A Glimpse into 2019 and Beyond
As time goes marching by, we find an escalation of activity in the Spirit world being mirrored in the natural realm. Both dimensions are a reflection of the intensity of the battle in the heavenlies as the last-days battles kick into higher gear. These are critical times and these are days of great advances as well.I have not personally known a season like this when the activity in the spirit world is this heightened in possibly 30 years. Having close to 45 years of full-time vocational ministry under my belt, it allows me to speak from a veteran perspective. With that in mind, let me give you a few bullet points as a partial attempt to describe the days in which we live and are crossing a threshold into.
Five Clear Words for 2019 and Beyond
The first point I want to emphasize is that God has the harvest on His mind. These are the days of the rebirthing of the evangelist. As Billy Graham graduated into heaven, a mantle for the evangelist has fallen. This mantle is not one that has descended on just one man or one woman, but rather a calling of grace from God granted to an entire generation. There is an influx of souls coming into the Kingdom unlike anything we have seen in the Body of Christ for 50 years.
It is time for the words of the prophet-seer Bob Jones— for the one billion soul harvest, especially among the youth, to come in. It is time for P.E. classes in God’s school of the Holy Spirit. Yes, it is time for prophetic evangelism done outside the four walls of the church. Power encounters in the streets, miracles in the marketplace, prophetic revelation released in a relational context will become daily experiences. Why? God has the harvest on His mind!Second, there is the deepening polarization taking place in society that will not be healed quickly. In fact, things are going to heat up. I was warned on this last Day of Atonement that there would be an increase of gang violence and a national problem where a huge arsenal of munitions would be distributed within the nation(s) by a devilish sinister plot to create disorder and chaos and senseless crimes. I saw multiple mass shootings taking place in different cities around the world, like what occurred in Las Vegas, Nevada.
I was also shown gun raids where federal agents in the U.S. would confiscate massive arsenals. The Holy Spirit called this deepening polarization the time of the great divide. Now this prophetic point requires the response of intercession and spiritual warfare to expose the spirit of violence resulting in riots, division, and polarization. The words of Second Chronicles 7:14 are just as true today as the day they were originally written:
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).
God is never taken by surprise. He is not in heaven with sweaty palms and God is not wringing His hands in a nervous frenzy. In fact, according to Job 36:32, “He covers His hands with lightning [glory] and commands it to strike the mark.” Darkness is but an excellent backdrop for the times when the light shines the brightest. If history books are written in the future about the days we are entering into, they could be called the days of His presence. These are the days of great displays of His brilliant presence. Some have referred to these days as the greatest show on earth.Watch as the emphasis increases on the theme of His presence in conferences, and teaching series spread throughout the global Body of Christ. There will be an outright invasion of the Holy Spirit taking over worship services and even large concert events with the awe and wonder of God as His manifest presence comes rolling in. After all, the distinguishing characteristic of the people of God is His presence among us (see Exod. 33:13-16).
A fourth clear point is that we have entered into days of acceleration and the “times of the suddenlies.” I was given a dream encounter where I was climbing a hill and getting tired and weary. Finally, I made it to the top of the mountain at the time of the rising of the sun when the sky was electrified with a glorious display of His presence. The weariness of working so hard dissipated, and I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit say, “You have entered into the times of the suddenlies.”
Later that same day, when ministering at a NOW conference in my hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, I gained more understanding and the following phrases leapt into my comprehension: “When the fullness of preparation meets the fullness of time it results in the time of the suddenlies.” It is like a woman giving birth to a child. There are long months of formation followed by uncomfortable times of stretching. Right when the expectant mother of ten feels she cannot carry this child any longer, that she can take no more, suddenly transition kicks into gear and the greatly desired birth appears. We are entering into the “times of the suddenlies.”
Last, I want to drive home a point that many of us have been addressing for some years. In these days of the harvest when His presence increases and the suddenlies of God appear on the scene, part of this fullness of preparation is due to the authentic joining of the generations. God desires to be manifested as the God of three generations in a generation. He longs that the wisdom of the older, combined with the resources of the middle, and then mixed with the necessary ingredient of the zeal of the younger generation all comes together. That is a recipe for a sustained move of God.I am now not only a father in the natural but a grand father of a growing number of grandchildren. I find my self beginning to fulfill a role in the Body of Christ that I honestly never saw myself doing. I knew I was called to be a father in my generation. But could it be that I have been saved from near-death experiences four different times be cause I am to be one of the grandfathers in our days and times? It appears that is the case. God is jealous for the authentic joining of the generations.
When the Generations Come Together
Bishop Bill Hamon of Christian International has called these the “days of the saints.” According to Ephesians 4:11, Christ who descended also ascended and gave gifts to men and women. Some are set apart to be pastors and teachers and others to be evangelists and yet others prophets and apostles. How long are these ministering office gifts of the Holy Spirit given? “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). Well, this work of unity and maturity has not fully happened yet. Therefore, all five of these greatly needed ministry gifts are still being released. In fact, we have just entered into the second apostolic age of the Church.This point was driven home to me recently when I went back to minister at Harvest Fellowship Church in Warrens burg, Missouri—the church where I was the co-founder around 40 years ago. I had my youngest daughter, Rachel Tucker, and her daughter, Ruby, with me on this trip. That was three generations in a generation in the same house of the Lord together. But not only that, my father, Wayne Goll, ran a lumberyard an hour and a half north on High way 13. He helped us with the materials to build this very church building all those many years ago.Though my dad had graduated to his heavenly reward over 20 years ago, I seemed aware that he was looking in upon the scene from the great cloud of witnesses. So it dawned on me while sitting on the front row during the presence-led worship that my father had his hand in this as well. That would be four generations having been involved. I was overcome with gratitude. The Holy Spirit seemed to like what was going on and whispered to me, “This is the power of the joining of the generations.”
What Time Is It?
The Book of Romans contains more than only the great plan of salvation. It also carries the plan of how to live an effective Christian life in the midst of dark storms that may come. It is a book that teaches us what time it is and how to rule and reign with Christ Jesus in practical ways.Romans 13:11-14 aptly portrays:
Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near.Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
A Prayer of Consecration
Gracious Father, we come to You in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You that we have been born for such as time as this and granted the honor to participate in the second apostolic age of the Church. We are grateful that we get to see with our own eyes the fulfillment of the prophetic words spoken to us by the forerunners who have gone before us. We agree that we are living in the days of acceleration and that the days of a great harvest are upon us. Release more of Your brilliant presence and let it happen now, even suddenly! We consecrate ourselves unto You for Your purposes and prophetic destiny in the days of the joining of the generations. Send more of Your Spirit now, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen and amen!