In Isaiah 60:1-5 we are given a prophetic picture of a time when “darkness is covering the earth, and deep darkness the peoples.” However, the Lord also promises the appearance of His glory and the nations coming to His light during this time. Then Isaiah adds that our sons and daughters will return, and the wealth of the nations will be brought to His people. This hope is an anchor for our souls, and we must always keep this in mind. Regardless of how dark it gets, the light is coming and will overpower the darkness.
We are now seeing the worst spiritual darkness of all time spread over the earth. It has come in many forms but is woven together as a veil of “deep darkness” over the people. Though we have yet to see the glory of the Lord manifested on His people in the way this text implies, we do see the conditions being prepared for it. One condition is the burning hearts of small pockets of people who have not succumbed to the lukewarm spirit of this age. Next we should expect these pockets of people to begin to connect and their fires grow.
The Book of Revelation was a vision given to John as a “revelation of Jesus Christ”‑—meaning the focus is on Jesus Himself, not just doctrines about Him or the institutions that grew up around those doctrines that would bring the glory of the Lord. Sound biblical teaching is important for a strong foundation, but it is by seeing the glory of the Lord that we are changed into His image (see II Corinthians 3:18). Thus, we should expect to see Christians beginning to seek the Lord Himself in a dramatic new way.
There is also much in Revelation about the antichrist. This explains why the entire age since the Fall has been allowed to evolve—so the nature of evil in its full maturity could be revealed to all creation. The antichrist, or “man of sin,” is the embodiment of all men’s sin. This is what all mankind would be like without the redemption and reconciliation of Christ. This is who we all are without Christ and without the grace of God. There is no greater contrast to Christ than this, and it has been allowed to unfold so we can all see who we really are without Jesus as compared to who we are with Him.
So, while we wait for the glory of the Lord to be revealed, and while we focus our pursuit on knowing and abiding in Him, we must also understand the nature of the darkness we are here to stand against. As a basic military principle, you cannot defeat an enemy you can neither see nor understand. Likewise, in our spiritual battle, we must see and understand the darkness we are here to confront.
As the darkness and evil of this world is revealed, the traces of it in us is also revealed. We do not want to enter this battle against the ultimate darkness at the end of this age with it still in us. To root out all evil in us and prepare us to behold and become vessels of His glory, we must apply the four elements of II Chronicles 7:14 to our lives:
“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.”
These four elements we must adhere to, so He can heal our land are:
- Humble ourselves
- Pray
- Seek His face
- Turn from our wicked ways.
Note these are the things His people must do, not the heathen. The healing of our countries is dependent on those who know the Lord.
We will take the next few weeks to dig down into each one of these to seek a deeper understanding and application of them in our lives. Obviously, what we have done up until now to comply with these has not been adequate. In doing so, we too should expect to be enlightened and healed.
© 2022 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.
