
may manifest differently with each one who receives them. Just
as the Lord’s garments were divided after His crucifixion,
mantles are also usually divided and part of them given to
many, not just one. They also mature with each one who wears
them. At the end of this age, they will be fully mature and more
powerful than ever.
While it is always right to honor those who have gone before
us to prepare the way for what we are now walking in, we must
combine this respect with knowledge that we also have our
own destiny. We are not trying to create the first century
church, but the twenty-first century church. We should love,
honor, and receive all that we can from the great vessels in
history, but we cannot fulfill our own purpose by trying to be
like them. We must be who God created us to be.
One of the ultimate conflicts between the light and darkness at
the end of this age will be between the controlling, dominating,
totalitarian spirit that seeks to destroy the human spirit by
making them automatons. The Holy Spirit has come to set us
free to be who God created us to be and who can worship Him
in Spirit and in truth from in our hearts. The bold, confident,
uniqueness of Christians at the end of this age will be a
manifestation of His glory that will stand out as brilliant
beacons to those who have had their humanity stolen from
them by the totalitarian spirit of the age.
David could not wear Saul’s armor to fight the enemy the way
he was skilled at fighting. It was an honorable thing for Saul to
offer David his own armor, and David honored Saul by trying
to wear it, but he also needed to have the wisdom and
resolution to take it off. We will not be able to accomplish our
purpose in our generation by doing things the way the last
generation did them. We need to honorably reject many of the
ways of our spiritual fathers and mothers. The key word here is
“honorably,” but we must do it.
What is still today called “modern missions” actually began
with Zinzendorf and the Moravians more than two hundred
fifty years ago. The mission strategies of those times were
developed to take advantage of the travel and communications
of the times, but are far out of step with our own times. Some of
the most powerful messengers and missionaries of these times
could be bloggers or video producers. The pulpits of our time
are television and the Internet more than the traditional
podium. The Moravians could take six months to get to a
mission post, when there is virtually no place on earth today
that cannot be reached in six days or less.
It is time to put off Saul’s armor, which may have worked well
for him, but is far out of step with these times. Even so, the
message must not change, but in fact, in many ways, it has
been changed. The original must be recovered if we are going
to accomplish our purpose. The gospel of the kingdom, which
is the gospel of Jesus Christ, who He is and where He now sits,
the purpose and power of His cross, and the power of His
resurrection, must be recovered and preached throughout the
world.
The “last trumpet” in the Book of Revelation, or the last
message of this age, is that “our God reigns.” If there is any
change to the presentation of the gospel, we will see it change
from “Come to Him” to “Bow the knee! He is the ruler of
heaven and earth.”
This is not to imply that the gospel of salvation, which we have
redemption and salvation only through the cross of Jesus, will
ever change. Even so, in this age it was an invitation to come
to Him. In Revelation 3:20, we even see Him standing outside
the door of His own church to see if any will open to Him. This
is because this whole age since His resurrection has been for
the calling and preparation of those who would rule with Him in
the age to come. As we come to the end of this age, the
message will change from this invitation to “He reigns.”
Even though the message will change in this way, it is good
news, not bad. As the times unfold, all of heaven and earth will
witness the maturity of rebellion, the consequences of mankind
trying to rule without walking with God. The lesson will be so
complete that no being in all of creation will want to ever try
that again. When the world starts to hear that the Lord is
coming to take His rightful place, that His kingdom is coming,
the earth will rejoice like never before. The gospel will be the
best news the world has ever heard.

Preparing the Way

This vision includes key elements for this coming harvest and
what the Lord is doing in the church now to prepare for it. This
outpouring will ultimately result in some very radical changes
for both the church and the world. These need to be
understood by those who will be used by God for one of the
greatest events in history.
To those who are diligent seekers of God and obedient to His
will, what is coming will not be a disruption, but rather a
continuation. These things will happen to them as a natural
flow of the Spirit and will move them to increased light and
intimacy with Him. Those who are comfortable and resist
change will have a very hard time. Even so, submission to the
Lord, not the circumstances, brings peace and joy, and the
peace, joy, and confidence of those who serve the Lord will
steadily increase.
We are told in Proverbs 4:18, “But the path of the
righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and
brighter until the full day.” As we walk the path of the
righteous, or the right path, our light will grow. It not only
makes our own path clearer, so that we can walk with even
more boldness and confidence, but it helps illuminate the way
for others as well.
Because the Christian life of discipleship is one of
ever increasing light, if our life is not this, then somewhere we
have missed a turn and left the right path. As C.S. Lewis wrote,
“The wrong road never turns into the right road. If we are on
the wrong road, then the only way that we can get back on the
right road is go back to where we missed the turn.” There is
nothing greater that we can do to help our loved ones find the
Way than staying on it ourselves.
Chapter Two

The Fishnet
For the coming harvest, the Lord is preparing a great spiritual
"fishnet," one able to hold the great catch that is coming. This
net is formed by linking together His people in true
relationships. The stronger the communication and
relationships, the stronger this net will be. It will not only
happen in local churches among members, but between local
churches, ministries, and movements throughout cities, states,
and around the world.
In Ephesians 4:15-16, we see this principle: “We are to grow up
in all aspects into Him, who is the Head, even Christ, from
whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that
which every JOINT supplies.” A joint is not a part, but it is
where two or more parts come together. A great fitting together
is happening in the Spirit now which will increase in the near
future on all levels.

Come Together
The Spirit is compelling pastors to get together with other
pastors, prophets with prophets, apostles with apostles, and
even whole congregations are beginning to visit and interrelate
with other congregations apart from their own circles. This is
the Lord's doing. Some of these meetings may seem fruitless
because of improper agendas, but they will bear fruit and links
will be made. Soon the Lord's presence in these meetings will
melt all presumption and the façades which separate us from
union with Him and each other. His presence will stimulate
worship which will bring about a Psalm 133 unity. As we anoint
the Head with our worship, the oil will flow down to the edge of
His robes, covering the entire body.
He is beginning this breakdown of barriers with the leadership
because this is where most barriers originate and where they
are the strongest. As these walls come down in the leadership,
the entire body will begin to flow together. If the leaders resist
this move, the Lord will continue through the congregations.
These will begin to relate to other members of the body of
Christ and their bonds will grow stronger regardless of the
resistance or warnings of some pastors. The pastors and
leaders who continue to resist this tide of unity will be removed
from their places. Some will become so hardened they will
become opposers and resist God to the end, but most will be
changed and repent of their resistance to this irresistible tide of
unity.
Because of the magnitude of the "catch," this net will be rent
many times and will be in need of constant mending. Much of
the discord now taking place in the church is used by the Lord
to prepare those whose task in the harvest will be almost
exclusively devoted to the mending and binding of this great
net. These peacemakers will have a great part in building this
net and will have a major impact on the effectiveness of the
entire revival. Those who seem to always find themselves in
the middle of conflicts should be encouraged with the
knowledge that they are being prepared for a great work.
Some who were used greatly by God in the past have become
too rigid in doctrinal emphasis or too entangled with spiritual
“Ishmaels” to participate in this revival. Some of these will try
to join the work, but their interrelationships will be so
superficial that they will quickly be torn from the net with the
first catch. Those who are linked together by doctrine or who
gather around personalities will quickly be torn away. Only
those who are joined by and through Jesus will stand the
pressure this harvest will bring upon the church (see
Colossians 1:17).
The redemption of so many will bring much joy, but it will also
come with problems that bring enormous stress to
congregations and ministers. The cords of unity must be very
strong to withstand this pressure, and they can only be strong
to the degree that we abide in the Lord and love one another.
Those who have not learned to take the Lord's yoke and try to
carry the burdens themselves will be overwhelmed. Entering
the Sabbath rest of the Lord will become a major emphasis in
preparation for the harvest. Heed this word!

A Revolution
A large number who are now considered Christians, even
“Spirit-filled” Christians, have never been led to the Lord. They
were led to the church, to a personality, or to a doctrine, but
not to the Lord Himself. Some of these will think they are
important links in the net but will actually become part of the
harvest, starting over again on the proper Foundation—Jesus.
This group includes many well-known ministers and pastors.
Their humility in this will lead multitudes to question and
strengthen their own relationships with the Lord. This will
strengthen and encourage the entire body of Christ.
Many denominations, local fellowships, and circles of
emphasis will begin disbanding and severing what was built on
improper ties, in order to take their place in this great net that
the Lord is now forming. For some, these ties will just be
ignored or forgotten until they have passed away because of
the greater intensity and substance of this new move. For
others, it will be a very painful rending as they are persecuted
and rejected by those who do not understand. Those who are
required to leave much behind will soon receive many times
more than what they have left.
Some leaders will actually disband their organizations as they
realize that they are no longer relevant to what God is doing.
Others will just leave them behind to disband of themselves.
Ultimately, all circles of ministry or influence with individual
identities will dissolve into a single identity of simply being
Christians for all who become part of this harvest. Single
presbyteries will form over cities and localities. These will be
made up of pastors and leaders from all different backgrounds.
Their unity and harmony in purpose, as well as that of the
various congregations, will become a marvel to the world.
The Lord will give these presbyteries great wisdom and
discernment, but there will be no doubt that Jesus alone will be
the Head of His church. What is coming will be bigger than any
man or council of men could control or administrate.
The Lord's purpose in preparing for the harvest is to JOIN, not
to separate. The dismantling of organizations and disbanding
of some works will be a positive and exhilarating experience for
the Lord's faithful servants. They will not be just leaving
something behind; they will be going on to a much greater
work. Those who have fallen to worship the work of God more
than the God of the work will have trouble, but most of these
too will be set free by the tremendous anointing that is coming.

Stumbling Blocks
Those who feel called to attack and tear down the old will not
be sent from the Lord. There will be many “stumbling blocks”
circulating in the church that will cause confusion and some
destruction from time to time. They will perceive themselves as
prophets sent to judge and deliver. Those serving in leadership
must trust their discernment and remove the stumbling blocks.
These are the “faultfinders” Jude wrote about.
To be distinguished from the “stumbling blocks,” the Lord will
raise up a great company of prophets, teachers, pastors, and
apostles who will be of the spirit of Phinehas. Just as the son
of Eleazar could not tolerate iniquity in the camp of the Lord,
this “ministry of Phinehas” will save congregations, and at
times, even whole nations from the plagues that will be
sweeping the earth. They will be moved by the jealousy of the
Lord for the purity of His people. They will be sent to save and
preserve the work of the Lord, not to tear down as the
stumbling blocks so fashion themselves.
Chapter Three

Tribulation and Glory

For a time, there will be such an inflow of people that even this
great net cannot hold them all. Many of the former works and
organized churches will be swollen with this overflow. Because
of this, they will assert that they are both the cause and
primary purpose for this revival. This delusion will not last long
because concurrent with the harvest will be gripping tribulation
in the world which will eventually consume these works that
are not built on the right foundation. This is the judgment of
the Lord against the works He did not commission: The great
“sea” or mass of humanity, which they sought to rule, will rise
up to destroy them.

Lawlessness Increases
Wars will increase. There will even be some nuclear exchanges,
but on a limited basis, mostly between third world nations. Far
more will perish by plagues and natural disasters than by wars
during the period of this vision. The very foundations of
civilization will shake and erode. Even the world’s most stable
governments will be melting like wax, losing authority and
control over their populations. Eventually it will be hard to find
anyone with the courage to assume authority. This will cause
sweeping paranoia throughout the entire earth.
Huge mobs will attack everything in their paths. The
infrastructure of the great denominational churches and large
visible ministries will be one of their primary targets and will
vanish almost overnight. Pagan religions, cults, and witchcraft
will spread like plagues, but these will also become targets of
the mobs. By this time, governments will have broken down to
the point where lynchings and mass executions perpetrated by
these mobs are ignored by the authorities. Fear and deep
darkness will cover the earth, but this will just make the glory
which is appearing upon the saints more striking.

A New Breed of Ministry

In all nations, masses of people will be streaming to the Lord.
The inflow will be so great in places that very young Christians
will be pastoring large bodies of believers. Arenas and
stadiums will overflow nightly as the believers come together
to hear the apostles and teachers.
At this time, few congregations will remain separate entities.
Many elders and pastors may be stationary, but groups they
oversee will be constantly changing. Some of these will be
moving on because of persecution and others because the
Lord will scatter them to carry His message abroad like seed.
Near the end (of the vision), the body of Christ is like a great
flowing river sweeping about as freely as the wind. One day
there may be meetings in a public auditorium or stadium, the
next day in a park, and continually from house to house.
Great meetings that stir entire cities will happen spontaneously.
Extraordinary miracles will be common while those considered
great today will be performed almost without notice by young
believers. Angelic appearances will be common to the saints
and a visible glory of the Lord will appear upon some for
extended periods of time as power flows through them.
Their unity will be in Jesus, and He alone will be the Head of
His church. Eventually, the Lord's presence will be so great
during this revival that, like the twenty-four elders in
Revelation, all crowns will be cast at His feet and spiritual
presumption will be unthinkable.
Those in leadership will be the most humble of all. Those who
presume leadership without calling will be apparent to all. The
leaders of this move will be true servants, not interested in
reputation or position. Their humility will open them to become
channels for wave after wave of living water. “He will dwell
with the humble of the land.”
This harvest will be so great that no one will look back at the
early church as a standard, but all will be saying that the Lord
has saved His best wine for last. The early church was a
firstfruits offering; truly this is the harvest! It was said of the
Apostle Paul that he was turning the world upside down; it will
be said of the apostles soon to be anointed that they have
turned an upside down world right side up. Nations will tremble
at the mention of their names.
These men and women of God will take little notice of their own
accomplishments because of their burning love for the One
working through them and the recognition of His
accomplishments. Like Jesus, they will flee to the mountains
when men try to make them kings or exalt them improperly.
Their exaltation or authority will not come through man; it will
only come from above. As the masses will be seeking anyone
to take authority during these times, this comes as a warning! If
the people make you king, who rules? The authority that the
Lord will establish will be very different from what even His
own people now perceive. Do not try to rule, just serve.
Through this, His authority will flow and begin to bring order
though peace.
Chapter Four

Exhortations From the

Throne
The magnitude of these events cannot be expressed here,
neither the chaos nor the move of the Holy Spirit. As to the
“rapture” or second appearance of the Lord Jesus, I was not
given anything concerning that in this vision. What I was
allowed to foresee ended with increasing chaos and increasing
revival.
There will be words and exhortations originating from the very
throne of the Lord and carrying great authority, coming to
prepare His church for the days to come. Not to presume this
will be all that He will be saying, but we will soon hear His
prophets and teachers begin to emphasize the following:
1. BUILD UPON THE ONLY FOUNDATION THAT CAN
BE LAID, JESUS HIMSELF. Works that are built upon
truths instead of the Truth will not stand. Many
congregations and ministries are devastated today by the
slightest shaking. The works that are properly built on
Jesus will withstand the greatest trials and attacks without
being moved.
There will be a great emphasis on the Lord Jesus Himself
in the days to come. The increasing revelation of Him will
overshadow the many emphases of the past like the sun
does the moon when it rises. The truths that have been
such a distraction will begin to seem insignificant as the
church begins to see Him “in whom are hidden ALL of the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (see Colossians
2:3).
2. REMOVE THE BARRIERS AND FACADES THAT
SEPARATE US FROM THE LORD AND EACH OTHER.
We must become more intimate with Him and through Him
with each other. Spiritual pride and the exaltation of men,
individual truths, or works, will come under unrelenting
discipline from the Lord and will soon be understood as
“strange fire.” Those who continue to offer it will perish
from the ministry with such demonstration that a pure and
holy fear of the Lord will sweep the body of Christ. This
will help the church to move into true spiritual worship and
a unity that is based on that worship.
3. ABIDE IN THE SABBATH REST OF THE LORD. This
will become an increasing emphasis in the teaching and a
reality as the Lord enters His temple, the church. Our
growing intimacy with Him will bring a peace that will
actually calm the storm of the rising sea of humanity. The
intensity of the times will overwhelm any pseudo peace.
We must be one with the “Lord of the Sabbath.”
4. HEED THE SPIRITUAL PREPARATION WHICH MAY
BE REFLECTED IN THE NATURAL. For example, some
have begun moving their assets into precious metals or
land. This may be helpful, but it is far more important to
take the spiritual land and lay up our treasures in heaven.
The Lord is seeking givers who will become channels of
His supply. For them, there will be no lack. Those that
hoard or do not learn to freely give may suffer increasing
crisis in their earthly affairs. This is the Lord's discipline to
set them free. Some who are faithful and generous givers
may also experience increasing crisis in this, but it is for
their preparation to be great channels for the provision of
many. Remember Joseph.
Some are feeling they should limit their travel to certain
areas and are beginning to emphasize cleanliness and
morality because of the epidemics. This may be helpful,
but there is only one deliverance from the judgments of
God—to be found in Christ. Spiritual purity is far more
important than the natural and can alone protect us from
any plague.
5. “THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH,” NOT FEAR.
Fears will greatly increase in the world. Actions taken by
the church because of fear will almost always prove
destructive. Some “faith teaching” has muddied the waters
to the degree that some do not even want to hear the word
“faith.” This frequently happens before the Lord begins a
great work. A great revelation of true faith is coming. This
will be an essential revelation for us to serve in these days.
Some will be called to walk where angels fear to tread.
KNOW that He who is in us is MUCH greater than he who
is in the world.
The vessels He is now preparing will walk in a boldness
and confidence that will astonish a world gripped in fear.
Our faith will grow as the presence of the Lord increases.
True faith is the recognition of the One in whom we
believe. When one truly and properly fears the Lord, he
will not fear anything else.
 In the coming days, many will exist in the miraculous on a
continual basis. This will become as natural to them as the
gathering of manna was to Israel. Some of the Lord's
exploits on behalf of His people will be unprecedented,
exceeding the greatest biblical miracles. These will seem
almost normal as they take place because the presence of
the Lord will cause more wonderment than His works. He
will be very close to His people in these days.
6. THE LORD WILL SOON OPEN OUR
UNDERSTANDING OF HIS WORD AND PURPOSES
TO A DEPTH BEYOND OUR PRESENT
COMPREHENSION. The “Books” (of prophecy) are yet
to be “opened” as they will be. When they are, our
understanding of even basic truths, such as salvation,
being born again, etc., will be enormously increased. This
will give far more substance and depth of purpose to the
entire body of Christ. The functions of the gifts and
ministries will come with increasing authority and power as
their confidence increases with knowledge.
The spiritual dimension will become more real to the
church than the natural. When the proper foundation has
been adequately laid in the church (our union and
devotion to Jesus Himself), the Spirit of revelation will be
poured out as never before.

Honor Fathers and Mothers, But Press On

The charismatic renewal was a notable outpouring, but it seems
to many that there was little lasting fruit. Multitudes who met
the Lord were lost again to the world, but the Lord did
accomplish what He intended. During this movement, more
churches were planted, movements begun, missionaries sent
out, and salvations numbered than in any previous move of
God in history. Many of those brought into the kingdom
remained and matured. He now has what will prove to be a
strong foundation to build upon, a net to hold the catch that
He has prepared for the end of the age. Through the
tribulations and dry times of the last few years, He has
carefully been weaving strong cords that He is now beginning
to bind together.
Do not resist the Lord in this work. Seek greater intimacy with
Him and open yourself to your fellow members in the body of
Christ. Reach out to them and remove the barriers. Those who
have drifted into extremes will be brought back to the course
never again to be distracted from the River of Life by the little
tributaries that feed it. Those who have resisted new truth will
soon be diving into the River, fearless of rocks or depths. The
anointing will soon break all of our yokes. The Reformation
showed us the Way. The Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Third
Wave renewals began leading us on to Truth. Through the
revival that is coming, we will come to know Jesus as our Life.
When the cord has all three strands it will not be easily broken.
This word is given for the PREPARATION of those the Lord
desires to use. Relationships are about to be built between
ministries and congregations that have feared and rejected
each other in the past. He will do this in many without
changing their doctrines or emphasis; He will merely cause His
people to rise above such differences and worship Him in
unity. As He is lifted up, we will gradually begin to wonder
how many things that were so important to us and often
divided us, could have had so much of our attention. As this
final battle begins, we will all be amazed, and sometimes
ashamed, at those we find on our side.
Humble yourself under His mighty hand so that you may take
part in a great exaltation. Those who allow themselves to be
emptied, who lay aside all personal ambition to become of no
reputation and patiently suffer rejection and misunderstanding,
will soon stir the entire world with the King's message.
 THE
TITANIC
ANDTHE
STOCK
MARKET

By RICK JOYNER
Chapter One
 Foundations Are
Important
Because this was written at the time of the 1987 stock market
crash, which came right about the time that the Titanic was
found on the bottom of the North Atlantic, the original version
of this message focused on those two events. Both of these
did have prophetic significance and feeling that the message is
timeless, this version was modified slightly to make it more
sensitive to present events.
In a sense, the whole world is like the Titanic on that fateful
night, still sailing through the darkness in a sea of icebergs.
We continue to bump some, scrape by others, repair the
damage, and keep going. For this we can be thankful, but we
are now in as much, or more, danger than ever. We are still a
long way from a safe port. These lessons are as crucial now for
us to understand as they have ever been.
To interpret current events in the light of divine purpose has
always been a primary function of the prophets. They see the
relationship between events in conjunction with God’s works
and His message. God’s prophets do not just foretell or predict,
but much of their ministry is devoted to the explanation of
signs or messages. Extraordinary events are taking place today
that do have a message for those who will hear. One of these
recent, significant events was the discovery of the Titanic on
the bottom of the North Atlantic. This was a divine reminder of
conditions and attitudes that can sink the most seemingly
unsinkable project, business, ministry, or state.
A Prophetic Parallel
When built, the Titanic was a symbol of the opulence and
invincibility that the British Empire felt in those days. She
reflected that period’s extravagance and arrogance as well as
the belief that nothing could sink their expanding world
economy and dominion. This attitude is in contrast to God's
wisdom that warns: “Pride goes before destruction, and a
haughty spirit before stumbling” (Proverbs16:18). Few
considered His wisdom, and the subsequent catastrophes of
both the ship and the empire are now history.
As the Titanic departed on her maiden voyage, Britain could
not even conceive that such a fate awaited her and she would
never see port again. Neither could many perceive that after
one hundred years of freedom from war in Europe that in just
two years the entire continent and much of the world would be
in the throes of the worst war in history. Their invincible empire
was about to hit an iceberg that would ultimately send them to
the same end where every one of man’s previous empires had
gone.
Many in the British clergy encouraged the arrogance of the
empire. They preached a conservative patriotism because they
saw the empire as the only true protector of the faith and
promulgator of the gospel. Their missionaries circled the globe
to convert natives in the colonies. Their spiritual heritage was
rich; British subjects who refused to compromise their
convictions impacted the world with revival and reformation.
They also gave the world one of its greatest spiritual gifts—the
King James Version of the Bible. They could foresee no other
country in the world carrying the mantle of spiritual authority
as they had. By the turn of the century, they had reached their
limits and were resting more on what they had accomplished
than on what was left to do. Pride had replaced vision. When
this happens, the end is always near.
The Titanic was just one of many messages the Lord gave
Britain to call her to repentance—a repentance that would
enable her to continue leading the world toward the fulfillment
of His purposes and would give them the opportunity to reach
even greater spiritual heights. She did not listen. Now she is
firmly entrenched in tradition, her greatness in the past, the
mantle given to another.
Just as the Lord used the British Empire for a period, He has
used the United States in a great way. We have possibly even
surpassed the British in preaching the gospel. We were used to
aid in the reestablishment of Israel as a nation and as the
primary hedge against the communist plague. By giving
purpose and meaning to the value of the individual, and
establishing a government devoted to promoting initiative,
America rose to become the greatest nation in history. When
the U.S. had the power to dominate the world and dictate
policy as the lone possessor of nuclear weapons, her esteem
for liberty and free determination would not even consider it.
She was a nation of pioneers, more interested in going
somewhere new or making something new, than controlling
others. The apostle exhorted us to give honor to whom honor
is due, and much honor is due to so many who risked their
lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to give birth to
such a nation devoted to liberty.
Now, as painful as it is to see, the handwriting is on our wall.
The most destructive thing that can happen to a great nation
has happened to the U.S.—vision has been turned into pride.
The forward momentum slowed, and many began to rest more
on what has been done than pressing on toward what is left to
do. Paul warned the Gentiles, who have been grafted into the
vine because of the Jews’ hardness of heart, that they could be
quickly removed by their own pride. In the same way, pride can
remove us from our position in God’s purposes. He is able to
raise up even the most insignificant nation to take our place.
He does not need us; we need Him.
There is yet hope, and signs of another great awakening are
beginning in the United States. An alarm usually has to be
annoying to do its job, and alarms have been sounding that are
bringing a righteous agitation. There is yet hope, but let us
consider the warnings.
Warning to the United States
The sinking of the Titanic was a warning to Britain to repent of
her arrogance, a warning that nothing man could build is
invincible. Her discovery on the bottom of the North Atlantic is
a timely reminder of just how foolish some of our present
arrogance will prove to be if we do not repent of it. The space
shuttle catastrophe was another warning to the U.S. The glory
of this nation of technological wonders was rising to the
heavens one minute, the next she was gone, exactly as the
biblical admonition states:
“And I will grant wonders in the sky above, and signs on
the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke”
(Acts 2:19).
The nation was shocked and horrified by the blood, the fire,
and the vapor of the smoke that the Challenger burned in our
hearts that day, but did we get the message? The Lord did not
blow up the Challenger, our pride did. Pride breeds
carelessness. Without repentance, this nation can evaporate
into a few tiny little fragments just as quickly as the Challenger.
Economically, we are primed for just such a disaster.
Is there hope for the U.S.? Yes, if there is repentance. With
every prophet and warning that the Lord sends to the nations,
He sends an appeal for repentance. The judgments foretold are
only if they refuse to heed the warning and turn from their
wicked ways. This patience on the Lord’s part is wonderfully
illustrated in the Book of Jonah. The prophet declared that the
city was doomed, but the inhabitants repented of their
wickedness, entreated the Lord for mercy, and He spared them.
Many prophecies were given in the 1970s about the impending
judgment to have come at the turn of the decade. There was a
measure of repentance and the Lord gave us more time. Even
so, we must not think that because the judgments did not come
to pass that the prophecies were not from the Lord. They
accomplished the repentance and the Lord gave more time.
This was repeated again in the 1980s, then the 1990s, and again
in the 2000s. There were great gatherings in Washington with
hundreds of thousands praying, repenting, and asking for
divine intervention. If something like this had happened in the
Old Testament times, it would be memorialized in canon
Scripture. Think about how it would read, “Hundreds of
thousands gathered before the king’s palace to repent of their
sins and call upon the Lord….” This would have been one of
the most extraordinary events in the Old Testament, and these
certainly gained the attention of heaven—and gave us more
time.
It does not take much repentance for the Lord to relent of His
intended judgment. When Abraham asked if He would spare
Sodom for just ten righteous men, He said that He would.
Abraham had begun by asking if there were fifty righteous and
kept lowering the number. The Lord did not stop until Abraham
did. He is certainly gracious and desires mercy over judgment.
For this we should be very thankful, but not become
presumptuous.
The repentance experienced by the U.S. seemed hardly
measurable to many prophets, but it was enough for the Lord
to give us longer. He is inclined to give grace. If there is a
measure of turning from the evil that would bring His judgment,
and the Lord relents again for a period of time, will we be like
Jonah and mourn because the Lord did not bring down His
fire? Are we going to be discouraged and refuse to keep
prophesying?
No. Let us speak His words with boldness while praying for the
people to hear and repent. A single soul is worth more than the
ridicule we might suffer because of the perception that our
prophecies did not come to pass. How much more an entire
nation? We should pray for repentance that these things will
not have to come to pass now. About the present warnings
many are saying today, “We've heard that all before and
nothing happened.” They do not understand why nothing
happened. The Scriptures are clear that times of trouble will
come upon the world, so we should always be ready but also
thankful for the peace when we have it.
It is right to pray for repentance and peace but prepare for
troubles. If the troubles come, we know the kingdom is that
much closer, so we have cause for rejoicing either way. We
must not be like the foolish virgins who decided to sleep
because the Lord seemed to delay His coming. If He gives us
another year or fifty, let us use the time wisely. Even if we have
fifty more years, we do not have time to waste.
Even with the large prayer and repentance movements, the
troubles and the dangers in the world have increased. In the
United States, the wickedness that brings judgment has also
increased. The repentance must go beyond the sorrow and
willingness to gather in events but must translate into a change
of behavior. Presently, the ultimate depravity of “calling good
evil, and evil good, honoring the dishonorable while
dishonoring the honorable” is gaining an increasing grip on
the United States, which still claims to be over 80 percent
Christian. Large gatherings are no longer enough—we must
have revival in America.
The Pride of Man
It is hard not to marvel constantly at the inventions of
mankind. It is right that we should be impressed with them and
to give honor to those whom honor is due for helping to make
the modern world much more comfortable and easy. Invention
and creativity were put in man as the image of his Creator who
rejoices in creativity. However, when we start to think that it is
our own wisdom and power apart from our Creator, the same
pride enters into man that entered into Satan and caused the
first fall, and most of them since.
The world’s wealthy and famous streamed onto the Titanic for
her maiden voyage. Man really thought that he had built
something that could not sink. It was almost as foolish as the
men of Shinar who thought they could build a tower that could
reach heaven. Because they didn't think their ship could sink,
they sailed boldly into dangerous waters with reckless
abandon. This “unsinkable” pride of the empire proved to be
very fragile, just like the empire itself, just like every empire.
In relation to the present world economy, it has been repeated
often, and believed by many, that the kind of crash that
happened in 1929 could never happen again. It is said there are
too many safeguards, a stronger Federal Reserve, higher
margin requirements for speculators and institutions, FDIC,
FSLIC, SIPC, and so on. Do not believe it. We are more
vulnerable to a worldwide economic catastrophe than at any
time in history, and we are merrily sailing along in the most
treacherous seas. The Fed, FDIC, and all of the other
safeguards are lifeboats that may save a few, but they are
wholly inadequate for the voyage we’re on.
The owners of Titanic felt that having even half the lifeboats a
ship her size should have carried was superfluous. Today's
leaders are sailing with the same disdain for reason while
touting their ingenuity in designing a ship they think cannot
sink. In October 1987, we hit an iceberg. We hit another with
the “dot.com crash” in the 1990s, and another with the terrible
blow we took from the September 11 World Trade Center
attack. We banged into another economic iceberg in 2008. Each
time the ship of state was repaired and continued to sail. We
should all be thankful for this, but this by no means guarantees
that the next one won’t be even more devastating, even to the
sinking of the ship. No state, no economy, is unsinkable. The
world economy is now very battered and just limping along. It
could grind to a stop or start taking on water faster than it can
be pumped out at any time.
It is a repeated truth that those who do not know history are
doomed to repeat it. Students of history marvel at the
repetitious cycles of human mistakes. Few have been able to
break out of these cycles. Few have been wise enough to see
anything but what they wanted to see in the trends and events
taking place around them. This has also been the case with
many that were called as prophets to warn the world and the
church. As it was with the biblical seers, those calling for
repentance will be lonely voices. The majority who claim to be
messengers will always be found preaching prosperity and
peace; the majority has always been more concerned about
their acceptance than the truth of the message.
Those in authority, by the nature of their power, feel compelled
to put the worst face on the problems of their predecessors,
and the best face on the problems they create. Only the most
courageous leaders have been able to hear the warnings and
take action before the problems reached crisis levels. Empire
after empire, nation after nation, churches, organizations,
companies, and even families, continue to fail because their
leaders refuse to face the problems until they are beyond
control.
It is sobering how the reactions of the politicians and experts
after the stock market crash of October 1987 and the
subsequent economic blows echoed the voices of October
1929. In some cases, you wondered if they were reading from a
history book. After the crash in 1929, the first response of the
politicians was to point out the “underlying health of the
economy.” Christmas sales that year were as brisk as ever. The
crash was soon almost forgotten, remembered as a curiosity
more than anything else. After the crash, the market began to
rise again and continued for almost three years, until June 1932,
when the Depression actually began.
Even though it was under the surface for awhile, the economy
began unraveling in ‘29; the ship of state was taking on water.
Pressure rose for the government to do something. As much as
they tried to do what Wall Street demanded, everything they
did only exacerbated the problem. As it turned out, the
underlying health of the economy was far sicker than anyone
had foreseen.
When the Titanic hit the iceberg, there was a disconcerting jolt.
Almost everyone felt it, but after a minute or two, the party
continued. No one could imagine that in just a few hours most
of them would be on the bottom of the North Atlantic. The ship
was just so big and luxurious, and all of the experts said it was
unsinkable. The Lord Jesus and Paul both warned us that the
final catastrophe of the age would be just like this, just as it
was in the days of Noah.
“For as in those days which were before the flood
they were eating and drinking, they were marrying
and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah
entered the ark,
and they did not understand until the flood came and
took them all away” (Matthew 24:38-39).
While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then
destruction will come upon them suddenly.
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day
should overtake you like a thief (I Thessalonians 5:3-
4).
The stock market is usually a thermometer which continually
takes the temperature of business. It reflects the value the
world puts on the economy. Occasionally, it has become a
thermostat, setting the direction and pace of business. When
that happens, it is usually catastrophic. Not since October 1929
has this begun to happen so frequently with the stock market
leading the economy instead of reflecting it.
As Roger Smith, the Chairman of General Motors stated when
asked about the 1987 turmoil on Wall Street: “We didn’t just
have a tummy ache here in our country; we had a genuine,
certified heart attack! If you don't recognize it as a heart attack,
and if you don't get on that diet and start doing your exercise,
you can have another one and it could be terminal.”
2008 and Beyond
Twenty-one years passed from the Stock Market Crash of 1987
to the crash of 2008. There were some bumps during that time,
and the unprecedented challenge of the 9/11 terrorist attacks
and subsequent war on terror, but mostly these two decades
seemed to be a time of stabilizing and almost boundless
prosperity for the West. Much of the prosperity had been built
on a real estate bubble created by subprime lending. The day
of reckoning came in the fall of 2008, and the world has tottered
on the edge of economic collapse since. Now instability is the
norm with wild swings in virtually every market becoming
common.
The economic force is often referred to as an “engine” because
it parallels the operation of an engine. It has many parts that
must work together and needs fuel to run on. As a jet pilot, I
learned to pay close attention to my engine instruments and
know what they were indicating. Even if the particular systems
were staying within their tolerances, certain trends could
foretell serious problems. If there are oscillations, even though
they stay within parameters, the engine may not just quit, it
could explode. The economic instruments of the entire world
are not only oscillating wildly, but they have long ago, and by
a large margin, departed their safe parameters.
Because world leaders have failed to address some of the most
basic economic problems, the prospect of a fast, even
instantaneous meltdown of the world economy has gone from
a possibility to a probability. There are now several crises that
could cause this. With currencies no longer backed by
anything but faith in the governments issuing them, just one
major player refusing to take them anymore could begin the
panic that unravels the entire monetary system. It is that fragile
now.
In 1987, I was shown that bartering would be the currency for a
period of time. At the time, this seemed farfetched, but now it
seems imminent. Believers all over the world have been hearing
that they should have food and water supplies that could last
several months. This seems very prudent.
Jim Bakker began encouraging Christians to get prepared in
this way years ago. He prophesied the Katrina disaster several
weeks before the storm hit and not many listened. He
prophesied the 2011 Japan quake and tsunami several weeks
before it struck, and some Japanese listened and ordered food
to store. When the disaster struck, they sent pictures with the
story of how their neighbors had to stand in line many hours a
day for provisions, and they did not have to stand in lines, but
rather had that time for ministry. When disaster strikes, it will
be harvest time and the prepared will save many.
Eyes to See
The Titanic received numerous warnings about the ice field
which lay directly across their path, and they did not even slow
down. Even if they were unsinkable, to hit an iceberg head-on
would almost certainly cause great damage and loss of life.
After the tragedy, it was reported that the lookouts had
requested binoculars and were refused them. In the hearings
after the disaster, it was determined that if they had been given
binoculars it is likely this tragedy would have been averted.
Today we have a very similar condition in the church, with
very few being willing to invest the little that it takes to raise up
and equip true watchmen who can see.
When the first rescue ship arrived in the morning, they were
astonished at how far into the ice field the Titanic had gone
without hitting an iceberg. They had difficulty getting to the
Titanic’s position in daylight because of the great number of
icebergs. The only possible reason for Smith’s proceeding with
such disdain for the danger is an incredible false sense of
security.
When one looks at the course of Western economic policy for
the last few decades, one must also wonder what were our
leaders thinking, and how have we possibly survived a
catastrophe this long? The only answer is that the Lord truly
has His angels holding back the four winds of the earth until
His bondservants are ready (see Revelation 7:1).
It does appear that we have come to the time when the world
will go through the greatest troubles ever known—but these
are also birth pangs for the coming of a new age, one in which
our King will reign. He exhorted us to know the signs of the
times and to be prepared. This is not just to save ourselves,
but we are called to take action. There is much for us to do, but
we will not be able to save others if we are drowning ourselves.
Because they believed the hype and vain boasts of the
engineers and owners, the Titanic’s crew never held a proper
lifeboat drill. They did not have a plan for the orderly
movement of passengers to the boats, and most of the crew did
not even know how to lower them. Everything had to be
learned while the ship was sinking under their feet. This
obviously contributed to a much greater loss of life than was
necessary. Many boats were lowered only partially full, one
with only twelve people.
Many passengers just did not believe the ship could sink and
refused to leave the comfort and warmth of its cabins.
Hundreds of those willing to abandon her were held below
decks until it was too late. The entire ship had been caught off
guard by the events of that fateful night, and they paid dearly
for it. Will we be caught in the same position? The Lord
exhorted us to know the signs of the times and not to sleep on
our watch. Prophets throughout the land are now calling for
PREPARATION; the Lord is giving us signs in the heavens
and on the earth. He is NOW loading His lifeboat.
“TODAY if you hear His voice, do not harden you hearts”
(see Hebrews 4:7).
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time
when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters
they shall not reach him (Psalm 32:6).
In coming years, devastating economic problems will be
sweeping the world in waves. Great countries and societies will
be collapsing. Like the passengers on the Titanic, the water will
lap at our ankles, then our knees, and then there will be a mad
rush to the highest part of the ship. It will all be in vain; the
whole ship is going to sink. The entire world system is near the
end, but we don’t have to go down with this ship, because we
don’t have to be on it.
Be Prepared
So what do we do? SEEK THE LORD! I do not mean seek Him
for instructions as to what we should do—seek Him because
HE IS what we should do. He is the Ark of God in whom we will
be delivered from every flood. He Himself bore the curse of our
sins and absorbed the judgment that was ours. If we are
abiding in Him, we do not have to fear the judgment against
sin.
This does not mean that we will not be here or will not have to
endure trials. It does mean that even if we are called to walk
through the fire, it will not burn us. The floods may come, but
our house will be built upon a Rock that can sustain any storm.
For years, doctrines have been preached which have lulled the
church into a deep sleep. They did this by assuring us that
those in Christ would not have to go through troubles. This is
contrary to the entire testimony of Scripture. He said that in the
world we would have tribulation, and that “through many
tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (see Acts
14:22).
In every trial there is a doorway to the kingdom. When the
world goes through “the great tribulation,” it will be the
doorway through which the entire world enters the kingdom.
We see this in places such as Isaiah 60. As written, while
darkness is covering the earth and deep darkness the people,
God’s glory will be rising on His people, and as we see in verse
3, the world will come to the light. The light is going to win!
Let us consider, would it be better to be prepared and not have
to go through tribulation, or to not be prepared and have to go
through it? The Lord exhorted us to be ready and watching—
to be prepared. We cannot continue with the delusions of the
Titanic crew who did not think that adversity could come to
them—because then it will. There is no Scripture that says we
will be raptured before tribulation. There obviously is a time
when those who are Christ’s will be changed and caught up to
meet Him as He returns, but nowhere does it say when except
at His return. Many have based their entire hope on the
conjecture of a few men and women when the whole Bible is a
testimony of God’s deliverance and victory through tribulation,
not from it.
As Corrie ten Boom once declared: “I have been in countries
where the saints are already suffering terrible persecution. In
China the Christians were told, ‘Don't worry, before the
tribulation comes, you will be translated—raptured.’ Then
came a terrible persecution. Millions of Christians were tortured
to death. Later I heard a Bishop from China say, sadly, ‘We
have failed. We should have made the people strong for
persecution rather than telling them Jesus would come first.’
Turning to me he said, ‘You will have time. Tell the people to
be strong in times of persecution, how to stand when
tribulation comes—to stand and not faint.’”
There is a kingdom that cannot be shaken, that cannot sink. It
is a kingdom so great and so powerful that if all of the greatest
problems and tragedies in history were afflicted upon it at
once, it may not even be enough to get the attention of a single
inhabitant. In the expanse of God’s universe, the entire earth
compares as less than a single drop would to all the world's
oceans. Except for the tiny little speck called earth, the
goodness of God dominates the universe. He is in control, and
He cares about this little speck. He even cares about you and
me. He has called us to live under His dominion now. In His
kingdom all things work together for good (see Romans 8:28);
in all things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him (see
Romans 8:37); He always leads us in His triumph in Christ (see
II Corinthians 2:14).
If we have the true fear of the Lord, we need not fear anything
else. The Lord clearly told us how we can build our houses on
the rock which will endure the storm (see Matthew 7:24-27).
There are only two requirements—to hear His words and then
to act on them, but we must do both.
Follow Him
As we see in John 10, His sheep know His voice, and they
follow Him because they know His voice. I read an account of
three shepherds in the Middle East who brought their herds to
a watering hole at the same time. As the shepherds talked, the
sheep began to mingle. To the amazement of the writer, the
shepherds seemed unconcerned that it may be impossible to
ever get the herds sorted out again. When it was time for them
to depart, each man took a different path and began to sing as
he went. There was a huge convulsion in the mixed herd; then
little streams of sheep began to follow after each shepherd until
they had all separated. Though all of the shepherds were
singing, each sheep knew his own master’s voice.
Many voices in the world are leading down many different
paths. We must know our Master's voice so well that, even if
all are speaking at the same time, we hear His voice and follow
Him only. All of the paths may look good, but we cannot follow
a path, we must follow Him. If we walk by formulas, we can
easily be misled. It is not enough to know someone who knows
His voice, but we must know Him ourselves.
The only way you can know His voice so as to distinguish it
from all of the others is to spend time with Him. I could
describe my wife’s voice to you, but you probably could not
distinguish her by just that description if she were in a group
who were all speaking. I would instantly know her voice
because we have been together for so long. The same is true
with the Lord. Studying ways to know His voice cannot
substitute for just being with Him.
If we try to comprehend and identify the many voices of the
evil one, we will be confused and frustrated. I was told about a
law enforcement officer who spent each day handling true U.S.
currency. After a time he knew the feel of each bill so well he
would immediately recognize counterfeit bills when he touched
them. That’s how well we must know the Lord's voice.

High-Impact, Low-Maintenance Christians

Every Christian should be a high-impact, low-maintenance
person when they have matured in Christ. We should be able
to not only bear our own burdens but also help others.
Presently, far too many Christians are low impact, high
maintenance, able to give very little help to others, while
requiring a lot of help themselves.
This is especially true in the area of finances, and more people
are becoming dependent on the state to be able to make it. We
are specifically warned about this in biblical prophecy
concerning the end of this age, and this will ultimately result in
the worst form of tyranny for those who have become subject
to it.
There is a reason why the “mark of the beast” is a financial
mark that determines whether we can buy, sell, or trade in this
world. The harvest, which is the end of the age, is the maturing
of everything that has been sown in man, both the good and
the evil. One of the ultimate evils we are told is “the love of
money.” This is because money is the primary false god in this
world. A false god is not just something we bow down to
physically, but with our heart and our hope. A false god is
something we put our trust in that eclipses our trust in God.
The biblical disciplines of moderation, and being able to
provide for our own, will be keys to spiritual and economic
survival as we get closer to the end of the age. A key to this is
the biblical discipline of tithing, giving the first 10 percent of
our earnings to the Lord. Many believe that this is not required
in the New Testament, and I understand this argument, having
heard it many times, but if you are prone to believe this please
consider the following. Tithing is so important that at the end
of this age, it will be a life and death issue.
First, you do not have to believe in tithing to be saved, but it is
a basic discipline of those who have walked with God, before
the law, under the law, and it is established in the New
Covenant as well. Even Abraham paid a tithe to Melchizedek.
Every New Covenant believer is called to the Melchizedek
priesthood, and Melchizedek received tithes. The enigmatic
Melchizedek priesthood cannot be fully understood without
understanding this basic factor.
We also see in the very first mention in Scripture that God has
a house, when Jacob had the dream of the ladder that reached
into heaven (which is the most basic purpose of God’s house
—to be a place of access to heaven). Jacob’s response to this
revelation was that of all that God blessed him with, he would
give a tenth back to God (see Genesis 28:10-28). It can be
established that this will always be a result of those who have
a true revelation of the house of God.
Many things are revealed by God about His righteousness and
justice that were before the law, and were included in the law,
and are still required of those who would serve Him. Loving
God and loving one another were part of the law, and they are
still basic to those who follow Him and serve Him. The Lord did
not like murder, adultery, or stealing, etc. before the law, and
just because these are in the law and under the New Covenant,
and we no longer seek to keep the law for our righteousness,
these are still abhorrent to God and will not be practiced by
those who love Him and seek to serve Him.
There is not enough space to give this the attention that it
deserves, but having been in ministry on some level for nearly
forty years I don’t think I have ever met a high-impact, low-
maintenance Christian who did not believe in tithing as a basic
responsibility of those who trust the Lord. Therefore, I’ve
sought to understand the connection. I have never met a
Christian who was faithful in tithing who had chronic financial
problems. They occasionally may hit some economic bumps, or
go through tight times, but the overall strength of their
financial condition is strong. I think this is connected to the
reason why the Lord said that He could not trust us with the
true riches of the kingdom if we do not handle unrighteous
mammon well.
I have talked to a number of Christian financial counselors who
have learned that the first question to ask anyone who comes
to them with financial problems is if they are faithful to tithe.
Every one who comes to them with financial problems is not
faithful in this, without exception. I have talked to a number
who will not counsel anyone on financial matters who does not
believe in tithing because they do not believe they can help
them in a lasting way if they do not get this basic right.
Some estimates are that from one-third to one-half of the
references to righteousness in Scripture have to do with
stewardship. His kingdom is built on the pillars of
righteousness and justice. Giving to God first what is due to
Him is fundamental to both of these and a life that is built on
His kingdom.
The Perfect Law of Liberty
We are not under the yoke of the Law if we trust Christ and His
atonement sacrifice for our salvation. That is clear, and we
must never compromise it. However, just because we are no
longer under the Law does not mean that we are above the law.
As discussed above, since “you shall not kill” was a
commandment in the Law, does that mean that we can kill now
that we are no longer “under the Law”? Did the Lord approve
of adultery before the Law, or does He approve of it now? Of
course not. These are God’s standards of righteousness that
existed before the Law and after. That we now trust the Lord
for our forgiveness and our salvation does not mean that we
are now free to do these things. As the Apostle Paul remarked
concerning those who thought that they could now sin so that
grace could abound: “their condemnation is just” (see
Romans 3:8).
However, to make anything like tithing a requirement for
inclusion in the congregation of believers is a form of legalism
we must reject. We can disagree about it, but we must not
divide over it. We also need to challenge those who hold to
different positions and who are on different levels of maturity
for all of us to mature in the ultimate purpose we all have—
loving God and therefore loving His people as well. We should
strongly hold to what we believe is true, without compromise,
but also do this with grace and mercy toward those who may
not see things the way we do.
There are trends revealed in the Scriptures that we must
confront and reject in the church. For example, responsible
leaders must “mark those who cause divisions.” These are
those who may hold to positions strongly but also pressure
and demand that others see things as they do. As we see in the
Book of Jude, we need to reject “faultfinders” who obviously
have a terrible destiny. There is a saying that “anyone can kick
a barn down, but it takes a skillful carpenter to build one.” The
Apostle Paul had authority for building up and tearing down,
but he only had the authority to tear down because he had
been a successful builder. We must beware of the faultfinders.
Another trend that was revealed to be the nature of the serpent
in the beginning is to be “crafty.” These are the ones who are
always looking for a loophole, who are always trying to bend
the rules and see how much they can get away with, rather
than having the nature of Christ that is in every way seeking to
obey.
This may just be my experience, but I do have quite a vast
experience that has crossed many denominations and
movements in the body of Christ concerning tithing, but it is
my experience to this date. I have received some thoughtful
emails and letters from those who had sincere questions about
New Covenant tithing and addressed what I think are legitimate
questions about how some seem to be using tithing
legalistically and manipulatively. These had sincere questions,
not an agenda. Most that I know who have an agenda to brand
tithing as legalism or putting Christians under the yoke of the
Law have a history of causing divisions, and they also have
been prone to chronic financial problems and a burden to other
Christians. We must evaluate such things on the basis of
judging them by their fruit. What have they built that gives
them their authority? What does their own life look like?
Those who are still of this nature will always be able to find an
excuse, from “that’s Old Covenant,” to “every thing I have is
the Lord’s,” so they don’t give anything. The Lord does not
usually go out of His way to convince such people because
you can’t. Even so, consider this if you are of that opinion:
There are only two brief, obscure references in the whole Bible
to such an important matter as being born again. Some of the
most important issues are addressed briefly, or obscurely, but
to those who want to obey, they will be bright, clear, and loud.
It should not be a burden, but a privilege to give back to the
Lord. Certainly He does not need it, but we need to be
generous, and He knows well that where our treasure is there
will our hearts be also. If we are not willing to put our treasure
into His house, or His work, then our hearts are not really with
Him in them.
Without a doubt, the waters have been muddied by the abuse
and extreme use of these teachings that are made by some.
However, the Lord allows this kind of thing to test us, and
those who are true to Him will see clearly enough regardless of
how muddy the waters become at times. Manipulation, hype,
and pressuring are not only beneath the dignity of the Lord
and His true servants, they are a form of witchcraft, which is
counterfeit spiritual authority. If we are going to be true we will
not respond to manipulation and pressuring, but we will seek
the right place to give because our hearts want to give to the
work of the Lord.
Many teachings on giving seem to feed selfishness, but some
of these are from the Lord. How is that? First, many Scriptures
encourage us to give out of what appears to be selfish reasons,
too. Why? Because children are immature and selfish.
Becoming less selfish and having higher, more noble purposes
is a part of spiritual maturity, but when you are born again you
will not be mature. The Word of God is filled with milk for
young believers. Let’s consider some of these in relation to
giving and generosity:
“Give, and it will be given to You” (see Luke 6:38).
Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all
your produce;
so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will
overflow with new wine (Proverbs 3:9-10).
There is one who scatters, yet increases all the more, and
there is one who withholds what is justly due, but it
results only in want.
The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters
will himself be watered (Proverbs 11:24-25).
“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you
say, ‘How have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and offerings.
“You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the
whole nation of you!
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there
may be food in My house, and test me now in this,” says
the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of
heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows”
(Malachi 3:8-10).
The Lord Himself said, “The Scripture cannot be broken” (see
John 10:35), and everywhere in the New Testament that “the
Scriptures” are referred to, it is in reference to what we call “the
Old Testament.” If you need a reference from the New
Testament, there’s a good one in II Corinthians 9:6-10:
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap
sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap
bountifully.
Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not
grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful
giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that
always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have
an abundance for every good deed;
as it is written, "He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor,
His righteousness abides forever."
Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food,
will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and
increase the harvest of your righteousness.
All of these appeal to benefits we receive for our obedience.
These blessings should be received with thanksgiving. It is
true that as we mature we should have higher motives, but only
the deluded or self-righteous will reject these because they
think they are above this. However, the highest purpose for
having what we give multiplied back to us should be to have
even more seed for sowing. Our goal should not be to just
increase our standard of living, but rather increase our
standard of giving.
I do not apologize for making some decisions with mine and my
family’s financial health in mind. The main thing I do for this is
tithe. There is no better, more safe, more profitable investment
we can ever make. I personally feel that one has to be
supremely deceived in some way not to take advantage of what
God Himself promises.
I do not want to belabor this point too much, even though I do
consider it essential for basic spiritual health because “the love
of money is the root of all evil” (literal translation of I Timothy
6:10). Again, this is why the “mark of the beast” is an economic
mark. Money can be the ultimate idol of the human heart—
what we put our trust in instead of God.
As an instrument flight instructor, I had to teach what was
called the “instrument scan.” This is the skill of developing a
pattern for scanning all of the instruments so you don’t
become preoccupied with one and lose control of the others.
When a pilot’s scan starts to deteriorate, the altitude control
always seems to be the first to go. When this is corrected,
everything else will usually fall into place again. I have found
the same thing to be true spiritually—when there is overall
disorientation, it usually begins with our attitude or
carelessness in giving. With few exceptions, when this is
corrected everything else starts falling into place.
How we handle the resources we have been entrusted with will
obviously be a key factor at the end of this age. As we see in
the Parable of the Talents, this is what will have us either called
“wicked, evil slave,” or “good and faithful servant” at the
judgment.

The Kingdom Is Coming!

The world systems and governments are already sinking. In
Scripture, mountains are often symbolic of governments and
the sea speaks of the mass of humanity (see Revelation 17:15;
Isaiah 17:12-13). As it says in Psalm 46:2, the mountains will
slip into the sea—but we shall not fear. In the days to come, all
governments will be melting like wax (see Psalm 97:5), and for a
time the shifting seas that are in great confusion and turmoil
will begin washing them away. However, God’s government
will not be moved—it will be growing stronger and larger in the
earth as all others dissolve. We must keep in mind that His
kingdom is not of this world, but is very different than the
governments of this world.
The doctrine of the kingdom is yet to be preached. The
doctrine of salvation has gone into most of the world but not
the gospel of the kingdom. Some today are preaching a
doctrine of the kingdom, but we have not yet heard the
message of the kingdom. When this unfolds and becomes the
clear trumpet call, then we will know that the end of this age is
near and the beginning of the restoration of the earth will be
soon.
In Scripture, the first son born was often rejected as the heir,
and the second was chosen. We see this from Cain and Abel
through the patriarchs and then throughout the history of the
Old Testament. When the kingdom was established in Israel as
a type of the kingdom of God, there had to be a Saul before
David. This is a message that the first to appear may not be the
one. For this reason, we should not automatically believe the
first message of the kingdom that comes along and appears to
be head and shoulders above the rest. Even David, whose
throne is to endure for the ages that the Lord Himself is seated
upon, did not have the appearance of a king, even to the great
prophet Samuel. The kingdom will come far more subtly than
we are being led to believe. As Jesus warned the Pharisees,
who had very carefully laid out their doctrines on the coming
kingdom of the Messiah, “The kingdom of God does not come
with observation” (see Luke 17:20 NKJV).
Though we may not yet know exactly how it is coming to the
earth, we know that it is, and we know how to prepare for it.
We know that we can begin to live in the kingdom now—by
abiding in the King and obeying His will. If we are abiding in
Him, we will be prepared. We have come to the most exciting
and significant time in history that even the prophets and
righteous of old desired to see, and we have been given the
privilege of living in them. We are here for a purpose.

Three Ships and Three Types of Leadership

In prophetic dreams and visions, ships often represent
leadership. Two other ships played a significant role in the
drama of the Titanic disaster: the Californian and the Carpathia.
Together, these three ships and their captains remarkably
parallel the prevailing attitudes in leadership today.
The Californian obviously had a reserved and cautious captain.
When he heard about the ice in his path, he slowed down.
When he saw the ice, he ordered the ship to be stopped and
waited for daylight. His wireless (radio) operator began
warning the other ships in the area of the danger. At 7:30 p.m.,
her warning was received and logged by the Titanic. This
professional, reserved, and cautious captain possibly saved
his own ship by following his nature that night, but later his
caution possibly cost the lives of those who perished on the
Titanic.
The Titanic crew received six warnings about the ice that night
and disregarded them all. This is revealing of the arrogant
casualness that permeated her bridge. It was not just the
captain, but almost the entire officer staff who received and
paid little or no attention to the warnings. When this attitude
prevails in the leadership, the disregard of authoritative
warnings, doom is imminent.
The usually stormy North Atlantic was amazingly calm that
night. One officer remarked that he had never seen the sea so
tranquil. First officer Lightoller of the Titanic made this
observation at the inquiry when he declared that “everything
was against us.” The Lord warned, “When men shall say
‘peace and safety’ sudden destruction will come” (see I
Thessalonians 5:3). The world economy is right now sailing
through the most dangerous waters. The further we go and the
deeper into the minefield of icebergs we get, the harder it will
be to get out of it.
This tranquility must have also overcome the crew of the
Californian. Her bridge watch saw the Titanic approaching just
a few miles away. Then saw her stop dead in the water. At first,
they thought she was taking the same precautions for the ice,
which they had taken. Then she started firing rockets into the
air every few minutes, always a distress signal at sea. They
rationalized this saying that it must be a signal meant for
another company ship that they could not see. The wireless
operator was asleep, and they did not even wake him to see if
he could contact the Titanic and confirm this theory. Then they
watched her disappear, telling each other that she was sailing
away when she was actually slipping beneath the sea.
Had the crew of the Californian responded to the first distress
signal, they may well have been able to save all of the lives that
were lost. The lackadaisical attitude of her crew that night is
beyond comprehension, just as is the attitude of world leaders
and even many church leaders today. When the final inquiry
comes and the final story is told, are we going to marvel and
lament at how many we could have saved but did not? The
crew of the Californian was subject to the indignation of the
world for sleeping through the greatest tragedy ever at sea
when they could have done so much. Are we going to sleep
right through the greatest of all tragedies when we could have
done much?
Rationalization is a popular shield for cowards. Were they so
afraid of the ice that they decided to humor each other with
such unbelievable reasons for not responding to an obvious
emergency? Let us consider the most sobering exhortation of
Revelation 21:8: “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and
abominable and murderers and immoral persons and
sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the
lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death.” Here we see that the “cowardly” are the first to be
thrown into the lake of fire. There is no place for cowardice in
Christianity.
The other ship in the fateful drama of that night was the
Carpathia, captained by Arthur H. Rostron. He was known for
his ability to make quick decisions while energizing those who
served under him. He was a pious man devoted to prayer. At
12:35 a.m., the Carpathia’s wireless operator burst into
Rostron’s quarters to report that the Titanic had struck an
iceberg. Rostron reacted in character. He ordered the Carpathia
turned toward the disaster and full speed ahead, later asking
the operator if he was sure of the message, a striking contrast
to the reaction on the Californian.
Rostron then gave an amazing display of a truly prepared mind.
He seemed to think of everything. He ordered the English
doctor to the first-class dining room, the Italian doctor to
second-class, the Hungarian to third-class, along with every
possible piece of equipment or supplies needed for the sick or
wounded. He ordered different officers to different gangways,
instructing them to get the names of survivors to send by
wireless. They prepared block and lines with chair slings for
the wounded. Bowlines were secured along the ship’s sides,
along with boat ropes and heaving lines, for securing people in
chairs. All gangway doors were opened. He then directed
specific officers to be in charge of his present passengers, to
take care of their needs and keep them out of the way. All
hands were to prepare coffee, soup, and provisions. He then
designated that all officer’s cabin’s, smoke rooms, library, etc.,
be used to accommodate the survivors. Stewards were sent to
reassure and explain to their own passengers the reason for the
activity to help keep them calm.
Then Rostron turned to face the biggest problem of all—the
ice. He was heading at full speed into the same field that had
sunk the Titanic. To him reducing speed was out of the
question, but he took every measure to reduce the risk to his
own ship and passengers. He added a man to the crow’s nest,
put two more on the bow, one on each wing of the bridge, and
he stayed there himself. His second officer, James Bisset, then
watched the captain taking one last most important measure—
he prayed.
At 2:45 a.m., Bisset saw the first iceberg. They steered around
it and kept going. The next hour they dodged five more. At 4:00
a.m., they reached the Titanic's last called position and began
picking up lifeboats. As the sun rose it revealed an astonishing
sight; the sea was full of icebergs for as far as the eye could
see. Even with all the lookouts, the Carpathia had passed
numerous ones they had not even seen. No one could imagine
how they missed them all, except the captain, who knew well
who the Holy Spirit was—the Helper, not the Doer.
The difficult rescue of the survivors was carried out with such
order and discipline that peace reigned over all. The
Carpathia’s passengers caught the spirit of self-sacrifice. The
first-class passengers gave their own quarters to survivors;
others were pitching in to do all they could. On one of the
darkest nights of tragedy ever experienced on the high seas,
the Carpathia’s captain, crew, and passengers stand out as
bright lights of courage and heroism. They are a demonstration
of what the Lord has called us to be in the night of tragedy and
loss that is now falling upon the earth. Let us not sleep as
some did, or be fooled by the present calmness of the sea; let
us be PREPARED. As the prophet Daniel foresaw, “The people
who know their God will display strength and take action”
(see Daniel 11:32).
The three types of leadership are: 1) the proud and reckless, 2)
the dull and cowardly, 3) the wise and the prepared. Which will
we be?
 NOTE FOR THE 2008 EDITION:
(I have kept this 2008 note in the 2012 edition because it was
significant that it was published just months before the 2008
crash. This warning applies now as much as it did then.)
True kingdom principles can be applied on any level or any
time. The principles addressed in this vision can be applied to
individuals, businesses, governments, or even the world.
In Revelation 11:15 we are told that the kingdom of this
world becomes the kingdom of our Lord. This implies a
transformation. For this reason, we should always hope that a
nation could make the transformation instead of being totally
washed away in the flood that is even now lashing the earth.
We can expect whatever part of those nations, which is built
on hearing and obeying the word of the Lord to remain.
However, there is a “holy nation,” the church, which we
should be even more concerned about, even out of love for our
nations. If the “salt loses its savor” or the light that the
church is called to have ceases to shine, the nations do not
have a chance.
In using the prophetic metaphor of the Titanic and the
icebergs, the 1987 stock market crash is now more than two
decades in the past. Has the U.S. avoided the tragedy this
warning was originally given for? I think in some ways we
have been able to navigate through some very treacherous
waters, but we are not out of them yet. We have also bumped
and scraped some icebergs, with some damage, such as with
the dot.com crash in the 1990s and the economic slam caused
by the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. After both of
these, the ship has righted itself, the repairs have been made,
and we continue on, seemingly stronger and wiser than ever.
For this, we should be very thankful. We have been given
much grace.
However, we need to acknowledge this as grace. Even the
experts still do not seem to understand how we have come
through all that we have, which one can easily see by
watching the business news programs for the continual
conflicts and contradictions of opinions. We must not be
lulled to sleep; the watchmen and the crew must remain alert.
Now we have the constant pressure of terrorism, the almost
constant conflict in the Middle East, potentially a major
showdown looming with some rogue states such as Iran, and
tragedies such as the devastating hurricanes. Through all of
this, the wisdom of our leaders and the strength and resilience
of the U.S. and world economies have been nothing short of
remarkable. Again, for all of this we should be very thankful.
However, again we are far from being out of the ice field. In
fact, the icebergs seem to be even more numerous now than
ever with rogue states gaining nuclear weapons and radical
Islam continuing to grow in both numbers and resolve to
bring down Western civilization.
We may think that the U.S. is essential to God’s plans, but it is
not. He can raise up the smallest and weakest of nations to do
all that we are doing. Pride is the bomb we should fear the
most. However, even if all the economies of all the nations
collapsed, there is a kingdom that cannot be shaken, which
cannot sink—the kingdom of God—and those who have built
their lives on that kingdom have nothing to fear from
anything that happens in this world.
As it was stated in this vision that it would happen, fear is
growing in the world. Many problems are growing beyond
human remedy. This will make it increasingly apparent in the
time ahead those who have built their lives on the kingdom
that cannot be shaken, and those who have built on the sand
that the coming storms will wash away. Those who are
growing in fear at the things coming upon the world have
built their lives and hopes on this world. Those who are
growing in the peace of the Lord, which is beyond human
understanding, and will even seem ludicrous in the time to
come, have built on the kingdom, and they will not be shaken.

NOTE FOR THE 2012 Edition

As stated, the for the 2008 edition was published just months
before the crash of 2008. I am writing this on New Year’s Eve
2012, and though the year has not yet begun, there are
ominous signs that an even more devastating economic
catastrophe is near. The Lord gave me this metaphor of the
Titanic as a prophecy of economic disaster. Could it be upon
us on this 25 th anniversary of the discovery of the Titanic on
the bottom of the sea?
If it is, or if it is delayed, we are hurtling fast toward the
greatest economic debacle in history. Even so, the prepared
prosper in every situation. Though our nation may be shaken
to its foundation, it may be just what is needed to deliver us
from the foolishness we have allowed for so long. This could
be a reset, a jubilee, if we are prepared.
To be prepared, we first must be delivered from our own
foolishness that Paul prophesied would come upon many in
the last days where they only wanted “to have their ears
tickled,” or to hear sweet, happy things. To be people of the
truth, we must be able to see the world as it is, not as we may
want it to be. Just a couple of factors should alert us to the
truth that we have allowed economic conditions that cannot
possibly be sustained, and yet no one has had the courage to
deal with it.
As the saying goes, “If you do not change your direction, you
will end up where you are headed,” and where we are headed
is a major, worldwide economic meltdown. If it does not
happen this year, it will likely be because the government
threw everything they could into keeping it from happening
in an election year.
Consider these basic factors: In just these last four years, the
national debt of the U.S. grew more than it had from the time
when George Washington was President until 2008. We are
now asking for a new increase in our debt limit by over a
trillion dollars every few months! As more are crying out that
the country is being bankrupted, I have news for you—we
have been bankrupt for a long time. No other organization on
earth would be allowed to continue with the balance sheet of
our U.S. Government.
As I wrote in The Harvest (which was the full vision I had
received in 1987), there will be a worldwide economic
collapse that begins with a quake in Japan and is followed by
others on our West Coast. In 2011, the terrible quake and
resulting tsunami devastated a large portion of Japan. I am
now expecting the quakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes on the
U.S. West Coast. Others have seen devastation along the New
Madrid fault line in the center of the country. Others have
seen similar catastrophes on the East Coast. We all see in
part, and those who have seen these I have a high regard for.
Even so, until they have happened, we can still appeal to God
for mercy. He always prefers mercy over judgment, but there
are conditions that must be met, which we see in II Chronicles
7:14:
If My people, who are called by My name will humble
themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from
their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will
forgive their sin and heal their land (NKJV).
We see here four conditions: 1) humility, 2) prayer, 3) seeking
His face, and 4) repenting of wickedness. So how do we
measure up to these now?
In some ways, we may measure up better than we think. As we
see in the Lord’s response to wicked King Ahab, it does not
take much humility at all for the Lord to respond with mercy.
Has there been enough? Has there been any? I think we
should not take this for granted and seek to humble ourselves
every way that we can.
Next is prayer. In this I think we are certainly better off. Some
of the greatest prayer movements in history have arisen in our
times, and many have become deeply burdened for the
nations. Is it enough? The Lord knows, but I think we should
seek to excel in this more and more.
Next is seeking His face. This has been a rich and powerfully
presented message to the church for decades now. Many have
obeyed, and more are being captured by the necessity of His
presence and close fellowship with Him. Is it enough? The
Lord knows, but certainly there is nothing else we should be
seeking in this world more than to abide in Him. However, as
a nation, the U.S. has basically been running from God at an
increasingly fast pace, seeking to remove even the mention of
Him from our public places, schools, and even our
conversation. The meltdown in the fabric of our society has
followed the trajectory of this.
The last was to repent of our wicked ways. First, this
wickedness must be God’s definition of wickedness, which He
is very clear about in the Scriptures. In this I don’t think there
is any doubt there has been a tragic and profound failure. The
increase of wickedness has reached the exponential curve in
the U.S. and Western society in general. It certainly seems that
the salt has lost its savor, and the light is no longer shinning
in the darkness. This is a primary reason why the Islamic
world thinks that the perversion is so great in the West that
the only remedy is to totally destroy Western civilization, and
the U.S. in particular, because Hollywood is at the root of
world spiritual and moral pollution. Of course, I don’t agree
with this remedy, but I do understand why those cultures and
religious people that hold to a sense of decency and morality
are increasingly outraged at the U.S. and the West for what is
being spewed all over the earth from us.
Many kinds of judgment are in Scripture, only one of which is
destruction, and only one of which is condemnation—the rest
are all discipline from the Lord for those whom He loves.
However, when discipline comes we must remember that it is a
sign that God has not given up on us, but it calling us to
repentance so that we might live.
WAR AND GLORY
I was in a vision, standing on an island in the middle of a sea.
Many different types of buildings were spread out in groups all
around the island, which seemed to make up separate little
cities. Within each of these little cities the buildings seemed to
clash with each other in color and architecture. There were very
old ones next to very modern ones. This made them all seem
unattractive and confused.
A war was going on between the occupants of many of the
buildings, and many were already bombed out shells. The
people who were still living in the buildings were starving and
wounded. At first I thought that I had been caught in the
middle of a terrible civil war. Then I realized that this was the
church.
As I continued looking, I saw two dark spirits over the island.
Together they were directing the battles and clashes between
the buildings. One was named Jealousy, and the other one
Fear. They congratulated each other every time one of the
buildings suffered damage or people were killed or wounded. It
seemed that no one who was involved in the fighting could see
these spirits though they dominated the island.
As I kept looking, two even more powerful and frightening
spirits were rising up over the sea. These became great storms.
One was named Rage, and the other Lawlessness. They
quickly started stirring up the sea and causing great waves to
crash into the island. Soon these storms became so large that I
felt they were going to do even more damage to the island than
the war, and maybe even destroy the whole island. Even so,
the war had the people in the buildings so occupied that it did
not seem that anyone was aware of these growing storms.
I knew that the people in the city had to be warned about the
storms. Then I saw several apparent watchmen trying to do
this, but no one would listen to them. Those who could hear
the watchmen only debated and argued about whether the
watchmen should be trusted. This was remarkable because
anyone who just looked up could see the storms for
themselves, but no one would look up.
These wars had left so many people wounded that the
hospitals were fast becoming the largest buildings on the
island. I knew that these hospitals were movements or
denominations that had given themselves to healing the
wounded. The very small hospitals seemed to be respected,
and the warring factions would not attack them. The ones that
had grown larger were being attacked as the jealousy of the
warring factions had them focus on the hospitals. They did this
even though their own wounded were being cared for in them.
As I watched, the attacks on these hospitals from the other
buildings increased until they became some of the biggest
battles.
Time passed swiftly before me like pages being turned in a
book. The conflict just went on and on. Soon everyone was
wounded somewhere, but even those who were not badly
wounded had the appearance of being either phantoms or
grotesquely deformed from starvation and disease. Any time a
building received a supply of food that would attract people, it
would become a target. I could not comprehend how even a
war could be so cruel and yet this was the church!
In the midst of the battle, men were still trying to add to their
buildings or start new ones, but it was futile. Any time one
building would start to rise a little higher than the others, it
would become the main target of all of the other buildings close
to it. When a new building was started, it would become the
focus of unrelenting attacks by all of the others around it. My
thought was that this entire island would soon be like the
temple in Jerusalem after it was conquered by the Romans—
ultimately there would not be one stone left upon another.
I was then carried in the Spirit to a place where leaders who
were conducting this war were gathered. All of them had the
same word on their forehead: “Treachery.” I was surprised that
anyone would follow someone with that written on them, but
they did. In fact, the most treacherous gained the most
followers. I was reminded of II Corinthians 11:20, “For you bear
with anyone if he enslaves you, if he devours you, if he takes
advantage of you, if he exalts himself, if he hits you in the
face.” These were false shepherds and yet no one seemed to
be confronting them, but rather the people would try to pick
the strongest ones to follow.
The grief of this scene was nearly too much to bear. It was so
obvious that if the effort and resources were put into building
rather than what was going into fighting, there could be a city
built with no equal, yet they had chosen the way of destruction
instead.

The Remnant
As I continued to watch, I saw people who appeared as lights
in almost every building. These lights refused to take part in
the fighting, but spent their time trying to repair the buildings
or nurse the wounded. Even though it was impossible to keep
up with the damage or nurse the multitude of wounded, these
courageous souls did not stop trying. I knew quickly that these
were the true shepherds, but there were not many, and there
were not many following them.
To work as hard and faithfully as these did in the
circumstances made me feel that they were some of the greatest
souls who had walked the earth. They were truly amazing in
their character and endurance, and it was a tragedy that they
did not seem to be recognized or followed by many for who
they were.
These lights had the power to heal wounds, and that power
was increasing as they worked. Those who were healed
became lights just as they were. It was obvious that these who
were committed to healing the wounded were now able to do
more than the hospitals because of the ruthlessness of the
attacks on the hospitals. Seeming to understand this too, the
hospitals began to disperse their people as “healing teams.”
Soon these teams had spread out across the island and moved
into many of the other buildings. It was as I watched this
happen that, for the first time, I began to have hope that this
war could actually be stopped by the healers because their
effect was being so quickly felt.
I was then shown many small camps around the perimeter of
the island. Some of these were involved in the war between the
buildings and seemed intent on trying to destroy all of the
buildings so they could bring the people to their camps. The
leaders of these camps had the same word “Treachery” written
on their foreheads. These small camps were movements that
considered their main attractive characteristics to be that they
were “not like” those who were in the buildings. It’s true that in
a way they were not like them because they had camps instead
of buildings, but they were of the very same spirit and doing
the same kind of damage to others.
Then I noticed that there were a few of these camps which were
not involved in the war. These were composed of those who
almost all appeared to be lights. It was hard to understand why
everyone could not see the difference in these, but a few could.
As I watched, these lights grew in authority, but it was a
different authority than the healing powers that the others had.
They had authority over events. They were praying to stop
small battles and to keep small storms away, and it was
happening as they prayed. Like the healing teams in the city, I
began to feel that these too really could have an impact and
change the terrible situation that this little island was now in. I
felt that when these lights found and joined the healing teams
in the city that they could truly become a formidable force for
good. As one group stopped a battle, the other could go in and
quickly heal all of the wounded. In this way their numbers
would grow much faster.
I then noticed that the two large spirits over the city and the
two over the storms took notice of these small camps where the
lights were dwelling. They quickly became very agitated by
them as it was obvious that they were intimidated by these
small groups. These camps were growing in authority so fast
that they were soon close to having the authority to stop even
the big battles and big storms, which was obviously the source
of agitation for these large spirits.
As I was looking at the storms, I noticed multitudes of boats
and ships all around the island. They were waiting to enter the
city as soon as the fighting stopped. Many of these boats were
full of refugees from other wars, and many were wounded.
There were also ships bearing kings and presidents, and others
that carried those who appeared wealthy and prosperous.
These ships were all aware of and afraid of the storms, and
wanted to make it into the safety of the ports, but they could
not enter them because of the fighting. Their groans and
screams became so loud I was surprised that no one on the
island could hear them. It did not even seem that anyone was
aware of these ships wanting to come in.

The Lord Comes to Build His House

Then I saw the Lord standing and watching. He was so brilliant
that I wondered why I had not seen Him before or why
everyone in the city did not see Him. I approached some
people to point them to the Lord, but I then looked into their
eyes and saw that they were so bloodshot that I was surprised
that they could see anything.
I then wondered why the Lord did not stop the fighting. He
seemed content to just watch. As if He had understood my
thoughts, He turned and said to me, “This is My church. These
were the houses men tried to build for Me. I knocked on the
door of each one, but they would not open to Me. I would
have brought peace. I will only dwell in the city of peace.”
Then He turned and indicated to the people in the ships,
saying: “If I allowed all of these people to come to the city now
they would just be used in the war. When their cries become
louder than the war, I will build a place for them.”
Then He looked at me with great earnestness and said, “I
allowed this to happen so that it would never happen again!”
It is hard to convey the power I felt when the Lord said this,
but it imparted to me a deep understanding that He allowed this
conflict to continue out of profound wisdom. He then said,
“Until you understand this wisdom you cannot understand
what I am about to do.”
When the cries of those in the boats became louder than the
conflict in the city, the Lord gave a command and the sea was
released. Great tidal waves arose and began to sweep across
the island until they covered the buildings. The spirits that
were storms joined the spirits over the island, and they all grew
to almost double their previous size. Then the island
completely disappeared under the darkness of the spirits and
the raging sea.
The Lord did not move as this was happening. I knew that my
only protection was to stand as close to Him as possible. I
could not see anything but Him during this great storm. As I
looked at His face, I could see both pain and resolve.
Slowly, the storms died down and the tides receded. Though it
did not seem that anyone could have survived, those who were
the lights in the buildings began to emerge. They remained
standing where the buildings had once been. Then the Lord,
who had been on the edge of the island, moved to the center
and said, “Now I will build My house.”
All of those who were lights started to see the Lord and began
turning toward Him. As they turned they became even brighter,
and each group was changed into a living pillar right where
they stood. Soon it became obvious that these pillars were the
framework of a building which would cover almost the entire
island.
The pillars were different colors, shapes, and sizes. It was hard
to understand how all of these being so different would work
as a single framework. However, the Lord seemed very pleased
with each one, and soon they all did start to fit together.
Then the ships and boats, which had been offshore, all started
landing on the island. There were multitudes of people. Each
ship or boat was from a different country, culture, or a race of
people. Soon I began to think that, even as large as the
building was, there were too many people for it. Then the Lord
looked at me and said sternly, “We will build as many rooms as
we need—no one will be turned away.”
This was said so sternly that I resolved to never again consider
that turning people away was an option. I also pondered how
the biggest problem before was how to get people to come to
the buildings. Now the big problem was what to do with all of
the people.

The Cemetery
When each ship arrived, the people on it were led straight to
the Lord. He looked into the eyes of each one and said, “If you
trust Me you will die for Me.” When one said, “I will die for
You,” the Lord immediately thrust His sword right through
their heart. This caused very real pain in each one. To those
who tried to avoid the sword, it was obviously even more
painful. To those who relaxed, it did not seem to hurt as much.
These were then taken to a cemetery with the word,
“Obscurity” over the gate. I followed them to see what was
done with them. Those who had been thrust through the heart
were checked to see that they were really dead before they
were buried. Some clung to life for a long time and were laid off
to one side. Then, those who were buried quickly began to
arise as lights just like those who had survived the storm. I
noticed that they were not staying in their tombs the same
length of time. Some of these arose before those who were
clinging to life were even buried.
When I first looked at this cemetery, it looked like a dreadful
place. I did not think that it fit with what had now become such
a beautiful island. As I left the cemetery, I turned to look back
at it, and it was more than beautiful—it was glorious! I could
not figure out what was different, when one of the workers said
to me knowingly, “The cemetery has not changed—you have.”
I then looked at the building and it was even more wonderful
than I had remembered. I looked over the entire island that I
could see and felt the same thing—it had all become much
more beautiful. I remembered the Scripture, “Precious in the
sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones” (Psalm
116:15). The worker, who was still looking at me then said,
“You have not died yet, but were changed just by being close
to those who have. When you die you will see even more
glory.”
Those who were emerging as lights from the cemetery were
each being led to their own place in the building. That place
would have their name on it. Some joined the walls, others
joined the pillars, and some became windows or doors. They
remained people even after they became a part of the building.
The way they fit together was too remarkable to have been the
result of any kind of human engineering.

The Test
I returned to the Lord’s side. Standing in His presence was so
wonderful I could not imagine why anyone would not be
willing to die for Him. Even so, many of the people coming from
the ships did refuse. These would all back away from Him at
the request. Many of these went back to the ships, some of
which started back out to sea, and some of which remained in
the harbor.
A few of the people who refused to die stayed on the island
and were allowed to walk about freely, even enter the house of
the Lord. They seemed to love and bask in the glory of it all.
Many of these began to shine with a glory too, but they never
had the glory within themselves—they only reflected what was
coming from the others.
As I was thinking that it was not right for these to be allowed
to stay, the Lord said to me, “My patience will win many of
these, but even those that never give Me their lives, I love, and
am pleased to let them enjoy My goodness. Never turn away
those who love My glory.” These really did enjoy the house
and enjoyed the presence of the Lord that radiated from the
house. Even so, they seemed timid and retreated when the Lord
Himself came close to them.
I then watched as those who had refused to die for the Lord
began to act as if His house was their own and had been built
for them. I wanted to be angry at their presumption, but I could
not feel anger even though I wanted to. I then understood that
it was because I was standing so close to the Lord that I could
not get mad. This forced me to make the decision to stay close
to Him or move away so that I could be angry.
I was surprised that this was a difficult decision, that I would
even consider wanting to move away from the Lord, but it was.
Out of fear at what was arising within me, I stepped closer to
the Lord. He immediately reached out and grabbed me as if I
was about to fall off of a cliff. As I looked behind me, I was
astonished to find that I had been on the very edge of one, and
had I taken that one step away from Him to feel the anger I
would have stepped off of it. He then said to me, “In this house
I can tolerate presumption more than that anger. That anger
would start the war again.”
As I was still disconcerted by how close I had come to falling
off of the cliff, I began to be overwhelmed with the knowledge
that I had not yet made the decision to die for Him either. I, too,
had been presumptuously feeling possessive of both the
house and the Lord, and I was in fact just like the others who
were walking around feeling possessive of these and had not
given my life to Him. “I am the same hypocrite that I despised
in others,” I thought. As I saw this great evil in my own heart, I
was so appalled that I begged the Lord to destroy my evil heart
with His sword. He did not hesitate.
Resurrection Life
When the Lord pierced my heart, I was surprised to feel so little
pain when it seemed to have been so hard on others. He then
said to me as I was fading out of consciousness, “Those who
request death die easier.” I remembered His statement in
Matthew 21:44: “And he who falls on this stone will be broken
to pieces; but on whoever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”
I did not remember being carried to the cemetery, but just as if
no time at all had passed, I was emerging from it again. Now the
glory of every thing I saw was unspeakable. I looked at a rock
and loved it. I looked at the trees, the sky, and the clouds, and
could not believe how wonderful they were. A sparrow seemed
more glorious than any bird I had ever seen. I stood wondering
at the great treasure that this little bird was and why I had not
appreciated them like this before.
I then looked at the presumptuous people. Not only did I feel
no temptation to be angry with them, I loved them so much I
felt that it would be worth it to die again for each one. I began
to think about how blessed I was to be able to meet them and
be with them—there was so much to know and learn from each
one.
“People really are great treasures,” I heard a familiar voice say.
“Now you know why I would have gone to the cross even for
just one.” I wanted all of these people to stay on the island
now and could not even comprehend how I was ever tempted
to be angry at them—they were much greater treasures than
the sparrow! “What a joy it is going to be to serve them,” I
thought.
Then, as the Lord stood next to me, I turned to look at Him.
Though I did not think it was possible, He was much more
glorious than before, and yet I was able to bear it. He said,
“This is why the death of My people is so precious to Me.
Those who seek to save their lives always lose them, but those
who lose their lives for My sake find true life. Now you know
true life because you know love.”
“I would have gone to the cross for just one of these, and in a
sense I do for each one. My death still works through My
people so that My resurrection life can also work through
them. Someone goes to the cross, lays down their life in some
way, for the rebirth of every soul. It is in this way, when such a
price is paid, that people become treasures to one another. The
value of anything is in what someone is willing to pay for it.
What will you pay for these? Will you die daily that they might
live?”
I realized that just shortly before I had wanted to drive these
very people from the place, and now I really did feel that it
would be worth it to die again for each one. I knew then that
death truly is the path to life because it is the path to love.
When you felt this way death did not even seem to be a great
price to pay. The whole earth and all of its treasure did not
seem worth a single one of these souls.
“You now have one job,” the Lord continued. “That is to love.
Love causes pain. You must lay down your life for those you
love. The pain that you suffer is what you are paying for souls.
The pain that you suffer in this way is accumulating for you an
eternal treasure.”
I then looked at the house and all of those who composed it.
Everything and everyone that I looked at seemed to stir up this
great feeling of love that was more wonderful than anything I
had ever felt before. I wanted to go look at or talk to each one,
but I did not want to leave the Lord’s side whose presence was
even more wonderful. Knowing my thoughts, He said, “You
need never fear leaving My side, because I have made My
abode in you and I will be with you everywhere that you go.”
As I watched the presumptuous people, they were enjoying all
of the blessings and even thought of themselves as the reason
for them. However, they were not even a part of what was
being built. Having just been one of them I also knew how
shallow their enjoyment was compared to what it could be. As I
continued watching these people, they gradually became
thinner in substance until they were just like the phantoms I
had seen in the city that had been destroyed. They were really
empty shells who only had life because they were close to
those who were so rich in it.
Before I would have scorned and held these people in
contempt. I now felt great compassion for them. I wanted to
help them in any way that I could. I was marveling almost as
much in the change in me as I was in the great building that
was going up, and the great glories that now seemed to be
everywhere. Love gave me eyes to see.

No Limits
Then I looked at how the building kept getting higher. The
higher it went, the more glory it exuded and the farther it could
be seen. This resulted in even more ships and people coming
through the storms, which were still raging out to sea, but now
seemed unable to affect the island.
As I wondered how high the building could get, the Lord
turned to me again, and as if He were answering my thoughts
said, “There is no limit to how high we can build this because I
am the foundation and love is the cement. I am not limited, and
neither is love.”
This caused me to look at the cement, which was transparent
but radiated power. I wondered how I had not noticed this
before because it was now so obvious and captivating. I then
started pondering how I seemed blind to even the greatest
wonders of this building until the Lord directed my attention to
them. This caused me to turn back to the Lord and watch
everything that He gave His attention to. I had eyes to see, but
they were still dependent on Him.
The Lord then began looking at the people who now composed
the building. As I looked at them again I saw that they were in
fact more than people—they were the “new creation” that had
transcended this creation. They had bridged the gap between
the physical and spiritual realms, and yet were clearly a part of
both. They were supernatural beings. This did not mean that
they were not natural, but rather they were far more natural
than anything “natural” I had ever seen. They were more real
than anything I had ever considered “real.” They made
everything else seem like a shadow, and this sense increased
as they continued to change.
Soon the glory that was coming from them could be both seen
and felt. The feeling was not like a touch but like an emotion.
As I walked close enough to this glory, it made me feel so good
that the only way I can describe it is like a wonderful
intoxication. However, it was not an intoxication that clouded
the mind but rather illuminated and focused it. I felt somehow
ennobled, not with pride, but with a powerful sense of destiny.
I also felt a security, as if I were in complete harmony with the
ground, the air, and especially the Lord and His house. This
feeling was so good that I never wanted to move again.
With the addition of each new boatload of people, the
transformation of those already a part of the building would
continue, and the glory of the whole building would increase
and expand. This made everyone in the building rejoice with
the coming of each new group of people.

Sharing the Glory

When those who came from the cemetery took their places in
the building, those who were already a part tried to give the
new ones their own glory. As they did this, the glory radiating
from the Lord would increase, and He would give those who
had given away their own glory even more. Those who were
the most devoted to this sharing would be the ones used to
start the next level of the house, which kept going higher and
higher.
I thought about how opposite this was from the jealousy which
had before prevailed in the city. I then tried to ponder the
jealousy to understand it more, but it was almost impossible to
do. Because I could no longer feel jealousy, I had a difficult
time even understanding what it was—it seemed as unreal as if
it had only existed in bad dreams. The joy of sharing was so
great that not to do it now seemed incomprehensible. The more
the glory was shared, the more one received to share.
This joy of sharing was so great that I knew all of us would be
spending eternity just seeking others with whom to share the
glory. I had a sense of knowing that the Lord would be creating
many new worlds just for us to have new places to share His
glory. I then knew that this was why He had created the
universe with such diversity and why He created it to
continually expand. Our capacity to experience His glory would
be forever expanding just like the universe. Those who
touched His glory were touched by a love that had to share the
glory, which caused them to expand. He had given us the
universe to share His glory with. He had set in motion a
glorious chain reaction of glory that would never stop! There
were no limits on time or space, and we would need every bit of
it!

The Storms Return

Then suddenly my attention was turned toward the storms. I
had been so caught up in the glory of this house that I had not
realized that they had continued to grow out in the sea. To my
shock they had grown larger and faster than the house of the
Lord and were now coming toward the island.
Before anything could be done, great waves covered the
island. The building disappeared from my view even though I
was still very close to it. The fury of this storm was beyond
any earthly storm I had ever known. Even so, I felt no fear at
all. I knew that it was because I had already died to this world,
and now I had a life that could never be taken from me.
As wonderful as the island had become, I was just as happy to
die physically so I would be free to carry the glory of the Lord
to the rest of the universe that had so captured my attention. It
really would have been hard to choose to stay or go, so I just
rested and waited to see whether I would die again or not.
Death was no longer fearful at all, but rather inviting, like a
door to another great adventure or experience.
Gradually, the storms abated and the building then reemerged.
Both the building and the island were much smaller, but were
even more glorious. Then I noticed that the storms were just
offshore and were returning. This happened several times.
Each time the building would emerge it would be smaller but
more glorious. Each time that this happened the storms were
also much smaller—they were wearing themselves out on the
island.
Soon the storms could only generate small waves that were no
threat to do any real damage. The glory of the house was now
beyond any human description. Then the clouds dissipated
altogether into the most beautiful sky I had ever seen on the
earth. It was obvious now that heaven had penetrated the
realm of earth.
As I gazed into the sky, I began to realize that it was filled with
the glory that was being emitted from the house. As I looked at
the house, I was amazed that there was no damage from the
storm, though it was much smaller. Even so, the glory now
coming from the house was much greater than before and was
reflected by everything. I felt that it was so great it must
already be extending far beyond the earth into the heavens.
Then the vision changed, and I was alone with the Lord. All of
the great feelings were gone—even the love. He looked at me
earnestly and said, “The war is almost over. It is time to prepare
for the storms. Tell My people that no one with his brother's
blood on his hands will be used to build My house.”
I was trying hard to listen to these words in order to heed them,
while still thinking about the great love I had felt, but no longer
did. He then said, “This was a dream, but it is real. You have
known everything that I have shown you in this dream. You
have experienced it in your heart. Now believe with your heart
and My love will be real to you again. This is your quest—to
know My love.”
 The Next Wave Is Upon Us
On May 11, 1992 I saw a surfer floating on a short surfboard,
gazing at the beach, lazily drifting and dreaming of the big
wave. I knew this surfer was the body of Christ, the church.
While this surfer was drifting, the very wave he was dreaming
about was getting closer and closer, but he did not know it. I
knew that unless he woke up and looked around very fast, it
was going to come crashing down on top of him. I also knew
that his board was too short for the huge wave that was
coming.
It was obvious that because of his sleepy state, the very wave
this surfer dreamed about placed him in serious jeopardy
because he was not ready for it as it approached. By the time
he did hear the sound of the wave and turned to look, it was
too late. What had been the desire of his heart became a terror.
The wave turned the surfer over and over, smashing him into
the bottom several times and breaking his board. I feared for
his life but he survived, though with many cuts, bruises, and a
few broken bones.
I watched the surfer lying on the beach in great pain. Soon the
terror of possibly dying passed and a deep wisdom replaced it.
He gazed back out over the sea. Even though he was so broken
and hurt that he could hardly move, an awesome resolve came
over him. I knew he would be back to ride the waves again.
I then saw this surfer in a hospital with a room that looked out
over the ocean. He was still gazing at the sea, but I knew that
instead of dreaming, he was now planning. I then saw him
standing on the beach, not only healed but far more muscular
than he had been before. Next to him stood the largest
surfboard I have ever seen.
Even though the sea was calm, he knew that the biggest wave
of all was already in motion beyond the horizon. He was ready,
and believed he could ride the wave, but fears were rising up in
him. If he did not quickly dismiss them and get moving, he
would not be able to paddle out far enough in time to catch it,
and instead would again be in great jeopardy from the wave.
Many other surfers also looked like professional bodybuilders
and were standing all over the beach. These all had the short
boards and were bodybuilders who really did not seem
interested in the waves at all, but just in showing off their
bodies, which actually looked unnatural, even grotesque. Their
large, bulging muscles were not really as strong as the real
surfer’s, whose muscles seemed more natural and for strength,
not just show.
Interpretation
In the previous great awakenings or revivals in church history,
there have been very few who were anticipating the move of
the Holy Spirit. In almost every great awakening or revival, the
existing churches and ministries were damaged by the new
move simply because they were not ready for it. Some of these
have had to actually resist the revival just to survive.
In contrast, today there seems to be an almost universal
expectation of impending revival, but there has been very little
actually done to prepare for it. Even though we may know it is
coming, we have been spending more time dreaming about it
than preparing for it. The wave of the Holy Spirit that is coming
is bigger than we have dreamed, but because we are dreaming
more than preparing, we are in jeopardy from the very wave we
have been hoping to see.
The first surfboard was far too short and obviously inadequate
for even a good size wave, much less the big one that came.
This speaks of the inadequacy of the current vehicles,
outreaches, and ministries of the church. I felt that even if the
surfer had seen the wave in time he could not have ridden it—
he would have either had to quickly paddle to the beach, or out
beyond where the wave was going to break and just watch it
go by.
Like this surfer, the present church is in danger of getting
nothing more than a good beating and a good lesson out of the
impending move of the Holy Spirit. Even though the church
has been hearing from the Lord about the impending harvest,
few have not been acting on His words and actually taken
practical steps to be ready for what is coming. The pounding
we are likely to take from the next wave will bring wisdom
though, and resolve to be ready for the next one, including
having the proper vehicle for riding it. The time we spend
recovering from the injuries of the impending wave must be
spent in planning for the next one. Then our plans must be
turned into action.
To ride the wave that is coming we will also need to be much
stronger than we are now. Strength comes from exercising.
When the surfer returned to the beach, he had the physique of
a bodybuilder, but one who had built himself up for strength,
not just show. Every muscle seemed perfectly formed and
powerful.
The body of Christ must likewise be built up. Every muscle and
every limb, or every individual part of the body, must be
properly exercised and brought to full strength. For decades we
have been preaching on Ephesians 4, concerning the
equipping of the saints for the work of service, but it is now
time that we start doing it. This must not be done for show
either, to just exhibit our beautiful body. We must do it with a
focused attention on being ready for the next move of the Holy
Spirit.
The Ephesians 4 emphasis of equipping the saints will again
become fashionable. Many will become involved in this
“spiritual bodybuilding” just for show. These will in truth be
devoted more to impressing each other than to preparing for
the next move of the Spirit. They will not really have the proper
equipment for, or even be aware of, what is going on in the sea
(mass humanity). Those who build their congregations for
show will actually look grotesque and will not have the proper
skills for riding the wave of the Spirit, or even be in the water
when it comes.
Even though this surfer was properly prepared and had a
proper board for riding the next wave, the enemy used the
negative experience of the previous wave to hit him with a fear
that could hinder him from accomplishing all that he had
prepared for. All of our preparation and work will come to
nothing if we are not utterly committed to getting back in the
water and walking by faith, not by fear. To catch the wave we
must:
1. Be adequately trained and in shape.
2. Have the proper board (vehicle or ministry).
3. Be properly positioned (having discerned where the wave is
going to break and getting there).
4. Be watching so that we can, at the proper time, start paddling
with the wave.
5. Be ready to act without hesitation when the wave breaks.
The church has been in the initial stages of a great worldwide
revival that will ultimately result in the harvest that is the end
of the age. As we see in Matthew 13:30, the harvest begins
with the tares. Many of the exposés of evildoing and sin within
the church have actually been a work of the Holy Spirit to
prepare the church for the ingathering, which is soon to begin.
Every time the Lord has shown me the coming harvest, He has
shown it to me in two great waves. More than two waves may
be coming, but I know there will be at least two. The first one
will be so great that almost everyone will believe that it is in
fact the great harvest that is the end of the age, but there is
another wave coming after it that will be much greater. The
millions of new believers who will come on the next wave are all
called to be laborers in the second one. These people must be
properly equipped and prepared for the greater wave.
The first wave of revival that is coming on the church will be a
blessing only to the churches that have been using their time
wisely and have been truly equipping the saints to do the work
of the service. This wave will actually be judgment to every
ministry that has not been properly equipping their people or
who have spent more time dreaming than preparing.
CATCHING THE NEXT WAVE
A great spiritual advance is now gaining momentum throughout the body of Christ.
It has the potential to be as sweeping in its scope and impact as the greatest
movements in church history. How can we discern it accurately and position
ourselves properly to be a part of it?
Moves of the Holy Spirit are often compared to waves because their characteristics
are common. If the Holy Spirit moves in waves, how do we catch them so as to be
carried in the direction that He is going? There are four basic steps that a surfer uses
that can give us significant insight into what we must do to catch the waves of the
Holy Spirit. If a surfer is going to catch a wave, he must first discern where it is
going to break. Second, he must position himself properly at that point. Third, he
must begin to move in the direction that the wave is going. Then he must not
hesitate when it breaks, or it will just pass him by.

Looking Back to Look Ahead

Many are discerning enough to know that the Holy Spirit is moving again but are
doing very little to position themselves properly to be a part of it. Every move of
God is built upon the foundation of the previous moves. If we are going to discern
where the next move of God is going to break, we need to discern the nature and
pattern of the previous ones.
There is a spiritual “ continuation principle” that we must understand, and submit
to, if we are going to be a part of a move of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus
submitted Himself to John's baptism. To “ fulfill all righteousness,” even the Lord
had to properly honor those who had gone before Him and prepared His way. When
Jesus was asked by the chief priests and elders:
“By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this
authority?”
And Jesus answered and said to them, “I will ask you one thing too,
which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these
things.
“The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from
men?” (see Matthew 21:23-25).
The Lord’s response to their question was not an attempt to deflect their question
—the answer to His question was the answer to their question. Jesus had
credentials. John was there as the representative of the “ old order,” sent to declare
that Jesus was in fact the one that all of the prophets and wise men from the
beginning had been speaking of.

Honor With Righteous Judgment

If we arrogantly point to previous movements as “ the old order” and declare
ourselves to be of “ the new order,” or just have the arrogance that we think we
know all that we need to and can not learn from those who have gone before us, we
have almost certainly disqualified ourselves from being a part of the new order. It
will be those who view the previous movements with the honor they deserve,
immersing themselves in their message and teachings, who will be qualified to
receive the next level of authority. For any new movement to abide long on the
earth, it must honor its spiritual fathers and mothers.
James gave an interesting exhortation concerning treatment of the Law, which was
the “ movement” that preceded Christianity:
Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a
brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law, and judges the
law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge
of it.
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and
to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
Do not complain, brethren, against one another, that you yourselves
may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door
(James 4:11-12; 5:9).
When we judge in such a way that we are criticizing, we are condemning ourselves
to the opposition of God, who “resists the proud, but gives grace to the
humble” (see James 4:6 NKJV). Criticism is one of the highest forms of pride.
When we criticize others we are by that declaring ourselves to be superior to them.
This may be true, but if we are better than others it is only because of God’s grace.
To become proud of our own standing is to depart from the very foundation upon
which we are standing—God’s grace.
However, there is a “ righteous judgment” that we must have. We are foolish if we
do not try to learn from the mistakes of the previous movements. Even so, we must
be careful how we view them, not as condemning our spiritual parents, but seeing
where the potential for the same faults exist within us so that we can seek the grace
to stand in those areas.
The failure to properly understand righteous and unrighteous judgment is the reason
for many of the greatest failures of the church in history, and is one of the most
important issues facing the church today. Until we understand them and walk by
that understanding, we will continue to stumble over a deadly stumbling block.
The church both historically and presently has been prone to use unrighteous
judgment while utterly neglecting the righteous judgment. Many watchdog
ministries and Christian journalists have stumbled while sincerely trying to help
fill a tragic void in church government. They fall because they have moved into a
realm of authority to which they have not been appointed. Meanwhile, the elders
neglect the authority which they have been given to exercise. Every new movement
will continue to fall short of its potential until this important issue is resolved.

Paddling With the Wave

Some are discerning where the next wave is going to break and are positioning
themselves properly, but are hesitant about moving until the wave is upon them.
These are in as much danger of missing the wave as those who have not positioned
themselves at all. The most important thing that we can do to be moving with the
wave when it comes is to obey and implement that which was imparted to the
church through the last move.
A major source of the hesitancy that causes many to miss the moves of the Holy
Spirit is a religious spirit rooted in human idealism that will not move until
something is “ totally God.” The Lord does not do anything without man. A farmer
was once being congratulated by a minister on the precision and lushness of his
cornfield, remarking that he could not have done that without God. “ I agree,” said
the farmer, “ But He could not do it without me either. You should see the field I
let Him grow all by Himself!”
There is an important point to this story. God commissioned man to “ cultivate the
garden.” Man's work on earth is not unnatural, but man is a part of the nature of the
world which God created. Likewise, He has commissioned fallible men to do the
work of the ministry. We must keep in mind that the Holy Spirit is “ the Helper,”
not “ the Doer.” Even the greatest man of God is an earthen vessel, imperfect and
frail, and as James explained, “for we all stumble in many ways” (see James
3:2). Our work will never be perfect, but it can be acceptable to God. If He had
wanted it perfect He would have stayed here to do it all Himself.
The Lord left the church in the hands of men who appeared to be quite unstable and
prone to mistakes, and they did make mistakes. We all must grow in grace and
wisdom. If we had to wait until we were perfect to minister, no one would ever be
qualified. Perfectionists who require unrealistic standards are like the Pharisees who
would not enter the kingdom themselves, and tried to hinder everyone else from
entering as well. Every true move of God has begun with a considerable amount of
humanity mixed in at first. There will even be tares mixed in with the wheat that
the enemy plants. If you are going to wait until all of the tares are removed before
you give yourself to the cultivating, you will miss everything.

Wait for the Big One

There is another factor that is required if we want to catch the biggest wave—we
must resist catching the smaller ones. There are patterns to incoming waves which
experienced surfers learn to recognize. Patience is required if they are going to ride
the biggest and best wave. Likewise, in the Spirit there are many movements to
which we can give ourselves, and many projects we can become involved in, but
are they what we have been called to? How many of these are only working to
displace us from our position when the big one comes?
This is not to discourage anyone from devotion to service and ministry. Indeed, the
only way that we will be in shape and skilled enough to catch the big wave is by
practicing on the smaller ones. However, when we have been adequately prepared,
and we know that the big one is coming, we must let the smaller ones go by.
Many who miss the great moves of God do so because they are already too busy.

The Opposition
Each wave will try to make it as far up the beach as it can. Then the wave recedes,
undercutting the next wave, making it break sooner than it would otherwise.
Seldom have those who were a part of one move of God gone on to be a part of the
next move. Usually those of a previous move are retreating as the next wave
advances, creating a clash that hinders the next incoming wave. For every incoming
wave, some of its greatest opposition will be from the previous waves that are
retreating.
Throughout church history, those who were a part of one move of God have tried to
resist and undercut those of the next move. However, even though this has
continually been our history, it does not have to be our future. Before the end there
will be a movement that will capture the hearts of those in the previous movements
so that they will join the advance rather than continue the retreat. When this
happens, the church will begin a spiritual advance that will not be stopped until the
end of the age.
Looking at some of the historic factors that have caused others to retreat can help us
discern these stumbling blocks. The first dangerous delusion is for us to think that
we would never oppose a true move of God. It has happened to some of the greatest
men of God in history. The arrogance that it cannot happen to us can be the very
thing that disqualifies us from God's grace, which He only gives to the humble (see
James 4:6).
Andrew Murray is a good example of how even a great man of God, with a passion
for seeing revival come to the church, can fail to recognize the very revival that he
had spent his entire life praying for. The cause for this tragic failure was simple.
The revival that he hoped for, and even prophesied, did not come in the form that
he was expecting. Though he earnestly desired to see the release of spiritual gifts
within the church again, he was offended by the package they arrived in. He and his
followers may have been offended that it did not come through them. Regardless, he
ended up missing what he had spent his life prophesying and praying for.
Sadly, most new movements are led by relatively immature leaders. This is
because the mature leaders have become “ old wineskins,” too inflexible to receive
the new wine. Spiritual movements must be led by the Spirit, who requires
flexibility and openness. Usually the only ones He can find that are flexible enough
are the immature, because they have not yet become inflexible with preconceived
ideas. Immature leaders are therefore more prone to be dependent on the Holy Spirit
than on their experience, allowing Him to direct as He chooses. This is probably
why the Lord chose such unlikely and “ unqualified” men as the foundational
leaders of His church. They were so unqualified that they were desperately
dependent upon His grace and guidance.

True Faith
Rarely does a spiritual leader arise with great experience and wisdom, combined
with a sensitive dependency upon the Holy Spirit. However, such leadership is
certainly preferable to that of the immature. The immature do allow the Holy Spirit
to lead, which is the highest form of wisdom, but they often allow other influences
to gain entry because of their lack of experience. It is for this reason that the Lord
always seems to give opportunity to leaders of previous movements to lead the next
move. The greatest leaders will know how to let the Holy Spirit lead, while having
the experience and discernment to keep the movement out of the hands of the
lawless or legalistic.
Two good biblical examples of those with maturity and experience combined with
flexibility and dependency on the Holy Spirit are Joshua and Caleb. Such will also
be required for the movement that leads the church across her Jordan River into the
battle for her Promised Land. Not only were Joshua and Caleb men of great faith in
the Lord, but their faith was not diluted by many years of wandering in the
wilderness with a faithless people.
Such faith could only be the result of two great spiritual factors. First, true faith is
not encouraged or discouraged by the condition of the people, because it is not faith
in people but in God. Second, true faith is not limited by time but always views
from the perspective of eternity. That is why the great men of faith in Scripture were
content to view the fulfillment of the promises prophetically without having to
receive them in their own time.
It is most difficult to grow in wisdom, experience, and age compared to other men
while remaining humble. This is because of our tendency to judge ourselves by our
comparison to other men, rather than to the only true Standard—Christ Jesus.
Measuring ourselves by other men, or our church by other churches, is one of the
most deadly stumbling blocks to spiritual leaders. As Paul said, “but when they
measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves,
they are without understanding” (see II Corinthians 10:12).
True faith does not look at men and it does not look at the temporary. Some of the
Lord’s most anointed messages caused the crowds to wither away. How many of us
would be willing to preach a sermon that we knew would cause most of our
congregation to leave us? How many of us love the approval of God more than men
to be willing to do this?
The truly wise will not be overly encouraged when men gather around them or
discouraged when they depart. If we receive our encouragement from men, it only
proves that we have received our authority from men. If we receive our authority
from above, then no man can take it away, and we will not be overly concerned by
either the approval or disapproval of men. That is why when men came to make
Jesus king, He fled to the mountains. If men make you king, then men will also
rule you, regardless of what title you are given.
Jesus unquestionably had the greatest compassion for the human condition.
However, He never responded to human need—He only did what He saw the Father
doing. The Lord did not just call us to do good works in His name, but to do the
work that He called us to do. One of the greatest stumbling blocks to walking in
true ministry is the tendency to take the people’s yokes instead of the Lord’s yoke.
The people’s yokes will have us busy doing many things that appear good and
fruitful, but they will not have us doing the Lord’s will.
How many of us could, like Philip, begin a revival that stirs an entire city, then
give that work into the hands of others so that we can go witness to just one man?
The reason that Philip could be entrusted with such authority and power to stir a
city was because of his obedience. If he were just focused on men, or the temporary,
he would never have left Samaria. However, it is probable that the fruit of that one
Ethiopian eunuch's conversion was much greater than the revival in Samaria.
Centuries later, missionaries were astonished to find that when they arrived in
Ethiopia there were so many Christians already there. This fruit had been hidden to
men, and probably even to Philip, but it was certainly credited to his account.
Obedience, Not Sacrifice
It is obedience, not sacrifice, which will keep us in the will of God. I do not think
that I have ever met a true Christian that did not long to be in the center of the
activity of God. However, we must know that not all good activity is God’s
activity. We must also understand that it is not possible for all of us to be a part of
everything that He is doing. The most important issue is not just catching the “ big
wave,” but catching the one that He wants us to catch, while cheering on those who
may be catching the bigger ones and the smaller ones, if they are in God’s will.
As we keep our vision on the goal of seeing the water move as far up the beach as
possible, and holding all of the ground that we can take, we will be in a better
position to move forward with the next wave rather than retreating and undercutting
it. It does not matter who leads a wave as long as the Leader gets the glory. To
have any other attitude is to be as deluded as the donkey's colt that Jesus rode into
Jerusalem on, if he thought that all of the commotion and adoration was for him
instead of the One riding on his back.
Jon Amos Comenius stated that “ Nature is God’s second book.” The Apostle Paul
affirmed this in the first chapter of Romans. One of the great leadership lessons in
nature is found with migrating waterfowl such as geese and ducks. They fly in “ V”
formations because the lead bird creates a draft that makes the flying easier for those
who follow closely behind him. However, since the lead bird cutting through the
air is doing the most work, he will only stay on the point for a period of time, and
then he will drop back to the end of the formation and rest, and the next one moves
up to lead for awhile. This rotation allows the birds to share the burden of
leadership, and all benefit from the draft when others are leading. If a bird refused to
give up his leadership position at the proper time, he would begin to slow down
the whole flock. Those who give up their position at the proper time will have a
chance to rest while following in the wake of others, enabling them to again assume
the point at another time.
Seldom in church history has any leader been on the cutting edge for more than a
few years. However, it is a most difficult thing for a leader to give up leadership.
For those who refused to do this, there is a clear demarcation point in their lives
when they stopped going forward and started attacking those who did.
Flying geese do not have as their goal being the point bird, but rather getting to the
destination. Whenever our own position becomes a goal in itself, we will become
more of a hindrance to the advancement of the church than a leader of it. One can
have great influence and control other people long after he has lost the true
anointing for spiritual leadership. King Saul is one of the more obvious biblical
examples of this principle.
Saul’s counterpart, King David, was not just an extraordinary leader in his own
time, but he had the wisdom to realize the limits of his authority. When he
understood that it was not his destiny to build the temple, he began gathering
materials to pass on to his heir in order to make his job easier. The greatest leaders
not only know how far to go themselves—they know how to prepare for the next
generation and when to pass the scepter.

Summary
Leadership is a valuable gift. The desire to be on the cutting edge of what God is
doing, to be in the middle of the action, is usually evidence of our love for the Lord
and our desire to a part of what He is doing. However, if our motives are not right,
it can also be one of our most prideful and disobedient pursuits. It is right to want
to push back the darkness, to help the body of Christ climb to higher ground, but
are we doing this for the Lord’s glory or for our own? If we are not doing it for
ourselves, we should be just as glad to prepare others to do it and to cheer them on.
Is that not what the great cloud of witnesses is doing right now for us?
Being on the cutting edge, or being with a group that is, is not the most important
goal in life. When we stand before the throne of God on that great Judgment Day,
He is not going to count how many cutting edge movements we were a part of. We
are going to be judged by our obedience, by how much we have grown in love, and
by how much of His likeness we bear. In Christ it is true that the greatest leaders
are the greatest followers. The more closely we follow Him, the more of His glory
we will behold, and the more like Him we will become.
To fulfill all righteousness and to walk in the spiritual authority to which we have
been called requires that we properly honor those who have gone before us and have
made our way easier. It is also true that we must be willing to prepare the way for
those who will carry the work further. We must all be willing to let go when the
time is right. It was David’s willingness to pass on to the next generation the
greatest desire of his own heart that enabled God to entrust him with the
extraordinary leadership for his own generation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rick Joyner is the founder and executive director of MorningStar Ministries and
Heritage International Ministries and is the Senior Pastor of MorningStar
Fellowship Church. He is the author of more than forty books, including The Final
Quest, A Prophetic History, and Church History. He is also the president of The
Oak Initiative, an interdenominational movement that is mobilizing thousands of
Christians to be engaged in the great issues of our times, being the salt and light
that they are called to be. Rick and his wife, Julie, have five children: Anna, Aaryn,
Amber, Ben, and Sam.