The Last Outpouring Of The
Spirit
The final revival in our age.
Why it comes and what it will achieve.
The well known British evangelist Smith
Wigglesworth gave this prophecy in 1947: During the next few decades
there will be two distinct moves of the Holy Spirit across the Church in
Great Britain. The first move will affect every church that is open to
receive it and will be characterised by a restoration of the baptism and the
gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The second move of the Holy Spirit
will result in people leaving historic churches and planting new churches.
In the duration of each of these
moves, the people who are involved will say, “This is the Great Revival.”
But the Lord says, “No, neither is this the Great Revival but both are steps
towards it.”
Word and Spirit
When the new church phase is on the
wane, there will be evidenced in the churches something that has not been
seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the Word and
those with an emphasis on the Spirit.
When the Word and the Spirit come
together, there will be the biggest movement of the Holy Spirit that the
nation, and indeed, the world has ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a
revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these
shores, even the Wesleyan and the Welsh revivals of former years. The
outpouring of God’s Spirit will flow over from the United Kingdom to the
mainland of Europe, and from there, will begin a missionary move to the ends
of the earth.
Well, the Church in this nation has
witnessed the first part of that prophecy being fulfilled. That has been
dubbed the “renewal movement”. The restoration of truth concerning the
baptism of the Holy Spirit has taken place and encouraged the development
and practice of the gifts of the Holy Spirit within the Church of England
and other mainline denominations in Britain and Europe. This influx of truth
has renewed that part of the Church.
We have also witnessed people leaving
the established churches to form smaller groups and home fellowships. That
trend continues.
The result of this moving of the Spirit
is an increase in spiritual awareness, greater freedoms and a moving forward
to embrace further truth.
It is truth which sets you free
(Jn 8:32). God is the source of truth. His Word is truth (Jn 17:17). As you
discover more of the truth of God’s Word and incorporate it into your life,
so release and renewal can come by the refreshing of the Spirit.
The problem with most of the well
established churches is that in their present form, the people are not able
to experience complete refreshing. Their freedoms are curtailed by
prevailing dogma, by the traditions of the church, and by church clergy who
are unable or unwilling to challenge the status quo.
Revival always begins with repentance.
And the basis of repentance is God’s truth. So, truth comes first,
repentance or rebellion follow, and either renewal or retribution are the
end result.
You are about to see that enacted in
our time. We are now on the very verge of the Great Revival which Smith
Wigglesworth prophesied!
In our journal, over the years, we have
presented biblical truth which much of the Church lacks. When this truth is
presented, the Church must embrace it if it is to be part of the Bride of
Christ. This is summarised in our booklet The Faith Once Delivered to the
Saints (£1.00).
Responsibility is always attached to
any revelation. When truth new to you arrives on your doorstep, your
reaction must be to accept it. No matter how unwelcome it is, no matter how
much you may fear the consequences of accepting it, you must. For it is a
more fearful thing to fall under the Almighty’s condemnation for rejecting
it! God’s judgement is no light matter.
Never Been Seen Before!
In the spring of 1998, our family was
meeting for worship one Sabbath.[1]
As is our custom, we spent part of the time praying in a group. Anyone can
say or pray whatever they are moved to. During prayer I was given some
prophetic words to speak out. What God said was this:
There is coming an outpouring of My
Spirit on this land the likes of which this people have never seen before!
It will....
I do not now remember the rest of the
prophecy (recounted in Awake! Awake! 6-4), but what sticks in my mind
is that part which said the outpouring of the Spirit will be so great that
something like it has never been seen before. I have to admit I was a bit
taken aback by those words coming from my own mouth! Yet, I knew them to be
true, because God has given us prior warning of some of what is to come.
We have mentioned in issues of our
journal Awake! Awake! (and in Dreams and Visions From God)
that many people are to be raised from the dead as part of this end-time
witness. We have mentioned one celebrity in particular who will figure in
this – Diana, former Princess of Wales. For that prophecy we have received
more abuse than for any other. What is strange is that abuse came from some
who claim to be Spirit-led. They are in the charismatic sector of the
Church. But, clearly they are not ‘with it’.
The ones who are going to receive the
greatest anointing in this coming outpouring are those who are the least
proud. God always looks to the humble. While Wigglesworth was a great man of
God, with immense zeal and spiritual fortitude, he was extremely humble too.
He was a very loving man inside, although some found his exterior very
austere.
Unfortunately too many of those who
have ridden along on the crest of the wave of the last ‘revival’, which has
left its mark in the charismatic church, are proud. That pride prevents them
receiving the truths about to be released as the foundation for God’s next
move.
Try telling church leaders and the big
names in world evangelism today that they are missing it by keeping Sunday
and not the 7th-day Sabbath, and they would probably feel sorry for you!
Some might even suggest a sanatorium rather than a theological seminary for
your re-education!
But the truth is that they are
the ones who need re-educating in that regard – which may be why God is
going to do more awesome things in the wave of power to come. He is going to
get their attention. When He raises the dead, none of these high-powered men
of God will have any valid excuse for resisting this truth any longer. (Even
so, some will continue to resist it, and be shut outside the door of
the wedding feast.)
Only those who are willing to accept
ALL God offers will be part of the Bride of Christ.
Dreams From God
On 21st September 1999 God gave me this
dream: Thousands of people were present at a great banquet. All the seats
were taken! Helena (my wife) and I could hardly find places to sit. But we
did see two empty seats in between some children. People were queuing up for
the food which was being served at a counter. It was minced beef with
various vegetables. Lovely! And loads of it. Everyone got the same food. It
was a really good feast!
This dream depicts the great revival
Smith Wigglesworth described. Many people will take part. Having to sit
between children conveys the need for true humility. The sameness of the
food is a symbol of the uniformity of basic doctrine that Jesus wants the
Church to have. We shouldn’t have a situation in the Church where one group
believes one thing and another group believes something else. Yet
differences abound on basic issues such as Sabbath or Sunday; Christmas and
Easter as opposed to Passover, Pentecost and the other biblical festivals;
the Holy Spirit and the Trinity doctrine; when Jesus died and was
resurrected; the baptism of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts, etc. The
Feast coming up is the revival which will straighten out these differences
for those who want to eat this food which will be served.[2]
In another dream on 30th September 1999
God conveyed His awesome power like a huge lightning bolt with a massive
audible ‘crack’. It made the ground glow bright red!
Previously we were given a dream about
this outpouring of the Holy Spirit spreading to Europe (see AA 3-1). Many
years ago, Jesus also told Derek Prince that he would live to see the
beginning of this Great Revival in Britain. He is now an old man.
We are about to see the beginnings of
this awesome event. Get ready! Get your running shoes on! It is not far
away.
Malcolm B
Heap 24-11-99
The Last Outpouring
In our journal Awake! Awake! 8-2
of Nov/Dec 1999, we published a prophecy by the late Stanley Frodsham (p
24). It said that one of the purposes of God in coming in mighty revival
power is to prepare people for the darkness ahead. It’s not something anyone
wants to contemplate. But there is a darkness prophesied to envelop the
world, especially in the west, before the final return of Jesus to rule the
world. It’s mentioned in Matthew 24:21 –
For then there will be great
tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until
this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no
flesh would be saved [alive]; but for the elect’s sake, those days will be
shortened (Matt 24:21,22, NKJV).
Purposes of the Revival
1. Preparing for Tribulation.
Preparing for suffering, trial and difficulty[3]
is the last thing you may want to do, naturally. But Jesus didn’t say our
lot in this world would be the easiest. He said we would have tribulation
(Jn 16:33), with attendant spiritual blessings (Matt 19:29).
2. Witnessing.
One other purpose for the imminent outpouring of the Spirit is for the
same reason it came in the early Church – to witness for Christ. Miraculous
power draws the attention of those who would otherwise never look in God’s
direction. Having got their attention, He can then tell them some of what
they need to know, spiritually. This, for the Church, will involve:
3. Introducing New Truth.
God’s truth is the foundation for revival. New moves of God centre on
‘new’ truth. God requires repentance from sin. And presentation of further
truth creates a new awareness of sin.
4. Judgement.
This may sound strange to hear. But one of the reasons for the blessing
of God in revival power is to bring judgement. Not to those who accept Him,
of course. It’s upon those who don’t.
When Jesus turned up the heat in His
time and many stepped back from following Him (Jn 6:60-66), judgement fell
upon them. When the nation as a whole rejected Jesus as their Messiah,
judgement fell. God gave them some time, so that the gospel could spread
first and the Church be established. But, inevitably, the Jewish nation fell
into a cruel time of woe 37 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection.
That was a result of rejecting truth.
The religious leaders had persuaded the people to reject Jesus, and wherever
they could they undermined His teaching. That opposition has continued
throughout the Church Age.
In this revival we are about to enter,
truth will be presented, and again rejected. Part of the work of the
end-time Elijah is this restoration of ‘lost’ truth. It’s not lost to the
initiated. But it is lost to the majority in Christendom, who have been
duped by false teachings.
These false doctrines are more
appealing to most, and since human nature always takes the easy way out,
it’s not difficult to see why most will dismiss the new truth to be
presented.
Who wants to go against the crowd by
turning away from the traditions of the Sunday churches? If you keep the
Sabbath at the time when God decrees, you invite ridicule and even
isolation. You may risk losing your job. You may lose friends. You will
certainly alienate the majority of those in Sunday churches who think you’ve
lost your good judgement. You will be accused of causing division. And, in
some countries, you could face death for your decision.
That doesn’t alter the fact that you
would be making the right decision. But the resolution to do what is right
carries a backlash from opponents, both physical and spiritual. It’s not
easy for most.
The revival around the corner will
establish a basis of credibility for this truth of the Sabbath that has
hitherto been unavailable.
The Sunday-keeping sector of the Church
has tended to have a monopoly on the power of God. ‘Sabbatarians’ have often
experienced much less. When God uses Sabbath-keeping individuals to raise
the dead, the Church will have received a witness that God is behind them.
If you are in the Sunday-keeping sector
of the Church, what should your response be at that juncture? To investigate
the Sabbath issue, and prove that it is what God wants of His people; that
it is biblical; that it is still truth; that Jesus’ truth does not alter;
and begin to keep it today. That’s what your response should be.
It will cause a shaking in the Church.
But the disciples turned their world upside down, and you can expect nothing
less in our age if we are to see the same release of God’s power and favour
upon His people!
We’ve all got to get in step with Him
and His truth, not try to make Him fit into our convenient little mould. It
only works one way!
Called To Fit God’s Mould
While we were meeting together in our
home fellowship some weeks ago, we received a prophetic word which went like
this:
Many want Me to fit into their
mould. But I have not called you to fit into your mould. I have
called you to fit into My mould.
Have you noticed, however, how much
people try to make God fit into their mould? They want God to bless them
while they continue on their own stubborn or self-willed way. They want
religion to be convenient, placid, even insipid. They don’t want their world
rocked for the sake of higher ideals. Only the few will accept that in an
uncompromising manner.
It’s the world’s mould to keep Sunday,
to observe Christmas, to accept Easter. Yet, all these traditions have roots
in paganism, not in pure Christian doctrine. It’s no wonder that unconverted
masses are happy to go along with them for their own advantage.
God has called you to come out of this
world; to come out of its hollow traditions and its false customs. He has
called you to be untainted by the worship of demons. Yet, how many
Christians consider that they are worshipping demons when they go to church
on Sunday or on Christmas day? None, I would think.
Most don’t know. And if they knew, how
many would change? Few.
That’s the raw truth. And that’s why
judgement will follow on the heels of this revival. It’s a judgement that
will engulf the Church – those in the Outer Court – in the fires of
tribulation. God has to allow it to purify them of their idolatry.
Measuring the Temple
In the final book of the Bible, which
is Jesus’ capstone on His truth, you read of the work of the two witnesses
at the very end. We stand at the juncture of their appearing. You could well
see these two individuals in the next two years! This last revival will
immediately precede their witness.
Then I was given a reed like a
measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying: ‘Rise and measure the temple of
God, the altar [where sacrifice is made],
and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the
temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And
they will tread the holy city underfoot for 42 months. And I will give power
to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy 1260 days, clothed in
sackcloth.’ (Rev 11:1-3.).
There are important things to note from
the above. I will try and summarise them briefly.
1. God is measuring His temple.
The Church is now the Temple of God (1 Cor 3:16;6:19). It is His dwelling
place on earth.
One way He measures His Temple is by
introducing new truth to those He has called. If they accept it, He takes
them closer into relationship with Him. He wants true intimacy with His
Bride.
2. The outer court, while it was
part of the temple, was not the final destination of those approaching God.
The priest would sacrifice on the altar, and on the Day of Atonement, he
would enter the holy place.
This is symbolic of our entering in to
be accepted by God. Jesus made it possible by His sacrifice. But, under the
old covenant, only the High Priest would enter that sacred place. Jesus has
now made it possible for all of those who become part of Him, to enter that
place in the spirit realm.
The outer court represents the Church
in its broadest sense. There are many in churches who, while they accept
Christ intellectually, have not become part of Him spiritually. They have
not made the total commitment He requires of them, that “they eat His flesh
and drink His blood”, as it describes metaphorically in John 6:54.
When new truth is presented, they will
step back from obeying. This body of believers will be engulfed in the fires
of tribulation which will also parallel the physical occupation of Jerusalem
for that same 3½ years.
3. Do not measure it. This means
that God cannot accept such people into His kingdom until they have been
proved through the difficulties to come. God ‘measures’ us in our trials.
4. It has been given to the
Gentiles. Gentiles were outside the covenant promises which God gave
Israel, unless they accepted all that God had given Israel to observe (Ex
12:48,49; Num 9:14). So, Gentiles here depict the unconverted people in the
world. Human systems and human governments will oppress Christians during
the great tribulation. For 3½ years, there will not be true freedom of
worship. Unconverted men will rule over the churches – over Christians.
5. They will tread the holy city for
42 months.
Churches, as we know them, will lose their
spiritual freedoms for this length of time. The reason for this is given
elsewhere in Revelation. Jesus reveals that the one he labels the Great
Harlot (symbol of the Catholic Church and any other massive, worldly system
of humanly controlled worship) will impose its rule over all subjects in its
jurisdiction (Rev 13:11-18). It will ‘standardise’ worship – which will be a
counterfeit, not true worship. It will cause true saints to suffer and even
be killed for failure to comply (Rev 17:6; 6:9-11).
At the same time as this repression of
truth and true worship takes place in the Church, there will be a parallel
occupation of Jerusalem by European military forces. This may not occur
until 2004 or 2005. God has not said.
6. I will give power to My two
witnesses.
Whenever satanic repression takes place, God
raises up deliverers to give the people a choice, and to enable those who
want release to be able to accept it. They encourage a return to God. The
book of Judges is replete with accounts of the deliverers through whom God
worked in Israel’s early history. In the history of the Church, other
deliverers have come and gone and set before the people more truth for
believers to be released into greater spiritual freedoms. I don’t have to
remind you of Martin Luther and the Protestant reformers, or of John Wesley
and other men of God who were champions of revival.
The last move of the Spirit which we
are right now about to enter is going to be one which centres around an
emphasis on holiness and restoring lost truth to the Church. It is one which
will redefine, accurately, the faith once delivered to the saints. People
will then know what more the Church needs to accept to be able
to move on in the spiritual freedom which Christ offers.
After two years of this work, the
darkness of the tribulation will close in. This will be the time for the
work of the two witnesses. But their work will not be popular. Theirs is a
pronouncement of judgement (Rev 11) upon the world powers who defy God, who
refuse to obey Him, and who will trample on truth.
You can bet your bottom dollar that one
biblical observance the European power will outlaw is worshipping on the
Sabbath. They will insist on compliance with their Sunday-orientated
schedule.
7. They will prophesy 1260 days.
This means that the two witnesses will speak
as they are moved by God. A prophet speaks for God, to the people. He also
corrects. These prophets will give a highly unwelcome corrective message to
the people.
When Elijah stood on Mount Carmel, he
chided the false prophets, and by extension, all the nation on its
submission to its spiritual overlords. The majority had gone along with the
apostate practices which King Ahab and Queen Jezebel had introduced. Who
stood up against that heresy? Only the extreme minority. Many of those
zealots were hounded or killed by compromisers, those faithful to the
establishment who didn’t care for truth, but who only cared about acceptance
in the eyes of other people.
There is a saying that all it takes for
evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing. But isn’t that the way it
always is? People don’t stand up against false teachers. They
don’t stand up against heresy, even when they know better. It takes a
prophet to put his neck on the line before things can change.
Yet, if people did seek what is
right and if they did stand up against heretical inroads and against
false worship, leaders would have little power to introduce what is wrong.
That’s the way it could be. But you and I know it’s not that simple.
Deception is the devil’s cloak. And he appeals to human nature in all his
cunning schemes of deceit and seduction, and humanity falls for his bait.
8. Clothed in sackcloth. This is
a symbol of the message of repentance which these prophets bring.
The major act in prophesying is not
that of foretelling the future, although prophets of God will be given
things down that line. Their main function is in telling the people what God
wants them to repent of. It can be to introduce truth and to trigger
restoration and revival, or judgement.
John the Baptist, the earliest type of
Elijah in the New Testament, preached a hard-hitting message of repentance.
He caused the religious leaders acute embarrassment as he exposed their
wrong motives. His uncompromising outbursts against their hypocrisy caused
their ears to chafe. The 2 witnesses will deliver God’s final warning
message before Jesus returns.
In Summary
The last revival in this age will be a
preparation for the work of the two witnesses. It will be triggered by the
raising of the dead. God will visit His people in revival power, present
them with new truth, and restore the faith once delivered to the saints.
Sadly, many will step back from
receiving this ‘new’ truth. The tribulation will follow. There is not long
to go now. So, get ready, it’s just around the corner!
Malcolm B
Heap
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