We are entering the times that the prophets and righteous of old desired to see, and we have been chosen to live in them. In 1987, I was given a two-and-a-half day experience in which I was shown an unfolding panorama of world events that I wrote about in my book The Harvest. Many of these events started coming to pass within a couple of years of the vision, and the greatest of all that I was shown will soon be coming upon us.
The greatest of all of these events was a harvest of believers into the kingdom that would come in two waves. The first wave began just a couple of years after I received this vision, and though it hardly touched North America and Europe, it swept more people into the kingdom than any previous move of God in history. This next one will not miss North America or Europe.
After the first wave, I saw that there would be a time of relative spiritual quiet before another, far bigger wave of revival would come. We are now approaching the end of the time of quiet, and the greatest move of God to ever come upon the earth is approaching. It will be a spiritual tsunami, and we must get ready.
As this great ingathering begins to sweep the earth, it will be largely the result of and accompanied by the judgments of God. As we have covered, we almost always think of the judgments of God as condemnation, or destruction, but this is rarely the case. The judgments of God are discipline from the Lord for those whom He loves. As we see in Hebrews 12, we should be far more concerned if we are not experiencing His discipline because that would be evidence that we are not His.
The higher the calling, the more severe the discipline is. As we are told in James 3:1, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment.” This does not mean that it will be more difficult for teachers on the Day of Judgment, but rather it refers to the more strict discipline in the lives of teachers because the Lord wants His household to be given the best spiritual food. There is a difference between the training of a cook at a fast food restaurant and one who cooks at the White House. Serving God’s children is far greater than that.
This year the judgments of God will increase in the world. This is a good thing for all who love righteousness and justice because with them will also come revival. God’s judgments are just and righteous, and the world is going to learn righteousness because of them. The judgments of God are actually His mercy and His grace, and He does remember mercy in the midst of them. God’s people are going to be set free because of them, and ultimately the whole world will be set free from its slavery to sin because of them. As we are told in Psalm 98:8-9:
"Let the rivers clap their hands; let the mountains sing together for joy before the Lord,
for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity."
The Lord is coming to judge the earth, to be the Judge over all the earth, and His judgments are true and right. This is the gospel of the kingdom, and it is good news. Ecclesiastes 8:11 states:
"Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil."
The judgments that are coming are grace from God to turn men back from the evil that is overtaking them. If we do not see them as judgments, but rather as natural events, then we will not repent and turn to God. We also see in Scripture that many will even curse God because of His judgments, but He is going to intervene and save the world from the destruction that we are headed for. He is doing all of this for our sakes.
As we also see in Scriptures such as Isaiah 60, the judgments of God also illuminate and verify the righteous. Those who are building their lives on His kingdom, which is “righteousness, peace and joy,” will stand out more and more for their peace and their joy, which is built on living in harmony with God and His righteousness, or doing what is right in His sight. Those who are not in harmony with Him will shake with increasing violence. As these distinctions become more pronounced, more are going to wake up and turn to the Lord. The wise are turning to Him now and repenting of every evil way that they have allowed into their lives.
This repentance will lead to the most valuable commodity on earth in the times to come—true peace and true joy. This is why, as we read in Isaiah 60:3, the nations will come to the brightness of your rising. The light will win, and the nations will come to the light, not stay in darkness. Let us live in that light now, and share it with all we can.
